அறிவோம் அறிவியல் ஆற்றலை: இன்று தேசிய அறிவியல் தினம்

           அறிவியல் இந்த ஒற்றை வார்த்தையில் தான் உலகமே அடங்கியிருக்கிறது. நமது அன்றாட நடவடிக்கைகள், ஒவ்வொன்றிலும் அறிவியல் மறைந்திருக்கிறது. தமிழகத்தை சேர்ந்த சி.வி.ராமன், "ராமன் விளைவு" என்ற ஒளி சிதறல் நிகழ்வை 1928 பிப்., 28ம் தேதி கண்டுபிடித்தார். "நீர், காற்று போன்ற தடையற்ற ஊடகத்தில் ஒளி ஊடுறுவும் போது, சிதறல் அடைந்து, அலை நீளம் மாறுகிறது. அதிகமாக சிதறல் அடையும் நீல நிறம் தண்ணீரில் தோன்றுகிறது" என்பதை கண்டுபிடித்தார். இந்த நாளே இந்தியாவில் தேசிய அறிவியல் தினமாக கொண்டாடப்படுகிறது. மாணவர்களிடம் அறிவியல் ஆர்வத்தை ஏற்படுத்துவதே இதன் நோக்கம்.

எல்லாம் அறிவியலின் பயன்: இருளை விரட்டிய மின்விளக்கு, தூரத்தில் இருந்தாலும் உரையாட தொலைபேசி, என்ன வேலைகளையும் செய்வதற்கு கம்ப்யூட்டர், மரங்களில் நிழல்களை தங்கிய மனிதனுக்கு உயர்ந்து நிற்கும் வானளாவிய கட்டடங்கள், எங்கு வேண்டுமானாலும் செல்ல விரும்பிய மனிதன் கடலுக்கு நடுவே கூட பாலங்களை அமைத்தது; காலால் நடந்த மனிதன் கால்மணி நேரத்தில் வேறு நாட்டிற்கே (வாகனங்கள்) செல்கிறான். வெள்ளத்தில் இருந்த பாதுகாத்துக்கொள்ள அணைகள், மேலே இருந்து தகவல்களை தருவதற்கு சாட்டிலைட், அறிவியல் ரீதியாக சந்ததியை கண்டுபிடிக்க மரபணு, இலை தழைகளை உடுத்திய மனிதன் தற்போது பல வண்ணங்களில் வடிவங்களில் ஆடைகளை உடுத்துகிறான். பச்சை காய்கறிகளையும், பச்சை மாமிசங்களையும் சாப்பிட்ட மனிதன்; தற்போது உணவை தேர்வு செய்ய நீண்ட பட்டியலை பார்க்கிறான். இதற்கு காரணம் அறிவியல் தான்.

Nobel Prizes 2013

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2013

François Englert and Peter W. Higgs

"for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles, and which recently was confirmed through the discovery of the predicted fundamental particle, by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at CERN's Large Hadron Collider"

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2013

Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt and Arieh Warshel

"for the development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems"

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2013

James E. Rothman, Randy W. Schekman and Thomas C. Südhof

"for their discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in our cells"

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2013

Alice Munro

"master of the contemporary short story"

The Nobel Peace Prize 2013

Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)

"for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons"

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2013

Eugene F. Fama, Lars Peter Hansen and Robert J. Shiller

"for their empirical analysis of asset prices"

13 BEST TIMES TO DRINK WATER:

1. When you get up: Gently sipping 2 glasses of lukewarm water when you wake up, activates internal organs, stimulates peristalsis, lowers blood concentration and boosts blood circulation.

2. Before each meal: 1 glass of water, ½ hour before meals (but not any closer to eating time), helps in waking up taste buds on the tongue, preparing the stomach for incoming food, and moisturizing the stomach lining, making brittle or acidic foods more assimilable.

3. After a meal: Drinking water, atleast ½ hour after your meals, helps break down food, enabling the body to absorb nutrients effectively. Water also softens stools, preventing constipation.

4. With a snack: Sometimes people think they are hungry when they really are just dehydrated. Drinking water before a snack, or with one, will help you feel full faster and eat less.

5. Mid day: 2 cups of water in the afternoon (2 to 3 PM) helps fight food cravings and refreshes your mind and body.

6. When you need a spark: Because of its ability to move quickly throughout the body, water can reach your brain and activate it right before a meeting or any other situation, where you need to pay attention.

7. Before a workout: Exercise blunts your thirst mechanism making you lose fluid so rapidly that the brain can't respond in time. An hour before you hit the gym, grab an extra 20 ounces to hydrate before you dehydrate.

8. After a workout: Post your exercise session, drink up to replenish lost fluids. Drink in moderation and slowly, to avoid stomach cramps.

9. Before your shower: 1 glass of water before a bath helps lower blood pressure.

10. With your medication (if allowed): Water helps to dissolve the medication and spread it throughout your digestive organs for rapid absorption and aids disposal of toxins.

11. When exposed to viruses: If exposed to viruses, during hospital visits, at work and school, drinking water helps wash away germs and viruses, moving along any invaders before they settle down and multiply in your system.

12. When you’re ill: A bout of fever, vomiting or diarrhea, leads to rapid dehydration and worsens your condition. In respiratory illnesses, water breaks down thickened secretions and hastens their disposal process.

13. Before going to bed: The body consumes water, for various processes, while we are asleep, making us feel thirsty and dehydrated in the morning. Drinking some water an hour before you sleep, can help replenish any water loss during the night.

Why Facebook's WhatsApp acquisition makes sense

 

A need to expand user base, owning communications layer of the world, and enhance product portfolio- these are some of the reasons that pushed Facebook to acquire popular messaging service WhatsApp for a whopping 19 billion dollars.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says that he wants to "connect the world's people," and acquiring WhatsApp was just about that and much more.

According to The Verge, between Facebook and WhatsApp, about 1 billion photos and 30 billion messages are sent per day and while Facebook's Messenger service has not functioned as an essential utility for many, WhatsApp has indeed replaced the need for SMS.

With the acquisition, Facebook's reach and communication layers have thickened and spread wider than before.

Re/Code's Kara Swisher said that Facebook is now a conglomerate, kind of like Disney, owning all the best brands and serving all demographics simultaneously.

The report said that Facebook isn't only expanding its product portfolio but also diversifying its business model by keeping WhatsApp independent and allowing it to run its 1 dollar-a-year revenue model.

In Zuckerberg's own words, WhatsApp is the only app he's ever seen with higher engagement than Facebook itself, which makes the deal sensible as user engagement is the prime goal for the social networking giant that recently turned a decade old.