Tag Archives: scientific research
From unboiling eggs to the effects of intense kissing, IgNobel Prizes reward good ol’ curiosity
The year’s IgNobel Awards were held on September 17, and rewarded research that defines a kind of excellence that still impacts society without managing the sobriety of character that often bags the more vaunted Nobel Prizes. The 25th edition, held as … Continue reading
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Tagged Bangkok Metropolitical Police, IgNobel Prizes, Improbable Research, Marc Abrahams, scientific research
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A “Dear ISRO” moment
Even if ISRO has launched a spacecraft to Mars, the payload limit still stands in the way of taking full advantage of scientific interest on the ground. But apparently now isn’t the time to think about that… Continue reading
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Tagged cryogenic engine, Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, Indian Space Research Organisation, Mangalyaan, Mars Orbiter Mission, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, scientific research
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Did Facebook cheat us?
No. There were some good arguments on this topic, swinging between aesthetic rebuttals to logical deconstructions. Here are four I liked: 1. Tal Yarkoni, Director of the Psychoinformatics Lab at University of Texas, Austin, writes on his blog, “… it’s worth keeping in … Continue reading
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Tagged A/B testing, behavioral studies, emotions, Facebook, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientific research, social science, Tal Yarkoni
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R&D in China and India
“A great deal of the debate over globalization of knowledge economies has focused on China and India. One reason has been their rapid, sustained economic growth. The Chinese economy has averaged a growth rate of 9-10 percent for nearly two … Continue reading
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Tagged China, Current Science, decentralization, GDP, India, peer review, plagiarism, private sector investment, publish or perish, R&D, scientific misconduct, scientific publishing, scientific research
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Ambivalent promises for S&T in the BJP manifesto
There is very little, if any, concrete stuff about promoting science in the country, and a lot of it seems poised to supplant the goals of other ministries. Continue reading
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Tagged Bharatiya Janata Party, climate change, Congress, Lok Sabha 2014 elections, manifesto, Nuclear power, private sector, scientific research
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Predatory publishing, vulnerable prey
On December 29, the International Conference on Recent Innovations in Engineering, Science and Technology (ICRIEST) is kicked off in Pune. It’s not a very well-known conference, but might as well have been for all the wrong reasons. On December 16 … Continue reading
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Tagged Jeffrey Beall, open-access publishing, predatory publishers, scientific research, scientometrics, Sokal affair, University of Pune
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CNR Rao, a faceted gem
Inquisitions are sure to follow if you’ve won India’s highest civilian honor on the back of a little-known career. At the same time, if that career’s been forged on scientific research, then blame all that’s little-known on media apathy, flick … Continue reading
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Tagged Bharat Ratna, C.N.R. Rao, scientific research
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The travails of science communication
There’s an interesting phenomenon in the world of science communication, at least so far as I’ve noticed. Every once in a while, there comes along a concept that is gaining in research traction worldwide but is quite tricky to explain … Continue reading
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Tagged Big Physics, funding, Higgs mechanism, journalism, public discourse, quantum entanglement, science communication, scientific research
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