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.

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.

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 ...

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.

It is with deep sadness that we acknowledge the passing of Shri R.D. John on the morning of 26 July 2020.

COVID-19 response by scientists at DBT-inStem and NCBS-TIFR, Bengaluru

Proteins often use Ubiquitin tags to be shuttled within cells or dispatched for degradation. Although small in demeanor, Ubiquitins are hugely influential.

The National Centre for Biological Sciences is delighted to welcome Shaon Chakrabarti, who joins the Centre as its newest faculty member.

Shaon’s research combines theory and experiments to study cellular proliferation at the single cell level -- its underlying physical principles, control mechanisms, and consequences in development and disease. The eventual goal of his research is to build on these basic principles to improve therapeutic strategies in the clinical treatment of cancer.

The BLiSC community congratulates Prof. Sumantra Chattarji on his election as a lifetime member of the EMBO in recognition of his remarkable achievements in the life sciences.