Transparency, poll trust

The Supreme Court of India’s notice to the Election Commission of India over the “modified” Form 6 highlights a simple point: any change to voter registration must follow due legal procedure and be made public. Citizens providing correct details should be able to register without hurdles. Transparency in the Election Commission is essential to restoring public trust.

Sankalp Gupta,

Dhenkanal, Odisha

The Changes concerning voter registration and electoral rolls cannot be treated as routine administrative matters when they directly affect citizens’ democratic rights. The Election Commission must ensure that every decision is transparent, accountable and supported by clear records. At the same time, allegations must be examined on the basis of evidence rather than assumption. Public confidence in elections ultimately depends on institutions being open to scrutiny.

Albin Thekkethala,

Kallur, Thrissur, Keralam

Medicine Nobel

Many of the most significant advances in medicine start with questions that appear to have nothing to do with the field. The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is a striking instance. This is something that India should take note of. Basic science requires patience, freedom, and continuous support — a question which seems unclear in a laboratory at the present time could end up forming the basis of tomorrow’s medicine.

Dr. Yash Javeri,

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

Neuroscience is humanity’s remarkable journey into the invisible — an effort to understand how electrical impulses and chemical signals travelling through neural pathways become thought, emotion, memory, movement and restraint. From ancient speculation about the seat of consciousness to Ramón y Cajal’s 19th century revelation of the neuron, the history of neuroscience has been a gradual passage from philosophy towards cellular precision.

The Nobel-recognised work of Peter Hegemann, Georg Nagel and Karl Deisseroth marks a fascinating new chapter. The discovery of channelrhodopsin, a light-sensitive molecular gate, eventually gave rise to optogenetics — the use of light to activate or inhibit selected nerve cells with extraordinary temporal precision.

Its importance extends beyond influencing behaviour. By isolating particular neural circuits, researchers can investigate their role in depression, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, memory and vision. Some therapeutic applications remain experimental, but the scientific possibility itself is profound.

There is a beautiful inversion at the heart of this discovery: the eye evolved to receive light, while science has taught light to communicate with cells. A molecular mechanism that once helped a tiny alga orient itself has become an instrument for exploring the labyrinth of the human brain.

Perhaps nature’s smallest responses sometimes conceal humanity’s largest questions. Vijay Singh Adhikari,

Nainital, Uttarakhand