Research Matters

Scientists study the reasons for 2001 Bhuj devastation

On 26th of January 2001, India was gearing up to celebrate the country’s 51st Republic Day, when an event that lasted a little longer than 2 minutes, devastated the country. Kutch region in Gujarat was hit by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake. The death toll was estimated to be around 13,000, with wide scale devastation to property. The incident flattened many villages and destroyed many historic and heritage buildings.

New evidence suggests widespread possibilities of liquid water on Mars

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Life as we know it on Earth is possible because of water. Hence, the presence of water on our neighbouring ‘red planet’, Mars, was an important discovery. Taking forward the search for water on Mars, scientists from the Luleå University of Technology, Sweden, Sharda University, India, Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, Spain and Centro de Astrobiología, Spain, have now discovered the widespread presence of liquid water on Mars using the latest technology. 

Is diabetes in the brain more than in the pancreas? Changing paradigms of diabetes type 2

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Responsible for 1.5 to 5 million deaths per year, around the world, Diabetes mellitus is a very serious disease. India is considered the diabetes capital of the world with as many as 50 million people suffering from type 2 diabetes. This World Diabetes Day, the Research Matters team caught up with Dr. Milind Watve, a professor at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune and an expert in the field, to find out about the new insights into how better to treat the disease.  

Invasion of the Mind Snatching Wasps!

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Nature is full of mind boggling interactions, some that seem they are straight out of a fiction novel! Studying a host-parasite-hyperparasite interaction between a species of moth and two species of wasp, scientists from the Ecology lab at the Department of Animal Science, Central University of Kerala, explore how wasps control the behaviour of moth larvae and also contribute to controlling their population.

Scientist study the computational architecture of eye-hand coordination

There are plenty of activities we as humans perform each day, which requires incredible amount of coordination between the different parts of our body. A simple act of lifting a book requires, first your eye to pin-point the book, next it guides your hand to clasp the book and then lift it up. Sounds complicated. Yet, each day, we can lift things up, catch fast moving objects, and ride very fast on the bike, hardly noticing what our hands our doing, while swerving through the traffic.

Scientists studying hearts of fish to understand heart diseases

Author(s)

The human body is made up of a complex network of cells and tissues specialized to carry out specific tasks. Studying each type of cell individually gives researchers insights into treating diseases and disorders. The cells of a human heart have very poor regenerative capability, while those of zebrafish are known to regenerate well. Scientists from the Agharkar Research Institute, Pune in their recent study explore the mechanism behind how zerbafish hearts regenerate.

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