Why bird flu research should be published

"H5N1 bird flu has caused serious disease and deaths in humans. The virus has not, however, sparked off an influenza pandemic as it cannot spread efficiently from human to human. But recent experiments has shown that only a handful of mutations would allow the virus to spread efficiently among mammals.

The U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity has asked the authors as well as editors of journals to delete crucial details. The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Why bird flu research should be published: These experiments seem to have rekindled the debate about the role of science in society. The research on the transmissibility of H5N1 bird flu viruses should be carried out by responsible scientists under adequately controlled conditions and safeguards with the appropriate administrative oversight.

In science, experiments and their results are shared so others can directly use them and advance the field. So, all research data should be published. Slowing down the scientific process does not protect the public, instead it makes us more vulnerable.

The international community must urgently discuss how to guarantee the best conditions for scientific discovery, while also minimising risk. Science must never be impeded by fiction or fear.

Stem cell science is already saving lives

 "Blood donated from healthy babies' umbilical cords is in focus."

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Stem cell science is already saving lives - The cells that are being collected from the placenta are magic cells, miraculous cells. They're the blueprint for all the different cells in the blood — so for someone whose own bone marrow isn't working properly, they can be a real lifeline.

The ways of science

"After announcing that neutrinos travelled 60 nanoseconds faster than light, the OPERA (Oscillation project with Emulsion-tRacking Apparatus) team has recently identified certain flaws, pertaining to the novel use of the global positioning system (GPS) in particle physics to synchronise the atomic clocks "

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : The ways of science: Regardless of whether a rerun of the experiment proves or disproves the initial result, the entire exercise has gone a long way in showcasing the way science operates.

This work has shown what is so basic to science — even the most fundamental laws of science will often be challenged by scientists using the most sophisticated instruments and experiments. After all, independent verification and replication of the results are central to science.

Still sprouting after 32,000 years

"Scientists have been able to grow ancient flowering plants from immature fruit tissues buried 38m under the North-eastern Siberian ice deposits about 32,000 years ago. The tissues were recovered from the burrow of a ground squirrel. The regenerated plants flowered and also produced seeds. These seeds were in turn able to grow into plants that were identical to the parent plants"

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Still sprouting after 32,000 years: Another significant finding is that tissues remained viable and seeds germinated despite accumulating total gamma ray radiation of 0.07 kGy during the long period of burial.

This natural cryopreservation of plant tissues over thousands of years demonstrates a role for permafrost as a depository for an ancient gene pool … a laboratory for the study of rates of microevolution.

Airborne Killer

The hazards of scientific excess

Article - Airborne Killer

-The Times of India, December 23, 2011

The Greatest Mystery

The scientific method has its uses, but it's a mistake to apply it to human behaviour

Read the source article here - The Greatest Mystery

-The Times of India, December 19, 2011

Personal review: The article has a witty opening. It holds relevance in many areas of the non-natural sciences where the scientific method is constantly adopted. It has a clean, simple and precise explanation to the origin of the ongoing research.

Holy Grail Of Higgs Hunters

Is humanity's quest for the Higgs boson, dubbed the "God Particle", about to end?

Read the source article here - Holy Grail Of Higgs Hunters

-The Times of India, December 16, 2011

Personal Review: The article traces the history of the current research, and discusses how it effected the present world we live in.