Society
How Netha Hussain uses Wikipedia to fight health misinformation
Meet Netha Hussain, the India-born medical doctor in Sweden who has garnered widespread recognition for her unwavering commitment to combating medical misinformation.

As social media became popular, so did the flood of information. This is the post-truth era of content explosion, where unreliable news and information spread like wildfire. Fake news comes in many forms, depending on one’s interests and religious frameworks. It was rampant throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. In such a complicated time, it assumes great significance to lead the fight against fake information. When the battle is against health misinformation, it becomes a noble act.
This is Netha Hussain, a Sweden-based doctor and Wikimedian who has been relentlessly fighting against medical misinformation for the last 14 years. Born in the southern Indian state of Kerala, Netha holds a PhD in Clinical Neuroscience from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. She has received the Honourable Mention Award from the Wikimedia Foundation in recognition of her fight against fake information and the Open Source Academic Award from the renowned American company Red Hat for health articles written on Wikipedia.
Organizations, including the United Nations, have praised Netha’s efforts. EdPublica brings you the story of Netha’s fight against medical misinformation, which also reminds us of the importance of scientific literacy. Recently, she has been working on mapping and bridging the knowledge gaps related to women’s health on the English Wikipedia. This WikiProject is an initiative to identify knowledge gaps and improve the quality of content related to women’s health in Wikimedia projects.

The news came at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak. “A few people were hospitalized after eating a fruit that not many people had heard of. It was poisonous. They believed that eating it would help them fight against COVID-19. They got that information from the Internet.”
It is recurring incidents like the one above that give more strength and relevance to the struggle of this young doctor in her inexorable fight against false information related to health that fills the online space. Many methods had been touted as treatments that offered no guarantee of preventing the impact of the COVID-19 virus. She laid out all this. The Wikipedia article written by Netha was widely discussed globally. Organizations like the United Nations mentioned this Indian woman doctor on their official social media platforms and shared her video.
Learning to spot fake information should start from childhood. The way science is taught should be changed
If we don’t…
Netha has been writing articles on Wikipedia for over 14 years. She started by writing an article about Chammanthi (a spread typically associated with Indian cuisines). Later, the young doctor wrote on many subjects, with articles focused on COVID-19 being the most popular. Settled in Sweden, she is a clinical neuroscientist with an interest in research.
“People trust me because I am a doctor. Having a medical degree helps combat fake news. Wikipedia has very few medical editors, which also increases my responsibility. If we don’t, no one else will. No one knew anything about COVID-19 at the beginning. Later, I learned it for my profession. It has also been used in Wikipedia,” states Netha.
The ‘Viral’ Article
“I had to write notes as part of my studies. So, I thought that if I go ahead and write it on Wikipedia, it will be useful for the rest of us. Whatever is being taught that day, I look it up on Wikipedia while studying it. Then I try to improve that article. And then it became an easy process,” Netha recalls her journey.

Netha says that when the flow of writing came, the later work changed to a way of being able to articulate points and find references. She writes mostly health-related articles on Wikipedia. Being a voluntary activity, there is no financial benefit to it. According to Netha, the most reliable information is written in a language that people can easily understand.
“It is a very difficult task to prevent and eliminate fake information,” says Netha. “It’s like a genie out of a bottle. Once it’s released, it’s awfully hard to get back in. It will spread very quickly.”
“Fake news has been a problem since the start of COVID. If you eat garlic, you will not get COVID. COVID will not come in the summer. So many rumors were spread. Fake propaganda was active here when COVID first started in China,” Dr. Netha points out.
As mentioned earlier, she has been a Wikipedia volunteer for over 14 years and is a prominent Wikimedian. Wikimedians are those who write and edit articles on Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. Netha’s Wikipedia article, List of unproven methods against COVID-19, was seriously discussed across the world. She detailed the list of non-scientific methods related to COVID-19.
At the same time, Netha reminds us that Wikipedia is never a definitive source. “However, there is very little misinformation because everyone is there to help others. Mostly good information. Many editors, like me, watch Wikipedia pages. Everything will be checked to see if someone is editing and if it has credibility. It’s just that it can sometimes take time to spot errors in poorly read articles.”
Dr. Netha hails from Kunnamangalam, a town located in the Kozhikode district of South Indian state Kerala. She moved to Sweden to pursue her PhD studies after graduating from Calicut Medical College with a degree in medicine and surgery
Netha’s lead article on COVID-19 was one of the most read pieces. The article, titled The COVID-19 Pandemic, was read by more than 40 million people in March–April 2020 alone. “No other article has been read by so many people in such a short period of time. So, it is a record on Wikipedia itself,” says Netha.
“When people rely on Wikipedia, they should be given good information, or they will go somewhere else and be cheated. That’s why I think this work is important,” says Netha confidently.
She points out that there are many reasons why we are misled by fake information. “One of the reasons is our biases. Some illnesses do not require modern medicine. Some require fasting. We make sure that our understandings are somehow correct and reject those that are not. We believe in messages sent by someone. And the flood of information is a problem.” Netha says the key is to teach people how to spot fake information. Learning to spot fake information should start in childhood. The way science is taught should be changed.
Dr. Netha hails from Kunnamangalam, a town located in the Kozhikode district of the South Indian state of Kerala. She moved to Sweden to pursue her PhD studies after graduating from Calicut Medical College with a degree in medicine and surgery.
Society
How Scientists and Investigators Decode Air Crashes — The Black Box and Beyond
The final report may take months, but it will be critical in issuing safety directives or revising standard procedures.

As rescue and recovery operations continue following the June 12, 2025, plane crash in Ahmedabad, aviation safety experts are now focusing on the technical investigation phase. With 241 lives lost, the search for the cause isn’t just about accountability—it’s about prevention.
The Black Box: Aviation’s Memory Keeper
1. What Is the Black Box?
Despite the name, the black box is actually orange — for visibility. It consists of two components:
- Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR): Captures conversations and audio from the flight deck.
- Flight Data Recorder (FDR): Logs dozens to hundreds of parameters — speed, altitude, engine status, control inputs.
These devices are housed in titanium or steel and can withstand:
- Temperatures above 1,000°C
- Underwater pressures up to 20,000 feet
- Crashes with up to 3,600 G-force
They also emit underwater locator beacons for up to 30 days.
2. Forensic Engineering & Flight Reconstruction
Beyond black boxes, investigators use:
- Radar data and air traffic control logs
- Wreckage analysis for structural failure clues
- Satellite-based tracking systems like ADS-B
- Weather data for turbulence or wind shear insights
Forensic teams often reconstruct the flight path virtually or even physically using recovered debris to determine failure points.
3. Human Factors & AI in Modern Investigation
New tools like machine learning and human factors analysis are used to identify procedural errors or lapses in judgement.
In many modern investigations, AI helps:
- Filter large datasets (e.g., over 1,000 flight parameters per second)
- Detect patterns missed by the human eye
- Predict similar risk scenarios in future flights
What Happens Next in the Ahmedabad Crash?
Authorities, in coordination with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), are likely:
- Retrieving and analyzing the black box
- Interviewing air traffic controllers
- Reconstructing the aircraft’s final seconds using both data and simulation
The final report may take months, but it will be critical in issuing safety directives or revising standard procedures.
Society
Researchers Unveil Light-Speed AI Chip to Power Next-Gen Wireless and Edge Devices
This could transform the future of wireless communication and edge computing

In a breakthrough that could transform the future of wireless communication and edge computing, engineers at MIT have developed a novel AI hardware accelerator capable of processing wireless signals at the speed of light. The new optical chip, built for signal classification, achieves nanosecond-level performance—up to 100 times faster than conventional digital processors—while consuming dramatically less energy.
With wireless spectrum under growing strain from billions of connected devices, from teleworking laptops to smart sensors, managing bandwidth has become a critical challenge. Artificial intelligence offers a path forward, but most existing AI models are too slow and power-hungry to operate in real time on wireless devices.
The MIT solution, known as MAFT-ONN (Multiplicative Analog Frequency Transform Optical Neural Network), could be a game-changer.
“There are many applications that would be enabled by edge devices that are capable of analyzing wireless signals,” said Prof. Dirk Englund, senior author of the study, in a media statement. “What we’ve presented in our paper could open up many possibilities for real-time and reliable AI inference. This work is the beginning of something that could be quite impactful.”
Published in Science Advances, the research describes how MAFT-ONN classifies signals in just 120 nanoseconds, using a compact optical chip that performs deep-learning tasks using light rather than electricity. Unlike traditional systems that convert signals to images before processing, the MIT design processes raw wireless data directly in the frequency domain—eliminating delays and reducing energy usage.
“We can fit 10,000 neurons onto a single device and compute the necessary multiplications in a single shot,” said Ronald Davis III, lead author and recent MIT PhD graduate.
The device achieved over 85% accuracy in a single shot, and with multiple measurements, it converges to above 99% accuracy, making it both fast and reliable.
Beyond wireless communications, the technology holds promise for edge AI in autonomous vehicles, smart medical devices, and future 6G networks, where real-time response is critical. By embedding ultra-fast AI directly into devices, this innovation could help cars react to hazards instantly or allow pacemakers to adapt to a patient’s heart rhythm in real-time.
Future work will focus on scaling the chip with multiplexing schemes and expanding its ability to handle more complex AI tasks, including transformer models and large language models (LLMs).
Society
Ahmedabad Plane Crash: The Science Behind Aircraft Take-Off -Understanding the Physics of Flight
Take-off is one of the most critical phases of flight, relying on the precise orchestration of aerodynamics, propulsion, and control systems. Here’s how it works:

On June 12, 2025, a tragic aviation accident struck Ahmedabad, India when a regional passenger aircraft, Air India flight A1-171, crashed during take-off at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. According to preliminary reports, the incident resulted in over 200 confirmed casualties, including both passengers and crew members, and several others are critically injured. The aviation community and scientific world now turn their eyes not just toward the cause but also toward understanding the complex science behind what should have been a routine take-off.
How Do Aircraft Take Off?
Take-off is one of the most critical phases of flight, relying on the precise orchestration of aerodynamics, propulsion, and control systems. Here’s how it works:
1. Lift and Thrust
To leave the ground, an aircraft must generate lift, a force that counters gravity. This is achieved through the unique shape of the wing, called an airfoil, which creates a pressure difference — higher pressure under the wing and lower pressure above — according to Bernoulli’s Principle and Newton’s Third Law.
Simultaneously, engines provide thrust, propelling the aircraft forward. Most commercial jets use turbofan engines, which accelerate air through turbines to generate power.
2. Critical Speeds
Before takeoff, pilots calculate critical speeds:
- V1 (Decision Speed): The last moment a takeoff can be safely aborted.
- Vr (Rotation Speed): The speed at which the pilot begins to lift the nose.
- V2 (Takeoff Safety Speed): The speed needed to climb safely even if one engine fails.
If anything disrupts this process — like bird strikes, engine failure, or runway obstructions — the results can be catastrophic.

Environmental and Mechanical Challenges
Factors like wind shear, runway surface condition, mechanical integrity, or pilot error can interfere with safe take-off. Investigators will be analyzing these very aspects in the Ahmedabad case.
The Bigger Picture
Take-off accounts for a small fraction of total flight time but is disproportionately associated with accidents — approximately 14% of all aviation accidents occur during take-off or initial climb.
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