People see human-animal conflicts as a fight between two species on opposing sides. However, in reality, the human aspect also has multiple dimensions. In some cases, there are two groups—the affected public—and the forest department staff, who manage and mitigate it; in others, more such groups. One of the frequent human-animal conflicts is that between humans and monkeys, especially the rhesus macaque, whose population is widespread in many cities. Now, a study by researchers shows that differences in people's opinions on mitigating such conflicts could instead be adding to the conflict.

Researchers from NIAS, Bengaluru, Kyoto University, Japan, University of Colorado, and the Northwestern University, USA, have tried to understand what causes of the strange preference of  ‘geophagy’, or ‘eating the earth’ in primates. 

Prof Rohini M. Godbole and Prof Sharada Srinivasan, two Bengaluru-based scientists, were among those conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri award announced yesterday by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Prof Rohini Godbole is a Professor at the Centre for High Energy Physics, Indian Institute of Science. Prof Sharada Srinivasan is a Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru.

Research from the National Institute of Advanced Studies and University of Cambridge helps us understand better of Macaques live in urban habitats.

Researchers from the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, discover a novel behaviour among bonnet macaques and consider the implication this may have one their cognition and evolution of species.

How many times have you fed moneys by the roadside? Are you changing the behaviour of the monkey or is it manipulating your behaviour for food? New  study from Researchers at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment along with researchers from the National Institute of Advanced Sciences gives reasons to not feed the monkeys.

Do animals have consciousness and free will? Are they capable of making informed decisions or do they merely act out based on instinct?

A unique interaction and discussion took place at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bangalore, on 14th of February on “Animal Minds”. The session consisted of a philosophical enquiry into the minds or the lack thereof, of non-human animals.

The National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru, along with the National Innovation Foundation-India (NIF), Gandhinagar, the Trans Disciplinary University (TDU), Bengaluru, and the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Rural Energy and Development (MGIRED), Bengaluru, are organizing the first edition of the ‘Annual School for Grassroots Innovations’ -- a programme that brings together scientists, students, innovators and industry representatives to find solutions to local problems and promote sustainable development.

Prof. Baldev Raj was born on 9th April 1947. He completed his Bachelor of Engineering from the Government Engineering College, Raipur under the Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University (currently National Institute of Technology, Raipur). After completing his BE, Prof. Raj moved to Bengaluru to join Indian Institute of Science to complete his PhD and then moved to Chennai to obtain a Doctor of Science degree from Sathyabama Deemed University.

India’s film industry is the world’s largest with about 1000 films produced each year. As we know, not all of them make in into the list of “blockbusters” and some fail miserably. While choosing the right script, director, actors and music make an impact, a new research shows that timing the release of the movie is equally important. Using the concept of complex systems, the researchers have found that circumstances at the time of the release of a movie could make or break its revenues.