R. Priya | Scientist | Science Enthusiast | Science Communication

I am a scientist at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology with a PhD in Physics, and a science communicator. My intention with every piece of content I create is to promote scientific literacy and encourage readers to connect with their lives, think, analyze, and make well-informed decisions because I believe that common sense combined with knowledge is the key to scientific literacy. Science is not just limited to scientists – it is for the greater good of the world and must be understood as such.

SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS

• Bimetallic Bismuth-Based Nanoparticles from Pseudo-Tetrahedral Zintl Anions – Small (2026)
• Vibrational and Structural Properties of PTCDA on Ag(110) – J. Phys. Chem. C (2025)
• Ni, Cu co-doped ZnO nanoparticles for UV photodetector applications – J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron. (2021)
• XAS Microstructure Analysis of Mn Doped ZnS Nanophosphor – IEEE Trans. Nanotechnol. (2020)
• Superior NH3 sensor using Ni doped K-OMS-2 nanofibers – IEEE Sens. J. (2017)

Selection of posts

What you’ll find on Priyafied:

• Science in Ten Minutes – clear, snack-size explanations that respect your intelligence and your schedule.
• Reflections & Essays – Science and stories that test big ideas against real life.
• Poetry & Prose – because some truths need rhythm, not equations.

Everything is written to spark critical thought, not to prescribe answers. Think of each post as a friendly nudge: “Have you considered it this way?”

Enjoy some of my posts from “Science in Ten Minutes” section and long form articles here!

What is the internet?

We use it every day. You are using it now to read this. But what exactly is it? Is it a box? Does it have storage? How are we able to store things on the internet and never run out of space? Will we ever run out of space to store things? And where are the “clouds” where things get stored? You will know everything there is to know about all these. The Internet is basically just a network of the billions of computers and electronic devices in the world. Websites are just as they sound – Sites where information is stored and can be accessed by visiting those “sites”. So, the World Wide Web is just a collection of different websites, and it is essentially physical storage. These websites are saved on servers and when you want to visit a website, the information is sent via physical cables to your computer, and you view the information using an application called a web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, etc.). Yes, even wireless connections like WiFi rely on cables at some stages on their path. And each of these websites has a unique “link”, which is its address on the server. Hence, there are many ways you can bring your computer to join the world wide web (WiFi, broadband, cable, DSL, 4G or 5G, etc.).

Now that we know what the internet means, we can understand what the cloud means. Just like your computer or other devices have physical storage on them like hard drives, the servers we talked about earlier also have storage. Along with storing websites, you can use them to store your data as well, but more securely. This is called cloud storage, which is essentially what YouTube and others are. The question now arises – With more than two million terabytes of data being added each day on the internet, will the servers ever run out of space? As we know, the internet itself is just a network of all computers, so the connection or accessibility will never run out. However, the servers holding all that information may run out of space. But with servers being added every day with newer technologies of memory storage, it is unlikely for space to run out so easily. The real problem is not whether we will find space to store our data, but whether we will find our data. As the volume of data increases, retrieval could become a bigger problem than storage itself.

The Standard Model (How the universe works)

The resultant of over 400 years of physics research is the Standard Model, which provides the explanation about the working of the universe. Of course it is a developing theory and over 95% of the physics is still left to be fitted into it. But we have a good start. I realize that when scientists talk about such fundamental things, it becomes difficult for a common man to follow it, and as a result, people in general fail to understand its significance. But after this, I promise you will be able to grasp what scientists are talking about.

In general, we know that everything is made up of particles of some kind. While there are many types of particles, they are of two major types – particles that make up matter, and particles that make up the forces acting on matter. Matter particles (Fermions) are the electrons, up quarks, down quarks, neutrinos, plus 8 more complex variations of these. Matter is made using atoms (electrons + up quarks + down quarks), while neutrinos are extremely light, non-interacting particles constantly flowing through you, me, and everything without interacting with anything.

Acting on these matter particles are four types of force particles (Bosons). Without forces, these particles would be wandering lost around the universe without doing anything. The first type of force, the electromagnetic force, acts on matter having some positive or negative charge on it (Photons). The second type of force, the strong force, keeps the matter particles (quarks) together (Gluon). The third type of force, the weak force is responsible for decaying of particles to simpler forms, which is the method used by the Sun to give us energy, resulting in two types of force particles (W and Z bosons).

After the basic picture, now comes the final force particle that ties all of this together (Higgs boson). The Higgs Boson is a very complex field, but in simple words, when the Higgs field acts on matter particles, it gives it the thing we know as mass. Not everything is known about this though, but since this field is responsible for giving matter particles their mass, it is unofficially known as the God particle. However, all this leads us to three open questions that still need answers – 1) How can we fit in gravity, which is a major force in the universe, into this standard model?, 2) Are these forces different or are they manifestations of a single force (A Grand Unified Theory)?, and 3) While all this is impressive, it still accounts for only 5% of the energy of the universe. What about the remaining 95% that we are calling dark matter and dark energy?

We can only paint a full picture of the universe when we have answers to these questions. But who knows whether we will run into more questions once we have solved the problems at hand.

For a beautiful explanation, look at the following video by David Tong, theoretical physicist at the University of Cambridge:

Interested in reading more about the unified forces of nature? Read my article on unifying the forces of nature for a detailed perspective.

String Theory: Are we all manifested by strings?

We have heard a lot about String Theory. However, not all of us have really understood what it means to study “strings”. If you would go back to the previous topic of The Standard Model, we reached the conclusion that everything is made up of particles (electrons, quarks, gluons, etc.). But we got stuck at the point of combining all this with gravity. This is where String Theory comes into the picture and essentially says that even these particles are made up of one-dimensional strings. Each of these strings is identical but the reason different particle types exist is that they vibrate at different frequencies. It means that if a set of strings vibrate at a certain frequency, they are creating quarks. If they vibrate at a different frequency, they create electrons, and so on. As the research on string theory progressed, we saw that only having strings is not the complete picture. So, scientists use something called “branes” for understanding to which these strings are connected. Branes are like sheets and can be of any dimension. For example, a brane having a front and back would be two dimensional, a brane having front, back, up and down would be three dimensional, and so on. We live in a three-dimensional world, but scientists believe that there are even higher dimensions than these where the strings vibrate, which we are not able to access because they are way too nanoscopic to perceive or measure. Another important aspect of string theory is that for every matter particle, there will be a force particle present somewhere (read the previous topic on The Standard Model). If we are able to solve string theory, we might be able to relate gravity to the other fundamental forces, and maybe also uncover other exciting physics in our universe.

At this stage, there is no experimental evidence for string theory, but it gives hope for unifying the physics of the universe because the biggest to smallest matter and forces can be tracked down to identical strings. That is the beauty of this idea. If String Theory is proven to be correct, then everyone and everything is identical at its core, and the differences created are only superficial. Does this ring a bell? (Can we reach the unifying force of nature?)

Gravitational Waves
(Universal waves of spacetime)

After understanding how the universe works (The Standard Model) and what makes up those components of our universe (String Theory), it is time to understand the web that controls these components – Gravitational Waves. It is not difficult to understand, but the only reason it becomes difficult to understand is that the visualization of dimensions is difficult. It is easy to understand two-dimensional and three-dimensional spaces. A sheet of paper, for example, can be imagined as two-dimensional compared to the real world. But when we already have length, breadth, and height, it is difficult to imagine where you can add the next dimension. I can give you a flavor. You can do this small experiment at home with a small ball or a piece of aluminum foil, a flashlight (you can use your phone), and a flat surface (floor, wall, etc.). Here is a snip from my article. You can read the whole article here.

Do you notice the shadow becoming bigger and smaller as you move the ball front and back? Simple right? This circle on the wall has a length and breadth, but no height. We are not changing the actual size of the ball, but changing its position in one dimension is changing its shadow in the two other dimensions. This means by analogy that you move the ball in the third dimension, which is bringing about a change in the first two dimensions. If a creature did not know how to see the third dimension, it will be magic to them. Similarly, if a creature can perceive the fourth dimension and makes changes to it, we will see changes in three dimensions. In that case, we will see it as magic, but it’s just physical reality.

Now that we get an understanding of how the fourth or higher dimensions can affect our existing three dimensions, we can try to understand gravitational waves. The first successful theory of gravity was given by Sir Isaac Newton, which was well-received. He said that gravity is a force of attraction between two bodies and depends on their masses and the distance between them in space. This is not wrong, but it is not the bigger picture. Then came Albert Einstein with his General Theory of Relativity, where he stumped everyone by proposing a new and complex picture; but it made sense. He said that instead of just space, we should consider something called spacetime. Just like we don’t see light itself, but light helps us see things, in the same way, we feel the effects of spacetime. Let’s say you are holding a piece of string and a bird comes and sits on it. If you suddenly tug at the string, the bird will feel the effects of it because it was sitting on it. Similarly, if you are sitting on a hammock (hanging bed made of cloth suspended between two trees usually) and somebody jumps on it, you will feel the effects because you are also on the same hammock. On similar lines, say you are in a cage made of flexible material. If somebody enters the next cage, you will feel a force towards that person. But you know this is not the case and the attraction is only because of the bend in the cage you are in. Now imagine the same cage in multiple dimensions. This is the web of spacetime we exist in. So, if something approaches us, we feel the tug, but perceive it as gravity. Gravitational Waves are a direct result of this theory of gravity. A major event in the universe (for example, the collision of two black holes) sends ripples through spacetime, which gets weaker as it travels. As a result, the gravitational wave we detected in 2015, due to the collision of two black holes 1.3 billion light years away, was weaker than the vibration of a nucleus by the time it reached the Earth. The LIGO detector was specifically designed to be this sensitive to detect these waves, and we are constructing similar detectors all over the world for this purpose.

Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Cancer, chemotherapy, and radiation: Killing cells that forget how to die

Cancer is a difficult subject to discuss for people undergoing it themselves or their loved ones. And I am one of them because my mother struggled with it in her life, so I have seen her pain. It usually becomes very difficult to understand the situation if one is not aware of the terms used by the doctors or in reports. This is because while those terms make diagnosis fast for doctors (they may not have a lot of time to explain due to so many patients), they fly over a common man’s head and make understanding out of reach, which ideally should not happen. Amidst all this, misinformation and disinformation are also prevalent. So, in this topic, I try to explain the terms used by doctors and in reports in a simple manner. I have also provided recognized resources for further information from the American Cancer Society. If you feel or notice any signs or symptoms, get them tested and diagnosed by a doctor as soon as possible. Cancer risk, prevention and screening guidelines by age

We have not yet been able to completely cure cancer in most cases because we don’t have a permanent cure yet. However, we have other treatment forms among which chemotherapy and radiation therapy are the most commonly used forms. Other than this, there are options like surgery, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and more. I will discuss some of them briefly and in simple language to make it easy to grasp. To begin with, I will talk about cancer itself. In simple words, your body is made up of cells of different kinds, which work together to keep your body functioning. In their natural cycle, cells are created, they perform the functions they should, they die, and finally, they are removed from the body. But if something goes wrong in the body, the old cells don’t die and new cells keep getting produced. This is cancer, and the body cannot function as it should. This can happen in any part of the body and the cancer is named based on the part of the body it occurs in. Cancer can also occur in the blood cells in addition to other solid parts of the body. The lumps of these over-produced cells are called tumors. Some types of cancers are also hereditary. (What is cancer and understanding your diagnosis)

If this tumor does not spread to other parts of the body, they are called benign (not cancer), and if they do spread, then they are called malignant (cancer). The stages of cancer imply the size of the tumor and how much it has spread to other parts of the body. But how does it spread? Few cancer cells can break away from the tumor and travel to other parts of the body via the bloodstream. Although most of these escaped cells are killed before they start growing, sometimes one or two of them settle in a new area and start growing. This process of spreading cancer cells to other parts is called metastasis. Recognizing signs and symptoms, followed by proper tests and diagnosis by a doctor is extremely crucial for the early detection of cancer (Signs and symptoms, tests and diagnosis, early detection of cancer – guidelines)


As per scientific and medical research until now, the treatment of cancer focuses on curbing the over-production of those cells and the destruction of cancer cells. There are many ways in which this is done. If the tumor is large, then the first option that doctors employ is usually surgery. They would surgically remove the big lump and then employ other methods to clean the remaining cells off the body. Surgery can also be used to take out a small piece of tissue from the lump and test it to find out what type of cancer it is, or do other lab tests on it. This is called a biopsy. Now come the other treatment types into the picture. Chemotherapy or “Chemo” is the most common type of treatment used. It refers to the use of drugs that kill the tumor cells. Not all drugs work in the same way, but they are intended to perform the function of eliminating tumors, stopping the growth of cancer cells, and easing the symptoms caused by cancer. The fine lines of determining: –

1. Which drugs to use (Can be one drug, or a combination of drugs)
2. How to put it into the body (From the mouth – oral, using a cream or gel – topical, through the veins – intravenous, through arteries – intra-arterial, through the spine – intrathecal, through the muscle – intramuscular, and so on. Ask if you are not clear.)
3. The schedule of doing that, and
4. How much to use for every sitting

are determined by the doctor for each case and can be changed depending on the progress and results of the patient (How chemotherapy drugs work).

Radiation Therapy is another common type of therapy used for cancer treatment. This can be used alone or in combination with other forms of treatment. In this therapy, high-energy particles are aimed at affected regions from outside the body. These travel inside and break the DNA in the cancer cells, which kills the cancer cells. Of course, these high-energy particles are very likely to affect the nearby cells as well, but they are quick to recover and work the way they should. While chemotherapy affects the whole body (depending on the type of drug used), radiation therapy is local to the chosen region of treatment. So, what types of particles are chosen to be radiated into the body? There are many types of radiation beam options available like X-Rays, gamma rays, proton beams, electron beams, and so on, and the particle beam is chosen depending on the availability in the treatment center and the requirement of the patient. The most common ones are X-Rays and Gamma rays (Getting External Beam Radiation Therapy). Doctors can also place a radioactive source near the tumor inside the body surgically or prescribe radioactive drugs orally or through the veins (How radiation therapy is used to treat cancer). It goes without saying that special and specific precautions are to be taken for Radiation Therapy.

I am open to comments and discussions. If you have any suggestions for topics that you feel deserves an article, let me know here! Feel free to just type away your thoughts. Let’s connect!

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