Physical forces play a major role in how the cells in our brain grow and signal to each other. In a recent study, scientists from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune, Raman Research Institute (RRI), Bangalore, and University of Hyderabad developed a simple assay to show that neurons are shaped by attachment to the substrate underneath them.

In this first article in our new series on interdisciplinarity, Gautam Menon, theoretical physicist (The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai & Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai) and Sandhya P Koushika, neurobiologist (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai) provide critical insights on tackling interdisciplinary problems, gained from a decade of steadfast collaboration.

The Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance and the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) jointly facilitated the India-EMBO Symposium titled 'From synapses to memory: RNA based regulatory mechanisms' recently held at the National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), Manesar. The symposium spanned across four days (15 - 18 October) and witnessed the coming together of luminaries in the field of molecular neuroscience, both national and international.