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Distressingly dark facets of societies such as kidnapping, rape, thievery, slavery, and murder of members of one’s own species, are not unique to human communities. Monkeys, dolphins, mice, eagles, ants and many other members of the animal kingdom are known to exhibit various instances of such behaviour. Observation of such sinister acts is fascinating to researchers, who investigate further, speculating on the significance of such an act in the light of animal cognition and how they have evolved. The serendipitous discovery of ‘brood theft’ in a group of ants in the Ant Lab at IISER Kolkata, for instance, has Prof. Sumana Annagiri and her team conducting many experiments to figure out how do they do it and why.

Turmeric is a ubiquitous ingredient in home remedies for ailments ranging from infections to arthritis. A mixture of turmeric and milk (haldi-doodh) has been used as a traditional cure for bone fractures. Modern science has shown that curcumin, the primary component of turmeric, possesses anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. In recent times, researchers in the field of bone tissue engineering, who seek to engineer novel strategies for bone tissue regeneration, are exploring the documented benefits of curcumin on bone growth. Now, a new study by Prof. Kaushik Chatterjee and his group at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, shows that encapsulating curcumin in a restorable ‘scaffold’ enables sustained release of the chemical, and enhances bone repair. The study is an attempt to highlight the promise of phytochemicals, a class of molecules found in Indian spices, in bone tissue engineering.

In a recently published study, scientists at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, are addressing one of the biggest challenges faced by many appliances - wear and friction due to usage. Wear and friction affects the lifetime of industrial equipment, which directly correlates with the profitability of the business. The teams of researchers, led by Prof. M.S. Bobji at the Department of Mechanical Engineering are now experimenting with alumina based nanocomposite coating for wear resistance.

Organisms with single cell mostly reproduce asexually through cell division by splitting into two or more cells and yeasts are no exception. They divide by fission or budding, a process where new daughter cells ‘bud’ off after receiving half of the nucleus and some cytoplasm from the mother cell. A recent collaborative study by scientists at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), the Tata Memorial Centre, Advanced Centre for Treatment Research and Education in Cancer, Navi Mumbai and the Indian Institute of Technology – Bombay, has now thrown some insights into the mechanism of nuclear division in yeasts. The study, led by Prof. Kaustuv Sanyal from JNCASR and Prof. Raja Paul from IACS, has succeeded in generating a computational model that accurately predicts the nuclear division dynamics in two types of yeasts belonging to two phyla - Ascomycota and Basidiomycota.

When our body’s defensive immune responses end up injuring our own tissues and organs while fighting infections, it results in a clinical condition called sepsis. It is one of the leading causes of global mortality, with an estimated 90,000 deaths every year in India alone. Once it kicks off, sepsis or “septic shock”, commonly results in tissue damage, multiple organ failure and eventually death in high-risk patients. Fungal, viral and parasitic infections can all cause sepsis, with bacteria being the most common culprits. Conventionally, sepsis is treated using expensive antibiotics with poor shelf lives. Now, a new study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, has proposed a cost-effective treatment for sepsis.

By sharing resources, mobile phone service providers can reduce call drop rates and make higher profits, is the conclusion of a study by researchers from the Indian Institute of Science and the University of Pennsylvania, USA. The research, though conducted a few years ago, assumes importance now, because the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recently allowed different service providers to share spectrum.

The inconsistency between spatial development of Bengaluru and its urban planning has skyrocketed the cost of city development, says a new study by Ms. N S Nalini, a researcher from the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru. Considering the example of the water supply system in the city, the study confirms that it is inefficient with an overpriced production and supply of water. The study also suggests that planning water supply based on the natural terrain of the city could minimize these costs.

Trees hold a special place on the planet. Apart from being an important resource to us, they are also a generous host to many species of fungi and bacteria that spend parts of their life cycle inside the trees. These microorganisms, called endophytes, have a symbiotic relationship with trees, the nature of which depends on the genetic, environmental and geographical conditions. In a recent study, researchers at the Vivekananda Institute of Tropical Mycology (VINSTROM), Chennai, have surveyed about 100 trees from the forests in the Western Ghats to explore a particular endophyte species, Pestalotiopsis, and its interaction with trees within the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.

Paper, considered a symbol of knowledge, has been used indiscriminately in the past century causing severe environmental degradation. One study estimates that with all the paper we waste each year, we can build two 12-foot high wall of paper from New Delhi to Bangalore! Electronic storage is not a better alternative since it poses another challenge of handling e-waste that is generated. Now, a collaborative study by researchers headed by Prof. Sandeep Kumar and Dr. A.R Yuvaraj at Raman Research Institute (RRI), Bangalore, and the University of Malaysia, has developed a novel technology that could reduce the use of paper and the generation of e-waste by replacing the way we present information. The researchers have developed an optical storage device made of gold nanoparticles decorated with compounds called azobenzenes.

Evolutionary changes are manifested in natural populations over many generations, which makes it difficult to observe evolution in real-time. Nevertheless, there are many evolutionary biologists who are keen to understand the intricacies of this process and Prof. N G Prasad from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Mohali is one of them. Recently, Prof. Prasad and his colleagues published a study based on how fruit flies respond to crowding during larval stages of development.