As the global economy took a hit with the coronavirus pandemic, and science job opportunities seemed up in the air, more than 400 diaspora Indian scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs got together in early September 2020 to make sense of what this ‘new normal’ might look like. Read more
Being a psychiatrist, I have been overwhelmed with the explosion of data, discussion and debate on mental health even before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by WHO in March 2020. Surprisingly, a virus has suddenly helped peak interest in an aspect of public health that has long been overshadowed in our societies by stigma and neglect. Read more
Following months of agitation by young scientists across India, the Indian government announced a hike in fellowships for research scholars earlier this month (February 2019). The stipends for junior research fellows (JRFs) were raised from a monthly Rs 25,000 to Rs 31,000, and that for senior research fellows (SRFs) from Rs 28,000 to Rs 35,000. Read more
Last month, anti-Asian graffiti was painted in residences on the campus of my PhD alma mater, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, and Asian students’ work was vandalized with racist slogans. That same week brought allegations that a leading astrophysicist at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching, Germany, had used racist language towards trainees, among other bullying. (The astrophysicist has defended her behaviour, and says her comments were distorted and taken out of context; see news story and her explanation to Nature.) … Read more
Which of these sounds the most preposterous? (The last one questioning Darwin’s theory, by the way, was delivered yesterday by a minister in India’s Union cabinet.) … Read more
As I made plans to join Nature India this summer, I was met with two questions from fellow students, professors, and friends: Will you be able to get my research into Nature?, followed closely by, Why India? Read more
On Women’s Day this March 8, when social media was going berserk with messages celebrating the ‘beauty, grace and sacrifice’ of women, a bunch of feisty women scientists were talking shop at the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) in the heart of Delhi. Read more
More evidence is confirming that the choice of language used in scientific literature can influence access to it, and how visible its authors are – including in the Arab world. Read more
As scientists, press, leaders and activists meet at the 21st International AIDS conference in Durban, the Middle East and North Africa region remains embroiled in its own fight against HIV/AIDS. Read more