The brain, a biological engineering wonder, depends on a delicately balanced system of cells, signals, and defense barriers to work in harmony. For decades, researchers have studied neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), and Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) with a near-exclusive focus on neurons, the brain’s information processors. However, what if the earliest signs of damage occur not within neurons, but in the blood vessels that support and protect them?

What happens when brilliant young researchers converge under one roof, sharing a common cause? At the Regional Young Investigators' Meeting Delhi-NCR 2024–2025, the answer became obvious: Connections, collaborations, and shared vision for a more inclusive and interdisciplinary future of Indian science.

Researchers from Jadavpur University have developed classification-based machine-learning models for toxicity assessment of plastic packaging associated chemicals. These models can efficiently predict the toxicity of chemicals thereby providing a valuable tool for researchers as well as regulatory bodies, overcoming health concerns.

A recent study from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, has identified a new key player among brain regions, the superior colliculus (SC), in guiding skilled forelimb movements.

This article is the second in a two-part series reporting on the proceedings of the 17th Young Investigators’ Meeting (YIM 2025), held in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, from 3 to 7 March 2025. In the second part of this report, we discuss the takeaways from interactive ​‘Ask Us Anything’ open discussions, the ice-breaker session, and the proceedings from the PDF satellite meeting that followed the YIM 2025 from 6 and 7 March 2025.

The 17th edition of the annual Young Investigators’ Meeting(YIM 2025) took place in the historical city of Agra, Uttar Pradesh, from 3 to 7 March 2025. Around 80 young investigators, postdoctoral fellows, and representatives from funding agencies, mentors, and institutional representatives attended the meeting for mentor talks, special talks, networking sessions, panel discussion, and poster presentations.

A collaborative research by scientists from the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bangalore, and the Institute of Functional Genomics, University of Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, France, has recently solved the structures of the complex brain receptor—metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGlu5). They describe the binding mode of small molecules known to increase receptor activity, paving the way for new avenues in drug design.