What is the role of science journalism in the rapidly transforming India of the 21st century? What challenges does it face, and how secure is its future? On August 20 - 21, 2018, scientists, journalists and communicators gathered together in the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai, to discuss and hash out some key points on the subject of “Science, Journalism, Media: Communicating Science in a Changing India”.

The Post Doc Symposium is an effort initiated by postdoctoral fellows to bring visibility to their community and to provide a platform to collaborate and share valuable experiences. The symposium embodies the talent, issues and expectations of the young and emerging postdoctoral community in India.

'Informed consent' is the process which ensures that human participants in a research study are given comprehensive information about the study, which allows them to make a conscious decision on whether or not to be part of it. However, theory does not always translate into practice, and in a country as vast and diverse as India, implementing true informed consent sometimes becomes a challenging task, as is examined in this next article in our series on research ethics.

Adherence to high ethical standards is of critical importance when it comes to scientific research performed on human subjects. In this next article in our series on research ethics, we explore the various guidelines that have been put in place to ensure ethical conduct of clinical trials in India and discuss the various challenges involved in enforcing the same.

Growing access to high-end imaging facilities and photo-editing software has brought with it increasing allegations of imaging fraud, manipulation and misconduct. In this first article in our new series on research ethics, we explore the causes, consequences and possible solutions to India's growing problems with the ethics of digital imaging.