R. Prasad

Chennai

Writer at The Hindu

Science journalist with nearly three decades of experience. Ph.D from IIT Bombay @RPrasad12.mstdn.science

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Articles

Low power, non-intrusive 3D localization for underwater mobile robots - Communications Engineering

2 weeks ago | nature.com | Suryansh Sharma |R. Prasad

AbstractAutonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) face persistent challenges in localization compared to their counterparts on the ground due to limitations with methods like Global Positioning System (GPS). We propose a novel system for localization, Pisces, that leverages the Angle of Arrival (AoA) and Received Signal Strength Ratio (RSSR) of robot-mounted blue LED signals. This method provides a spectrally efficient training-free solution for estimating 3D underwater positions.
Greater regularity: On Nipah cases in Kerala since 2018

4 weeks ago | sciencechronicle.in | R. Prasad

Genetic sequences of Nipah virus mustbe shared in public databases quicklyThe case of a 42-year-old woman in Keralatesting positive for Nipah virus on May 8makes it the third such instance being re-ported from the State’s Malappuram district inthe last two years. The earlier cases were detect-ed last year, in a 14-year-old boy on July 21 and a 24-year-old adult on September 15.
Kerala reports seventh Nipah outbreak since 2018

1 month ago | thehindu.com | R. Prasad

On May 8, a new case of Nipah virus was confirmed in Kerala in a 42-year-old woman from Valanchery in Malappuram district. On May 6, testing for the Nipah virus was first undertaken at the Calicut Medical College. When the tested samples were positive for Nipah, a sample was sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune on May 7 afternoon for Nipah confirmation. The NIV confirmed Nipah on May 8 afternoon.
43 papers of a former CSIR scientist retracted

1 month ago | sciencechronicle.in | R. Prasad

Papers of Ashok Pandey of CSIR-NIIST in Thiruvananthapuram and CSIR-IITR in Lucknow published in the journal Bioresources Technology, where he served as editor-in-chief, have been retracted Forty-three papers of Ashok Pandey who retired from the Thiruvanthapuram-based National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST) and now associated with the Lucknow-based Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (CSIR-IITR) that were published in an Elsevier journal Bioresources...
NIV shares H5N1 genome data in a public database

1 month ago | thehindu.com | R. Prasad

The Pune-based National Institute of Virology (NIV) has shared the H5N1 genome sequence data with the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID), a public database, on April 21, days after a report was published in The Hindu about NIV not sharing sequence data before paper publication. The H5N1 sequence data deposited in GISAID was collected from a two-year-old girl from Narasaraopeta in Palnadu district, Andhra Pradesh.
No phenotype data details in GenomeIndia’s proposal call

1 month ago | thehindu.com | R. Prasad

On January 9, 2025, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) called for proposals on ‘Translational research using genomeIndia data’ from scientists based in India. On February 20, eight days before the February 28 deadline for submitting proposals, DBT extended the deadline till March 31, 2025.
Telangana had more preventable C-sections among southern States

1 month ago | thehindu.com | R. Prasad

A study found that preventable Caesarean sections or C-sections constitute between 3.1% and 8.4% of all deliveries in the southern States of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana. Among the 21,499 women studied, the percentage of preventable C-sections was 6.2%, and the percentage of C-sections was 44.3%. The percentage of preventable C-sections among overall C-section deliveries was 13.9%.
NIV’s unceasing refusal to share vital data before publication

1 month ago | thehindu.com | R. Prasad

A two-year-old girl from Narasaraopeta in Palnadu district, Andhra Pradesh, who was infected with H5N1 died on March 16, 2025; she was admitted to AIIMS-Mangalagiri on March 4. ICMR’s Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) identified the virus as influenza A on March 7. On ICMR’s direction, samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune for Influenza A virus subtyping. NIV identified the virus as N5N1, and ICMR alerted the State government on March 31 this year.
How will genetic mapping of Indians help? | Explained

1 month ago | thehindu.com | R. Prasad

The story so far: The preliminary findings of the GenomeIndia project, which attempted to study whole genomes of 10,000 healthy and unrelated Indians from 83 population groups, were published in the journal Nature Genetics on April 8. After excluding two populations, the published findings are based on the genetic information of 9,772 individuals — 4,696 male participants and 5,076 female participants. When was it launched?
How will genetic mapping of Indians help? | Explained

1 month ago | flipboard.com | R. Prasad

7 hours ago'We now learn a lot from India': Russian envoy lauds feats India achieved in space explorationRussian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov lauded the ties between India and Russia and said that Moscow is looking forward to welcoming the Indian …16 hours agoSharmila Tagore had stage zero lung cancer, didn’t need chemo: Can this lead to full recovery or can it relapse?