SCIENCE-NEWS for Commoner.

[Anoushka]

If you are in Bombay tomorrow then...

Tomorrow, i.e. on 14 October, TIFR Alumni Association is organising a Public Lecture. Dr Rangarajan, Senior Vice President, WorldSpace, Washington DC., will speak on "Satellite Radio: Its Global Impact".

The lecture will be held at 5 p.m. in the Homi Bhabha Auditorium of TIFR, Navy Nagar, Colaba, Mumbai 400005

Entry is free.

[Anoushka]

Professor Amartya Sen, N.L., will deliver a Public Lecture in the Homi Bhabha Auditorium, TIFR, on Saturday, 5 November 2005 at 5 p.m. He will talk on "Science, Arguements and Skepticism".

Since we are expecting a large audience to attend this talk and the capacity of our Auditorium is limited, PRIOR REGISTRATION IS MANDATORY to attend this talk. There is no registration fee; but we would like to have the numbers in advance.

If you are interested in attending this lecture, please send a mail to pro@tifr.res.in (my functional email id) and I will get back to you with details like where and when you can collect your invitation passes. I may mention here that:
1. One individual will be given only one invitation pass 2. Children below 15 years of age will not be permitted 3. You are requested to be seated 15 mts before the lecture begins

We have arranged for buses to pick up people from Churchgate and CST to come to the Auditorium. Similarly buses will be arranged to drop them back after the lecture is over. Do join us for a tea and refreshements after the lecture is over.

IMPORTANT
------------------
Please register latest by Friday, 28 October 2005

[Anoushka]

* Rembrandt, brain scientist?:
The great Dutch painter's portraits may both reflect
and shed light on some very modern principles of
brain research, two psychologists claim.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusi...mbrandtfrm.htm


* Life's ingredients common in space, study finds:
A NASA astronomer says chemicals crucial to life
fill "every nook and cranny of our galaxy."

http://www.world-science.net/otherne...rganicsfrm.htm


* A tool to measure what goes on in empty space:
"Empty" space is never truly empty, to physicists.

http://www.world-science.net/otherne...4_emptyfrm.htm


* Most ancient noodles reported found:
Noodles from a Chinese settlement destroyed in an
earthquake 4,000 years ago could help resolve a
debate over who invented the popular stringy food.

http://www.world-science.net/otherne...noodlesfrm.htm


* Comets "more dusty than icy":
Astronomers say results of a mission to shoot a
projectile into a comet hint the objects are like
icy dirtballs.

http://www.world-science.net/otherne...icydustfrm.htm

[Anoushka]

* Report offers cancer-prevention "grocery list":
Broccoli sprouts, cabbage, ginkgo biloba and garlic
can help prevent various forms of cancer, research
suggests.

http://www.world-science.net/otherne...cerlistfrm.htm


* Global warming causing changes across the Arctic,
report says:
Indigenous people are sometimes noticing changes
that go unremarked by Western science, according to
the study.

http://www.world-science.net/otherne..._arcticfrm.htm

[Anoushka]

Professor Jobel Lebowitz, Rutgers University, USA and recepient of the prestigious Boltzmann Medal, will deliver a Public Lecture on 11 November 2005 at 5 p.m. in the Homi Bhabha Auditorium. He will speak on "Times' Arrow"

Why do we remember the past but not the future".

About the speaker
-----------------
Professor Joel L. Lebowitz, of Rutgers University (USA) will be visitingbTata Institute of Fundamental Research during Nov 6-11,2005 as a Distinguished Visitor under the Sarojini Damodaran Fellowship Program of TIFR. Professor Lebowitz is a an eminent scientist known for his work in the general area of equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical physics.
He is currently the George William Hill Professor, and Director of the
Center for Mathematical Sciences Research at Rutgers University (USA). He is a recepient of the prestigious Boltzmann medal, the highest international award in the field of Statistical Physics, awarded every three years.
Apart from his scientific work, Professor Lebowitz, a survivor of the
concentration camps during the World War II, has been active in supporting human rights of scientists worldwide, and is the co-chairman of the Committee of Concerned Scientists.


He will be giving a public lecture titled "Times's Arrow: Why do we
remember the past but not the future" on Friday, Nov 11, 2005, in the Homi Bhabha Auditorium, TIFR. A short description of the talk is given below.

About the lecture

Time's Arrow:
Why do we remember the past but not the future
by
Joel Lebowitz
Friday, November 11, 2005: 5 p.m.
Homi Bhabha Auditorium, TIFR

In the world about us, the past is distinctly different from the future. Milk spills but does not unspill; eggs splatter but does not unsplatter; waves break but do not unbreak; we always grow older, never younger. These processes all move in one direction in time - they are called "time-irreversible" and define the arrow of time. It is therefore very surprising that the relevant fundamental laws of nature make no such distinction between the past and the future. This leads to a great puzzle. If the laws of nature permit all processes to be run backwards in time, why don't we observe them doing so? Why does a video of an egg splattering running in the reverse direction look ridiculous? Put another way, how can time-reversible motions of atoms and molecules - the microscopic components of material systems - give rise to the observed time-irreversible behavior of our everyday world? The resolution of this
apparent paradox is the subject of this talk.

[gaddeswarup]

A recent report suggests that coffee is not related to hypertension:
http://au.news.yahoo.com/051109/2/wq70.html

[gaddeswarup]

There seem to various efforts in India for water conservation. Here are two reports from Indiatogether about efforts in Karnataka:

http://www.indiatogether.org/direct/...dr-000081.html
http://www.indiatogether.org/2005/aug/agr-dproof.htm

I understand Sunita Narayanan of CSE, New Delhi has won a prestigious Swedish award for her efforts in water conservation.
Swarup

[gaddeswarup]

From:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4448634.stm

"I don't know what it is that changes in the brain when people with Alzheimer's sing, but obviously something does change and there is something very beneficial about it. It seems to kick-start something in the brain and has made such a difference to Bill."

Emotional resonance

Chreanne Montgomery-Smith, who founded Singing for the Brain, three years ago, said the weekly sessions had proved so popular they were hoping to expand the project and get more weekly groups."

[Uthappam]

There seem to various efforts in India for water conservation. Here are two reports from Indiatogether about efforts in Karnataka:

Why conserve water. it is so easy to make. Take 2 parts 'H' and 1 part 'O'. put them in a glass and stir!

[Anoushka]

* Man-sized scorpion described:
A geologist has uncovered footprints of what he
says was a fearsome water scorpion bigger than a
human.

http://www.world-science.net/otherne...corpionfrm.htm


* Scientists find possible birth of tiniest known
solar system:
Astronomers report a tiny "failed star" possibly in
the process of forming a solar system a hundredth
the size of our own.

http://www.world-science.net/otherne...nysolarfrm.htm


* Two types of paranoia noted, "Poor Me" and "Bad
Me":
Some paranoid people think they actually deserve
their imagined persecution, researchers have found.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusi...aranoiafrm.htm


* A molecule of passionate love?:
Researchers say they have identified a molecule
linked to the first flames of romantic love.

http://www.world-science.net/otherne...30_lovefrm.htm


* Childhood neglect changes brain chemistry,
researchers find:
Researchers have identified changes in brain
chemistry resulting from lack of love in early
years. This could lead to drugs that help undo the
damage, they say.

http://www.world-science.net/otherne...neglectfrm.htm


OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

* Mystery "solved": how honeybees fly
http://www.world-science.net/otherne...28_beesfrm.htm

* First step toward making "little sun" as limitless
energy source reported
http://www.world-science.net/otherne..._fusionfrm.htm