A recent memorandum from the Department of Science and Technology suggested incentivizing publications and patents by doctoral research scholars through a monetary reward scheme. In this opinion article, Shambhavi Naik, Takshashila Institution, and Megha, National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), discuss the implications and possible repercussions of such a policy.

Aravindhan Vivekanandhan is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Genetics, University of Madras. In this opinion piece, he discusses the damaging consequences that may result when analogies turn into claims and pseudoscientific statements are put forward in national scientific forums.

In this next article in our series on interdisciplinary research, Siddharth Jhunjhunwala from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, discusses how all biomedical research carries an interdisciplinary component and how collaborative, multidisciplinary projects are rapidly becoming the new norm in science.

In this next article in our series on interdisciplinary research, Kausik Chattopadhyay from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali, speaks about his journey into the field of studying bacterial pore-forming toxins, and how his academic background and present scientific environment have equipped him to probe this question from multidisciplinary angles.

In this first article in our new series on interdisciplinarity, Gautam Menon, theoretical physicist (The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai & Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai) and Sandhya P Koushika, neurobiologist (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai) provide critical insights on tackling interdisciplinary problems, gained from a decade of steadfast collaboration.