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Intro to NFTs
A far-too-simplified introduction to cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
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Science
Where the atmanirbharta in spine?
Truth be told, I didn't expect CSIR chief Shekhar Mande could be so disingenuous. "India didn't have to depend on western countries," he says. What is this abject refusal to thank other countries for help – and preferring instead to take their help and rewriting
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Ads on The Wire Science
Sometime this week, but quite likely tomorrow, advertisements will begin appearing on The Wire Science. The Wire's, and by extension The Wire Science's, principal source of funds is donations from our readers. We also run ads as a way to supplement this revenue; they're
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The weekly linklist – July 25, 2020
I've decided to publish this linklist via Substack. Next weekend onwards, it will only be available on https://linklist.substack.com. And this is why the list exists and what kind of articles you can find in it. * Want to buy a parrot? Please login via Facebook. – "
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The occasional linklist – July 19, 2020
I have been pondering creating a column on my blog where I share links to articles I read and liked. I perform this function on Twitter at the moment, but the attention some links attract are rubbish, and I reflexively share only relatively bland things there these days as a
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The sea of metal
Two of the most decisive moments of the Second World War that I can’t get enough of are the Battle of Stalingrad and the D-Day landings. In the Battle of Stalingrad, Adolf Hitler’s army suffered its first major defeat, signalling to Nazi Germany that it was just as
Science
Distracting from the peer-review problem
From an article entitled ‘The risks of swiftly spreading coronavirus research‘ published by Reuters: A Reuters analysis found that at least 153 studies – including epidemiological papers, genetic analyses and clinical reports – examining every aspect of the disease, now called COVID-19 – have been posted or published since the start of the
Scicomm
Five reflections on science day
Science Day isn’t a very meaningful occasion in and of itself. It is the day C.V. Raman discovered the light-scattering effect named for him. Raman won a Nobel Prize for his discovery, and – by commemorating February 28 as ‘Science Day’ – India has come to celebrate the Nobel Prize
Scicomm
Research funds gridlock: who wants what
On January 30, the Union ministry of finance announced a 24-25% hike in the junior (JRF) and senior research fellowships (SRF) amounts effective from January 1, 2019. The decision had been prompted by a longstanding demand of India’s community of young scholars, who availed these fellowships to support themselves
Scicomm
The history, culture and science of 'cardiac coherence breathing'
A recent article in Scientific American on the benefits of “proper breathing” for overall health has ignited anger across social media, with many in India accusing the magazine of rebranding or even appropriating the ancient Indian breathing technique of ‘pranayama’. Detailed description of the benefits of the 2500-year-old Indian technique
Science
Which supercollider will be built?
After CERN announced the plans for its new supercollider, I was surprised no one wanted to address the elephant in the room: the supercollider's similarity to one announced by China a few months ago. The Chinese machine is called CEPC (Circular Electron Proton Collider) and the CERN machine,
Scicomm
Breaking down CMB Bharat
A consortium of Indian scientists has submitted a proposal to the national space agency for a new space science mission called CMB Bharat. Let's break it down. What is CMB Bharat? According to Tarun Souradeep, a senior professor at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune, the