For centuries, alchemists from ancient China, India, and Europe dreamed of transforming base metals like lead into precious gold. This long-standing quest, known as Chrysopoeia. They believed in a mysterious substance called the “philosopher’s stone” that could unlock this secret. While their dreams never came true, modern science has finally achieved what they could only imagine, thanks to the incredible work of scientists at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland.
A Medieval Dream Realized – Through Science
This isn’t magic. It’s the realization of an ancient alchemist’s dream through modern nuclear physics. In the 20th century, we learned that heavy nuclei can transmute, either by radioactive decay or by particle bombardment in the lab. Recently, at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC), scientists ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) collaboration have observed the transmutation of lead atoms into gold.
However, this transmutation did not come from direct collisions, but through a phenomenon involving near-miss interactions between lead nuclei moving at nearly the speed of light. These near-collisions generate extremely powerful electromagnetic fields that can knock three protons out of a lead atom. Since gold has three fewer protons than lead, this results in the formation of a gold atom, at least for a very short moment (Space.com, 2024).
The Science Behind the Magic
Let’s break it down. An atom of gold has 79 protons, while lead has 82. So, turning lead into gold is essentially a matter of removing three protons. But protons are tightly bound in the nucleus by something called the strong nuclear force, one of nature’s strongest forces. To overcome this force, scientists used the LHC (the world’s largest and highest-energy particle accelerator) to speed up lead nuclei to 99.999993% the speed of light. When these nuclei barely miss each other, rather than crashing head-on, they generate a huge electromagnetic pulse (The Conversation, 2024).
This pulse triggers what’s called “electromagnetic dissociation,” where the atomic nucleus shakes and ejects neutrons and protons. If exactly three protons are removed, the lead atom becomes gold. These interactions are incredibly rare and last for just microseconds, but they are real, measurable, and profoundly significant. (CERN News, 2024).
Before you get excited about getting rich, here’s the reality check: between 2015 and 2018, scientists at CERN produced approximately 86 billion gold nuclei. Sounds like a lot? It only adds up to about 29 picograms, or 29 trillionths of a gram (Journee Mondiale, 2025). That’s so tiny it wouldn’t even be visible, let alone useful for making jewelry.
The production rate was impressive, to 89,000 gold nuclei per second during active experiments, but the atoms broke apart almost instantly after forming. They collided with the LHC’s beam pipe or other components and decayed into other particles (Space.com, 2024).
So why is this important if it doesn’t make us rich?
According to Dr. Elena Markov, a researcher on the ALICE experiment, this is about far more than gold. “It’s a beautiful demonstration of Einstein’s E = mc2 in action, showing how energy and matter can be transformed” (Journee Mondiale, 2025). The findings help scientists understand nuclear stability and reactions, and even how elements form in cosmic events like neutron star collisions.
What’s more, the advanced detection technology used, particularly the zero-degree calorimeters (ZDC) that detect subtle nuclear changes, opens new research pathways potentially beneficial for nuclear medicine, particle physics, and future clean energy sources (CERN News, 2024).
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time humans have made gold from lead. In the 1970s, Nuclear chemist and Nobel laureate Glenn Seaborg and his team at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory achieved lead-to-gold conversion using a powerful particle accelerator. While the result was groundbreaking at the time, the method was extremely expensive. A senator even criticized it for wasting taxpayer money.
Even earlier, in 1937, physicist and Nobel laureate Ed McMillan created the first artificial isotopes of gold using early particle accelerators known as cyclotrons. Since then, nuclear transmutation has become routine in laboratories worldwide. Today, nuclear scientists regularly create elements and isotopes previously unseen in nature, contributing significantly to our understanding of atomic structure and fundamental physics. (Discover magazine 2024)
Picture of the ALICE detector. Photo, CERN
From Myth to Measurement
The success of this experiment at CERN beautifully shows how ancient curiosities still inspire modern science. Alchemists, despite their mistaken theories and mythical approaches, were right to ask fundamental questions about matter. Today, with powerful machines and brilliant minds, scientists have not only proven that transmutation is possible but have also expanded humanity’s understanding of nature at its most fundamental level.
Scientists emphasize that the true goal of modern nuclear physics is not the production of gold but rather achieving gold-standard knowledge. The tiny amounts of gold produced in the LHC experiments symbolize something far greater: the extraordinary power of science to transform our understanding of the universe itself.
These advancements in nuclear transmutation could influence numerous scientific fields. As nuclear physics progresses, understanding these elemental transformations might inspire innovative approaches in medicine, such as targeted radiotherapy utilizing gold nanoparticles, or even in developing new materials and clean energy technologies.
Moreover, understanding nuclear processes at a deeper level helps predict and manage challenges in future particle accelerators. Insights from these experiments inform scientists about beam stability, energy losses, and potential enhancements to collider performance, guiding future technological advancements for exploring the tiny building blocks of the universe.
The CERN discovery bridges ancient alchemical dreams with modern science. While medieval alchemists tried to make gold for wealth and immortality. Today, scientists are not after wealth; they want to understand how the universe works. The tiny gold atoms created at CERN may be insignificant as treasure, but as scientific milestones, they’re invaluable.
The transformation of lead into gold at CERN is thus symbolic of a broader human quest: understanding the universe’s deepest secrets. The true wealth lies not in the tiny amounts of gold produced but in the immeasurable knowledge that emerges from pushing the boundaries of science.
Clipsofan Adélie penguin, often refered “Nihist Penguin” from a video, are gaining significant traction online. Filmmaker Werner Herzog tookto Instagram to share the context behind a scene from his 2007 documentary, “Encounters at the End of the World”.Thisparticular scene has reemerged as the popular“lonelypenguin“ or “nihilist penguin“ meme circulating widelyacross social media.
Herzog offered insights into how the scene was captured and why it continues to resonate with audiences. The viral trend centers on an image of a penguin wandering away from its colony towardsAntarctica‘s desolateinterior. Users have widelyshared this clip across various platforms, pairing it with captions that explore themes like isolation, existentialreflection, and detachment.
The original footage shows a single Adélie penguin breaking away from its group and wierdly heads inland, instead of remaining along the Antarctic coastline. Penguins are usually found in large colonies, and they travel in groups. Humans never disturb them while living or traveling in Antarctica.
Surprisingly, this disoriented penguin appeared at New Harbor, around 80 kilometres away from where it should have been. He was heading deep into the continent’s interior, with nearly 5,000 kilometres ahead, a journey that would most certainly end in his death.
The filmmaker Werner Herzog had spoken to scientists who study penguins’ unusual behaviours. He actually drew inspiration from the ominous tone of the crime television series ‘Unsolved Mysteries’.
The viral footage shows a rare behavior where a penguin stops trying to survive.
Why do they behave weirdly?
The viral footage shows a rare behavior where a penguin stops trying to survive. Dr. David Ainley, a scientist in the the docuemntary, explained that even if the penguin is brought back to the water, it will immediately turn around and walk back toward the mountains. This is scientifically called “death march behavior” among adelie penguins.
According to David Ainley, the penguin was disoriented and was facing a neural error. Since penguins rely on sun and magnetic field cues to navigate, a “biological error” or disruption in their internal compass can cause them to become disoriented, forcing them to misinterpret the barren inland as the sea. Changes in sea ice, such as deep cracks, can disorient penguins and force them to make unnatural decisions.
Behavioral responses of Adélie Penguin
A research was published in Science Direct in September 2022, in which the researchers from the Korea Polar Research Institute analysed the weird behaviours of Adélie penguins while confronting a giant ice floe.
Climate change is contributing to the more extreme events worldwide, due to which animals are facing rapid and extreme changes in their natural habitats. Adélie penguins are generally a sea ice-dependent diving seabird, and have been an important study species for investigating the effects of ice conditions on ecological responses in Antarctica.
Penguins are categorized as krill-dependent species, which are animals that rely on Antarctic krill as a primary food source for their survival, reproduction, and growth within the Southern Ocean Ecosystem. These species rely on a specific, concentrated food source that they are highly vulnerable to fluctuations in krill populations caused by climate change, such as sea-ice loss or commercial fishing.
These species are considered key indicator species in the CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Program (CEMP) because significant habitat changes have appeared in response to changes in the sea ice environment. This program was initiated in 1984 to study the long-term changes in arctic marine ecosystem.
According to this study, recent extreme cases of sea ice extents have affected the Adélie penguin population, which suffered from total breeding failures twice in 2014 and 2017 in the Dumont d’Urville Sea.
These cases result in major reproductive failures. It is crucial to understand how extreme sea ice conditions alter the foraging strategies of seabirds. Studies conducted earlier show that the Adélie penguins have a long foraging trip in extensive sea ice, such as fast ice or extreme events like icebergs. They face major problems in food delivery to their chicks. As a result, sea ice showed a complex relationship with the reproductive performance of Adélie penguins.
This research suggests that the giant ice floe could alter the foraging paths, and penguins bypassed or crossed the ice to reach their foraging areas by spending more energy and time.
References:
(Desprez et al., 2018; Ropert-Coudert et al., 2018)
On the night of January 17, 2026, a devastating fire engulfed Gul Plaza shopping center in Karachi. The blaze spread with terrifying speed, ultimately claiming 63 lives and leaving a scar on the city. This tragedy, like many before it, underscores a critical reality: fires in buildings pose a severe threat that can escalate rapidly.
This incident is a tragic case study in rapid-fire spread. The fire, which started in a single shop, quickly consumed the multi-story complex. According to local media, much of the structure has collapsed, and what remains may have to be demolished due to severe structural damage.
Fires can start anywhere, but what structural, systemic failures on the night of January 17 allowed it to spread on such a large scale? The question is on everyone’s mind right now. According to a rescue worker, access to the site was a major challenge on the night of the fire. The road was narrow, and a large crowd gathered around, blocking the entire road.
Another reason for the rapid spread and repeated flare-ups was the materials inside. The plaza was filled with shops selling clothing, plastics, and other highly flammable goods. This provided an abundant fuel source for the fire. The building lacked adequate fire-resistant barriers between shops and floors, allowing the fire, heat, and toxic smoke to travel unimpeded throughout the structure.
Critically, the building was missing essential safety features. Reports indicated there were no functioning smoke alarms, sprinkler systems, or fire hoses. Although extinguishers may have been present, the initial blaze was not controlled. According to the BBC, 13 of the building’s 16 exits were reportedly locked, trapping shoppers and staff inside.
Due to these multiple factors, the firefighters faced significant challenges, including traffic congestion and difficulty accessing the building’s interior. They had to break through walls to create entry points, losing valuable time as the fire raged.
Gul Plaza Karachi fire incident serves as a somber reminder of what can happen when preventive measures are overlooked and safety standards are compromised. This article aims to educate on the common causes of building fires, the importance of prevention, and the essential strategies for a safe escape. Understanding these elements is the first step toward building better fire safety.
What Causes Fires in Buildings?
Buildings are complex environments where numerous hazards can coexist. A small spark can quickly become a deadly inferno due to a combination of factors.
Electrical failure and Human errors
Electrical failures are a leading cause of fires. Faulty wiring, overloaded circuits, short circuits, and outdated electrical systems can generate intense heat, igniting nearby combustible material. Modern buildings are filled with items that burn quickly. Plastics, synthetic fabrics in furniture and clothing, and various chemicals can act as fuel, helping a fire spread rapidly.
Human Error and carelessness are often major contributors, as well. Unattended cooking, improper disposal of cigarettes, misuse of heating appliances, and children playing with matches can all lead to disaster.
Structural Weaknesses and Lack of Maintenance
The very materials used to construct a building can pose a risk. If building materials do not meet fire safety standards, they can fail quickly when exposed to heat, leading to structural collapse.
Neglect is a silent accomplice to fire. Poorly maintained heating systems, clogged vents, and uninspected electrical wiring create hazardous conditions. Crucially, a lack of maintenance on fire safety equipment like alarms and extinguishers renders them useless when needed most.
The author has generated this photo with AI.
Fire Safety Standards and Building Regulations
To combat these risks, governments and municipalities establish rules to protect occupants. These regulations are the foundation of building fire safety. The primary goal of these standards is to ensure people can escape safely. This involves multiple layers of protection, representing different types of building fire safety.
According to experts, every building must have a sufficient number of clearly marked emergency exits that should not be locked or blocked. Moreover, buildings should have active fire protection systems. These systems are designed to detect and control a fire and include smoke detectors, heat alarms, automatic sprinkler systems, and fire extinguishers.
Passive Fire Protection is another essential for buildings, which involves such types of construction materials and designs that resist fire and limit its spread. Fire-resistant doors, walls, and compartmentalization of floors help contain a blaze, buying precious time for evacuation.
The Building Code of Pakistan (Fire Safety Provisions-2016) outlines many of these requirements. However, the effectiveness of any code depends entirely on its enforcement. In many parts of Pakistan, inadequate inspections and a lack of accountability cause such incidents, and numerous buildings remain dangerously non-compliant.
How to Manage Fire Hazards in Buildings
Incidents like the Gull Plaza fire are no longer rare in Pakistan’s major cities, yet preventive measures continue to be overlooked by provincial and federal governments. In contrast, proactive fire management is widely practiced around the world to reduce risk and loss, placing responsibility on both building owners and those who occupy these spaces.
Regular inspections of electrical systems, heating units, and fire safety equipment are non-negotiable. Building owners must ensure proper storage of flammable materials and maintain clear, unobstructed hallways and exits. Investing in building fire safety is an investment in human life. This includes installing fire-resistant doors and windows, upgrading to modern wiring, and fitting comprehensive sprinkler and alarm systems.
Training and drills are also crucial for large and crowded buildings; knowing what to do in a fire is just as important as having the right equipment. Regular fire drills help familiarize occupants with evacuation routes. Training on how to use a fire extinguisher and basic first aid can empower people to respond effectively in the critical first moments.
How to Escape a Fire!
In a fire, panic can be as dangerous as the flames; Knowing the correct procedure to escape can save your life. Staying calm and composed can help control fear. A clear mind makes better decisions. While encountering a fire, alerting others and activating the nearest fire alarm immediately is a mandatory step to stop the spread.
Before opening any door, feel it with the back of your hand. If it is hot, do not open it. Fire is on the other side. Try to find an alternate route. Smoke and toxic gases rise. Stay as low to the floor as possible, where the air is cleaner and cooler, and crawl to the nearest exit.
Never use an elevator during a fire. It can malfunction, lose power, and become a deadly trap. Always use the stairs. If you cannot escape, seal the room. Use tape, towels, or clothing to cover vents and cracks around the door to keep smoke out. Call emergency services and tell them your exact location. Signal for help from a window by waving a flashlight or a brightly colored cloth.
The Role of Rescue Services: What Can Be Improved?
Firefighters and rescue teams are the last line of defense, but they often face immense challenges. As seen in the Gul Plaza fire, limited resources, traffic, and structural instability can severely hamper their efforts. To improve effectiveness, municipalities must:
Invest in Resources: There is an urgent need for more fire stations, modern equipment (like high-rise ladders), and protective gear for personnel.
Enhance Training: Firefighting is a high-risk profession that requires continuous and rigorous training to handle modern building fires and complex rescue scenarios.
Improve Emergency Planning: Coordinated emergency response plans that account for traffic management and access to dense urban areas are essential for reducing response times.
What Needs to Change: Long-Term Solutions
Preventing future tragedies requires a fundamental shift in our approach to building fire safety. Strengthen and Enforce Regulations is a crucial step. Fire safety codes and the Building Code of Pakistan (Fire Safety Provisions-2016) must be strictly enforced with zero tolerance for non-compliance. This requires regular, thorough inspections and meaningful penalties for violations.
Worldwide, public education and rescue training for fire incidents are mandatory, in which citizens are trained for fire risks, prevention techniques, and evacuation procedures. This knowledge empowers individuals to protect themselves and their communities.
A comprehensive review of building standards should be managed in crowded areas like Karachi Saddar. Authorities in high-risk cities must conduct a comprehensive review of existing building safety standards and retroactively apply them to older structures where feasible.
Gul Plaza Karachi fire incident is a painful lesson in the consequences of neglecting buildings’ fire safety. Fires are not just accidents; they are often the predictable outcome of human error, poor maintenance, and regulatory failure. While we cannot eliminate every risk, we have the power to significantly reduce the danger.
The responsibility is shared. Building owners must invest in safety, authorities must enforce the law, and every individual must learn how to prevent fires and what to do if one occurs. By taking fire safety seriously, we can work together to ensure that our homes, workplaces, and public spaces are safe for everyone.
Kodur, V., Kumar, P., & Rafi, M. M. (2020). Fire hazard in buildings: review, assessment and strategies for improving fire safety. PSU research review, 4(1), 1-23.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/PRR-12-2018-0033
“Sorry, it’s too late. It has spread.” Those words resonate far beyond a medical report; they carry the weight of grief, regret, and the quiet horror of time lost. Cancer is rarely sudden. It develops silently over the years, often without symptoms, until it reaches advanced stages. Every day a disease remains undiagnosed, every symptom dismissed, every reassurance that delays testing increases the likelihood that treatment may no longer be effective. You hold their hand, wishing for a miracle, but sometimes the opportunity for intervention has already passed. The hardest question is not why, but what if it had been caught earlier?
“Cancer begins long before it is seen, in cells that whisper warnings we often fail to hear.” The silent interval between cellular mutation and the onset of detectable disease represents the period during which prevention has the greatest impact. It is within this period that lifestyle choices, environmental awareness, and medical intervention can truly make the difference between life and loss [1,2].
Cancer as a Multistep Cellular Process
Cancer is fundamentally a disease of cells, arising from a complex, multistep process that unfolds over years. Healthy cells are continuously exposed to a variety of internal and external insults. Reactive oxygen species, generated during normal metabolism, can damage DNA, proteins, and lipids [3]. Errors in replication and the byproducts of chronic inflammation add to this burden, while environmental exposures such as ultraviolet radiation, chemical carcinogens, and viral infections compound cellular stress [4].
Under normal circumstances, the body’s DNA repair mechanisms correct most damage, and damaged cells are eliminated through apoptosis. The immune system also plays a crucial role in recognizing and destroying aberrant cells. When these safeguards fail, mutations accumulate in oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, and DNA repair genes, tipping the balance toward uncontrolled cellular proliferation and malignancy. Genomic instability, epigenetic dysregulation, failure of apoptosis, and evasion of immune surveillance are central hallmarks of this progression [1,2].
“The earliest victories are invisible; they happen at the cellular level, long before symptoms arise.” Understanding these mechanisms allows researchers and clinicians to identify biomarkers and interventions that target the earliest, most reversible stages of carcinogenesis [1,2].
Oxidative Stress and Inflammation
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a dual role in biology. While essential in signaling and immune defense, chronic excess levels induce damage to DNA, proteins, and lipids [3]. Over time, this damage contributes to mutagenesis, chromosomal instability, and the initiation of malignant transformation. Oxidative stress arises from both internal and external sources. Internally, metabolic byproducts and chronic inflammation increase ROS production.
Externally, pollutants, tobacco smoke, poor diet, and certain infections act as additional triggers. The body’s endogenous antioxidant systems, supplemented by nutrients such as vitamins C and E, carotenoids, and polyphenols from a plant-based diet, help neutralize ROS. However, when oxidative stress overwhelms these defenses, cellular injury accumulates [3,6].
Chronic inflammation amplifies this damage, promoting cell proliferation, angiogenesis, and tissue remodeling [3,4]. Persistent inflammatory signaling produces cytokines, growth factors, and enzymes that favor a tumor-supportive microenvironment. Conditions such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, chronic viral infections, autoimmune disorders, and prolonged psychological stress all contribute to a state of chronic inflammation [5,9].
Over time, this environment facilitates DNA damage, impairs apoptosis, and allows abnormal cells to evade immune surveillance. The interplay between oxidative stress and chronic inflammation forms a central axis in early carcinogenesis.
“The body speaks in small signals; ignoring them is a risk no one should take.”
Lifestyle as Cellular Defense
Lifestyle factors profoundly influence cancer risk. Diet plays a critical role, with a plant-rich, whole-food approach providing antioxidants, polyphenols, and micronutrients that neutralize ROS, modulate gene expression, and support DNA repair [6,7]. Fiber-rich foods promote gut health and reduce exposure to carcinogenic metabolites, while healthy fats such as omega-3 fatty acids mitigate systemic inflammation.
Conversely, diets high in processed meats, refined sugars, and saturated fats exacerbate oxidative stress, promote inflammation, and increase carcinogenic pathways. Every meal, every choice, therefore, has the potential to influence cellular resilience.
Physical activity complements these effects. Regular exercise improves insulin sensitivity, reduces excess adiposity, modulates hormone levels, enhances immune surveillance, and lowers systemic inflammation [8]. Even moderate-intensity activity, sustained over time, reduces the risk of colorectal, breast, and endometrial cancers. Consistency, rather than intensity, defines its protective effect.
In parallel, managing psychological stress is crucial. Chronic stress dysregulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, alters cortisol and catecholamine levels, suppresses cytotoxic immune function, and promotes inflammatory signaling [5,9]. Practices such as mindfulness, meditation, cognitive therapy, and social support act as biological shields, reinforcing the body’s ability to repair and defend.
“Hope is not denial; it is listening to the early signs before silence becomes final.”
Environmental Risk Factors
Environmental exposures constitute a significant, often preventable, fraction of cancer risk. Tobacco smoke, both active and passive, remains the leading preventable carcinogen [4]. Excessive alcohol consumption contributes to oxidative stress and mutagenesis, while occupational or environmental exposure to chemicals such as benzene, asbestos, and pesticide compounds the risk [4]. Ionizing radiation, whether from medical imaging or environmental sources, adds potential for further DNA damage. Reducing these exposures through behavioral interventions, public health policies, and occupational safeguards is essential for primary prevention. Awareness and proactive avoidance of such risks can profoundly alter individual and population-level cancer outcomes.
Early Detection: The Life-Saving Window
While lifestyle and environmental measures prevent cancer initiation, early detection serves as a secondary prevention strategy. Screening methods, including mammography, Pap smears, HPV testing, colonoscopy, and genetic testing for high-risk populations, enable identification of pre-malignant or early malignant lesions [2,4]. Emerging technologies, such as liquid biopsies detecting circulating tumor DNA, promise to detect malignancy even before conventional imaging or symptoms appear. Timely detection dramatically improves prognosis, enabling intervention at stages when therapy is most effective and minimally invasive.
“I lost her to a late diagnosis. Let this be a warning: act early, detect early, save lives.” Photo, Author
Public Health Implications
Individual prevention is amplified through population-level interventions. Tobacco taxation, vaccination programs for HPV and hepatitis B, nutrition education campaigns, and widespread access to screening and genetic counseling all contribute to reducing cancer incidence [2,4]. Policies that facilitate healthy behaviors and early detection complement personal efforts, creating a societal framework where cancer prevention is proactive rather than reactive. Integrating molecular understanding, lifestyle guidance, and public health strategies constitutes a comprehensive approach to cancer prevention.
Final Words!
Stopping cancer before it starts is not merely aspirational; it is biologically plausible and evidence-based. Cancer begins silently, through cumulative DNA damage, oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, and environmental insults. Interventions like diet, exercise, and stress management are useful to avoid environmental carcinogens, and timely screening collectively reinforces cellular resilience. Telomere preservation and molecular biomarker monitoring provide additional layers of protection. Prevention is a cumulative, lifelong commitment, a deliberate choice to create an internal environment that resists malignant transformation.
“Every moment we act early is a moment gained, a life preserved, a loss prevented.” Through awareness, informed choices, and early intervention, cancer can be intercepted long before it reaches the point of no return.
“This is for my mother, whom I lost, and for the hope that no one else has to watch a loved one slip away because it was caught too late.”
Thun MJ, DeLancey JO, Center MM, Jemal A, Ward EM. The global burden of cancer: Priorities for prevention. Carcinogenesis. 2010;31(1):100–110.
Reuter S, Gupta SC, Chaturvedi MM, Aggarwal BB. Oxidative stress, inflammation, and cancer: How are they linked? Free Radic Biol Med. 2010;49(11):1603–1616.
Vineis P, Wild CP. Global cancer patterns: Causes and prevention. Lancet. 2014;383(9916):549–557.
Cohen S, Janicki-Deverts D, Miller GE. Psychological stress and disease. JAMA. 2007;298(14):1685–1687.
Anand P, Kunnumakkara AB, Sundaram C, Harikumar KB, Tharakan ST, et al. Cancer is a preventable disease that requires major lifestyle changes. Pharm Res. 2008;25(9):2097–2116.
Key TJ, Schatzkin A, Willett WC, Allen NE. Diet, nutrition, and the prevention of cancer. Public Health Nutr. 2004;7(1A):187–200.
McTiernan A. Mechanisms linking physical activity with cancer. Nat Rev Cancer. 2008;8(3):205–211.
Giovannucci E, et al. Obesity and cancer risk: Epidemiology and mechanisms. Nat Rev Cancer. 2010;10(8):593–607.
Blasco MA. Telomeres and human disease: Ageing, cancer and beyond. Nat Rev Genet. 2005;6(8):611–622.
Shay JW, Wright WE. Telomeres and telomerase in normal and cancer stem cells. FEBS Lett. 2010;584(17):3819–3825.
Aviv A. Telomeres, sex, reactive oxygen species, and human cardiovascular aging. J Mol Med. 2002;80(11):689–695.
James Webb Space Telescope has discovered “little red dots” (LRDs), compact, infrared-emitting sources in the early Universe, likely representing young supermassive black holes accreting mass near the Eddington limit within dense cocoons of ionized gas.
In a new study published in Nature on January 14, the researchers investigated the identity of little red dots. These mysterious objects from the early universe exhibit characteristics of both galaxies and supermassive black holes, yet do not fit the description of either of them.
The study found that these enigmatic dots may be young supermassive black holes after all, cocooned in dense clouds of gas that mask telltale signs of their true nature.
JWST first observed these little red dots in 2022, shortly after its launch and began collecting data. Initially, researchers assumed them to be compact, star-filled galaxies; they changed their assumption as the dots were present too early in the universe to have formed so many stars, at least under our current understanding of galactic evolution.
Later on, several other researchers suggested that the unusual objects might be early supermassive black holes. Light emitted by energized hydrogen atoms around the dots shows that the gas is moving at thousands of miles per second, tugged along by the gravitational pull of the object at the center.
Rodrigo Nemmen, an astrophysicist at the University of São Paulo in Brazil, wrote an accompanying article published in the journal Nature. According to him, “Such extreme speeds are a smoking gun of an active galactic nucleus,” meaning a starving supermassive black hole at the center of a galaxy that is pulling in matter.
In comparison to supermassive black holes, these little red dots haven’t been observed emitting X-rays or radio waves. And regardless of whether the dots are black holes or early galaxies, they appear to have a gigantic mass to have formed as early in the universe as they did.
To better understand their nature, researchers studied the spectra emitted from 30 little red dots, each one collected with JWST’s infrared instruments. They found that the light emitted from these LRDs matches the light that the team predicted would be emitted from a supermassive black hole surrounded by a dense cloud of gas. That gaseous cocoon could have trapped X-ray and radio emissions from the growing black holes, blocking them from reaching JWST.
When the team recalculated the masses of these LRDs under the new interpretation, they found that the dots were about 100 times less massive than previously thought. Together, the evidence suggests that LRDs are growing supermassive black holes that are accreting the surrounding gas.
When we think of a year wrap, we often think of Spotify Wrap, or maybe, if you’re more niche, LinkedIn or Duolingo wraps. In Science Discoveries 2025, however, the wrap looks very different.
Here, we give you our top 3 research wraps. From the immunology discovery that won the researchers a Nobel Prize, to stopping cancer in its tracks, to the drastic rise of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases because of sugary drinks.
The Immunology Discovery that Won the 2025 Nobel Prize!
From left: Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025. Illustration: Niklas Elmehed for Nobel Prize Outreach
The word “immunology” may bring up the instinct to skim the topic and move on to the next interesting read, but hear me out! Immunology is the study of the immune system, which is crucial to keeping you alive!
Think about it for a second. Isn’t it crazy how the immune system, essentially the security guards, can attack invaders while still recognizing and preventing damage to the body’s own cells?
When this fails to happen, autoimmune diseases arise. The term may seem unfamiliar to many, but diseases like type 1 diabetes, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, etc., are all autoimmune conditions, and they affect around one in ten people.
You probably know someone with these diseases. If yes, you also know that a cure is distant and difficult. However, a recent discovery has brought that dream much closer.
Key Discoveries in Immune Regulation
Mary Brunkow, Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, Washington; Fred Ramsdell, Sonoma Biotherapeutics in Seattle, Washington; and Shimon Sakaguchi, University of Osaka in Suita, Japan, made a series of discoveries to solve this mystery.
This story starts with an unfortunate strain of mice termed the scurfy mouse, found in 1949. This mouse had an abnormal, unidentified X chromosome–linked mutation that causes severe autoimmune disease. This X-linked mutation meant that mice with the typical XY chromosomes were unable to survive, but females (XX) with a defective and a normal copy of the gene could survive.
This mouse was the reason we now understand that the Y chromosome is linked to maleness and was among the first discoveries on sex-linked genes. However, the reason for the abnormality was unknown, so the researchers kept the breed painstakingly alive for 300 generations.
This mutation was later found to be in Foxp3, which acts as a regulatory gene that, when mutated, fails to guide immune cells to the appropriate response. The immune cells in question are the T-regulatory cells (Tregs), which help suppress an overactive immune response. If Foxp3 is mutated, it is unable to tell the T-regulatory cells how to function, leading to a failed ‘brake’ response and an inability to prevent an overactive immune response.
The Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine, Ill. Photo, Mattias Karlén 2025
Their discovery has been critical in understanding common diseases and is being used to discover new remedies for autoimmune diseases like lupus, type 1 diabetes, arthritis, etc.
Freezing Cancer Cells in their Tracks
“CELL”- The word brings images from class 6; a cell is a circular structure with a nucleus and different organelles that it holds in its tiny world. However, one may forget that there are different types of cells, each with its own unique shape—some thin and extended like neurons, or some flat and irregularly shaped like skin cells. These cells seem almost permanent in shape, but they are not the immobile blobs that we think they are.
How do cells move and adapt?
What makes them special is that they are able to move, alter their structure, and respond to their environment.
They do this with an internal cytoskeleton, which, much like our own, adds stability and structure. However, this cellular cytoskeleton isn’t made of calcium and bones; it’s made of proteins that assemble to form frames inside the cells, but also filaments or extensions outside the cell, like tiny hands or flippers.
These tiny hands shrink, grow, and shift positions depending on how the cell responds to external cues. In fact, cancer cells, when they begin metastasizing (migrating from one tumor lump to establish tumors in other parts of the body), use these very extensions to move away and into their new habitat.
Hence, these tiny hands are critical to understanding how cancer cells move around and how, in cancer therapy, they can be prevented.
Studying filopodia to stop cancer spread
Gregory M. Alushin published a paper in 2025 where he used cryo-electron microscopy, which flash-freezes cytoskeletal proteins to obtain a detailed view of proteins involved and how they interact with each other.
They highlight that these hand-like protrusions are called filopodia; they are made up of bundles or rods of actin, an abundant protein in the human body, that are glued together by another protein, fascin. How fascin helps assemble actin filaments was unknown before, and so Dr. Gregory and his team brought this to light. They find that fascin doesn’t grab actin rods the same way on either side; in fact, it has an almost unique ‘handshake’ that allows for a slightly lopsided linking of actin filaments.
Additionally, they found that a drug, G2, acts like a cap on fascin and prevents it from linking actin rods together. This is incredible because if fascin proteins no longer link actin rods, they can’t form the filopodia protrusions that help cells move around, offering a targeted strategy that could help stop cancer cells in their tracks.
The worrying link between diabetes, cardiovascular issues, and sugary drinks
As you walk into the familiarly decorated living rooms of your aunt or friend, you’re often asked the same question: “Kya len ge aap (what will you have) … Sprite, Coke, or water?” However, a recent study suggests that they may be better suited for offering diabetes.
Trending drinks in 2025 pose health risks from sugary drinks. Photo, Unsplash
Laura Lara-Castor and her team at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University link millions of cardiovascular and diabetes cases to the consumption of sugary drinks. In fact, they found that in Colombia, 48%, and in South Africa, 27.6%, of all new diabetes cases were linked to excess sugar in these drinks.
They explain that sugary beverages are digested rapidly, which may be beneficial in some situations, such as intensive sports, excessive amounts can lead to a sudden spike in blood sugar levels. They not only offer minimal nutritional value but are also reasons for excessive weight gain, insulin resistance, and multiple metabolic issues that are linked to cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes.
The worrying thing is that these beverages are excessively sold in low- and middle-income countries without healthier or low-sugar alternatives. They become a natural choice for any meeting, guests, or events. Additionally, coupled with a lack of awareness about the detrimental effects of these drinks and a public system that isn’t equipped for their long-term consequences, a slippery slope is established that can easily lead to an increase in disease.
The paper suggests a multi-pronged approach to tackling this issue, ranging from public awareness campaigns, regulating the sale and advertisement of these sugary drinks, and actively offering other healthier alternatives sold as accessibly as these drinks currently are.
The year 2025 was a defining year for Scientia Pakistan, as the magazine strengthened its role and continued serving as a trusted bridge between science and society. From laboratories and courtrooms to classrooms and climate frontlines, our stories focused on how science shapes everyday life in Pakistan and beyond. This year, we leaned harder into clear, engaging storytelling for professionals and young readers alike— without diluting scientific rigor. The result was a growing, more engaged community that didn’t just read science news but discussed, questioned, and shared it widely.
Our Top Ten Stories of 2025 reflected the issues that mattered most to our audience. These included in-depth reporting on forensic science and justice, women breaking barriers in STEM, climate change, and extreme weather events in Pakistan and worldwide. We focused on debunking misinformation and spreading awareness about science communication, public health challenges, emerging technologies, and Pakistan’s growing footprint in global scientific collaborations.
Several of these stories went beyond headlines, unpacking complex research and policies while centering human experiences—scientists, students, doctors, and communities on the frontlines of change.
Together, these ten stories captured the spirit of a year marked by urgency, curiosity, and accountability. They showed why science journalism is not a luxury, but a necessity—especially in a region where scientific literacy can directly influence policy, justice, and survival. As we close 2025, Scientia Pakistan remains committed to asking better questions, amplifying credible voices, and making science accessible, relevant, and impossible to ignore.
Have you ever tried blowing into a whistle? If yes, then you know a sound is made as air leaves the small opening on top, but why? The sound is produced when the air vibrates as it leaves through the small opening. In the same manner, the sound hole of a guitar is also a component in the sound being produced. The air inside the sound hole vibrates as the strings are plucked. This amplifies the sound being made as the air moves forward and backward while also giving the guitar its bass or its low notes.
All these components combine to allow a guitar to make a sound. The chords mentioned earlier are formed by these factors. This teaches us that even daily objects that may seem inconsequential have some science going on behind them. Therefore, the next time you ever sit down to listen to music or hear someone playing a guitar, try to remember all the little things that allow it to work for our enjoyment.
Dr Hassan: The answer is yes. Pakistan is currently experiencing significant climatic changes. These developments represent not merely variability but a fundamental shift in temperature, precipitation, and hydrological patterns.
Over the decades, the country has warmed faster than the global average, and the signs are undeniable. Summers are hotter, heatwaves arrive earlier and stay longer, and temperatures in places like Jacobabad now touch the very limits of human survival. At the same time, rainfall is becoming less predictable but far more destructive. The monsoon is no longer a gentle season; it can now unleash devastating cloudbursts in a matter of hours.
The warning signs have been building for over a decade. In 2010, unprecedented monsoon rains submerged nearly one-fifth of the country, displacing millions and leaving a humanitarian crisis in their wake. Twelve years later, in 2022, another catastrophic monsoon hit, this time bringing rainfall so intense that scientists confirmed climate change had made it far more likely. Those floods killed over 1,700 people and caused damage estimated at $40 billion, making them one of the costliest disasters in Pakistan’s history.
In Pakistan, an HPV vaccination campaign targeting girls aged 9–14 years is being held from September 15 to 27, 2025, across Punjab, Sindh, AJK, and Islamabad. This campaign is part of the government’s initiative, supported by organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, the Global Vaccine Alliance (GAVI), to introduce the HPV vaccine and prevent cervical cancer.
Although the vaccination of 2.5 million out-of-school girls after the floods and rains, especially in remote areas and marginalised communities, could be challenging for the health teams.
This nation-wide vaccination drive is part of larger global strategy for elimination of cervical cancer and Pakistan is also a signatory of the 71st World Health Assembly Resolution of 2018 that sets a goal of 90-70-90 by year 2030, which means 90pc of girls vaccinated against HPV by age 15, 70pc of women screened by age 35 and again by 45, and 90pc of women with cervical cancer disease receive treatment/palliative care.
4. “Seena Roshan Ho”: Lahore Science Mela Inspires a New Generation of Innovators!
LSM serves as a dynamic platform to popularize science and technology by making these fields accessible, enjoyable, and engaging for individuals of all ages. Visitors can participate in a variety of hands-on activities, interactive workshops, and captivating demonstrations that spark curiosity and foster a love for learning.
This year’s Lahore Science Mela will be held on October 25-26 at Crescent Model Boys High School, Shadman, Lahore. The tagline for this year is “SEENA ROSHAN HO,” which translates to “Your heart enlightens with the light of knowledge and curiosity”, inspired by the poetry of Allama Iqbal.
This tagline embodies the spirit of the event, encouraging attendees to explore and expand their understanding of the world around them. Expect to see an array of exciting projects and innovative exhibits from both local and international scientists and researchers. They will showcase their groundbreaking inventions and scientific experiments, providing a unique opportunity for the public to engage with and learn from experts in various scientific fields.
Astronomers may have finally found a clue to explain the strange “little red dots” that the James Webb Space Telescope spotted in 2022. The newly discovered object, nicknamed the Cliff, hints that these dots could be something entirely new in the universe — “a black hole star.” This happens when a black hole feeds so quickly that the gas around it lights up, making it look like a glowing star.
Before this, scientists thought the red dots might be huge early galaxies or supermassive black holes actively consuming matter.
Scientists are still debating what the mysterious “little red dots” really are. They might be exotic new objects, or perhaps just a stage in how galaxies and black holes grow. When the James Webb Space Telescope first spotted them in 2022, researchers even nicknamed them “universe breakers” because they looked too old to exist so early in cosmic history.
“In my time working as a pediatrician in Gaza, I saw starving babies gasping for air and reaching for their mothers, who were buried under rubble. I treated an entire family who had sustained third-degree burns, eyes blistered shut, children’s genitalia scorched and disfigured from bombardment,” describes Dr Seema Jilani.
Dr Seema Jilani is a pediatric specialist with extensive experience working in Afghanistan, Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, Sudan, Lebanon, Egypt, and the Balkans. Her radio documentary, “Israel and Palestine: The Human Cost of the Occupation,” was nominated for a Peabody Award.
“The war in Gaza has taken its toll on us as mothers. I chose to leave my seven-year-old daughter behind to treat war-wounded children who resembled her, except that their limbs hung by a thread of flesh and their bodies were charred black beyond recognition,” Dr Jilani writes while describing her painful experiences in Gaza.
We all saw the tragedy in DHA, where a father and daughter were swept away in the floods. They were seen waving and calling for help, yet no one could save them. One video that spread rapidly online showed a family standing on a rock in the middle of a river in Swat, reportedly to take photographs, when a sudden surge of floodwaters swept them away within seconds. It left millions of Pakistanis asking themselves the same haunting question: Are we ever truly safe, even in our own homes?
These “what ifs” echo in the minds of survivors and witnesses alike, planting seeds of fear and lasting mental distress. For rural families, the toll is even heavier. Elderly people and children, already the most vulnerable, face a lifetime of anxiety and grief. They lose not just their homes but also the very sense of security that anchors their lives. Many can only ask themselves in despair: Where do I go now? Everything is gone. My farm, my cattle, and my children are scattered. I no longer even have a home to return to.
The decomposition of the body depends on the dependability of environmental conditions, such as temperature, humidity, and exposure, as well as the enclosure of the body inside a room. But this degree of breakdown usually needs some weeks or a few months. Autolysis is the self-digestion of cells with the help of their own enzymes of the body. The human brain is soft and rich in enzymes.
Thus, it turns into sludge very rapidly, liquefying in most cases during the initial stages of the decay. Various body parts decompose at varying rates. Protected structures such as the skull and spine, and hard tissues such as bones, take longer, and soft bodies like muscles and organs decompose sooner, both in warm weather as well as wet weather [3].
The missing maggots may indicate that the body had not been outside in the open for a long period, or the actions of the insects occurred earlier, and the larvae had already grown up and departed. It further indicates that the body was covered in a dry environment or a closed area [4].
Dr. Shahid: Nanotechnology is the manipulation and application of material at the nanoscale level, typically between 1 and 100 nanometers. At this scale, materials exhibit unique physical, chemical, and biological properties. Nanotechnology is not a very advanced field, or has a current past.
With the help of nanomaterials, nanocomposites, or nanoparticles, materials are used to delve into the nanoscale, typically 1-100 nanometers. We adopted nanomaterials that can be utilized and are helpful in forensics.
For example, for fingerprint detection nanoparticle powders, normally we use simple dust or black powder, which are magnetic-based or chemical-based. Nanoparticles like gold, silver, and zinc oxide enhance the visibility of latent prints, and they are definitely environmentally friendly‑ they have very high sensitivity and specific results.
The two-day workshop was one of the first in-person events organised by Scientia in collaboration with the Natural Science Club (NSC), Habib University, Karachi, aimed to promote scientific writing and critical thinking among students, professionals, and researchers across the city. The workshop attracted a large number of students from Habib University and outsiders, demonstrating their enthusiasm for scientific research, science journalism, and communication.
The participants and speakers expressed immense appreciation to the entire Scientia team, sponsors from ACM-W, the NSC’s volunteers, and contributors both on and off-campus for making this event a success. This achievement was made possible by the energetic, dynamic, and professional speakers and facilitators. The audience comprised a diverse range of age groups, from teenagers to middle-aged adults.
The two-day event featured several major highlights, including training sessions, keynote speeches, virtual lectures, and panel discussions. Renowned journalists and trainers conducted the training sessions, including Aleezah Fatima Hashmi, Sheema Siddiqui, Suhail Yusuf, and Ms. Rizwana Naseem.
These experts emphasised the importance of science stories in driving societal change and development. They taught participants the fundamentals of discovering stories in labs, fields, or communities, as well as “How to Pitch those Stories to Editors” and write them compellingly and engagingly for the general public.
In a breakthrough more than a century ago, researchers solved one of the legendary problems posed by mathematician David Hilbert in 1900. In 2025, Zaher Hani of the University of Michigan, along with his colleagues, resolved a challenge that not only revisits the foundations of mathematics but also unifies several key laws of physics.
The problem—Hilbert’s sixth—called for deriving the laws that govern fluid motion from basic mathematical axioms. Hilbert believed that physics should rest on such first principles, but his vision remained unrealised for 125 years, until now.
In March 2025, Yu Deng from the University of Chicago, with his colleagues Zaher Hani and Xiao Ma from the University of Michigan, unveiled a framework that could connect classical mechanics and thermodynamics under a single mathematical framework.
The researchers outline a mathematically rigorous path from Isaac Newton’s particle-based view of matter to the large-scale equations that describe fluid motion.
Their approach builds on Boltzmann’s kinetic theory, which treats particle behaviour in terms of probabilities rather than individual trajectories. From there, the framework naturally connects to classical models, such as the Navier–Stokes equations, which are widely used to describe the flow of air and water.
The biggest problem for the researchers has been “time” itself. At the level of Newton’s laws, time is symmetric; the equations can only be run forward or backward and still get a valid result. But in thermodynamics, time clearly moves in one direction.
The researchers tackled this head-on by designing their methods to avoid contradictions. They used Feynman diagrams to track how particle interactions unfold over time without introducing paradoxes. Eventually, their approach helped to explain how time’s direction emerges from rules that don’t favor any direction at all.
Hani and his colleagues believe their equations could help improve models of air and ocean flow, particularly in complex environments such as hurricanes or turbulent currents. These settings are full of moving fluids that behave non-identically at different scales, making them ideal candidates for a unified approach.
By offering a bridge between the movement of individual particles and large-scale behavior, this new framework could refine how climate models account for heat and momentum.
Since the Navier-Stokes and Euler equations are used in weather simulations, adding deeper mathematical grounding could increase their accuracy and reliability – especially when tackling long-term predictions.
Young female scientists working in research centres and laboratories across the world are thinking outside the box and conducting groundbreaking research. Yet behind scientific progress lies a silent and unnoticed internal combat: a perpetual fear that their research is “not suitable” to be shared with the scientific community.
Have you ever sensed this? The pit in your stomach when your supervisor proposes that you present your research at a symposium. The numbness when you gawk at your manuscript draft rather than submitting it. The constant whispering of the inner voices, “your work is not enough.” You are not alone; many young female researchers share the same sentiments.
Imposter syndrome (IS) is severe in academia and bruises the confidence of young female researchers. To evaluate its prevalence in Pakistani young female researchers, a questionnaire was distributed by the author at the Biological Science Department at Forman Christian College, University, Lahore (FCCU).
One of the participants, Zainab, an MPhil research student researching the area of oncology, is familiar with these feelings and experiences. She stated, “For me, it is the fear of being criticised for my work from prominent scientists, as I feel I get anxious about making mistakes and not doing enough.”
She further voiced that “As a researcher, I am still in the phase of learning and growing, but I feel overwhelmed and nervous whenever I give a thought to present my work in front of experienced scientists.”
For young females, it is not just momentary self-doubt; it is an endless inner voice that questions every insight, every piece of information, and every accomplishment worth disseminating. Photo, People Management
The Voice of Doubts and Questions
The phenomenon of self-doubt is known as imposter syndrome. A survey was conducted and found that almost 95% of female scientists suffered moderate to severe imposter syndrome, which was much greater than the 70% observed in the general population. [1] To further prove that imposter syndrome exists among female scientists, a meta-analysis reported that among 40,000 participants, imposter syndrome was consistently more prevalent among females than among males.[2]
For young females, it is not just momentary self-doubt; it is an endless inner voice that questions every insight, every piece of information, and every accomplishment worth disseminating. Although the findings surpassed expectations, doubts emerged.
Another MPhil scholar, Emma from FCCU, said, “I have felt this way even though I have not achieved anything significant yet. Still, when I learn a new basic technique and my colleagues or seniors appreciate me, I feel like I haven’t done anything; it’s just my luck that I am getting appreciated when in reality I am not doing anything special.”
An international study reported that people who suffer from imposter syndrome are more likely to attribute research achievements to factors including good fortune and their supervisor rather than their own capabilities and endeavors [1]. This mentality becomes a hurdle not only to self-assurance but also to scientific achievements.
Why do young female researchers experience IS?
Female researchers are not only restrained by personal qualms; they struggle because imposter syndrome is deeply rooted in academic culture. A study found that women in intelligence-value fields such as physics, mathematics, and biology were more likely to feel like impostors, not because of their capabilities, but because of the environment that made them feel unfit.[3]
Moreover, women in science face microaggressions, such as their ideas being rejected, their voices being interjected, and fewer women in leadership positions, which fuels their fear that one mistake might label them as “imperfect.” However, during an interview, the MPhil student stated that “persistent effort also plays a significant role,” which suggests that success comes from work, not from luck.
Scientifically proven ways to confront Imposter Syndrome
The truth is that rectifying the imposter syndrome is not about mentoring female scientists; it is about reshaping the culture surrounding them. A study demonstrated that the issue of imposter syndrome is ingrained in academic culture, which must be addressed by modulating institutional culture. [3] Which factors may assist in decreasing feelings of self-doubt?
Programs such as mentorship and mutual aid groups, where female researchers openly disclose their struggles with fears, self-doubt, and personal setbacks, are essential. In addition, celebrating failed experiments along with successes must be normalized in research. Alterations at the institutional level may reduce imposter syndrome by not making them feel like an imposter, but also make them more confident.
Young women must understand that their presence in science is not merely an accident; they have earned their positions through intelligence, dedication, and talent. Women in science must read this: your voices matter, your ideas push boundaries, and your work contributes to humanity’s quest for truth. Your internal whispers, “You are not prepared yet,” are all falsehoods.
As Marie Curie said, “Nothing in life is to be afraid of; it is only to be understood.”
Scientists should speak boldly and confidently about their work, tell their stories, and let their voices be heard.
References:
Vaughn, A. R., Taasoobshirazi, G., & Johnson, M. L. (2019). Impostor phenomenon and motivation: Women in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 45(4), 780-795.
Bravata, D. M., Watts, S. A., Keefer, A. L., Madhusudhan, D. K., Taylor, K. T., Clark, D. M., … & Hagg, H. K. (2020). Prevalence, predictors, and treatment of impostor syndrome: A systematic review. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 35(4), 1252-1275.
3. Muradoglu, M., Horne, Z., Hammond, M. D., Leslie, S. J., & Cimpian, A. (2021). Women—particularly underrepresented minority women—and early-career academics feel like impostors in fields that value brilliance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 114(5), 1086-1100.
On 20th July 2021, Noor Mukaddam, a 27-year-old resident of Sector F-7/4, Islamabad, an elite area, was brutally killed. Her death did not come out of the blue; she spent two days in captivity, torment, torture, and rape in the hands of Zahir Jaffer.
Zahir Jaffer was no ordinary man, but a US national of Pakistani descent, the son of a wealthy industrialist family, someone who believed his privilege could protect him.[1] He held her at ransom when Noor turned down his proposal to get married. The CCTV footage further revealed that Noor was seen trying to escape twice, only to be pulled back inside.
She was tortured. She was raped, and then, she was BEHEADED!
Zahir Jaffer was caught at the crime scene, and the DNA confirmed the assault. The details of her murder stunned the whole nation and led to protests and social media hashtags, #JusticeForNoor. In February 2022, a session court sentenced him to the death penalty and 25 years of harsh imprisonment. The country breathed a sigh of relief, believing justice had been done.
But the story didn’t end there.
Zahir appealed. The case was taken to the Supreme Court. This was shaken in November 2025 when one of the hearings involved Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, who implied that the murder was a result of live-in relationships. He added that a live-in relationship was a rebellion against God and against the Pakistani law and Sharia.[2]
For many people in public, what he said was not just insensitive but dangerous. The fact that when a judge, in the highest seat of the legal system, puts an act of inconceivable brutality in the context of a punishment for a vice, resonates with a way of thinking always used against women. The same reasoning justifies honor killings, downplays women victims of domestic violence, and policing of women’s autonomy, including the clothing they wear and the places they visit.
Justice Ali Baqar Najjafi added that a live-in relationship was a rebellion against God and against the Pakistani law and Sharia. Photo, The Guardian
Every day, women are murdered by their husbands, their relatives, their friends, colleagues, and even by strangers. They do not have a safe place: at home, at workplaces, or on the streets. It is not the choice of women that turns violence against women, but rather it is misogyny, entitlement, and patriarchy as a culture. It is important to understand that Noor did not get killed due to her visit to a person. She was killed by the decision of a man to kill her.
The comments made by Justice Najafi did not come out of thin air. This was reinforcing what is already feared by many Pakistani women, that misogyny can leak through the cracks of the justice system, even in a crime where the crime is obvious, the evidence is irrefutable, and the cruelty documented.
When this kind of narrative gets into judicial commentary, the damage is not metaphorical; it erodes trust. It gives a message to the victims that even when they are pursuing justice, they may still be held responsible. It informs offenders that society can seek reasons on their behalf.
Pakistan’s fight is not merely against criminals; it is against a certain mindset. A mindset that blames women for the violence they endure, that excuses men by moralizing their crimes, and that polices women’s autonomy more rigorously than men’s actions.
This mindset, time and again, transfers the burden of protection onto women rather than dealing with the violence itself. Until this change is implemented, justice will remain fragile. Nights like September 9, 2020, and the tragedy of Noor Mukaddam will serve to remind the nation of how far it has to go.
The Forgotten Battle: What Happens After Rape?
To a rape victim, the nightmare does not cease at the moment of the assault. The actual cruelty, in many respects, begins later. At police stations, corridors of hospitals, and courtrooms, where she is forced to repeat her story, relive her trauma, and defend her own innocence again and again.
Until 2021, in Pakistan, survivors were subjected to the degrading and unscientific two-finger test.[3] It was used despite lacking any forensic value and causing horrific physical and psychological damage to the victims.
Physicians would put one or two fingers into the vagina of a woman to ascertain “laxity” or the hymen, trying to determine whether she was sexually active or not. Some even claimed they could tell whether it was her first time, a myth modern science has long discredited. Yet for decades, this invasive test had been employed to challenge the character of a survivor, to discredit her, and to decide whether she was worthy of justice, by a test of purity as defining the truth.[4]
Justice Ayesha A. Malik ruled the practice unconstitutional in a historic and landmark judgment of 30 pages, declaring the procedure to demean the dignity of the female victim and a violation of fundamental rights, namely Article 9 (right to life) and Article 14 (right to dignity) of the Pakistani Constitution.[5] This verdict was a long-overdue victory, coming after generations of unreasonable misery.
Nonetheless, despite this development, the journey to justice remains dangerous. There are thousands of cases, both reported and unreported, that never receive justice.[6] The survivors stay quiet and are engulfed by secrets, fear, and a society that continues to blame them more readily than the offender.
Why does justice fail?
Most of the time, medico-legal reports are faulty, incomplete, or ill-written. DNA evidence is lost, contaminated, or not collected at all due to the unavailability of rape kits.
By law (Section 344A of the 2016 Criminal Law Amendment), rape cases must conclude within 90 days[7], yet in reality, they stretch to 250 days or more, often dragging on for years. During these delays, the system slowly suffocates the case. Witnesses are threatened into silence, and victims face social, familial, and financial pressure to withdraw. Files gather dust, cases quietly die.
That is the tragedy of sexual violence; the rape can take a few minutes, but the legal pain can take years. The perpetrator caused the initial wounds, but our legal system turns them into traumas. Justice can only be elusive until these structural failures are addressed, until evidence is maintained, trials are prompt, and survivors are treated with respect. Justice can not be attained until it is trapped behind bureaucracy, stigma, and a society yet to understand how to listen.
What Forensic Science Does in Rape Cases
Rape forensics is a branch of forensic science that is involved in the gathering of evidence, examination, and interpretation of evidence involving sexual assault. It entails biological, physical, and occasionally even psychological evidence that assists investigators in knowing whether a sexual assault occurred, who committed the crime, and what happened before, during, and after the attack.[8]
The type of evidence presented in sexual assault cases is numerous, and each piece of evidence is crucial in the reconstruction of what actually happened. The most important is the DNA that can be taken in the form of saliva, semen, blood, and skin cells that are present on the victim’s body, clothes, or other objects. DNA may involve a direct connection of a criminal to a crime and may be the most solid evidence in a courtroom.
Another significant group is related to fibers and hair, which can be transferred in case of physical struggle. These trace materials are capable of linking the victim and the accused together at the same point or place of contact. The presence, contact can be proved even by a single strand of hair or a fiber, in case other evidence can be challenged.
The medical notes and forensic photography are used to carefully record the injuries sustained during the assault. Pattern injuries, bruises, cuts, abrasions, bite marks, and other evidence of force and defiance silently speak volumes of a story of resistance. These documents maintain physical evidence that can diminish with time, and injuries are visible even after the recovery process has started.
The toxicology reports are a crucial aspect in drug-facilitated assault cases. Drugs used to immobilize the victim can be detected in blood and urine tests. This kind of evidence justifies memory lapses and refutes accusations that the survivor did so out of consent or because he or she was drunk.
The importance of Forensic Evidence
All these lines of evidence help to give an objective and scientifically proven backup to the account presented by a survivor. Forensic science becomes an objective partner in legal systems where the victim-blaming element, absence of witnesses, and social stigma tend to ruin cases. It moves the standpoint to the challenge of the survivor’s character to the analysis of facts, where justice lies.
The Forensic Medical Examination
The forensic medical examination is one of the most crucial elements of a rape investigation, and it can be performed during the first 72 hours following the sexual offense. In this test, the Rape Kit or Sexual Assault Evidence Kit (SAEK) is utilized to gather significant biological and physical evidence. [9]
The exam is administered by a Medico Legal officer (MLO), a trained professional who handles delicate procedures with both scientific precision and emotional sensitivity.
The Medico Legal Examination may involve:
Mouth, skin, genitals, and anus swabs
Collection of blood, urine, or semen samples
Detailed record of injuries
Photographs to maintain records of bruise or injury
Each sample is well labeled and closed to prevent contamination. Appropriate evidence gathering by an MLO increases the likelihood of identifying the perpetrator and of conviction in court. An entire forensic examination is not just beneficial to the law but also to validating the survivor’s experience, helping them regain a sense of control.[10]
The victim’s legal team relies on medical examination reports and witness statements; these aspects form the basis of the victim’s argument and show how scientific proof serves as a potent instrument of justice. Although fictional, the processes depicted are realistic forensic activities that make the drama not only entertainment, but a kind of civic education, illuminating the way for a survivor to navigate the complex overlap of medicine, law, and trauma.
Role of Forensic Evidence for Rape Survivors
Evidence in forensics is of central importance in enhancing the credibility of a victim. When an account by a survivor can be undermined by emotional distress, social stigma, or cultural prejudice, scientific evidence offers objective explanations. DNA reports, medical results, and toxicology results are found to guide the courts to concentrate on facts as opposed to the harmful assumptions about the character or behavior of the survivor.
Forensic documentation helps neutralize victim-blaming narratives that frequently prevail in rape case trials in Pakistan. When the injuries, biological samples, and medical records are collected and preserved correctly, they give a factual account of the crime that cannot be easily dismissed. This fact removes the blame from the survivor and places the responsibility on the rapist.
Psychologically, forensic examination can provide validation and emotional support to the survivors.[11] Being aware that their experience has been officially documented and scientifically proven can help overcome the sense of self-doubt, shame, or disbelief imposed by society. It proves one main fact: the damage inflicted is real, registered, and deserves justice.
But the best advice, given by experts, is to ensure that they report early (within 72 hours). Late reporting can supposedly be dangerous to a case. The fear of social backlash, family influence, and distrust towards the institutions and organizations usually makes the victims reluctant, and important evidence may either be damaged or lost. Immediate health care review and preservation of evidence further enhance the chances of accountability and minimize the chances of being denied justice by a gap in the procedure.
In Pakistan, forensic awareness, among women and families, health practitioners, and law enforcement, is not an option but a necessity. Knowing what to do once assaulted sexually may turn an otherwise collapsed case into a case that upholds scientific truth.
Conclusion:
In 2024 alone, according to a recent Gender Based Violence (GBV) report by the Sustainable Social Development Organization, 32,617 cases of GBV were reported. Over 5,339 cases were of rape. Despite thousands of cases, Pakistan’s conviction rate remains dismally low, at just 0.5% for rape.[12]
Violence against women in Pakistan is not just physical violence; it is a cultural, institutional, and systemic violence. Victim-blaming continues to overshadow criminal accountability. There is still a very low level of forensics awareness. Before any court can silence the survivors, families tend to do the same. Outdated beliefs still seep into judicial spaces where justice should be blind, but hope lies in knowledge.
The knowledge of what to do after rape, how to report, what forensic steps to follow, how to preserve evidence, etc., can become the strength of survivors and their families during the darkest moments. When used properly, forensic science is not merely an investigative tool, but a shield against bias, a weapon against silence, and the truth what survivor is screaming.
If Pakistan is to move forward, the responsibility lies with all of us to stop blaming victims, to insist on institutional change, to demand forensic integrity, and to build awareness, not in the wake of tragedies, but before them. Only then can we be confident that no woman on a highway, no woman trapped in the house, and no woman trying to get away from her murderer will ever feel lonely anymore.
