Blowing into Bubbles
09 Aug 2024 under Focus
Investigations on air flow in soap bubbles open up new insights and applications Sometime during late 2023, Saini Jatin Rao was at his favourite tea joint, blowing into his chai as he drank. As his breath split the chai surface, the liquid spinning into the shape of a doughnut, he started wondering: What happens when […]
A Swarm to Save the Day
29 Mar 2024 under Focus
A new approach by IISc researchers seeks to use multiple swarms of drones to tackle natural disasters like forest fires. Forest fires are becoming increasingly catastrophic across the world, accelerated by climate change. “A swarm of drones could be the solution,” says Suresh Sundaram, Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, IISc. Although they have […]
Rapid Detection of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria
01 Mar 2024 under Focus
A paper-based platform developed by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) could help quickly detect the presence of antibiotic-resistant, disease-causing bacteria. One of mankind’s greatest challenges has been the rise of disease-causing bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. Their emergence has been fuelled by […]
Switchable Photo-modulated Nanomaterial to Kill Selective Bacterial Strains
01 Feb 2024 under Highlights
Bacterial infections making open wounds worse is becoming increasingly common. To aid in the treatment of festering wounds and to combat selective bacterial infections that are antibiotic-resistant, researchers at IISc have developed a strain-specific bactericidal nanomaterial with a photochemical property. The material can especially help combat Gram-positive or Gram-negative bacteria, like the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus […]
Treading a Venomous Trail
02 Nov 2023 under Features
Kartik Sunagar’s lab seeks to understand and improve treatments for snakebite On a cold night in 2022, Kartik Sunagar and his team were in the Thar Desert, looking for a Sind krait, one of the most toxic snakes in the country. “We were looking for it in the middle of the night, with no one […]
Hybrid Nanoparticles Target Cancer Cells
15 Sep 2023 under Focus
Scientists at IISc have developed a new approach to potentially detect and kill cancer cells, especially those which form a solid tumour mass. They have created hybrid nanoparticles made of gold and copper sulphide, which can kill cancer cells using heat, and enable their detection using sound waves, according to a study published in ACS Applied […]
600-million-year-old ocean water from Himalayas provides clues to Earth’s past
04 Aug 2023 under Focus
High up in the Himalayas, scientists at IISc and Niigata University, Japan, have discovered droplets of water trapped in mineral deposits that were likely left behind from an ancient ocean which existed around 600 million years ago. Analysis of the deposits, which had both calcium and magnesium carbonates, also allowed the team to provide a […]