The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (NRF) Bill 2023 in India aims to enhance research funding in universities and colleges, yet concerns persist regarding its autonomy and operational effectiveness. In this article from our current conversation series, Joel P. Joseph discusses the 'what' and 'how' of the NRF bill.
Artificial Intelligence is revolutionising various aspects of life sciences, from drug discovery and disease diagnosis to education, showing great promise in improving healthcare and enhancing learning. But, caution is needed in its application, considering challenges like lack of generalisation across patient populations and the risk of over-reliance, as human collaboration and thoughtful use remain essential for its successful integration..
Suryesh K Namdeo, DST- Centre for Policy Research (DST-CPR), IISc, Bengaluru, highlights the growing biological risks in the modern era, fuelled by advancements in areas such as synthetic biology, neurotechnology, and artificial intelligence. While these technologies offer promising applications in various fields, they also raise concerns about the potential misuse and accidental release of harmful biological agents.
The eLife Community Ambassadors Program aims to empower a global community of early career researchers to network and take action to create a culture that benefits both science and scientists. In this article, Aalok Varma, an Ambassador in the 2019-2020 cohort, shares his experiences and learnings while working on various initiatives of eLife.
Posted on in Career Development, Ethics & Networking and Collaboration
Receiving a certificate of excellence after an immersive learning experience or a job well done can be quite gratifying. But is a free-for-all distribution of certificates without evaluating the recipients justified? Are we chasing (or worse, fueling) a culture where certificates seem to trump learning gains? This article highlights the systematic spread of falsehoods associated with certificates in the Indian education system and the ways in which students can be protected from it.
Traditional vaccine trials rely on large sample populations and natural infection processes. A quicker, cheaper, but riskier method, called Controlled Human Infection Model studies (CHIMs), has also been in practice for some time. In CHIMs, volunteers are deliberately infected with a pathogen to study its effects or to test the efficacy of a vaccine. In this article, Aditi examines the science behind CHIMs and the ethical implications of legalising this method in India, where such trials are presently banned.
What makes any field of science better or worse than another? Does indulging in such debates advance or hinder the cause of science? In this article, Gayathri, a PhD student at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, explores the potential pitfalls of a system of thought that pitches fields and systems of doing science against each other.