Study finds the macro role of microRNA in fighting viral infections and its dark side in autoimmune diseases

Researchers study the spread of a cough cloud containing SARS-CoV-2.

Researchers use a cocktail of bacteriophages to fight drug-resistant tuberculosis.

Pune researchers take a molecular modelling approach to identify drug targets for the deadly Nipah virus.

The nucleus of the cell holds our genetic material and is a vital part of our cell. Apart from what they carry, how they look also plays a crucial role in diagnosing many diseases. In a recent study, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, have developed a mechanical model to quantify the shape of the nucleus and predict the biochemistry within a cell. They have used this model to show how Hepatitis C virus changes the nuclear mechanics of cells affected by it. This study is published in the Biophysical Journal.

Researchers from IISc, Bengaluru, and Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, have developed nanoparticles that can deliver drugs to targeted mammalian cells, using a type of plant virus called sesbania mosaic virus. 

Scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, find relationship between the number of copies of a particular set of genes and the size of the amoeba viruses that help these viruses to gain easy entry into their host.

Tuberculosis(TB) has claimed 1.8 million human lives globally according to World Health Organization, in 2015. Despite Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine, the only available vaccine for TB, currently one-third of the world is latently infected with TB due to the incompetence of BCG in adults against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria responsible for TB.

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati have developed a genetically modified variety of cowpea resistant to Mungbean Yellow Mosaic India Virus. Since the legume grain is one of the major sources of protein for a section of the country’s population, this discovery is important to ensure that the yield of the crops is not affected.

Cervical cancer plagues the life of many women around the globe. Sometimes the disease can be caused by an aggravated and repeated infection by the Human papilloma virus (HPV). Researchers from the Cancer Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) in Kerala, use gene editing molecules rid the virus of the genes, which form a protein that can cause malignancy in humans.