If evolution ensures survival of the most adaptable species, how did it not vanquish mental depression in humans? This question has been on my mind for several years, and it is time to examine it in the context of a new hypothesis proposed by two scientists.
Background
Between 30 to 50% people suffer from a major depressive …
Category Archives: nature
Clinical Depression in the Context of Human Evolution
Do New Scientist’s Headlines Make Sense?
When I was in school, I was asked to participate in a debate: “Science: A Cure Or A Disease?”. Yes, my school sucked.
Since then, I’ve been observing how the discipline of science remains largely misunderstood or not understood at all.
New Scientist has just published “13 more things that don’t make sense”, a sequel to their highly …
Religion in Environmentalism
In the discussion surrounding my popular post Religion vs. Gender Equality & Feminism, there was a reference to religion and environmentalism. As if on cue, the Pope has now said:
“Is it not true that inconsiderate use of creation begins where God is marginalized or also where his existence is denied? If the human creature’s relationship …
New Species from India
Every time we read about nature and wildlife in India, it is almost always depressing news about how elephants are being tortured and how the tiger population is dwindling to extinction. However, there has been a lot of good news too, which is mostly ignored. It is extremely unusual for new biological species to be …
Artificial Wildlife Conservation
On the day when a court in Jodhpur sentenced Bollywood actor Salman Khan to five years imprisonment, scientists at the Hyderabad-based Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES) celebrated a unique achievement. They had successfully given birth to a black buck antelope, named ‘Blacky’, using Artificial Insemination. For Hyderabad, which has been in the …
Bringing Alternative Medicine into the Mainstream
A week back, the Government of India issued a press release that referenced the Golden Triangle Partnership Scheme. Now, the Economist has a more elaborate article on it:
India, too, has a long tradition of herbal medicine, and its government is keen that this tradition should be brought into the mainstream, to the profit of the country’s …
The Value of Color
I learnt this from an army lieutenant, and didn’t find any reference to it on the Internet, so am writing about it. I have often met people who discuss about how we take things for granted, and never realize their value unless we miss them. Typical examples include electricity and water. But what about color?
Indian army …
We’re All Out Of Africa
An important scientific finding was reported a couple of weeks back, that has very important implications.
Palaeontologists and molecular biologists have disagreed with each other regarding the origins of modern Homo sapiens. Since 1987, molecular biologists have believed, using DNA evidence, that Homo sapiens evolved in Africa and then spread out to other parts of the …
The Hottest Stuff in the World
In September 2000, a military laboratory in the garrison town of Tezpur in northeastern India announced that it had identified the hottest chili in the world. After some disputing claims and questions of authenticity, it was scientifically proven by New Mexico State University’s Chile Pepper Institute, where spiciness is a religion. The Guinness Book of …
Fittest vs. Fanatictest
After the Christian fundamentalists’ ape-like antics during the Hindu priest’s opening the Senate morning session, comes a more worrisome portent.
The Denver Post reports that evolutionary biologists and university professors teaching evolution have been receiving death threats from a Christian fundamentalist.
At Panda’s Thumb (an excellent scientific resource for defending the theory of evolution), you can read …
