JANUARY 27 — Remember the story of the Six Million Dollar Man? Fatally injured pilot Steve Austin after an airplane crash was rebuilt with metallic implants which made him a superhuman with bionic abilities. The cost was six million dollars — hence the name. With or without a plane crash, we often damage or lose … Read more
JANUARY 19 — As much as we want to think that all human beings are the same, the truth is that we are different. We differ in the way we think, work, live, and earn our livelihood. We also differ in terms of race, religion, gender, and skin colour. Unfortunately, we tend to make use … Read more
JANUARY 16 ― A Nature article published on January 10, 2024 referring to a study reported in Plos One in December 2023 articulates “Self-citations in around a dozen countries are unusually high”. The article continues to emphasise “Researchers behind the analysis think that policy incentives in these places are to blame”. Using Scopus data, the … Read more
DECEMBER 21 ― Noncommunicable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and cancer are leading causes of death globally. These four diseases are also linked to one another. Obesity is one of the major risk factors for the development of diabetes. In turn, both obesity and diabetes are major modifiable risk factors that can … Read more
DECEMBER 19 ― On December 12, 2023, a news headline in Nature might have shocked the academic world. A new “smashing” record of more than 10,000 retracted papers was recorded in 2023. “Retractions are rising at a rate that outstrips the growth of scientific papers” ― the news says. One can easily surmise if that … Read more
DECEMBER 17 — Clinically, syndrome refers to a combination of symptoms in a sickness. Ahead of a national assembly election in Bangladesh scheduled for January 7, 2024, the severity of denial syndrome in Bangladesh politics has reached a peak. Here I highlight the major symptoms of the pervasive “denial syndrome” of Bangladesh politics that is … Read more
DECEMBER 15 — Referring to Article 16 and Article 19 of the Federal Constitution, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Shamsul Anuar Nasarah during a Q&A session in the Senate on December 12 said, “The level of mastery of Bahasa Melayu (BM) for citizenship applicants is given priority because this condition is enshrined in the Federal … Read more
DECEMBER 9 — Many of us wake up early in the morning and feel disgusted with a malodour from our mouth. Oral malodour or bad breath is halitosis in clinical terms. Although approximately 25-30 per cent of the population is known to have some form of bad breath, the number among children is largely unknown. … Read more
NOVEMBER 9 — Amidst a plethora of bleak criticism, the majority of the universities in the world, if not all, are aiming for a spot in the World University Rankings. The most common university rankings include Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), Times Higher Education (THE) and the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). With some varying indicators, … Read more
