Maths is providing new ways to make sense of biology In the early 2000s, a fierce debate was raging among health practitioners about when to start HIV patients on antiretroviral therapy. The standard approach at the time was to delay treatment until the disease had progressed to a critical stage. However, emerging mathematical models […]
The study of model organisms is the key to unlocking mysteries about life on earth When I first started working with the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster after my Master’s, many of my friends and family members were greatly amused. After 17 years of education, I had finally admitted that all I was doing was […]
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. […]
Scientists from IISc are addressing questions about the biological world using their engineering skills Most mechanical engineers do what we think they do – design and fabricate aircraft, machines, and other such human-made objects. But it turns out that some members of their tribe are also curious about how living things work. One of […]
Ahead of Satish Dhawan’s birth anniversary on 25 September, his daughter Jyotsna writes about her childhood on the IISc campus, life beyond, and her father’s indelible presence In the 1960s, while our parents (mostly fathers) worked away in labs and offices, libraries and classrooms, the children of IISc staff (mostly barefoot and unsupervised) explored that […]
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 […]
