Cancer is no longer seen as a single genetic error but as a complex, multi-layered disease shaped by DNA mutations, epigenetic changes and even patterns in medical images. New research at CCNSB at IIIT Hyderabad is bringing these layers together to move closer to early detection and truly personalised cancer care. A century ago, scientists believed cancer began with a single mistake in a cell. In 1914, the somatic mutation theory proposed that abnormalities in a cell’s DNA could trigger uncontrolled growth. Over time, this idea expanded. Researchers discovered oncogenes that drive cancer and tumour suppressor genes that normally prevent it. Later theories showed that cancer does not arise from rogue cells alone – the surrounding tissue environment, viruses, carcinogens, and cellular stress also play critical roles. “People have been talking about the origin of tumours since the early 1900s, but over time we realised that cancer cannot be explained by mutations alone. Today, cancer is understood as a multifactorial disease, shaped by genetics, gene regulation, environment and time,” observes Prof. Nita Parekh, Professor of Bioinformatics, IIIT-H.

At a time when India is strengthening its semiconductor ambitions, IIIT-H’s researchers are developing indigenous electronics – from custom chip design and millimetre-wave circuits to privacy-preserving sensing and intelligent healthcare systems – that move seamlessly from the lab to real-world deployment. In an age where governance, healthcare and mobility increasingly rely on data, how that data is sensed, processed and protected matters deeply. Visual dashboards, spatial maps and intelligent systems have become essential tools for decision-making, but behind every such system lies something less visible and far more fundamental: electronics. At IIIT-H, the Integrated Circuits – Inspired by Wireless and Biomedical Systems, IC-WiBES research group led by Prof. Abhishek Srivastava, is rethinking how electronic systems are designed; not as isolated chips, but as end-to-end technologies that move seamlessly from silicon to real-world deployment. The group follows a simple but powerful philosophy: vertical integration from chip design to system-level applications.

The researchers used OLAP to analyse 3,500 Indian criminal cases, covering judgements delivered between 2005 and 2010. Wide variations in sentencing for similar crimes across Indian courts has raised concerns on consistency and fairness in the justice delivery system, with punishments for offences such as murder, rape and kidnapping differing significantly depending on the state, the court and the judge’s discretion, despite the same legal framework applying nationwide. The findings come from a research paper – ‘Data Cube for Exploring Anomalies in Justice Delivery: An Experiment on Indian Judgements’ by IIIT-H researchers Sriharshitha B, Prof Krishna Reddy P and Narendra Babu U, in collaboration with Prof Santhy KVK, NALSAR. The study uses data analytics to uncover anomalies in Indian court judgements. The researchers demonstrate how sentencing for comparable crimes can differ markedly depending on factors such as location and interpretation, underscoring the need for data-driven tools to identify and address such disparities.