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Vibrant Pigments, Global Exchange

Against a field of deep blue, sword‑bearing demons surge toward a sacred fire. Ram — yellow‑clad, rendered in blue — lets loose a rain of arrows, with Lakshmana steady at his side. Vermilion blood spills from the demons as the ritual tilts toward battle. Demons...

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....

Coded Bias

In her first semester at the MIT Media Lab, Joy Buolamwini faced a peculiar problem: commercial face‑recognition software detected her light‑skinned classmates but couldn’t “see” her. Only when she donned a white plastic mask in frustration did the system recognize her face. Coded Bias is...