I was contacted a few weeks ago by Bruno Arpaia, an Italian jornalist, translator, and writer of several remarkable novels. He explained that he had just finished a novel, "L'energia del vuoto" (the…

Ipomea mauritiana Jacq.? Family Convolvulaceae Tuber ( Tuberous root) Throughout India, in deciduous and evergreen forests and coastal tracts. An extensive perennial climber with tuberous roots,…

A few science-related chuckles for the day... This is how professors should talk... For all of you new parents out there... Technology lets us exist in the winter, even today when the temp is about…

Treehugger did an interview this week with deep-sea biologist Edith Widder. She's done some very cool research by creating devices to imitate deep-sea animals, in order to attract other deep-sea…

I just read with interest some slides portraying the situation of male/female differences in the employment at the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics, the institute I myself work for. I do…

Ashwani Kumar and Vijay Rani Kumar Energy Plantation Demonstration Project Center Department of Biotechnology Project Department of Botany, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur - 302004. India. Phone: 00…

Metabolic engineering and production of next generation bio fuels. Ashwani Kumar , Alexander von Humboldt Fellow Department of Botany, Univeristy of Rajasthan, Jaipur 302004 India Email:…

Back when I was prepping for the ham radio test, I didn't think my skills would be needed so soon.  The 'missing' NanoSat-D solar sail mission has appeared, but it can only be heard via radio at…

Paris polyphylla Smith. Rhizome Distribution Area It is found throughout Nepal from 1800 to 3000 m, and also in temperate Himalayas at altitudes of 1,500-3,000m. from Simla to Bhutan, and…

This past weekend I attended Science Online 2011—the "un-conference" conference of writers, bloggers, journalists, artists, programmers, and anyone else who uses the internet as a tool for science…

As Where on Google Earth #252 was somewhere I know well, having studied a course that was almost entirely dedicated to the tectonics of the region (which included a fieldtrip), I'm quite glad I…

At PhyStat 2011, currently being held at CERN, talks are informal and the atmosphere is friendly, but I have heard very few jokes from the participants so far. Just a minute ago I witnessed what…

Lilium polyphyllum D. Don Family Liliaceae Used Part Tuberous roots. Western temperate Himalayas upto 3,600 m. Common Uses . The bulbs are sweet, bitter, refrigerant, galactagogue, expectorant…

Inflorescence of Sphaeranthus indicus Linn. belonging to family Asteraceae has medicinal properties. Distribution Area An aromatic herb, found abundantly in damp situations in the plains all…

Cephalopod Tea Party is having a cephalopod pin give-away. To be entered in the drawing you must write a cephalopod-themed haiku! Although I probably have more than enough cephalopod tchotchkes, I…

Obsession with duality     In the west we like to think in terms of dualities. Well known examples from diverse fields ranging from philosophy to physics included the physical…

Among the more zealous atheists in the science community, religious people are one big jumble of intellectual immaturity, if not outright stupidity, bent on replacing science classes with the New…

Looks like particle physicists have finally digested the food of Christmas break by now. Just as I was reviewing a new paper on the arxiv on the Tevatron Higgs limits, I ran into another hot preprint…

Persea odorantissima (Nees) Kostem. ( =syn Machilus odorantissima (Nees) Kostem.) Lauraceae Bark Throughout the outer Himalayas and Khashi hills up to an altitude of 2.100 m., chiefly in moist…

Cissampelos pareira Linn. var.hirsuta (Buch.-Ham. ex DC.) Forman syn. C.hirsuta Buch.-Ham. ex DC.; C. pareira Linn. var. ß; C. pareira Hook. f. & Thoms. Menispermaceae Leaves, twigs…