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IndSciComm is a science communication collective founded and run by Abhishek Chari and Shruti Muralidhar. Our goal is to communicate science in a clear and concise manner to the Indian public at large. We also help Indian and Indian origin scientists communicate their research and interests. This…

IndSciComm

  • Apr 11, 2020 LATEST EPISODE
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  • 45 EPISODES


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Latest episodes from IndSciComm podcasts

Vigyaan-Vichaar – Janasuddi with Dr. Kollegala Sharma

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2020


Despite the multitude of languages that exist in India, communication of science is often limited to only a few and often centred around major cities. This obviously leads to the problem of scientific knowledge and ideas not reaching those who would benefit from it the most. But all is not doom and gloom. Armed with the reach of social media, open source softwares and local networks, several individuals are attempting to fill these gaps by innovative yet low cost alternatives. This podcast series is aimed at sharing such efforts and to inspire many more to communicate science in the many languages that call India their home. Our first episode features Dr. Kollegala Sharma Links: Jaanasuddi on SoundcloudPriya Prakash Warrier: WinkingEjana: Science and Tech blog in Kannada

Shoot the shit – A yearly round-up

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2020


Listen to our first ever yearly round-up of what we do for work, in our free time, our favourite shows and our scientific, nerdy and geeky pet peeves.

Lifting the veil off a strange parasite

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2020


Featured in Newslaundry on July 25th 2017 While Toxoplasma causes long-lasting infections that resist treatment, research on this neglected parasite promises to unveil new ways to treat malaria. But there is more to this microbe than meets the eye. Listen to our podcast to find out. References: 1. General introduction 2. TORCH member 3. CDC assigned category NPI 4. Early research and establishment as parasite: Ferguson, David JP. “Toxoplasma gondii: 1908-2008, homage to Nicolle, Manceaux and Splendore.” Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz 104.2 (2009): 133-148. 5. Use of the Sabin-Feldman test to find Toxoplasma infections worldwide 6. The life cycle of Toxoplasma 7. Toxoplasmosis as zoonosis 8. Studies in India to measure Toxoplasma infection 9. Concerns about sexual transmission of Toxoplasma (here and here) 10. Malaria in India (Searo, NCBI, NCBI, WHO) 11. Resistance of malaria to standard medication 12. Whitehead Institute’s use of CRISPR on Toxoplasma 13. Apicomplexans 14. Crippling host invasion protein CLAMP (here and here) 15. Aid to research on inflammation 16. No obvious symptoms of Toxoplasma infection in otherwise healthy people 17. Eye infections by Toxoplasma 18. Toxoplasma and neurological disorders (here and here) 19. Immunosuppression by HIV or by medical treatments, leading to reactivation of Toxoplasma (here and here ) 20. Toxoplasmosis in organ transplant recipients 21. Organ transplantation related diseases (here and here) 22. Anti-parasitic drugs to destroy active parasites 23. Infection in women passing to foetus 24. Spiramycin therapy 25. CDC recommendations (here and here) 26. Autophagy (here and here) 27. Interfering with autophagy damages and destroys parasites (here and here)

GMOs: What you need to know

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2020


Published in Newslaundry on April 18th 2017 References: The Regulatory Status of Genome-edited Crops: Wolt, Wang and Yang (2015) Plant Biotechnology JournalGreen European Journal: New Breeding Techniques, New GMOs in a legal LimboGenetic Literacy Project FAQs     Legal Briefing Paper: Regulatory Status of Plants resulting from NBTs : NBT PlatformRegulatory Status of NBTs outside the EU: NBT PlatformCommittee formed in USA to redefine genetic modificationHow some GMOs have escaped US regulation; non-browning white mushroomsResearch paper on crop domesticationSafety testing of GMOs

அறிவியல் கடல் – தோலின் குருத்தணுக்கள் – கிஃப் லியாகத்-அலி / Ariviyal Kadal – Skin Stem Cells – Kif Liakath Ali

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 1, 2020


இது, அறிவியல் கடல் வலையொலி தொடரில் ஒரு சிறப்பு அத்தியாயம். This is a special episode within our Sea of Science podcast series. இந்த சிறுதொடரில், இந்தியா மற்றும் இந்திய நாட்டை சார்ந்த விஞ்ஞானிகளோடு, அவர்களின் அறிவியல் ஆர்வம் மற்றும் வாழ்க்கைப்பயணத்தை பற்றி உரையாடுவோம். இந்த முயற்சியை முன்பு ஆங்கிலத்தில் வேறு விஞ்ஞானிகளோடு, இண்ட்சைகாமின் இணைய ஸ்தாபகி ஷ்ருதி முரளிதர் செய்திருக்கிறார் (சூப்சோன் ஆஃப் சைகாம்). In this mini-series, we will talking to Indian and Indian-origin scientists about their scientific interests and their life stories (in Tamizh). IndSciComm’s co-founder Shruti Muralidhar has previously completed a similar project, in English, with other scientists (Soupcon of Scicomm). தமிழ்நாட்டில் பிறந்து வளர்ந்த உயிரியல் ஆராய்ச்சியாளர் டாக்டர் கிஃப் லியாகத்-அலி, தற்போது அமெரிக்காவின் ஸ்டான்போர்டு பல்கலைக்கழகத்தில் மூளையின் நரம்பு உயிரணுக்கள் அதாவது செல்கள் மீது ஆராய்ச்சியில் ஈடுபட்டுக்கொண்டிருக்கிறார். இதற்கு முன், அவர் இங்கிலாந்தில் தோலில் செயல்படும் செல்கள் மீது ஆராய்ச்சி செய்தார். அவர் வாழ்க்கை மற்றும் வேலையைப் பற்றி நான் கேட்ட சில கேள்விகளுக்கு, அவரளித்த பதில்கள் அவர் குரலிலேயே இப்போது கேட்கலாம். Born and brought up in Tamilnadu, biologist Dr. Kif Liakath-Ali is currently working at Stanford University in USA, where he is engaged in conducting research on neurons in the brain. He has previously worked, in England, on stem cells in the skin. You can now hear some of his responses to my questions, about his life and work, in his own voice. —————————- வலையொலியின் உரை கீழே, படிப்பதற்கு: The podcast transcript is below, if you would like to read: அபிஷேக்: இந்த வலையொலியை கேட்கும் நேயர்களுக்கு, என் மனமார்ந்த வணக்கம். என் பெயர் அபிஷேக் சாரி. நான் இண்ட்சைகாம் என்கிற தொடர்புக்குழுவின் இணைய ஸ்தாபகன். இந்திய மக்களுக்காக சுவாரசியமான அறிவியல் கட்டுரைகள் மற்றும் வலையொலி தொடர்கள் தயாரிக்கும் முயற்சியில், இது எங்கள் புத்தம்புதிய முயற்சி. இந்த தொடரில், இந்தியா மற்றும் இந்திய நாட்டை சார்ந்த விஞ்ஞானிகளோடு, அவர்களின் அறிவியல் ஆர்வம் மற்றும் வாழ்க்கைப்பயணத்தை பற்றி உரையாடுவோம். இந்த முயற்சியை முன்பு ஆங்கிலத்தில் வேறு விஞ்ஞானிகளோடு, இண்ட்சைகாமின் இணைய சஸ்தாபகி ஷ்ருதி முரளிதர் செய்திருக்கிறார். (சூப்சோன் ஆப் சைகாம்). தமிழ்நாட்டில் பிறந்து வளர்ந்த உயிரியல் ஆராய்ச்சியாளர் டாக்டர் கிஃப் லியாகத்-அலி, தற்போது அமெரிக்காவின் ஸ்டான்போர்டு பல்கலைக்கழகத்தில் மூளையின் நரம்பு உயிரணுக்கள் அதாவது செல்கள் மீது ஆராய்ச்சியில் ஈடுபட்டுக்கொண்டிருக்கிறார். இதற்கு முன், அவர் இங்கிலாந்தில் தோலில் செயல்படும் செல்கள் மீது ஆராய்ச்சி செய்தார். அவர் வாழ்க்கை மற்றும் வேலையைப் பற்றி நான் கேட்ட சில கேள்விகளுக்கு, அவரளித்த பதில்கள் அவர் குரலிலேயே இப்போது கேட்கலாம். நீங்கள் பிறந்த ஊரும், உங்கள் தாய்மொழியும்? Abhishek: My heartfelt greetings to those listening to this podcast. My name is Abhishek Chari. I am a co-founder of science communication collective IndSciComm. This podcast is the latest production in our efforts to produce interesting articles and podcast series for the Indian public. In this new series, we will be speaking with Indian and Indian-origin scientists about their scientific interests and their life journeys. Shruti Muralidhar, a co-founder of IndSciComm previously did a similar series in English (Soupcon of Scicomm) Now, I am very happy to introduce Dr. Kif Liakath-Ali to all of you. Born and raised in Tamilnadu, he is currently engaged in researching neuronal cells at Stanford University, in USA. Prior to this, he was working on skin stem cells in England. You can listen to him now, as he answers some of my questions about his life and work. Where were you born, and what is your mother tongue? கிஃப் லியாகத்-அலி: நான் பிறந்து வளர்ந்தது நீலகிரி மாவட்டத்தில் ஊட்டிக்கு அருகிலுள்ள மசினகுடி என்கிற அழகான கிராமத்தில். என் தாய் மொழி தமிழ். Kif: I was born and raised in Masinagudi, a scenic small village near Ooty in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu. My mother tongue is Tamizh. அபிஷேக்: உங்கள் படிப்பு, மேற்படிப்பு எங்கே நடந்தது? பிறகு, நீங்கள் இப்போது செய்யும் வேலை என்ன? Abhishek: Where did you complete your schooling and pursue higher education? And what do you work on these days? கிஃப் லியாகத்-அலி: பத்தாவது வரை எங்கள் கிராமத்திலும், பதினொன்று மற்றும் பண்ணிரெண்டாம் வகுப்புகள், ஊட்டி-க்கு அருகில் உள்ள ஒரு பள்ளியிலும் படித்தேன், அனைத்தும் தமிழ் வழி கல்வியில். பிறகு, BSc மற்றும் MSc விலங்கியல் திருச்சியிலுள்ள ஜமால் முஹம்மது கல்லூரியில் படித்தேன். பிறகு, மரபியல் மீதிருந்த ஆர்வத்தால், ஆராய்ச்சியுடன் கூடிய MPhil மரபியல் சென்னைப் பல்கலைகழகத்தில் பயின்றேன். அதன் பிறகு, ஹைதராபாத், ஜெர்மனி ஆகிய இடங்களில் துணை ஆராய்ச்சியாளராக பணி புரிந்தேன். இங்கிலாந்தில் உள்ள கேம்பிரிட்ஜ் பல்கலைக்கழகத்தில் பேராசிரியை ஃபியோனா வாட் (Fiona Watt) அவர்களின் மேற்பார்வையில், தோல்களில் உள்ள ஸ்டெம் செல்கள் (அல்லது குருத்தணுக்கள், மூலச்செல்கள்) பற்றிய ஆராய்ச்சி மேற்கொண்டு, ஆராய்ச்சி மேற்படிப்பான பி.எச்.டி (PhD)-ஐ 2015-ம் ஆண்டு நிறைவு செய்தேன். தற்போது நான் அமெரிக்காவில், கலிபோர்னியா மாகாணத்திலுள்ள ஸ்டான்போர்ட் பல்கலைக்கழகத்தில் முதுநிலை ஆராய்ச்சியாளராக பணியாற்றி கொண்டு இருக்கிறேன். இங்கு நான் மூளையிலுள்ள நரம்பு செல்கள் எவ்வாறு செயல்படுகின்றன? எந்தந்த மூலக்கூறு செயல்பாடுகள் நரம்பு செல்களுக்கு முக்கியத்துவம் வாய்ந்தது என்று ஆராய்ச்சி செய்து கொண்டிருக்கிறேன். இந்த ஆராய்ச்சியை, நோபல் பரிசு பெற்ற பேராசிரியர் தாமஸ் ஸ்யூட்ஹாப் (Thomas Sudhof) அவர்களின் மேற்பார்வையில் செய்துகொண்டு இருக்கிறேன். Kif: I went to high school in my village and higher secondary near Ooty (all in Tamizh medium). I graduated with a BSc and MSc in Zoology from Jamal Mohamed College (Bharathidasan University) in Tiruchirappalli. Due to my interest in genetics, I pursued an MPhil specializing in genetics, with research, from the University of Madras. After that, I trained as a research assistant (in different research labs) in Hyderabad and Germany. In 2015, I obtained a PhD in Genetics from the University of Cambridge where my thesis work focused on skin stem cells. This work was done under the supervision of Professor Fiona Watt. Currently, I am working as a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University, in the state of California in the United States of America. Here, I am researching how neurons function in the brain and which molecular mechanisms are important within them. This work is being carried out in the laboratory of Nobel laureate Professor Thomas Sudhof. அபிஷேக்: நீங்கள் பீ.எச்.டி மேற்படிப்பின் போது செய்த ஆராய்ச்சியை ஒன்று அல்லது இரண்டே வாக்கியங்களில் சுருக்கமாக சொல்லவும்: Abhishek: Please summarise your Ph.D research in one or two sentences – கிஃப் லியாகத்-அலி: என்னுடைய பி.எச்.டி (PhD) மேற்படிப்பில், தோல்களில் உள்ள ஸ்டெம் செல்கள் எனப்படும் மூலசெல்களில் பல்வேறு மரபணுக்கள், அதாவது ஜீன்கள் எவ்வாறு செயல்படுகின்றன என்று ஆராய்ச்சி மேற்கொண்டு, பல மரபணுக்களின் புதிய செயல்பாடுகளை கண்டறிந்தேன். Kif: During my Ph.D, I worked on understanding how various genes function within skin stem cells, and found new functions for many genes. அபிஷேக்: எங்கள் நேயர்களின் சார்பாக ஒரு கேள்வி: அவர்கள் ஏன் தோல் மற்றும் அதில் செயல்படும் செல்களை பற்றி தெரிந்துகொள்ளவேண்டும்? Abhishek: Here’s a question on behalf of our listeners: Why should they find out more about (or be interested in) the skin and the cells that work inside it? கிஃப் லியாகத்-அலி: தோல் என்பது நமது உடலின் மிக முக்கியமான ஒரு உறுப்பு. அது உடலுக்கு வெளியிலுள்ள பல்வேறு காரணிகளிலிருந்து நமது உள்ளுறுப்புகளை பாதுகாக்கிறது. தோல் என்பது உடலை போர்த்தியிருக்கும் ஒரு படலம் மற்றுமல்ல, மாறாக அது நமது நோய் எதிர்ப்பு, நரம்பு, தசை, இரத்த மற்றும் நாளமில்லா சுரப்பி மண்டலங்களின் மிக முக்கிய அங்கம் ஆகும். தினமும் லட்சக்கணக்கான இறந்த செல்கள் நமது தோலில் இருந்து கொட்டுகிறது, ஆனால் நாம் அதை உணருவதில்லை. இந்த இறந்த செல்களுக்கு பதிலாக, புதிய செல்கள் உருவாக வேண்டும், அதுவும் மிகத்துல்லியமான எண்ணிக்கையில். அதீதமான புதிய செல்கள் உருவாக்கம், தோலின் புற்றுநோய் ஏற்பட பல வழிகளில் ஒன்றாகும். குறைந்த எண்ணிக்கையிலான புதிய செல்கள், தோலின் செயலை பாதிக்கும். இந்த புதியசெல்கள் எவ்வாறு உருவாகின்றன? நான் முன்பு கூறிய தோலிலுள்ள ஸ்டெம் செல்கள் புதிய செல்களை உருவாக்குகின்றன. ஸ்டெம் செல்களினால் பல மருத்துவ பயனுள்ளது. உதாரணத்திற்கு, தீக்காயத்தினால் தோல் இழந்தவருக்கு, ஸ்டெம் செல்கள் மூலம் தோல் படலத்தை ஆய்வுகூடத்தில் உருவாக்கி பாதிக்கப்பட்டவருக்கு மாற்ற முடியும். மேலும், மரபணு குறைபாட்டால் தோல்வியாதி உள்ளவருக்கு, ஸ்டெம் செல்களில் அந்த மரபணு குறைபாட்டை நீக்கி புதிய செல்களை உருவாக்கி, பாதிக்க பட்டவருக்கு மாற்ற முடியும். எனவே, தோலின் ஸ்டெம் செல்களையும் அவற்றின் மரபணு செயல்பாட்டையும் ஆராய்ச்சி செய்வது முக்கியமான ஒன்றாகும். Kif: The skin is an important organ that protects our internal organs from various environmental factors. It is not only a protective covering of our body, it is also an integral component of the immune, vascular, nervous, muscular and endocrine systems. Everyday we shed millions of dead skin cells without even realising it. These cells need to be replaced by the precise numbers of new cells that are absolutely necessary. Generating more cells than required is the one of the ways by which skin cancer is produced. Having lesser cells than needed will affect the normal functioning of the skin. So, how are these new skin cells generated? As I mentioned before, the stem cells that reside in the skin give rise to new skin cells. Stem cells also have many medical/therapeutic uses. For example, stem cells can be used to produce new skin (in laboratories) to replace what has been lost in patients suffering from burn injuries. Moreover, for patients with genetic skin disorders, the genetic mutations can be corrected in stem cells, which can then be used to repopulate their skin cells. Therefore, it is very important to research skin stem cells and the genetic mechanisms that control their function. அபிஷேக்: தோல் என்ற சொல் சிறிதாக இருக்கலாம். ஆனால், நம் உடலுறுப்புகளில் மிகப்பெரிதானது தோல் தான்! தோல் மீது டாக்டர் லியாகத்-அலி செய்த ஆராய்ச்சியை பற்றி இன்னும் கொஞ்சம் விவரமாக இப்போது தெரிந்து கொள்ளலாம்… Abhishek: While ‘skin’ is a tiny word, it is the biggest organ in the human body. Now, let’s learn about Dr. Liakath-Ali’s research on skin in some more detail… கிஃப் லியாகத்-அலி: தோல் என்பது ஒரு பல்செயல்பாட்டு உறுப்பு. அது உடலுக்கு வெளியிலுள்ள பல்வேறு காரணிகளிலிருந்து நமது உள்ளுறுப்புகளை பாதுகாக்கிறது. நான் முன்பு கூறியது போல, ஸ்டெம் செல்கள் தோலின் இயல்பான செயல்பாட்டிற்கு மிக முக்கியமான ஒன்றாகும். தோலின் மரபணு செயல்பாடு பற்றிய ஆராய்ச்சி தற்போது விரிவடைந்து கொண்டிருந்தாலும், பல முன் தெரிந்திராத மரபணு செயல்பாடுகள் இன்னும் உள்ளன. இவற்றை கண்டறிவதே என்னுடைய PhD ஆராய்ச்சி நோக்கமாகும். ஸ்டெம்செல்களில் மரபணுக்களின் புதிய செயல்பாடுகளை கண்டறிவதன் மூலம் நாம் தோலின் அடிப்படை உயிர்நுட்பத்தை அறியமுடிவது மட்டுமல்லாமல்லல், மரபணு மாற்றத்தால் வரும் தோல் நோய்களை குணப்படுத்த முடியும். எலிகளின் தோலின் உற்புற அமைப்பு மற்றும் மரபணு செயல்பாடுகள் நமது தோலின் செயல்பாட்டுக்கு ஏறக்குறைய ஒத்துப்போகும். எனவே ஜெனெடிக் என்ஜினீரிங் (Genetic engineering) எனப்படும் மரபணு தொழில்நுட்பம் மூலம் எலிகளில் பல மரபணுக்களை செயலிழக்க செய்தால், அது தோலின் அமைப்பு மற்றும் செயல்பாட்டை பாதிக்கும் என்பது எனது ஆராய்ச்சியின் பிரைமரி ஹைப்பாதெசிஸ் (primary hypothesis), அதாவது முதன்மை கருதுகோளாக இருந்தது. எனது இந்த கருதுகோளை நிரூபணம் செய்ய நான், பல நூறு கணக்கான மரபணுக்கள் செயலிழக்கப்பட்ட எலிகளின் தோல்களயும், அதனிலுள்ள ஹேர் ஃபோலிகல்ஸ் (hair follicles) எனப்படும் முடி நுண்ணறைகளை உயர் தொழில்நுட்பமுள்ள நுண்ணோக்கிகள் கொண்டு ஆராய்ச்சி செய்தேன். குறிப்பாக தோல் மற்றும் முடி நுண்ணறைகளின் ஸ்டெம் செல்களை இந்த எலிகளில் ஆராய்ச்சி செய்தேன். எனது முதற்கட்ட ஆராய்ச்சியின் முடிவில் பல விஷயங்களை கண்டறிந்தேன். முதலாவதாக, ஐம்பதுக்கும் மேற்பட்ட புதிய மரபணுக்கள் தோலின் அமைப்பிற்கும் செயலுக்கும் தேவை என்பதை அறிந்தேன் – அதாவது, இந்த மரபணுக்கள் செயல்படாமல் போனால், தோலில் ஏதேனும் குறைபாடு உண்டாகும். இரண்டாவது, இந்த ஐம்பதுக்கும் மேற்பட்ட மரபணுக்களில், ஒன்பது மரபணுக்கள் மனிதனின் தோல் நோய்களில் தொடர்புடையவை, அதாவது இந்த மரபணுக்கலில் ஏதேனும் மாறுபாடு, அதாவது முயூடேசன் (mutation) உண்டானால் தோல் நோய்கள் ஏற்படும். மூன்றாவது, சில மரபணுக்கள் தோள்களில் இயல்பாகவே எந்த செயல்பாடும் இல்லாமல் இருந்தது, அதாவது தோலில் இவைகளுக்கு எந்த வேலையும் இல்லை. அதெப்படி? ஒரு மரபணு அதற்கு வேலையில்லாத இடத்தில் ஒரு குறைபாட்டை உருவாக்க முடியும்? நான் முன்பு கூறியது போல, தோல் என்பது மற்ற பல திசு மண்டலங்களின் ஒரு முக்கிய அங்கமாகும். உதாரணமாக, இம்ம்யூன் ஸிஸ்டம் (immune system), அதாவது நோய் எதிர்ப்பு மண்டலம் தோல் படலத்தின் ஒரு முக்கிய அங்கமாகும். நான் கூறிய தோலில் வேலை இல்லாத அந்த சில மரபணுக்கள், நோய் எதிர்ப்பு மண்டலத்தில் அதிக செயல் பாடுள்ளதாக இருந்தது. இதன் மூலம், நோய் எதிர்ப்பு மண்டலத்தின் செயல்பாடுள்ள மரபணுக்கள் தோலின் அமைப்பு மற்றும் செயல்பாட்டை கட்டுப்பாட்டுக்குள் வைக்க முடியும் என கண்டறிந்தேன். எனது இரண்டாம் கட்ட ஆராய்ச்சியில், தனிப்பட்ட மூன்று மரபணுக்களையும் அவற்றின் செயல் பாடுகளையும் மிக ஆழமாக ஆராய ஆரம்பித்தேன். இதன் முடிவில் மூன்று மரபணுக்களும் மூன்று வெவ்வேறு விதமான அம்சங்களில் பங்கு வகிக்கின்றன என்பதை கண்டறிந்தேன். முதலாவது, சாதாரணமாக நமது தோலின் மேற்பரப்பு எண்ணெய் தன்மை வாய்ந்ததாக இருக்கும். இது முடி நுண்ணறைகளிலுள்ள எண்ணெய் சுரப்பிகளால் நடக்கிறது. பல மரபணுக்கள் இந்த எண்ணெய் சுரப்பிகளின் பணிகளுக்கு முக்கியமாகும். ஆல்கலய்ன் ஸெராமிடேஸ் 1 (Alkaline ceramidase 1) எண்ணக்கூடிய மரபணுவை எலிகளில் செயலிழக்க செய்தால், எலிகளின் தோல் மேற்பரப்பு வறண்டு போய், தோலின் சாதாரண செயல் பாதிப்பிற்குள்ளானது. இதன் மூலம், இந்த மரபணு தோலில் லிபிட் ஸிக்னலிங்க் (lipid signalling) அதாவது கொழுமிய செயல்பாட்டில் முக்கிய பணியை செய்கிறது என்பதை கண்டறிந்தேன். இரண்டாவதாக, தோலின் பிக்மென்ட்ஸ் (pigments) எண்ணக்கூடிய நிறமிகளின் செயல்பாட்டிற்கு, myosin எனப்படக்கூடிய மரபணுக்களின் செயல்பாடு எவ்வளவு முக்கியம் என்பதை கண்டறிந்தேன். கடைசியாக, மிக அடிப்படையான, இதற்கு முன் யாரும் கண்டறியாத ஒரு மரபணுவின் செயல்பாட்டை தோலின் ஸ்டெம் செல்களில் கண்டறிந்தேன். நமது உடலில் ஏறக்குறைய எல்லா செல்களிலும், ப்ரோடீன் சின்தெசிஸ் (protein synthesis) அதாவது புரத சேர்க்கை நடப்பதற்கு ஒரு மிக முக்கியமான காரணி ரைபோசோம்கள். இந்த ரைபோசோம்கள் மரபணு குறியீட்டை புரதமாக மாற்ற வழிசெய்யும் நுண்ணிய எந்திரங்கள். ரைபோசோம்கள் அவற்றின் பணியை சரியாக செய்ய மற்ற துணை புரதங்கள் தேவை. இந்த துணை புரதங்களில் ஒன்றை தோலின் ஸ்டெம் செல்களில் செயலிழக்க செய்யும் போது அது தோலின் அமைப்பையும் பல செயல்களையும் பாதித்தது. இதன் மூலம், செல்களின் அடிப்படை நிலையில் செயல் படக்கூடிய ஒரு மரபணு, தோல் திசுவின் இயல்பான அமைப்புக்கும் செயல்பாட்டிற்கும் இன்றி அமையாது என கண்டறிந்தேன். ஆக, எனது பி.எச்.டி (PhD) ஆராய்ச்சியின் கண்டுபிடிப்புகள், மரபியல், செல் மற்றும் மூலக்கூறு உயிரியல், குறிப்பாக தோல் ஸ்டெம் செல் உயிரியல் துறைகளுக்கு மிகுந்த பங்களிப்பதாக இருந்தது. Kif: Skin is a multifunctional organ. It is the primary line of defense for our internal organs against various environmental factors. As I mentioned before, stem cells are extremely important for maintaining the skin’s normal functions. While research on understanding the genetic mechanisms in skin stem cells has been accelerating recently, many of those mechanisms are still unknown; discovering some of them was my Ph.D research objective. Apart from improving our understanding of the fundamental biological mechanisms in skin, uncovering more of these unknown genetic mechanisms in skin stem cells will allow us to treat genetic disorders of the skin. There is a good degree of similarity in the internal makeup and genetic mechanisms of skin in mice and humans. The primary hypothesis of my research was that inactivating or knocking out many genes in mice, using genetic engineering, would affect their skin structure and function. In order to test my hypothesis, I used sophisticated microscopes to analyse the skin and the hair follicles from (genetically modified) mice. In each of these mice, a different gene was knocked out (many hundred genes in total). Specifically, I analysed the stem cells present in the skin and the hair follicles of these mice. I identified many different things as I approached the end of the initial phase of my research. Firstly, I identified more than fifty genes whose importance in skin structure and function were previously unknown – that is, if any of these genes were inactivated, then there would be some structural abnormalities in the skin or hair follicles. Secondly, nine out of these fifty genes are connected to human skin disorders. This means that certain mutations in the human equivalent of these nine genes could result in skin diseases. Thirdly, some of these genes did not seem to be expressed or active in the skin itself. But how can the knockout of a gene that is not expressed in the skin can lead to abnormalities in the skin? As I’ve mentioned before, skin is an important part of many other organ systems. For example, the immune system that protects us from infections is intimately connected with skin. Some of the genes that are not expressed in the skin were expressed in, and more important for the functioning of, the immune system. From this, I learnt that genes which influenced the immune system could control the skin structure and function. In the second phase of my research, I focussed in greater detail on specific genes and their functions. At the end of this research, I realised that these three genes played a role in three different aspects of the skin. Firstly, the outer layer of our skin is normally oily. This is caused by the action of lipid secreting cells of sebaceous glands within hair follicles. Many genes are important for this functioning. In mice, when the gene called Alkaline ceramidase 1 is knocked out, the outer layer of mouse skin becomes dry and its normal functioning is disrupted. In this way, I realised that this gene plays an important role in lipid signalling. Secondly, I realised that the myosin genes were extremely important for the skin’s pigmentation. Finally, I identified a gene’s fundamentally important function that was previously unknown. Ribosomes are important structures to synthesise proteins in all our cells. These ribosomes are, in fact, nano-machines that help convert the genetic code into proteins. In order for ribosomes to effectively do their work, other associated factors are needed. Knocking out a gene that encodes one of these ribosome-associated factors in skin stem cells led to the disruption of the skin’s structure and many of its functions. In this way, I found that a gene involved in the most basic cellular processes was also crucially involved in maintaining the structure and functions of the skin. Thus, the discoveries from my Ph.D research significantly contributed to many fields of biological research, including genetics, cell biology and specifically skin stem cell biology. அபிஷேக்: அறிவியல் ஆராய்ச்சி மிகவும் கடினமான வேலை. இதில் தினசரி உழைப்பு மற்றும் போராட்டம் உண்டு. ஆனாலும், இதை வாழ்க்கை பணியாக எடுத்துக்கொள்ளும் பலர் கூறும் ஒரு விஷயம்: அறிவியல் மீது ஆர்வத்தை எழுப்பிய ஒரு பாலிய நிகழ்வு. டாக்டர் லியாகத்-அலி, அவர் வாழ்க்கையில் இதைப்போலவே ஒரு சம்பவத்தை என்னோடு பகிர்ந்துகொண்டார்… Abhishek: Scientific research is very hard work. On a daily basis, it requires a lot of struggle and effort. But a lot of the people who take it up as their life’s work have something in common: a childhood incident that inspired their passion for science. Dr. Liakath-Ali talks about a similar incident from his childhood… கிஃப் லியாகத்-அலி: எனக்கு நன்றாக நினைவிருக்கிறது. ஒரு சூரிய கிரகண நாளில் நான் அந்த நிகழ்வை சுவற்றில் ஒரு முகம் பார்க்கும் கண்ணாடியின் உதவியோடு பிரதிபலிக்க முயற்சி செய்து கொண்டிருந்தேன். இதை எப்படி செய்வது என்று ஒரு தமிழ் நாளிதழில் படித்த ஞாபகம். பூமிக்கும் சூரியனுக்கும்இடையே நிலவு ஒரே நேர்கோட்டில் வர ஆரம்பிக்கும் போது, நிலவின் நிழல் பூமியில் படும். இதை நான் வட்டவடிவ துளையிட்ட அட்டையை கண்ணாடிமேல் வைத்து சூரிய கிரகணத்தை அழகாக சுவற்றில் பிரதிபலித்த அந்த தருணம் எனக்குள்இருந்த அறிவியல் மீதிருந்த ஆர்வத்தை உணர செய்தது. இது நடந்தது நான் 5ம் வகுப்பு படிக்கும் போது என்று நினைக்கிறேன். Kif: I vividly remember, on the day of a solar eclipse, I was attempting to project its image on a wall with the help of a mirror. I remember having read about how to do this in a Tamizh daily newspaper or magazine. The moon’s shadow falls on the earth as it starts to come in between the sun and the earth, when all three of them are in a straight line. Holding a piece of cardboard, with a circular hole in it, on top of a mirror and projecting the image of the eclipse on a wall – that moment made me realise my latent interest in science. I think that this happened when I was in the 5th standard (in school). அபிஷேக்: டாக்டர் லியாகத்-அலி பள்ளிப்பருவத்தில் பயன்படுத்தியது கொஞ்சம் துளையிட்ட அட்டை மற்றும் ஒரு துண்டு கண்ணாடி. அவைகளை வைத்து, டாக்டர் லியாகத்-அலி சிறு வயதில் இயற்பியல் சோதனை செய்துபார்த்தார். இப்போதெல்லாம் அறிவியல் பற்றி, குறிப்பாக உயிரியல் பற்றி குழந்தைகளை ஊக்குவிக்க ஃபோல்ட்ஸ்கோப் (foldscope) போன்ற நுண்னோக்கியாக பயன்படுத்தக்கூடிய சிக்கனமான கருவிகள் இருக்கின்றன. அரிவியலில் பயன்படும் கருவிகள், கல்விப் புலம் மற்றும் உபயோகத்தை கருதி சிறிது மாறலாம், ஆனால் அறிவியலின் அடிப்படை மாறவேயில்லை. சோதனை செய்து பார்த்து, இயற்கையின் அடிப்படை குணங்களை தெரிந்துகொள்வது, அறிவியலின் மாறாத கருத்து. Abhishek: In his childhood, Dr. Liakath-Ali made use of a piece of cardboard with a hole and a mirror. When he was young, he performed a physics experiment using these things. These days, in order to get children interested in science, specifically in biology, there are extremely cost-effective devices, like the foldscope, that can be used as a microscope. Scientific instruments can change a bit, based on how useful they are as teaching aids. But the underlying concept of science does not change. Using experiments to understand nature’s fundamental characteristics is one of the main goals of science. அபிஷேக்: இப்போது, டாக்டர் லியாகத்-அலிக்கு அடுட்த கேள்வி: கர்பனயில் காலப் பயணம் செய்து, உங்களையே சிருவயதில் நீங்கள் சந்தித்தால், எந்த அறிவியல் கருத்தை சொல்ல விரும்புபவீர்கள்? Abhishek: Here is the next question for Dr. Liakath-Ali: using your imagination, if you could travel back in time and meet your younger self, what scientific idea would you tell yourself? கிஃப் லியாகத்-அலி: செல்களை பற்றி. ஏனென்றால், அவை நமது உடல் உறுப்புகளின் அடிப்படையான ஒன்றாகும். மேலும் பல்வேறு வகையான செல்களையும் அவற்றின் செயல்பாடுகளையும் ஆராய்ச்சி செய்ய என் சிறுவயது என்னை நான் ஊக்கப்படுத்துவேன். Kif: As the cell is a fundamental unit of life, I would want to tell my younger self about the concept of cell. I would also want to convince myself that I should spend the rest of my life studying various types of cells and their behaviour. அபிஷேக்: இந்த பேட்டியின் முடிவில், கடைசியாக நேயர்களுக்கு தோலின் ஸ்டெம் செல்கள் மீது நடக்கும் ஆராய்ச்சியின் முக்கியத்துவம், மற்றும் அதிலிருந்து வரும் சில நன்மைகளை பற்றி டாக்டர் லியாகத்-அலி பேசினார்… Abhishek: Nearing the end of the interview, Dr. Liakath-Ali wanted to remind readers about the importance of researching skin stem cells and introduce them to some of its benefits. கிஃப் லியாகத்-அலி: தோல் என்ற உறுப்பை சிலசமயம் நாம் ஒரு பொருட்டாக எடுத்துக்கொள்வதில்லை. தினமும் லட்சக்கணக்கான இறந்த செல்கள் நமது தோல்களில் இருந்து உதிர்கின்றது, அதைநாம் உணர்வதுகூட கிடையாது. ஸ்டெம்செல்களில் மிகவும் சிக்கலான மூலக்கூறு செயல்பாடுகள் இந்த இறந்த செல்களை புதிய செல்கள்மூலம் மாற்றுகின்றன. மரபணுக்களின் ஏதேனும் குறைபாடுகள் ஏற்பட்டால், இந்தசெயல்பாடுகள் பாதிப்புக்குள்ளாகி தோல் நோய் ஏற்பட்டு, ஏன் இறப்பதற்கு கூட வாய்ப்புள்ளது. சாதாரணமாக மரபணுக்கள் எவ்வாறு தோலின் செயல்களை கட்டுப்படுத்துகின்றன என்பதை அறிந்து கொண்டால், தோல் நோய்களை குணப்படுத்த வழிவகைகளை மேற்கொள்ள உதவும். சமீபத்தில் கூட, மரபணு குறைபாட்டால் ஏறக்குறைய உடல் முழுவதும் தோல் பாதிப்பிற்குண்டான ஒரு சிறுவனுக்கு ஸ்டெம் செல் சிகிச்சை மூலம் வெற்றிகரமாக மாற்று தோல் பொருத்தப்பட்டது. இந்த சிகிச்சை ஸ்டெம் செல் ஆராய்ச்சியில் முக்கிய மைல் கல் ஆகும். மேலும், இது எதிர்காலத்தில் பல மரபியல் தொடர்பான தோல் நோய்களை குணப்படுத்த உறுதியளிப்பதாக உள்ளது. Kif: Skin, sometimes we take it for granted. Every day, without realising it, we shed millions of dead skin cells from our body. Extremely complex molecular mechanisms in stem cells are responsible for replacing these dead cells with new skin cells. Genetic defects can cause these mechanisms to malfunction, resulting in skin disorders and, possibly, even death (of a person). Understanding how genes control skin cells may help pave the way for treating skin diseases. Recently, stem cell therapy was successfully used to provide skin replacement for a young boy who was suffering from a skin disorder over almost his entire body. This therapy is a significant milestone in stem cell research and gives us hope for curing more genetic skin disorders in the future. அபிஷேக்: இத்துடன், இந்த வலையொலி நிகழ்ச்சியை முடித்துக்கொள்ளலாம். டாக்டர் கிஃப் லியாகத்-அலிக்கு இண்ட்சய்காமின் சார்பாக எங்கள் நன்றியை தெரிவித்துக்கொள்கிரேன். Abhishek: With this, let’s wrap up this podcast. On behalf of IndSciComm, I would like to express my thanks to Dr. Kif Liakath- Ali. கிஃப் லியாகத்-அலி: நன்றி, அபிஷேக். அடுத்த வலையொலி நிகழ்ச்சியில், வேறு ஒரு அறிவியல் தலைப்போடு அபிஷேக்-உடன் உரையாட ஆர்வமாக உள்ளேன். Kif: Thank you, Abhishek. I hope to talk with Abhishek about other science topics in future episodes of this podcast. அபிஷேக்:நேயர்களே, இந்த வலையொலி உங்களுக்கு பிடித்திருந்தால், ட்விட்டர் அல்லது ஃபேஸ்புக் வழியாக எங்கள் ஹாண்டில் இண்ட்சாய்காமுக்கு (indscicomm) தெரிவிக்கவும். எங்கள் வெப்சைட் இண்ட்சாய்காம் டாட் ப்ளாக் (indscicomm.blog) சென்று, நீங்கள் இண்ட்சாய்கொம் தயாரித்த வெவ்வேறு அறிவியல் கட்டுரைகள் மற்றும் வலையொலி தொடர்களை அக்சஸ் செய்துகொள்ளலாம். நன்றி, வணக்கம். Abhishek: Dear listeners! If you liked this podcast, please let us know on our handle, IndSciComm, through Twitter or Facebook. You can access more of our science communication articles and podcasts by going to our website, indscicomm.blog Thank you and goodbye. டாக்டர் லியாகத்-அலி பீ.ஏச்.டியில் செய்த ஆராய்ச்சியை, ஆராய்ச்சி கட்டுரைகள் வெளியிட்ட வருடத்தின் படி, கீழே இருக்கும் ஹைபர்லிங்குகள் வழியாக அக்சஸ் செய்து கொள்ளுங்கள்: 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019 வலையொலியில் டாக்டர் லியாகத்-அலி கூறிய சிகிச்சை சம்பவம் – சில ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன், ஸ்டெம் செல்களை மருத்துவர்களும், ஆராச்சியாளர்களும் சேர்ந்து உபயோகித்து, ஒரு சிறுவனுக்கு மாற்று தோல் பொருத்தியது பற்றி இங்கு படிக்கலாம். Please use the hyperlinks below, arranged by year of publication, to access the research that Dr. Liakath-Ali completed during this Ph.D 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019 You can read here about the therapeutic intervention that Dr. Liakath-Ali mentioned during the podcast – Some years ago, physicians and researchers worked together to utilise stem cells and provide skin replacement for a young boy. This podcast features music from the song ‘Hidden Grotto (Loop)’ by Visager, available on Free Music Archive (freemusicarchive.org). This song is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Emotions & Hindustani Music – Part 2

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 9, 2020


This is the second episode of a two-part series on Neuroscience and Hindustani Music. It explores a research program on understanding the emotions that Hindustani music can evoke in people. This research is guided by Dr. Nandini Singh Chatterjee, a scientist at the National Brain Research Centre at Manesar, India, where she heads the Language, Literacy and Music Laboratory. This episode specifically focusses on the second study that was published in 2019, based on the responses of Indian participants to a set of Hindustani music samples. The music used in this podcast is a part of the samples used in the research study, played by sarod artist Pandit. Mukesh Sharma. Hymavathy Balasubramanian kindly provided access to the music files. Here is the website where you can listen to the music samples and contribute your responses to the ongoing research program. Dr. Nandini Singh Chatterjee is on our database of Indian women neuroscientists, NeuroFem India. Apart from her, the other people who were interviewed for this episode are: Dr. Suhas Vijayakumar, who created the website where the listener survey for the research on Hindustani music is conducted. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University. 2. Pandit. Mukesh Sharma is the sarod artist who created the music used in this study. He belongs to the Senia gharana. 3. Vishal Midya, the lead author on the 2019 study, is currently pursuing a doctorate at the Penn State College of Medicine. 4. Dr. Thomas Bak is a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Edinburgh Dr. Nandini’s group based their calculation of tonality on the method shown in this earlier research on Carnatic music by another group of researchers. Here is the previous research from scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Pennsylvania on emotion expressions in Indian Classical Dance. The NIH Director’s blogpost about NIH funded research on universality of human song Update on Feb 12th, 2020: After rebalancing for better overall audio quality between voices and background music, the audio file has been re-uploaded.

Emotions & Hindustani Music – Part 1

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 28, 2020


This is the first episode of a two-part series on Neuroscience and Hindustani Music. It explores a research program on understanding the emotions that Hindustani music can evoke in people. This research is guided by Dr. Nandini Singh Chatterjee, a scientist at the National Brain Research Centre at Manesar, India, where she heads the Language, Literacy and Music Laboratory. This episode explores the first study that was published in 2015, based on the responses of Indian participants to a set of Hindustani music samples. The music used in this podcast is a part of the samples used in the research study, played by sarod artist Pandit. Mukesh Sharma. Hymavathy Balasubramanian kindly provided access to the music files. Here is the website where you can listen to the music samples and contribute your responses to the ongoing research program. Dr. Nandini Singh Chatterjee is on our database of Indian women neuroscientists, NeuroFem India. Apart from her, the other scientists who were interviewed for this episode are: Dr. Avantika Mathur, the lead author of the 2015 study, and currently a postdoctoral research fellow in the Centre for Brain, Biology and Behavior at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, USA. Dr. Megha Sharda most recently completed a postdoctoral research stint at the University of Montreal, Canada. Dr. Bhismadev Chakrabarti is Professor of Cognitive Science at the University of Reading, United Kingdom.

విజ్ఞాన సాగరం – నమూనా జీవులు

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2019


This is our first podcast in Telugu – the sixth in an ongoing series titled ‘Sea of Science’, or ‘ విజ్ఞాన సాగరం ’. This podcast is a joint venture with Deepthi Tadepalli and Sumana Chavali. Deepthi works as a freelance writer with a background in biotechnology and communication. Sumana is an engineer working at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics. This episode is part of our ongoing effort to make science podcasts in many Indian languages. Click and listen to this podcast in Tamizh, Hindi, Marathi, Kannada and Assamese. Here is an English transcript for this Telugu podcast: Deepthi: Hello! My name is Deepthi and I am a freelance writer with a background in biotechnology and communication. Sumana: Hi! My name is Sumana and I am an engineer working at Indian Institute of Astrophysics. Deepthi: This podcast is a collaboration between us and IndScicomm, a science communication collective. In its ongoing efforts, IndSciComm has published podcasts as well as written articles that discuss interesting aspects of scientific research, the researchers involved in this effort, their discoveries and the effects of scientific progress on the past, present and future of human society. IndSciComm also collaborates with Indian scientists, researchers and writers at all levels of the scientific enterprise in creating its science communication materials. Sumana: We are very happy to present this podcast in Telugu, which is one of the national languages of India. With the help of other collaborators, IndSciComm is publishing this podcast in other Indian languages as part of its ongoing project. Deepthi: In this podcast, we will be talking about model organisms that are used in biological research. Now, let’s discuss model organisms. Here are some examples of model organisms that are used to study aspects of the human body’s growth, development, functioning and disorders: different species of microbes, flies, zebrafish, birds, mice, rats, guinea pigs and monkeys. In the context of biomedical research that is done to understand human biology, the foremost reason for the use of model organisms is that it is not possible to conduct some forms of biological experiments on humans. So, scientists have chosen organisms that are a close enough match to humans in terms of their genes and other biological features, and use these as model organisms for their research. Sumana: Apart from how similar model organisms are to humans in terms of their genes and genomes, there are other important reasons for some organisms being chosen as model organisms rather than others. The ease with which certain organisms can be reared and maintained in the laboratory and the kind of experiments that they can be used for… These are the factors that scientists use to choose the appropriate organism to use as a model, to answer questions about specific biological phenomena. Deepthi: Sumana, could you give us some examples of model organisms that are used in specific areas of biological research? Sumana: Specific model organisms are used in different areas of research. For example, regeneration is studied using certain species of worms. The relationship between genes and the environment is researched using certain species of flies. Zebrafish are preferred model organisms for researching embryonic development. Zebrafish larvae have transparent bodies which makes observing their internal organs really easy. Another example is the use of mammals like mice in biomedical research. Deepthi: Is there an advantage to using model organisms like mice in biomedical research? Sumana: Some diseases take years to show symptoms in human beings. But, in certain lineages of model organisms, diseases can show symptoms in relatively reduced timeframes, like weeks. Due to this, it is easier to conduct research about certain diseases in such model organisms. This is why scientists use model organisms like mice to conduct research about medicines or treatment methods for some diseases. Deepthi: But, there are some disadvantages in using model organisms for biomedical research. Despite the similarities between humans and model organisms in terms of their genes, there are some unavoidable differences between them. Due to these differences, some cause and effect relationships seen while using a species of model organism are not apparent or reproducible in other organisms and humans. In addition, it is often difficult to directly apply or modify the experimental protocols used for one species or type of model organism to another. Sumana: The take home message from all this is that the use of human volunteers is essential, for the validation of therapeutic methods or drugs that are developed in model organisms, before such therapies are used to treat human patients. Deepthi: We humans have a strange relationship with model organisms. Despite the differences that exist between us, we share some fundamental similarities. It is due to these similarities that research on model organisms yields results that can be applied to humans. But, why do our similarities make it necessary to use model organisms in an ethical manner? And how do scientists put ethical considerations into practice? Sumana: Scientific research is always a struggle between what is necessary and what is possible. This struggle attains an ethical aspect in biological research. This is because most living organisms can feel pain and bodily suffering just like humans do. So, it is unethical to cause unnecessary suffering to model organisms. Bound by this principle, scientists enforce the ethical treatment of model organisms in different ways. These include reducing pain in model organisms using medication, providing comfortable living conditions and making efficient use of the available animal resources. Deepthi: Scientific research methodology is very difficult, whether it is to figure out how to ethically treat model organisms or solve complex biological problems…scientists have very difficult jobs. But without the contribution of model organisms, their efforts would not have yielded any results. The use of model organisms has led to many societal and medical benefits. The use of antibiotics like penicillin to combat microbes, blood transfusions and organ transplants, vaccines for diseases like polio, the management of diseases like diabetes… we could keep adding to this list and this podcast will never end! The sheer number of invaluable human lives that have been saved using these discoveries is uncountable. Sumana: Model organisms are an important tool in biological research in order to understand the mysteries of the human body in disease and in health. Scientists have discovered how many drugs and treatments work based on their experiments on model organisms. Supported by these advances, doctors have been able to cure many human diseases. Scientists are working hard in order to understand many more diseases and processes such as growth and metabolism in humans. Deepthi: In our next episode of this podcast, we will be talking about the use of mice as model organisms. Until then, dear listeners, you can enjoy much of our scicomm work on our website indscicomm.blog, http://www.wayfarerstories.com and our twitter handle @indscicomm. Until we meet again, on behalf of Indscicomm this is Deepthi and Sumana. Namaste. Intro, Interlude and Outro music – adapted from travelLight by airtone (c) copyright 2017 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/airtone/56883

বিজ্ঞান সমুদ্ৰ – জীৱবিজ্ঞানৰ গৱেষণাত আৰ্হি জীৱ

Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2019


This is our first podcast in Assamese – the fifth in an ongoing series titled ‘Sea of Science’, or ‘ বিজ্ঞান সমুদ্ৰ ’. This podcast is a joint venture with Dr. Joli Rumi Borah and Pranab Jyoti Bhuyan. Dr. Joli Rumi Borah works as a Conservation Officer at the Royal Society for Protection of Birds in Northern Ireland. She also communicates the latest developments in scientific research (in Assamese) through Twitter and blogging. Pranab Jyoti Bhuyan is a Phd student in the Department of Physics at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. This episode is part of our ongoing effort to make science podcasts in many Indian languages. Click and listen to this podcast in Tamizh, Hindi, Marathi, and Kannada. Here is an English transcript for this Assamese podcast: Pranab: Hello! My name is Pranab Jyoti Bhuyan. I am a Phd student at the Department of Physics in Indian Institute of Science. Joli: Hello, I am Dr. Joli Rumi. I am a conservation scientist. I am working as a Conservation Officer at Royal Society for Protection of Birds in Northern Ireland. Pranab: We are really pleased to collaborate with IndScicomm, a science communication collective in their ongoing efforts. IndScicomm has created podcasts as well as written articles that discuss interesting aspects of scientific research, the researchers involved in this effort, their discoveries and the effects of scientific progress on the past, present and future of human society. They also collaborate with Indian scientists, researchers and writers at all levels of the scientific enterprise in creating our science communication materials. We are very happy to present this podcast in Assamese, which is one of the national languages of India. IndSciComm has previously published translated versions of this podcast in many Indian languages and is expanding this project into other languages. Joli will now introduce the topic of our conversation. Joli: In this part of the podcast, we will be talking about model organisms that are used in biological research. In the next part of this podcast, we will specifically talk about the use of mice as model organisms. Pranab: Now, before talking about mice, let’s discuss model organisms. Here are some examples of model organisms that are used to study aspects of the human body’s growth, development, functioning and disorders: different species of microbes, flies, zebrafish, birds, mice, rats, guinea pigs and monkeys. In the context of biomedical research that is done to understand human biology, the foremost reason for the use of model organisms is that it is not possible to conduct some forms of biological experiments on humans. So, scientists have chosen organisms that are a close enough match to humans in terms of their genes and other biological features, and use these as model organisms for their research. Joli: Apart from how similar model organisms are to humans in terms of their genes and genomes, there are other important reasons for some organisms being chosen as model organisms rather than others. The ease with which certain organisms can be reared and maintained in the laboratory and the kind of experiments that they can be used for… These are the factors that scientists use to choose the appropriate organism to use as a model, to answer questions about specific biological phenomena. Pranab: Joli, could you give us some examples of model organisms that are used in specific areas of biological research? Joli: Specific model organisms are used in different areas of research. For example, regeneration is studied using certain species of worms. The relationship between genes and the environment is researched using certain species of flies. Zebrafish are preferred model organisms for researching embryonic development. Zebrafish larvae have transparent bodies which makes observing their internal organs really easy. Another example is the use of mammals like mice in biomedical research. Pranab: Is there an advantage to using model organisms like mice in biomedical research? Joli: Some diseases take years to show symptoms in human beings. But, in certain lineages of model organisms, diseases can show symptoms in relatively reduced timeframes, like weeks. Due to this, it is easier to conduct research about certain diseases in such model organisms. This is why scientists use model organisms like mice to conduct research about medicines or treatment methods for some diseases. Pranab: But, there are some disadvantages in using model organisms for biomedical research. Despite the similarities between humans and model organisms in terms of their genes, there are some unavoidable differences between them. Due to these differences, some cause and effect relationships seen while using a species of model organism are not apparent or reproducible in other organisms and humans. In addition, it is often difficult to directly apply or modify the experimental protocols used for one species or type of model organism to another. Joli: The take home message from all this is that the use of human volunteers is essential, for the validation of therapeutic methods or drugs that are developed in model organisms, before such therapies are used to treat human patients. Pranab: We humans have a strange relationship with model organisms. Despite the differences that exist between us, we share some fundamental similarities. It is due to these similarities that research on model organisms yields results that can be applied  to humans. But, why do our similarities make it necessary to use model organisms in an ethical manner? And how do scientists put ethical considerations into practice? Joli: Scientific research is always a struggle between what is necessary and what is possible. This struggle attains an ethical aspect in biological research. This is because most living organisms can feel pain and bodily suffering just like humans do. So, it is unethical to cause unnecessary suffering to model organisms. Bound by this principle, scientists enforce the ethical treatment of model organisms in different ways. These include reducing pain in model organisms using medication, providing comfortable living conditions and making efficient use of the available animal resources. Pranab: Scientific research methodology is very difficult, whether it is to figure out how to ethically treat model organisms or solve complex biological problems…scientists have very difficult jobs. But without the contribution of model organisms, their efforts would not have yielded any results. The use of model organisms has led to many societal and medical benefits. The use of antibiotics like penicillin to combat microbes, blood transfusions and organ transplants, vaccines for diseases like polio, the management of diseases like diabetes… we could keep adding to this list and this podcast will never end! The sheer number of invaluable human lives that have been saved using these discoveries is uncountable. Joli: Model organisms are an important tool in biological research in order to understand the mysteries of the human body in disease and in health. Scientists have discovered how many drugs and treatments work based on their experiments on model organisms. Supported by these advances, doctors have been able to cure many human diseases. Scientists are working hard in order to understand many more diseases and processes such as growth and metabolism in humans. Pranab: In our next episode of this podcast, we will be talking about the use of mice as model organisms. Until then, dear listeners, you can enjoy much of our scicomm work on our website indscicomm.blog and our twitter handle @indscicomm. Joli: Also, if you are interested to know about exciting findings in current science in Assamese, check out সাম্প্ৰতিক বিজ্ঞান section in my blog at joliborah.blogspot.com and my twitter handle @SciComAssamese. Pranab: Until we meet again, on behalf of Indscicomm this is Pranab and Joli. Intro, Interlude and Outro music – adapted fromgravitationalWaves by airtone (c) copyright 2016 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/airtone/55021

ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಸಾಗರ – ಮಾಡೆಲ್ ಜೀವಿಗಳು

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 5, 2019


This is our first podcast in Kannada– the fourth in an ongoing series titled ‘Sea of Science’, or ‘ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಸಾಗರ’. This podcast is a joint venture with Mr. Kollegala Sharma and Dr. J. R. Manjunatha. They have taken the lead in producing this Kannada version from our original English script. Mr. Sharma specialises in science communication in multiple formats. He is the force behind ‘Janasuddi’, a science news podcast in Kannada. Dr. J.R. Manjunatha is an NMR expert and Senior Technical Officer at CSIR CFTRI in Mysuru. This episode is part of an effort to make science podcasts in many Indian languages. Click here to listen to our first episode focused on the same topic in a different Indian language – Tamizh and read the script in English. Intro, Interlude and Outro music – adapted from Perennial by Pictures of the Floating World from Free Music Archive.

विज्ञान सागर – शास्त्रीय संशोधनामध्ये प्राण्यांचा वापर

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 22, 2019


This is our first podcast in Marathi – the third in an ongoing series titled ‘Sea of Science’, or ‘विज्ञान सागर’. We talk about on the use of model organisms in research with Dr. Dhanashree Paranjpe, who is a DBT Ramalingaswami Fellow at the Biodiversity department in Abasaheb Garware College in Pune, Maharashtra. This episode is part of an effort to make science podcasts in many Indian languages. Click here to listen to our first episode focused on the same topic in a different Indian language – Tamizh and read the script in English. Intro, Interlude and Outro music – Swiftwind by Lee Rosevere from Hold Music on Free Music Archive.

A Seasonful of Soupçons – The end of Seasons

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 10, 2018


Where we wind up our second and final season of ‘Soupçon of SciComm’, in view of transitioning to a non-seasonal and more spontaneous format! Listen to all three of us chat about all the science in this season, what caught our fancies and what we thought was cool! Strap in for a 1 hour episode that hopefully captures all the magic of our Season 2! Intro and Outro Music – In a Moment by Lee Rosevere from Music for Podcasts 2 on Free Music Archive

A Soupçon of SciComm with Leena Ali Ibrahim on thinking about the brain

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 5, 2018


References: Gord Fishell’s laboratory Leena on Google Scholar Leena on Twitter The cerebral cortex – Wikipedia A primer on the interneurons in the cortex – By Leena on ‘Knowing Neurons’ The publication of the discovery of Rosehip neurons (Please contact IndSciComm if access not available) Intro and Outro music – Let’s start at the beginning by Lee Rosevere from Music for Podcasts on Free Music Archive

A Soupçon of Scicomm with Rohini Singh on Sociality

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 28, 2018


References: Rohini’s website Rohini’s work and laboratory at University of Pennsylvania Doing an Ant PhD – More details about Rohini’s ongoing thesis  What is Sociality? An introduction to Eusociality The Secret Society of Superorganisms – on All Things Considered by NPR The Ant superorganism – Youtube video Empire of the Ants – A BBC documentary by David Attenborough Planet Ant – Life inside a Colony on BBC Scotland Intro and Outro music – Everywhere by Lee Rosevere from ‘Music for Podcasts 5’ on the Free Music Archive

A Soupçon of SciComm with Abhilasha Joshi on how space and time are important in the organization of the brain

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 21, 2018


References: Abhilasha’s profile and publications in the Department of Pharmacology in Oxford Abhilasha’s paper where Teevra and Komal cells are described. (Please email Indscicomm@gmail.com for a copy if you hit a paywall) Abhilasha on twitter Intro and Outro Music from ‘Telecom‘ by Lee Rosevere on Free Music Archive

A Soupçon of SciComm with Arun Mahadevan on the Emergence of Behavior from the Brain

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 14, 2018


References: Arun on Twitter Arun’s article on ‘The Society of Stem Cells‘ Emergence on Wikipedia Understanding complexity in the human brain by Danielle Bassett and Micheal Gazzaniga Is Neuroscience limited by tools or ideas? By Partha Mitra in Scientific American Intro and Outro music – ‘4th Ave Walkup‘ by Lee Rosevere from Music for Podcasts 3 on Free Music Archive

A Soupçon of SciComm with Sharbatanu Chatterjee on viewing Language through Neuroscience

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 7, 2018


References: Sharbatanu’s personal website and Google Scholar profile The Tell-Tale Brain by V. S Ramachandran The FOXP2 gene Intro and Outro Music ‘As I was saying’ by Lee Rosevere on Music for Podcasts 4 at the Free Music Archive.

विज्ञान का सागर – प्रतिमान जंतु

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 27, 2018


This is our first podcast in Hindi – the second in an ongoing series titled ‘Sea of Science’, which translates in Hindi as ‘विज्ञान का सागर’. The title of this podcast is ‘प्रतिमान जंतु ’ which is Hindi for model organisms. Here, we will be focussing on the use of these organisms in biological research. This episode is part of an effort to make science podcasts in many Indian languages. Click here to listen to our previous episode focussed on the same topic in a different Indian language – Tamizh and read the script in English. We plan to continue this series in many other Indian languages. Intro and Outro music – New Day by Lee Rosevere from Music for Podcasts 4 on Free Music Archive. Interlude music – Angle of Light by David Hilowitz from Angle of Light on Free Music Archive.

A Soupçon of SciComm with Prasanna Venkatesh on Group Theory

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 24, 2018


References: Prasanna Venkatesh on LinkedIn What is a Group? Youtube What is Group theory? Wikipedia Rubik’s Cube group Wikipedia Notes for a 2-week course on Rubik’s Cube and Group Theory taught by Janet Chen – a senior preceptor at Harvard University A course on Modern Algebra Intro and Outro music by Lee Rosevere ‘Here’s the thing‘ from Music for Podcasts 3 Corrigendum: A 180 degree rotation for a rectangle is also a symmetry. A zero degree rotation is the identity element for the rectangle symmetry group.

A Soupçon of SciComm with Swetha Godavarthi on Neurotransmitter switching

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 17, 2018


References: Swetha on LinkedIn Swetha on Twitter What is a Synapse? What is Neurotransmission? Neurotransmitters – Glutamate, GABA Neuromodulation – Acetylecholine Neuromuscular Junction Intro and Outro music from ‘Knowing the Truth’ by Lee Rosevere in ‘Music for Podcasts 5‘ on Free Music Archive

A Soupçon of SciComm with Sugosh Prabhu on Microscopy and Spectroscopy

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2018


References: Atomic Force Microscopy on Wikipedia Scanning Tunneling Microscopy on Wikipedia Tip Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy on Wikipedia Sugosh Prabhu on Google Scholar Intro and Outro music – Sad Marimba Planet by Lee Rosevere from Music for Podcast 4 on Free Music Archive

A Soupçon of SciComm with Mohit Dubey on Glial Cells in the Brain

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 3, 2018


References: Mohit’s website Mohit’s research group at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience – Kole Group Glial Cells – Wikipedia Intro and Outro Music – South Side by Lee Rosevere from Music for Podcasts 4

A Soupçon of SciComm with Parul Chachra on Neuroplasticity

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 26, 2018


References: Parul on Google Scholar Neuroplasticity on Wikipedia Activity dependent plasticity of the brain on Wikipedia Parul on LinkedIn Intro and Outro Music – All the Answers by Lee Rosevere at the Free Music Archive

A Soupçon of SciComm with Srikanth Iyengar on Euler’s number

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 19, 2018


References: Srikanth’s homepage at the University of Utah Vertices, Faces and Edges Euler’s characteristic Cutting squares into equal area triangles – Youtube P-adic numbers – Wikipedia Intro and Outro – Puzzle Pieces by Lee Rosevere from the album ‘Music for Podcasts 2‘

A Soupçon of SciComm with Manisit Das on cancer immunotherapy

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 12, 2018


References: Manisit’s citations What is ComSciCon? ComSciCon Triangle Oncobites Manisit on Oncobites writing about Cancers and Immunotherapies Manisit on The Pipettepen Intro and Outro Music from the Free Music Archive by Lee Rosevere – Tech Toys

Science and Society with Dr. Soumitra Pathare (Part 2)

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2018


We continue our discussion on the Mental Health Care Act with Dr. Soumitra Pathare. Interview by: Navneet A Vasistha Podcast edited by: Shruti Muralidhar Links: APA resolution against homosexuality as a mental disorder Depathologizing homosexuality Drescher et al., 2015 WHO statistics about Psychiatrists and Nurses per 100,000 across the world (2014) Low number of psychiatrists in India  Music Credits – ‘Curiosity’ by Lee Rosevere from the ‘Music for Podcasts‘ album. Used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Science and Society with Dr. Soumitra Pathare (Part 1)

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2018


Mental illnesses are conditions that affect our thinking, perception or emotional response to events. They do not manifest similarly in all individuals and can develop as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia among others. While the precise biology of these disorders is unknown, scientists believe that genetics, environmental causes and psychosocial stress have a role to play. Mental illnesses are usually treatable but require proper care and therapy.  However, social stigma and a lack of understanding has affected the way individuals with mental illnesses seek professional and medical help. Additionally, previous laws did not provide adequate support for patient rights. With these issues in mind, the Indian parliament passed the Mental Health Care Act in 2017 to replace the older Mental Health Act of 1987.  This law was recently notified on 29th May 2018 and covers crucial issues of patient rights, refusal of treatment and advanced directives.  We spoke with Dr. Soumitra Pathare to get a sense of what the new law has in store and where it might still have issues. Interview by: Navneet A Vasistha Podcast edited by: Shruti Muralidhar Links: What is Mental Illness Dr. Soumitra Pathare: Director of Centre for Mental Health Law and Policy at ILS Gazette of India: The Mental HealthCare Act 2017  History of Mental Health law in India: Narayan and Shikha 2013 Firdosi and Ahmad 2016 Music Credits – ‘Curiosity’ by Lee Rosevere from the ‘Music for Podcasts‘ album. Used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

அறிவியல் கடல் – உதாரண உயிரினங்கள்

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2018


This is our first podcast in Tamizh – the first in a new series titled ‘அறிவியல் கடல்’ which means ‘Sea of Science’. The title of this podcast is ‘உதாரண உயிரினங்கள்’ which is Tamil for model organisms. We will be focussing on the use of these organisms in biological research. Following is an English transcript. Abhishek: Hello! My name is Abhishek Chari and I am a member of IndScicomm, a science communication collective. In our ongoing efforts, we have created podcasts as well as written articles that discuss interesting aspects of scientific research, the researchers involved in this effort, their discoveries and the effects of scientific progress on the past, present and future of human society. We also collaborate with Indian scientists, researchers and writers at all levels of the scientific enterprise in creating our science communication materials. We are very happy to present this podcast in Tamil, which is one of the national languages of India. Amrita Anand, a student at America’s Baylor College of Medicine, collaborated with us to produce this podcast. She is working for her Ph.D, and conducts research on hearing. She will now introduce the topic of our conversation. Amrita: Hello! My name is Amrita Anand. I am very happy to participate in this wonderful podcast. In this part of the podcast, we will be talking about model organisms that are used in biological research. In the next part of this podcast, we will specifically talk about the use of mice as model organisms. Abhishek: When we were discussing the idea of making a podcast in Tamil, Amrita suggested this topic. She also helped with writing the script and translating it into Tamil. Now, before talking about mice, let’s discuss model organisms. Here are some examples of model organisms that are used to study aspects of the human body’s growth, development, functioning and disorders: different species of microbes, flies, zebrafish, birds, mice, rats, guinea pigs and monkeys. The foremost reason for the use of model organisms is that it is not possible to conduct some forms of biological experiments on humans. So, scientists have chosen organisms that are a close enough match to humans in terms of their genes and other biological features, and use these as model organisms for their research. Amrita: Apart from how similar model organisms are to humans in terms of their genes and genomes, there are other important reasons for some organisms being chosen as model organisms rather than others. The ease with which certain organisms can be reared and maintained in the laboratory and the kind of experiments that they can be used for… These are the factors that scientists use to choose the appropriate organism to use as a model, to answer questions about specific biological phenomena. Abhishek: Amrita, could you give us some examples of model organisms that are used in specific areas of biological research? Amrita: Specific model organisms are used in different areas of research. For example, regeneration is studied using certain species of worms. The relationship between genes and the environment is researched using certain species of flies. Zebrafish are preferred model organisms for researching embryonic development. Zebrafish larvae have transparent bodies which makes observing their internal organs really easy. Another example is th

A Seasonful of Soupçons

Play Episode Listen Later May 9, 2018


How fast can you say the name of our summary episode without stopping? Feel like trying? This is what its called – A Seasonful of Soupçons! Listen to our banter and discussions on what we learnt from our first clutch of episodes! Links: Intro and Outro music are samples from “Que Paciencia” by Los Sundayers from the album Disco Pirata

A Soupçon of SciComm with Dr. Ramesh Laungani on resource allocation in plants

Play Episode Listen Later May 2, 2018


Dr. Laungani is the first ever Associate Professor to be featured in our series! Listed as we chat about Plant Ecology, Biochar and his work at Doane University in Nebraska. Links: Dr. Ramesh Laungani at Doane University The Laungani Lab Biochar The 100Women STEM project

A Soupçon of Scicomm with Manan Gupta on Evolution and Niche construction

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2018


Manan Gupta talks to us about how reading Richard Dawkins helped him change his interests, how subject boundaries are artificially created and his current graduate work on Evolution and Niche construction. Tune in! Links: Manan’s Google Scholar Nandini’s work on Asian Elephants Dawkins’ The Blind Watchmaker JNCASR’s Evolutionary Biology Unit Further reading on Niche construction Background sounds from the BBC Sound effects archive Copyright 2018 BBC Episode music from the Free Music Archive. Springish by Gillicuddy

A Soupçon of SciComm with Reema Jayakar on the Universality of human emotions

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2018


Can you feel somebody else’s emotions? Pain, frustration, relief and even happiness? Humans might be one of the very few species that can do this with remarkable fidelity! Reema Jayakar explains how understanding this universality of emotions was a turning point for her as a neuropsychologist. Links: Reema on Twitter

A Soupçon of SciComm with Vijay Ramesh on using history to study ecology

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 4, 2018


Vijay Ramesh talks to us about why its important to learn from the past so that we can effectively predict our future – not just for global warming, but also for bird migrations! Links: Vijay Ramesh on Twitter Vijay Ramesh’s website National Geographic’s interactive article on bird migrations in the Americas

A Soupçon of SciComm with Anusha Shankar on hummingbirds and energy budgets

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 28, 2018


Hummingbirds are some of the tiniest birds with one of the highest metabolism rates ever found in the animal kingdom. Listen to Anusha Shankar explain how they manage to sleep at night and not die of starvation! Links: Anusha’s website Anusha’s twitter Anusha is a National Geographic Explorer! End music – “Hawaiian Winter” from Hooksounds

Shoot the Shit – 2

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2018


Listen to our first ever yearly round-up of what we do for work, in our free time, our favourite shows and our scientific, nerdy and geeky pet peeves.

A Soupçon of SciComm with Arnab Dasgupta on Cosmology

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2018


Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages of Starship IndSciComm. Its continuing mission – to explore strange new science. To seek out new scientists and new explanations. To boldly go where no one has gone before. Links: Six Easy Pieces Feynman’s lectures LIGO  , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LIGO Baryonic asymmetry Beauty factory Quark Antimatter (from NASA Science News) Higgs Boson General Relativity

A Soupçon of SciComm with Deeptha Vasudevan on Zebrafish and Neurogenesis

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2018


Deeptha thinks Zebrafish are the coolest fish in the world. Probably even the coolest animal ever? Do you know why? Listen! Links: Zebrafish are native to the Himalayan region! The Dorsky Lab at the University of Utah General introduction to Zebrafish and studying their brain – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZDwo20hl1E Zebrafish embryogenesis – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ6vkDr_Dec

A Soupçon of SciComm with Shrinivasan Raghuraman on cone snails that hunt

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2018


Shrinivasan Raghuraman studies some really shy animals. But they hunt, taser, harpoon and even suck blood! Want to learn more? Press Play! Related links – Shrini’s work on cone snail toxins and other cellular profiling Baldomero “Toto” Olivera’s laboratory A hunting cone snail A net hunting cone snail Vampire snails Artist: All Free Sound Effects Song: Telephone Ring Pick Up Download/Stream: https://audiograb.com/UcwwPO9I

A Soupçon of SciComm with Chintan Sheth on Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2018


Chintan Sheth can fly to any spot on the planet, whenever he wants. In fact, he can even fly to Mars if he so wishes! He can do this with a click and a scroll. He wants to tell you that you can too! Listen to him talk about his work! Links – Chintan on Twitter Global Explorer Chintan’s writing in The Wire Chintan’s work featured in The Indian Express

A Soupçon of SciComm with Devayani Khare on Citizen Science

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2018


Devayani Khare is a Geomorphologist who talks to us about Citizen Science and all the different ways in which normal everyday people can get involved in doing science. Links – Devayani on Twitter – https://twitter.com/Geo_Sophist Devayani’s posts on the Travel Scope blog – http://travelscopeindia.com/blog/?author=2 India Biodiversity Portal – http://indiabiodiversity.org/ Article on Citizen science projects in India – https://indiabioscience.org/columns/indian-scenario/how-citizen-science-is-helping-solve-indias-environmental-challenges Seasonwatch – run by the NCBS Zooniverse – an archive of citizen science projects Eyewire – Reconstructing neurons in 3D

A Soupçon of SciComm with Vaishali Rawat on the importance of Geography

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2018


In this edition of our mini-podcast series, we talk to Vaishali Rawat who is a writer and conservation advocate at Wildlife Conservation Society in India. She is also Sanctuary Asia Magazine’s Young Naturalist of the year for 2017. She talks to us about the importance of ecology, wildlife conservation and geography in our everyday lives. References: Wildlife Conservation Society India – http://www.wcsindia.org/ Prerna Singh Bindra – http://prernabindra.com/ Tiger Link – http://ranthambhorefoundation.org/tiger-link/ http://www.sanctuaryasia.com/people/earth-heroes/10742-vaishali-rawat.html

A Soupçon of SciComm with Parshati Patel on planet formation

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2018 0:08


We talk to Parshati Patel who is an Astronomer turned Science Communicator and currently works as an Education and Outreach Program co-ordinator at Western University in London, Ontario in Canada. Parshati talks to us about visualising and understanding how planets form.

The Curious Case of Dr.Nobel and Mr.IgNobel

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 25, 2017


Listen to our new podcast where we talk about our favourite Nobel and IgNobel science – all with a dash of nerd-ery, geekiness and lots of science jokes!

Shoot the Shit – 1

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2017


Here is our first ever Shoot the Shit episode – we talk about Smart watches, the now-defunct company Pebble and Shruti’s father’s new love – Alexa, Amazon’s personal assistant.

About us

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 26, 2017


Here is a 35 min podcast if you want to know more about who we are. We are a trio. We owe our childhood to growing up in different Indian cities – on a staple of books, street-food, music and of course, science. We met during our undergraduate years at Acharya Narendra Dev College, in the University of Delhi. We went on to do different things after completing our Bachelors degrees’ in Biomedical Science. We are passionate about science in its various forms and beyond our immediate research interests. We hope to enthuse people with our fondness as we experienced from a family member, a teacher or a scientist. Our belief is that stripping of science from the constructed notions of a scientist (bookish, nerdy, lab-coat wearing and loner) will go a long way to get the general public interested. This is hence an attempt to open a dialogue on scientific issues… be it an interesting article from a research group or an engrossing talk or podcast and or even a conversation at the intersection of science and society. Comments and suggestions are welcome here or on twitter @IndSciComm. Our views are personal and do not reflect those of our employers past or present.

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