Better and more efficient laboratory techniques are a dream come true for any scientist. That dream could materialize for stem cell biologists thanks to a new finding by NCBS's Mitradas Panicker and his team that makes one of the most important steps in stem cell research - that of identifying human pluripotent stem cells (cells that can differentiate into any kind of adult cell) - easier. The scientists show that a blue fluorescence is emitted by fat-storing organelles or lipid bodies in specific types of pluripotent stem cells. They utilized this to distinguish these stem cells from others more easily and efficiently. The new technique is also a cost-effective and less labor-intensive alternative for scientists who need to culture stem cell colonies for research experiments. Scientists are hopeful that delving deeper into the principles of this technique could throw more light on pluripotent states and the process of pluripotency itself, a significant step towards understanding stem cells better.

A team comprising inStem's Kouichi Hasegawa, AstraZeneca's Vasan Sambandamurthy and Susanta Ghosh of the National Institute of Malaria Research has won the Grand Challenges Explorations grant awarded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Hasegawa, Sambandamurthy, Ghosh and Varadharajan Sundaramurthy (NCBS) propose to develop an assay of the liver-stage (one of the several life stages) of the malaria-causing protozoan Plasmodium vivax. They will use the latest techniques in stem cell biology to develop this new assay to make it suitable for drug screening. With this venture, Hasegawa, Sambandamurthy and their team hope to throw light on the poorly-understood biology of P. vivax. The new information they generate will bring science many steps closer to controlling and ultimately eradicating P. vivax-driven malaria, a dreaded disease afflicting people in many tropical countries.

Tree-dotted grasslands epitomize Africa like no other landscape can. What environmental factors maintain similar tropical savannas worldwide? Differing intensities of rain and fire across continents govern the structure of these savannas, according to a recent study published in Science.

Harold Varmus, Nobel Laureate and Director of the US National Cancer Institute (NCI), visited the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) on 21^st January 2014. Varmus interacted with scientists working at NCBS and other Indian institutes to assess the status of cancer research in the country and draw out priorities in research. Based on these interactions, Varmus hopes to determine ways in which India and the United States can work towards boosting cancer research.

"The meeting with Varmus was to mainly give him a perspective of what is going on: in cancer research as well as others that can connect to cancer research in some way," says Satyajit Mayor, Director of NCBS and InStem. "Varmus was chiefly interested in exploring how to link up cancer research in India with research going on outside the country."

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.

The new year at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) kicked off with a lecture by Nobel Laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan on January 2^nd 2014. Hosted by NCBS faculty Deepak T. Nair, Ramakrishnan's talk was part of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK (Bangalore). In his lecture, Ramakrishnan described recent advances in electron microscopy; the novel techniques have revolutionized the field of ribosome studies. Ribosome structure and function is an aspect Ramakrishnan and his team have been conducting path-breaking research on for several decades.

The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) selected NCBS Senior Professor Jayant Udgaonkar to be a Fellow of the prestigious academy on October 2^nd, 2013. Membership to the Academy is based on scientific merit, and Udgaonkar is one of the 52 members to be appointed this year. "It's always nice to get recognition of this sort," says Udgaonkar. "It is motivating for both myself and my students." Udgaonkar will be inducted into the Academy at its 25^th General Meeting in 2014.

Three Grade 12 students from the Central School for Tibetans at Mundgod in Karnataka are currently interning at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS). Following an agreement with their school and the NCBS, Tenzin Tsetan, Tenzin Phentok and Tenzin Zomkey began their internship on 6^th May with Professors Uma Ramakrishnan, Vatsala Thirumalai and Axel Brockmann.

One and a half million: The estimated number of deaths caused by mosquito-borne diseases every year across the world. Prevention is fundamental to curbing these diseases, and doctors recommend the use of nets and vaccines, as well as repellants, which deter mosquitoes by interfering with their sense of smell. Scientists at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) have now discovered 110 new proteins in three mosquito species - proteins belonging to a group critical to mosquito olfaction. Repellants targetting this larger group of proteins may function better than existing ones, decreasing instances of dreaded diseases such as dengue and malaria.