The mRNA Nobelist
One day in 1997, University of Pennsylvania molecular biologist Katalin (Kati) Karikó met a new hire at the photocopier who would change the trajectory of her research forever. At 42, the scientist had made…
Drunk!
A good book can take you to some unexpected places. The whiskey room at a giant tech company furnished with colorful beanbags and foosball tables is one. When coders at Google hit a creative wall,…
Cat in the Agraharam
The wealth of contemporary Tamil literature has always been just out of reach for readers like me who speak the mother tongue well enough but tend to stumble over the printed word. But you don't…
Girl, Decoded
Rana el Kaliouby sketched by R. Rajesh of The Hindu As she sat in a taxi headed to Cairo International Airport in September 2001, Rana el Kaliouby remembers thinking, “Am I really going through with…
The Hospital Rooftop Farm
One evening during this summer of record high temperatures I went on a free public tour of a large farm in the heart of our fair city. To reach this destination, I took the orange…