Why are there so many species of fishes? What is the "freshwater fish paradox"? Why and how do fishes speciate?
And.. what is a fish?!
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I am so excited to start teaching the course The Diversity of Fishes to educators as part of The American Museum of Natural History's Seminars on Science course. 
Growing up near the river Sabarmati and now living by the Hudson River, I have always been fascinated by bodies of water, the diversity of lives they enable, and the impact they have on ecosystems.
 I look forward to learning more and sharing! 

Comments from readers:​

• "This is great! I hope a lot of people will see this unique opportunity to get some perspective on not just rivers and fishes, but a deeper sense of ecology and what it means to be human. You do great things, Sloka!" 
• "Love marine life too! - we, humans can learn so much from these amazing creatures!!!!!!!!" \
• "Amazing creatures. Love learning about them."

Science in Motion was selected to present their work at the AGI Summit 2026. I shared this short video to be presented during the meeting. 

Both science and the arts have the power to make the ordinary and mundane extraordinary. While the methodologies, tools, and techniques differ between the disciplines, both fields require practitioners to focus, observe, and think deeply. In science, this deep thinking is helped by our mentors and the scientific literature; in traditional art forms like Bharatanatyam, it is the wisdom of our gurus and our experiences. Both the arts and the sciences help us focus our attention; something that used to blend into the background forces becomes a subject of deep attention.  
 
For example, a plant abundant in my neighborhood, the marsh elder, seemed unremarkable at first. But through a bit of digging, I found that it is a keystone species. These plants are critical for shoreline erosion control and provide refuge for small birds and small mammals during high tide [1]. These salt-tolerant plants are called halophytes, and they employ a host of mechanisms, including ion homeostasis and specialized salt glands, to deal with the varying salt levels in marshlands [2]. 

Analogously, showing a sun through dance made me think of all of the effects of the sun, such as light and warmth, but all of its impacts as well - the way it animates the smallest worm to the biggest elephant, and how it animates our limbs and breath. 

Literature cited:

1. https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/factsheet/pdf/fs_ivfr.pdf
2. ​Meng X, Zhou J, Sui N. Mechanisms of Salt Tolerance in Halophytes: Current Understanding and Recent Advances. Open Life Sci. 2018 May 18;13:149-154. doi: 10.1515/biol-2018-0020. PMID: 33817080; PMCID: PMC7874743. Link here. 

Comments on this post:

• "Sloka, inspiring as always. You bring “a new breath” into subjects that we know; however, we fail always to appreciate."
  
• "The beautiful tapestry weaving nature , art and science."

What can the study of a dog’s dew claw tell us about language? A session called “Dancing Hands” at Columbia University's Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, a few months ago, was all about hands and the connection between hands and human brain evolution.

Using question-based pedagogy, I had people notice the differences between my pup Jessie’s dew claw and our opposable thumbs. We then noticed how Jessie catches the ball and how she uses her front paws. We contrasted that with how we would catch a ball and what we do with our hands. ​This connection also led to the language of gestures or hastas in Bharatanatyam. Folks loved drawing hands and making finger puppets!

I love how small posts like these trigger cool, amazing discussions amongst readers, and of course, dogs are the best!
A few comments below:

• "Jessie makes me smile real big!!!"  Enjoying life with his human!"
• "What a brilliantly creative program and discussion!" 
• I love how you include your dogs in the discussion. Abby (my dog) would approve!"
• "What a brilliant idea!!" 
• "Exactly Sloka! Remember where the hands are on the ‘homunculus’. I never thought of dogs & their dew claws. I must show my vet this video. Many people have their puppies' dew claws removed, due to them getting caught in something & having them ripped out."

As I get ready to teach Marine Biology as part of the American Museum of Natural History's Seminars on Science courses, I reflect on the nature of science. This course has a special meaning for me, as my neighborhood of Inwood has tidal marshes, brackish water, and a unique ecosystem resulting from these geographical aspects of Manhattan. 
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​From my neuroscience work studying hippocampal synapses to teaching about oceans, I think of the aspects of the scientific method that are similar and dissimilar across these very different disciplines. While the scales of the object of study are quite different, there are many similarities too, in systematic observation, classification, and developing hypotheses. Whether it is asking how seizures stop and start, to wondering how baby geese learn to swim, or how the great egret learns to migrate, the sense of wonder across scientific disciplines is the same!