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From the Editor’s Desk

Hello members! It’s time again to review our scientific accomplishments at the NCSC. The National Centre for Science Communicators (NCSC) has had a restructuring of the executive committee at the Annual General Body Meeting held in August 2018. We welcome Dr. A.P. Jayaraman, Nuclear scientist and senior science communicator, into the committee as the Chairman and Dr. Paresh Vaidya, senior scientist and senior science communicator as the Hon. Treasurer. Like every year, new laureates were awarded the Nobel Prizes 2018 for their achievements that conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. It takes years of dedicated research and hard work to reach the pinnacle and receive the most esteemed and coveted of all awards. I am sure the report on Nobel Prize winners will be a good read for all. It gives a bird’s eye-view on the creditable research that fetched the winners their prestigious award in respective disciplines of Science. United Nations proclaimed 2019 as the International Year of the Periodic Table (IYPT) of chemical elements. IYPT aims to unite scientific concepts with broad implications in Chemistry, Physics, Astronomy, Biology and other natural sciences. Incidentally, IYPT coincides with the 150th anniversary of the discovery of the Periodic Table by Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev in 1869. Mendeleev presented the first Periodic Table of elements to the Russian Chemical Society. The crater Mendeleev on the Moon, as well as the element number 101, the Mendelevium, is named after him. Elements 113,115,117 and 118 have already been added to the Periodic Table on November 28, 2016. NCSC proposes to celebrate IYPT with a host of scientific programs in the coming months. On February 28, 2019, we lost Mr. Mukul Sharma, editor of Science Today, a monthly published by the Times of India (TOI), Mumbai. He was a fine editor and a versatile journalist to work with. My memories take me back to those times when I worked for Science Today. Mukul was a popular science fiction writer. His regular column ‘Mindsport’ had literally a cult following. The scientific community will miss you immensely Mr. Sharma.

Dr. Parul R. Sheth

VidnyanBhavan, National Centre for Science Communicators V. N. PuravMarg,

Newsletter Sion-Chunabhatti, Mumbai 400022

April 2019 Tel. :091-22-

24054714/6268

For Private Circulation Only. www.ncscmum.org

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Chairman’s musings It is an amazing privilege for me to share my professional perspectives with our members. As history has it, the growth of NCSC since its creation in 1997 has been monumental under the pioneering leadership of our founder Chairman, Shri A.P. Deshpande. Over the years, the Centre has acquired a distinctive organizational culture. As we move to the third decade of the 21st century, we need to retrospect and reflectively redesign our culture. Accordingly at the operational level, I wish to concentrate on events to bring visibility to NCSC banking our intellectual and academic capital piggybacking on the infrastructural and managerial skill sets of complementary institutions. At the tactical level, I wish to explore theme-based partnering with educational institutions supplying our science capital and thus attempt to surmount the constraints and restraints of infrastructural and financial resources. We started this chain reaction with the IYPT-2019 launch event. All through the year we will be having programs on the Periodic table in schools and colleges, which make up a fascinating market pool. At the strategic level, I will strive to align us to the best world-class practices of NGO governance with utmost stress on accountability, functionality transparency and propriety in all our transactions with stakeholders both internal and external. This will attract Corporate Social Responsibility sector to hold hands with us. I take this opportunity to rededicate myself to the professional call of the Scicom community in the highest traditions of public service. I also assert most emphatically my unflinching loyalty to the letter and spirit of our constitution and my commitment to work as a team in coherent synergy.

Yours in the Scicom Service Dr. A.P. Jayaraman

Chairman, NCSC

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Scicom activities under the banner of NCSC Talks

Dr. G.P. Kothiyal, a distinguished materials scientist, former Head of Glass and Advanced Ceramics Division, BARC and Vice Chairman NCSC, delivered a talk on “Quest for New Materials: A journey through Micro to Nano Structured Glass and Glass Ceramics” on March 16, 2019 at the Marathi Vidnyan Parishad (MVP), Chunabhatti, Sion, Mumbai. The program was held under the joint auspices of MVP and NCSC. Shri A. P. Deshpande, Secretary MVP and former Chairman, NCSC, introduced the speaker to the audience.

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It was a fascinating presentation starting with the fundamental definition of non-crystalline and amorphous solid materials; he conducted a calibrated journey to the state of the art of the science and technology of glass. He mentioned that pioneers in glass science and technology, all over the world have expressed in different international forums about the arrival of Glass Age. A remarkable feature of the talk was the introduction of his research work to the totality of glass science, including technology and its applications.

TEDx BocconiUMumbai organized a TED event at SDA Bocconi Asia Center campus in Powai, Mumbai on March 2, 2019. NCSC Chairman, Dr. A.P. Jayaraman gave a TED Talk titled “The Physiology and Anatomy of Science Capital” - Science Capital and Societal Impact: HDI perspective.

On the event of National Science Day – 2019, Dr. A.P. Jayaraman delivered Sir C.V. Raman Memorial Lecture – “Raman: An ideal Student Model” on February 28, 2019 at Nehru Science Centre (NSC), Mumbai.

Exhibition: Gandhi and Science

“Gandhi and Science” an interesting exhibition was inaugurated by the Chief guest Dr. A.P. Jayaraman on February 28, 2019 at Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai, where rich and rare images were assembled and displayed by Shri Shivaprasad Khened, Director, Nehru Science Centre and his team.

Shri Shivaprasad Khened with Dr. A. P. Jayaraman

Physics in the City of Mumbai– a report NCSC organized a lecture by Professor Vijay Singh on “Physics in the City of Mumbai” at the Bhaudaji Lad Museum on February 21, 2017. A select gathering of over 100 attendees including preselected science students from colleges, invited group of High School science teachers and respondents to Museum announcements listened to the address in rapt attention as classical physics unfolded into the structure, infrastructure and superstructure of the city.

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Dr. A. P. Jayaraman, Chairman NCSC, explained the rationale of the lecture as finding meaning and attributing significance to the theme of the museum with science capital. He highlighted the academic personality of the presenter and the creative singularity of the topic as innovative initiatives of science communication by NCSC. Dr. Singh started his lecture with the historical glimpses of the city. Tongue in the cheek mode, he referred to the dowry element of then Mumbai and Manhattan cities. He delved deep into the fractal geometry of cities and explained the Manhattan Grid and Moscow radial models

Professor Vijay Singh and positioned Mumbai in the Manhattan matrix. In Delhi roads fan out from Connaught place in Moscow mode. Taking a poetic detour, he took the audience to the familiar landmark of Haji Ali and pitched its glory of its minaret with the functionality of a lighthouse. Asking the question, how far is the horizon and using the height of the minaret as 25 meters he did a back of the envelope calculation using Pythagoras’ theorem and showed that one could see as far as 18 kms perched atop Haji Ali. He illuminated the acute housing problem of the city with the physical surface to volume concept. He explained the spread of foliage of trees, the function of cell division, the drying of ‘papads’ in Dharavi on a convex surface and the three dimensional growth of multi-rise buildings as the design thinking on the same concept. Drawing the attention of the audience to the Moire patterns used in the late 1800s for comic books and sharing it with the students, he explained the patterns seen at the sea-link at Worli. It was a short jump to the computer screens, peacock feathers and oil spills on wet roads. Thundering the slogan to Mumbaikars‘ ‘Never Ever Cross railway Tracks’, he used the Newtonian dynamics equation V*2= U*2 + 2as and showed the breaking distance of the local train as 625 meters! Expanding, he elucidated Bernoulli’s principle, the imaginary ghost that surely drags people standing near tracks as trains move! Taking cool calculations gracefully forward, he showed how passenger car occupants were trapped inside their cars in the deluge of July 2005, as the force on the car door by water was 5000 Newtons. He continued his majestic journey as the Titan of Physics through the eerie world of physics targeting objects,

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events and episodes of the city of Mumbai for 90 minutes. After the formal presentation like an unyielding Atlas he spent another 90 minutes with the curious attendees clarifying concepts. The Management of Bhaudaji Lad Museum provided and powered all infrastructural, logistic facilities and hospitality. STEAM Academy curated the program and supported it with cherry picked attendees.

-Report filed by Dr. A.P. Jayaraman *****

News Music healing MVP jointly with NCSC organized a lecture and musical program “Sur Sanjeevan” on music healing by Pandit Shashank Katti on February 16, 2019, at Marathi Vidnyan Parishad, Vidnyan Bhavan, V. N. Purav Marg, Chunabhatti, Mumbai 400022. Go Blue Mumbai Cluster of VIBGYOR schools organized a one-day Water Summit to celebrate Go Blue campaign at VIBGYOR Roots and Rise, Malad (West) on February 16, 2019. The 1st Annual Water Summit showcased student talents in creating an aesthetic and scientific narrative on the themes of water, energy and their interfaces. The Collage section presented condensed thoughts and intricate images of water in all its diversity. Working models demonstrated distinctive design thinking skills of students with engineering constraints dovetailed into the working models. Creative genius bloomed as students traversed the Sci-story space in their own unique dramatic styles. Dr. Hemant, Senior scientist from Desalination Division of BARC presented an illuminating and interactive Scicom talk to students and teachers. He had a huge Osmosis demo system and he gave an opportunity to all students to feel the structure and texture of advanced Reverse Osmosis membranes made by his team of scientists. Chairman, National Centre for Science Communicators, Dr. A. P. Jayaraman, delivered the keynote address as the Chief Guest. He also evaluated the working models and storytelling session as a judge. *****

Screening of a Science Documentary Film NCSC organized the screening of the film “The Dead Don’t Talk” on January 17, 2019 at Marathi Vidnyan Parishad (MVP), Mumbai. The film is directed by Ms Seema Murlidhara, a science communicator, television director and producer based in Mumbai. Snakebite Healing and Education Society (SHE), whose founder is Ms Priyanka Kadam, produced the film. Both Ms Seema Murlidhara and Ms Priyanka Kadam graced the occasion. Dr. Parul R. Sheth was the coordinator for the program.

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From l to r – Seema Murlidhara, Priyanka Kadam and Dr. Parul R. Sheth with snakebite victims and snake catcher/rescuer Shri Atul Kamble.

Snakebites by venomous snakes are estimated to kill more than 50,000 people annually in India and the morbidity that accompanies a venomous snakebite is five times more than the human fatalities. The WHO estimates that about 400,000 people annually are left harmed after being bitten by venomous snakes. Depending on the species, victims may suffer paralysis, breathing difficulty, bleeding, heart failure, irreversible kidney damage and permanent disability. The film “The Dead Don’t Talk” is an eye-opener. It is an attempt to bring forth the hidden face of the burden of snakebites. The focus is on those who are losing lives and livelihoods due to lack of medical infrastructure and treatment. Most of us living in urban areas know nothing about snakebites. This was to reach out the subject to people and create awareness.

- Report filed by Dr. Parul R. Sheth *****

IYPT-2019 festivities Published work An article entitled “The Periodic Table” written by Dr. A.P. Jayaraman was published in the February 15, 2019 issue of Bhavan's Journal as part of IYPT 2019 celebrations. First Indian Initiative on IYPT 2019

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From l to r: Dr. A. P. Jayaraman, Dr. R. Varadarajan, Dr. Rupesh Gaikwad, Dr. Arun Raaza and Dr. Lakshmy Ravishankar

NCSC made its presence felt at the 8th NES International Science and Technology Festival by participating in the first Indian initiative on IYPT-2019. Yearlong celebrations were launched as part of 8th NES International Science and Technology Festival at NES International School Mumbai. Dr. Tom Hsu, Professor, MIT, Boston was the chief Guest and he delivered the keynote address on “Use of Technology in Inquiry-Based Science Learning”. Dr. R.Varadarajan, Founder President of NESSVB Group released the e-book, We are 118, authored by Professor S. Sivadas and Dr. A.P. Jayaraman at the inaugural function. It is an autobiographical narrative of 118 elements. Dr. Parul R. Sheth, NCSC, was an invited guest to the function. Partnering with the Royal Society of Chemistry UK, Dr. Rupesh Gaikwad, committee member, NCSC, organized a formal release of the Periodic Table and 500 copies of the latest version were presented to the Festival attendee students and teachers. Dr. Rupesh also conducted an interactive session with IB teachers on the Periodic Table. The Second National STEM Story Festival was conceptualized and curated by Shri Suhas Naik-Satam, General Secretary, NCSC and was conducted concurrently. Among the Sci-stories, Hi, I am Hydrogen was narrated by Ms Harshada. Shri A. P. Deshpande, former Chairman, NCSC addressed the teachers and students. Over 200 working models were on display by 800 students from 40 IB Schools from India and South Asian countries. Twelve distinguished guests from India and abroad graced the events. Dr. A. P. Jayaraman was the Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Festival. *****

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Nobel Prizes 2018 – a bird’s eye view

- Shri Shivaprasad Khened In this article, the information on Nobel Prize winners of 2018 in the areas of Physics, Chemistry and Physiology & Medicine are compiled. Nobel prize is given by Royal Swedish Academy to the scientists who have carried out far reaching outstanding theories, inventions/discoveries in science. It carries an award of 9 Million Swedish Kronor (7.4 Crores of Indian ₹) for each category. Physics:

The coveted Nobel Prize in Physics (2018), was given to three distinguished scientists, namely, Dr. Arthur Ashkin, Bell Laboratories,

Dr. Arthur Ashkin, Dr. Donna Strickland and Dr. Gerard Mourou Holmdel, USA, Dr. Gérard Mourou, Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA and to Dr. Donna Strickland, University of Waterloo, Canada, for their ground breaking inventions in the field of ‘Laser Physics’, (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation). Dr. Ashkin has been awarded half the prize for optical tweezers and their application to biological systems, while Drs. Mourou and Strickland share the other half for their method of generating high-intensity, ultra-short optical pulses. The immense fecundity that the field of laser physics carries can be visualized in the best spirit of Alfred Nobel – for the greatest benefit to humankind. Drs. Arthur Ashkin and Donna Strickland have created a sort of an unprecedented record. Dr. Ashkin - born on September 2, 1922 - aged 96 years, is the oldest living person to have received this honour, who continues to be practicing scientist. When the Royal Swedish Academy broke this news to him and requested him for a live telephonic interview with the press, the actively young scientist - in his later part of the 90s - excused himself by stating that he was engrossed in his new scientific paper and did not have the time to spare for the live interview. Dr. Donna Strickland is only the third woman winner of the Physics Nobel award, along with Marie Curie, who won in 1903, and Dr. Maria Goeppoert-Mayer, who was awarded the prize in 1963. Dr. Arthur Ashkin invented optical tweezers that grab particles, atoms, viruses and other living cells with their laser beam fingers. He succeeded in getting laser light to push small particles towards the centre of the beam and to hold them there. A major breakthrough came in 1987, when Dr. Ashkin used the tweezers to capture living bacteria without harming them. He immediately began studying

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biological systems. Optical tweezers are now widely used to investigate the machinery of life. Drs. Gerard Mourou and Donna Strickland paved the way towards the shortest and most intense laser pulses ever created by mankind. Their revolutionary article was published in 1985 and was the foundation of Dr. Strickland’s doctoral thesis. Using an ingenious approach, they succeeded in creating ultra-short high-intensity laser pulses without destroying the amplifying material. First they stretched the laser pulses in time to reduce their peak power, then amplified them, and finally compressed them. If a pulse is compressed in time and becomes shorter, then more light is packed together in the same tiny space and the result is that the intensity of the pulse increases dramatically. Dr. Strickland and Dr. Mourou’s newly invented technique called Chirped Pulse Amplification (CPA) soon became standard for subsequent high-intensity lasers. Its uses include millions of corrective eye surgeries that are conducted every year using the sharpest of laser beams. The inventions being honoured this year have revolutionized laser physics resulting in shedding new light into extremely small objects and incredibly fast processes that can now be studied in a new light. This will not only help physics, but also other sciences namely, chemistry, biology and medicine, which will be benefitted from the resulting precision instruments that can be used in basic research and practical applications. No other scientific discovery of the 20thcentury has been demonstrated with so many exciting applications as a laser. An American scientist, Charles Hard Townes and two Soviet scientists, Alexander Mikhailovich Prokhorov and Nikolai Gennediyevich Basov who shared the coveted Nobel Prize in 1964, first gave the basic concepts of laser. T. H. Maiman of the Hughes Research Laboratory, California was the first scientist who experimentally demonstrated laser by flashing light through a ruby crystal, in 1960. Since then, new applications of lasers have been announced in various fields almost regularly. Laser finds applications in the fields of communication, industry, medicine, military operations, scientific research, etc. Besides, laser has already brought great benefits in surgery, photography, holography, engineering and data storage. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors, which helped in the discovery of the first gravitational waves produced by two giant merging black holes last year leading to a Nobel Prize in Physics in 2017, also owes its genesis to lasers. Incidentally, a new gravitational wave detector to measure ripples in the fabric of space and time would be built in India by 2025, in collaboration with universities from across the globe, thus helping Indian scientists. The laser is a powerful source of light having extraordinary properties, which are not found in normal light sources. The unique property of laser is that its light waves travel very long distances with very little divergence. Laser light is created through a chain reaction in which the particles of light, photons generate even more photons. These can be emitted in pulses. Since the time lasers were invented, almost 60 years ago, researchers have endeavored to create more intense pulses.

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Many applications for the new laser techniques are waiting just around the corner – faster electronics, more effective solar cells, better catalysts, more powerful accelerators, new sources of energy, or designer pharmaceuticals. There is already speculation about the next step: a tenfold increase in power, to 100 petawatts and maybe extending it further to the power of a zettawatt (one million petawatts, 10 to the power 21 watts), or pulses down to zeptoseconds, which are equivalent to the almost inconceivably tiny time of 10 to the power -21 seconds. New horizons are opening up, from studies of quantum physics in a vacuum to the production of intense proton beams that can be used to eradicate cancer cells in the body. Along with the development in research in laser technology and modern optics theory and their application, optics has been completely endowed with new contents and is playing an important role in scientific and technological progress. In recent years, the discipline has put great emphasis on updating the contents and collaborative research programs interdisciplinary. Chemistry:

This year’s Nobel Prize for Chemistry (2018), was given to three distinguished scientists, namely, Prof. Frances Arnold, a biochemical engineer at Caltech, USA, who shares half the prize money and Sir Gregory Winter, Dr.

George Smith and Dr. Frances Arnold

the other half is shared by Prof. George Smith from the University of Missouri in Columbia and Sir Gregory Winter from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England, for their research using directed evolution to produce enzymes and antibodies for producing new chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Enzymes are one of the most fascinating chemical proteins, which most of us have studied as biological catalysts during school days. This year’s Nobel laureates in Chemistry have used their enzyme knowledge to successfully bio-mimic evolution in ultra-fast forward mode to engineer enzymes that are beneficial to humankind. Life on our unique planet Earth, the only known celestial body in the unending, infinitesimally vast cosmos, that harbours life, has been evolving ever since it came into existence some 3.7 billion years ago. Nature has used the power of evolution to create a vast diversity of life on Earth and in the process molecules with divergent chemical capabilities have also evolved. Darwin’s findings “On the origin of species by natural selection” that was published as an outcome of his Beagle voyage to the Galápagos Islands, has revealed the process of evolution of life and its adaptation. This evolutionary process on Earth, which is loosely

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referred to as “Survival of the fittest”, takes a long time and is the best-known source for adaptation. Dr. Arnold has harnessed the “Survival of the fittest” adaptation power of evolution and has used the principles of Darwin’s evolution in the test-tube to speed up the process of enzyme production and create never-before-seen chemical reactions in a process called “Directed evolution”. Dr. Smith and Sir Winter have used Dr. Arnold’s findings of directed evolution to produce new chemicals and pharmaceuticals for the benefit of human society. This revolutionary process has opened up new vistas in fields from material science to immunotherapy. Directed evolution will enable scientists to use nature's prowess in searching through trillions of different molecules to try and find solutions to problems, which humans could never have imagined. Prof. Arnold, only the fifth woman Nobel laureate in Chemistry who has survived breast cancer and is a single mother to three sons - started conducting her first directed evolution experiments at Caltech in 1993. Her works began in a fit of desperation, since she was pretty clueless and did not know how to make proteins. She began tinkering with proteins using her mechanical engineering training and started doing lots of experiments simultaneously and in the process realized “That's exactly what nature does”. Many considered her approach to be lunatic but she remained undeterred. She was certain that her way of addressing the protein-engineering problem with a completely different perspective was akin to what nature does always –it was the only way forward. Her conviction and self-belief in what she was doing was right, notwithstanding the adverse comments and criticism that she was constantly subjected to, led her to the path-breaking discovery of ‘Directed evolution’. She created random mutations by shuffling genes artificially by figuring out which elements have a fighting chance of producing proteins that actually work and maybe even do something useful; to produce desired enzymes. She then slipped these mutated genes into bacteria, which helped in pumping out thousands of different variants of the enzyme. Sifting through these enzymes, she identified variants that were useful for the chosen task. She used these new variants to produce a new round of mutations in this variant. The result was a new enzyme, which worked better than its predecessor. This is exactly what happens in nature, which produces the best variant that is capable foradaptation, albeit over hundreds of thousands of years. Dr. Arnold’s experiments have fundamentally changed the way scientists think about working with enzymes. She says, “By doing what nature does, you can get the job done much more quickly.” Dr. George Smith developed an elegant method known as phage display, where a bacteriophage - a virus that infects bacteria can be used to evolve new proteins. His technique of phage display is now used in producing antibodies that can neutralize toxins, counteract autoimmune diseases and cure metastatic cancer. Smith, according to his colleagues, is one of the most genius scientists whose humility is par excellence. He showed a glimpse of his exemplary humility, modesty and generosity by thanking the university and his co-winners for “Winning him the Nobel prize”. Addressing the press on his winning the Nobel, Dr. Smith said “There have been enormous number of people in this web of science, and I happen to be somewhere in the middle of that, and that’s why I’m getting this prize,” further exhibiting his extraordinary humility.

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Party-loving Cambridge Professor, Sir Gregory Winter, on being informed of his Nobel award, ordered Champagne, worth ₹2.5 Lacs, for his lab colleagues. Sir Winter adopted Dr. Arnold’s ‘Directed evolution’ approach and Dr. Smith’s phage display technique to create useful antibodies and proteins, which could target and grab onto disease-related targets. His findings have been used to produce the first pharmaceutical medicine - AbbVie's adalimumab that was approved for sale in 2002. Pharmaceuticals for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel diseases have resulted from the research of this year’s Nobel laureates in Chemistry. Their research has further helped in developing antibodies that can neutralize toxins, counteract autoimmune diseases and cure metastatic cancer, rightfully earning the trio their Nobel Prize.

Physiology & Medicine:

Nobel prize in Physiology and Medicine has been awarded to the two immunologists, Dr. James P Allison, from the University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Centre, USA and to Dr. Tasuku Honjo, Professor at Kyoto University in Japan, for their path –breaking discoveries of

Dr. James Allison and Dr. Tasuko Honjo

harnessing the immune system to combat cancer. Our immune system is nature equipped with the best of molecular mechanism to combat diseases. Over the past several years’ scientists, including this year’s Nobel laureates, have been researching to harness the power of our immune system to fight cancer. There are moments in history of scientific achievements that herald the beginning of a new era; the significance of such achievements also called the inflection points. These are sometimes very apparent like the General Relativity, which eclipsed the Newtonian classical physics or the NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong’s first step onto the surface of the moon, in 1969 that marked a new phase of space exploration. There are however, several other advances in science and technology, which take many years for their significance to manifest, and this year’s Nobel winning works in medicine is one such example; the research works of which began several decades before. The very word Cancer, the lexicon of which in itself manifests a terror in the minds of the people, has plagued human society for several centuries and attempts to rid people of cancer dates back to the period since when the disease was first recognized sometime in 1500 BC. However, the idea of using cancer patient’s own immune system to combat cancer is more recent. The first scientist to postulate that the immune system might control tumors was Paul Ehrlich, the Nobel Prize winning German physician and scientist who worked in the fields of hematology, immunology, and antimicrobial chemotherapy. He shared the 1908 Nobel Prize in Medicine with IlyaIlyich

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Mechnikov for their work on immunity. Since that time, researchers have tried to harvest the power of the immune system to wipe out cancers. This year’s Nobel Prize winning scientists have succeeded in discovering methods to inhibit negative immune regulation, thus providing a paradigm shift in the way cancer can be treated by stimulating the inherent ability of the human immune response to unleash attack on cancerous tumor cells. Their research findings have led to new medicines that activate the immune system to fight cancers. Dr. Allison’s research of over two decades has resulted in the discovery of a protein in the immune system; the T cell protein CTLA-4 that functions as a brake on the immune response. He looked at this protein from a completely different perspective to the one, which most others followed of treating it as a target in the treatment of autoimmune disease. He had an entirely different idea and developed an antibody that could bind to this protein and block its function. In the process, Dr. Allison and his team found that the CTLA-4, protein blockade could disengage the T-cell brake and unleash the immune system to attack cancer cells, which they observed, could cure cancer while experimenting on mice. Dr. Allison worked on his research to develop a strategy called the immunotherapy for humans, which showed outstanding healing effects in patients with advanced melanoma. His clinical trials on humans showed remarkable results and in several of the patients, signs of cancer almost disappeared completely. Dr. Allison’s work followed its logical conclusion eventually leading to the development of the drug Yervoy (ipilimumab), which is now used to treat melanoma, skin cancer and some other cancers. Working in parallel, Dr. Tasuku Honjo discovered that another protein PD-1 that is found on the surface of immune cells (T cells) also works as a checkpoint protein. This protein, similar to Dr. Allisons’s CTLA-4 protein, functions as a T-cell brake, but with a different mechanism. When this protein was attached to another protein, called the PD-L1 on cancer cells, it could prevent the T cells from recognizing the cancer cells; as a result the immune system will not be in a position to destroy the cancer cells. The findings of Dr. Honjo meant that blocking the PD-L1 protein on cancer cells, or the corresponding PD-1 protein on immune cells, will allow the immune system to recognize the cancer cells as foreign and attack them. Therapies, which were based on the discovery of Dr. Honjo have proved to be strikingly effective in the fight against cancer. The pioneering works of the scientists, on the CTLA4 and PD1 immune checkpoints, have revealed that these pathways act as so-called ‘brakes’ on the immune system, and showed that inhibition of these checkpoint pathways allows T cells to more effectively eradicate cancer cells. This research has laid the foundation for the clinical development of immune checkpoint inhibitors, which have dramatically improved outcomes for many people with cancer. These revolutionary findings have established a landmark in the human fight against cancer. Over the past several years, tackling the body’s own immune system to fight cancer has been one of the main focuses of researchers and drug makers alike. While conferring the two scientists with the award, the Nobel committee, said, “The immune checkpoint therapy has revolutionized cancer treatment, which has led to the development of several drugs which act as

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‘checkpoint inhibitors’. These drugs when infused into patients, block molecules that put the brakes on T cells. By releasing these brakes, the body’s own immune system is able to fight cancer”. Dr. Allison and Dr. Honjo’s works have been path breaking that has revolutionized the human understanding of how the immune system recognizes tumor cells. Their works have led to a paradigm shift in clinical oncology, which is likely to alter how we treat cancer in the foreseeable future. Until now the best-known tools in the arsenal of oncology doctors for the treatment of cancer have been surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Sooner than later the newfound cancer immunotherapy is likely to equal, or rival, the impact of radiation and chemotherapy for patients diagnosed with cancer. Hopefully, in the decades to come and with more research, the prediction of the then US President, Bill Clinton, “Cancer will be known to our grandchildren only as a constellation of stars”, may turn out to be truly prophetic. *The author is Director, Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai.

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Interesting reads International-Minededness and the Periodic Table

- Dr. A.P. Jayaraman

The Periodic Table (PT) of Chemical Elements is universally hailed as the Holy Grail of Science. It is symbolic and iconic of international minededness(I-M), the zeitgeist of the globality of the International Baccalaureate (IB) stream of education. The PT stands out as an edifice in Theory of Knowledge (ToK) or epistemology and as a potent tool for teaching and learning the crosscutting concepts in the Nature of Science (NoS). It is a glowing tribute to the ingenuity of the human mind, that the United Nations has proclaimed 2019 as the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements IYPT-2019. This is in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the classic announcement of the system by the Russian Chemist Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev. PT and IB There is an intensely inspired inevitability in focusing on the PT in the IB frame work. Ingenuity of the human mind resonates with a recurring refrain in the concept of Homo faber central to the Next Generation Science standards. What better designed device can we devine than the PT to understand the processes and phenomena of physical sciences! The semantic vector of understanding technically presuppoes familiarity and predictability both are accomplshed in the PT in full measure. Look at the pre-Mendeleevian nonparadigmatic mess of the building blocks of nature. Out of the chaos and disorder caused by the confusion and indeterminacy of the diversity of chemical elements, Mendeleev conceptualized and curated a system of elements that reflected their dialectical unity and genetic interrelatioship. Periodicity and pattern created a paradigm shift in physical sciences and the PT is a delightful means in the hands of an academic facilitator to provide immersive experience for IB students. The anlaytical frameworks and

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the theoretical underpinnings of the PT will be a skillset for futureproofing the students. Psychology’s lament Gregg Henrigues, a famed psychologist laments in his book Theory of Knowledge over the acutely felt academic need for a PT of Behavior for psychology. The concepts and categories, which are used to map reality is a metaphysical system. Positing that the PT is a metaphysical system he acknowledges the absence of such a system in psychology and proposes an elementary system, the Period Table of Behavior. Classification is an irrepressible scientific urge. International-mindedness I-M is an attitude of openness to, and curiosity about, the world and different cultures. It is concerned with developing a deep understanding of the complexity, diversity, and motives of human actions and interactions. Intercultural understanding and cooperation have never been more important and lie at the heart of the IB mission statement and learner profile. I-M is often overlooked or shortchanged in the hot pursuit of science subjects. The study of the PT in chemistry and physics can correct the deficiency and insufficiency. The development of the PT took several years and involved scientists from different countries building upon the foundations of one another’s work and ideas. The tragedies and comedies embedded in the pursuit of the discovery of elements and the triumphs and tribulations of individul scientists including their idiosyncracies make up a veritable eldorado of intellectual resources for inculcating the spirit of transborder mindset. Geographic heritage The PT enables a cruise through different geographies including vllages, provinces, countries and even a continenet. Thirty two elements carry such appellations - Europe, Germany, Poland, Russia, Cyprus, United States, Japan etc. India does not find a place in the PT. The element Indium was named after Indigo color of its spectral line and not after this country. We can claim a geographical peculiarity in the element Beryllium by virtue of the fact that it is found in Belur. French scientist Pierre Jules Cesar Janssen discovered Helium as an element from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh. It did not turn up as Gunturium or Gunturon but was named after the Sun for having seen in its corona. There is a famed village by name Ytterby on the Swedish island of Resaro being the celebrated source of the largest number of elements discovered. If you visit the village today, you might never realize this was the Galápagos of the PT. A small plaque on a rock will greet you with the elements discovered there and local streets will have names of the elements. Beautiful minds Blessed are those scientists who win the rich and rare Nobel Prizes and doubly blessed are those winning it twice. Thrice blessed are those scientists who have their names immortalized by elements like Mendelevium, Einsteinium, Curium and Rutherfordium. Infinitely blessed are those ‘rarest’ among the rare, who

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have been honored with the names of elements after them when they are alive. Oganessian is the privileged scientist for having the 118th element- Og- named after him. He will be launching IYPT-2019 at UNESCO, Paris on 29th January 2019. Glen Seaborg got his name to an element Seaborgium but was not in his full faculties to appreciate the honor conferred on him. What is in a name? The names of elements present the diversity of human thought and can be after a scientist, a mythological concept or character, a mineral, a chemical property, a village, a region, a city, a country or a continent all in the list of 118 elements. Two cultures The theory of ‘Two Cultures’ was proposed by C.P.Snow that the thought leaders of science and humanities are not on speaking terms. There was a suggestion that they are making faces at each other. IB system falsifies this hypothesis and IM integrates the two streams. The PT has a veritable storehouse of culture and sociology in the history of the discovery of the elements. Legends and myths have found fine place in the PT. About a dozen of elements have their names directly derived from legendary characters such as Arsenic, Titanium and Tantalum. A fine science story laced with historical and technical facts can be woven around the discovery of the artificial element Promethium. A magnificent metaphor resides in the legend of Prometheus, the Greek hero punished with eternal torture for stealing fire from the gods. This could illustrate the frustrating experience and sacrifice needed to synthesize new elements.

The German belief system of folk stories embedded in the PT can be insightful IB enquiries into the faith structure of miners. They believed that devil and kobold were active in mine replacing copper and silver ores with cheap nickel and cobalt. The name cobalt comes from the German word for goblin and miners considered the mineral was jinxed as it gave out poisonous fumes. Nickel has relation with devil Kupfernickel as its ore was not yielding copper tenaciously held back.

Interdisciplinariness

IB signifies and intends to be interdisciplinary, which demands ToK and NoS in addition to I-M. The Periodic Table in the Chemistry course is preeminently suited for this. ToK is designed to explore and examine how we know what we know. The PT was discovered in an era when atomic structures and electron configurations were not known. Analytical techniques and equipment to isolate and purify elements were not available. Today, we know that the arrangement of elements in the periodic table help to predict their electron configurations in all its finesse. A typical ToK problem pertaining to the PT is its limit. Row 7 has been completed. Is Oganesson is the full stop? Can we expect more synthetic elements? Is there an island of stability or sea of instability? What happens when dimensions of nucleus reach those of first electron orbit? Are the orbits in classical shape in Oganesson? These are fruitful modes of enquiry for the beautiful minds of science students.

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Science studies scholars, sociologists and historians have identified the problem of occurrence of multiple independent discoveries and the PT has a substantial inventory of it for enquiring students guided by teachers. A discovery comes to light after sufficient critical mass has been built up and thereafter the next step is taken contemporaneously in different places. Validating this hypothesis in the PT is a productive exercise. In cosmological terms PT presents the tangible physical Big History through the chemical elements in the ToK system. It gives all the material products of an energy singularity at the Big Bang that happened 13.8 billion years ago consistent with empirical work. In ontological terms in ToK system, PT is a manifestation of the ultimate universal component namely energy converted into matter.

Timely creativity

There is no singular and unique PT. It allows the play of imagination and utility. It can be created in many avatars depending on the need and utility. It is language neutral and country neutral. A Japanese schoolteacher created an Element Clock that instantly shows the atomic number of an element. The clock hinges on our instinctive ability to convert a position on the clock face into a number of minutes. At the familiar minute destinations of the clock we find Boron at 5, Phosphorus at 15, Zinc at 30,Neodymium at 60, Thorium at 90 and Oganesson at 118 minutes. It was he Bulletin of Atomic Scientists who brought the Clock of Nemesis to public attention. IB Middle Years Program (MYP) will find the clock of high learning value.

The joy of learning the PT has taken an eerie path of entertainment in the Japanese educational culture. A display poster on a platform at Shibuya railway station in Tokyo introduced the ‘Science Department with Element Girls’. The ‘element girls’ are used as an unusual teaching aid in a book for teaching the periodic table.

Sustainability

Sustainability is the current overarching concern of international mindedness, which wrestles with the depleting finite natural resources against the quality of life and human development. This mindset can be poignantly portrayed in a PT of Endangered Elements. The Chemistry Innovation Knowledge Transfer Network of UK has created an ingenious version where every element can be put to the sustainability test to forecast the scenarios of Limits to Growth. An analysis of strategic and critical elements drawn up frantically by every nation sends chills through those in power and position. International mindedness is the only solution to the emerging resource nationalism. The group of seventeen rare earth elements that power and drive modern high tech and hold out the promise of a green planet is a case study. When Japanese sea guards detained the captain of a Chinese boat near Senkaku islands in the disputed South China Sea, China made an elemental response of denying supply of rare earth metals. Japan retracted and swiftly released the captured captain lest its economy should come to a calamitous collapse. Such in essence is the need for I-M and the actions and reactions of players in the global economy.

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Internationalism I-M is sine qua non at the frontiers of research on the PT. Today large teams with several participants from different countries and cultures are working together in the search for more elements. IB would certainly stand them in good stead in international team dynamics. Quick look at the dynamics of synthesis and discovery of elements will reveal that nuclear physicists played a crucial cooperative role in the process. Three mindsets are prescribed for the holistic student psyche namely the disciplined mindset signifying the depth of domain knowledge, the synthesizing mindset of breadth of disciplinary knowledge and the creating mindset of stretch of imagination. All the three coherently converges in the extension of the PT from Lawrencium to Oganesson. The PT is international. It is universal and is viewed by people of all countries and of all ages. The yearlong IYPT-2019 celebrations present a grand opportunity to foster Next Generation Science Standards. ***** International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements (IYPT 2019):

Commemorating its Sesquicentennial Year

- Shri Shivaprasad Khened The profundity and extraordinary significance of the Periodic Table - a prophetic invention of Dmitri Mendeleev has been deservingly recognized in its sesquicentennial year (150th year) by the United Nations General Assembly and the UNESCO, as a result of which the year 2019 will now be celebrated, globally, as the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements (IYPT 2019). It was one hundred fifty years ago in the year 1869 that a Russian scientist, Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev, published his monumental, prophetic findings on the periodicity of the occurrence of the then known 63 chemical elements and predicted the possibilities of the few unknown elements and laid out the foundation for the Periodic Table (PT). The significance of the PT can best be compared with such other profound findings that include the Mendelian Genetics or the Darwin’s Evolution. Mendeleev published his findings on the Periodic Table in a relatively unknown Russian Journal, in which he suggested a periodic predictive order to the chemical elements. The West soon recognized the importance of his findings immediately after his works, was translated in to German. The German translation of his works helped the periodic arrangement of the chemical elements to reach far and wide drawing a wide scientific audience acclaim and recognition. Mendeleev also recorded his new findings of the PT in his popular textbook, Principles of Chemistry, which were published in many editions in Russian, German, English, and French resulting in increasing the awareness and popularity of his Periodic Table. The PT, today, is as omnipresent (particularly in science classrooms, research institutions and labs) as the Calendars, but with a major difference. The PT needs no replacement at the year-end, unlike the calendars, which are replaced at the end of every year, on the 31st of December each year. The world that we see

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around, including the unending cosmos is made up of matter, which is formed from the fundamental building blocks of chemistry, the chemical elements. Ever since the dawn of organized knowledge, scientists are constantly persevering and passionately researching to untangle the mysteries of the world leading to the discovery and invention of newfound scientific knowledge, which the engineers and technologists have constantly harvested for the benefit of human society. The PT has been one of the constant companions for both the scientists and engineers in their quest for furthering knowledge. It facilitates an orderly and predictable organization to all the chemical elements and also to the whole of chemistry. An awareness of the PT is therefore, a mandated necessity and the UN, recognizing this aspect has rightfully declared this year as the IYPT, which will be celebrated the world over including in our centre - The Nehru Science Centre - and so also in schools, colleges, universities, scientific institutions and science centres across the world. The National Centre for Science Communicators (NCSC) will also be joining the world community in celebrating the IYPT by organizing commemorative events, lectures and panel discussions. Commemorating the IYPT, the Royal Society of Chemistry, England, has come out with an outstanding Periodic Table App, which is extraordinarily user friendly and contains the most authentic and best of information that is structured to suit every section of the user be it a school going student or a professional chemist. As we inch towards the beginning of the third decade of this century, India is witnessing an unprecedented revolution in the usage of mobiles and there is an ever-increasing reach of Internet in every part of India with higher speed and data connectivity. Therefore, the PT App so beautifully curated by the Royal Society of Chemistry is sure to serve as an all-important tool in creating awareness on the significance of the PT among the public. I would appeal to all the readers of the NCSC newsletter to please use this app (http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table). Like most other scientific discoveries and inventions, the PT findings of Dmitri Mendeleev too have been built by “Standing on the shoulders of the giants”. The ever-increasing knowledge and the discovery of more and more chemical elements necessitated a rationale looking into the physical and chemical properties of these new elements and by the early 1800s; chemists had already started working in this area. A German chemist Johann Döbereiner, in 1817, made an early attempt to organize the chemical elements in some order. He noticed that certain sets of three elements had similar chemical properties. For example, lithium, sodium, and potassium, elements, which were discovered by electrolysis, had similar chemical properties. Döbereiner called this group of elements triads. His ideas were however, not taken too seriously by other chemists because only a few elements fitted into his triad scheme. By 1860 there were about 60 elements, which had been discovered. Italian chemist Stanislao Cannizzaro and a British chemist John Newlands worked on arranging these chemical elements in some order. It was however, the Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev, whose findings on the periodicity of the chemical elements and the subsequent publication of his PT, formulated in 1869, that was to be one of the major conceptual advances made in the history of science.

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Julius Lothar Meyer (1830–1895), German chemist also published his classic paper (1870), independent of Mendeleev, in which he too presented the periodicity of atomic volume of the elements plotted against atomic weight. Meyer and Mendeleev fought out a long drawn battle over the dispute of priority. However, it was Mendeleev’s predictions of yet-unknown elements, which rightfully helped him in permanently etching his name and fame in the annals of human history. The most famous of the predictions of yet unknown elements by Mendeleev included, the Eka-silicon (germanium), a new element, which not only did he postulate its existence, but he also correctly predicted its properties in its chloride and oxide combinations. Mendeleev’s naming and classification of the then unknown chemical elements in his PT, makes an interesting connect with Sanskrit. The eight elements that Mendeleev used Sanskrit text to describe include the Eka-Aluminium for Gallium, Eka-Boron for Scandium, Eka-Silicon for Germanium, Eka-Manganese for Technetium, Tri-Manganese for Rhenium, Dvi-Tellurium for Polonium, Dvi-Caesium for Francium and Eka-Tantalum for Protactinium. Mendeleev used the prefixes of Eka, Dvi, and Tri (Sanskrit one, two, three) in the naming of the eight predicted elements. For those who are interested in knowing more on the interesting connect between Sanskrit and the PT of Mendeleev, you may please like to refer -https://arxiv.org/vc/physics/papers/0411/0411080v1.pdf *The author is Director, Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai. *****

Moseley, Periodic Table and the Battle of Gallipoli: The Single Costliest

Death in War - Shri Shivaprasad Khened

The Centenary of the Armistice - the closure of the World War I that was celebrated the world over, last November, included prayers and homage to the millions of soldiers who lost their lives in this deadly WAR. Among those millions of soldiers including the Indian soldiers, every single life was precious. Yet, the ‘Single most costly death of war’ - in the words of Isaac Asimov was that of a genetically gifted genius scientist, Henry Moseley. On the occasion of the International Year of the Periodic Table (IYPT), it will be a befitting tribute to pay homage to Henry Moseley for his outstanding contributions (Moseley’s Law) in the evolution of the modern PT. Moseley was one of the great scientists, who perhaps missed out on his Nobel Prize, because of his untimely death in the World War I, in the Battle of Gallipoli, a part of the World War I on August 10, 1915, at a very young age of 27 years. Moseley’s contributions in the development of the modern PT have been phenomenal. Not just England but the whole of humanity was robbed of Moseley’s future scientific contributions. In just 40 months of his scientific research career, Moseley laid out the basis for the modern PT. He predicted the elements that would fill in the gaps and showed that X-ray could be a supreme analytical tool. Henry Gwyn Jeffreys Moseley, fondly known to his family as Harry, came from an extraordinarily gifted family, with scientific background. His father, Henry Nottidge Moseley, was a naturalist and a Professor at the Oxford and was part of

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the scientific team on the famous Challenger Expedition. His grandfather was a conchologist and fellow of the Royal Society. Harry, as a child, exhibited great interest in science and with his sister, painstakingly surveyed surrounding countryside to catalogue as much of the native flora and fauna as he could find. His childhood interest in science clearly foretold what great future of scientific research lay ahead. But most unfortunately the Gallipoli Battle abruptly and most tragically cut short his scientific career. Since Mendeleev’s time, the PT has relied on atomic weight. Mendeleev had examined the chemical properties of each element, and grouped those with similar properties together. However, in a few notable cases such as that of argon and potassium, Mendeleev had to break the sequence of atomic weight to keep similar properties in the same groups. These ‘pair reversals’ raised questions on the principle of using atomic weight as the basis of the PT. It was not until the arrival of Moseley on the scientific scene that this problem was scientifically resolved. Moseley, through his groundbreaking experiments, formulated a law (later called Moseley’s law), which proved (what Bohr and others had suspected) that the frequency of X-rays is proportional to the atomic charge of the chemical element. Based on the findings of Moseley, the elements could be ordered according to atomic number and the mystery of the ‘pair reversals’ was solved. This led to the evolution of the ‘Modern Periodic Table’ and paved the way for looking at the gaps in the PT, where elements of a certain atomic number were missing. In the process, Moseley had laid the groundwork for vast treasure hunt for new elements, which were to be discovered much later by chemists after more than 30 years. The Battle of Gallipoli, which abruptly ended the life of Moseley, also has a historic connect with India. The Indian and Australian soldiers, referred to as the ANZAC (Australia, New Zealand Army Corps), fought shoulder to shoulder during the World War I at the Gallipoli peninsula, under the British flag. One of the British soldiers who fought this infamous war was Henry Moseley. The extent of the Indian participation at Gallipoli has come to light post the book ‘Die in Battle Do Not Despair - The Indians in Gallipoli, 1915’ by the distinguished Australian Historian Professor Peter Stanley. The ANZACs fought in the trenches and on the frontline and in the process thousands perished, including Moseley, and several thousand more were either wounded or scarred for life. While the battle itself was a defeat for the ANZAC, the soldiers were relentless in their valour and endurance in the most hostile environment in which this battle was fought. Why and how Moseley got entangled in the battle of Gallipoli is now history. Moseley was touring Australia for a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, with his mother, when the news of the declaration of War reached Australia. Moseley felt it was his duty to join his soldier brethren’s to fight for his country. He did not heed to the advice of his mother, friends and family who tried persuading him to change his mind. Unfortunately, Moseley’s patriotic feelings and love for his country ensured that the advice of friends and family fell on his deaf ears. He left Australia on a ship for San Francisco from where he caught the first train to New York. From New York, he went home to England and enlisted his name in the British Army and obtained a commission as Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers.

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Moseley was posted to Gallipoli, where he joined the ANZAC to take on the Ottoman Empire. It was on the ill-fated day of August 10, 1915, he was in the midst of sending a military order from the deadly trenches of the Gallipoli Peninsula, when he was hit by the sniper’s bullet that caught him in the head and killed him, three months before his 28th birthday. Science lost one of its greatest minds in the trenches of Gallipoli. The International scientific community was outraged at the loss of Moseley, who still had so much to offer. His death raised the question of whether genius scientists, whose service could otherwise be used for the greater good of the nation, should really be risked on the battlefield. His death led to a decision not to use the services of the scientists in direct combat. However, the scientists were heavily drafted in service of the allied forces for completely different purpose to develop appropriate technologies that could be used during the World War II. The Second World War and the scientists who were engaged in the service of the war will never be remembered for the infamous role they played in the development of the Atomic Bombs, which ended the World War II. It was during this period that most of the scientists for better or worse were used in the development of technologies such as radar, programmable computers and also the infamous Manhattan project and so also in the development of mass manufacturing techniques for the production of Penicillin. These scientific findings had much greater impact on World War II than on any of the individuals involved who could have made at the front line. *The author is Director, Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai. ***** Digital Revolution, Industry Disruption and Future of Jobs

- Dr. G. Chakraborty In the history we read about the Industrial Revolution. It occurred at the end of Second World War, end of forties of the last century. During the period between the two World Wars, the necessity of mass production of war tools, vehicles for the need of transportation not only in plain lands and water-lands, but also in hilly regions and icy water front of the Arctic region, were accentuated by the war hungry leaders of the different countries. On these fronts, war hungry nations gave priority to the development of different technologies for the purpose of war. How much money was being spent was not a question during that period. It was only whether the scientists and technocrats could deliver the goods of war-need. Whoever did something for the war-needs were rewarded handsomely. Several technologies were developed during that period, which had seen the World War II being culminated after destroying the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima by Nuclear Bomb. Also, the present day Nuclear Power Plant technology for generation of electricity was invented. When the war ended, inventions and technology developed, which were used for the purpose of destruction during wartime, were being utilized to develop industry to meet the basic needs of human life. The industries that flourished

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initially were meant for agriculture, transportation, energy generation like electricity, metal production like iron, aluminum, copper etc. and other needs. This process in the history had been termed as the industrial revolution. Outcome of this revolution have given us train, bus, car, airplane, soaps, medicine and medical implements etc. in affordable price. Earlier, a lot of household implements like utensils, agricultural implements etc. used to be produced by artisans who were part and parcel of our society. They had to be approached for all our needs and they used to make the implements as per our desire. Nothing was available from the shelf in his shop. Now, we get standard implements out of the shelf in the market. Many household jobs like husking of paddy to produce rice, crushing of wheat to produce flower, crushing of pulses to produce dal, use of single stage oil-mill driven by bullock or human being for production of oil from oil-seeds like mustard etc. which was being done manually had been taken over by factories where it was done through electric machines. During the period 1947 to 1970, factories used coal for thermal needs and component making along with fabrication was through electrical devices. As such, a lot of manual labour was taken over by electrical devices. For mass production, assembly lines existed and were controlled by the human presence. Most of the controls in factories, refineries and chemical industry adopted analog control. But still human intervention and supervision was needed. Yet 1970 onwards, a new technology involving Digital computing machines started emerging. The so-called computers appeared which could do very complicated mathematical calculations in a fraction of second. The calculating machines were gigantic and robust. The machines needed air-conditioned areas and the core part had to be cooled at temperatures near to the water freezing temperatures and below. The advent of Integrated circuit technology gradually reduced the size of computing machines drastically in the decade preceding 1980. By the end of that decade, the computers were available by the side of a working table, followed by desktop computers by the end of twentieth century and the present-day Laptops by the middle of the first decade of the present century. Along the path of the development of laptops, the other developments were stunning. Digital mode replaced almost all analog instruments like telephone, photographic camera, sound recording and amplifiers, analog controls in factories, homes, offices etc. With the help of computers and satellite technology the most spectacular scientific development during this period remained the introduction of Internet Communication with the distant parts of the world in the form of emails and digital telephony. The turning point of the revolution was the change from analogue to digitally recorded music. During the 1980s the digital format of optical compact discs gradually replaced analog formats, such as vinyl records and cassette tapes, as the popular medium of choice. This revolution could not be protested or fought, as it gave the people, ease of affordability, availability and comfort. Digital penetration in the fields of specific current and anticipated solutions for industry, healthcare, energy and the environment have occurred with many

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innovations, which are being established during the first two decades of the present century. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is set to rule the root of industry, society and the service sector in the near future. Driverless motor vehicles are already being tested. The surveillance in the industrial process systems with corrective action is partly in action. Standard design of industrial machines and tools are available with different software packages. System lay out with complete design is being used in industry. AI packages would gradually replace or reduce the need for human efforts. Robots with AI have already entered the surgical field and domestic life. It has also penetrated in the field of house and property security through combination of AI and digital system. This will definitely reduce the human security system if not entirely. Disruption is surely in the offing, especially in the industrial sector. The present-day system of setting up an industry for a particular gamut of output can be handled digitally with the help of software packages that will be available in the internet cloud system. In fact, planning, design, tendering, procurement, construction, erection and fabrication, inspection, and commissioning: all these steps, one day will be possible with minimal human intervention. Even, after commissioning, the process of operation, and inspection can be handled digitally. After production, the product can be stored and marketed with the help of e marketing. In a nutshell, possibly the running of an industry can be done digitally sitting at home. Requirement of human help may be negligible. But in reality, it will require a good number of persons with different specialization, however, less in number in the present-day commerce and technology. In the 1950s following the Second World War, technological progress improved the lives of many, but only at the expense of a smaller few. Creative destruction occurred during the industrial revolution when machinery and improvements to the manufacturing process such as the assembly line pushed out craft and artisan production. While the economy as a whole benefited from such improvements, those craftsmen who were displaced saw their jobs destroyed, never to return. It can be noted here that the number of persons involved in losing the jobs was small and the process was gradual. As such the affected persons could be absorbed in the society with not much hindrance.

During the period of 1980s to 2000s, the black and white film based

photography was completely replaced by digital cameras. Digital cameras replaced the film producers. From the point of view of the users, this change was simple. But the industry backing these users like the Eastman Kodak, which once employed many tens of thousands of workers, filed for bankruptcy and no longer exists. This was because a chemical process system was completely replaced by digital system. The majority of the persons could get jobs in some other industry for their livelihood after some retraining. Others were absorbed in the family or society. With the above discussion, some guidelines can be drawn for the future of job situation. So far, we have seen ‘Industry disruption’ in the film and photographic industry. As mentioned earlier, it was a result of a digital simulation, which replicated a chemical process system. Similarly, in the field of reading books for

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gathering knowledge and information has dwindled drastically as it is easily available on the Internet. In fact, the publishing industry has suffered maximum, because of the Internet, social networks like Facebook, WhatsApp etc. For entertainment and knowledge enhancement, different television channels are also available. In short, the need for newspapers, books and libraries has reduced to a minimum. Ultimately publishing houses that survive, will have to be satisfied with publishing only school and college textbooks. This also in the near future will go in the hands of digital invasion. At present, there is no guarantee of job sustenance. Unless a process system like chemical, mechanical or agricultural produce is invaded by digital technology, the jobs are assured. The need for chemical, mechanical and agricultural produces can never be replaced by digital means. When one falls ill, he will need medicines, which are chemical products, when a person is hungry, he will need food which is an agricultural product, for transportation one needs a vehicle, it is a product of factory. Hence the products more or less will remain same. Only the process through which it is produced can be changed partially through digital innovations. So, the job loss in that particular industry may not be much. But events like Kodak Company closure is not foreseen in the near future. In general, those who are on jobs, have to be careful and be vigilant always for digital invasion. To combat this, one has to be prepared for job loss. One needs to be diligent in increasing their self-capabilities by reading and retraining programmes. *The article was published in the Souvenir brought out at the seminar on "Digital Revolution, Industry Disruption and Future of Jobs" organized by the Jadavpur Alumni Association, Bombay branch in 2019. Whatever has been written here is author’s own perspective. He is a Nuclear technologist, who was formerly with the R&D division of BARC, Mumbai.

*****

Science communication through Poetry

Make Yourself

“Had I been present at the Creation, I would have given some useful hints for the better ordering of the Universe”—Alphonso, the Learned.

Take a Tiny Dot of No Nothing, and create a ‘Big Bang’. All Energy. Stir up the Primordial Energy Soup.

Lo and Behold, there comes the Hydrogen, First and Favorite of the Elements Out of the clouds of Hydrogen mould Galaxies of stars.

Cook Hydrogen at the core at billions of degrees Churn out Heavy elements essential for life—

Carbon, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Iron and more Now explode the stars as Supernovae

Spread the Elements in the voids of space. Make new stars from the exploded debris.

Repeat the experiment ad infinutum Now stop for a while.

Choose a heavy star nearby and explode it From the debris shape the Sun and Planets.

Be extra careful about the third planet.

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Keep it away from the Sun Not too close, it will be too hot, not too far, it will be too cold.

Catch the asteroids floating around Bombard the earth here and there and everywhere.

Create volcanoes to release Water, Carbon dioxide, Methane and more. Now comes the important and essential thing.

Focus the Sunlight on the concoction of chemicals. See the Amino acids, building blocks of life.

Allow the Amino Acids to play with each other. Now be patient and wait, let a few billion years to pass.

First comes algae, then bacteria Successively come Bees and Butterflies, Cats and Dogs, Elephants and frogs

Giraffes and Horses. Iguana and Jaguars, Kangaroos and Lions Monkeys and Newts, Orangutans and Penguins, Quills and Rabbits, Sheep and Tigers, Unicorns and Vultures, Wolves, Yaks and Zebras.

Be patient Now comes the Ape

Allow a million years to pass, take or leave a few years AND THERE YOU ARE!

- Dr. V.S. Venkatavaradan

Former Director, Nehru Planetarium

*****

National Centre for Science Communicators

Aims & Objectives

To establish contacts among Science Communicators; all those who communicate science in different Indian languages from the print, radio and electronic media and bring them onto a common platform.

To promote science writing. To disseminate information on the latest developments in Science. To look into the common hurdles of Science Communication and how to

overcome them. Encouraging young Science Communicators and enhance their talents Organizing conferences, workshops, seminars, courses, group discussions,

debates etc. to achieve the above objectives. Facilitating translation activities from one Indian language to another. Liaison with media in order to Science writers to publish and communicate their

work to varied communication media.

Executive Committee

Chairman: Dr. A. P. Jayaraman Vice Chairman: Dr. G. P. Kothiyal Hon. Secretary: Shri Suhas Naik-Satam Dr. Kishor Kulkarni Treasurer: Dr. Paresh Vaidya

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Committee Members

Shri A. P. Deshpande Dr. Parul R. Sheth Dr. Prakash Kondekar Dr. G. Chakraborty Dr. Rupesh Gaikwad Shri Hemant Lagvankar Dr. Manasi Rajadhyaksha

Advisory council

Dr. R. Chidambaram Dr. M.M. Sharma Dr. K. Kasturirangan Dr. Jayant V. Narlikar Dr. Bal Phondke Dr. V.S. Venkatavardan Dr. Raghunath A. Mashelkar Dr. Anil Kakodkar Dr. Indira Chakravarty Dr. Mayank N. Vahia Mr. G.S. Rautela

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Published for National Centre for Science Communicators by Dr.A. P. Jayaraman, Chairman National Centre for Science Communicators at Vidnyan Bhavan, V.N. Purav Marg, Sion-Chunabhatti, Mumbai 400022 .Tel. :091-22-24054714/6268

Editorial Board Editor: Dr. Parul R Sheth, NCSC Dr. G.P. Kothiyal, Vice Chairman, NCSC Shri Suhas Naik-Satam, General Secretary, NCSC