Ahoy! An age of frenetic scientific discovery is here!

The Hindu

29-04-2025

On scientific and medical innovations and breakthroughs, early identification of postpartum depression, the importance of diet, the blistering heat and its effects on health and more
It truly seems to be the age of innovation that we are living in, not in the conventional sense of the term, but innovation at a pace that we have never seen before. It seems as if the development of the COVID vaccine in record time has been like a magic wand that's opened up a Pandora's box of possibilities. Of course technological improvements, not to mention the employment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have come a long way in facilitating this. Not a day passes by, literally, when we have not heard of some jaw-dropping strides marked in the treatment for Parkinson's, or how scientists grew a spine in a petri dish, or a tooth, or invented a new gene editing tool, or used AI to reduce the time for an accurate diagnosis, or even devised new, hitherto unimagined ways of treating a particular condition.
Here, I write about how Indian scientists helped develop Brain-Computer Interface that enables movement for people who are paralysed. At the University of California, San Fransisco, Indian-origin scientists Karunesh Ganguly and Nikhilesh Natraj have worked together as a team to help a person with paralysis use just thought to drive movement. The team developed a framework that allows a paralysed man to control a robotic arm with the assistance of AI, for seven months straight, using just his thoughts alone, with minimal calibration. While this is proof of concept and more work needs to be done on the product and its applications, before it is deployed to the benefit of more people, the achievement is nothing short of miraculous - given the participant in the trial cannot move at all.
The study participant had tiny sensors implanted on the surface of his brain that could pick up brain activity when he imagined moving. The sensors do not send pulses to the brain, but only read out the intent to move from the movement regions of the brain, Dr. Natraj explains. He tried out with a virtual robotic arm first, which allowed him to refine his control and direction, and then eventually, was able to control an actual robotic arm which would carry out the actions.
Somdatta Karak reports on a finding from the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, which argued that lipids also, in addition to DNA and proteins, guide evolution. 'Most labs study the roles of DNA, RNA, and proteins in evolution because a large community has grown around it,' a researcher at the lab said. 'However, evolution happens through all kinds of molecules that make up living cells and we need to study them.' Not just in evolution: the study also opens up the possibility of understanding human health better. Drugs like statins are commonly used to control cholesterol — another prominent lipid — in cells. As scientists develop a fuller understanding of the roles lipids essay, they may assess and optimise the long-term use of substances like statins. The role of lipids in controlling the entry of pathogens into cells also demands attention.
In other uplifting news, indigenously developed HPV test kits for cervical cancer screening were launched in Delhi. The test kits have been developed under the Department of Biotechnology's partnership programme Grand Challenges India at the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council. The key feature of these kits is the inclusion of only the seven/eight most common cancer-causing types that will allow a very efficient and cost-effective screening programme, which will be most suitable for India.
Afshan Yasmeen reports on a NIMHANS study that identified blood-based biomarkers for early detection of postpartum depressive symptoms. There are currently no blood-based biomarkers available to identify postpartum depressive symptoms at an early stage of pregnancy. One of the researchers said: 'Therefore, our discovery allows for earlier intervention, which can help reduce the harmful effects of depression. Our findings open up the possibility of a simple blood test during early pregnancy that could help identify women at risk, allowing for timely intervention and support,'
Serena Josephine M. reports that Tamil Nadu's unique Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam scheme hits the mark by improving hypertension, diabetes control in the State. A model of public health care that attempts to take diagnosis and treatment to the people's doorsteps, the MTM scheme was evaluated for efficiency and the study found that there was much better control with reference to blood pressure and blood glucose levels in the population after the roll out of the scheme. Perhaps, here is an innovation/model for other States to follow, even as we are in the middle of a burgeoning non communicable diseases epidemic.
Let's stay on course here, and look at NCDs in depth. Earlier this week, Zubeda Hamid in a conversation with Dr. Nihal Thomas, elaborates on a story we written about earlier - Type 5 diabetes. Here, the pair discuss Type 5 diabetes and why is it a concern in India?
Athira Elssa Johnson reports on how Thandav, a dance-based movement therapy for school students, girls, managed to reduced the risk of NCDs. For more, read on here: School-based dance routines reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases among girls, study finds
Pawan Agarwal makes a very important point that in the battle against NCDs, an important factor is awareness generation, and Teaching children to eat well must begin in school. Since diet is a very important factor of the ideal lifestyle factors that enable one to keep the risk of NCDs at bay, it is key, When it comes to edible oil, to find the right balance. More on diet, Dr. Uday Nagesh Shivaji writes a detailed note on how snacking on processed foods might be leading to a reduction in your quality of life: Your go-to snacks could be fuelling chronic inflammation – here's why.
As part of the 'Healthy India Happy India' series of webinars between Naruvi Hospital, Vellore and The Hindu, experts, last week, discussed how Smoking is a major risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis.
In other important developments in the health sector this past week, infectious diseases flagged a significant concern - emerging drug resistance even to newer antibiotics in the market. Experts warned against overuse of last-line antibiotics and urged the Drug Controller General of India to make sure clear pathways are laid out for the medical use of such new antibiotics to prevent newer strains of resistance from emerging for these otherwise powerful drugs.
More on AMR, Drs. Ankur Mutreja, Tikesh Bisen and Balaji Veeraraghavan wrote of several latest innovations in the field of AMR which are likely to lead from the front, including AMRSense, a surveillance tool we had outlined here some weeks ago. For more on the article: Surveillance, R&D innovation and communication are key levers for India to lead the fight against AMR.
Making a small note on the heat impact on communities and people, here. The Centre told States to ensure that work hours are rescheduled, in order to protect workers from the very harsh impact of working midday in summer. The Labour Ministry kicked in to issue an advisory to the States, here. Incidentally, it is already upon us: Conservancy workers' unions demand revised summer work hours after man dies on duty in Madurai. The conservancy worker fainted while working on the road, and fell down, hitting a stone, which caused a head injury and eventually, led to his death. The union has now urged the government to advance the work timings by an hour in the morning, keeping the workers off the streets at noon.
In context, also look at our reports on the subject: Assessed temperature-related deaths in urban heat islands, and Temperatures soar past 45°C in four Telangana districts, heatwave warning issued.
Friday, this past week, was World Malaria Day and we recorded it with these two stories: Dr. C. Aravinda wrote about the significant history of malaria, taking a broad look at how it influenced the course of history itself: The Mosquito Effect: how malarial chaos influenced human history.
Bindu Shajan Perappadan did a full-length email interview with Dr. Jane Carlton is a globally recognized leader in malaria genomics and director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute. And she talks about what the health sector has been fearing, since the ascension of US President Donald Trump and his team: U.S. funding cuts likely to impact long-term research in malaria.
Moving on to the subject of mental health, Dr. Bino Thomas touches on a key aspect of dealing with youngsters and also provides tips to handle a younger person better, in this article: When correcting a young person is perceived as rejection: Understanding how to parent and mentor adolescents.
Dr. Pushkala M.S. focuses on the importance of early diagnosis and support for children on the Autism Spectrum Disorder while Uma Mahadevan-Dasgupta reexamines the concept of play in the current educational and cultural context. She says: All stress and no play is making children anxious, with fragile mental health.
We keep a keen eye out for issues relating to access and affordability here, and here are a few articles from that segment, this week. This first one is on increasing the number of organ donors for human kidneys, given the magnitude of people suffering with kidney disease today. The supply has never kept pace with demand and As India's kidney transplant gap widens, experts call for donor pool expansion.
A study found that Senior citizens in India grapple with long distances to health facilities. It found that older adults, on an average, travelled a distance of 14.54 km to seek outpatient services and 43.62 km for inpatient care respectively; those living rurally have to travel far greater distances than their urban counterparts. As an increasingly greying nation, India has a requirement to make healthcare services accessible to the older population in future.
The UNDP India chief Angela Lusigi spoke to The Hindu on how Community participation and digital innovation is vital for universal immunisation, while complimenting India for achieving 93 % immunisation coverage.
The article that chose itself for the tail piece this week will have you craning your neck to figure it out. Dr. Mohit Muttha writes on the very real and interesting phenomena of The rise of 'text neck' and how phones are reshaping our spines. People who use a smartphone frequently have a downward gaze to focus lower, and keep their heads in a forward position for lengthy periods, which can cause neck strain, eventually hastening the process of ageing in the cervical spine. The symptom can result from improper workstations, poor ergonomics, inadequate breaks, and prolonged improper postures. Remember you heard it here first, but at the health desk here, we are learning to adopt better postures and hope you are taking the precautions recommended here.
In our explainers section, we have:
R. Sujatha Looking back to how it was a people's movement against filariasis that created an impact.
Benjamin Scrivener, in The Conversation writes about Functional Neurological Disorder: Tremors, seizures, paralysis: this brain disorder is more common than multiple sclerosis - but often goes undiagnosed.
In the All you need to know about series, we have shingles and anxiety disorders.
Here's a deep dive into last week's news on the WHO's pandemic deal.
If you have a few moments extra, do also tarry at the following links:
V.P. Jeyaseelan: More than a smile: why orthodontic care for students is imperative
Blood pressure treatment could lower risk of dementia, clinical trial data suggests
Dialysis patients struggle to get treatment in blockaded Gaza; officials say hundreds have died
U.S. health officials seek to phase out artificial dyes from food supply
Tamil Nadu bans mayonnaise made from raw eggs for one year
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