In a new study, researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur and the Institute of Pulmocare and Research, Kolkata, have developed a new, efficient method to detect asthma—by listening to the sound made by the lungs of the patients. Their findings were published in the journal Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine.

On the 25th of October, 2018, an event was organised in New Delhi to celebrate the successes of a decade-long Indo-UK collaboration in research and innovation, and to mark the launch of the UK Research and Innovation India (UKRI India). UKRI India is a new body that partners with universities, research organisations, and government funding agencies to create the best possible environment for research and innovation to flourish.

Researchers described a close association between microbes and plants that they live in, and how this relationship benefits both. The association, called the ‘rhizophagy cycle’, involves friendly bacteria and fungi that live in the roots of specific plants and help in nutrient transfer.

Researchers from ICAR-NDRI, Karnal and the ICAR-IVRI, Izatnagar, described how some proteins present in the saliva of a female buffalo might help in detecting their estrus or mating stage.

In a recent announcement, Dr Shekhar C. Mande, the current Director of the National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune has been appointed as the new Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Secretary of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), India. He succeeds Dr Girish Sahni, who retired on 31st August 2018. CSIR is one of the world’s largest publicly-funded research and development organisations and is known for its contributions in diverse areas of science.

In a recent study, scientists have reported that the extract of the plant Toxicodendron pubescens, commonly called the Atlantic poison oak, could help alleviate neuropathic pain caused by nerve damage. The study included researchers from the R. C. Patel Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, SVKM’s Institute of Pharmacy, Janmangal Homeopathy and Wellness Centre and UAE University.

Last week, the world enthusiastically awaited one of the year’s exciting announcements—the Nobel Prize in the fields of Physiology or Medicine, Physics, and Chemistry. First of them to be announced was the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, jointly awarded to James P. Allison, Professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA, and Tasuku Honjo, Professor at Kyoto University, Japan. They were considered for this prestigious honour for their contributions to cancer therapy using our body’s immune system to attack cancer cells.

In a recent study published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, and Louisiana State University, USA, have analysed the differences in the genome of a variety of weedy rice, with that of two cultivated rice varieties. Weedy rice, as the name suggests, is a variety of rice that grows like weed in paddy fields.

Researchers from the ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur, have recently identified parts of the DNA in lentils that are associated with flowering.

In a recent study, published in the journal Emerging Microbes & Infections, a multi-national team of researchers have traced the trail of the Zika virus from the forests of Africa to India and other Asian countries.