And the Award Goes to...

It gives me a great pleasure and a sense of pride that finally I received the following "AWARDS" from my friend Mishi. 

Balochistan - the Land of Cordiality

Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by area, with a total population of about 8 millions. It has mainly 2 large population groups i.e. Balochis and Pakhtoons. Last year I got the opportunity to visit the province with my friend Ibrahim who hails from Pishin district. I had just a fortnight and since my hosts were in the Pakhtoon area of Balochistan, I can only share about that part.

Technology: Purveyor of Life or Victualler of Death?

All of the biggest technological inventions created by man - the airplane, the automobile, the computer - says little about his intelligence, but speaks volumes about his laziness. – Mark Kennedy

Humans have the natural tendency to be in control of their surroundings including other humans, animals and the environment. Moreover, as obvious from the quotation above, humans are always in search of simpler ways of doing things. From the early humans who controlled fire to the latest DNA technologies, everything has its origin in one of these fundamental axioms.

Hollywood and Biotechnology

Summer is on and with the scorching heat gaining momentum, students are restricted to their homes. Cable TV, video games and movies are some of the options which most students consider for their time of leisure. Like most students, I too watch movies and my favourite are the ones related to science and technology or science fiction. In a way these movies are the harbingers of what the future might holds for us. As the film producers try to amalgamate science with fiction and myth, the complexities of science are presented in a way easily grasped by a lay-man. The genre is in existence since the days of the silent movies when in 1902, A Trip to the Moon was released. Since then, studios throughout the world have released countless sci-fi movies which received critical acclaim and box-office success. As in real world, these movies also show the positive and negative aspects of science. For example, Spider Man, the Hulk, Hollow man, Resident Evil, and other such block-busters show the real power of our DNA and genetic codes and what a mutation can do. However imaginary these movies are, they allow us to peek into the minds of humans and expand our horizon of thoughts. Being the student of science myself, I enjoy the movies which are about the science especially, genetics or biotechnology. Here I recommend some of the sci-fi movies about biotechnology.