In a recent study published in Nature Communications, researchers have described a new statistical method, ‘LinTIMaT’, for reconstructing cellular lineages, giving scientists the ability to deduce the evolution of cells in a biologically growing system.

^{Photo by Faris Mohammed on Unsplash}

This article is a tribute to Phillip Anderson, who passed away on March 29, 2020.  Besides his pioneering works in condensed-matter physics, he also wrote extensively on the theme of reductionism and multiscale physics.

Modern science reveals that matter is made of atoms and molecules. Molecules in liquids and gases move randomly; there is an average distance between two nearest molecules. This distance is used to model the properties of the gas. However, there are certain problems, like  turbulence, that cannot be solved using just the distance, which is a single scale. We need to consider all scales from large to small. Such systems are called multiscale systems. 

To understand an extensive, complex physical system, thinkers break it up into smaller components and try to understand the properties of the most minor microscopic components. This method helps us understand many complicated things around us, and has helped us solve a lot of real-world problems. But it does not help us understand certain phenomena, such as turbulence in fluids. A different way of thinking, a method that considers the physical system as a whole is needed in such cases. This method is called the multiscale analysis.

Prostate cancer occurs when the cells of the prostate gland—a male reproductive organ—start growing abnormally due to the elevated level of androgens. Androgens are hormones required for development and maintenance of the male reproductive system. Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT) is the most commonly used treatment against prostate cancer, wherein the androgen production is reduced or the receptors, which are required for androgen to function, are blocked with the help of drugs like enzalutamide and apalutamide.

In India, one woman dies of cervical cancer every 8 minutes, and for every two women newly diagnosed with breast cancer, one succumbs to it. In 2018, all over the country, 7,84,821 people lost their lives to cancer. Numerous scientific research is underway to discover new and improved drugs for cancer. Chemotherapy, where anti-cancer drugs are administered to kill cancerous cells, is one of the traditional and most successful treatment methods. In a recent study, Dr Sumit Ghosh, from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, discusses cisplatin, the first-ever metal-based drug used in chemotherapy.

In a recent study, researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur have explored the use of a new blend of chromium (III) as an eco-friendly electrolyte for depositing chromium-based coatings on metallic barrels. They reinforced chromium with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and a ceramic compound called yttria stabilised zirconia (YSZ), to improve the properties of the coat.

One of the annoying side effects of being absorbed in a gripping novel is that the cup of tea on the table becomes cold! Unfortunately, the tea would not heat itself by absorbing the heat around it, just as pieces of a broken egg would not put themselves together or milk mixed in coffee would not separate by itself. Such things are irreversible, and define a fixed direction of time—that from the past towards the future. This apparent progression of time is called the ‘arrow of time’. In a recent study, Prof Mahendra Verma of the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, suggests a way, different from any previous ones,  to determine the direction in which time is progressing. He uses the concept of energy cascade to define the arrow of time.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, have developed a biomolecule-based fertiliser that can help address the drawbacks of chemical fertilisers.