Researchers have finally unravelled how each part of drumstick (Moringa oleifera), the “magic tree”, is nutritionally rich compared with other plants such as rice, papaya, spinach and cocoa. All the five tissues — stem, root, leaf, flower and seed — of drumstick studied were found to be rich either in certain vitamins or essential minerals.

A team led by Prof. Ramanathan Sowdhamini from the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bengaluru analysed the genes on complimentary DNA (cDNA) of all the five tissues.

Researchers at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) uncovered an elaborate biochemical factory inside the Moringa plant, leading to the production of five drug-like molecules and three vitamins (vitamin A, C, E).
 

Recently, six scientists, Abi Tamim Vanak, Ankila Hiremath and Nitin Rai of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment; Raman Sukumar of the Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science; Jayashree Ratnam of the National Centre for Biological Sciences; and Tarsh Thekaekara of

With nearly 60% of land in India being used for agricultural purposes, biodiversity loss is a major concern. In a recent study, researchers led by Shasank Ongole from the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bangalore, studied the diversity of insectivorous bats in coffee plantations in the Chikmagalur district of Karnataka.

Atul Joshi, a PhD student at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru, said that the prevailing attitude towards ecosystems like forest-grassland mosaics and savannahs hasn’t changed much. In a paper he co-authored last year, he described how the historical forester blamed fires and indigenous communities’ cattle-grazing for the “bleak” grasslands, and sought to rejuvenate the “degraded landscape” by planting exotic tree species.

Forming a memory of people, places, and events is a dynamic process, and many studies have shown that psychiatric disorders such as depression may affect this process.

Now researchers from the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bengaluru, have shown how memories change and get updated over time in people with unipolar and bipolar depression.

Uma Ramakrishnan is an assistant professor at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bengaluru. Her work focuses on population genetics and the evolutionary history of mammals. She is one of India’s leading scientists endeavoring to preserve the tiger population in the subcontinent. SPAN Magazine did an interview with her.

A group of Indian researchers has created a mouse model to study bone marrow and blood disorder that could aid in finding a cure for blood cancer (leukemia). This is collaborative work by the Inamdar lab at JNCASR and NCBS in Bangalore, with RIKEN CDB, Kobe Japan.

Scientists have been using genetics to study wild animals for several years now. However, a new genetic method developed by a team, including scientists from Bengaluru’s National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), hopes to make studying as well as conserving wild species quicker, easier and cost-effective by deriving information from animal sources containing extremely low-quality DNA — including faeces and cooked meat.