2020-2021

Antioxidants play an indispensable role in the human body. The cells of every living organism undergo oxidative stress, hence to combat against it, organisms have developed a mechanism to produce antioxidants which prevents the oxidation of the healthy cells. Also known as free radical scavengers, antioxidants prevent diseases such as cancer and heart ailments by neutralizing the free radical, thus, boosting our health.

What are free radicals? These are waste substances produced by our body and if not removed efficiently, they can damage the cells and also affect various body functions.

Every antioxidant has a unique and interchangeable role to play and hence the intake must be varied.

There is a wide range of substances that can act as antioxidants, and plants are one of them. They produce a variety of antioxidants known as phytonutrients and are considered to be healthy. Colour of the fruits and vegetables give us an indication of the abundance of the photochemical present in them. Colours such as yellow, orange, red, purple and blue usually contain oodles of plant pigments that are natural antioxidants.

Foods such as berries, green tea, dark chocolate, coffee, meat and fish are also known to be sources of profuse antioxidants.

Human body functions very closely like a machine. It is therefore crucial to keep it healthy and antioxidants can help in invigorating and keeping the body in fine fettle.

ANJALI  MANOJ

(Core Member 2020-2021)

09th November, 2020

When humans did not understand why we were different from horses,

Friedrich Miescher discovered the code of our differences.

When the origin of DNA sparked spiritual mystery,

Miller and Urey made its chemical history.

Just when changing the mother code was possible only in nature’s secret room,

Charpentier and Doudna found the key to the room.

When the mother code of humans got cursed by nature,

There were only consequences without any nurture.

When the curse of DNA became an epidemic,

Cancer became the king of death.

When chemicals were no match to dilute the nature’s recipe to disaster,

Charpentier and Doudna found the secret ingredient to cure the curse.

And when there is no better way to save a life than to remove a malison,

no one deserves the noble prize better than Charpentier and Doudna.

SRIKAR MURTHY

(Core Member 2020-21)

13th October, 2020

Paracetamol, an ubiquitous medication, commonly called acetaminophen is widely used all over the globe as a pain reliever and fever reducer. This medication has been used for ages now, but ever thought how it came into existence?

The history of this pain reliever dates back to 1893. The fact is Harmon Northop Morse had synthesized the drug via reduction of p-nitrophenol with tin in glacial acetic acid in 1877, but it was not used clinically until Von Mering tried it on humans. It wasn't available for commercial use till 1950 in United States and 1956 in Australia. 

Initially sold under the name, Triagesic, was a combination of paracetamol, caffeine and aspirin. You could not purchase it without a prescription till 1959, later it became over-the-counter drug.

The working principle of this famous drug is unknown. It is believed to work by blocking the chemical messengers that are responsible for pain. It lowers the pain signal's intensity in 30 minutes. It can reduce the number of prostaglandins, substances that make you feel pain or run a fever. It gives relief from headaches, fever, muscle-aches and even arthritis.

But as the saying goes, there are two sides to every coin, paracetamol comes with side effects, though they are rare. This happens mostly because our body can't tolerate some ingredients. Few side effects can be cloudy urine, black stools, yellow skin and rashes.

As long as we take recommended dosage it helps to treat various health issues. Always remember to consult your doctor in case of concerns.

LIKITHA  SANJANA  JOSEPH

(Core Member 2020-21)

01st September, 2020

Towards the beginning of the twentieth century, the world quickly began running out of natural fertilizers. It was the need of the hour to have an industrial, cost-effective process that could generate ammonia from nitrogen. This ammonia could then be used to make fertilizers. Prior to the invention of the Haber's process, an industrial scale production of ammonia had proven daunting. Today, the fertilizer produced from this process helps feed about 40% of the world's population.

Carl Bosch, an industrial chemist from Germany, is well acclaimed for his development of the Haber-Bosch process invented by Fritz Haber. This process triumphs as the first industrial chemical process to use a high pressure reaction technique. Under conditions of extremely high pressures with fairly high temperatures, it enables direct combination of nitrogen from the air with hydrogen. He won the Nobel Prize for chemistry accompanying Friedrich Bergius for devising this high pressure process. The Haber-Bosch process still remains the fundamental procedure for ammonia production in industries generating about 3-5% of the world's natural-gas. The Institution of Chemical Engineers has voted Carl Bosch and Fritz Haber as the world’s most influential chemical engineers of all time for their remarkable accomplishments.

ADITHYADEV  MALIKAYIL

(Core Member  2020-2021)

21st August, 2020

Pharmaceutical industry is the backbone of healthcare and is a huge enterprise witnessing a substantial growth over the past few years. The main objective of the industry is to develop, discover, produce and market drugs for patients, in order to improve medical management.

With the population rate growing rapidly and new diseases cropping up every now and then, it is important for the pharmaceutical industry to stay on par with the new developments. Hence, making further advancements in this field, requisite.

One of the developments is the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which enables early detection of diseases, drug development, data management, lab test analysis and so on.

Personalized medicine is another factor that would bring about a huge change in this industry. It is a way to customize medicines and treatment, based on an individual and taking their specific needs into account.

To sum it all, the future of this industry will revolve around prevention of diseases and also to find cures for incurable diseases at present. Substantially more advancements can be expected to be developed in this industry for the amelioration of the society.

ANJALI MANOJ

(Core Member  2020-2021)

29th July, 2020

“May your coffee kick in before reality does”, it’s a quote we have all come across, majority of the people are addicted to coffee. It’s now a vital part of our busy lives which helps to unwind oneself or just to stay awake. Ever wondered what makes us feel relaxed after having a cup of coffee? Well, here are some facts you need to ponder upon and gain some knowledge on this soothing drink.

Coffee contains a psychoactive substance called caffeine, the highly consumed drug in the world. Soft drinks, tea, chocolates all contain caffeine but coffee being the biggest source.  

Studies have demonstrated that caffeine leads to a short-term boost in brain function, improving mood, reaction time, vigilance and general cognitive function. Caffeine’s ability to help people stay awake is one of its most prized qualities. It is a stimulant which increases alertness by breaking the function of an inhibitory neurotransmitter called adenosine present in our brain, which promotes sleep.

Many people find that a morning cup of coffee helps get their bowels moving. Even decaffeinated coffee has a laxative effect, due to the release of gastrin, a hormone produced in stomach, that speeds up activity in the colon.

Despite the health benefits, coffee can be habit forming, leading to psychological and physical dependency. Too much caffeine can make it difficult to get enough restorative sleep. The risk of heart disease or stroke in many people increases, and can also damage arteries over time, restricting the flow of blood to heart and brain. However, effect on blood pressure seems to be temporary.

Too much of anything is not good. Sleep plays an important role in our physical health by healing and repairing heart and blood vessels. Nothing is worth risking our health, as long as coffee is consumed at a moderate level, it has amazing health benefits.

RISHIKA ANILKUMAR

(Core Member  2020-2021)

17th July, 2020

 A pandemic is the outbreak of a disease spread over multiple countries or continents. The lives lost due to natural disasters and war, fall short by a great margin when compared to disease causing viruses and bacteria. The Black Death claimed a staggering, 400 million lives just between 1346 to 1353. The lack of scientific understanding of the disease cost us profusely.  At the brink of the 18th century, global life expectancy turned out to be just around 30 years. What changed all this was the gradual improvement in the field of science and hygiene since then.

In our present scenario, the Coronavirus (COVID-19), has changed the world outside our doorsteps on an unprecedented scale. What supplements our medical field is the vast advancements in the field of engineering. Engineering has enabled us to develop testing methods that are quick, low cost and highly throughput. It has enabled us to use computational and experimental methods to understand how viruses spread. 

Countries like Italy and India have made major strides in developing low cost ventilators.  AI is also being used by many countries to quadruple the testing rates.  During such tough times, there should be no shortage of gratitude shown to all those who are working tirelessly to keep us safe.

ADITHYADEV  MALIKAYIL 

(Core Member  2020-2021)

16th June, 2020

Disturbed with your sleep schedule in this lockdown? Can’t sleep after binge watching Netflix? Here’s the solution! Say a goodbye to your bad sleep cycle.

Most insomniacs consume drugs like benzodiazepines. These give instant results by increasing drowsiness; however, they can cause problems with memory and attention. So, here’s a cure without actually taking in harmful drugs!

Lavender essential oil alleviates mild insomnia and reduces anxious thoughts by altering your brain waves to produce a more relaxed state.

It acts as an anxiolytic and a sedative, to ease the relaxation process. It thus induces sleep while interacting with neurotransmitters to help quiet the brain and nervous system.

You can just massage it on your forehead or have a bath by putting a drop of it in a bucket of hot water, or even rub a couple of drops into your palms before going to bed. Research has shown that we can make use of lavender oil without any side effects while it helps to slow down the escalated heart rate, increases drowsiness and lowers your blood pressure. Well-tested and affordable, this lavender oil from plant therapy is among the top choices for essential oils to help improve sleep.  

AKSHAYA VENKATARAMANAN

(Core Member  2020-2021)

05th June, 2020

In today's world one of the most terrifying diseases you can think of is cancer. Even though there has been great advancements in the medical field, a proper treatment for cancer, especially when it reaches stage 4 is needed.

Slow moving electrons can be an effective treatment. A previously less observed effect plays a pivotal role. Ion beams are usually used to destroy cancer cells, but how exactly it is done has not been understood accurately.

This is due to a process called Interatomic Coulombic Decay. An ion can pass on additional energy to surrounding atoms which frees a huge number of electrons, with precisely the right amount of energy to cause optimal damage to the DNA of the cancer cells. When a charged particle penetrates the human tissue at a significant speed, it leaves a giant atomic mess in its wake, therefore creating a chain of effects. The ion, when moved through other atoms makes all the particles ionized. Fast electrons fly around and then collide with others. 

A fast and charged ion can trigger a particle, which will shower  hundreds of electrons each, with much lower energy. At atomic level the probability of a slow electron destroying a DNA strand is quite high. Surprisingly, an extremely fast electron normally just flies right past the DNA molecule without leaving a trace.  Not all electron spaces are occupied. If an electron shell in the medium energy range is free, an electron can  jump from a shell with higher energy. This transition releases energy, which can then be passed to the human tissue via Interatomic Coulombic Decay. The ion transfers this energy to several atoms in the direct vicinity at the same time. One electron is detached from each of these atoms and as the energy is divided among several atoms, this leads to a large number of slow-moving electrons.

With the help of an ingenious experimental setup, it is possible to prove the efficiency of  The Interatomic Coulombic Decay. In order to correctly describe the interaction of ion beams with solid materials or organic tissues, this effect can be taken into account. 

This technique is important not only for the optimizing ion beam therapies used in cancer treatment, but also for other areas, such as protecting the health of space station crews, where they are exposed to constant particle bombardment from cosmic radiation.

With the new trends coming up and development in technology, this can be one of the leading cancer treatment processes.                          

RISHIKA ANILKUMAR

(Core Member  2020-2021)

18th May, 2020

We all know how important it is to present our opinions and ideas in front of everyone. We’ve all read and known about various scientists and researchers from different parts of the globe who had their accurate theories and concepts, but couldn’t be known to us due to lack of presentation skills.

 A question arises here: What are these “presentation skills”?

These are the skills one needs to bring in to deliver effective and engaging presentations to a variety of audiences. Presentation skills covers a variety of areas, some of them being: tone of your voice, structure of your, presentation design of your slides, and also the body language you convey.

Some points mentioned below can prove helpful in improving your prowess in showcasing presentation. 

• Know what your audience needs. Concentrate on the needs of your audience and accordingly modify your content depending on whom you’re going to address. The same presentation on the same topic can be delivered to different audiences with different set of examples, which are relatable to their needs and lives maybe. This makes it easier for the listeners to grab what you’re saying. For example: Time management can be taught to both school goers as well as office goers.
• Analyze your strong and weak points before the presentation, be confident and focus more on your positives.
• Voice modulation. Using your voice effectively with appropriate pauses, helps in engaging the listeners so that they can get a complete gist of your thoughts and opinions about a particular discussion.
• Eye contact. Look at everyone present in the audience. This shows that you are confident enough in delivering your content and at the same time you get to know whether people are able to understand your points or not.
• And one of the most influential aspect in presenting something is smile. A smile on your face not only builds up confidence, but also makes your audience attracted towards you and your speech.
• Short and precise. Keeping presentation long can lead the audience to get distracted easily. Your speech should be short, descriptive and impactful.
• Interact with your listeners. Last but not the least, you may ask them a few questions so that they feel involved, and thus more interested in the presentation. Also, you get to know what all possible queries are being raised by them and you can thus modify and make your presentation even better and stronger the next time. This even gives you review and suggestions which you can inculcate in your further presentations.

These tips can be useful in stress reduction at the time of presentation and will also lower the possibility of miscommunication with the audience.              

SHRUTI PANDEY

(Core Member  2020-2021)

04th May, 2020

In today’s digital world where we all are into the gadgets and assume that without them our life would be challenging and problematic, we often don’t realize that how much ever digitalized we become, our basic needs are always met by the chemical industries.

Chemical industries are the basic element for health, comfort as well as for defence. This industry has grown over years to manufacture not only pure chemicals but also various consumer products. The products manufactured by these industries involve paints, pharmaceuticals, textiles, fragrances and many more.

Now, let’s give light on the various process of manufacturing, factors for its development, and history of the same. The industry is an overall result of most sophisticated technology, it involves accuracy and precision. The processes involved in manufacturing and working of different communities are very complex, which becomes the basic subjects for chemical engineers.

These industries require certain factors that affect its working. Some of the factors involve, availability of raw materials, location, cheap labour, power supply, transportation, communication and capital. The employees should even know how to use the advanced technology in making the processes simple.

In India, chemical industries are one of the latest entrants and has developed for the last 41 years. The first industry came into existence in Kolkata in the year 1901. This step was the motivation from the National Self-Sufficiency Movement. Of course, the start of this industry was an experiment. The actual start of the industry was after the outbreak of world war, issues based on import and export made it important for Indian chemical industries to move towards its development and from then on, the industry is working well and has a major contribution in the national economy.

The fact that these industries contribute largely towards the comfort of mankind cannot be ignored. These industries are fast growing and gives a way to escalate the employment nowadays.

We all are leading a life of luxury because of these industries and should always be grateful to the chemical engineers who work for them. These engineers are the ones who enhance our life.    

LIKITHA SANJANA JOSEPH

(Core Member  2020-2021)

17th April, 2020

It should come as no surprise that the natural conventional resources that we have been using since known time are rapidly decreasing at an alarming rate over the years. The impacts of this gradual shift are worldwide.

One such region affected is the Middle East. Taking Saudi Arabia for example, it’s economic, domestic, and foreign policies are all intimately connected with petroleum. With their current reserves of up to 266 billion barrels of crude oil, they can keep producing it at the current rates for another 60 years. It is frightening to think that it is just one generation away on an optimistic estimate. This is of course not taking into account the enormous effects a country causes on the climate.

In an interview with World Finance, Dr Mohamed Raouf, a senior researcher at the Gulf Research Center explained how Saudi Arabia in particular faces grave challenges due to the effects of climate change, such as “desertification, biodiversity loss, water scarcity, sea-level rise, and extreme heat waves throughout the country”. It takes millions of years to get back the energy-dense oil from animal debris and plant remains which is clearly on a much lesser scale than we consume it. This necessitates a Fossil-Free future not just for Saudi Arabia but the Middle East as a whole.

However, we see that Saudi Arabia is not hesitating in taking bold steps to maintaining its economic sustenance. One such way the country is trying to supplement their reliance on oil is through PIF (Public Investment Funds). The Government seeks to develop PIF into the ‘World’s Largest Sovereign Wealth Fund’ where they receive profits for backing development projects and startups. 

Another interesting trend during this shift can be seen in India. Much like other countries, India too continues to construct their path to a future where their dependence on oil and fossil fuel, in general, is negligible. Liv Astri Hovem, who is the CEO of the oil and gas sector of DNV GL said, “While we forecast the global dependence on fossil fuels will come down to 50 percent from the current 80 percent by 2050, India’s dependence will be higher at 65 percent by 2050”. It can be quite astounding to hear at first, but a reduction to 65 percent consumption is quite an achievement from the 80 percent current consumption. Hovem also pointed out that, for the Indian subcontinent, gas and variable renewable  will account for half of the region’s energy by 2050, undergoing huge growth from 11 percent today. India has also made striving advancements in hydrogen-based fuels; its markets are projected to reach 81 million dollars by 2025.

There will be a time in future where all the non-renewable resources would dry up and we would have to depend on alternate sources of energy. Apart from the traditional renewable sources like solar power, wind power, and tidal power, there are even more cleaner and efficient alternatives that haven’t been utilized to its potential yet, such as nuclear waste power, magma power, hydrogen power, fusion power, etc. These prove to be promising fields for the future of engineering.    

ADITHYADEV  MALIKAYIL

(Core Member  2020-2021)

29th March, 2020