Science 
Pure science with potential applications
Biological Control of Aphids: ladybird beetle
Aphids suck the sap out of our crops. The zigzag ladybird is a natural predator that can control the pest. Researchers from IARI find that the ladybirds do not even have to eat the pests: the mere presence of the predator is adequate to drive away the pestilence. Read more.
Nanoparticles for Pain Relief
Injections are painful. But what if drugs and vaccines that can’t be taken orally are administered nasally? Especially those that need to be delivered to the brain? How do we make such nanocapsules for nasal spray?
Malaria-Parasite Hijacks Mosquito Gut Microbiota and Immunity
Mosquitoes suffer because of Plasmodium, the malarial parasite. The parasite undermines the normal gut microbiota and weakens its immune system, makes it ill. Probiotics for mosquitoes may reduce malarial transmission, say researchers
Why don’t ants have traffic jams?
Army ants are blind. Yet a few thousands of them behave coherently to create large scale patterns of fast paced raids. Physicists from IIT Kanpur investigate the biosocial phenomenon.
Circular RNAs as Colorectal Cancer Biomarkers
Rajabrata Bhuyan from the Banasthali Vidyapith and Angshuman Bagchi from the University of Kalyani have identified circular non-coding RNAs involved in colorectal cancers. This type of RNAs may one day become a part of cancer diagnostics and perhaps will even play a role in therapeutics.
Gamma Irradiation to Enhance Jasmine Fragrance
Breeding better varieties using conventional seed selection is not possible in jasmine, propagated vegitatively. So researchers in IIT Kharagpur used gamma irradiation on jasmine cuttings to induce mutations that enhance the fragrance of jasmine. Read on for details.
Wound Healing Dynamics: Cell density and migration
In wound healing, the epithelial cells migrate to close the wound. Researchers from TIFR Hyderabad find that the leader cells in this mass migration emerge depending on density, and the leadership positions shift dynamically, depending on the contours of the wound.
Salinity Tolerant Pearl Millet: Role of MicroRNA
Pearl millet is more tolerant to soil salinity than most other crops. Scientists from ICRISAT Hyderabad along with researchers from other parts of the world have now started uncovering the secrets of the success of survival of the crop under salinity. One more step towards sustainable agriculture under the threat of increasing soil salinity.
Epidemiology of TB: Mathematics of transmission
Tuberculosis occurrence rates seem to pulsate in time, according to a stochastic model of TB transmission. Researchers from JNU, New Delhi inquire to seek solutions. Read on.
Stress tolerant crops: genes generate increased yield
Drought, salinity and heat reduce crop yield. Is there a way to make crops tolerant to these abiotic stresses? Neelam Mishra from St. Joseph’s College, Bengaluru explores in collaboration with colleagues from the US and China.
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