Lignin, like cellulose, is an insoluble fibre found in many fruits and vegetables including kiwi, ridge gourd, carrots, spinach and kale. In a recent study, scientists from the Vivekananda College of Pharmacy, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Poornaprajna Institute of Scientific Research (PPISR) have prepared lignin-rich nanoparticles from vegetables by treating their fibres with special enzymes thus making it ‘green’.

A new study at IISc looks to uncover the secret behind the development of drug resistance in TB causing bacteria by testing the efficacy of various commonly available antibiotics. The researchers have found that a combination of commonly available antibiotics along with Augmentin, fights the development of resistance among TB bacteria. This study might throw light on developing new class of drugs that can help contain the spread of deadly tuberculosis, claim the researchers.

The Education and Research Network or better known as the ERNET project was initiated in 1986 by the central government with the aim of connecting the different academic institutions across the country and introducing research in networking in the country. By 1992, ERNET had become the country’s first internet service provider. In January 2016 it was mutually decided to end the agreement between ERNET and IISc, thus bringing to an end a three-decade long effort in data networking.

Social Capital is the various networks a person can form throughout his life time, with his relatives, friends, co-workers etc, which could become economically valuable. This could be someone from your network offering you a job or a loan or just an edge in a job interview, higher the number of people in your network, higher is the chance of you getting help from one of them. Now, researchers from the University of Iowa and University of British Columbia have looked at the effects of social capital on child nutrition in India.

Rare-earth elements, despite their names are quite common on the earth’s crust, but are often difficult to find, as they tend to clump together to form minerals. They are a group of seventeen elements including Scandium, Cerium and Neodymium, which share chemical properties. The rare-earth elements form the backbone of many of modern machinery like lasers, aerospace components, magnets and capacitors. Until 1948, India was one of the leading producers of rare-earth elements, but currently however, China produces close to 90% of the world’s rare-earth elements.

The body’s immune system is one of the robust defense mechanisms. Now, scientists are exploring to use our immune system to fight some of the deadliest diseases including cancer by understanding how immunotherapy works and how drugs that are based on immunotherapy help our body fight cancers. In a recent study, researchers are working on understanding how Yervoy, a common immunotherapy drug against cancer, works in fighting against the disease. They are also looking at manufacturing similar cost-effective drugs that promise to bring down the cost of cancer drugs.

Malaria, a deadly mosquito borne disease, kills about half a million people around the world, every year. Developing countries face a challenge in accurately diagnosing malaria in early stages due to the need of sophisticated diagnostic devices and skill. A new study at IISc has developed a technique to test for malaria with very small quantities of blood samples using laser light. By holding a single RBC using a pair of 'optical tweezers', this technique can detect malarial parasites in the RBCs even at an early stage, say the researchers. The researchers claim this technique can help save many lives if commercialised on a larger scale. 

With the advent of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, there are numerous technologies built today that help us live ‘smart’ and have revolutionized many fields. Transportation is one such field where numerous solutions are available that make it safe and reliable. But how do these systems collect the data required to turn them smart? Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, have found an answer in crowdsourcing.

Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is regarded as the premier research institution in the country and a place where most of the cutting edge research happens. But have you wondered how the institution got to where it is today? Dr. Surja Datta, a senior lecturer at Oxford Brookes Business School, tries to answer this question through the lens of history.

Here is some caution for those struggling to kick the butt and give up smoking. The Global Burden of Disease Study 2015, has found that the number of smokers all over the world has increased in the last decade (2005-2015) as compared to 1990-2005. The Republic of Congo and Azerbaijan topped the list with the most increase for men, and Kuwait and Timor-Leste for women. It also notes that in 2015 alone, 11·5% of global deaths (6·4 million) were attributable to smoking, of which 52·2% were in China, India, USA and Russia.