Last port: The city of Marseille suffered the last major outbreak of the second plague pandemic in Europe in spite of sophisticated quarantine procedures. After heavy casualties, the epidemic was confi ned to this area and died down there. This contemporary engraving is by the artist Michel Serre (1658–1733), who distinguished himself in the city’s response to the disaster. (Photo: Robert Valet...

The storage and analysis of biological data using certain algorithms and computer softwares is called bioinformatics. The applications that bioinformatics offer to the civilized world are more than just being a researcher's tool for structural and functional analysis. Development and implementation of computational algorithms and software tools facilitate an understanding of the biological proc...

Opium the "keystone" of empire in Asia The years between 1780 and 1842 were formative years for the opium trade. They were also the formative years of the British Empire. The opium agriculture in India changed from an informally cultivated cash crop to a centralized, systematized state-run industry. Before the Battle of Plassey, opium had probably served to provide a small buffer of cash for th...