Beauty and the beast (Sucker/survival of the fitter?)

by Geetha G T – Our gardens are incomplete without a rose plant. Roses have for quite some time been cherished for their appearance and their broadly aesthetic aroma. As one of the most common flowers to grace any garden, it’s no big surprise that roses have prevailed for a long time with a range of colors and fragrances. ಯಾರಿಗೆ…

Words

by Shannon – We are living in strange times.  I realize that under a horrific global crisis this is an understatement, but times are also extremely strange for scientists. Just yesterday I found this discussion from a relative on my Facebook feed: Now, I’m not going to discuss the efficacy of hydroxycloroquine for treating COVID-19.  As I joke to my…

Silver linings

by Gauri Gharpure – This pandemic and the subsequent lockdown and restrictions have had different impacts on all of us in different ways. While it is crucial to have such restrictions for containment of the infection, it also brings problems like being confined to our residences, fear and/or skepticism of the future, etc. But in spite of all this, there…

The way they blend: ground nesting birds of Indian grasslands

by Santosh Rajus : The grasslands of South India are beautiful and spread across different regions including the Western Ghats. Most of the time, people consider the grassland as a wasteland as it does not seem to have much vegetation. But there are a lot of animals that are dependent on this grassland ecosystem and this ecosystem is very important…

Brain and immunity

by Hinal Kharva : In the time of the pandemic, we are hearing a lot about immunity. I was wondering whether our brain plays any role in the modulation of immunity.  How do emotions affect our immunity? The interdisciplinary field of science that studies interactions among brain, behavior, and the immune system, is called “Psychoneuroimmunology”.   To understand the link between…

In Awe of Ambush Predators

by Aditi Mishra and Jagath V : Behold the tiny antlion larva. It is small and some would say, ugly. But, what it lacks in looks, it makes up in cunning. So who are the antlions and why have they earned this name?   Antlions are a group of at least 2000 insect species. Wherever there is sand, there is…

Feeling through your feet

by Pavan Kaushik : The few silver linings of the pandemic have been the slight reduction in the destruction of nature. I was walking alone in the woody patches of my campus, whose leaf litter is now left undisturbed due to the pandemic. I saw a mango fruit fallen on the ground. It was half eaten, likely by a squirrel,…

Aggression: what about it ?

by Aditi Mishra – I write this on the twenty fourth week of a year that continues to keep getting worse.  There is aggression everywhere and social stability is currently looking like a magician’s trick. A rapidly devolving trick. In times like these, it is sometimes comforting to see what science has to offer. That’s why over these last few weeks…

Urban wildlife

by Gauri Gharpure – With the rise of city life, we have lost touch with nature. Elders in the family often talk about how they used to pick fruit from the trees directly, or how they used to cycle on roads lined with such tall shady trees on both sides that the road remained dry even in the heavy monsoon…