In today’s world, you probably belong to a variety of social networks, like your school friends, family, sports teams, and online communities, where each interaction can be likened to playing a "game" with specific rules and rewards. For instance, you might interact differently with classmates than you do with family members.

Researchers have used a naturally occurring random process to generate random numbers.

Studies have found that dogs tend to be friendlier in areas with frequent human activity. But what about their interaction with individuals of their kind in these areas? Do humans play a role here? A recent study from the Dog Lab IISER Kolkata has delved into the social interactions of dogs amongst themselves and with humans. 

Researchers use new self-assembly techniques to create microstructures that can be used in early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers show how free-ranging dogs modify their behaviour and personalities based on our presence in urban areas.

In a recent study, researchers from the Indian Institute of Science and Education Research, Kolkata, have investigated the nest architecture of a species of Indian ant, called Diacamma indicum.

Animal behaviour studies, which began in the 1970s, had a rocky start as they were viewed as a deviation from biological studies. They try to answer questions relating to why an animal's behaviour differs with different organisms and environmental factors, and the cost-benefits associated with each behaviour. Such studies help to understand not only the biology of the organism but also its ecological role. In one such study, Dr Anuradha Bhat and her group at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata, have looked at the mating behaviour of zebrafish.

In 2008, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced Aditya-1, India's first solar mission to study the Sun. This ambitious endeavour, with various indigenously-developed instruments onboard, holds much promise for our scientific community as they expect to unravel the mysteries of our closest star, the Sun. Now renamed as Aditya L1, the data from the instruments onboard are expected to be a treasure-trove of information on the dynamic processes on the Sun's surface and its atmosphere.

A new study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata, shows that dogs too have developed strategies to coexist with humans, and numbers play a role in it. 

Voluntary movements, like lifting your hand to wave, are executed through precise coordination between different brain areas. Sometimes, due to the loss of neurons in the brain, some individuals cannot coordinate such voluntary movements and are said to be suffering from a condition called ataxia. A type of ataxia, known as the spinocerebellar ataxia, involves the loss of neurons from the spinal cord and cerebellum. These brain areas are responsible for controlling movement and balance.