Research Matters

Science Communicator = Writer + Host + Editor [details]

Portfolio as Writer, Host


Looking through the fog[42]
Researchers have demonstrated an improved method of capturing images through fog.
31st July, 2021 — Writer


Long burst short: an unexpected supernova[41]
Researchers have discovered the shortest duration gamma ray burst accompanied by a supernova.
26th July, 2021 — Writer


Producing low-cost hydrogen fuel with the help of magnets[40]
Researchers have sped up producing hydrogen and lowered the cost.
30th June, 2021 — Writer


A machine that spews maths formulae[39]
Researchers have automated writing down mathematical formulae.
10th June, 2021 — Writer


A natural dye extract may protect our eyes from harmful laser[38]
Researchers have studied the characteristics of a natural dye extracted from Indigofera tinctoria leaves.
1st June, 2021 — Writer


Bridged: Gaps between mathematical methods of understanding nature[37]
Researchers have sealed the mathematical gaps in explaining how particles interact.
28th May, 2021 — Writer


Breaking the genetic code of cancer propagation[36]
Researchers have identified two groups of genes that switch activity and help cancer cells evade therapy.
17th May, 2021 — Writer


Molecular hydrogen making up galactic discs come in two forms[35]
A researcher has estimated the three-dimensional distribution of molecular and atomic hydrogen in a galaxy.
30th April, 2021 — Writer


Giant clouds of galactic hydrogen explain mystery behind cosmic rays[34]
Researchers have explained the rate of charged particle bombardment on Earth.
6th April, 2021 — Writer


Reliable and real-time measurements of magnetic fields[33]
Researchers have demonstrated a low-cost digital system to measure magnetic fields efficiently.
5th April, 2021 — Writer


A holistic approach to biodiversity conservation[32]
Researchers from ATREE review their work over the past 25 years.
24th March, 2021 — Writer


Planets outside the Solar System are waiting to be found[31]
New telescopes and advanced data analysis has had remarkable shifts in discovering planets.
17th March, 2021 — Writer


Simulations show why anomalies exist in uranium[30]
Researchers have explained how the electronic and thermal properties of uranium are linked.
10th March, 2021 — Writer


How fluids react to surfaces coated with repelling paint[29]
Researchers study how water flows past a surface that repels it heavily.
5th March, 2021 — Writer


Directions of rotation drive the collective motion of particles[28]
Researchers have used rotation of particles to drive the way they group together and move on a plate.
27th February, 2021 — Writer


Infosys Prize 2020 — Special episode with Prof Deshpande and Prof Bilgrami[27]
I talk to Prof Prachi Deshpande — Infosys Prize 2020 recipient for Humanities, and Prof Akeel Bilgrami — Jury and Chair, Humanities, Infosys Science Foundation.
26th February, 2021 — Host


We need to be aware of privileged caste hegemony in science and its communication[26]
Languages and scripts play a role in the way science is perceived and percolates through society.
19th February, 2021 — Writer [Opinion]


A natural process may hold the clue to secure encryption of communications[25]
Researchers have used a naturally occurring random process to generate random numbers.
10th February, 2021 — Writer


Recovery from Cyclone Phailin in marine fishing communities[24]
Researchers investigate social, economic, human, and physical factors driving and resulting in recovery in the aftermath of Cyclone Phailin.
9th February, 2021 — Writer


Merging memory and computing in nanoscale devices for efficient computation[23]
Scientists have devised a novel approach to combine memory and computation units.
5th February, 2021 — Writer


The laws of electromagnetism at the scale of a few atoms[22]
Researchers have demonstrated the reciprocal relationship of electricity and magnetism over a magnetic film.
3rd February, 2021 — Writer


New study reveals how effectively the novel coronavirus spreads through coughs[21]
Researchers study the spread of a cough cloud containing SARS-CoV-2.
21st January, 2021 — Writer


Novel AI-based algorithms on well-known physics can speed up technology[20]
Researchers have sped up the study of light-matter interaction on specially-engineered surfaces.
20th January, 2021 — Writer


Mathematics answers the biological question of which proteins participate in the mutation of bacteria[19]
Physicists and biologists have come together to develop generic mathematics.
18th January, 2021 — Writer


A new approach to film atoms and molecules vibrating inside solids[18]
Theoretical and experimental scientists have come together to watch solids vibrate.
13th January, 2021 — Writer


Fertilisers, livestock and biomass burning are spewing ammonia into the air across India[17]
Research has pinned down seasonal and geographical variation of the harmful gas and the reasons behind it.
11th January, 2021 — Writer


Efficiently cooling down systems that generate heat[16]
A PhD Thesis work has proposed efficient cooling of IC chips, photovoltaic cells, and gas turbine blades.
8th January, 2021 — Writer


A microscopic understanding of materials can widen the scope of their applications[15]
Researchers study the relationship between geometry and isotropy to enhance 3D-printing.
6th January, 2021 — Co-writer


Uranus has many mysterious rings[14]
I throw light on the mysteries of Uranus and its rings.
24th December, 2020 — Writer


What’s great about the ‘Great Red Spot’?[13]
I gather the stocks on a mysterious spot over Jupiter’s southern hemisphere.
16th December, 2020 — Writer


Nobel Prize 2020 — Episode 3: Laureates in Physics and their work[12]
I join our podcast host Aishwarya Viswamitra to explain the works of the 2020 Physics Nobel laureates.
14th December, 2020 — Co-host


The role of women in State-led development: A story of paradoxes[11]
An anthropologist zooms into the relationship of women and the State in erstwhile Maoism affected areas.
9th December, 2020 — Writer


Finding flood risks at the village-level to facilitate decision-making[10]
Science can inform policy combat climate change hazards to flood-prone villages of India.
21st October, 2020 — Writer


Monitoring countrywide levels of air pollution[9]
I report on how Indian scientists are ramping up sites for air quality monitoring around the country.
20th October, 2020 — Writer


Novel design of magnetic channels may cut down costs of transferring electronic signals[8]
Scientists have devised a new technique to speed up processing electronic signals at significantly lower costs.
3rd October, 2020 — Writer


Liquids behave differently on curved surfaces than flat ones[7]
Scientists study the evolution of liquids on spherical surfaces. I report.
2nd October, 2020 — Writer


Decolonising climate change: The developed world is responsible for our planet’s climate crisis[6]
A new study puts the focus of the conversation on Climate Change, on Climate Justice — the lack of which is hurting our collective future.
1st October, 2020 — Writer


Technology not merely a tool in tennis, but now in the driver’s seat[5]
Research on elite tennis has remarkable social science implications. My colleague and I co-report.
18th September, 2020 — Co-writer


Digging the grave: In search of the remains of merging black holes and neutron stars[4]
Astronomers take on an exciting quest looking for electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational waves.
14th September, 2020 — Writer


Cracked: Scientists show how glass crystallises in real-time[3]
Scientists have captured crystallisation of glass, which may take thousands of years otherwise, in movies.
7th September, 2020 — Writer


Who is at the centre of a dog’s world? It’s humans more than dogs![2]
Ecologists have for the first time studied the direct interactions of humans with free-ranging dogs.
28th August, 2020 — Writer


AstroSat discovers tell-tale signs of cosmic evolution from a young, dynamic galaxy[1]
Astronomers have found a galaxy in wavelengths in which it has never been found before.
24th August, 2020 — Writer