Subjects
The subjects covered in the courses and mentorship comprise major modern research topics in various areas of science. Some examples of covered areas are briefly outlined in the table with more details given further below.
Quantum physics
Quantum mechanics describes physical systems at microscopic scales, for example, molecules, atoms, subatomic particles, photons, etc. The quantum phenomena are strange and fascinating with many important technological applications.
Quantum superposition is a fundamental quantum property, which implies quantum entanglement, quantum teleportation, quantum cryptography, quantum computing, etc.
Electrons are in quantum superposition of different locations around the nuclei of atoms. Atoms do not have precisely localized positions either, but are rather in superpositions that spread around small regions of space. In principle, macroscopic systems, like apples, cats and human beings, are predicted to be in quantum superpositions of different locations too, although the effect is so small that it has not been observed in practice for macroscopic systems.
Quantum entangled particles exhibit strong correlations independently of how far apart they are. Entangled particles cannot be described individually, but rather as part of a joint system. This phenomenon is strongly connected to quantum non-local causality, which intrigued Einstein and his colleagues, Podolsky and Rosen, leading them to suggest in 1935 that quantum theory is incomplete. In 1965, John Bell developed a mathematical framework to analyse more rigorously the intuitions of Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen, in the now famously known Bell's theorem. Since then, many physicists around the world have deeply investigated this problem theoretically and experimentally, which has been recognized with the Nobel prize of physics in 2022 to Alain Aspect, John Clauser and Anton Zeilinger.
Quantum teleportation uses quantum entanglement to instantaneously communicate the quantum information encoded in quantum states, in principle between arbitrarily distant entangled particles. However, the quantum information is communicated with a fundamental error, which can only be corrected via the transmission of a classical message between the distant locations. This message must necessarily be communicated using a physical system (for example, radio waves, telephone, email, etc.), which cannot travel faster than the speed of light through a vacuum. Thus, quantum teleportation cannot be completed faster than the speed of light, respecting Einstein's theory of relativity.
Quantum cryptography allows the communication and manipulation of information with secrecy and security guaranteed by the laws of quantum physics. For example, in quantum key distribution, two distant parties, Alice and Bob, can establish a quantum communication link by the transmission of quantum systems, and use this link to establish a string of bits, called a key, known to them but secret to any third party. This key enables them to exchange messages that remain secret to any other parties via one-time pads.
A quantum computer is in principle able to perform very large number of computations in parallel on quantum systems that are in superposition of many different quantum states. Although building sufficiently powerful quantum computers is a very challenging technological problem, it is expected by many quantum physicists that quantum computers will revolutionize technology by solving very complex mathematical problems that are intractable by the most advanced classical supercomputers existing nowadays.
Although quantum mechanics has been developed over more than a century and it has overwhelming experimental evidence with many technological applications, there are big open problems in quantum physics. For example, quantum physicists do not completely understand what happens in a quantum measurement, and how quantum physics and gravity can be unified.
General relativity
General relativity (GR) is one of our two fundamental theories of physics (together with quantum theory). According to GR, space and time are part of a single entity called spacetime, whose geometry depends on the distribution of energy and mass according to Einstein's equations. The gravitational force arises from the curvature of spacetime. GR has fascinating predicitons, for example, time dilation and length contraction in different inertial reference frames, the invariance of the speed of light, the curvature of spacetime near massive bodies, gravitational lensing, black holes, gravitational waves, the origin and evolution of the universe, gravitational effects on quantum systems, etc. The global positioning system is a technology exploiting GR that we use in our everyday life (for example, in online maps and navigation tools like Google maps).
Genetics and genomics
Traits and characteristics in living organism and many viruses including the growth, development, functioning, and reproduction are passed from generation to generation thanks to genes. Genes are segments of organic molecules called deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which are made up of two strands in the form of a double helix. DNA stores information that is essential for producing proteins and maintaining the functions of cells, and it is passed down from one generation to the next, determining inherited traits.
In addition to DNA, the ribonucleic acid (RNA) plays an essential role in the genetic processes of all living organisms, helping to transfer genetic information from DNA to create proteins, and in some cases, performing other critical cellular functions. Many viruses use RNA as their genetic material, rather than DNA, and this RNA carries all the information necessary for the virus to reproduce inside the host cell. RNA is an organic molecule with important differences to DNA, for example, it is single-stranded rather than double-stranded.
A genome is the complete set of genetic material (DNA or RNA) in an organism. It includes all the genes as well as the non-coding regions of the DNA (or RNA in some viruses) that are not directly involved in producing proteins but may have regulatory or structural functions.
Genetics and genomics are important related field in biology, crucial to understand the evolution of organisms. Genetics is the study of individual genes and how they are passed down through generations, as well as how they affect the traits of organisms. On the other hand, genomics is the study of the entire genome of organisms, looking at all the genes, their functions, and their interactions, as well as the evolution of genomes across species.
Whether we are looking at tiny microorganisms or complex human beings, genetics and genomics help explain how life grows, functions, and adapts to its environment. Important goals of research in these fields are to use this knowledge to improve human health, solve environmental challenges, and create new biotechnologies.
At the heart of modern genetics is the study of DNA and RNA, which carry the genetic instructions that define life. DNA holds the blueprint for everything an organism is and can do. But it is RNA that helps translate these instructions into action, guiding the creation of proteins that carry out vital tasks in cells. By studying RNA, scientists can learn how genes are turned on or off and how this affects the body, which is key for understanding diseases like cancer or genetic disorders. One powerful tool for studying RNA is RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), which allows researchers to map and measure the complete set of RNA molecules produced in a cell at any given time. RNA-seq provides a detailed snapshot of gene activity, offering insights into how cells respond to different conditions or treatments.
Proteins, the workhorses of our cells, are essential for nearly every function in the body. The shape of a protein is closely linked to its function, so understanding how proteins fold and interact is crucial for discovering new treatments for diseases. Today, scientists are able to predict and model the 3D shapes of proteins with the help of artificial intelligence. Tools like AlphaFold have revolutionized this process by using advanced algorithms to predict protein structures with remarkable accuracy. This breakthrough is helping accelerate discoveries in drug development, disease understanding, and personalized medicine, offering new insights into how proteins function and interact within the body.
By combining DNA, RNA, and protein research, scientists are making breakthroughs in areas like personalized medicine, where treatments can be tailored to an individual’s genetic features, and in biotechnology, where new technologies are being developed to address everything from climate change to food security. This growing understanding of genetics is opening up exciting possibilities for the future of medicine, technology, and the environment.
Microbiology
Biology is a vast and evolving field that seeks to understand the living world in all its complexity. It spans the study of organisms—ranging from the simplest microorganisms like bacteria to the most complex human systems—looking at their structure, function, evolution, and interactions. The aim is to unlock the mysteries of life itself and apply this knowledge to improve health, address environmental challenges, and advance technology.
Microbiology studies microorganisms, which are organisms that are too small to see without a microscope, for example bacteria, viruses, and cells. At the core of much biological research is the study of proteins—molecules that are fundamental to every process in life. For example, bacteria, often seen as harmful, can be harnessed for their ability to produce proteins, which has broad applications in medicine and biotechnology. This process, known as protein expression, is key for developing life-saving drugs, vaccines, and enzymes used in everything from food production to industrial applications.
Important Advances
Recent discoveries have been revolutionary. A major technological milestone is the discovery of proteins using artificial intelligence (AI). For instance, the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to researchers Demis Hassabis and John Jumper who developed methods to predict protein structures with AI. This achievement has enormous implications for drug discovery, personalized medicine, and the design of new therapies. It could also help address some of the most pressing challenges in biology, such as understanding neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and infectious diseases.
Another example is the growing importance of stem cell research. Stem cells have the potential to regenerate tissues and organs, offering hope for conditions like cancer, joint repair, autoimmune disorders, and inflammatory conditions.
Unsolved Problems and Future Directions
Despite these advances, many significant challenges remain. One of the biggest open questions in biology is how complex diseases, like Alzheimer's and cancer, develop and progress at the molecular level. Researchers are also working to solve the question how the immune system can be both protective and, in some cases, malfunctioning or overly aggressive, leading to autoimmune disorders.
There is also a need to understand the microbiome—a huge community of bacteria and other microorganisms that live in and on our bodies. How does the microbiome affect our health? Can it be manipulated to treat diseases or enhance our immune response? These are questions that are still very much open.
Additionally, the ethical implications of biotechnology and gene editing technologies, such as CRISPR, raise important debates about how we use these powerful tools responsibly.
Technological Applications
The knowledge we gain from studying proteins, cells, and the immune system has far-reaching applications. Advances in immunology, for example, are crucial for vaccine development, including the rapid response to emerging infectious diseases like COVID-19. Biotechnology is also transforming agriculture, allowing for the creation of crops that are more resistant to pests, diseases, and climate change.
In medicine, innovations are making personalized treatments possible, where therapies are tailored to an individual's unique genetic makeup. This approach is already being used in cancer treatment, and as technology improves, it could extend to many other diseases.
Conclusion
The field of microbiology is at a fascinating crossroads. Thanks to cutting-edge technologies like AI and stem cell research, scientists are making steps toward better understanding the fundamental processes that underlie life and disease. With this knowledge, the potential for breakthroughs in medicine, biotechnology, and environmental science is immense. While there are still many challenges and unanswered questions, the future holds exciting possibilities for improving human health and well-being.
🌿 Plant science: unlocking the secrets of the green world
Plant science is a fascinating and rapidly evolving field that seeks to understand the living world of plants in all their complexity. It explores the structure, function, growth, and evolution of plants, as well as their interactions with the environment. The goal is to unlock the secrets of plant life and use this knowledge to tackle global challenges, from food security to climate change.
🌱 Plant Biology
Plants are constantly exposed to changing environmental conditions, including extreme temperatures, drought, salinity, and other abiotic stresses that threaten agricultural productivity and ecosystem stability. Important research in this field aims to:
- Understand how plants perceive, respond, and adapt to environmental challenges at physiological, molecular, and genetic levels.
- Uncover the key mechanisms that enable plants to survive and thrive by studying the intricate regulatory networks governing stress responses.
From tiny mosses to towering trees, plants play a crucial role in life on Earth. They produce oxygen through photosynthesis, provide food, and form the foundation of ecosystems. Plant scientists investigate how plants grow, how they cope with stress like drought or pests, and how they interact with other organisms. A key area of research is plant genetics — exploring how traits like drought resistance or faster growth can be enhanced to improve crops.
🌿 Important Advances
Recent discoveries in plant science have been groundbreaking. Some major advancements include:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI is used to predict plant traits and design crops that can better withstand climate change. For example, AI models help scientists understand how plant roots grow and absorb water and nutrients more efficiently.
- Gene Editing: Tools like CRISPR allow scientists to develop crops that are more resilient to disease and environmental stress. This technology has the potential to create plants that need less water, produce higher yields, and adapt to changing climates.
🌾 Unsolved Problems and Future Directions
Plant science still faces big questions, driving future research:
- How can we grow enough food to feed a growing population without harming the environment?
- How do plants adapt to extreme weather conditions, and can scientific innovation speed up this process?
- How do plants communicate with each other and microbes in the soil — a hidden world that may hold the key to boosting plant health?
This research spans multiple disciplines, integrating plant physiology, molecular biology, genomics, and biotechnology to explore how plants adjust their metabolism, gene expression, and signaling pathways under stress.
Additionally, scientists are investigating how plants store carbon — helping to fight climate change by capturing carbon dioxide and reducing greenhouse gases.
🌻 Technological Applications
The knowledge gained from plant science has far-reaching applications:
- Sustainable Agriculture: Genetic engineering and AI help create crops that are more productive and resilient.
- Vertical Farming: Growing plants indoors in stacked layers uses less land and water, offering a new way to produce food.
- Biofuels: Plants are being used to produce renewable energy sources that could reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.
- Plant-based Medicines: Scientists continue to discover how plants can treat diseases and improve human health.
🌲 Conclusion
Plant science is at an exciting crossroads. With the help of cutting-edge technologies like AI and gene editing, researchers are making strides in understanding plant biology and finding solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems. While challenges remain, the future holds immense possibilities — from creating climate-resilient crops to harnessing plants for medicine and clean energy.
The study of plants is not just about greenery — it's about shaping a sustainable and healthy future for all. 🌿
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the study of the brain and the nervous system. The brain is the organ of the mind, and the experience of 'being you'. Your brain and mind are shaped by the environment in which you live and by your experiences. The brain is the most specialized organ, receiving information from the senses (vison, hearing, touch, taste, smell, balance, visceral sensation, etc.), processing the information (cognition, thoughts, intelligence, etc.) and coordinating motor control (via muscle activity and chemical activity, i.e., via hormones). Neurons are cells that comprise the primary components of the nervous systems. They transmit information throughout the body via electrical and chemical signals. The human brain has approximately 100 billion neurons, making approximately 100 trillion synaptic connections. For comparison, the estimated number of galaxies in the observable universe is 2 trillion. Neuroscience is a fascinating field with many important research problems. Some examples are given below.
Studying the structure, development and working of cells, the brain and the nervous system are very important in neuroscience, with many important recent discoveries. For example, the 2014 Nobel prize in Physiology was awarded to John O’Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser for their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain.
Consciousness is the state of awareness of an object or experience either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. Many philosophers of mind and neuroscientists consider the reason for subjective experience in humans and other organisms to be an important open problem, usually called the hard problem of consciousness. Other problems, called the easy problems of consciousness, are to explain why and how physical systems give humans and other organisms the ability to discriminate, to integrate information, and to perform behavioural functions like moving, watching, listening, speaking, etc. A related question is the mind–body problem, which is the issue of how the mind and the body relate.
Neurodegenerative diseases are caused by the progressive loss of neurons. Examples include Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinsons’s disease and multiple sclerosis. Dementia is a common syndrome associated with neurodegenerative diseases, comprising a person’s decline in cognitive abilities like thinking, behaviour, memory and motor control. According to the World Health Organization, more than 55 million people had dementia in 2019, being the seventh cause of death globally. No cures are known for degenerative diseases. Important research in this area includes the study of causes and risk factors as well as the search for effective treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.
Brain computer interfaces are direct communication links between the electrical activity of the brain and external devices, for example a computer or a robotic limb. Research in this field aims to repair human cognitive or sensory-motor functions (e.g., vision, movement and communication), or in augmenting these functions. Experiments on human brain-to-brain communication (e.g., using electrodes) have been performed. Important technological applications in this field may include helping disabled people recover the ability to move as well as in helping people in comma, vegetative states or in minimally conscious states to communicate, which may allow them to make important decisions regarding their treatment, for instance.
Investigating connections between artificial intelligence and neuroscience is a very active research area. For example, the 2024 Nobel prize in Physics was awarded to John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton for foundational discoveries and inventions in artificial neural networks that enable machine learning.
Synthetic biology
Synthetic biology is an interdisciplinary field combining principles of biology, engineering and computer science to develop new biological parts, devices and systems or to redesign existing biological systems. It comprises the categories of bioengineering, synthetic genomics, protocell synthetic biology, unconventional molecular biology, and in silico techniques. There are many applications being investigated in synthetic biology; some examples are given below.
Biosensors are engineered organisms, typically bacterium, that can detect ambient phenomenon such as the presence of heavy metals or toxins. Biosensors could also be used to detect pathogenic signatures like certain viruses.
Cellular agriculture investigates the production of meat and other food products from cell cultures in a laboratory. This could provide significant contributions to environmental impacts, animal welfare, food security and human health.
Biological systems can be engineered to act as biological computers. For example, biological neurons can be arranged to perform machine learning algorithms.
Digital information can be encoded in synthetic DNA. For example, In 2012, George M. Church encoded one of his books about synthetic biology in DNA.
Research has been carried out to develop plants that could cope in harsh environments. This could be useful in space exploration, for example, to grow plants in Mars.
3D bioprinting can be used to reconstruct tissue from various regions of the body. For example, a 3D bioprinted external ear was transplanted successfully for the first time in 2022, to treat an ear birth defect.
Synthetic life is an important topic in synthetic biology that is concerned with hypothetical organisms created in vitro from biomolecules or chemical analogues. Synthetic life experiments attempt to either probe the origins of life or to recreate life from non-living components. Researchers created the first synthetically made human embryos derived from stem cells in 2023.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a research field that develops methods, algorithms and software to enable computers to learn and perform highly advanced functions. AI plays a very important role in many technologies nowdays with boad applications, for example, in web search engines (e.g., Google), virtual assistants (e.g., Siri and Alexa), autonomous vehicles, generation of human-like text (e.g., ChatGPT and DeepSeek), strategy games (e.g., chess and Go). AI is also becoming a very important tool in science research with importnat applications, for example in medicine.
Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
AI is transforming healthcare by helping doctors diagnose diseases, analyse genetic data, and interpret medical images with unprecedented accuracy and speed. With vast amounts of data available from MRI scans, DNA sequences, and pathology slides, AI has become an essential tool for modern medicine.
A powerful application of AI in healthcare is medical imaging - where deep learning models might detect diseases earlier than human doctors. AI is also advancing genomics and precision medicine, allowing scientists to analyse genetic information and create personalised treatments based on a person's unique DNA. Another field, connectomics, uses AI to map the brain's neural connections, helping researchers understand neurological diseases like Alzheimer's and epilepsy.
AI has made groundbreaking contributions to medicine. Some examples include DeepMind's AI model to identify eye diseases from retinal scans, and Stanford's CheXNet model to detect pneumonia in chest X-rays. AI is also helping classify tumour types, assisting doctors in choosing the best treatments for each patient. AlphaFold (by DeepMind) helped tackling the protein folding problem, a breakthrough that is helping researchers understand genetic disorders and accelerate drug discovery. Finally, AI-powered brain imaging tools can detect early signs of neurodegenerative diseases, enabling earlier treatment.
In 2018, Geoffrey Hinton, Yann LeCun, and Yoshua Bengio won the Turing Award (the "Nobel Prize of Computing") for their work on deep learning, which powers many medical AI applications. More recently, deep learning researchers won Nobel prizes in 2024, including Demis Hassabis and John Jumper for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (for protein structure prediction), as well as Geoffrey Hinton and John J. Hopfield for the Nobel Prize in Physics (for foundational discoveries that enabled machine learning with artificial neural networks).
Artificial Intelligence and Society
Beyond medicine, AI is reshaping nearly every aspect of society, from finance and education to climate modelling and creative industries. However, its rapid advancement raises critical ethical and geopolitical questions. AI development is energy-intensive, with models like GPT-4 consuming vast computational resources, contributing to environmental concerns. The high costs of training state-of-the-art models also concentrate power in the hands of a few major corporations, intensifying monopolies and unfair competition. At the same time, new players like China’s DeepSeek are emerging, challenging Western dominance in AI research. While some researchers speculate about future risks from artificial general intelligence (AGI), the most urgent dangers of AI today stem from how it is designed and deployed, exacerbating bias, reinforcing inequality, and enabling exploitative labour practices. Many AI systems rely on massive data extraction and exploitative human labour, from underpaid gig workers to content moderators suffering psychological harm. The explosion of synthetic media raises concerns about misinformation and social manipulation, further consolidating power in the hands of those who control these technologies. Instead of adapting society to fit the needs of automated systems, we should ensure that AI serves human interests - by holding corporations accountable for their choices and prioritising the voices of those most impacted by AI's deployment. The future of AI will not be shaped by technology alone but by the societal decisions we make now.
Robotics
Robotics is a research field focusing on the design, construction and operation of robots. Robots have many technological applications, for example, in manufacturing (e.g., in the automotive industry), construction, agriculture, medicine (e.g., in robot-assisted surgery), space exploration (including Mars rovers), autonomous transport (e.g., self-driving cars), entertainment (e.g., drone light shows, robot combat and robot racing), domestic robots, etc.
There are many important research areas within robotics. Biorobotics integrates biology and robotics to design machines imitating biological systems (e.g., prosthetics and hearing aids) and alter genetic information (genetic engineering). Human-robot interaction studies and develops the speech recognition, facial expression, artificial emotions and personality of robots. Telerobotics is the remote control of machines. Haptic technology allows users to create an experience of touch and the creation and manipulation of virtual objects. Vision and other types of sensing are crucial for autonomous vehicles, for instance. Different types of locomotion of robots include rolling, walking, hopping, flying, snaking, climbing and swimming, for example. Nanorobotics aims to design robots at the scale of nanometres. Soft robotics designs robots with soft materials rather than rigid links.
Social sciences and humanities
Social sciences and humanities are related fields of study focusing on the relationships among members within a society and the fundamental aspects of human society and culture. Disciplines included in social science are sociology, economics, anthropology, archaeology, geography, linguistics, psychology, culturology, political science, etc. Disciplines included in humanities are philosophy, history, religion, literature, arts, etc.
Sociology is the scientific study of human society. Its methods include empirical investigation and critical analysis. It traditionally focuses on social stratification, social class, social mobility, religion, secularization, law, sexuality, gender, and deviance. Social research has influence in resolving social issues (e.g., through legislation).
Economics studies the production, distribution, and cosumption of goods and services. Microeconomics analyses individual agents and markets, and their interactions. Macroeconomics seeks to analyse and describe the global economy. It analyses economies as systems where production, distribution, consumption, savings, and investment expenditure interact; and the factors of productionaffecting them (e.g., labour, capital, inflation, economc growth, and public policies).
Anthropology studies the past and present of humans and their cultures. Among its topics of study are human behaviour, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics.
Archaeology is the study of human history through the recovery and analysis of material culture (e.g., artifacts, architecture, biofacts, sites, and cultural landscape). It involves surveying, excavation, and analysis of data collected, to learn more about the past. Archaeologists study human prehistory and history, from the development of the first stone tools around 3 million years ago up until recent decades.
Geography studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Subfields of study within geography include the atmosphere, hydrosphere, the biosphere, the geosphere, etc.
Linguistics studies language. Areas of study in linguistics include the structure of sentences and their meaning, the structure of words, the speech sounds, the gestures in sign languages, etc. theoretical linguistics aims to understand the universal and fundamental nature of language. Applied linguistics seeks to develop methods of improving language education and literacy.
Psychology studies the mind and behaviour of humans and nonhumans. It includes both conscious and unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feelings, and motives.