We need to make sure that the Voyager probes carrying a record of human civilization speeding beyond our solar system remain an introduction to the world that sent them and not an epitaph for a civilization that caused its own ruin.
— Priyamvada Natarajan
Research in any domain of science today requires specialized training to build up knowledge and clinical competence. To make major breakthroughs, we need people with expertise who are engaged in sustained research over a long period of time - in a word, scientists.
Evidence-based reasoning underpins all scientific thinking, and it involves testing hypotheses or theories against data. Validating a theory requires replicable measurements from independent groups with different equipment and methods of analysis. Convergence of evidence is critical to the acceptance of a scientific idea.
We must face up to a difficult paradox: The U.S. can maintain a leading position in science only by giving up its desire to be number one.
In an era of ever-increasing globalization, what it takes to become and remain a science superpower has fundamentally changed.
I'm an astrophysicist and a professor, so my day job involves manipulating intractable numbers that characterize our universe.
I am a phenomenologist - I work on developing theoretical models that are constrained by observations.
Dark matter is particularly intriguing because it's some kind of particle - that's for sure.
Dark matter is one of the dominant constituents of the universe, which piled up in certain parts of the universe due to gravity, and in those regions, galaxies were formed. It is the unseen thing that holds the universe together.
The deep fascination with the mysterious, and the impulse to seek and locate ourselves in the cosmic context, seems to be imprinted in our DNA and psyches.
Being nimble and ready to change our minds if need be is an attribute that is crucial to live and thrive in a society that is powered by science and technology, both as an individual and as an engaged citizen.
It is my idea that the public needs to be better educated about the nature of scientific inquiry and how the scientific process works. I firmly believe that this is the only effective way forward to combat the widespread distrust in facts and science.
The geometry, the content, and the fate of the universe are all intricately linked. If you know two, you can deduce the third.
We cannot explain the phenomenon of gravitational lensing without general relativity, and this is where MOND spectacularly fails.
Perhaps more than English or history, STEM subjects require an enormous amount of foundational learning before students can become competent.
I am a professor of astronomy and physics at Yale University, where I teach an introductory class in cosmology. I see the deficiencies that first-year students show up with.
Finding the first seed black holes could help reveal how the relation between black holes and their host galaxies evolved over time.
Individuals reporting on their own experience with particular therapies would provide first-hand accounts that could be considered in the improvement of drug design.
No one wants to walk across a crowd-sourced bridge.
Science is evidence-based and provides a continuing understanding of complex natural phenomena. Our understanding is constantly evolving and continually improving.
The pace and demands in any field, be it genetics, nanotechnology or cosmology, can only be met with increased international cooperation and collaborative projects.
In addition to a well-funded school system, we need to encourage and exploit innovative approaches for learning outside the classroom.
My own day-to-day observations confirm that many Americans can barely make change. At the supermarket where I buy groceries, I've watched more than one encounter at the cash register where both customer and clerk are befuddled at the prospect of double-checking the sums.
The existence of dark matter and dark energy are inferred from observations! They are not theoretical constructs. Though invisible, both reveal their presence through the effects that they exert on motions of celestial bodies and in the case of dark matter - the bending of light as well.
The early universe was a dusty place, and the UV radiation from the hot, young black holes and stars would get enshrouded by dust, re-radiated, and scattered into red wavelengths like infra-red, causing these objects to remain obscured.
All the particles that we are made of only account for about four per cent of the cosmic inventory.
As an astrophysicist, my research work involves mapping dark matter, the elusive substance that accounts for about a quarter of our universe.
I am obsessed with trying to understand why there is such rampant denialism of science in our country. I find this exuberant irrationalism extremely disturbing. And this is particularly troubling, because I am a professional scientist.
Evidence has been mounting for the key role that black holes play in the process of galaxy formation. But it now appears that they are likely the prima donnas of this space opera.
The precise effects of lensing depend on the mass of the lens, the structure of space-time, and the relative distance between us, the lens, and the distant object behind it. It's like a magnifying glass, where the image you get depends on the shape of the lens and how far you hold it from the object you're looking at.
We knew from theoretical models that mergers of massive, gas-rich galaxies were more frequent in the past. Now we've found that these mergers are responsible for producing both the nearby obscured quasar population and their distant cousins.
Growing up in Delhi, India, I did puzzles, explored numbers, and searched for patterns in everyday settings long before I ever saw an equation.
Black holes are enigmatic astronomical objects, areas where the gravity is so immense that it has warped spacetime so that not even light can escape.
We cannot decide on the efficacy of a medical treatment by counting the number of 'Likes' an intervention receives on Facebook; no matter what, professionals will still need to conduct continued clinical trials and evaluate their outcomes carefully.
Scientific knowledge is, by its nature, provisional. This is due to the fact that as time goes on, with the invention of better instruments, more data and better data hone our understanding further. Social, cultural, economic, and political context are relevant to our understanding of how science works.
Progress in science occurs in fits and starts, and paradigm shifts occur when evidence can be marshaled to support a new point of view.
Research in basic sciences now requires resources that no one country can provide.
As Congress battles over spending and cost cutting, it is imperative that funding for math education programs does not fall victim.
I find the world with its inequities and injustices to be messy, unfair, and complicated. The cosmos, on the other hand, is orderly and beautiful - this I find terribly alluring and captivating.
I fell in love with the night sky when I first looked through a telescope as a young girl growing up in Delhi.
We scientists have an obsession with unification, a grand synthesis. And dark matter is an irritating missing piece.
Mapping, both literal and metaphorical, has always been about our quest for knowing.
The invisible and unseen has always fascinated us humans.
Mental discipline and tenacity in the face of obstacles are traits that have greatly helped me in both my personal and professional journey thus far. I am also very optimistic by nature and tend to focus on the positive and remain hopeful when faced with adversity.
We already have a pretty good knowledge of the universe's mass-energy content, so if we can get a handle on its geometry, then we will be able to work out exactly what the fate of the universe will be.
If you know the shape of the lens and the image you get, you can work out the path that light followed between the object and your eye.
Everyone acknowledges that there is a political part to tenure, but no one likes to admit it.
My students may have dexterity with the equations they're required to know, but they lack the capacity to apply their knowledge to real-life problems. This critical shortcoming appears in high school and possibly in elementary grades - long before college.
Data suggest that central black holes might play an important role in adjusting how many stars form in the galaxies they inhabit. For one thing, the energy produced when matter falls into the black hole may heat up the surrounding gas at the center of the galaxy, thus preventing cooling and halting star formation.
