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It is a Landfill and an Ecopark

June 2009 A typical landfill isn’t the sort of place where residents have peaceful picnics and take nature walks or go to stargaze. But Singapore’s Semakau landfill is far from ordinary. Pulau Semakau – where Singapore’s only landfill is located – is a 20-minute ferry...

Vibrant Pigments, Global Exchange

Against a deep blue backdrop, sword-wielding demons attempt to disrupt a sacred ritual. Ram, who is dressed in a yellow dhoti and also rendered in blue rains arrows on them. Lakshmana ably assists him. The demons seep vermillion red blood. Demons Approaching Rama and Lakshmana...

First Desi Woman Graduate Student in the US

In 1883, before a packed house in Bengal’s Serampore College, with an audience that included the American Consul General, Anandibai Joshi, 18, declared her intention: “I go to America because I wish to study medicine," she said, speaking in English before the College Hall. “Ladies both...

Science at Sundance 2023

This year I had a chance to review two science-related films screened at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah — two vastly different films, but both struck a chord. Illustration by Islenia Mil for Science Poacher A gunshot pierces the skull of a tusker, an adult...

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....

The Power of Language

At the pediatrician’s clinic, a nurse told Viorica Marian, who is a native speaker of Romanian, to use only English with her American-born daughter. Speaking another language would “confuse” the child and hurt her long-term, the woman had said. This was a good decade ago....