Mud snails, also known as mystery snails, live in freshwater and belong to a snail family called Viviparidae. They are found throughout the world except in South America and Antarctica. Such globally distributed species incite interesting questions about their dispersal across different continents. In a recent study, researchers in Bengaluru from the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), investigated manifestation of these mystery snails in India.

Researchers from the IDFC Institute, look into the sustainability of the current definition of “urban” in India.

Among the illustrious list of Padma awardees for 2020 on the eve of Republic Day, the Government of India has announced Padma Shri to Prof. Kattungal Subramaniam Manilal under Science and Engineering category. He is among the eight of 118 Padma Shri awardees under the Science and Engineering category.

In a recent study, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali, have studied the mechanism behind the phase separation of the tau protein fragment that forms characteristic aggregates associated with Alzheimer's disease.

Prof Subimal Ghosh, Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay), has been awarded the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 2019 by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). This award recognises his significant contributions to our understanding of how land surface processes influence the Indian monsoon, as well as for improving regional monsoon simulations and predictions. 

Prostate cancer occurs when the cells of the prostate gland—a male reproductive organ—start growing abnormally due to the elevated level of androgens. Androgens are hormones required for development and maintenance of the male reproductive system. Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT) is the most commonly used treatment against prostate cancer, wherein the androgen production is reduced or the receptors, which are required for androgen to function, are blocked with the help of drugs like enzalutamide and apalutamide.

Researchers from Canada, Bangladesh, and the USA have proposed a simple, cost-efficient blood test of the newborn that can estimate the pregnancy length. Such a test can help diagnosis preterm births in low resource countries and was found to work successfully for new-borns from Bangladesh.

We all remember learning to read—at first, we were taught to read each letter or sound at a time laboriously. Eventually, we picked up reading entire words and sentences effortlessly. But, it is not yet clear as to what changes in our brain when we learn to read. In a recent study, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, have identified these changes in the brain changes that help in visually processing the words and helps us to read efficiently. The study was published in the journal Psychological Science and was funded by the Department of Biotechnology-Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Partnership Programme and the Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance.

Chemogenetics is a technique that uses chemicals to understand how neurons are activated. It manipulates genes to place the neurons under the control of special receptors called DREADDS. Short for Designer Receptors Activated by Designer Drugs, these receptors only bind to an inert chemical called Clozapine-N-Oxide (CNO). In a recent study, researchers from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, and Jawaharlal Nehru Center for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bengaluru, point out specific flaws in this technique.

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore; Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune; and Florida State University, USA; have mathematically computed a multidecadal variability in the Indian summer monsoon rainfall and the global sea surface temperature. They have established that Indian monsoon rainfall exhibits a 67-year oscillation and is closely linked to the sea surface temperature cycle, which also shows a similar 67-year swing. The study also shows that 80% of all droughts have occurred in the rainfall cycle’s ‘negative phase’, associated with a below-average rainfall; whereas 60% of all floods have occurred in the positive phase, marked with above-average precipitation. Their findings have been published in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society.