Technology 
Fungus farms of termites: weed control
(0)Some termite colonies farm specific fungi as their food and carefully eliminate other fungi. How do they do it? Research by a team in IISER Mohali has recently uncovered the methods that a termite common in India use to prevent unwanted fungi from their fungal farms. Read the report.
Fibre biosensor to diagnose cardiovascular disease
The amount of the proteins, troponin T and troponin I, in blood is helpful to assess the damage done due to a heart attack. Troponin I is a better indicator. Researchers have now come up with a lab-on-a-chip device to detect the protein. Read the details of their ingenious invention.
Sugarcane Detrashing: Design for Mechanisation
Removing dried yellow leaves from sugarcane is slow and painful if done manually. Existing mechanical devices cannot be adjusted to sugarcane varieties with different heights. Researchers from TNAU have come up with a design that is suitable for all varieties of sugarcane, reducing time and costs for farmers.
Enzyme to Release Aroma from Mango Juice
Mango aroma is released due to the action of an enzyme that breaks the chemical bond between a sugar and the aromatic compound. The enzyme is inactivated in mango pulp and juice. Researchers have now found a way to produce such an enzyme in large enough quantities for industrial use. Read on for details.
Mumbai-Pune Expressway: design and safety
The Mumbai-Pune expressway is notorious for accidents. Researchers from the Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat examine the design of the 22 curves there and analyse the speeds of vehicles when navigating the curves. They identify the curves that have low margins of error in terms of safety. Read on…
Nitrogen Dioxide Sensors: high sensitivity, fast response
Zinc oxide can be used as a sensor for nitrogen dioxide, a harmful gas. Researchers at PSG Institute of Advanced Studies, Coimbatore find that a nanofiber of zinc oxide sheathed by a thin layer of another metal oxide can improve the sensitivity as never before. Vishal Baloria reports.
Potato Peels and Pea Pods
Cellulases, enzymes that break down cellulose, are in high demand. But the supply is limited. Indian researchers have now come up with new sources and cheap raw materials to produce cellulases at an industrial scale. K. Yashkamal reports.
Converting Carbon Dioxide to Methanol
To keep carbon dioxide emissions under control, convert the green-house gas into methanol. To do this, there is a simple method developed recently by scientists at CSIR-NCL Pune and IIT Palakkad. Ajesh Zacchariah reports.
Predicting age and gender from dental images
Hemalatha Balan from the KGISL Institute of Technology, Coimbatore has come out with a method to automatically classify dental images as per age and sex – a boon for forensic science. Nazim Nazeer from the ICMR-National Institute for Research in Environmental Health provides the details:
Captioning Images Automatically
There are about an estimated 750 billion photographs on the internet now – most were uploaded without adequate descriptions. Here is the beginning of a system that can help sort out the mess. The revolution in the realm of images similar to ChatGPT in textual realm.
STEAMindiaReports 