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“Optical Biopsies” may help burn victims
Shreya Ghosh
In order to treat severe burn wounds, the progress of healing needs to be monitored regularly. This is usually done by measuring collagen levels using biochemical or histopathological methods. Now, researchers from the Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, have come up with a way to assess burn wound healing by using a minimally-invasive laser-based method to optically measure collagen.
Posted on Dec 07, 2018 in Health & Medicine, Biophysics, Research & Interdisciplinarity
Neurodevelopmental disorders in India may affect as many as 12%
Urvashi Bhattacharyya
A recent large-scale study of almost four thousand Indian children found the prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders to be nearly 12%. During the course of the study, the authors identified, developed and validated diagnostic tools for several of these disorders in the Indian context and have now made them available in the public domain for anyone to use.
Posted on Nov 27, 2018 in Health & Medicine, Neuroscience & Research
The dark side of light: lessons from a crow
Divya Khatter
Artificial light at night has become a staple part of city-living and is quickly encroaching into rural regions as well. Vinod Kumar's group at the IndoUS Center for Biological Timing, University of Delhi recently discovered that exposure to bright lights at night can affect the parts of the brain involved in mood and cognition and lead to depression-like symptoms, by using Indian crows as a model system.
Posted on Nov 20, 2018 in Neuroscience & Research
Understanding the forces that shape the brain
P Surat
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.
Posted on Nov 06, 2018 in Neuroscience, Biophysics, Research & Interdisciplinarity
Adapting to bleached reefs: The story of a corallivore
Chandrima Home
Rising global sea temperatures have had a devastating effect on coral reefs throughout the world. A new study by researchers from the National Center for Biological Sciences, Wildlife Conservation Society - India Program, and the Nature Conservation Foundation explores how marine species, in particular Melon butterflyfish, have adapted to the phenomenon of coral 'bleaching' in the Lakshwadeep islands
Posted on Oct 29, 2018 in Ecology, Conservation Biology & Research
Creating a self-destructible invisible code
Navodita Jain
Whether it be in a spy movie or a romantic novel, secret coded messages have captured our imagination for ages. Now, a new chemical synthesized by researchers at the CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram allows invisible messages to be imprinted by sunlight on cellulose paper. The messages can only be read under UV light, and self-destruct within days.
Posted on Oct 25, 2018 in Other, Chemistry & Research
Decoding cholera: How a comma-shaped bacterium creates an epidemic
P Surat
The last two hundred years have seen seven cholera pandemics and multiple regional outbreaks. Now, a new study from researchers at Vidyasagar University, West Bengal, explores how Vibrio cholerae, the comma-shaped bacterium which causes cholera, uses flagella and quorum sensing mechanisms to survive and form biofilms, which increase disease spread and enhance the potential for epidemics.
Posted on Oct 16, 2018 in Health & Medicine, Microbiology & Research