MS Santhanam

How effective is technology in education?

Before the government invests its scarce resources into tech upgradation, the collective experience of online classes during COVID-19 should be taken into account.

19 Jul 2021

COVID-19: The power of modelling reality

It is often less appreciated that model building is the core of science. Today, reasonably complex models are employed to guide decision-making

06 Apr 2020

The networks behind the coronavirus spread

Mathematical models of epidemiology with inputs from human mobility data give important leads for decisions about quarantine mechanisms

11 Mar 2020

Dismal number of scientists in politics

Globally, people of science have had slim representation in Parliaments. In India, fewer than 10 scientists have entered the Houses

04 Feb 2020

When politicians talk science

It is a rough ride for politicians who negotiate the maze of scientific facts. About a month ago, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan realised it the hard way.

21 Dec 2019

The quantum computer revolution

Google recently said its quantum processor solved a problem—which the most powerful computer now would take 10,000 years to solve—in just 3 minutes

26 Nov 2019

Was Mahatma Gandhi anti-science?

A century and half since his birth, it is worth revisiting the leader’s opinion on science, a largely ignored aspect of Gandhian thought  

07 Oct 2019

Taming the monsoon tougher now

We are still far from understanding the monsoon, and the extreme rainfall events this year have only complicated the prediction problem

03 Sep 2019

Taking off despite the many hurdles

ISRO faced a hiccup during the launch of Chandrayaan-2. Space success stories across the world are punctuated by such setbacks

03 Aug 2019

A revolution without resistance

When a group at Bengaluru’s IISc said it had achieved superconductivity at room temperature, the news made headlines

15 Jun 2019

Scientists take on the markets

Albert Einstein lost a good portion of his Nobel money in the stock market crash of 1929. But today, his theory of relativity aids investors

23 May 2019