'Informed consent' is the process which ensures that human participants in a research study are given comprehensive information about the study, which allows them to make a conscious decision on whether or not to be part of it. However, theory does not always translate into practice, and in a country as vast and diverse as India, implementing true informed consent sometimes becomes a challenging task, as is examined in this next article in our series on research ethics.

It has long been known that diet can dynamically regulate lifespan in animals. In a new study using the nematode worm C. elegans as a model system, researchers from the National Institute of Immunology (NII) describe a new gene-diet pair which helps these worms maintain and preserve their lifespans while on diverse diets.

When it comes to attracting and retaining quality post-doctoral fellows, India often finds itself lagging behind, which in turn exerts a cost on the scientific output of the country. In this opinion piece, Shambhavi Naik, Research Fellow, Technology and Policy Programme, Takshashila Institution, and Megha, India Alliance Early Career Fellow at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), examine possible causes and suggest solutions to this issue.