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The Curious Zookeeper of Extraordinary Organisms

In his backyard in Atlanta,Saad Bhamla, professor of chemical and biomolecular Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology, observed the glassy sharpshooter with interest. The lightweight insect was urinating in droplets which it super-propelled into the distance. Later, a high-speed camera would reveal that the bead...

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...

City Lights, Vanishing Stars

One December evening I climbed up to the mottai-madi, the bare terrace atop my parents’ four-floor apartment building in Chennai and waited for darkness to descend. The sun still hung low—an orange-red orb in the distance. Overhead, rose-ringed parakeets zipped towards their nightly roosts, squawking...

The Madras Hedgehog

For the longest time, I thought hedgehogs were simply critters from British children’s books. But three different species of hedgehogs — living, breathing mammals — inhabit the Indian subcontinent alone. Of these, we know very little about the Madras Hedgehog (Paraechinus nudiventris), says Dr. Brawin Kumar,...

Virtual Therapeutics

Phantom limb pain is a paradox—a missing limb that still hurts. For some amputees, the sensation is agonizing and vividly real. The sensation has been described in medical literature as far back as in the 16th century and has many echoes in fiction. Captain Ahab,...

Physician to the Bronze Gods

“Archaeological Chemist, temporary … at a cost of Rs 1,500 for the year 1929–’30 … required for work connected with the treatment of bronze images in the Museum,” read the job description, which would be placed in the “wanted” columns of newspapers printed in...