I have been keeping an eye on the Coral Reef Watch portal by NOAA for the past several weeks as reefs around the world are experiencing devastating bleaching events due to high temperatures. The thermal stress measured by satellites and projected by their models have been forecasting Maldivian seas and reefs to experience an increase in temperatures this month. This has been backed up by various observations and reports from around the Maldives with reports of coral stress, bleaching and dead fish surfacing.

Next week is especially critical for our beautiful but delicate Maldivian reefs as ocean temperatures are projected to reach critical highs and spur widespread coral bleaching and damage to our ecosystem. The monsoon season just kicked in and although its accompanying rain may help lower temperatures by a tiny amount, the ocean is a vast body of water capable of absorbing a large amount of heat and will likely still inflict significant damage on the reefs.

Keep an eye when you are out for a swim - the damage will be pretty immediate and highly visible.

Science Emmenah will be hosting a stargazing session at Hulhumale' as part of the Earth Hour 2016 events hosted by Earth Hour Maldives and Maldives Red Crescent - Male' Branch. We will be there with 3 telescopes and will be viewing Jupiter, Orion Nebula and the Moon. It is free and all are welcome to come have a look at the wonders in the sky when the lights are turned off to mark Earth Hour.

Place: Central Park, Hulhumale'
Time: 8:00 PM - 10:30 PM, 19 March 2016

See you there!

To believe that voodoo, black magic or any other magical woowoo performance has or could influence natural processes and the progression of events is to profess profound ignorance... of how the world works and the frailty of the human brain.

We just spent a few hours assembling the new ‪‎16" Dobsonian telescope we got for Science Emmenah‬ public awareness and education events. It is a beast and we sweated a pool putting it together in the current heat of Male'. We have to sort out a few things before we can have first light with it. We are all so psyched!

Hopefully, we will be able to share with you all the delight of the views through this new telescope soon enough!

For all we've come to understand, of us and the universe, we've not come to understand empathy and compassion. For all we've been able to achieve, of curing disease and going to distant Moons, we've not been able to achieve peace and a healthy life for all. Of all the delusions we entertain, mine is the hope for a united human race.

"Science Emmenah" turned 1 today! It has been a year of hard work - writing posts in Dhivehi, writing for the "Science Dhaskuramaa" radio show, holding a few public events and finishing drafts of a few science books. I can't be thankful enough for the wonderful people - especially Aadhu, Hisham and Adam - who joined Musannif and I in our quest and eagerly spent countless hours getting various things done.

I hope our candle burns brighter and lights more candles in the year ahead. And thank you all for the support and encouragement!

Today marks 9th anniversary of me getting a tiny magnet implanted into my middle finger. I had it implanted as part of a new type of human-machine interface concept and prototype I developed during my Master's Degree at the University of Reading (UK). I originally had a second one in my ring finger too, but had it removed a few years ago due to an impact injury to the implant site swelling up my finger. The current implant is entirely useless for the task I originally had it implanted for, as the magnet has lost its magnetism and is additionally covered by a layer of fibrous tissue due to another impact injury.

I dearly miss the unique sensations and sensory awareness the magnetic implant once gave me.