Research Matters

Invasive plants pose a major threat to the native vegetation of an ecosystem, resulting in severe competition for resources and in some cases, complete replacement of native plants by alien plants. Lantana camara is a well-known alien plant in India that has spread like wildfire and needs better strategies to manage this invasion. Since seed dispersal plays a major role in the spread of this shrub, a new study now attempts to understand how this plant succeeds in attracting various fruit eating birds that act as seed dispersers. By understanding how Lantana attracts these birds, better strategies to manage the weed could be developed, say the researchers.

The field of material science has immensely contributed to our progress and has arguably been a very important driving force behind all the scientific achievement that mankind boasts of today. With the discovery of conductors, superconductors, insulators and semiconductors, there has been a revolution in the field of electric engineering, computer science, electronics, aerospace and others. Now, a new class of materials to this list is topological conductors, which promises to conquer great frontiers in the field of quantum computers and others.  A new research has now shown that amorphous materials like glass can also become topological conductors, thus finding a myriad of applications in different fields. 

India is home to not just a huge number of people, but also a myriad range of animals and plants. So it isn’t surprising when scientists discover new species of these animals and plants every now and then. And to add to the list of new discoveries, three geckos have now been identified by a team of researchers. For the first time, after 130 years, the discovery of these geckos have take the total number of geckos found in India to 11. Found in various habitats and across many parts of the country, the discovery of the geckos adds to the ecological richness around us and gives more insights into these lizard-like organisms and their lives.

The incidence of prostrate cancer, affecting the prostate gland in men, is one of the increasingly growing types of cancers and the cause of death across the world, particularly in developing countries. While traditional anti-cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation therapy promise hope, they often come with undesirable side effects. In a new research, scientists have shown the possibility of natural extracts from two plants found in tropical regions of the country to be effective against prostate cancer. This research definitely promises to bring in new hopes in those battered with cancer, hope the scientists.

Termites are renowned architects whose mounds have inspired many building designs around the world. But did you know how termites build their mud castles? A new study has tried to understand how termites use boluses -- a combination of mud and saliva acting as bricks -- to build their mounds. The study also throws light on the properties of materials the termites prefer to use to build mounds and discusses reasons behind the same. This study, the researchers claim, is a first towards understand the unique procedure followed by nature’s best architects in building some of the finest castles.