The Blog
The Naming of Things
Recently, Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club, was in the news because scientists named a tiny Australian leech after her. “I am thrilled to be immortalized as Chtonobdella tanae,” Tan said. “This humble leech has looped across a new scientific threshold—the first microscopic...
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A Library in Jaffna
Shareeq is too young to remember much of the civil war years in Sri Lanka (1983-2009). But for another patron, 75-year-old Rajenthiran Selvanayagam, spending time at the library is a peaceful contrast to that era. He lost his wife to the war. His son went...
Read MoreMillipede as Catalyst
An arthropod notorious for train delays and household intrusions ends up delivering a gift to green chemistry. Chamberlinius hualienensis, once just a pest, is now at the center of a biotech pivot—thanks to that stealthy enzyme tucked in its cyanide-secreting physiology. Swarms of this cyanide-secreting...
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A rubella-based murder mystery
In 1943, Hollywood star Gene Tierney, radiant at 23 and expecting her first child, volunteered at the Hollywood Canteen to lift the spirits of servicemen. Days later she contracted German measles — rubella — a seemingly mild illness that proved devastating. Her daughter, Daria,...
Read MoreThe Naming of Exoplanets
Last September when I was in Oslo, I sat next to Thierry Montmerle at the banquet hosted by the Norwegian Science Academy. He was the general secretary of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) which had just announced the NameExoWorlds contest to crowd-source names for 20...
Read MoreCurtailed Careers of Women in China
Women enter the workforce the same time as men but they typically take some time off during their child-bearing years. Instead of being allowed to stay on longer to compensate, they have to step down sooner in China. Women scientists retire at 55, while men...
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