Sustainability

Food shortages could force world into vegetarianism

Source: The Guardian Leading water scientists have issued one of the sternest warnings yet about global food supplies, saying that the world’s population may have to switch almost completely to a vegetarian diet over the next 40 years to avoid catastrophic shortages. Humans derive about 20% of their protein from animal-based products now, but this may need to drop to just 5% to feed the extra 2 billion people expected to … Continue reading Food shortages could force world into vegetarianism

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Research News, Sustainability

Public perceptions of energy consumption

In a national online survey, 505 participants reported their perceptions of energy consumption and savings for a variety of household, transportation, and recycling activities. When asked for the most effective strategy they could implement to conserve energy, most participants mentioned curtailment (e.g., turning off lights, driving less) rather than efficiency improvements (e.g., installing more efficient light bulbs and appliances), in contrast to experts’ recommendations. For a sample of 15 activities, participants … Continue reading Public perceptions of energy consumption

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Odds and sods

Interesting Speeches!

Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian film actor, screenwriter, producer and director, considered to be one of the leading method actors of Indian cinema (Source: Wikipedia). He gave this interesting talk at IIT Bombay, India. He ♣♣♣ Shahrukh Khan (born 2 November 1965), often credited as Shah Rukh Khan and informally referred to as SRK, is an Indian film actor. Often referred to in the media as “The King of Bollywood”, Khan has acted in over 70 … Continue reading Interesting Speeches!

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Education

What is the point of education

This article was written by a 16 year for NDTV (India) I am a 16-year-old-student, about to begin class XII, and I’m preparing for all the engineering entrance exams for 2013. I have been sure of my career choice for nearly four years now, and have always enjoyed learning and building my knowledge. Here is my opinion on the change in the IIT  (Indian Institutes … Continue reading What is the point of education

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Research News

Metabolism

Prof. Graham Walker from MIT explains in this video below the metabolism of glucose in a living cell. He starts off by explaining how glucose molecules gets converted to pyruvate in 10 enzymatic steps, including the production of 2 ATP and 2 NADH (electron currency of a cell), in a process called glycolysis. The Pyruvate then migrates to the mitochondrion to produce acetyl-CoA and eventually to CO2 … Continue reading Metabolism

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Research News, Sustainability

Personalized Energy

The Nocera lab at the chemistry department at MIT studies the basic mechanisms of energy conversion in biology and chemistry. On advice he received from Kurt Vonnegut: “He told me, ‘stop worrying about the planet dying. When you have a big organism and you become irritating to it, the immunological system just kicks in and kills the invading organism’. And he assured me that we have just … Continue reading Personalized Energy

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Research News

Stories about mind-altering substances

Source: The New Yorker PERSONAL HISTORY about the writer’s experiments with drugs. To live on a day-to-day basis is insufficient for human beings; we need to transcend, transport, escape; we need meaning, understanding, and explanation; we need to see over-all patterns in our lives. We need hope, the sense of a future. And we need freedom (or, at least, the illusion of freedom) to get … Continue reading Stories about mind-altering substances

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Research News

Engineered Mosquitoes

Source: The New Yorker ANNALS OF SCIENCE about genetically-modified mosquitoes and the dengue virus. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are among the deadliest creatures on earth. Before a vaccine was discovered in the nineteen-thirties, the mosquito transmitted the yellow-fever virus to millions of people with devastating efficiency. The mosquito also carries dengue, one of the most rapidly spreading viral diseases in the world. According to the World Health Organization, … Continue reading Engineered Mosquitoes

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Research News

Google Science Fair

The Google Science Fair is an online science competition seeking curious minds from the four corners of the globe. Anybody and everybody between 13 and 18 can enter. All you need is an idea. YouTube channel   The last year’s winners gave a TED talk and the video can be watched below. The topics were the following:   Lauren Hodge in the 13-14 age group. Lauren … Continue reading Google Science Fair

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Mathematics

Highlights of Calculus

Source: MIT OCW These five Highlights of Calculus videos provide an overview of the key topics and ideas of calculus and how they apply to real-life situations and problems. Prof. Strang’s free on-line textbook is available here. Big Picture of Calculus: Calculus is about change. One function tells how quickly another function is changing. Professor Strang shows how calculus applies to ordinary life situations, such as: driving a car, climbing a mountain, growing … Continue reading Highlights of Calculus

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