Author Archives: rgeeta

Horror and Shame

Posted on October 2, 2015 by rgeeta

Shame, India, what a lead up to Gandhi’s birthday. As meat is turned into a political issue across India, a Muslim ironsmith in Dadri pays the price 2 Oct 2015 How a Tradition of Shared Lives, and Shared Meat, Gave Way to … Continue reading →

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Sustainable Development Goals

Posted on October 1, 2015 by rgeeta

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development “The Goals and targets will stimulate action over the next fifteen years in areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet: People: We are determined to end poverty and hunger, in all their forms … Continue reading →

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Leishmaniasis cure, sterol: Pentalinon andrieuxii, Mayan medicinal plant

Posted on October 1, 2015 by rgeeta

Centuries of knowledge explored, exploited and … acknowledged. Should there be more? Do patents trump everything else? Does history mean anything? Does the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing mean anything? Does it apply in this situation (the USA is not a signatory to … Continue reading →

Posted in Biodiversity, Science, Society | Leave a comment

All in a morning’s walk to work

Posted on September 29, 2015 by rgeeta

Starting with this donation left on a parapet wall outside the front door to my flat by a passing monkey — my best guess for the origin of this bit of morning toilette in this unlikely spot.     Then, this view … Continue reading →

Posted in Dilli o Dilli, Life is like that only, People | Leave a comment

pooshini/petha/ash-gourd/Benincasa hispida

Posted on September 19, 2015 by rgeeta

However small a fruit one buys, it is always large. That is, lots to experiment with. Much modified recipe for Kairi Chi Amti to make a Pooshini Chi Amti. Chop up ash gourd; cover with a suspension of coconut milk + red … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Plants and People, Quasi-recipes | Leave a comment

Prosopis juliflora

Posted on September 16, 2015 by rgeeta

Goat-killing menace mutates to clean energy source in rural Kenya “The plant was first introduced into the area about 25 years ago by the Kenyan government and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization to serve as a windbreak to cut … Continue reading →

Posted in Plants and People, Science | Leave a comment

(Phenotypic) plasticity is in!

Posted on September 16, 2015 by rgeeta

Heredity has devoted the whole of its most recent issue to this topic. Below is a figure from one of the papers in the issue that shows the increase in studies on plasticity since the 1990’s.   Like Dislike

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Granted, it is not easy

Posted on September 11, 2015 by rgeeta

Get a letter, end July,  saying that the grant money has been transferred to DU. So I ask around, what do I need to do next? Oh nothing, just start spending the money and start submitting bills. That easy? Hmm. … Continue reading →

Posted in People, Red Tape aka Governance | 4 Comments

One more Homo

Posted on September 10, 2015 by rgeeta

The original articles: Homo naledi, a new species of the genus Homo from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa Geological and taphonomic context for the new hominin species Homo naledi from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa An analysis: Is there anything truly … Continue reading →

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College is not a commodity

Posted on September 7, 2015 by rgeeta

College is not a commodity. Stop treating it like one. “What truly makes an education valuable: the effort the student puts into it.” As Professor Robert Hoshaw used to say, it’s all self-service. Like Dislike

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