When I was asked to write about the NCBS science journalism workshop, I dug through my emails and read the application I had sent out in 2013: A CV and a 500 word essay about why I wanted to be part of the workshop. “I intend to pursue a PhD next year,” I wrote. “So, the workshop would help me write better scientific papers.” That’s not quite how my life turned out.

Prof. Mahesh Sankaran has been awarded the Infosys Prize for Life Sciences for his exemplary contributions to the field of ecosystem ecology. His work on savannas, specifically the drivers of savanna ecosystem structure and the potential responses of these ecosystems to climate change have been critical in shaping the research agenda in this field over the past decade.

What makes plants grow?

A network to monitor butterfly populations in India for science, education, community building, and biodiversity conservation 

They are found only in Simlipal. A study finds out what gives them their darker stripe pattern— how this is the result of inbreeding within Simlipal’s small and isolated tiger population.

As requested by the Director, TIFR, the TIFR Academic Ethics Committee (TAEC) conducted an enquiry of data manipulation in two recently published papers from the laboratory of an NCBS-TIFR faculty member. The TAEC conducted a thorough investigation, and studied various aspects related to these papers. After careful deliberations, the TAEC has reported its conclusions, which are now available at: https://www.tifr.res.in/TSN/article/Findings_of_the_TAEC.pdf.

A team of scientists have discovered the genetic cause of the odd coat colouration and patterning in Similipal’s black tigers.

Endosomal acidification inhibitors target SARS-CoV-2 entry and infection. Image by Chaitra Prabhakara; Design by Chaitra Prabhakara and Sowmya Jahnavi. 

The survey was conducted during the big butterfly month held in September 2020.

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The sky islands of the Western Ghats have hitherto remained poorly studied, but now that is changing thanks to some remarkable work by V.V. Robin and his students and collaborators, including Uma Ramakrishnan at NCBS.