by Santosh Rajus – Finding food is one of the hardest tasks for predators and over the years they have become masters at it. Some have developed ambush hunting skills, and some have developed speed to chase and hunt their prey. Some of the most feared hunters across the world are the venomous spiders, which are well camouflaged and use sticky webs…
India’s living artefacts
by Hinal Kharva – Last weekend Shannon was invited by Roundglass to do some scientific activities. Our lab came up with this amazing session called India’s living Artefacts. Geetha and I also accompanied her to the Atmantan Wellness Center located at Mulshi lake just 60kms away from Pune city. The idea was to discuss the living artefacts mainly found in the…
News from the Front: When curiosity killed the experiment(al) prospects!
Date: 01 March 2019 Location : Nandi Hills top by Gauri Gharpure – Shalini Venkatesan and I were out testing some artificial flower models when we were greeted by these excited (and presumably hungry) bonnet macaques. Our bag carrying the equipment was confiscated and minutely examined for any traces of food. Unfortunately for them, it didn’t have anything edible so it…
Parents with PhDs
by Shannon – I’m sitting here in Delhi International Airport waiting for my flight back home to my daughter, Grace. This morning I woke up at 3 am, made sure her school bag and lunch were packed, prepared dinner, and got on a flight to attend a scientific meeting 2.5 hours away by air. Now I’m flying back at midnight so…
Dismantle
by Shalini V – A long time ago ago now, when I was in 9th grade, we moved to our new house. My sister and I were super excited, but then came the real task – unpacking things and organizing. So we all were set to get things done. Then came the problem. We had some old and worn out furniture…
A hungry stomach ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಗಾಗಿ
by Geetha GT – Cannibalism is the practice of ingestion of whole or body parts of members of the same species as nourishment. ಸಜಾತಿಭಕ್ಷಕತೆ ಒಂದು ರೀತಿಯ ವಿಚಿತ್ರ ವರ್ತನೆ. ಇಲ್ಲಿ ತಮ್ಮ ಪೋಷಣೆಗಾಗಿ ಒಂದು ಜೀವಿಯು ಅದೇ ಜಾತಿಯ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಜೀವಿಯನ್ನು ಪೂರ್ತಿಯಾಗಿ ಅಥವಾ ದೇಹದ ಭಾಗಗಳನ್ನು ಭಕ್ಷಿಸುವುದಾಗಿದೆ. Sexual cannibalism exists mainly in spiders and other invertebrates where the female kills and consumes her less fortunate partner,…
The Forgotten
Let’s Talk
EDITOR’S NOTE: We often think of the sciences as objective and unemotional fields, but the stress and uncertainty of being in research means that mental health issues are common. More than 40% of postgraduate researchers face some form of depression or stress-related problem, as do many students. If you or someone you know needs advice, help, or simply an ear to…
Best Poster Award!
Congratulations to Srishti Batra for winning Best Poster Award at this year’s Annual Talks! The NICE group is so proud of you! Here are a few highlights from the meeting:
Love birds and their wingmen in lab coats
by Aditi – When scientists turn into wingmen/wing-women, they get results, period. #ScientistsDoItBetter Everyone needs help in love sometimes; even if they are literally named love birds. A team of Dutch and Chinese scientists recently helped out their less fortunate feathered subjects in finding love. The scientists were interested to find out if problem solving could indeed win the male Budgerigars any…
NICE 