Can you describe some highlights from your current research for me?

We study the evolution of eukaryotic cells. There are two kinds of cells on the planet: prokaryotes, such as morphologically simple bacteria and archaea, and then the relatively more complex eukaryotes - for example plant and animal cells, amoeba, paramecium, and so on. Eukaryotes have enclosed nuclei and compartmentalized organelles, which prokaryotes lack.  Usually when you see such a big jump in complexity you expect to find intermediate forms, for example in the fossil record or in living organisms.  The mystery is that there are no intermediate eukaryotes.

When the Southern Labs Complex was built, I immediately 'moved' to the colonnade with all my possessions (coffee mug included), and my days suddenly became much more interesting. The colonnade was Krishnan's highway of sorts, as he perambulated to his next meeting, either with a fellow-researcher or his beloved chameleons. But no matter how hard-pressed for time he might have been, there were always a few moments in his day to give me the benefit of his insatiable curiosity, unflagging enthusiasm, the depth of his knowledge and the width of his grin.

K.S. Krishnan (b.19-6-1946), Professor Emeritus at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) passed away on 24th May 2014.

Professor K.S. Krishnan, friend and inspiration to generations of students and youthful scientists, passed away following a sudden heart attack on Saturday 24 May 2014 at his home in Bangalore. He is survived by his wife, Chandra, and his sons, Karthik and Anand.

Eminent neuroscientist Huda Zoghbi visited the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) today. On campus, she interacted with students, post-doctoral fellows and faculty of the NCBS and InStem. Zoghbi is in town to deliver a talk at the Indian Institute of Science, organized as part of the Cell Press-TNQ India Distinguished Lectureship Series 2014. Her lecture A Journey from the Clinic to the Laboratory to Understand Brain Disorders, which will be delivered in the cities of Chennai and New Delhi as well is dedicated to NCBS founder and renowned scientist late Obaid Siddiqi.

Obaid Siddiqi
1932- 2013
Catalyst of a Culture of Creativity

Obaid Siddiqi, once a young star of molecular biology and later a pioneer in neurogenetics was an extraordinary intellectual and scientist. In building the Molecular Biology Unit (now the Department of Biological Sciences) and then the National Centre for Biological Sciences of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, he showed how catalyzing a culture of creativity is vital to long-term institutional success. With his death following a road accident the world of science has lost one of its most thoughtful and questioning leaders. However, his science and the schools he as built will stay and through their quality demonstrate the stay of his deep influence.

Obaid's college days were at the Aligarh Muslim University in a period when India had just become independent and people all over the world were agitating for a just and inclusive society and for change, in much the same manner that we see today.

In solidarity with biologist Sydney Brenner, a 2002 Nobel prize awardee in Physiology or Medicine, who believes that the experimental animal of the 21^st century is man, researchers the world over, have been developing initiatives to bring the concept of translational medicine - 'from bench to bedside' - closer to reality.

Along these lines, the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine (InStem), the National Center for Biological Sciences (NCBS) and the University of Edinburgh have recently set up a collaborative Center for Brain Development and Repair, to foster clinical research on brain disorders. The center will be based at inStem and directed by Sumantra Chattarji, with Siddharthan Chandran and Peter Kind from the University of Edinburgh as its Associate Directors. With an initial thrust on Autism Spectrum Disorders/Intellectual Disabilities (ASD/ID), the center will later expand its focus to develop novel therapeutic interventions for other degenerative brain disorders, such as dementia.

Sir John Savill, Vice-principal and Head of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine at the University of Edinburgh and Chief Executive of the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) was recently at NCBS, in connection with the collaboration and also to deliver a talk titled '100 years of the MRC'.

Padma Shri Prof. VijayRaghavan's appointment as the new Secretary of Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has met with a unanimous cheer from the life-sciences community. With his rare combination of scientific reputation, cross-disciplinary background, track record in building excellent institutions and the "can-do" spirit, Vijay has is bound to keep the momentum initiated by his predecessor Dr MK Bhan going full throttle. Despite his stature, setting directions for the future no doubt remains an immense challenge given the rapidly changing life-sciences scene in India.

Upinder Singh, professor at the University of Delhi's Department of History, was at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) on 15^th February 2012 to talk about her ongoing studies of violence in ancient India. In a second talk on 16^th February, hosted at Bangalore's National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), she focused on how ancient relics, inscriptions and sculptures deepen our understanding of religion in ancient India. Both talks were hosted by NCBS as part of the Science and Society program.