Since their initial discovery several decades ago, stem cells have faced intensive study due to their potential medical applications and fascinating biology. A question that has long interested scientists is how do stem cells continue to remain in an undifferentiated or 'uncommitted' state, unlike every other cell type in the body? Now, a new study from researchers at the National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS) sheds light on this unique problem.

Researchers have identified a new genus of bacteria that lives in the guts of the common redworm and is capable of degrading a potent neurotoxin that has been responsible for several food-poisoning outbreaks. The researchers have named the new isolate Pradoshia eiseniae, as a tribute to their mentor, the late Indian microbiologist Pradosh Roy.

The cell is a factory where every component needs to be in its proper place at the proper time for continued function and survival. A new study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, explores how cells manage this remarkable feat of ensuring that the right molecules find their way to the right locations within the cell.

In India, children are vaccinated against measles starting at ~9 months of age. This time is chosen to correspond with the loss of maternal immunity conferred through the placenta or breastfeeding, which protects the infants till then. Now, a new study suggests that maternal immunity may disappear much earlier than predicted, potentially leaving infants vulnerable to an infection.

Obesity is an emerging health challenge in India, estimated to affect over 135 million individuals at present. Now, a new study from researchers at the National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health (NIRRH-ICMR) investigates the unexplored link between obesity and male fertility.

Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite well known for its ability to alter its hosts behaviour by targeting neurological pathways.Researchers from the University of Delhi have come up with a novel way to counter infection by this intracellular parasite, using a drug that triggers the infected cell's suicide mechanism, thus killing the parasite residing inside it.

Many biologically relevant cells occur in such low frequencies that their detection and analysis in tissues with millions of other cell types poses a problem for researchers. A new study from researchers at IIT Delhi describes a new algorithmic approach which helps detect rare cells much faster than the techniques that are currently in use.