When IBM’s “Deep Blue” beat Garry Kasparov in the mid 90’s, it was the first time in history that a computer had defeated the World chess champion. Then in 2016, Google’s DeepMind AlphaGo defeated Lee Sedol, one of the best players of the strategy board game, Go, as well as a host of other Go world…
The management of plastic waste is a big concern. Out of the 6,300 million tonnes of plastic waste generated between 1950 and 2015, only 9% was recycled globally. The global annual generation of plastic is currently around 400 million tonnes, and 86% of this will eventually become waste. In…
Nuclear power plants and incidences like Chernobyl and Fukushima have resulted in radiation phobia (radiophobia) — the fear that even the smallest dose of radiation is harmful.
Ironically, radiation is everywhere. We are surrounded by naturally-occurring background radiation caused by cosmic…
The year was 2000 when an unprecedented outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Singapore claimed the lives of five children. Professor Poh Chit Laa, then a researcher at National University of Singapore, felt herself grieving with a mother who lost two children to the disease. She…
In 1994, I was playing the trombone on the main stage in a cruise ship somewhere on the Caribbean Sea. I was playing with the 5th Dimension, a pop/soul/R&B band that had its biggest hits almost 30 years earlier. While performing, I was flooded with emotion from a long-lost memory.
Most people…
We use solar energy to power our heaters, electronic devices and even vehicles. The idea of using solar energy is hardly new as attempts at developing solar technologies began as early as the late 19th century.
The solar energy industry however is beset with issues concerning its efficiency as a…
Economic voting behaviour, whereby voters reward the incumbent ruling party for delivering economic prosperity, is pervasive across countries. The influence of economic factors on voter behaviour has been extensively studied since the rational choice theory was applied in the 1950s to understand…
Few species evoke as much fascination, amusement and attraction as do bears. Through much of our history, bears have held a special significance—from the comforting presence of a child’s teddy bear to symbols of power, protection and untamed nature in modern societies and countless indigenous…
The global Muslim population totalled 1.6 billion in 2010 and is forecasted to increase dramatically to 2.8 billion in 2050 according to Pew Research Center. In the latter part of this century, Islam is expected to exceed Christianity as the largest religion in the world.
Dengue is a viral disease many of us, particularly in Asia, are familiar with. After all, more than 40% of the world’s population live in endemic areas.
Statistics show that dengue cases have multiplied eight folds within the past 20 years, causing up to 390 million infections per year globally.…
Aleatoric music has existed in one form or another in western art music for centuries, having become something of a staple of Modern Music of the 20th and 21st centuries. One 18th century form of aleatoric music involved dice, with the composer creating snippets of music that could be performed in…
