With basic scientific help from NCBS's Navneet Rai and Mukund Thattai, a team of students guided by Yashas Shetty from the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology at Bangalore have done it yet again: an award at the famed International Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) competition at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at Cambridge, Massachusetts in the United States of America.

 Ashtavaidya Ayurveda is a unique medical tradition prevalent in Kerala. It is thought to be an amalgamation of text-based Ayurvedic practices and regional folk medical practices of the south Indian state. Scholars Annamma Spudich and Indudharan Menon had interviewed the last remaining practitioners of the tradition as part of the "Living History of Indian Scientific Traditions" archive initiated by NCBS.

Now, the Science and Society programme at NCBS presents "A Scientific Approach to Traditional Medicine" - a dramatic exploration of Ayurveda and Ashtavaidya medicine. The play will be presented by the students of NCBS and is directed by Jeff Teare, co-director, TheatreScience (UK).

"Just the workshop on Wikipedia editing," I told myself at the start of the conference. It would come in handy to start and edit NCBS wikipages, part of my work at the NCBS News team. "And maybe just the first plenary talk too". At the end of the three-day Student Conference on Conservation Science (SCCS), I realised I had attended almost every session: plenaries, student talks, workshops, poster rounds and discussions. What had made it so engaging?

Scientists, for the first time ever, are asking the Indian public what they should be studying. What, according to the public, are the most important questions to ask about the natural world - the plants, animals, habitats and the people that interact with them? There are a multitude of threats that these systems face in India and the public's opinion is imperative. This has prompted fifteen scientists across seven organisations to come up with a nationwide internet survey: The Horizon Scanning India. This simple two-stage questionnaire aims to pinpoint priority areas of future research that Indians think are necessary to protect biodiversity, ecosystems and natural assets across India.

Constructed in 1537 by King Kempe Gowda, Hebbal Lake has seen a multitude of uses since then: as a reservoir for drinking water, a source of livelihood for local fisher-folk, a haven for many species of birds, even a welcome sight for the sore eyes of the NCBS shuttle commuter, with its expanse of water, pelicans and painted storks.

Sadly, however, other uses have also been found. Drains from neighboring localities flow into the lake. Sewage almost always acts as a fertiliser for a water body due to an influx of nutrients; and Hebbal Lake has been no exception. One of the many consequences: a lush green mat of water hyacinth cloaking the surface of the lake.