My Science School

Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of online retail giant Amazon, has become the first $100 billion businessman to top Forbes magazine's annual rankings of the world's richest people. Bezos' worth stood at $112 billion (roughly Rs 7.27 lakh crores); after the Forbes announcement, it rocketed to $127 billion in line with a spike in Amazon stock, widening the gap between him and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates ($90 billion). Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg ($71 billion) was fifth on the list.

When Bezos had the idea for his e-commerce company, his well-intentioned boss tried to talk him out of quitting his stable job with D. E. Shaw & Co. Yet Bezos, raised by his teen mom and later his Cuban immigrant stepfather, always dreamed of creating something different, once telling his schoolteachers that “the future of mankind is not on this planet.”

Bezos even has a website, BezosExpeditions.com, that provides a rundown of more than 30 of his major investments, projects, and philanthropic endeavors. The name “expeditions” is appropriate since Bezos’ investments are not concentrated in just one or two industries or even market sectors; rather, they represent a far-flung exploration of many different business areas and ideas, including cloud computing, robotics, biotechnology, and even home-blown glass.

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Amputee soccer is played on crutches in 7-a-side teams and on a slightly smaller pitch and in 25 or 15-minute halves. They have to chase and kick the ball, jump for head-butts and fight off other players all on one leg. 23-year-old Jamie Tregaskiss, who lost his leg to cancer, is considered one of the best amputee footballers in the world. Playing for Manchester City's amputee football team, he now travels around the world competing in the sport's competitive league.

Shooting goals like a pro even with just one leg, Jamie is a pro when it comes to playing sports on crutches.

Getting coached professionally by the English Premiere League from when he was just 10, Jamie’s dedication and passion for soccer has only increased.

An eminent part of the English Amputee Football Association where he represents Man City, Jamie has established himself as a ruthless athlete on both national and international level.

“I am proud of myself, for how far I’ve come. Even now, with one leg, I feel like a professional footballer,” said Jamie.

Credit : The News 

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Rabindranath Tagore is credited not only with writing the Indian national anthem, Jana Gana Mana, but the Bangladeshi national anthem, Amar Sonar Bangla, as well.

The Bard of Bengal is also the author of the Indian national anthem “Jana Gana Mana”. “Amar Shonar Bangla” was written by Tagore in 1905 as an ode to Mother Bengal, immediately after Bengal’s first partition. Later, during the Bangladesh Liberation War, the first 10 lines of the song were adopted as the country’s national anthem in 1971.

'Jana Gana Mana', originally written as ''Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata'' in Bengali, was adopted as India’s national anthem on January 24, 1950.

The two national anthems have unknowingly connected the people of two countries in several instances — the majority of them being cricket matches between the two countries. Be it World T20 in 2016 or the 2019 World Cup, the cricket fans of the two countries have rejoiced in the lyrics and melody of the two national anthems, composed by Tagore.

Bangladesh’s national anthem was written with the hope of rekindling the spirit of unity and love between the people divided by a politically-motivated border. The song aimed to invoke the public consciousness against the communal political divide and bring back the unified spirit of Bengal.

The song was first heard in the periodical musical journal Shongeet Biggnan Probeshika in September 1905 when Tagore’s niece, Indira Devi, hurriedly jotted down the musical notation of the song as Rabindranath Tagore hummed the anthem.

“Jana Gana Mann” and “Amar Shonar Bangla” have received equal love as Tagore’s blissful creations from the people on the two sides of the borders.

Credit : Wio News 

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Dr Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India (1950-1962), only took 50% of his salary, saying he did not require more than that. Towards the end of his 12-year tenure he only took 25% of his salary. The salary of the President was Rs 10,000 back then. He is the only Indian president to serve two full terms.

In 1950, when Dr Rajendra Prasad became the first President of the country, he also hesitated to stay in the wide Viceroy's House.

With the entry of Rajendra Prasad in this building, its name was changed to Rashtrapati Bhavan. Rashtrapati Bhavan of the country is still in the President House with the largest campus in the world. The salary of the President was Rs 10,000 per month at that time. Rajendra Prasad accepted to take only 50 percent, and used to give the remaining amount to the government fund. As a President, Dr Rajendra Prasad started deducting more from his salary in subsequent years. After that, he used to take only 25 percent of his salary. He did many philanthropic works.

Credit : News Track

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Billionnaire investor Warren Buffett filed his first tax return at age 14 to report income from his newspaper delivery job. He claimed a $35 deduction for use of his bicycle and watch on his paper route.

You might wonder why a 14-year-old would have to file a federal income tax return. Well, Buffett made more than $500, and IRS rules at the time required that a return must be filed by every citizen of the United States, including a minor, who had earned a gross income of $500 or more. Buffett’s income in 1944 was $592.50 and he paid a $7 tax. Translated to 2017 figures, using an inflation calculator, that’s $8,221.18 in income and $97.13 owed in taxes.

Buffett told us that along his route were six senators and one Supreme Court justice. He delivered the Washington Post and the now defunct Washington Times-Herald, both morning and afternoon editions. All of this was meticulously noted in an addendum attached to his 1944 tax return. He also noted two expenses; watch repair at a cost of $10 and miscellaneous bicycle costs adding up to $35.

Credit : PBS

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The world's first selfie was taken in 1839 by 30-year-old amateur chemist and photography enthusiast Robert Cornelius in Philadelphia (USA). His self-portrait was taken outside his family store to ensure adequate light and with a "camera" that basically consisted of a box outfitted with a lens from an opera glass. Using the daguerreotype photography process at the time, Cornelius removed the lens cap, ran into the frame where he sat still for 10-15 minutes, and then ran back to replace the lens cap! The off-centre, self-portrait of Cornelius with crossed arms and tousled hair, now resides at the U.S. Library of Congress, with his scribbled note on the back: "The first light picture ever taken. 1839."

Cornelius, the son of a Dutch immigrant, had developed an interest in chemistry at school. After leaving school, he worked for his father, specialising in silver plating and metal polishing, Mashable reported. Cornelius made a silver daguerrotype plate for a photographer named Joseph Saxton, which sparked his interest in the field of photography.

Following the self-portrait, Cornelius became a photographer specialising in portraits, but he only operated for about two years. He later returned to his father's lamp business which he managed for 20 years and held many patents (licence) for improved lamp designs. In fact, the business became the largest lighting company in America.

Cornelius retired in 1877 as a wealthy man. He died in 1893, aged 84. 

Credit : DNA India 

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Marie Curie (1867-1934) was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, is the only woman to win the Nobel Prize twice, and is the only person to win the Nobel Prize in two different scientific fields (Physics and Chemistry). Her achievements included the development of the theory of radioactivity, techniques for isolating radioactive isotopes, and the discovery of two elements, polonium and radium.

During the First World War, Marie Curie worked to develop small, mobile X-ray units that could be used to diagnose injuries near the battlefront. As Director of the Red Cross Radiological Service, she toured Paris, asking for money, supplies and vehicles which could be converted.

In October 1914, the first machines, known as "Petits Curies", were ready, and Marie set off to the front. She worked with her daughter Irene, then aged 17, at casualty clearing stations close to the front line, X-raying wounded men to locate fractures, bullets and shrapnel.

The technology Marie Curie developed for the "Petits Curies" is similar to that used today in the fluoroscopy machine at our Hampstead hospice. A powerful X-ray machine, it allows doctors to examine moving images in the body, such as pumping action of the heart or the motion of swallowing. 

After the war, Marie continued her work as a researcher, teacher and head of a laboratory and received many awards and prizes. Among them were the Ellan Richards Research Prize (1921), the Grand Prix du Marquis d'Argenteuil (1923) and the Cameron Prize from Edinburgh University (1931). She was also the recipient of many honorary degrees from universities around the world.

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Indian classical vocalist, Pandit Jasraj, is the first Indian musician to have an asteroid named after him. The asteroid, formally known as a minor planet, is located between Mars and Jupiter, and was discovered on 11 November 2006, by the Catalina Sky Survey, whose telescopes are based in Arizona (U.S.). The International Astronomical Union (IAU), has named the minor planet Panditjasraj (300128). The number 300128 is derived from Jasraj's birth date, 28 January 1930.

The citation says," Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj is an exponent of Indian classical vocal music. A life dedicated to music, Jasraj is recipient of many awards, honours and titles. His distinctive voice traverses remarkable four and a half octave."

As minor planet discoveries are confirmed, they are given a permanent number by IAU's Minor Planet Centre. 'Panditjasraj' minor planet can be seen on their official website with the number 300128, his date of birth in reverse order (28/01/30).

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Anything but beans!

Who doesn't remember Pythagoras and his theorem that has dedicated chapters in math textbooks? Well, this philosopher and mathematician had many followers who had certain rigid rules, one of them being the avoidance of beans at any cost! If that wasn't odd, Pythagoras stuck to this principle at the cost of his life. According to legend, when Pythagoras was chased by a band of ruffians, he steadfastly refused to take shelter in al field of beans!

Copper-nosed, party freak, mathematician

How often do you find someone who ended up losing his nose in a mathematical formula disagreement that escalated into a feud? That's Tycho Brahe for you! He wore a prosthetic copper nose for the rest of his life. That's not all, though. Being a party freak, he threw lavish parties on his private island, with a jester entertaining his guests.

The 'no fuss' eater

A paleontologist who provided a full description of the dinosaur fossil Megalosaurus had a strange appetite for unimaginable things. In his lifetime, he had eaten the meat of a panther, puppies, a porpoise, bluebottle flies and even tasted bat urine. But do you know what takes the cake? William Buckland ate up the heart of King Louis XVI which was displayed to him in a silver casket by Lord Harcourt who collected oddities. The reason? He was unable to resist the temptation!

All under a tree

This 18th century African American engineer, astronomer and tinkerer has many achievements to his name, including building the first clock completely built and assembled in America, surveyed boundaries of areas for maps and predicted eclipses. If ever you're wondering how he got the time to accomplish so much, the answer is that he went with very little sleep most of his life. Like us, he didn't like to sleep comfortably in a bed. Instead, he wrapped himself up and dozed under a pear tree and observed the heavenly bodies, going to sleep only when it dawned.

Diary-writing obsession

Buckminster Fuller was an architect, inventor, designer and system theorist. He is most famous for creating the geodesic dome, a hemispherical structure capable of withstanding heavy loads. Fuller, however, had his quirks. In the 1960s and 70s when he travelled frequently to lecture at different locations of the world, he always wore three watches; one for his current time zone, the other for the location he'd visit and a third corresponding to his office's time zone. He was also a meticulous diary writer. He was so particular about reporting his life in detail that from 1915 to 1983 his diary entries amounted to 270 feet (or 82 metres) of paper! Anybody who wishes to pore through this behemoth collection can find it at Stanford University.

Three cheers to Tesla!

Nikola Tesla is considered one of science's unsung heroes. He made major breakthroughs in several inventions, though he didn't get due credit. It is believed that Tesla had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and refused to touch anything that was even a little dirty. Strangely, he was also averse to round objects and pearl earrings. If that isn't strange enough, the scientist was so fond of the number three that as a way of paying tribute to his favourite number, he walked around any building three times before entering it!

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Christiane Nusslein-Volhard, (born October 20, 1942, Magdeburg, Germany), German developmental geneticist who was jointly awarded the 1995 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with geneticists Eric F. Wieschaus and Edward B. Lewis for their research concerning the mechanisms of early embryonic development. 

In the early 1990s Nusslein-Volhard began studying genes that control development in the zebra fish Danio rerio. These organisms are ideal models for investigations into developmental biology because they have clear embryos, have a rapid rate of reproduction, and are closely related to other vertebrates. Nusslein-Volhard studied the migration of cells from their sites of origin to their sites of destination within zebra fish embryos. Her investigations in zebra fish have helped elucidate genes and other cellular substances involved in human development and in the regulation of normal human physiology.

In addition to the Nobel Prize, Nusslein-Volhard received the Leibniz Prize (1986) and the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award (1991). She also published several books, including Zebrafish: A Practical Approach (2002; written with Ralf Dahm) and Coming to Life: How Genes Drive Development (2006).

Credit : Britannica 

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The 1995 laureates in physiology or medicine are developmental biologists who have discovered important genetic mechanisms which control early embryonic development. They have used the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, as their experimental system. This organism is classical in genetics. The principles found in the fruit fly, apply also to higher organisms including man.

Using Drosophila Nüsslein-Volhard and Wieschaus were able to identify and classify a small number of genes that are of key importance in determining the body plan and the formation of body segments. Lewis investigated how genes could control the further development of individual body segments into specialized organs. He found that the genes were arranged in the same order on the chromosomes as the body segments they controlled. The first genes in a complex of developmental genes controlled the head region, genes in the middle controlled abdominal segments while the last genes controlled the posterior (“tail”) region. Together these three scientists have achieved a breakthrough that will help explain congenital malformations in man.

The fertilized egg is spherical. It divides rapidly to form 2, 4 , 8 cells and so on. Up until the 16-cell stage the early embryo is symmetrical and all cells are equal. Beyond this point, cells begin to specialize and the embryo becomes asymmetrical. Within a week it becomes clear what will form the head and tail regions and what will become the ventral and dorsal sides of the embryo. Somewhat later in development the body of the embryo forms segments and the position of the vertebral column is fixed. The individual segments undergo different development, depending on their position along the “head-tail” axis. Which genes control these events? How many are they? Do they cooperate or do they exert their controlling influence independently of each other?
This year’s laureates have answered several of these questions by identifying a series of important genes and how they function to control the formation of the body axis and body segments. They have also discovered genes that determine which organs that will form in individual segments. Although the fruit fly was used as an experimental system, the principles apply also to higher animals and man. Furthermore, genes analogous to those in the fruit fly have been found in man. An important conclusion is that basic genetic mechanisms controlling early development of multicellular organisms have been conserved during evolution for millions of years.

Credit : Nobel Prize 

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Christiane Nusslein-Volhard is a German geneticist, who was the co-recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her research on the mechanisms of early embryonic development. Christiane Nusslein-Volhard was born in Heyrothsberge, Germany, in 1942. Christiane studied biology at Goethe University in Frankfurt and biochemistry at Eberhard-Karl University, Tubingen, before undertaking graduate studies at the Max Planck Institute.

Upon completing her PhD in genetics in 1973, Chritiane joined the University of Basel. There she undertook gene study on Drosophila, or fruit flies, an important model organism in genetics. In 1978, she joined the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg. Christiane and her research partner Eric wieschaus studied the embroyonic development of fruit flies and, around 1980, succeeded in identifying and classifying the 15 genes that direct the cells to form a new fly. Their findings had major implications for our understanding of human reproduction, as well. In 1981 she returned to Tubingen, where she served as director of the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology from 1985 to 2015. She won the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research in 1991 and the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1995, together with Eric Wieschaus and Edward B. Lewis.

Chritiane expanded her research beyond Drosophila to vertebrates. In the early 1990s, she began studying genes that control development in the zebra fish Danio rerio. Her investigations in zebra fish have helped elucidate genes and other cellular substances involved in human development.

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It is a tragic irony that the actor Christopher Reeve, who has died of heart failure aged 52, was renowned for two such contrasting roles: Superman, the supreme physical specimen, and a man paralysed from the neck down. Unfortunately, the latter was all too real.

In 1995, with his film career flourishing, Reeve, a keen rider, broke his neck when he was thrown from his horse during an equestrian competition in Virginia. After years of therapy, and despite pessimistic prognostications, he remained determined to walk again, and became a symbol of hope for quadriplegics like himself. "I refuse to allow a disability to determine how I live my life," he said. "I don't mean to be reckless, but setting a goal that seems a bit daunting actually is very helpful toward recovery."

In 2000, Reeve was able to move his index finger and breathe for longer and longer periods without a respirator. He also regained sensation in other parts of his body. He dedicated almost all his energy to lobbying the US Congress for better insurance protection against catastrophic injury, and giving support to stem cell research.

It would be a pity, however, if his heroic and heartrending situation obscured Reeve's many acting achievements. After all, he appeared in a total of 17 feature films, a dozen television movies and about 150 plays.

Reeve was born into an intellectual family in New York; his father FD Reeve is a noted novelist, poet and scholar of Russian literature; his mother, the journalist Barbara Johnson. He enjoyed a stimulating childhood environment that included Sunday dinners with the poets Robert Frost and Robert Penn Warren, and the politician and academic Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

The atmosphere was such that Reeve's father was disappointed to learn that the role of Superman that his son had been offered was not one in the George Bernard Shaw play, Man And Superman.

Credit : The Guardian 

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Helen Keller, in full Helen Adams Keller, (born June 27, 1880, Tuscumbia, Alabama, U.S.—died June 1, 1968, Westport, Connecticut), American author and educator who was blind and deaf. Her education and training represent an extraordinary accomplishment in the education of persons with these disabilities.

Keller was afflicted at the age of 19 months with an illness (possibly scarlet fever) that left her blind and deaf. She was examined by Alexander Graham Bell at the age of 6. As a result, he sent to her a 20-year-old teacher, Anne Sullivan (Macy) from the Perkins Institution for the Blind in Boston, which Bell’s son-in-law directed. Sullivan, a remarkable teacher, remained with Keller from March 1887 until her own death in October 1936.

Within months Keller had learned to feel objects and associate them with words spelled out by finger signals on her palm, to read sentences by feeling raised words on cardboard, and to make her own sentences by arranging words in a frame. During 1888–90 she spent winters at the Perkins Institution learning Braille. Then she began a slow process of learning to speak under Sarah Fuller of the Horace Mann School for the Deaf, also in Boston. She also learned to lip-read by placing her fingers on the lips and throat of the speaker while the words were simultaneously spelled out for her. At age 14 she enrolled in the Wright-Humason School for the Deaf in New York City, and at 16 she entered the Cambridge School for Young Ladies in Massachusetts. She won admission to Radcliffe College in 1900 and graduated cum laude in 1904.

She wrote of her life in several books, including The Story of My Life (1903), Optimism (1903), The World I Live In (1908), Light in My Darkness and My Religion (1927), Helen Keller’s Journal (1938), and The Open Door (1957). In 1913 she began lecturing (with the aid of an interpreter), primarily on behalf of the American Foundation for the Blind, for which she later established a $2 million endowment fund, and her lecture tours took her several times around the world. She cofounded the American Civil Liberties Union with American civil rights activist Roger Nash Baldwin and others in 1920. Her efforts to improve treatment of the deaf and the blind were influential in removing the disabled from asylums. She also prompted the organization of commissions for the blind in 30 states by 1937.

Credit : Britannica 

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At the beginning of this century the South Pole was one of the few unexplored places on Earth.

Two men were determined to be the first to reach it. Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian explorer who had earlier discovered the North West Passage, and Captain R F Scott, the British hero of polar exploration. In 1910 both men set out on scientific expeditions to the Antarctic.

The Norwegian arrived at the Pole first, on December 14. A month later Scott arrived and was bitterly disappointed find Amundsen's flag there. Heavy-hearted, Scott and his British team began the long trek back to base. The weather closed in on them. Blizzards swept Antarctica and slowed the team down. Despite great heroism, Scott and his team perished on the return journey.

Amundsen, meanwhile, had returned to his base and went on to lead further explorations before his disappearance in the Arctic in 1928.

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