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Scientists discover a coral snake species from Himachal Pradesh
Researchers from the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun and the Natural History Museum (NHM), London have rediscovered a snake that was thought to be lost for a 120 years!
Paper:
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NCBS scientists identify 33 molecules that could be used to treat virus patients
A group of scientists led by Professor R. Sowdhamini at NCBS has identified the 33 small molecules from a database of over 3,30,000 small molecules using new computational research, which bind to NSP1, one of the SARS-CoV-2 proteins. The scientists have recommended that these can be taken forward for wet-lab validation.
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Air pollution impacts the health of wild pollinators
Our air is the one thing that surrounds all of us. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 9 of the world’s 10 most polluted cities are now in India. Yet, we have almost no idea how air pollution is affecting other organisms who breathe the same air as we do. In some of the first research in the world to try to address the physiological and molecular impacts of air pollution on our wild plants and animals, scientists from the Bangalore Life Science Cluster show that air pollution could be devastating for organisms we rely on most for our own survival – like the honey bee.
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When close physical contacts are good, and guilt free
Image description: Line drawing of the Drosophila head showing the compound eye (pink). Individual repeating units of the compund eye are seen and individual cellular structures superimposed in each unit. Image credit: Dr. Deepti Trivedi.
Imagine diving into a eukaryotic cell.
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‘Cyclotides’ from Shankhpushpi can fight bacteria, virus, say Bengaluru-based scientists
In a new study that was published in Scientific Reports, a team of researchers from the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) studied the functioning of special circular proteins in plants called “cyclotides”, which the pharma industry uses ...
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Micromanaging calcium levels in neurons: From flies to humans
Calcium is as vital to neurons as musical notes are for a song. Levels of calcium oscillate like crescendos, regulating neuronal communication, function and survival. Also, much like cringing to wrong notes, calcium imbalance is seldom tolerated by neurons. In fact, derailed cellular calcium levels are a harbinger of certain neurodegenerative disorders in humans. Hence to regulate calcium traffic, neurons harbor vigilant protein passages and compartments.
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In Memoriam: Shri R.D. John
It is with deep sadness that we acknowledge the passing of Shri R.D. John on the morning of 26 July 2020.
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SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing effort
COVID-19 response by scientists at DBT-inStem and NCBS-TIFR, Bengaluru