CCMB Daak - Building leaders in science

CCMB and understanding the details of what makes a cell go hand in hand. This Daak we will see how molecular biology helps our scientists address questions about living cells and build tools that enable such studies. Cover art: Cell - Molecular Fingerprint of Life by Harsh Kapoor.
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Cashew plantations and shelter for frogs?

Cashew plantations are primarily grown by small-scale farmers in tropical India and Africa. They are embedded in biodiversity rich landscapes and are expanding due to the economic value of the crop. It is, therefore, important to understand the role of the crop in promoting biodiversity in the tropics. The recent study by Karthikeyan Vasudevan's group in Sindhudurg, Maharashtra on frogs found understorey vegetation and the associated microclimate in cashew habitats are

crucial for their survival. It is particularly true for frogs found only in this region, such as the Amboli bush frog and the Goan cricket frog.

Given the potential for cashew to provide employment to locals, enhance carbon storage, and also provide habitat for threatened species, it could be explored further as a sustainable land management practice in the region.

What makes the Western Ghats one of the global biodiversity hotspots?

The latest study from Jahnavi Joshi's lab shows that the biodiversity of southern Western Ghats has been shaped over millions of years by the climate and geographical conditions of the past as well as the present climate. They also found that this part of Western Ghats not only hosts larger number of species but also they are more restricted in space.

Facilitating animal reproduction non-invasively

Umapathy's group has devised a test to detect androstenone, a steroidal pheromone found in boars, from their urinary and fecal samples. Detection of these hormones timely can help the pig meat industry to facilitate mating between animals. This is otherwise done currently by blood tests, which induce stress in animals as well as adversely impact the quality of its meat.

Is Pattanam a part of the ancient port city of Muziris?

The archaeological site at Pattanam, on the South-western coast of the Indian subcontinent in the Ernakulam District of Kerala, is believed to be part of the ancient port city of the Muziris, the melting pot of different cultures of Asia, Africa and Europe. based on the analyses of artefacts found in this region. The latest research on ancient DNA from 12 skeletal samples found here confirm their South Asian and West Eurasian lineages.

How does nutrition shape cells?

Sriram Varahan's lab studies how nutrient availability alters cell's metabolism, its shapes, and thus, its ability to forage and survive better. Using fungi as a model system, they understand how microbial and cancerous cells spread in their hosts, and take hold of them.
Check out our latest zines based on their work
- The Resilient Cell
- Why do scientists study shape-shifting cells?

Wonder what happens in our labs

Check out the different modules of the series here. Register now!

Throwback to the Founder's Day

Founder's Day on 22 Feb is when we hear our alumni speak of their journeys in science since they finished their PhDs with us at CCMB, we discuss the topics of interests of our current students, and the latest in life sciences. These discussions are all online now.

Check out the videos

Earth Day with young people

15 schools, over 200 students and scientists from CSIR-CCMB and IICT celebrated the Earth Day with a fun quiz on climate change and bagging our climate change comics. If you haven't checked our comics yet, do it now!

Climate Change Comics

With Science & Technology, we can!

And wrapping up this month's Daak with the mural made by undergradute students of St Ann's College in collaboration with artist Dibyush Jena and Superheroes against Superbugs team as a part of CCMB-led Alliance for Pathogen Surveillance and Innovation, India with multiple other research and clinical partners across India.

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