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Dolna – The crèche
"Grrrrrrrrrr," says a chorus of young voices, followed by a burst of laughter. On the screen is a smiling man cheerily reading out a story about a lonely bear who loses his growl and finds it again. The children are from the on-campus crèche Dolna, and the man on the screen is Rob Biddulph, an award-winning children's story book writer from the UK. This summer, Dolna has organised an innovative new activity for the children in the form of a live book-reading session via video conferencing.
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Can a brain scan early in stress predict eventual memory loss?
New research now shows that even a brief period of stress can cause the hippocampus to start shrinking.
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Moving objects and flowing air: How bees position their antennae during flight
Researchers from the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bangalore propose that airflow measured by bee antennae could be critical for their ability to gauge flight speed. And to do this, they must be able to position their antennae correctly.
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The rise of the complex modern cell
Complex modern cells - the ones that you and I are made up of - may be the result of a long-drawn courtship, rather than a hasty marriage between two types of structurally simple cells.
Every modern eukaryotic cell is distinct from prokaryotic cells in two striking ways. One, eukaryotes possess mitochondria or 'powerhouses' that generate energy, and two, every eukaryotic cell is elaborately divided into dynamic compartments with distinct functions. The origin of these compartments has been a source of intense debate.
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Renewing the campus with fresh minds: Student interviews at NCBS and inStem
Every year during the months of May, June and July, research institutes across India begin their selections for the best and brightest student minds to join their ranks. For students, amidst the frenzy of writing entrance tests and figuring out research interests, there is the slightly daunting prospect of having to face interview panels. To graduates fresh from a Bachelor's or Master's degree course, interviews can often seem to be formidable experiences.
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Guarding the gatekeepers
Latest research from the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bangalore, gives us new insights into how Orai proteins are regulated. Researcher Bipan Kumar Deb from Gaiti Hasan's group has discovered that the protein Septin 7 guards Orai function by acting as a 'molecular brake' to Orai activation.
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Large wildlife important for carbon storage in tropical forests
In a recent study in the journal Nature Communications, researchers find that large-seeded tree species which depend on big animals for seed dispersal, grow to greater sizes as adults and thus have higher carbon storage potential than species with smaller seeds in tropical forests worldwide.
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Dr. Uma Ramakrishnan wins the Parker/Gentry Award for 2016
The National Centre for Biological Sciences congratulates Dr. Uma Ramakrishnan on winning the Parker/Gentry award for 2016!
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Reconstructing the cell surface in a test tube
Scientists from the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bangalore have managed to do exactly that - construct the cell surface from its constituent parts, namely, a mixture of lipids and proteins. This reconstruction creates a crucial tool researchers can use to test theories on cell surface dynamics.
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Satyajit Mayor awarded the prestigious Margdarshi fellowship
Prof. Satyajit Mayor, Director, National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) and Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine (inStem), is the latest recipient of the prestigious Margdarshi fellowship.