Stem - Blog Posts
⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ tuesday, 27th february '24
i started limits intro 👺👺👺 (finally) , birthday slump was reaaaaaaal </3 also i played around with the iso on "pro" mode and got these beautiful pics omg (this was alr coloured with filters, and i'm not gonna shut up till i upload these pics everywhere 😁)
just me and my pink calculator... again..
for tomorrow's chemistry paper 🫠🖐️
chemi on tuesday
haha succinaet
succinaet dehydrogenaes
Morning studying
Today’s morning i had started the parasitology module in my course of microbiology. I can’t help but being extremely excited of this even if its not “face-to-face classes” but rather recorded ones. Currently im interested on doing a master in parasitology in the future, so this might be the first date in this relationship, haha.
ps: helminths are very curious to see, although I am grateful to not be responsible for taking the diagnostic tests, but rather analyzing them.
qPCR and extraction of DNA
This morning I had the opportunity to practice DNA extraction from a blood sample from a South hospital. It was a rather nice experience since I wasn't anxious at all, I had overcome my fear of micropipette.
Study lately
Might just tryna romanticize my life by recording myself studying and putting candles while doing so, not much.
I wish I new more people who were nerds like me. I want someone to rant to me about their obsession with some sub-field of science. I want to rant to them about my obsession with space and physics and gravity and black holes. We can learn stuff and have fun at the same time. Is that too much to ask?
Madly in love with my newest IKEA purchase and the neighbor‘s cat Timmy (even though he constantly tries to break into our apartment -a criminal, but a cute one)
Also I’m already 🌼stressed🌼 about my exams
I think it's the third year in a row i've had to relearn Darcy's law because i keep forgetting the equation, because i read the name and i instantly think "Oh yes Darcy of course i know of him i haven't had the pleasure of being introduced but i hear he has over 10000 a year"
#women in stem i guess
(anyway i'm failing fluid mecanics)
me talking about my research project to non-science folks: yeah, so i'm using bacteria to get rid of oil.
me talking about my research project to science folks/writing about it: i'm investigating how the pH of the solution marine bacteria are cultured in affects their ability to degrade hydrocarbons.
me talking about research in my head: how make bacteria bois the best souuuuuuup? do they like sour soup or no sour soup?
delighted to be back in my happy place of bacteria, and not in the utterly horrifyingly confusing world of genomics.
...that said, i seem to have cornered myself into a deadline again, so here goes at least another three cups of tea.
geoengineering be like:
no one:
absolutely no one:
some random scientist named dr evil: y'know what sounds like a really good idea? froth the fucking ocean, make meringue earth using CO2.
part of the scientific community: huh... y'know, what if we just... tossed a bomb? but like, into the ocean. in the middle of a hurricane. cuz. that works. 100%
another equally ridiculous part of the scientific community that is like 100% white military men: ...okay, but what if we put frickin hydrofluorocarbons into the atmosphere. yes, it will cause warming. we know. we just wanna. play god.
having friends doing arts degree is crazy when you’re doing science;
they’re over here drawing little characters and I’m trying to do maths to not fail my lab exam tomorrow
Mathematics is taught very rigidly. When I'm independently working and studying math, it feels like art - like I'm making something and it tickles the creative side of my brain. In class it feels like the structured STEM course I initially signed up for.
It's a world of rules and structures people have carefully built over the millennium and you can add to it (if you can) or just walk around and observe and learn.
Analogously, learning mathematics, especially higher mathematics and even more so Algebra and Category Theory also feels like learning a new language. Working with it feels like writing poetry. Mathematics literature has a lot of the characteristic features of literature. There are many rules, but if you can break them, you are a mad genius!
I was talking to a professor and he told me about realising that he could read mathematics, granted it's not the same as picking up a story book, but there is this entire new world out there when you start reading mathematics. He also pulled up the linguistics definition of a language and said that perhaps mathematics is the only language with no exceptions in class once.
mossy fiber butons.
I love them. absolutely gorgeous little dudes. I mean look at em.
In the hippocampus, they typically play a key role in plasticity, processing, and encoding of information. They are also located in the cerebellum as well. I will probably post more about them as there is a ton to cover!
Last days of laboratory 🪷
It's been a busy few weeks in the lab, with the latest project on bacterial staining being my favorite. It's the last month of the semester, so I'm focusing on my finals, I'm so tired already...
I've got exams coming up on biomolecules, archaea, cell membranes, and bioenergetics. Plus, I've got a pre-calc exam to prep for (this last one is the one that I find most difficult)
+ I went to the aquarium and jellyfish are my favorites, along with sharks !
being a stem major with high love for humanities feels like being in a business marriage with a rich high class wife and having a constant affair with a dark academia mistress
National Technology Day - 11th May 2025 Tech Tok: The Short Attention Span
Instagram: ABC just sent you a reel. Instagram: XYZ just made a post. Snapchat: DSH sent a snap. Do you also see similar notifications pop up on your screen right after you keep your phone aside after hours of doom scrolling? And what do you do? Subconsciously pick up that phone again, reply and get lost in the world of videos and content again! If you think I spied on you, nah. Most of us are on the same boat, credits to the new favourite on the internet, the short-form content. What probably began as TikTok went ahead with Instagram Reels and Youtube shorts, and now, this short-form content greets us good morning before the people around us do. Constant notifications throughout the day disturb our focus and multitasking while watching these videos ruins the concentration of an individual. Though these videos cover more information in less time and are efficient, they affect the human brain and can be dangerous in the longer run. This micro habit develops overtime and subconsciously, we tend to check our phone in void times, as our brain is addicted that it unknowingly switches from one app to another where you spend hours endlessly scrolling videos and double tapping them to like. The human brain is tricked by features like infinite scroll and auto play, making the user spend more and more time on videos. These videos are smartly shot and scripted to grab the attention of the user in the least amount of time and keep them engaged with hooks or infinite loops, smooth transitions etc. Your social media feeds are tailored according to your interests with the help of cookies, and exploring videos on social media platforms is so easy that all you need to do is scroll to move to the next video. Does short form content have a bright side? Oh, yes. Educational videos have been able to perform well, with the aim to share maximum information in the least amount of time. But, not this doesn’t serve as the most efficient method. There is a difference between learning the information and consuming it. Educational reels do not serve their purpose unless the students are able to learn something rather than just watching it for fun. Though we’re advancing in the field of technology and finding new ways to reduce human work, somewhere in the background, these technological advancements are decreasing human efficiency. Our attention span has decreased over time and the ones who once watched a movie for 3 hours or had study sessions for long hours are now easily distracted within an hour. Learning through short form content is superficial and often lacks the core concepts and understanding, as perfection takes time and is not something that can be covered in less than a couple of minutes. Hours and hours of aimless scrolling through social media increases our mental fatigue and decreases our capacity to think critically. Though technology is a historical invention, it is our responsibility that we don’t get lost in the sea of reels and shorts!
Symphony of the Cosmos
In the swirls of the universe, is sung a symphony of poetic verse. The tunes of stars that burn so bright, Burning balls of nuclear fusion, lighting up the night. The gentle hums of the cosmic waves, like the songs of the sirens, carry stories of a distant place, in the hums of radio and gamma rays. Woodwinds of drifting planets sing the tune to their waltz, shillouettes of celestials dance around their stars. Percussions of a harmonic phenomenon, The Big Bang, Black Holes or a Hazy Nebula, Either the nebula's lullaby of a blossoming life, or the black hole announcing the swan song of light. They echo across the silent cosmos, exotic remnants of stars that shone bright. The seraphic strings of the harp are played, by the moons of the planet's waltz, a subtle tune of joy and merry, by the satellites lighting up our nights. Hear the symphony of the cosmos, The melody of our universe.
Green Synthesis
Green is a word we have always associated with sustainability, and Synthesis, in chemistry, is the process of forming a product by initiating a chemical reaction. Green synthesis is an eco-friendly approach to making chemical compounds using natural, non-toxic materials like plant extracts, water, or enzymes. It avoids harmful chemicals and harsh conditions, making the process safer for both humans and the environment. This method is widely used in fields like medicine, agriculture, and materials science, promoting sustainability and reducing pollution.
So, here's a simple metaphor. We're all familiar with the ways of gardening. Green synthesis is like gardening with compost instead of chemical fertilisers. Just as we use kitchen scraps and leaves to enrich the soil naturally, green synthesis uses plant-based materials or safe, natural methods to create chemicals without harming the environment. It nurtures progress while respecting nature, growing useful compounds the way a plant grows—with patience, balance, and care. This method avoids toxic shortcuts and instead works in harmony with the Earth, proving that chemistry, like gardening, can flourish sustainably when we choose to work with nature instead of against it.
22nd April, 2025
The entire world comes together to celebrate our home. Mother Earth. This year, the theme for Earth Day is Our Power, Our Planet. This urges us to realise the importance of sustainable and renewable energy to build a healthy future for the coming generations.
Energy powers the world. From homes to industries to global economies. Historically, natural resources like wood and sunlight powered life on Earth. But after the Industrial Revolution, the dependence on fossil fuels like coal and petroleum has increased significantly. Today, as the field of technology gets more advanced, the energy demands have gone up, pushing us to explore much safer, sustainable options to meet our growing needs.
So what are our sustainable options?
Renewable Energy
Renewable Energy is derived from natural sources that replenish themselves. For instance, sunlight, potential energy from wind or flowing water. They’re sustainable, do not release any greenhouse gases upon being harnessed and decrease our dependence on fossil fuels. However, they come with their own set of challenges. Initial costs for infrastructure can be high, and some renewable sources, like solar and wind, can be intermittent, depending on weather conditions. Despite these challenges, investing in renewable energy is crucial for a cleaner, more sustainable future.
It is essential to switch to renewable energy for a sustainable future. It reduces our dependence on fossil fuels, enhancing geopolitical stability by decreasing energy-related conflicts. Moreover, renewable energy offers social and health benefits. Cleaner air, cleaner water, and cleaner soil lead to healthier communities. Investing in sustainable energy also drives innovations, creates jobs in multiple sectors, and promotes long-term growth of not just the environmental sector, but many other sectors too. And through this, we don’t just protect our planet but also build a stable and healthy society for future generations to come.
So this Earth Day, let’s come together and make our future sustainable.
Entropy and Monday Mornings
It’s a Monday morning. You reach work to find 25 unread emails, a messy house, 5 essays due, a broken coffee machine, and you’re not sure if you locked your door on the way here. And it doesn’t end there. There’s more work piling up! When there’s chaos all around us, it is only natural to feel overwhelmed. What if I tell you, every object (yes, the non-living ones) experiences this too!
Only at a very atomic level. Each task in our mind is a microstate, a unique arrangement of thoughts at that point of time. The greater the microstates, the greater the number of tasks, the greater the chaos. Chemistry defines a microstate as an instantaneous arrangement of atoms or molecules in a system. And just as our task list increases, the chaos increases. Similarly, for a system, as the number of microstates increases, the entropy increases. Entropy is the measure of disorder or randomness or the possible number of microstates a system can have. It’s just chaos, where lower entropy means greater order and less chaos(Friday Nights), and higher entropy means more disorder and more microstates(Monday mornings).
Entropy tends to rise with time in an isolated system, such as an overloaded brain on a Monday. This implies that things naturally transition from order to disorder in the absence of outside input. Now, imagine some Lo-fi music playing in your headset as you work through the e-mails, sipping on the perfect coffee that you ordered, powering through your day. Maybe you even wrote a to-do list, helping you stay organised. Doesn’t seem so bad when an external effort is made. Similarly, in isolated systems, entropy usually tends to increase over time, meaning things usually go from a state of orderliness to disorderliness unless an external energy is put in to maintain structure.
S = k. ln(W)
Mathematically, the Entropy (S) of any isolated system can be measured by multiplying the Boltzmann constant (k) by the natural logarithm of the number of microstates it possesses (lnW). Entropy isn’t a bad thing—it’s just a natural tendency of systems to become more disordered over time, unless energy is added to maintain order. In your case, a little bit of organisation (external energy) can help you manage the entropy in your Monday morning.
To Science is to innovate.
To Science is to inspire.
To Science is to develop.
While science seeks the truth, leadership converts that truth into action. The role of a leader in science would be that of a catalyst, accelerating the process of bringing together theoretical ideas and practical reality.
Science cultivates essential skills like analytical thinking, problem solving and creativity - traits that shape individuals and the world around them.
But what is leadership in science?
At its roots, it begins with teachers — the school faculty who ignite curiosity and instil scientific thinking in young minds. They lay the foundation for all future innovation.
At a community level, leadership is manifested in colleges, innovation hubs, policy making bodies that work relentlessly on bridging the gap between talent and opportunity. They work on empowering the students to share, refine and realise their ideas.
At the national and international levels, we see leaders like Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Gro Harlem Brundtland, Benjamin Franklin — figures who have left their mark in both science and governance. They not only lead by example but also uplift and inspire the public, proving that science and leadership together have the power to shape history.
So, no. Leadership in science is not merely about holding a powerful position while carrying a science degree. It is about innovating - and using that innovation for the greater good. For the self. For society.
Alchemy
Where the glow of the burners set and the vapors rise, Chasing the silver of moonlit skies. The alchemy flows in the chemist's hands, An elite crafter from the marble stands.
Colors of twilight glow and Jasmine's breath, How love has brought about death. With chemicals pumping in my veins And a soul scarred with chemical stains
The echoes of silent screams filled the room, An obsession leading to doom. A pulse now beating in the molecules, a breath of a bond unbroken, In chemistry's embrace, a soul had last spoken.
