From simple combinations of lenses, microscopes have evolved into complex tools giving us unparalleled insight into cellular secrets January 1665 saw the publication of Robert Hooke’s Micrographia. The beautiful illustrations of fleas, flies and other insects in it gave humanity an insight into the sheer beauty of the hitherto unobserved world of small creatures. […]
A behind-the-scenes look at the transformation of an empty space into a full-fledged research lab Setting up a new lab can be an exhilarating episode in the career of a faculty member. But it can also be a long and arduous journey, one that needs fellow travellers — often this caravan includes graduate students, […]
A peek into the Central Animal Facility, which supports research in almost 70 labs Prashant and his three colleagues set out for work in the small hours of the morning. Gauribidanur, their hometown, is 80 km from Bangalore, and the train ride and the short walk after that to reach the Central Animal Facility […]
Pankaj Sekhsaria is an associate professor at the Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas at IIT Bombay. In October 2020, he gave a talk based on his book Nanoscale: Society’s Deep Impact on Science, Technology and Innovation in India as part of Paraspar, a lecture series organised by the Office of Communications at IISc. […]
Studying the brain to understand human behaviour involves elaborate experimental set-ups. Researchers at IISc describe how they design these experiments Ever walked into a room and forgot why you went in there? Or struggled to keep your New Year’s resolutions? We have all shown such behaviours at some point or the other. The field […]
IISc researchers and industry partners have developed software tools driven by AI that can complement the healthcare system in fighting COVID-19 The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes the disease we know as COVID-19, has kept us occupied through the first half of 2020. It is the first pandemic in a hundred years, affecting nearly every […]
India is the world’s tuberculosis capital, accounting for 27 percent of the 10 million patients globally. Understanding how drug resistance emerges and improving vaccine efficacy are key to fighting this disease. Macrophage (red) engulfing tuberculosis bacteria (yellow), taken with ZEISS FE-SEM (Image courtesy: Volker Brinkmann) In 1890, Robert Koch believed he was going to […]
PR Krishnaswamy, who was a student in the Department of Biochemistry in the 1950s, went on to have a distinguished yet unconventional research career. In the first of this two-part profile, Krishnaswamy, now 91, describes the influence of his mentors in the Department.
An overview of IISc labs involved in developing novel diagnostic tools for infectious diseases With the recent emergence of the coronavirus infection, the world has been reminded of the lethal nature of disease outbreaks. Infectious diseases, caused by bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and other parasites, can be transmitted to a healthy individual from another infected […]
IISc’s role in helping Wipro launch its minicomputers in 1981 As one of India’s leading technology companies, Wipro is today largely known for its Information Technology (IT), engineering, and consulting services. But what brought Wipro into the IT industry was its computer systems business in the 1980s. The origins of the company’s most flourishing business […]
