Hi All. I have posted a link to the interview with Roger Martin on interviewing techniques under "interesting articles".
Next week - Monday: Talk on Neutrino Astrophysics at the South Pole
Friday: Interview with Ethan Dicks and Edgar Nielsen (Tex), winter-overs at the South Pole.
Please do some background research for both of these. The RNA explanatory piece is due on the 7th of March (next Friday).
Good Luck on your dissertation.
vijaya
Monday, February 25, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Interesting Links
Hi,
Here are some links to stories on the three parent baby experiment.
http://www.medindia.com/news/Using-Three-Parents-To-Create-A-Healed-Baby-32683-1.htm
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/02/05/sciparent105.xml
http://www.abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=4246047&page=1
Also came across some other interesting stories so am posting those links as well.
http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2008/222/1
http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2008-02/build-your-own-almost-real-time-worldwide-tracking-system
Cheers,
Nina
Here are some links to stories on the three parent baby experiment.
http://www.medindia.com/news/Using-Three-Parents-To-Create-A-Healed-Baby-32683-1.htm
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/02/05/sciparent105.xml
http://www.abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=4246047&page=1
Also came across some other interesting stories so am posting those links as well.
http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2008/222/1
http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2008-02/build-your-own-almost-real-time-worldwide-tracking-system
Cheers,
Nina
Friday, February 22, 2008
Question
I recently watched a documentary on BBC called Forgotten Fruit. It was about the global dependency on wheat and forgetting crops like Millet. It showed some parts of Tamil Nadu where millet is being grown, realizing its importance. It also showed about an Italian lady who's on a mission to grow the fruits, people have almost forgotten.
After watching the documentary, i realized one thing that we are actually depending more on more wheat for many things. And the production is definitely not going to be enough in the coming years to meet the world demand. Maybe we should also think of re-discovering those forgotten fruits. And maybe we could start doing that by not consuming junk food and discouraging others to do the same.
What say you?
After watching the documentary, i realized one thing that we are actually depending more on more wheat for many things. And the production is definitely not going to be enough in the coming years to meet the world demand. Maybe we should also think of re-discovering those forgotten fruits. And maybe we could start doing that by not consuming junk food and discouraging others to do the same.
What say you?
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
I recently read a blog entry which said that science writing has come down to a mere recycling of press releases and journals. can this be avoided? why/why not?
While writing about a scientific study, the reporter always worries whether the story will be interesting to the reader or his editor. sometimes this concern might encourage him sensationalize the story a bit. how does one draw a line between the two?
While writing about a scientific study, the reporter always worries whether the story will be interesting to the reader or his editor. sometimes this concern might encourage him sensationalize the story a bit. how does one draw a line between the two?
Monday, February 18, 2008
Mike Lemonick - Wednesday at 6:00 pm
Thanks Jessica for starting the question list. Please continue to think about what you would like to ask Mike on Wednesday. Also make sure all of you are there on time. By the way, I have received 15 assignments so far. Deadline was midnight yesterday.
See you in class.
Here are a couple of questions I was thinking of :
Science writers are accused of dummying down science in the guise of explaining it to the lay audience. How far is this true? How do we escape this?
Depending on the audience, we have to choose the style of explanation. Any suggestions on this? While writing for the newspaper, what is the target audience we are looking at?
See you in class.
Here are a couple of questions I was thinking of :
Science writers are accused of dummying down science in the guise of explaining it to the lay audience. How far is this true? How do we escape this?
Depending on the audience, we have to choose the style of explanation. Any suggestions on this? While writing for the newspaper, what is the target audience we are looking at?
Questions for Mike Lemonick
1. While writing a science story, especially explainatory pieces, does one mention different analogies or do we stick to one?
2. How does one differentiate a health story from a science story while writing especially when they are related to one another?
2. How does one differentiate a health story from a science story while writing especially when they are related to one another?
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Epilepsy article - review and comments
Kindly go through my article and please send in corrections or different style of presentation.
Living well with Epilepsy
By Shruti Ambavat
Get your facts right on Epilepsy and the truth about the many myths
that persist around this medical condition
Epilepsy is one of the most dreaded and the most misunderstood diseases. There is a total lack of awareness in India of this disease. Epilepsy is a problem where seizures occur in the brain. A seizure is a sudden surge of electrical activity in the brain that usually affects how a person feels or acts for a short time. In India, many patients (especially rural) suffering from epilepsy do not wish to reveal their identity. It remains a stigma for them throughout life. In earlier times, people mistook epilepsy for punishment of sins from God or a witch’s black magic and would stay away from the patient thinking that it is contagious. In 1900s, US also had laws forbidding people with epilepsy to get married or become parents.
One should care to understand that epilepsy is not a mental problem or a psychosomatic condition but just another disorder likes diabetes, high blood pressure for instance. In India, 1% of the population suffers from epilepsy. And yes, the sufferer is called ‘a person with epilepsy’ not ‘an epileptic’ which might sound too hard-hitting like a psychotic person etc.
Epilepsy, also known as ‘epilepsies’ is mostly identified with seizures. If a person has had two or more seizures then he/she is most likely to be suffering from the disorder. Dr. P. P Ashok, Head of Neurology Dept, Hinduja Hospital says, “Many patients who come to me try to talk their way out of epilepsy. They give it weird names like sudden seizures or body shivers and say that it is not something as severe as epilepsy. They have to understand that epilepsy is curable through proper medication. In extremely rare cases where frequent medication also shows no effect, the patient has to undergo operation.” Surgery works where medicinal drugs are incapable – the part of brain (the source) that triggers seizures is isolated from the rest, so that seizures are not reached to the whole brain. Another method is the ‘corpus callosum’ method where the tissues connecting the left side of the brain to the right side are cut so that only a part of the brain gets affected at the time of attack. But Dr. Ashok says that 70% of the cases can be cured through drugs within 2 years and the rest will have to continue medication lifelong but without any problems.
The cause of this disease is still unknown. For a layman, epilepsy has always been a mystery but science says, it mostly occurs to people with severe head injuries or extreme fatigue. In India, adolescents to teenagers suffer from epilepsy. It is also said that epilepsy can be hereditary but those types are curable. Dr. P.P. Ashok says, “I get young patients who wish to go abroad for studies but their parents are scared to leave them alone and then there are young girls who are told by their parents to keep mum or it might ruin their marriage prospects.” But he quickly adds, “Though in ultra-urban cities like Mumbai, people are slowly accepting it.”
In urban regions people have better understanding of the disorder due to better education, public awareness etc. But in small towns people are orthodox and consider it a punishment or even getting possessed by some ghost and the first aid tool is to make the patient smell onion or sole of a shoe at the time of the seizure. The seizure normally lasts for few seconds or a maximum of a few minutes. Rarely cases have been reported where seizures act like an agent where one seizure triggers another to another (called status – epilepticus) in which the patient should immediately be taken to hospital where he receives intravenous injections as it can be fatal. When a patient is under seizure attack people around him/her should take care that all sharp or harmful objects be kept away and they should try to put a spoon or something in the mouth so that the teeth do not bite out the skin or tongue. Most importantly, the patient should be made to sit in such a position where his head is down like in a sitting position with head down so that the blood that comes due to any cuts inside the mouth does not enter windpipe or foodpipe, making the person unable to breath.
“I was shocked, terrified and confused. I didn’t know how to react to this situation and my father advised me not to reveal about my condition to anybody including close friends, which was uncomfortable because I felt like a stranger in front of my own best friends,” says Amita Aggarwal, an engineer (named changed). Amita’s friend says that when the first time they saw her during the seizure they were extremely scared but later on felt very sad for her and took extra precautions like reminding her of medicines to be taken on time and being careful while she drives. Amita continues, “Initially I wasn’t used to taking medicines every day, I felt like an ill person, but now I am happy that these medicines have helped me lead a normal life where I drive and do all sorts of things a normal youngster does.
Another myth is that people with epilepsy are also considered mentally disturbed and slow learners, but how many of you know that famous musician Beethoven, Lionel Blue, writer Agatha Christie, Truman Capote of ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ fame and actors like Richard Burton, Danny Glover suffered from epilepsy.
One common complaint many patients have is that epilepsy is not well handled in movies where they show it has a psychotic problem or a Devil’s handwork. A common example is the famous Hollywood flick ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’ where possession and epilepsy are shown in the same light as though connected to each other. The person suffering from epilepsy needs family and friends’ support and can lead a normal life with confidence.
Living well with Epilepsy
By Shruti Ambavat
Get your facts right on Epilepsy and the truth about the many myths
that persist around this medical condition
Epilepsy is one of the most dreaded and the most misunderstood diseases. There is a total lack of awareness in India of this disease. Epilepsy is a problem where seizures occur in the brain. A seizure is a sudden surge of electrical activity in the brain that usually affects how a person feels or acts for a short time. In India, many patients (especially rural) suffering from epilepsy do not wish to reveal their identity. It remains a stigma for them throughout life. In earlier times, people mistook epilepsy for punishment of sins from God or a witch’s black magic and would stay away from the patient thinking that it is contagious. In 1900s, US also had laws forbidding people with epilepsy to get married or become parents.
One should care to understand that epilepsy is not a mental problem or a psychosomatic condition but just another disorder likes diabetes, high blood pressure for instance. In India, 1% of the population suffers from epilepsy. And yes, the sufferer is called ‘a person with epilepsy’ not ‘an epileptic’ which might sound too hard-hitting like a psychotic person etc.
Epilepsy, also known as ‘epilepsies’ is mostly identified with seizures. If a person has had two or more seizures then he/she is most likely to be suffering from the disorder. Dr. P. P Ashok, Head of Neurology Dept, Hinduja Hospital says, “Many patients who come to me try to talk their way out of epilepsy. They give it weird names like sudden seizures or body shivers and say that it is not something as severe as epilepsy. They have to understand that epilepsy is curable through proper medication. In extremely rare cases where frequent medication also shows no effect, the patient has to undergo operation.” Surgery works where medicinal drugs are incapable – the part of brain (the source) that triggers seizures is isolated from the rest, so that seizures are not reached to the whole brain. Another method is the ‘corpus callosum’ method where the tissues connecting the left side of the brain to the right side are cut so that only a part of the brain gets affected at the time of attack. But Dr. Ashok says that 70% of the cases can be cured through drugs within 2 years and the rest will have to continue medication lifelong but without any problems.
The cause of this disease is still unknown. For a layman, epilepsy has always been a mystery but science says, it mostly occurs to people with severe head injuries or extreme fatigue. In India, adolescents to teenagers suffer from epilepsy. It is also said that epilepsy can be hereditary but those types are curable. Dr. P.P. Ashok says, “I get young patients who wish to go abroad for studies but their parents are scared to leave them alone and then there are young girls who are told by their parents to keep mum or it might ruin their marriage prospects.” But he quickly adds, “Though in ultra-urban cities like Mumbai, people are slowly accepting it.”
In urban regions people have better understanding of the disorder due to better education, public awareness etc. But in small towns people are orthodox and consider it a punishment or even getting possessed by some ghost and the first aid tool is to make the patient smell onion or sole of a shoe at the time of the seizure. The seizure normally lasts for few seconds or a maximum of a few minutes. Rarely cases have been reported where seizures act like an agent where one seizure triggers another to another (called status – epilepticus) in which the patient should immediately be taken to hospital where he receives intravenous injections as it can be fatal. When a patient is under seizure attack people around him/her should take care that all sharp or harmful objects be kept away and they should try to put a spoon or something in the mouth so that the teeth do not bite out the skin or tongue. Most importantly, the patient should be made to sit in such a position where his head is down like in a sitting position with head down so that the blood that comes due to any cuts inside the mouth does not enter windpipe or foodpipe, making the person unable to breath.
“I was shocked, terrified and confused. I didn’t know how to react to this situation and my father advised me not to reveal about my condition to anybody including close friends, which was uncomfortable because I felt like a stranger in front of my own best friends,” says Amita Aggarwal, an engineer (named changed). Amita’s friend says that when the first time they saw her during the seizure they were extremely scared but later on felt very sad for her and took extra precautions like reminding her of medicines to be taken on time and being careful while she drives. Amita continues, “Initially I wasn’t used to taking medicines every day, I felt like an ill person, but now I am happy that these medicines have helped me lead a normal life where I drive and do all sorts of things a normal youngster does.
Another myth is that people with epilepsy are also considered mentally disturbed and slow learners, but how many of you know that famous musician Beethoven, Lionel Blue, writer Agatha Christie, Truman Capote of ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ fame and actors like Richard Burton, Danny Glover suffered from epilepsy.
One common complaint many patients have is that epilepsy is not well handled in movies where they show it has a psychotic problem or a Devil’s handwork. A common example is the famous Hollywood flick ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’ where possession and epilepsy are shown in the same light as though connected to each other. The person suffering from epilepsy needs family and friends’ support and can lead a normal life with confidence.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Explaining science
Hi all.
I have attached a link to the pulitzer-prize winning explanatory science stories under "interesting science articles." Do read through some of these stories and see if you can bring them up in class for discussion.
Also, we need to start compiling questions for Mike Lemonick. Please post them here so all of us can prepare for the interview.
vijaya
I have attached a link to the pulitzer-prize winning explanatory science stories under "interesting science articles." Do read through some of these stories and see if you can bring them up in class for discussion.
Also, we need to start compiling questions for Mike Lemonick. Please post them here so all of us can prepare for the interview.
vijaya
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Stem cells Saving Legs
Hi all!
There is an article in the Hindu Science and Technology page today about stem cells in clinical trials. I have posted the link under 'Interesting Science stories".
Please read this piece and we can discuss it in tomorrow's class. Look for style, pace and explanatory writing technique. Break it into lead, nut graph, explanatory science and conclusion.
vijaya
There is an article in the Hindu Science and Technology page today about stem cells in clinical trials. I have posted the link under 'Interesting Science stories".
Please read this piece and we can discuss it in tomorrow's class. Look for style, pace and explanatory writing technique. Break it into lead, nut graph, explanatory science and conclusion.
vijaya
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Questions for Dr. Frankel
Great question, Priya. We certainly will talk about this and see if we can come up with a simple explanation.
By the way, I hope you are all thinking of questions to ask Dr. Frankel. I have not seen any other postings or comments about this. Please do prepare for the talk tomorrow. "So, tell us about ethics in science," is not quite the question we should be asking. Please think of specific areas you would like to discuss.
vijaya
Some thoughts...
Is there a global overseeing authority to judge ethics questions in the scientific community around the world?
There have been several reports of how medicines developed in the US (FDA approved) are duplicated in several other countries, India included, for much less cost. Does this come under unethical practice in science?
Plagiarism is not made a big deal - no accountability in some countries. How is this handled?
By the way, I hope you are all thinking of questions to ask Dr. Frankel. I have not seen any other postings or comments about this. Please do prepare for the talk tomorrow. "So, tell us about ethics in science," is not quite the question we should be asking. Please think of specific areas you would like to discuss.
vijaya
Some thoughts...
Is there a global overseeing authority to judge ethics questions in the scientific community around the world?
There have been several reports of how medicines developed in the US (FDA approved) are duplicated in several other countries, India included, for much less cost. Does this come under unethical practice in science?
Plagiarism is not made a big deal - no accountability in some countries. How is this handled?
Questions!!
Hey everyone!! Have a question..well have lots of them.Thought i should start out by asking this one which has been in my mind for quite sometime..
What is Intelligent Quotient exactly? How is it measured and how credible is this measurement to measure someone's intelligent? And what is the logical explanation behind people who have low IQ but excel in music etc?
Thanks!
Cheers
Priya
What is Intelligent Quotient exactly? How is it measured and how credible is this measurement to measure someone's intelligent? And what is the logical explanation behind people who have low IQ but excel in music etc?
Thanks!
Cheers
Priya
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