SCIENCE OF THE MONTH: MARCH 2018

MOVIE OF THE MONTH: MARCH 2018

                                                        
Director :  Ava DuVernay
Story      : A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Camera  : Tobias A. Schliessler
Editor     : Spencer Averick
Running : 109 minutes
Country  : United States

A Wrinkle in Time is a 2018 American science fantasy adventure film directed by Ava DuVernay and written by Jennifer Lee and Jeff Stockwell, based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Madeleine L'Engle. The book has been continuously in print since its first publication. The film was released by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States on March 9, 2018.

Thirteen-year-old Meg Murry's classmates and teachers see her as a troublesome and stubborn student. Her family knows that she is emotionally immature. The family includes her scientist mother, her missing scientist father, and her five-year-old brother Charles Wallace Murry, a child genius who can sometimes read Meg's mind.

Unable to sleep during a thunderstorm, Meg descends from her attic room to find Charles Wallace sitting at the table drinking milk and eating bread and jam. They are then joined by their mother, and are visited by their new eccentric neighbor, Mrs. Whatsit who casually mentions there is such a thing as a tesseract, which causes Dr. Murry to almost faint.

The next morning, Meg discovers that the term refers to a scientific concept her father was working on before his mysterious disappearance. The following afternoon, Meg and Charles Wallace encounter Meg's schoolmate, Calvin O'Keefe, a high-school . They then go to visit an old haunted house near town which Charles Wallace already knows is the home of Mrs. Whatsit.

There they encounter two companions of Mrs. Whatsit's, the equally strange Mrs. Who and the unseen voice of Mrs. Which. She promises that she and her friends will help Meg find and rescue her father. A budding love interest develops between Meg and Calvin. In the evening, Charles Wallace declares it is time for them to go on their mission to save their father. 

Movie: http://www.imdb.com

BOOK OF THE MONTH: MARCH 2018

                                              
Title          : The Radium Girls: 
                    The Dark Story of America's Shining Women
Author     :  Kate Moore
Pages        : 480
Publisher : Sourcebooks
ISBN        : 13-9781492649359

The Curies' newly discovered element of radium makes gleaming headlines across the nation as the fresh face of beauty, and wonder drug of the medical community. From body lotion to tonic water, the popular new element shines bright in the otherwise dark years of the First World War.

Meanwhile, hundreds of girls toil amidst the glowing dust of the radium-dial factories. The glittering chemical covers their bodies from head to toe; they light up the night like industrious fireflies. With such a coveted job, these "shining girls" are the luckiest alive until they begin to fall mysteriously ill.

But the factories that once offered golden opportunities are now ignoring all claims of the gruesome side effects, and the women's cries of corruption. And as the fatal poison of the radium takes hold, the brave shining girls find themselves embroiled in one of the biggest scandals of American history, and in a groundbreaking battle for workers' rights that will echo for centuries to come.

Written with a sparkling voice and breakneck pace, The Radium Girls fully illuminates the inspiring young women exposed to the "wonder" substance of radium, and their awe-inspiring strength in the face of almost impossible circumstances. Their courage and tenacity led to life-changing regulations, research into nuclear bombing, and ultimately saved thousands of lives.

Link: http://books.sourcebooks.com

EVENT OF THE MONTH: MARCH 2018

To mark the 30th anniversary of its creation in 1988, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will hold its 47th session in Paris. UNESCO will host the meeting, which is a highly significant choice given the institution’s mandate in scientific and environmental issues, which echoes that of the IPCC to make science work for the fight against climate change.

One of the topics of this 47th meeting, to be held on 13-16 March, will be to provide the IPCC with long-term resources to maintain its essential work, as its financial situation is currently delicate. France is now taking action and will raise its contribution to €1 million per year until 2022. The next session in October 2018, focusing on adopting the report on limiting global warming to 1.5°C, must also be prepared.

The IPCC reports are the scientific source of reference for informing the choices of political leaders, particularly for climate negotiations. This day of commemoration will be open to the public, which can attend the lectures and debates throughout the day on 13 March. Registration is mandatory, please e-mail: pointfocalgiec@developpement-durable.gouv.fr

Further information: http://sdg.iisd.org

SPECIES OF THE MONTH: MARCH 2018

Courtesy:  http://mini-ielts.com

The Andhra Pradesh Forest Department believes it has found a new species of bamboo in the Maredumilli ranges of East Godavari district. The species is yet to be given a botanical name, while local tribes call it kampa veduru. Morphological studies and molecular characterisation (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA analysis) confirmed it was a new species.

The work on the bamboo has been going on for five years, since the time scientists from the Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun, visited Maredumilli. Dr. H.C. Naithani, a bamboo specialist, felt it was a new species. To validate the findings, samples were sent to the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) for DNA barcoding.

Bamboos in the Eastern Ghats include Dendrocalamus strictus, Bambusa bambos (giant Indian bamboo, and Dendrocalamus hamiltonii. The research studies were done in Palakonda range (Srikakulam forest division), Rampachodavaram (Kakinada), Lakkavaram (Chintur), Turimella (Giddaluru) and Chamala range (Tirupati).