CHENNAI: Are there underlying algorithms that tell you how society works? How do birds like parrots eat hot chilies when humans cannot handle it? What are the vulnerabilities in drug-resistant bacteria? Which laws of Physics can be used to improve stability while dancing? These are some of the questions researchers answered to, at the fifth edition of ‘Science at the Sabha’ at The Music Academy on Sunday. It is an annual lecture series, organised by the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc).
Shannon Olsson from National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru, spoke about chemical communications in nature; Harinath Chakrapani of IISER, Pune, on antibacterial targets; V Madhurima from Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur, on physics of dance and R Ramanujam from The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai, on logic and society.
Olsson spoke about nature’s communication patterns. Ramanujam spoke about algorithms that are implicit or explicit in the way society works. Chakrapani enlisted some approaches that his lab has taken to identify vulnerabilities in drug-resistant bacteria. Apart from the four scheduled talks, a poster exhibition titled ‘Deep History Sites of the Indian Subcontinent’ was displayed in the foyer of The Music Academy.