Category Archives: Analysis
On the Nature feature about the Sarafs, a rare disease, and time
Heidi Ledford has a tragic and powerful story published yesterday in Nature, about a team of scientists at the CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology racing to develop a CRISPR treatment for Uditi Saraf, a young girl whose brain was … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Op-eds
Tagged CRISPR/Cas9, FENIB, FSSAI, Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Ministry of AYUSH, Natelco, neuroserpin, rare diseases, Rema Nagarajan, Uditi Saraf
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A nationalism of Sunita Williams
The headlines in Indian mainstream media over the course of June 6, after Boeing (finally) launched its Starliner capsule on its first crewed test flight betray a persistent inability to let go of the little yet also false pride that … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis
Tagged Bharatiya Janata Party, Boeing Starliner, Lok Sabha elections, Sunita Williams, women in space
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The cost of forgetting Ballia
Actively papering over the effects of extreme weather has to be the most self-destructive thing we’re capable of in the climate change era. Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Op-eds
Tagged Ballia, Election Commission of India, heat wave, India Meteorological Department, Lok Sabha elections, Mirzapur, National Disaster Management Authority, The Hindu, Uttar Pradesh
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The party-spirited cricket World Cup
Sharda Ugra’s essay and the BCCI-BJP combine’s presumption of zero resistance at the ICC Cricket World Cup Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Culture
Tagged Amit Shah, Asia Cup 2022, Bharatiya Janata Party, Board of Control for Cricket in India, International Cricket Council, Jay Shah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Narendra Modi stadium, orange jersey, Pepsi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ram Siya Ram, Sharda Ugra, Star Sports, Wisden Almanack, World Cup 2023
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Infinity in 15 kilograms
While space is hard, there are also different kinds of hardness. For example, on April 15, ISRO issued a press release saying it had successfully tested nozzles made of a carbon-carbon composite that would replace those made of Columbium alloy … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Science
Tagged carbon-carbon composite, Columbium alloy, Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO, ISRO Propulsion Complex, PSLV, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre
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Justice delayed but a ton of bricks await
From ‘SC declines Ramdev, Patanjali apology; expresses concern over FMCGs taking gullible consumers ‘up and down the garden path’’, The Hindu, April 10, 2024: The Supreme Court has refused to accept the unconditional apology from Patanjali co-founder Baba Ramdev and … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Op-eds, Science
Tagged Baba Ramdev, contempt of court, Coronil, COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Harsh Vardhan, Manmohan Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Patanjali Ayurved, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Supreme Court of India, Uttarakhand State Licensing Authority
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Feel the pain
Emotional decision making is in many contexts undesirable – but sometimes it definitely needs to be part of the picture, insofar as our emotions hold a mirror to our morals. When machines make decisions, the opportunity to consider the emotional … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Tech
Tagged +972 Magazine, Anna Mae Duane, artificial intelligence, Israel genocide, loneliness, The Conversation, Yuval Abraham
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The missile test before the polls
On March 27, 2019, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted ‘Mission Shakti’: India’s first anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test. After the event, the national broadcaster broadcast an hour-long speech by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Since the Election Commission’s restrictions … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis
Tagged Agni V, ASAT test, Defence Research and Development Organisation, DF-41 missile, Divyastra test, DRDO, Lok Sabha elections, nuclear weapons, Prime Minister Narendra Modi
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Government by Supreme Court
On February 27, a bench of the Supreme Court upbraided Patanjali Ayurved and its chairman Acharya Balkrishna for continuing to disparage systems of medicine other than Ayurveda (technically, what it calls Ayurveda) and claiming its products offer “permanent relief” from … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Op-eds
Tagged Acharya Balkrishna, Advertising Standards Council of India, Ayurveda, Baba Ramdev, Indian Medical Association, Ministry of AYUSH, Patanjali Ayurved, pharmacovigilance, Pushpa Mitra Bhargava, Ritwick Dutta, Supreme Court of India, TN Godavarman
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