Scientists from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, study how speech recognition software can be improved by modelling it to be more like the brain, such that it works well even in the presence of background noise. 

In today’s gadget-filled world of cameras, cell phones, smart watches and other lightweight and wearable devices, thin film transistors are commonplace. They are made by stacking thin layers of semiconductors, insulators and metals. In a study published in Nature’s Scientific Reports, researchers from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, have explored how creating textures in metal films used in such transistors could help make them easy to control.

In research to be shared at the prestigious 56th International Reliability Physics Symposium (IRPS), researchers from the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore (IISc)  will present a paper that details a breakthrough in significantly improving the reliability limits of 3D FinFET technology in sub-14nm technology for System-on-Chip integration. The study is the result of work in collaboration with Intel that sought to better understand various aspects of electrostatic discharge (ESD), latch-up and hot carrier reliability of ultra-dense FinFET technologies.

Tuberculosis(TB) has claimed 1.8 million human lives globally according to World Health Organization, in 2015. Despite Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine, the only available vaccine for TB, currently one-third of the world is latently infected with TB due to the incompetence of BCG in adults against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria responsible for TB.

Dr. Attreyee Ghosh is a solid earth geophysicist at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, talks about the advancements made in science in the recent years and how these have helped us in understanding our planet better.

“Honesty is the best policy - when there is money in it”, quipped Mark Twain.

Though the abilities of computers have increased exponentially, recognising sarcastic commentary such as “being awake at 4am with a headache is fun”, still remains a challenge. Unlike humans, who use visual and physical cues like rolling of eyes to detect sarcasm, computers have to rely only on text. For the past decade, linguistic studies have accelerated enhancements in computational irony.

Are you a fan of detective TV shows? If so, you will know of DNA Fingerprinting as a tool to identify a criminal.

Everyone’s DNA, much like a fingerprint, is unique. Repeating sequences of DNA called tandem repeats are present between genes. The number each repeat sequence varies from person to person. We can generate a unique pattern of tandem repeats for every person using specialized laboratory techniques. Identical twins are an exception to this case since they have the same DNA fingerprint.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Hon’ble Union Minister of Science and Technology, Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Earth Sciences visited Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru to inaugurate the supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle test loop facility. He was welcomed by Prof. Anurag Kumar, Director IISc, Prof. G Rangarajan, Divisional Chairman, Interdisciplinary Research, Prof. Pradip Dutta, Chairperson, Interdisciplinary Centre for Energy Research, and V. Rajarajan, Registrar, IISc.

Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Indore have developed shape controlled cobalt ferrite nanoparticles, which can be used to accurately measure the humidity of a region.

Graphene is called the ‘wonder material’ due to its electrical and mechanical properties and is now evolving as an alternative to conventional energy storage devices like batteries and supercapacitors. Researchers from Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Mohali, use peanut shells to manufacture high-quality graphene nanosheets.