Monthly Archives: July 2011

Shuttle shuts shop

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India’s GSAT-12 Communication Satellite, launched onboard Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C17), perched itself successfully in the geosynchronous orbit this week. On the other side of the globe, curtains came down on NASA’s three decade long space shuttle programme.

Here’s a lovely video made by colleagues at Nature Videos marking the end of NASA’s shuttle programme with the return of Atlantis to Earth: Space Shuttle: The complete missions .

The video is a journey of NASA’s incredible reusable space transportation system that sent five shuttles — Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour — with 355 men and women into space. It has endearing visuals of their triumphs and losses, the rigours of a space mission and the techonological prowess involved in such programmes.

American President Ronald Reagan’s historic words after the crash of Challenger in January 1986 seem prophetic on hindsight as the shuttle programme’s dream run comes to an end: “The future doesn’t belong to the faint hearted, it belongs to the brave.”

You might also want to read this Nature Network blog interviewing Charlotte Stoddart of the Nature Video team on the making of the video. There’s also a Nature special talking about the end of the space shuttle programme and the uncertain future of the human space flight.

Caffeine alert

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What would we expect from an energy drink? An instant blast of energy, of course. But do we even know where that energy comes from? Are our energy drinks safe?

Research into the contents of eight energy drink brands by New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Enviroment has now found ‘dangerous’ levels of caffeine in these beverages — way higher than permissible limits. These levels were obviously either not mentioned or fudged on the packaging.

Close to half of the samples of popular energy drinks tested by the centre’s lab were found breaching the safe limit of 145 parts per million (ppm) of caffeine prescribed by the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act of 1954.

Regular intake of high levels of caffeine is known to result in hypokalemia (low potassium levels), hallucinations, increased intracranial pressure, cerebral edema, stroke, paralysis, rhabdomyolysis (muscle fibers in blood), altered consciousness, rigidity, seizures, arrhythmias, and even death.

These energy drinks — targetted at the youth — are also marketed as sports drinks and bought in bulk by gyms, bars and clubs. However, consumed during intense physical activity, they can actually lead to dehydration.

It’s alarming how easily dubious foods and beverages can be marketed in this country!

Paper run

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Here’s another contentious story of an Indian research group feeling left out in the ‘paper run’. A group of researchers from IIT, Madras Chennai has claimed that they lost precious time while trying to get their paper published — it was rejected a couple of times by prestigious publications before another one accepted it. In the meantime, another group of ‘first world scientists’ got a similar paper published by the very same publishers who had rejected the IIT group.

Now, we have heard such stories many times. We have also heard voices of protest and angst that follow such controversies.

While it would be improper to comment on the journal’s decision to reject the paper without weighing the merit of the original draft that was sent for publication, the feeling of ‘third world alienation’ in paper publication has been a seething topic in many developing countries. Researchers have reported similar ‘abandonment’ issues time and again.

I am curious to know if there are more stories like these in our labs. Is it really true that third world scientists do not get as much importance in the peer-review process as their first world cousins? Is there a method to address these issues impartially — a body of peers that investigates into the genuineness of these cries?

Science prize

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Two leading science publishers Wiley and Elsevier have announced a new prize for young scientists demonstrating a commitment to excellence in scientific research and international collaborations within the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies.

The prize is being called the APEC Science Prize for Innovation, Research and Education (ASPIRE Prize) and will accept one nomination from each of the 21 APEC member countries. The nominee has to be under the age of 40. The prize money is $25,000 and will be honored at the Joint Transportation and Energy Ministerial Conference in September 2011, in San Francisco, California.

The prize recongnises the ‘dynamic period in scientific research, discovery and innovation’, especially in the Asia-Pacific. It also recognises the global nature of science and collaboration.

The theme for the ASPIRE prize this year is “green growth”, building on efforts by APEC to promote environmentally sustainable economic growth and development and help economies successfully transition to a clean energy future.

The APEC Industrial Science and Technology Working Group is now soliciting nominations from top educational and research institutions. Countries are required to submit entries by August 1, 2011.

More information can be obrained from Luis Enrique Vertiz, Program Director, APEC Secretariat, at lev@apec.org.