Ever growing ideas

The human brain is like a wild tree that always has new roots and branches emerging from it. These new branches and roots have interesting functions and keep scientists hooked up all the time. One such recent area of research is “ mirror neurons ” located in the premotor cortex of the brain. As the name suggests, the function of mirror neurons is similar to that of a mirror. A mirror neuron is a brain cell, that responds to both observed and self produced actions. This is the key difference that differentiates mirror neurons from other motor or sensory neurons whose excitation is associated either with execution or observation of an action but not both. The mirror neurons were first reported in the macaque monkey ventral premotor area. The discovery of mirror neurons has prompted the notion that execution and observation are closely related processes; it has opened a new way of thinking about how we monitor and interpret the action of others.  For example, when we say laughter is c...

According to William James, a well-known psychologist and philosopher, “The deepest principle of human nature is a craving to be appreciated.” We often take everything for granted and aim for the “ideal lifestyle” that we forget about what we already possess. In this busy world, we are more focused on achieving what we want, we often forgetting about what we have. Appreciation is very important in life. It empowers people to continue and keep moving. Everybody in the world deserves to be valued. Gratitude is a very powerful human emotion. It can be expressed to everybody and everything. The world is a very beautiful place to live. The greenery, large glaciers, bright flora and vibrant fauna are few of the things which are to be cherished. Appreciating is not a duty which should be done only by some. For example, neither it is the duty of the nature photographer to appreciate the nature, nor the duty of a teacher to appreciate a student. Everything is voluntary. It is...

PEER PRESSURE “Confidence is knowing who you are and not changing it a bit because of someone’s version of reality is not your reality.”                                                                               ― Shannon L. Alder          Humans tend to imitate habits, ideas and behaviours from others. While parents are really influential in their kids childhood, it is not the same case as they grow up. As time passes, friends or peers tend to influence each other. This influence is what we call as peer pressure.                                As per the Wikipedia, peer pressure is defined as the direct influence on people by peers, or the effect on an individual who gets enc...

Education is not something which only happens between the four walls of the classroom . It can be more than that too. Learning is not only memorising the content and pouring it in the paper. One of the learning technique is “seeing is believing”. Few things can be learnt and understood better if we see them with our own eyes.  Recently, we have been to an educational trip to Purani Haveli which is located in Secunderabad. This trip was part of our history lessons. Purani Haveli literally means old mansion. So, this mansion was built by the Asif jah II to his son Sikander jah (Asaf jah III). It was a palace earlier that time. But now, part of it has been converted into a school and the other part serves like a museum where the artifacts were placed. The palace was very magnificent and the museum was mind blowing. We saw various belongings of the last Nizam Osman Ali Khan and his family. There were various things like the Silver caskets, cup and saucers, jewellery, golden ...

The breaks you take from work, pay you back manifold when you return because you come back with a fresher mind and newer thinking. Some of your best ideas come when you are on vacation. - Gautam Singhania Why do we need a vacation? Have anybody of us thought about the need for a vacation?  Vacation isn’t necessarily taking off from work and going around places, it is a break from our regular routine. Taking a break from our regular routine is really important for our mental and physical well- being. A few of them feel fresh when they laugh, a few when they go boating, a few while they play and a lot more. Vacation should not be anything where we just go to some holiday spot, sit with our family and check our emails. Our vacation should be really refreshing and rejenuvating. We should be completely into it and disconnect ourselves from our regular work. When we are stressed and tired, we are more likely to become ill. Vacation is like sleep, inadequate sleep can lead...

Everybody likes breathing in fresh air in the gardens. But, do you know how clean is the air you are breathing? Most of the air we breathe is polluted. We all know about rising air pollution in Delhi. A study funded by the World Bank Development Research Group was carried out a survey to study the effects of air pollution.During the study period, they found out that the average total suspended particulate level in Delhi was approximately five-times the World Health Organization's annual average standard and this has been observed in 97% of the days. Researchers say that air pollution is the 5th largest killer in India.   Pollution refers to the contamination of the environment due to harmful substances. There are many types of pollution namely: air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution etc. Currently, air pollution is haunting India. The rise in transportation, vehicles, and factories has led to the rise in air pollution. Few harmful air pollutants are Car...

Across the globe, Nuclear energy is considered as the cheapest and most efficient way to produce energy. Though, it uses non-renewable sources like fossils, nuclear plants can produce as much as energy to power the globe if used appropriately. Nuclear power plants have their own pros and cons. Even though it has a handful of advantages, the world has faced huge challenges in maintaining nuclear power plants. Various disastrous incidents has forced various countries to shut down these plants even though they are cost-efficient. Although few countries have these plants in large numbers to fulfill the demand, many developed countries like the United States and Japan have decided to stop generating nuclear energy by 22nd century. Unfortunately,India hasn’t realised this yet and is investing huge amounts to construct nuclear plants. One such example is of the recent Japan Fukushima accident on 11 March 2011. This explosion was a result of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake followe...