Hari Krishnan R, SRM Institute of Science and Technology SARS-CoV (2002), MERS-CoV (2006), and ongoing SARS-CoV2 (2019) are a few of the most devastating pandemics in history. All of these were caused by Coronaviruses. A recent study has identified a possible ancient coronavirus epidemic that happened around 20,000 years ago in East Asia regions. This […]
Ayooshi Mitra, Amity University Kolkata The world has seen a revolution in the ability to engineer biology and create living systems with novel functions over the last few decades. Nonetheless, several obstacles continue to obstruct our ability to fully exploit biology’s potential. These are a consequence of the fact that individuals cannot engineer the elements […]
Diya Adhikary, Amity University Kolkata The etymology of “venom” is associated with polytheistic cults that highlighted the accomplishment of desires sometimes aided by “love potions”. This was later interpolated with the word “poison”. Venom is defined as a mixture of toxic enzymes and various other proteins. It is produced in certain specific glands in the […]
Aakancha Shaw, St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata Just a few months after the Covid-19 pandemic began, scientists were able to sequence the full genome of the SARS-CoV-2virus that had caused the infection. Most of its genes were already known then but the full complement of protein-coding genes remained unresolved. After performing an extensive comparative study, researchers […]
Anannya Roy, Amity University Kolkata One of the main functions a cell performs is the synthesis of proteins. This is done with the help of a set of factors called “transcription factors”. A team of researchers from Uppasala University have succeeded in studying transcription factors that are several billion years old. The studies helped them […]
Anannya Roy, Amity University Kolkata It is said that labour pain equals pain felt when 20 bones crack at the same time. Ouch. Just thinking about it is painful. A woman indeed is a strong and marvellous creation of God who is bestowed with the gift of creating Life. This gift comes with a price, […]
Anannya Roy, Amity University Kolkata Two new species of Mammal-like burrowing animals have been discovered in Northeastern China. These animals lived around 120 million years ago, and though both are distantly related, they have independently evolved the traits for digging. Paleontologists call them the first “Scratch-diggers” of the ecosystem. Organisms live underground for a variety […]
Anannya Roy, Amity University Kolkata Researchers at Stalk and Scripps Research Institute have discovered the mystery behind how Carnivorous plants sense and trap their prey. Ever since we were in middle school we have learned that plants like Venus flytrap and Sundew are sensitive to touch, which helps them to sense and trap their prey. […]
Anannya Roy, Amity University Kolkata Insects come under the Phylum Arthropod, ironically the largest phylum in the Animal Kingdom. Over the past several decades the number of species has declined. Initially, it was believed that this was happening due to habitat loss or excessive use of pesticides, but it came off as a bit of […]
-Sristi Raj Rai, Amity University Kolkata The one thing that should be wished for, when stuck in tropical or subtropical regions, is protection against powerful trap-jaw ant’s strike. Trap-jaw ants (belongs to Strumigenys genus) are omnivores that hold the speed record for second fastest accelerating predator appendages (recorded using high-speed video techniques) after the Dracula […]
