July 30, 2020 | Adamas University

#LitNext : Pandemic and Literature

Human history has survived many moments of crisis and natural calamity. Pandemics are one such natural calamity and they are not new in the history of mankind. Many a times they are referred in many works of literature and sometimes they have given birth to several well-known works of literature. Currently when we all are quarantined online tools have become our best friends in terms of connectivity, as they connect us virtually to each other. But at the same time there is also the aspect of online fatigue which cannot be ignored at all. At this juncture books become our friends.

There are many books which referred and in some cases came into existence as a result of a pandemic. A very early record of such a Pandemic could be found in The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides (c. 460-400BC), where he refers to the typhoid fever that took over the Athenian army during the war making them weak.

Apart from typhoid fever, measles and smallpox, plague occupies a very prominent place in the history of pandemics around the world. There are references of Antonine Plague (165-180 A.D), that came to the Italian peninsula with the soldiers. In Rome an outbreak of Cyprian Plague (251-266 A.D.) was recorded. Bubonic Plague or the Justinian Plague (541-750A.D.) started in Egypt and reached Constantinople killing a huge number of people. A Byzantine chronicler, Procopius has recorded this pandemic and has talked about the massive number of lives it claimed.

It is the 14^th century plague pandemic in Europe which has given this disease such a prominence not only in the history of pandemics but also in the history of literature. Many scholars believe that the disease originated among the sailors and was spread by them all over the continent.

There are many paintings depicting the impact of the disease in various parts of Europe. Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron is a famous work of literature that has captured the experience of the disaster caused by the disease in the form of stories. Another more recent reference could be Albert Camus’ The Plague, where he describes the pandemic as something which “rules out any future, cancels journeys, silences the exchange of views”. The author mocked at the fact that people actually “fancied themselves free…”, but the fact is “no one will be free as long as there are pestilences”. Thus using the pandemic of plague as a symbol Camus made apolitical statements on the relation of the oppressor and the oppressed.

There are also many other books like A Journal of the Plague Year (1664) by Daniel Defoe, The Last Man (1826) and The Scarlet Plague (1912) both by Mary Shelley where we get the references of Plague. Among Indian writers the celebrated Malayalam author and the Sahitya Akademi Awardee, U.R. Ananthamurthy’s Samskara contains references of plague as a pandemic, where the disease was a symbol of the stagnant orthodox values.

The outbreak of influenza or the Spanish Flu in the year 1918 was also mentioned in many works of literature. In the novel entitled Twilight in Delhi by Ahmed Ali, the author says, “Delhi became a city of the dead…”. On the other hand some writers like the well known Hindi poet Surya Kant Tripathi ‘Nirala’ lost his loved ones during the pandemic. Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore in his Bengali poem Puratan Bhritya has referred to the outbreak of smallpox. The outbreak of smallpox is also referred in the works of Malayalam writers like Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai’s Thottiyude Makan and Kakkanadan’s Vasoori, highlighting the story of the human emotions and the moments of crisis.

Just like the pandemic of Plague, Cholera also occupies a very prominent place as long as pandemic in literature is concerned. In the works of Munshi Premchand like Eidgah, Doodh ka Dam, Rebati and many more we get the reference of cholera. In all these mentioned works there are references where people are dying of cholera and how the disease had an impact in the social life of the common people. The prominent Odia writer Fakir Mohan Senapati has also talked about deaths caused due to cholera and the dislocation of the families that took place due to the pandemic. Similar references of cholera could be found in the novel entitled Love in the Time of Cholera by the Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez. All these books talk about the impact of a pandemic in the society and social relationships.

It is believed that with the European sailors many infectious diseases spread and killed massive number of people in various continents. For instance it is believed that it was the European colonizers which brought infectious diseases like plague and so on in Canada killing a huge number of indigenous populations and reducing the human resources of many communities to a large extent. We do not really know how far these stories are true, as it is a historical trend to hold a particular nation or community responsible for the cause of a pandemic.

For instance Roman Emperor Marcus Aurellius blamed the Christians for the outbreak of smallpox in his empire. Similarly during the consecutive outbreaks of plague in Europe brought accusations against the Jews of poisoning the wells. Also during 1980s KGB held the United States of America responsible for the outbreak of AIDS around the world.

The story of blaming each other using pandemic as a medium is thus very old. It seems to be an old trick to claim the top seat of the power hierarchy. But on a positive note, pandemics gave birth to the works of literature that captured the moments of human emotions at the time of a mass crisis. These works of literature help us to find a sense of life when we lead a quarantined life. We have got literature that made powerful statements against the illegal impositions by the authority on the common mass using pandemic as a symbol of protest. These books attach us back to people and life when we actually get detached from each other. Life and human co-existance appears to be precious in true sense in these works of literature.

#PhysicsPlus: Physics based Imaging Techniques for Cancer Detection and Treatment

Physics, while continuing its journey to unravel the mystery of nature since ages, has become one of the most powerful enablers of innovation and discovery through remarkable advancement in the field of academia and industry. Much technological advancement have taken place through curiosity driven research in fundamental areas of Physics, leading to tremendous social and economic benefits and thereby carrying a deep impact on our daily lives. One such significant contribution of Physics is towards the flourishing advancement of Medical Science.

Fig.1.: The Global Death toll in 2020 (source: https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/05/01/covid-19-has-become-one-of-the-biggest-killers-of-2020)

Cancer, arguably one of the biggest curse of human civilization, kills millions of people all over the world every year. Only in US, 1.8 million cases are estimated as newly diagnosed in 2020. This year, as per the report from World Health Organization (WHO), apart from COVID-19 and Pulmonary diseases, Cancer is still one of the biggest killer of human lives.

Cancer indicates a disease caused by uncontrolled cell division. The rapid cell division usually produces a tumor, which then spreads and destroys the surrounding tissues. Research on modern Physics plays a crucial role in improving both diagnosis techniques and treatment of Cancer by developing various imaging techniques, which allows us to have a vision beyond the obvious. Innovative methods based on different types of radiation allow the medical physicists not only to detect cancerous tissues but also to kill cancer cells in a controlled and safe manner. Understanding, generating and manipulating that radiation has been made possible by research in the fundamental areas of Physics, like Cosmology, Astrophysics, Nuclear physics, Particle physics etc. Many of the recent advances in cancer therapy are the outcome of the development of novel radiation detectors (which act as imaging cameras) and other instruments originally designed for physics research, combined with advanced software.

Different Imaging Methods used to detect Cancer

Computed Tomography (CT) Scan:

In 1963, physicist Allan Cormack first devises a methodology for computed tomography scanning using rotating X rays. In 1971, Godfrey Hounsfield at EMI Laboratory developed the scanner to reconstruct internal anatomy from multiple X-ray images taken around the body. Cormack and Hounsfield jointly were awarded the Nobel prize in 1979 for their unmatched contribution in the field of Medicine.

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scan:

Another well known imaging technique is Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scan. The first PET image was taken by biophysicist Michael Phelps and nuclear chemist Edward Hoffman in 1973.

This relies on a particular type of radioactive decay in which positrons, the anti-particle of electrons are being emitted. A positron emitting isotope is attached to a bioactive material and then it is injected into the body and finally gets accumulated in the targeted cells. The positrons emitted by the isotope get annihilated with the nearby electrons, which are commonly known as Pair Annihilation process. As mass is being destroyed so following the famous relation , energy is created and it is emitted in the form of photons (i.e., light), which is then detected by the imaging cameras and used to construct a three-dimensional image.

Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) Scan:

Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scanning is a non-invasive nuclear imaging technique, frequently used in Oncology to examine the blood flow to tissues and organs. In this method, radioactive tracers are injected into the blood to generate images of blood flow to major organs, like brain and heart. The tracers generate gamma-rays, which are detected by a gamma camera, thereby creating 3D images with the help of computerized methods. In this case the tracer remains in the blood stream rather than being absorbed by the surrounding tissues, and thus limiting the images to areas where the blood flows.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI):

In 1980, another breakthrough imaging techniques was reported, which was called Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), which relies on the fact that a magnetic moment aligns itself in the direction of the externally applied magnetic field.

Fig.2: MRI Scanner (source: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancer-in-general/tests/mri-scan)

When a human body is placed in a strong magnetic field, the free hydrogen nuclei associated with the water molecules present in the body align themselves along that field direction. Usually a uniform magnetic field of strength ∼ 1-3 Tesla is applied in MRI. Next, a radio-frequency pulse is applied in perpendicular direction to the static magnetic field which tilts the magnetic moments associated with the water molecules away from the magnetic field direction. Then when the RF signal is withdrawn, the magnetic moments realign themselves in the initial direction and thereby relaxing through radiating a radio frequency signal of their own which is again detected by a conductive field coil placed around the body. The detected signal is then reconstructed to obtain 3D grey-scale images.

MRI technique offer much better resolution of soft tissue images compared to X-ray images. The relaxation time, as well as radiated energy from magnetic moments, depend on the environment and the chemical nature of the molecules. Physicians can differentiate between various types of tissues based on these magnetic properties. The faster the protons realign, the brighter the image. In 2003, Peter Mansfield, from University of Nottingham got the Nobel Prize in Medicine, shared with Paul Lauterbur from University of Illinois, for their “discoveries concerning magnetic resonance imaging”.

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT):

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a form of “optical ultrasound” where, Infra-red laser light is made to fall on the skin and the light that is reflected back from the tissue layers just beneath the surface can be collected to form a very high resolution image. Although OCT images contain more detailed information than MRI, but it can only penetrate a few millimeter, which makes it useful for detecting cancer of the skin and esophagus mostly, for example.

Selected Ion Flow Tube mass spectrometry (SIFT):

Selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry is a technique, developed by a group of astrophysicists at the University of Birmingham while investigating the chemistry of interstellar clouds. The technique allows to sense tiny amounts of gas, and can be used to detect certain cancers by analyzing a sample of a patient’s breath.

Physicists are also working to develop imaging techniques with low energy non-ionizing THz radiation which can penetrate few millimeters of human tissues with low water content, and thereby making it an ideal candidate for probing breast and skin cancer at a very early stage. The first THz cameras were developed by astrophysicists to image the distant universe.

Treatments of Cancer using the concepts of Physics

Radiotherapy:

Radiotherapy is of the most effective treatment to treat Cancer. In this technique, a high energy radiation which includes not only X rays but also high energy particle beams like electrons, protons, etc., is selectively deposited in the cancerous cells and if the dose is right, the radiation can kill the cell, by breaking the DNA strands in the cell nuclei. Modern proton beam therapy is the most precise form of radiation treatment available today. It destroys a the tumor selectively, leaving the surrounding healthy tissues and organs almost completely unaffected.

Fig.3.: Radiation Therapy (source: https://onco.com/about-cancer/cancer-types/bone-cancer/treatment/radiation-therapy/)

Brachytherapy

Brachytherapy, another well known treatment of cancer patients, where artificially produced radioactive “seeds” are enclosed inside protective capsules, and then delivered to the tumor, where they emit beta or gamma rays, to provide a highly localized dose.

Boron neutron capture therapy

Boron neutron capture therapy is used to treat cancers of mostly head and neck. A non-radioactive form of boron is injected into the cancer cells and then a beam of neutrons is incident on it. Boron absorbs the neutrons much more readily than human tissue, and by doing so it forms lithium ions and high-energy alpha particles, which together deliver the correct radiation dose to the tumor.

With all these therapies people are trying to decrease the death toll caused by this deadly disease. Today with all these diseases (Covid19, Cancer etc.) around us, let us question ourselves, are we advanced enough to protect ourselves? Or our vulnerabilities persist helplessly in front of nature? Anyway, the journey of Science will continue in an unstoppable manner to fight against all odds for the betterment of human kind and a deeper understanding of nature.

Alternative Assessment: A counter to Traditional Assessment during the Phases of Lockdown caused by COVID-19

The unprecedented lockdown on account of COVID-19 has affected the conventional Indian education system in many ways. The education has been imparted in different modes of online during the phases of lockdown caused by COVID-19 and course contents have been covered in this way. But now the question is how to evaluate the learning outcome of students to promote them in higher classes or semesters and how to certify final year students through grading. The paper and pen test in a conventional examination hall is no more feasible now because students and teachers are confined in their homes. When the need for something becomes vital, one is forced to find out the ways of getting or achieving it. The traditional Indian education system has to think differently to evaluate the learning outcome of students.

Alternative assessment is a holistic approach to student assessment. With alternative assessment, learners are enabled to provide active response to a task, assignment or examination. Basically, it measures applied proficiency rather than knowledge gathering. It determines what learners can do and cannot do in contrast to what they know or do not know. Alternative assessment considers different learning styles and preferences. It gives opportunity to learners to apply their knowledge in a constructive way to derive a solution to a problem. The learners are encouraged to comprehend, analyze, apply and innovate with the given task to produce a more desirable learning outcome. Hence, alternative assessment is the counter to conventional forms of standardized assessment.

Alternative assessment provides a means of evaluating valued skills which cannot be measured directly through conventional tests. It provides more realistic setting for student performance than conventional tests. Here, due importance is given to student performance and the quality of work executed by students. It is flexible, responsive and progressive as per curricular objectives. It takes into consideration the individual background and needs and requirement of each and every learner. Generally, alternative assessment is documented with qualitative data which can be transformed easily into quantitative forms through different tools. The 21^st century skills like learning skills, literacy skills and life skills can be assessed well through alternative assessment.

There are many ways to assess students’ learning outcome besides traditional assessment strategies. Some strategies are elucidated at below:

Open book exams: Open book exams encourage examinees to apply their knowledge, to think critically, to express content divergently rather than memorize materials. It is somewhat less anxiety-provoking than normal tests. The exam is open because students can take the help of books, dictionaries, reference books, internet and other materials for preparing their answers. Basically, the given questions of tests are thought provoking. It calls for self-understanding, self-analysis and the like while answering.
Student Portfolios: Sometimes, teachers may ask students to prepare a collection of class assignment to produce an accurate picture of student’s achievement than an end term examination. These are collection of written works, lesson summary, home assignments, drawing, projects, computer programs and the like. It encourages self assessment towards learning. Portfolios can be prepared on content areas or by themes or topics.
Class Summary writing: Some instructors prefer students to create a class summary at regular basis. The students are required to maintain a notebook to point out the main points of discussion, critical reaction to the ideas, plug-in points of learning, current trends of ideas, vital points of lecture and the like after each and every class at regular basis. At this, students can learn more and retain it longer. It is also less stressful than a test.
Home exams: Questions are handed out to students and they are required to return the answer sheets within a specific period of time. It can be conducted in online mode also.
Performance test: In a performance test, students are required to perform a task or execute a procedure or create a product or demonstrate something. The instructors observe the whole thing to evaluate their performance with the help of a tool like rubrics.
Viva voce: Instead of a pencil-and-paper test, the students’ learning can be evaluated through viva-voce. In viva examination, students may be asked to demonstrate a lesson, critically analyze any topic, apply their learning for solving a real life problem, provide opinion on an issue, current trend of any issue and the like.
Presentation: Students are given a topic on which they can prepare a power point presentation. It can enhance their verbal, visual and written communication skills. It also improves critical inquiry, comprehension abilities, meta-cognition knowledge and creativity among students. A rubric may be used for evaluating their performance.
Peer assessment: When a group task is given in small groups, each and every group member can provide feedback to each other on their work. It empowers learners to be responsible for and manage their own learning, develop assessing skills for proving feedback to others and enhance reflective thinking.
Writing activities: Students can publish their original articles, essays, research works review works etc. in institution’s own journal or outside one. The evaluation can be made on the basis of the quality of their works.
Assignment: Assignment is an exercise given by the teachers to their learners as a part of the lesson taught by the teachers. It makes learners active in their learning. The written assignment helps learners to assimilate facts, organize knowledge, analyze the topic critically, justify the facts and so on.
Concept maps: When instructors want students to represent knowledge in a graphic form, organize and categorize knowledge and understanding in a flow chart and identify connections and interrelation among complex & abstract concepts in visual representations, the ideas of concept maps come up with an alternative form of student assessment.

Many university academic courses still depend heavily on a narrow range of traditional assessment tools which typically ask examinees to memorize large amount of factual information without needing to apply it. But assessment should be continuous and comprehensive in nature by which different domains of learning are evaluated.

#HumanitiesNext: Medical/Health Humanities: Emergence and Popularization of a New Avenue of Research

The sudden outbreak of COVID 19 pandemic has led to a paradigmatic shift in our lives, perspective, and thought process. It has led us to think, to plan, to fashion our lives differently. Social distancing, work from home, digital learning, webinars and even web concerts have become our new normal. Actually, we are on the verge of transition from where our life will eventually take a new turn.

As we are trying to adjust our coexistence with an unknown and unforeseen virus, I am quite sure that most of us have begun to take interests in the recent research and development regarding the availability of corona vaccine in the market. Nowadays, the discourse of disease and its cure is not confined within medical practitioners. Today, everyone is curious about the symptoms of corona, its prospective treatments and eagerly waiting for the vaccine to come. It’s our body after all!

Literature has absorbed several disciplines like a sponge. War, pandemic, city under siege, science, astronomy, geographical expedition, politics, religion, economics─almost all arenas have left their imprint in the corpus of works which we, the students of literature, get to learn. Who knew that the apparently innocent nursery rhyme “Ring-a-ring-o’ Roses” actually refers to the Great Plague, which severely affected the population of England in 1665? The two World Wars have given rise to some of the memorable war poetry like “Strange Meeting” by Wilfred Owen or “The Soldier” by Rupert Brooke.

During Renaissance, the period when modern science took its birth in Europe, natural scientists were also known as experimental philosophers. Science was considered as a crucial aspect of the new learning/humanism. The thinkers of Renaissance Europe were not used to compartmentalize disciplines and were always guided by an association of ideas. For example, many of us are not aware that the creator of the Mona Lisa, that is, Leonardo da Vinci, was also an expert in mechanics and hydraulics. Copernicus, the man who projected the idea of heliocentric model of universe, also studied law and medicine.

With the emerging trends of interdisciplinary approach nowadays, there is a tendency to revive the long lost tradition, which was based on the association of ideas. The CBCS curriculum of English literature not only focuses on literary texts but also includes significant components of culture studies. Consequently, a student of literature learns to critically consider all aspects of life and develop his/her own insight. If we look at the repository of MPhil and PhD works available today, we will find that a student with literature background is working on interesting areas like Autobiographical writings of scientists, Life Writings of Tea Planters, History and Philosophy of Science, for which he/she has to step into the core areas of several other disciplines.

Medical Humanities: Definition

Recent situation has inculcated academic and research interest of several aspirant researchers towards medical humanities. Now, what is medical humanities? The simplest definition would be that which brings arts and humanities within the domain of medicine and healthcare. Thomas R. Cole, Ronald A. Carson, and Nathan S. Carlin in their work Medical Humanities: An Introduction attempts to define medical humanities as, “medical humanities as an inter- and multidisciplinary field that explores contexts, experiences, and critical and conceptual issues in medicine and health care, while supporting professional identity formation”. It emerged chiefly as a response to “dehumanizing tendencies” and commercializing of health care system” resulted due to enormous success of modern medicine. Needless to say, its chief purpose is to educate medical professionals and instill some kind of ethics/moral values/sensitivity in them. It directly addresses the patient’s right to know his/her body, the issue of public trust, the concerns of medical pedagogy and other such issues.

Medical Humanities: Relevance in present day

It has developed as a new area of research to anyone who is interested in various nuances of the discourse of health, disease and recovery.
This interdisciplinary approach is extremely significant for medical practitioners
It addresses the issue of isolation and dehumanization in health sector and thus tries to create a sympathetic community comprising of medical professionals and patients

Medical Humanities: Recent Imprint in Academia

I have recently come across a call for papers in the website of a reputed journal that has invited articles in several sub areas like Graphic medicine, Narrative medicine, Health and politics, Ethics of caring and nursing, Digital health humanities and so on. This call for papers whetted my curiosity and after a rigorous search in web, I have found several books and noted journals on medical/health humanities that have been publishing critical articles on medicine and medical education. A pertinent question has also been raised. Can Health/Medical humanities be included within medical pedagogy? If so, in what way would it leave its impact on the ethics of medical professionals? I am quite sure that in near future there will be a corpus of research works in this area, which would dwell upon the dialogic interaction between art, literature, philosophy and medicine.

#LitNext: Children’s Literature: Job Opportunities and Scope for Research

In our day to day lives the term Children’s Literature might not carry so much of importance. But we must not forget that it is the children’s literature which had shaped us into who we are today. Thus our day to day life is actually designed and developed on the basis of Children’s Literature with which we have grown.

At present Children’s literature has grown into a huge academic domain. Honestly speaking there is no specific definition of the term any longer. It now acts like a blanket term which accommodates various literary genres as well as oral narratives and songs. In academia, especially in the field of higher education and research Children’s literature has currently emerged as a very powerful domain, which covers many other fields of research like translation, phonetics, creative writing, arts and drawing and so on. Some well known organizations, like the British Council uses Children’s literature to organize English language teaching as well as creative writing workshops for the students.

Today the field of Children’s literature has also emerged as a powerful avenue in the publication industry. For instance around 10, 000 children’s books are published annually in UK alone. Popularity of Children’s Literature among the publishers clearly indicates job opportunities in this field. Also for a long time Children’s Literature remained a western dominated arena. Now the scenario is changing. Researchers and academicians are looking for the Children’s literature in various non western parts and communities around the world.

This changing trend has opened up new job opportunities. A requirement of translators in huge number is felt currently in the publication industry to translate the Children’s Literature of other regional languages into English and vice-versa so that they can be published and reach out to a bigger readership. Being Indians most of us are trilingual on an average. Indian students of English Language and Literature with good knowledge of Children’s Literature may nail such jobs in the publication industry in India and abroad.

For obvious reasons in the field of research and higher education Children’s Literature has gained a lot of importance with time. Many celebrated universities like, University of London, University of Alberta, Deakin University and many more have introduced Children’s literature as an important paper and some even have turned it into a separate department altogether.

Following the current footsteps of the international trends in higher education the Department of English Language and Literature of Adamas University also offers an important elective paper for its Master Degree students. As a response to this every year almost hundred percent of the existing students take up this paper as their favorite elective. The students enjoy the reading materials of this course for obvious reasons. They enjoy reading the good old stories under a new light and a new perception.

Children’s Literature is now a vibrant area of research. As it is already mentioned earlier that it is interlinked with various other disciplines like phonetics, linguistics, psychology, art, music and even politics, Children’s Literature offers an immense scope for the young researchers. In foreign universities as well, young scholars have the scope to pursue their research in this field.

Children’s literature though sounds very innocent and is meant for the innocent is actually not that innocent. From the time immemorial Children’s literature has remained an active field of politics. It has always acted as a medium of education and instruction. Children’s Literature has the power to shape a community and a nation. History has witnessed the use of Children’s Literature by the oppressors to oppress and impose stereotypes on the oppressed community and to stop the oppressed community from asking questions. On the other hand it has also witness a reverse motion where the Children’s Literature is used by the oppressed community to tell its own story and to train the children of the community to question their oppressors.

Children’s Literature is also used to make comment on the contemporary social and political issues like racism, gender, sexual harassment and so on. Such an active and vibrant filed of Children’s Literature always offers immense scope for jobs as well as for research. In both cases the student is free to explore the international avenues as well. Our childhood may end but our journey with Children’s Literature may never end.

#ChemistryNext : Molecular Machines: Beyond Expectation

Introduction:

According to the Merriam-Webster English Dictionary a machine is “An assemblage of parts that transmits forces, motion, or energy from one to another in a predetermined manner”. But this deals with the macroscopic part of the world. But in view of the chemists a machine is “An assemblage of atoms and molecules that transmits forces, motion, or energy from one to another in a predetermined manner”. Molecular machines are the machines which work at the molecular level. More precisely, when molecular changes occur responding to the external stimuli or perturbation. Some of the smallest, most useful machines known to science are the biological molecules that keep living things living. The nature’s strategies are From Atoms to Molecules to Supramolecular Aggregates to Biomolecular Machines (figure 1). In biological systems like the proteins myosin energies the contraction and relaxation of muscles. Cellular cargo around the cell is dragged by Kinesin. Different enzymatic activities like, unwind, rewind, and wrapping, and molecular motor used by bacteria to rotate their whip-like flagella up to 100,000 times per minute, propelling them forward. These all machines produce their motion from the chemical energy released by bond braking or making. These systems are very efficient at their jobs. Researchers now are confident enough to develop the similar efficient machines for versatile application in our society. Although mimicking biological systems demands lot attention and high-end sophistic approach, people have been successful to develop few of them.

Figure 1. (image taken from reference 1).

Idea from Biology:

We can acquire knowledge from nature’s biological systems, as 1) biological machines are soft and flexible, 2) biological systems operate at ambient pressure and temperatures, 3) biological motors utilize chemical energy, in the form of non-covalent/covalent-bond breaking/formation or concentration gradients, 4) bio-machines function in solution, 5) bio-motors and other machines utilize spatial orientation which serve to restrict most of the degrees of freedom of the machine components and/or the substrate(s) they act upon. The molecular machine and the substrate(s) acting together remain kinetically allied during the function of the machine, 6) most of the time non-covalent interactions (intramolecular and intermolecular) rule the biological machines.

Bio-mimetics and Techno-mimetics:

There are two different approach towards designing molecular machines. In the first approach we can use an existing model which is already established in biology and apply those concepts for designing the artificial molecular machines. A latent benefit of the biomimetic approach is that such designs are visibly functional machines and can operate at the nanoscale with the definite limitations as nature has. Nature developed lot of bio-machines only with the help of 20 different building blocks (amino acids), ambient pH, concentration, pressures and temperatures and moreover water as the functioning medium. However, a major issue in pursuing this strategy is that we don’t have clear mechanistic views, biological machines are very complicated and it becomes tough job to deconvolute the inherent reasons behind the working dynamics of individual parts of the machines. How and why the muscles work with proper order of confinement? How the parameters like, spatial arrangement, hydrogen bonding, and/or solvation changes are necessary to continue work in progress; and which only occur as a consequence of other intrinsically required intramolecular rearrangements? Applying fundamental principles deduced from small-scale physics and bio-machines would be more interesting in this manner. The second approach can be to change the scale of macroscopic world to microscopic world. We can follow the Drexler’s proposal, which describes that “a device able to guide chemical reactions by positioning reactive molecules with atomic precision” that means the molecular assembly can act as a whole a machine and this concept spawn the inspiration behind “nano-cars”, “molecular wheelbarrows”, “molecular elevators”, “molecular pistons” etc. This approach can be advantageous because engineering concepts work behind such machines and mechanisms are well understood in terms of their macroscopic counterparts; but it also includes some drawbacks which unveil that these machines are inappropriate for the molecular world.

Latest research on artificial molecular machines enforces us to think that such molecular devices are achievable in reality. Researchers have developed power-driven, (heat energy, electrical energy, chemical reactions, or light.) molecular motors, shuttles, elevators, walkers etc. (figure 2). These developments are edging toward future applications that could assort from molecular electronics to artificial muscles. The work still deals with the fundamental and no one really knows what to do with the machines or how they’ll be useful. Prof. Stoddart and his co-workers got the Nobel prize in the year 2016 for their contribution in this field.

Figure 2. (taken from reference 3)

Simple Machines:

After the invention of the switchable molecular shuttle by Stoddart’s (figure 3), the field is geared-up and many chemists have developed variety of molecular switching molecular systems based on “on”/“off” tasks with synthetic mechanically interlocked molecules. Generally, people use a catenane and/or rotaxane switches which act as bits in molecular electronics and also used for fluorescence switching, chiroptical switching, controlled release delivery systems, for switchable catalysts etc. These are the simple machine for more complex task, molecular system will also be more complicated and the integration of the dynamics of the individual parts of the molecular machine have to organize in such a way that it works more than the simple one.

Figure 3. Stoddart’s simple molecular machine based on rotaxane (taken from reference 4).

Compound Machines:

We can assemble the simple machines in such a way that the output of one provides the input for another. More precisely, we can connect the simple machines to get more complex task to be done. For example, a pair of scissors can be considered like a compound machine consisting of levers (the handles and blades pivoting about a fulcrum) connected to wedges (the cutting edges of the blades). As the matter behaves so differently at different length gauges, different types of simple machines cannot perform the same task they execute at macroscopic scales. In the figure 4, we can see that on irradiation of UV light the molecule changes it’s spatial arrangement. The light energy introduces twisting in the molecule and it can lead to mechanical energy.

Figure 4. Compound machine (taken from reference 5).

Molecular Robotics:

After the famous proposal of Feynman in his celebrated lecture “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom”, the mechanical manipulation of matter at atomic-level becomes highly fascinated to the scientists. The concept reveals the use of molecules to manipulate other molecules in robotic fashion is an interesting one that has some preference in biology. By assimilating the actions of several simple molecular machine functions and positional switching one can develop a compound molecular machine which collectively can perform a complicated job (figure 5).

Figure 5. Molecular robotics (taken from reference 6).

Outcome:

In our everyday world there are several molecules that resemble in their appearance machines familiar to us and are very appealing, but mechanical mechanisms that function at the macroscopic scale are physically impossible at the atomic or molecular level. Few, techno-mimetic molecular machines are considered which resemble and also work in reality. Although, most of the complex machine mechanisms cannot be scaled to the environments in which molecular machines function, it may prove difficult for techno-mimetic designs to produce nano-machines that are significantly more advanced in terms of mechanism than the elementary systems made to date. However, all of biology is based on molecular machines that use significant mechanisms to carry out the sophisticated and useful tasks they perform. Through adopting the basic principles of such machines function, bio-triggered mechanisms can envision us to construct the molecular machines that are more than just simple machines, with compound mechanisms based on the integration of several simpler working parts.

Future Scope:

The science of molecular machines, seems that the field is at a crossroad, in certain facets, it has grasped maturity as we have better understanding of how to design and control molecular motion, and to some extent, theoretically. We need more directed research to be done to decode this motion into useful exertion. The field is in its infancy as we do not have the nitty-gritty details to assemble molecular systems organized to explore not only the science in the laboratory but also in nature.

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Liang Zhanga, Vanesa Marcosb, and David A. Leigh, Proc. Natl. Acad. of Sci., 2018, 115, 9397–9404.

#BiotechNext : Post COVID Effect On Biotechnology Research: Challenges And Opportunities

Student contributors: Rudranil Samantha and Rumale Das (B. Tech Biotechnology)

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused a challenging situation all over the globe. From health to the economy, everything has been massively affected by this pandemic. People across the globe have been going through tough conditions. Control measures namely social distancing has been initiated by the governing body of every country to diminish the pace of this virus transmission. All things including science have been paused but biotechnology research is a key to fight off this pandemic by developing a vaccine, drugs. Though most of the research work has been stopped or delayed but biotechnology research is an essential field for the advancement in developing the treatment of this disease. Most of the countries are going through the lockdown phase, for which all schools and colleges regular classes are being held over the online portal. Most of the educational institutes are organizing a webinar to enhance the knowledge of each student. However, some of the researchers have been benefited due to these massive changes that have begun with COVID-19. Researchers can complete their leftover manuscript, can actively take part in some research activity and most importantly they can contribute their thoughts in developing vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, etc and also finding a solution for this deadly situation. But these may create several troubles such as the presence of limited staff for conducting a research work as to maintain social distancing, again limited technician staff for operating several types of machinery such as mass spectrometry, scanning or transmission spectrometry, etc. along with staffs those are working in supply stores. However, the chief researcher may also face some problems in losing some of his/her staff, because those may have poor immunity or some of them may be aged or some may suffer from chronic disease. Yet, this specific pandemic is driving individuals to rethink their jobs as researchers. Regularly, we are lucky enough to have the option to appoint a portion of our for family-related duties to other people viz. childcare, household works, etc; in any case, this lockdown situation has upset these basic assets and imperiled our work, as we can’t shuffle between work and home conditions. For instance, right now, a huge number of specialists, graduate students are occupied with regulating their students for their everyday training, as distance learning has transformed guardians into full-time instructors. But in some other countries like Mexico, this may be gender-based so, the research project is destined to be either scaled back or then again constrained, consequently including some pressure components to the workplace. It is to be noted that in this current scenario, it is very much effective to come up with some alternative project work related to biotechnology which guarantees to become a success. This situation has forced to change the role of chief scientists, technician and other staff members of a laboratory, whereas, on the other hand, they had also benefited with advantages such as in analyzing the leftover data, to write dissertations and also explore some new ideas in the field of bioinformatics, in silico studies, etc. Besides this, some of private industries or institutions are conducting webinars where they can gather new knowledge or technology or in some context they can also be a speaker of a certain webinar where they can illustrate their new ideas on discovery or projects or experimental work. Therefore it is a good opportunity for the upcoming or new researchers to gain knowledge or grow new abilities and thoughts to make the best out of these circumstances.

Nevertheless, these work-related deeds will be tackled with the same commitment and proficiency under this current situation, if it is thought then it would be very wrong. It is known that personal isolation and correlated tension to this pandemic in which we are now living, can have an acute psychological effect. In this situation, we all have to be extremely self-stimulated, and also we have to inspire others to be productive. As well as we all have to realize that it is not possible to concentrate on work at an equal level while someone would under normal circumstances. This situation has also raised the problems of some members of the research group to think of their financial condition or course of events for finishing a degree and future employment possibilities.

Though in some of the countries, the trajectory path of this pandemic is beyond the control line, but designs are in progress to move back to their normal activities. But it is to be kept in mind that SARS-CoV-2 will remain as a seasonal pathogen until and unless there is an effective vaccine. This situation has able to make us habituate with a new strategy which will permit us to more readily adapt to such a circumstance later on.

This COVID-19 pandemic situation has able to serve several aspects in the fields of biotechnology. The researcher has got a chance to experiment with the process of new findings and also this situation helps the professional youth to gain a vast knowledge of new technology or protocols. The students also have got a chance in broadening their knowledge in this field by writing various review papers, hand-on training, etc. Other than the specialized parts or technical aspects of leading biotechnology research, it also motivates the researcher and also the human spirit by providing spontaneity, intelligence, a positive attitude, and liberality. All the people are in a tough situation with an insecure destiny but it also offers a scope to reconsideration how can we interact with each other in a way which will good for the huge scientific province for a lengthy period. However, from this pandemic situation, the governing members of countries have also realized the importance of the biotech sector, as the key ingredients to fight against this pandemic can only be provided by this sector. On the other hand, there is a huge demand for the antibody, drugs, and other clinical items, which is rising exponentially so, this could be a factor that can trigger the development of the biotech industry at a noteworthy level. Biotechnology is gaining importance day by day. Coronavirus has given several good opportunities to researchers but there are some challenges as well, which should not be ignored.

Blended Education using EdTech is the Future

If demonetization leapfrogged fintech, lockdown has tremendously pushed edtech ahead. We have come to a time when blended learning delivered phygitally (physical and digital together) has come to stay. Beyond the complete lockdown phase when mentoring-learning-assessing has gone online, blended phygital education will be the new normal ahead.

For this, first one has to be a digital personality with smartphone and net connection, and with laptop and wifi connection. Next, one has to learn how to create, deliver and engage in content across multiple online platforms, and how to take matter learnt online to matter practiced offline face to face. Third, one has to now learn assessment with open book through analysis and application, through quiz, through applied projects, through phygital presentation and actual work in labs and studios after using virtual labs and studios.

Fourth, education will now move from a system imposed disciplined endeavour to voluntarily participated and internalized process. It will be truly a learner-centric education now in the new normal, and shall be far more participative than the past.

Hence, teachers cannot remain the sage on the stage, telling the last word in syllabus, its interpretation, its delivery and its assessment. S/he has to be the mentor who mentors inside and beyond the classroom, creates proprietary content (self-videos, ppts, cases and lectures) and brings together aggregated content from open sources (youtube videos, URLs, cases, slideshares, MOOCs, etc). Mentors have to motivate, show a path, be the agony aunts and uncles, friends, and start from a structured syllabus and move to organic syllabus.

And the students cannot be the pre COVID times typical students any more going ahead. Students study in classroom, are taught by teachers, limited to given syllabus, and study for marks, grades, degrees. Learners study within and beyond the classroom, from mentors, peers, personal experience, books, digitally aggregated content, through projects and assignments. Learners learn for lifetime, and hence learn to learn further as things learnt today are obsolete soon.

Also, with Artificial Intelligence, robotics, automation, Machine Learning and internet of things being the other emerging realities, the education to do things repeatedly will be totally irrelevant ahead when machines will take over almost all such work (more than three fourths of all human work today). Hence, new age skills have to be, apart from technology, in areas like creativity, innovation, incubation, problem-solving, teamwork, leadership, critical thinking, design thinking, empathy, emotional intelligence and risk management. Each of these can be qualitatively and quantitatively mentored to any youth from an early age of say 15 years till 25 years of age, and will become his or her second nature.

Yes, for this, doubling public education expenditure, digital access to the hinterland, considering digital connectivity as a human right, digital literacy as a fundamental pre-requisite in any work, providing cell phones and laptops or tabs en masse, announcing cheaper data packages for students, CSR in the field of domain of digital connectivity by corporate houses, etc and more would be needed soonest to bridge the yawning digital divide in the otherwise class divided society.

#PositiveCorona: Positive Impact of Covid 19 on Indian Education System

The COVID-19 crisis has jolted the global economy with a pervasive impact on almost all sectors. It has triggered the announcement of a lockdown by several nations in an attempt to arrest the transmission risk of the disease. According to a UNESCO report, the pandemic will adversely impact over 290 million students across 22 countries due to the closure of schools in the wake of the lockdown. Extended school closures will not only weaken the fundamentals of students, but it will also lead to loss of human capital as well as economic opportunities in the long -run. According to the World Bank, its impact will be profound in countries where education is grappling with low learning outcomes and a high dropout rate. Several educational institutions had no choice but to embrace e-learning to sustain the momentum.

Over the past few years, e-learning has witnessed an uptick due to ubiquitous Internet connectivity, the proliferation of smartphones and significant advances in technology. The ongoing crisis should be perceived as an opportunity in disguise for online education. The e-learning overcomes geographical barriers and ensures equitable access to education. It also facilitates convenient, quick, on -the- go and 24×7 access. Numerous ed-tech firms have leveraged this opportunity to offer lessons in an interesting and interactive way to students. E-learning seems a viable solution at the moment to fill the void created due to the absence of classroom learning.

Fortunately, the Indian government has taken cognizance of the untapped potential of e-learning. The one-nation-one platform facility through the PM E-Vidya platform and a dedicated channel for students from Class 1 to Class 12 will liberalize distance and online learning regulatory framework. Moreover, emphasis on community radio, podcasts, and customized content for differently-abled will enable more inclusivity into access to education.

However, certain challenges need to be addressed to bring online education into the mainstream in India. Firstly, uninterrupted access to the Internet is yet to become a reality in Tier 3 and remote cities in India. Secondly, the absence of a comprehensive policy regulation leads to ambiguity over the operational framework. Also, online education needs to take cognizance of different learning pace of students and develop customized solutions for them. Moreover, the concerns of increased screen time, anxiety and stress triggered due to the continuous use of electronic devices also need to be addressed.

Although online education cannot replace classroom education due to the personalized nature of attention and face to face interactions, it can be an effective supplement to the brick-and-mortar model of education. There is a need to revamp the current pedagogy to seamlessly integrate online learning into mainstream education. Equally significant is the need to devise a quality benchmark for education providers. This will encourage the weaning away fly -by- the -night players in the field. So far, e-learning has proved a boon for urban areas. It should be further expanded to serve the rural and underserved hinterlands as well as differently-abled sections of society. New-age technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Virtual Reality among others can be instrumental in bridging the crucial gaps.

The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has presented an opportunity to rethink the deep-rooted classroom mode of education and underscored the significance of online learning. It has been a great leveller as it has enabled various stakeholders to collaborate and assess the gaps and shortcomings in the conventional model. The COVID-19 pandemic may be just the ‘tipping point’ for reform of the Indian education system.

#PositiveCorona : COVID-19 crisis can make people pragmatic towards health and hygiene

COVID-19 has had irrefutable and despicable consequences on people’s lives and the economy. It seems to have changed our lives forever. Hopelessness is evident with sickness, death and unemployment rates soaring almost everywhere around the world. Social media has been flooding with have “Can we uninstall 2020, this version has a virus in it” memes since April. Community spreading could not be contained even after months of lockdown and life becoming a standstill in India. The Coronavirus has made communities stay away from each other for survival. While the COVID-19 pandemic is still unfolding, a number of changes, both in terms of collateral damage and co-benefits of the fight against the virus, have already started digging their heels in.

For every low, there’s a high. and even in this current scenario we are looking for a silver lining. Covid-19 has brought the vulnerability of human existence back into focus. Behavioural changes were no more a personal choice. It was designed collectively and imposed as a constraint by governments on the general public. Although the national policies meant restriction of some individual and collective freedom, the ethical principle of protecting human life was given priority. Some surprising health benefits were observed during the lockdown as people invest more time and energy looking after themselves. Here are some reasons to be hopeful about the future.

Improved hygiene

Although it’s still a long way to full recovery, the heightened public awareness about communicable disease generated by the pandemic have clearly made the average person realize that personal hygiene and sanitation can play vital roles in preventing disease transmission. Those who have tested positive for COVID-19 are a lot more likely to be washing their hands and sanitizing their workplaces and living environments than they were in the past — we are reaching close to 1.5 million positive COVID-19 cases in India now — and those who were fortunate enough to avoid exposure now feel the pressure to follow suit. While people are wearing masks out of compulsion due to government directives, they would soon realise that masks not only protect from Coronavirus, but also from air pollution, pollen grains (which acts as allergens for many), and other contagious diseases like influenza, common colds, viral and bacterial gastrointestinal disease agents.

Moreover, when good hygiene practice is institutionalized, they become part of the culture. These beneficial behaviours are expected to be passed along to the children and pay dividends in better health and longer life for generations to come. These practices, if sustained, will also help to control the next round of emerging pathogens.

Healthy living

According to World Health Organization, tobacco kills more than 8 million people globally every year. More than 7 million of these deaths are from direct tobacco use and around 1.2 million are due to non-smokers being exposed to passive smoking. Since COVID primarily affects the lungs, researchers found that smokers with a positive Covid-19 test were more than twice as likely as non-smokers with coronavirus to be hospitalised. This finding encouraged 300,000 people to quit smoking and pushed another 550,000 to try and give up the habit, according to research from YouGov and campaign group Action on Smoking and Health. The lungs start repairing themselves almost immediately after quitting smoking, with function increasing up to 10 % within nine months, according to the NHS. After a year, the risk of heart disease halves; after a decade the chance of getting lung cancer is half of that of a smoker.

A research by charity Alcohol Change UK found that with parties, pub trips and long lunches cancelled, many people’s drinking habits have been hugely disturbed. Only one in five is drinking more often instead, while one in three has completely stopped drinking, or reduced how often they drink since lockdown began, according to their research. Although reduced socialising can have different impacts on lives, a break from drinking can lead to reduced blood pressure, fewer headaches, weight loss and improved liver function, according to the Priory Group.

Work from home has become the new normal for many people. During lockdown, when people did not have to commute long distances to get to work or have to get the kids ready for school on time, we can get a little more sleep. Even an extra hour of sleep could mean seven hours instead of six, which makes a big difference to our health. In the evening too, as people don’t have to get home late, it is possible to get to bed a little earlier and get more rest. A lot of companies are offering work from home even now, as they believe productivity can increase with improved resting hours.

The extra time on our hands and the worry of gaining weight has prompted many people to start working out at home. From yoga and meditation to energetic Zumba sessions, people all over the world are getting creative with their home workouts. This is also a fun activity because the whole family can join in and stay healthy together. Others are opting to travel on foot or bike to avoid the infection risk of going on public transport. All of this is adding up to a boom in cycling. According to an estimate by traffic and transport directorate, 15 lakh people have been out on Kolkata’s roads on bicycles since June 1. There is anecdotal evidence from doctors that people are getting more active which when made a habit would benefit in both physical and mental wellbeing.

Many people have become cautious about eating outside food because they don’t want to catch COVID-19. As a result, people are eating home-cooked food. Home cooking usually uses less oil, fresh ingredients, and little to no processed foods, making it a healthier option than eating out. Moreover, cutting out junk from diet improves metabolism, immunity, decreases obesity and obesity related health risks.

Fear, worry, and stress are normal responses to perceived or real threats, and at times when ‘normal’ people being exposed to ‘extraordinary situations’ emotional difficulties like anxiety, depression, biological effects like sleep, appetite disturbances as well as severe mental illness and substance misuse are well anticipated. This has led to awareness about the importance of mental health. People generally tend to look after their physical health, but with the rise of government and NGO’s opening up helplines for attending mental health issues, people are likely to accept psychological needs of their own self and those around them. Even after the crisis is over, people are likely to acknowledge metal illness equally as they do for physical ailments.

Enhanced public health

Health systems around the world are being challenged by increasing demand for care of people with COVID-19 while trying to maintain the delivery of routine health services. As part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the state health departments had to get their health infrastructure, human resources and medical supplies in place to handle the expected surge in cases. The Central, state and district administration engaged in the government and non-government machinery, engaged in partnerships and collaborations, swiftly provided necessary approvals and embraced information and communications technology (ICT) and frugal innovation to accelerate their public health response. Even if a part of the technology and workforce deployed to combat this crisis stays after COVID is over, it would drastically improve the overall public health infrastructure which has been proved to be inadequate before COVID outbreak. Spreading awareness would also become much easier post COVID.