Month February 2024

Gona are the times when children were expected to remain silent in children were expected to remain silent in classrooms and around elders. Today, the world wants to hear the voices of youngsters. Their questions make leaders, thinkers, and scientists reflect on the path that humanity is trudging along. But to enable youngsters to ask the right questions, it’s pertinent to instill in them the value of scientific temper.

Despite being a Constitutional mandate, few efforts are made by the collective society to include this vital value in the otherwise exhaustive menu of our value systems that we teach children. Why is this so?

 

The concept

We live in an era of deepfakes and fake news. Blindly believing unverified claims and unsourced information has resulted in riots and cost lives around the world, including in India, in recent years. The fine line separating reality from perceived realities has blurred beyond visibility in the digital era. In these troubled times, scientific temper is the only solace that can help us sift and find truth.

 

What

Scientific temper can be explained as a mindset that encourages curiosity. skepticism, and, most importantly, a willingness to question established beliefs. For instance, while encountering new, unheard information, a person with scientific temper would stop to think, ask questions, and seek explanations.

They will not jump into conclusions based on the face value. They will not allow their emotional response overtake logic. Scientific temper helps us actively engage with the world around us and understand it better. It helps us avoid knee-jerk reactions in sensitive situations, thereby preventing any unnecessary consequences.

The history

Indian’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru wrote about the importance of “scientific temper” in his book “Discovery of India” in 1946, stressing its necessity for everyone to think like scientists. This concept of scientific temper found its place in the Constitution, much later, in 1976.

 

It was included under clause (h) of Article 51A through the 42nd amendment. This amendment bestowed upon every citizen the duty to develop scientific temper, humanism, and the spirit of inquiry and reform.” In 2014, the theme for the National Science Day was “Fostering Scientific Temper.”

 

The significance

Developing a scientific temper helps an individual develop as a good citizen, and a good human being. It helps youngsters manage their professional and personal relationships with minimal conflicts, while contributing positively to their immediate society. It is a critical building block for a healthy democracy as well

Scientific temper values the importance of questioning established beliefs and being curious. This practice will make individuals voice their opinions and raise questions, thus facilitating collective input in decision-making processes. When students learn to think scientifically, they learn how to make smart choices and solve problems.

In professional settings, it helps them resolve conflicts. Manage teams, and succeed in large matrix structures.

 

The contribution

Scientific temper has played a significant role in the development of India from a primitive civilization into a modern, emerging global war. Over generations, social reformers worked tirelessly to rid India of many, many social evils that arose from inherent superstitions. During this process, they appealed to the scientific temper of the general populace to shed their blind beliefs through reasoning and verbal articulation.

From human sacrifice to window remarriage, intouchability and religious divide- they addressed many issues. Some of these practices have been abolished from our contemporary society while other continues to haunt us even today. Only, continuous and concerted efforts to inculcate scientific temper will help our country move forward from narrow social constructs to embrace peace, prosperity, and pluralism.

Parents, educational institutions, media, and publishers of content for youngsters have a role to play in this process. As Nehru wrote, ‘’ what is needed is the scientific approach; the adventurous, the search for truth and new knowledge, the refusal to accept anything without testing and trial, the capacity to change previous conclusions in the face of new evidence… (This) should be a way of life.

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Pauling, the (near) perfect man for science

On February 28, 1951, American scientist Linus Pauling, along with his co-workers at Caltech, published their theoretical description of the structure of proteins in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. For Pauling, who spent a lifetime in science, it was the perfect way of turning 50. A.S.Ganesh takes a look at the life of Pauling…

There have been only five scientists who have won two Nobel Prizes – Polish-French physicist and chemist Marie Curie (1903, 1911), American scientist Linus Pauling (1954, 1962), American physicist and electrical engineer John Bardeen (1956, 1972), British biochemist Frederick Sanger (1958, 1980), and American stereo chemist Barry Sharpness (2001, 2022). Additionally, there have been two organisations – the International Committee of the Red Cross (1917, 1944, 1963) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (1954, 1981) – that have won multiple Nobel Peace Prizes.

On top of being part of such an elite group, Pauling has done something that makes this feat extra special. For he is the only person ever to receive two unshared Nobel Prizes! In a lifetime spent as a chemist, biochemist, chemical engineer, peace activist, author, and educator, Pauling was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1954 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962.

Born in Portland, Oregon, on February 28, 1901, Pauling had science running through him right from the start. For he was the son of a pharmacist, Henry Pauling, and Lucy Pauling, a daughter of a pharmacist.

 

Starts with a chemistry set

It was a friend’s chemistry set that aroused his fascination with chemistry though. As his family lacked the wherewithal to buy him a chemistry set, Pauling instead created his own with chemicals that he found in an iron smelter that had been 54, abandoned. He soon taught himself more in the subject than what he was taught at school.

Despite attending the Washington High School in Portland, he didn’t receive his diploma until 1962 owing to a technicality. This meant that Pauling had received his bachelor’s degree from Oregon State College in 1922, his doctorate in 1925 from the California Institute of Technology and even the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, before he got his diploma!

Gifted Teacher

Having enrolled in college aged 16, he was teaching the course he had taken the year before by age 18. A gifted speaker, it was no wonder therefore when he earned the reputation of being a fabulous teacher after he became a member of the professorial staff of California Institute of Technology in 1927. This was following fellowships after his doctorate that enabled him to study with three renowned physicists – Arnold Sommerfeld in Munich, Ervin Schrodinger in Zurich, and Niels Bohr in Copenhagen.

Pauling remained at Caltech from 1927 until 1964. It was here that he spent most of his time researching and teaching. In addition to being enthusiastic with a willingness to engage in controversial topics, he also had the innate ability to simplify, making even mundane subjects suddenly seem interesting, even to those who knew little about the topic.

 

The alpha helix

On the day he turned 50 on February 28, 1951, Pauling, along with his co-workers at Caltech-American biochemist Robert Corey and the African-American physicist and chemist Herman Branson reported the discovery of the alpha helix. The alpha helix was the first discovery of a helical structure for a protein and they published their theoretical description of the structure of proteins in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

While Pauling is best known for working out the nature of the chemical bond, his accomplishments were numerous. In addition to determining the structure of proteins, he also discovered the cause of sickle cell anaemia, helped in the creation of synthetic plasma, and even developed an accurate oxygen detector for submarines, among other contributions. It is worth noting that when he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, it was not for a single contribution, but for his entire body of work.

The only time since childhood when Pauling’s focus shifted from his work was after World War II, when he took a public stance against the war and the use of nuclear weapons. He was even accused of being pro-Soviet or Communist, but it didn’t deter him from his crusade against nuclear weapons testing. It was his advocacy for nuclear arms control and disarmament that eventually led to him winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

 

Share of controversies

Despite being the poster boy for science, Pauling wasn’t without his share of controversies. Most famous among these was how he championed Vitamin C, as he believed that megadoses could ward off the common cold, going to the extent that it could even prevent or treat cancer. Even though much of his later work was mired in controversy and provoked scepticism, Pauling’s contributions and accomplishments ensure that he is celebrated to this day, nearly 30 years after his death in August 1994.

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It is our fundamental duty to develop a scientific spirit, says our Constitution. It’s, perhaps, the only Constitution in the world to say that. No wonder then that India has a dedicated day to celebrate science – the National Science Day. It is celebrated on February 28, to mark the discovery of light scattering – or the Raman Effect – by Nobel laureate Indian physicist, Sir CV Raman.

Nearly a century has passed by since the Raman Effect was discovered, revolutionizing the study of Physics and our understanding of the world. During this period, despite all the challenges and intermittent derailment of efforts, India has upheld its commitment to science, thanks to the efforts of successive generations of policymakers.

We have overcome a multitude of challenges, since our Independence, through the deployment of scientific solutions. India’s scientific community saved the country from the brink of starvation and famines through the Green Revolution. Today, India is a leading exporter of several agricultural commodities.

It also saved India from multiple health disasters. Polio and smallpox were effectively eradicated. An AIDS epidemic was brought under control. Maternal and Infant Mortality Rates were brought down by our health experts who worked with rural and urban poor communities to raise awareness and adopt medical procedures. Even during Covid-19, India was among the first few countries to indigenously produce a vaccine to control the pandemic

From a time when Western media and leaders mocked our space-tech ambitions, India has risen to challenge the Western hegemony over the skies and beyond. From being a defence equipment importer, we are now looking to export our products to other countries.

All of this was made possible through the advancement of science. India and Indians have been at the forefront of the IT and digital revolution. Engineers and technocrats from India lead several global technology corporations today. This has been possible because of the large-scale adoption of STEM education by Indians across the country.

According to the World Economic Forum, amid a global short supply, it’s India that is producing the highest number of STEM graduates in the world, year after year. Nearly 35% of all our graduates passing out of colleges have specialized in STEM subjects. They are major contributors to the global economy.

Yet, not all is hunky-dory. The changing socio-political climate has watered down the scientific temperament of the collective society. India ranks at 40th place in the global innovation index, while countries much smaller than us rank higher. Singapore, for instance, is ranked fifth.

While the deep science ecosystem has witnessed significant growth in the country, the scientific tools for sustainable development are yet to reach the hands of frontline communities. Scientific approach to problem-solving in other fields, such as public administration, city planning, and urban development is also lacking.

In this National Science Day special issue, we look at some of these pertinent topics. How students can inculcate scientific temper. What major deep-tech innovations are disrupting the Indian startup market. How space junk is a growing menace. Is India spending enough on Research and Development… We will be discussing these points in this Issue.

This Issue also has a curated set of articles written by scientists, educators, and research scholars. On the fun side, we look at the real-life experiment that inspired Mary Shelly to write the incredibly popular Frankenstein, and the common tropes on robots in books and movies. We hope this Issue inspires and entertains you in equal measure.

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Tiny jewels with wings – that would describe sunbirds perfectly. As the bird flies busily, dipping its long, down-curved beak deep into the flowers to suck at the nectar, its feathers glint with a metallic sheen when the light catches it. The amazing thing is that tiny though it is (measuring 10-12 cm), you can count a number of colors – crimson, green, orange, blue, scarlet, yellow and mauve – in a single bird! And it is only the males which sport these colours. The females are generally drab olive green or dull brown. The males are bigger and have longer tails. Sunbirds are distantly related to honeyeaters and hummingbirds. They have the same habit of hovering before a flower, their wings a blur of movement. Sometimes they hang upside-down, pushing their tube-like furry tongues into the centre of flowers which are trumpet-shaped or bell-shaped.

Nests are small, delicate cups, constructed mostly of cobwebs with a few strands of dried grass thrown in. Up to four tiny eggs are laid. Both male and female take turns in feeding the young.

There are 12 species of sunbirds in India and the commonest is the purple sunbird.

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The sun bear is the smallest bear species in the world. It gets its name from the yellow or creamy white mark on its chest that resembles the rising sun. It is also known as the Malayan bear.

Compared to the biggest bear species – the polar bear and the Kodiak or grizzly bear, which stand almost 3 metres (9.8 feet) tall and weigh around 635 kilos, the sun bear grows to about 1.2 metres (36 cm) in length and weighs around 40 kilos. It has a black coat and a light grey or orange nose. The feet are tipped with long sickle-shaped claws, which are sharper and curvier than in most other bear species. The soles are hairless.

Sun bears build nests in trees by breaking or bending the branches. They spend the day in the nests, sleeping and basking. They hunt only at night.

In 1978, the IUCN included the sun bear in its Red List of endangered species. Although its population has decreased due to hunting, a few thousand can still be found in the forests of the Malay Peninsula, Java, Sumatra, Myanmar, Borneo and Thailand.

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Stonefish is perhaps one of the world’s best camouflaged fish. But it is also the most venomous. Found in shallow waters of the tropical Indo-Pacific, stonefish stay in the muddy or rocky bottoms of marine environments, living among rocks or coral. It may look like a stone on the ocean floor and deceptively stays blended with the ocean floor while hunting. The skin covered by wart-like lumps helps it in camouflage. It has venomous spines and when stepped on accidentally or there is a contact, it can sting. The sting is painful and can be fatal. Did you know that the fish is a delicacy in certain parts of Asia after its venomous spines are removed.

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Native to the USA and Mexico, the Gila monster is a small, venomous lizard that is known to spend more than 90% of its life below the ground. As such you may not encounter the Gila monsters in the wild but bites are known to occur at times. The venomous lizard is known to use its venom only for defensive purposes. A mild neurotoxin, the venom of the creature is produced in the lizards’ salivary glands. The saliva is toxic and is found to contain the hormone exendin-4 which could be used to treat type 2 diabetes. Although its venom is deadly, it also has potential medicinal use. While the lizard is strictly nocturnal, above-ground sightings of it are also seen during the day.

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BOX JELLYFISH

The box jellyfish can perhaps be regarded as one of the most dangerous animals in the sea because of the deadly venom produced by some species. They dwell in the warm coastal marine waters. The deadliest species is the Chironex fleckeri or the Australian box jellyfish. It is also the largest species among the box jellyfish. The venom is considered deadly because of the toxins that can attack the nervous system, skin and heart. Death is known to occur quickly. Also called sea wasps and marine stingers, the box jellyfish are pale blue and transparent in colour. One look at the marine creature and you will know why it received the unique name. The distinct cube-like shape of their bell is how the name came about. Another interesting fact about box jellyfish is that they are highly advanced when compared to other jellyfish rather than drifting. They have developed the ability to move.

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Native to central Australia, the Inland Taipan snake usually lives in desert areas. Also called a fierce snake, the Inland Taipan is the world’s most venomous snake. The venom of the snake is very potent with experts noting that a drop of the snake’s venom is enough to kill 100 people. The snake is quite shy and encounters with humans are rare. The venom is so powerful that it could kill the victim within hours if medical treatment is not given.

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A mother tongue, also known as a native language or first language, is the language that a person learns from birth or infancy within their family or community environment. It is called a mother tongue because it is typically taught by the mother or primary caregivers within the family setting. The term “mother tongue” (although a bit old-fashioned) emphasizes the intimate connection between a person’s language and their familial and cultural background. It represents the language that is passed down from generation to generation within a particular community or cultural group, shaping the individual’s identity, communication skills, and cultural heritage.

When does a language die?                                                                                     According to UNESCO, it is estimated that more than 40% of the approximately 7,000 languages spoken worldwide are endangered or at risk of extinction if no efforts are made to preserve and revitalise them. This means that over 2,800 languages are in danger of disappearing. Languages that have either no native speakers left or are on the verge of extinction, with very few speakers remaining are called dead or dying languages.

Why are languages dying?

The United Nations suggests that several factors influence the status and retention of a language within a community like:

• Poverty: In economically disadvantaged areas, access to education and resources may be limited, leading to lower levels of literacy and language proficiency. As a result speakers of minority or indigenous languages in impoverished regions may face challenges in preserving and transmitting their languages to future generations. Economic disparities can also contribute to language shift, as speakers may prioritise leaming the dominant language of the majority population in order to access opportunities for education, employment, and social mobility.

• Migration: When individuals or groups migrate to new countries or regions, they often encounter linguistic diversity and may need to leam the language(s) of the host society in order to communicate and integrate effectively. This can lead to language shift, particularly among second or thing-generation immigrants who may prioritise the majority language(s) for social, economic, and educational reasons.

• Complexity of language syntax the syntactic complexity of a language can influence its status and retention within a community. In communities facing socio-economic challenges or undergoing rapid socio-cultural changes, languages with difficult syntax may be perceived as barriers to communication, education, and social mobility. As a result, speakers may gradually shift towards simpler or more widely spoken languages that offer greater accessibility and utility in everyday interactions.

A mother tongue is crucial for a child’s all-round development

• Cognitive development: Research suggests that children who are proficient in their mother tongue tend to develop stronger cognitive skills, including problem-solving, critical thinking, and memory retention. This foundation in their first language provides a scaffold for learning additional languages and academic subjects.

• Emotional connection: The mother tongue is closely linked to a child’s sense of identity, culture, and belonging. It forms the basis of communication within the family unit, fostering emotional connections and a sense of security when children are able to express themselves fluently in their mother tongue, they feel validated and understood which contributes to their overall well-being. Moreover, this connection to their cultural heritage instills a sense of pride and appreciation for diversity, fostering cultural continuity and resilience.

• Academic success: Research suggests that kids who receive education in their first language often perform better in school, as they are able to grasp complex concepts more easily and engage more actively in learning activities. Additionally, a strong foundation in the mother tongue provides a smoother transition to learning additional languages.

How Do We Save Our Mother Tongues

To safeguard our mother tongues, it is imperative that we take proactive measures. Parents can play a crucial role by introducing their children to rhymes and stories from their native languages. Teachers should advocate for linguistically appropriate curricula, particularly by prioritizing early education in mother languages. In 1999, countries globally adopted a resolution promoting multilingual education, yet the implementation often falls short. While schools mandate learning three languages, the focus on regional languages is often minimal. Shockingly, 40% of people worldwide lack access to education in their native language, leading to marginalized communities avoiding schools altogether. To address this, we must raise awareness and strive for more inclusive educational policies that honors and preserve our rich linguistic heritage.

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