Vijee Venkatraman

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Hello Darkness, My Old Friend!

In the twilight, that nest in the old church of Suntak in Sweden fly around hunting for insects. The twelfth century church’s façade stays unlit at night -- a rarity among historic churches -- and the darkness continue to make it a sanctuary for the...

Luz House

The name engraved on yellowing marble called out to me. “Luz House,” the very name had gravitas, a certain ring to it. My errand was somewhere near this landmark address in Mylapore, and I had little time to linger. Still, the old-Madras style house sign...

Atlas of Perfumed Botany

The gods created scents; humans make perfumes. Naked and frail, they survive only by artifice (trickery). Jean Giono In the late 1960s, Jean-Claude Ellena, an apprentice perfumer in France, tried to reproduce Eau Sauvage, a cologne from the fashion house of Christian Dior. Ellena...

Probably A (Possibly C, G or T)

R.I.P Jim Watson. Twenty years or so ago, I worked on the Human Genome Project. In the Human Genome Project, a "finisher" was responsible for ensuring the accuracy, completeness, and continuity of DNA sequences—essentially polishing the raw genomic data into a reliable reference for researchers....

Scent!

Worldwide, the COVID 19 virus affected millions of patients’ ability to smell – and the symptom persisted in some, months after the infection passed. The pandemic put a spotlight on this spectrum of olfactory impairment. Anosmia is the clinical term for an inability to perceive...

Most Innovative Square Mile on The Planet

If your travels bring you to Boston, do take the T – the first subway system in the United States, built in 1897 – to get around town. Get down at the Kendall/MIT station on the Red Line – yes, this is the stop for...