Haven’t we all heard about DNA, the genetic material that makes who we are? Short for Deoxyribonucleic acid, the DNA is made of two chains that coil around each other forming the double helix structure as we know it today. Although Friedrich Miescher first isolated the DNA molecule in 1869, it was not until 1953 that we understood its structure. Two scientists, James Watson and Francis Crick, are well-known for showing us the double-helix structure of the DNA.

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, have proposed methodologies that can improve the design of automated systems to detect muscle fatigue. In a recent study, published in the journal Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine, the researchers have used surface electromyography (sEMG), a technique which can record electrical signals over the surface of the skin.

The field of material science has become exciting in the recent past with scientists discovering some remarkable properties and behaviour of novel materials. In one such study,  researchers from the National Institute of Technology, Meghalaya, India, and the New York University Abu Dhabi, UAE have designed a versatile crystal material that can be twisted with heat, bent with light, is elastic and can heal itself by heating or cooling.

A collaborative study by researchers from Punjab University, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, Banasthali University, TERI University and the Jawaharlal Nehru University has identified how a particular gene in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), mutates to avoid the action of antibiotics.

When a disaster strikes, every moment that is saved could help save a few precious lives. Now, a recent study by researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur has proposed a mechanism in which faster, cheaper and personalised response could be provided to the victims during disasters with the use of Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs).

Chikungunya fever is a major public health issue that infects many during the monsoon season. The most recent outbreak in India was in 2016, and in the last three years, the number of chikungunya cases in India has increased by a whopping 390 per cent. Caused by a mosquito-borne virus, there are no vaccines or specific treatments for this disease at the moment.

In a new study, researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, have designed a biosensor using gold nanoparticles that can identify the presence of a protein called alpha-synuclein.  The newly developed biosensor uses optical fibres to identify these proteins even in very low concentrations and can do so in just 15 minutes of time.

Researchers at IIT-Kharagpur have published a study on prediction of Esophageal cancer using data locally collected by a Mumbai hospital and machine learning algorithm. Their results could help us do away with expensive and invasive tests while diagnosing cancers.

Dr. Prathima Iengar, scientist from Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru has been studying the different biological process that are affected by cancer. Her new study throws light on the genes and pathways that are most affected in cancer. 

In 1908, a meteoroid (a small asteroid) exploded in the atmosphere near the Stony Tunguska River in Eastern Siberia, flattening over 2000 square kilometres of forest. Luckily, the region was very thinly populated, and there were no casualties. But, our Earth is not always that fortunate! Billions of years ago, our planet is thought to have been struck by many such asteroids, creating a dent on its surface.