All stories by Kumar Abishek
Is Sunita Williams In Danger?
Rediff.com1 Jul 2024Astronauts aboard the space station have found themselves facing a foe far tinier than any rogue asteroid: A joint study by IIT-Madras and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory -- under Principal Investigator Kasthuri Venkateswaran -- has revealed that strains of the bacterial species Enterobacter bugandensis, a multi-drug resistant superbug, have been hitting the gym in the microgravity crucible. Though the situation at the ISS is slightly unsettling, holding funeral dirges would be an overkill, says Kumar Abishek.
Why Do New Year Resolutions Fail?
Rediff.com2 Jan 2024New Year resolutions often focus on lofty ambitions, say, shedding 20 kg within six months, without considering processes. What we may be lacking is a concrete plan, observes Kumar Abishek.
Why Aditya L1 Is Super Special
Rediff.com4 Sep 2023India's first solar mission, if successful, will showcase ISRO's ability to explore the cosmos, explains Kumar Abishek.
Why We Are Moonstruck
Rediff.com29 Jul 2023Deciphering its secrets will unlock the early history of not only our planet, but also of the star system, explains Kumar Abishek.
Is GPT-4 Intelligent?
Rediff.com3 May 2023Overestimation of AI can lead to an excessive level of trust and the spread of disinformation. ChatGPT's replies are riddled with factual errors, hidden in eloquent, grammatically correct sentences. This leads to a hallucination of truth, explains Kumar Abishek.
India's Forever Debt To Bhabha, Sarabhai
Rediff.com22 Feb 2022Dr Bhabha and Dr Sarabhai didn't feel guilty for their ambitions; it was for those 'mad scientists' that India is a powerhouse -- both at the atomic level and in the vastness of space, observes Kumar Abishek.
Can Earth Avoid Killer Space Rocks?
Rediff.com20 Jan 2022Stephen Hawking, in his final book Brief Answers to the Big Questions, considered an asteroid collision to be the biggest threat to the planet. At this point, we are as well prepared as dinosaurs were when a 10-km wide asteroid hit the planet 65 million years ago, notes Kumar Abishek.
In Space, On a Joyride
Rediff.com10 Jul 2021Will space tourism with a niche market of serving only the uber-rich ever be profitable, asks Kumar Abishek.
Is there Life Out There?
Rediff.com31 Oct 2020The presence of phosphine in Venus's thick atmosphere has revived the age-old question: Are we alone?
Is your brain connected to Wi-Fi?
Rediff.com17 Oct 2020Imagine a world in which a human only thinks, and a robot cooks the whole meal.
How To Win An Oscar
Rediff.com4 Feb 2020Joaquin Phoneix (Joker) and Renne Zellweger (Judy) should keep their fingers crossed, says Kumar Abishek.
How India can get ahead in the space race
Rediff.com16 Jan 2020Chandrayaan-3's success is a must for India's space ambitions; we can't afford to lose out. And for realising our space dreams, the Indian private sector must be encouraged because if we lose this race, the moon, Mars, and mineral-rich asteroids will already be crowded before we reach there.