April 2020

Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee explains what makes novel coronavirus so dangerous Despite being part of an old and large family of viruses, novel coronavirus or Covid-19 has caused unprecedented damaged and had brought the whole world to its knees. But what makes this new virus so different and dangerous? According to Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee – assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University and the author of The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, Covid-19 is far more dangerous than its cousins MERS adn SARS because it can spread even when the carrier is asymptomatic. “Asymptomatic people can spread the...

Happy Birthday Muttiah Muralitharan: A look at his achievements Former Sri Lankan spin ace Muttiah Muralitharan turned 42 on Friday. The spinner endured a lot of scrutiny with his bowling action being subjected to frequent and intrusive analysis. He was also subjected to extensive tests by the ICC. However, Muralitharan stayed strong and finished his career as a legend of the game. On the same note, we look at his achievements. Murali dominated the Test circuit and ended up as the highest wicket-taker in the format. He claimed a record 800 scalps in 133 Tests at an average of 22.72. Source: NewsBytes

After Six Months In Space, NASA Astronaut Jessica Meir Is Returning To Earth For More Isolation While we’re living a life of self-isolation three astronauts will be heading back to Earth tomorrow — Jessica Meir, Andrew Morgan from NASA and Oleg Skripochka from Russian Space Agency.  However, no matter how excited they’d be to come back to Earth, the current situation of our planet would surely make things a little sour.  COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to stay isolated in our homes while limiting us from meeting our friends and family in person.  Jessica Meir (who was also part of the revolutionary all-female spacewalk) talked...

50 years ago, Apollo 13’s Jack Swigert flew to the moon, but forgot something big. Taxes. With this momentous anniversary, people around the world are celebrating the mission that has famously been remembered as a “successful failure.” But, as we recall the fast thinking from NASA Mission Control and the astronauts that ensured the Apollo 13 crewmembers returned home safely, we also think back to one of the less somber moments of the mission — the time when astronaut Jack Swigert realized he hadn’t filed his taxes in time for the April 15, 1970 cutoff. To be fair, Swigert wasn’t supposed to be on Apollo...