They say chocolate is nature’s way of making up for Mondays and that sure justifies its reputation as comfort food. The key component in chocolates is cocoa, a bean that is found in the pods of Theobroma cacao, or the cocoa tree, a native of Central and South America. The word ‘cocoa’ literally translates to ‘Food of the Gods’ in Greek. In recent years, countries in Africa and Asia have assumed a leading role in cocoa production, with Western Africa producing almost two-thirds of the world’s cocoa.

Prof. Nitin Saxena, Professor at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, has been awarded the 2018 Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for his work in Algebraic Complexity Theory. One of the youngest awardees, Prof. Saxena’s research interests include Computational Complexity and Algebraic Geometry.

Researchers from the Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar and National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science & Technology, Japan, show that cultivating Ashwagandha organically with vermicompost can enrich the soil and help in the germination and growth of the plant. 

In a new study, Shreekant Deodhar and Kavita Isvaran from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, have tried to decode the meaning of the various behavioural signals exhibited by these drop-dead gorgeous male lizards.

Researchers from IIT Bombay develop a mobile application for better positioning using data from neighbouring mobiles.

Researchers from IISER Kolkata and McMaster University, Canada, have studied a model of coexistence among bacteria.

In a recent announcement, two renowned individuals from the Indian engineering field, Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Dr Mylavarapu Ramamoorty, have been chosen as Foreign Members to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). NAE is a US-based private, independent, and non-profit institution, which is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and provides engineering leadership in service to the nation.

Researchers from the IIT Dhanbad estimate the generation of different types of plastic wastes by different socio-economic groups in the city of Dhanbad, India.

Researchers from IIT Bombay fabricate highly efficient transistors using graphene nanoribbons.

Researchers from IIT Kanpur, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, USA, University of Hyderabad, and IIT Delhi have tried to understand how aerosols affect the Indian monsoon season.