Discourse

Tuesday, Apr 16, 2024 | Last Update : 03:05 PM IST

Discourse

Muslims in the post-truth world are caught between extremes

It is interesting to know how Islamic societies across the world encounter three extreme situations simultaneously.

Today we can say test-tube baby technology is ethical, fine and safe after 40 years of the birth of Lousie Brown or Durga.

Creating perfect babies: Futuristic babies

The ethics: Can we deny ourselves benefits of DNA technology?

23 Dec 2018 1:11 AM

Adam Nash is the world’s first known designer baby. Using a revolutionary new technique, called a “pre-implantation process”, scientists genetically selected his embryo so that he would have the right cells to save the life of his dying sister.

Creating perfect babies: Scientists can design better babies for the benefit of mankind

The zygote travels to the uterus and attaches to the inner wall of the uterus and grows into a baby.

23 Dec 2018 1:07 AM

Christian Dalits are worse off than their Hindu counterparts as the former do not have the benefit of the constitutional measures though they are subject to the deprivations, discriminations and indignities.

Yoke of conversion: For dalits, it’s out of the pan into the fire

It’s true conversion was a gateway to a better life, free of the yoke of casteism.

16 Dec 2018 12:10 AM

Raging debates between conversion and reconversion have produced not merely forms of symbolic violence but resulted in actual physical violence.

Yoke of conversion: Good Samaritan never forced any conversions

Read the parable of the Good Samaritan, who comes to the rescue of the much reviled Jew, waylaid and forsaken.

16 Dec 2018 12:10 AM

Scientists are confirming what many of us have suspected for years; music has powerful effects on the brain.

Boredom, mother of creativity: Brain research throws up the power of music

When fed with music, the entire brain-sphere is aglow, showing that the power of music influences every part of the organ.

09 Dec 2018 1:30 AM

The alternative to boredom is chaos and addiction. Human beings seem to prefer anything, utter misery or even wars, over being bored.

Boredom, mother of creativity: Way out of boredom is through it

Academics are awaiting clinching evidence before listing the benefits of boredom.

09 Dec 2018 1:30 AM

It is important for companies to make their employees understand the benefits, and the potential of these microchips in their day-to-day lives and also ensure that the data stored in the chips are secure.

Behold the microchip in your body

Opening doors, logging into computers, storing medical data et al seem to be healthy advances in life, courtesy implantable microchips.

02 Dec 2018 5:44 AM

Age of anxiety: Alienation modern scourge

The task of forging an overarching identity transcending the amalgam that develops through such superimposition therefore becomes even more difficult.

25 Nov 2018 1:05 AM

Age of anxiety: Good times, bad times

The world as a whole during the last three quarters of a century after World War II has seen “the best of times”.

25 Nov 2018 12:58 AM

The Harvard University which is one of the most well funded varsities in the world.

Fund drive for varsities: Commodification of education is pretty, and a necessary evil

Education is no more a public good, it’s a commodity to be traded in the free market place.

18 Nov 2018 12:22 AM

The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi.

Fund drive for varsities: Innovative funding options can keep Indian universities on the go

Government support for higher education is on the decline in India due to the weakening fiscal space and lack of political intent.

18 Nov 2018 12:22 AM

Perhaps each one of us must ponder over our own onset of dementia. There is a sense of final resting about death, while dementia is a raging travesty of human dignity.

Living fearfully in the shadow of dementia

the people most affected by dementia are those who care for the affected. relatives can find it very hard to see people they love deteriorate.

11 Nov 2018 12:10 AM

It’s desirable to live longer and healthier but an ailing brain can make a mess of our lives as we grow older. The villain of the piece is dementia, which impairs one’s cognitive abilities. Once stricken, there is no return. Family and friends watch helplessly as the victim fades away.

Trillion dollar memory loss

Neuroscientists are racking their brains the world over trying to identify what causes diseases of the brain.

11 Nov 2018 12:10 AM

The world is on the verge of eradicating polio. From 3,50,000 cases across 125 countries in 1988, it dropped to two dozen cases last year. The new strategy against the scourge is sewage surveillance, which offers a window to fight other infectious diseases too.

Fight disease, enter the sewage: A sample that can save millions

There is no scope for complacency in the campaign against the polio virus. Recurrence is possible as infections remain latent.

04 Nov 2018 12:45 AM

Industries that profit from treating diseases shun prevention, which has proved to be the most inexpensive .

Prevention better than cure if not for profits

Prevention is not better than cure when your profits depend upon people getting sick.

04 Nov 2018 12:44 AM

The fear of living with ourselves: No magic pill for loneliness

Mental health problems such as depression and anxiety disorders, among others, are frequently accompanied by feelings of loneliness.

28 Oct 2018 2:24 AM

During the past couple of years the Anglo-American world has become overwhelmed with what is increasingly described as an epidemic of loneliness.

The fear of living with ourselves: Loneliness gets medicalised

What’s fascinating about the current anti-loneliness crusade is that it does not confine its focus on the elderly.

28 Oct 2018 2:20 AM

These thoughts flood the mind when one hears that no Black scientist was ever awarded the Nobel Prize.

Nobel out of reach: Elusive desire for greatness

Dalit Bahujans have to be fed, clothed and cared for without adequate cultural or material dividends for the nation.

21 Oct 2018 1:43 AM

This year I was asked to write an article on prominent black scientists who I thought could have been awarded the Nobel Prize and young black scientists who are important players in their fields today.

Nobel out of reach: Black scientist yet to make it to Nobel

Change can only be achieved through strong and effective government action, but by definition marginalised groups have little political power.

21 Oct 2018 1:37 AM

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Columns

Aakar Patel