The new year is almost here, and looking back at 2020, the editorial team at Research Matters has put together some of the most compelling stories published during its course. From mental health to nutrition to climate change and new species discovery, we have covered most of India’s best scientific work this year. Curated in no particular order, here are some stories that our team believes deserves another read. Dive in.

An interesting year this one, with the world locked in and a virus reigning our lives. Nevertheless, there was no dearth of news in science. There was a considerable quantum of studies being reported even outside the realm of the rampant COVID-19 research. At Research Matters, we have tried our best to cover the most interesting stories in the Indian scene and listed below are our most popular stories this year. Take a look.

^{An aerial view of the Tungabhadra dam in Karnataka [Image Credits: Bishnu Sarangi from Pixabay]}

Scientists have successfully grown Indian isolates of P. vivax in different types of human liver cells.

Scientists around the world have been actively looking for eco-friendly alternatives to conventional chemical-based batteries. In one such effort, researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) have designed a micro-combustor that is efficient and environment-friendly. The study, funded by the Science and Engineering Board (SERB) and Department of Science and Technology (DST), has been published in various journals including Applied Physics Letters, Energy Conversion and Management, and Applied Energy.

In a recent study published in Nature Communications, researchers have described a new statistical method, ‘LinTIMaT’, for reconstructing cellular lineages, giving scientists the ability to deduce the evolution of cells in a biologically growing system.

New theoretical work demonstrates how sequentially captured images of electrons can be used to show the evolution of electron movement

Researchers devise a new technique to speed up processing electronic signals at significantly lower costs.

Prof Bhaskaran Muralidharan and Dr Alestin Mawrie of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay have researched a specific category of two-dimensional nanomaterials, called semi-Dirac materials. Their theoretical studies show that it is possible to engineer semi-Dirac materials to make optical filters and efficient thermoelectric nanodevices.

Researchers develop a powerful stochastic neuron, like those in our brain, using random access memory to aid breakthroughs in artificial intelligence