Our first book is out now!
The first fruit of our lab hopping labours is now here! We are so excited to share 31 Fantastic Adventures in Science: Women Scientists of India, an illustrated book targeted at children, but also very much for adults. The …
Reporting Sexual Harassment in Indian Science
Image credits: Aditya Ranade, Your Story
TheLifeofScience.com is sending out a google form for Indian scientific community to responsibly collect, record and report sexual harassment in Indian science. In light of #MeToo and the stream of sexual harassment cases that …
Lying on the forest floor, looking for orchids
By Jis Sebastian
I was happy to leave Assam this time, unlike before… I was excited that I would start my Ph.D. now in the Western Ghats after three wonderful years of research experience in the northeastern Himalayas. After all, …
Imposter syndrome in academia and how I beat it
By Sabiha Majumder
Why academia? What is its appeal? For me the answer was straightforward: I genuinely enjoyed the process of making discoveries and the luxury of working whenever and wherever I liked. This makes academia one of the best …
In the backdrop of COVID19, I defended my PhD
By Sapna Chhabra
In August 2014, I took a flight from Chennai to Houston, Texas, US. I was starting my PhD degree in biology at Rice University. I remember my first day on campus. Walking along a path lined with …
Introducing #WIISER by IISER Kolkata
(image caption) Some IISER-Kolkata faculty who may be covered by the #WIISER initiative in its interview series. From L-R: top row: Rumi, Anindita with her son, Sumana; centre: Koel; bottom row: Mousumi, Neelanjana and Anindita presenting.
by Arunita Banerjee
…
An illustrated story of Indian Rotavirus vaccine
By TLoS team and illustrator Nandini Moitra
In July last year, TheLifeofScience.com helped Faridabad-based Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI) create a set of infographics to highlight some of THSTI’s biggest contributions to India’s public health.
Infection by Rotaviruses …
Hyderabad Charter: Physicists issue recommendations for gender equity
(caption) A panel discussion at Pressing for Progress, 2019 with (L to R): Satyavani Vemparala (IMSc), Sumathi Rao (HRI), Ram Ramaswamy (IIT-Delhi), Anju Bhasin (Jammu Cluster University), Ajit Srivastava (IoP), Pratibha Jolly (Miranda House), Rajesh Gopakumar (ICTS-TIFR) . Credits: Pressing
…
Keep tabs on COVID-19 related scientific info from India
(caption) An image by UNESCO quoting WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan.
By team TLoS
The coronavirus outbreak has thrown us all into disarray. Most of the world is experiencing some measure of lockdown – markets, schools and offices are closed. …
Trash is on the Menu for the Critically Endangered Greater Adjutant
(image caption) Greater adjutant storks work shoulder-to-shoulder with ragpickers at the landfill site. The storks pick out food, while ragpickers search for plastic and other recyclables in the mixed waste. Photo: Soumya Prasad
By Soumya Prasad
The greater adjutant stork, …
Drawing to coax new scientific questions
Artwork by Ipsa Jain– Left Top: Life vs. hydra; Left Bottom: A melanocyte with pigment aggregated at the centre; Right: Ipsa Jain.
By Ipsa Jain (originally for Nature India)
During the fag end of PhD, I was convinced that the …
Apply to join TLoS as ‘Project Coordinator’
TheLifeofScience.com is looking for a Project Coordinator to join the team ahead of Season 5. This is a paid, part-time position. Send in your applications by April 30, 2020.
Job description: The project coordinator will hold the ship together …
Infographic: Collecting and testing Indian health indicators on a large scale
Conceptualised by TLoS team and illustrated by Adrija Ghosh
In July last year, TheLifeofScience.com helped Faridabad-based Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI) create a set of comics to highlight some of THSTI’s biggest contributions to India’s public health.
This …
Good teachers need to go way beyond textbooks
By Hansika Chhabra
Access to good quality education has always been an uphill struggle in India. Stakeholders agree that improving education in our schools and colleges is an urgent matter. The strong influence of non-secular and regressive political ideology that …
The Problem With India’s National Science Day
Illustration by Pariplab Chakraborty/The Wire
By Aashima Dogra and Vasudevan Mukunth
On February 28, India celebrates National Science Day. The date was chosen to commemorate C.V. Raman’s discovery of Raman scattering, the optical effect named for him and which earned …
Infosys Science Awards- Women winners say they are more than personal
By Mrinal Shah and Nandita Jayaraj
In 1999, while the software field was booming and the American dream shone bright, a young computer scientist was packing her bags back to India. “When I told my advisor in the US that …
Our 2020-21 Indian Women-In-Science calendar is here!
Happy International Women and Girls Day in Science 2020-21. This is our fifth year in action celebrating Indian women in science as an independent feminist science media platform and here’s a gift for you!
…
Support Season 5 of Labhopping!
Dear readers
Next month marks the beginning of Year 5 of TheLifeofScience.com project and soon it will be followed by our fifth season. While the project is slowly growing to become the science media collective that we envisioned it to …
A New Kind of Quantum Information Conference Is Coming to Chennai
By Nandita Jayaraj
Gender equality in science has become a buzzword in the Indian science scene today but the term’s interpretation is still largely cis-centric. The focus is on women because most people think women are the marginalised gender and …
On mental health in academia: From the editors’ desk
Dear readers,
With our report titled ‘Against Science of Sacrifice’ by Riddhi Dastidar, we have come to the end of ‘Labhopping for Mental Health’ series that ran through October. A product of our collaboration with 11 …
Against a Science of Sacrifice
By Riddhi Dastidar
TRIGGER WARNING: This report discusses student suicides and mental health issues such as depression. In case you need support/relief, here’s a list of resources you can go through.
When mice are killed for an experiment, lab-notes …
Café Mythbusting: The neuroscience of mental health disorders
By Argha Manna
TRIGGER WARNING: This narrative discusses forms of emotional abuse, professional harassment, mental health issues and suicides. In case you need support/relief, here’s a list of resources you can go through.
Argha Manna illustrates the genetic basis for …
Living to tell the tale: I quit my PhD as a survival tactic
By Anonymous
TRIGGER WARNING: This personal narrative discusses forms of emotional abuse, mental health issues and has a brief mention of suicides/suicidal thoughts. In case you need support/relief, here’s a list of resources you can go through.
In the essay …
How one research institute is building a culture where #ItsOkayToTalk
By Siuli Mitra with inputs by Hina Lateef Nizami
They say when you are an adult, you show up, no matter what. I did show up. At my laboratory, ten days after I lost a parent, and I showed up …
“I can’t be depressed, I am Dalit.”
By Vijeta Kumar
2019 is a year of many millennial wonders. It is the year where finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman blames millennials’ dependence on Ola/Uber for the crisis in the automobile sector. It is also the year where millennials are …
Explainer: Mental Health Issues Faced by LTQ Women of Science
By A Mani and Sayani Basak
Everyone in India faces social stigma when it comes to mental health issues. However, women face a lot more of it due to patriarchal norms, social conditioning, and misogyny built into in the system. …
Being a Lesbian Trans Woman of Science in India
By A Mani
I am a leading researcher in rough sets, a senior elected member of the International Rough Set Society, and among the few lesbian trans women in academia (I identify as a woman and my pronouns are she/hers/her). …
STEMming the tide of mental health crises
By Praachi Tiwari and Vidita Vaidya with inputs from Gita Chadha
When TheLifeOfScience.com approached us about an article for a series on mental health, I realised that we were in a unique position. Perhaps because of our lab’s scientific interest …
Physicists meet to talk gender equity (and some physics)
By Hansika Chhabra
At the first of its kind science conference, “Pressing for Progress” (PFP) DST representative Vandana Singh announced that DST will accredit Indian universities based on a gender audit similar to the UK’s Athena-SWAN to incentivise …
Two Years in IISc, and Learning to Doubt Everyone & Everything
By Rohini Murugan
Not much has changed in two years. The walls still echo with academic discussions. The monkeys still chatter carelessly. The canteens still give the mixed smell of hot idli and steaming sambar. What stands different after …
An Agroforestry Scientist’s Notes on Kodagu and Climate Change
(caption) Maike Nesper giving a talk at a workshop.
By Nandita Jayaraj
As south-west India finally has a respite from the recent heavy rains, the discussions have now turned to what went wrong. In the district of Kodagu, nine days …
Infographic: Lightening India’s IBD Burden
By TLoS team and illustrator Nandini Moitra
Recently, TheLifeofScience.com created content for a firecracker of an outreach event. Faridabad-based Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI) celebrated its 10th Foundation Day on July 15, 2019. We were tasked with creating …
The case for open science
By Aashima Dogra
Science is on the cusp of change. It has been on this cusp since the World Wide Web was invented when computer scientists at CERN led by Tim Burners-Lee developed a tool to openly share the large …
Behind the scenes with Boby
(caption) Boby KV demonstrates the use of a confocal microscope set-up at DBS, TIFR.
By Cyrus Khan
On the road to discovery, a vast majority of time is spent designing experiments, creating the apparatus and collecting data (and doing it …
Infographic: Clinical trials made easy
By TLoS team and illustrator Adrija Ghosh
Late in June, TheLifeofScience.com was involved in a firecracker of an outreach project. Faridabad-based Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI) celebrated its 10th Foundation Day on July 15, 2019. We were tasked …
India’s Fusion Dance
(caption) Featured image credit: ITER.
By Nandita Jayaraj
Chandrayaan-2 was not India’s only big science & tech achievement this July. Just a day after the launch of the moon mission, unbeknownst to most, was another momentous occasion for Indian …
Notes and memories from the Sundarban Delta
(caption) Neelambari Phalkey at the Ferry point in Patharpratima (2014) – en route to one of my field study sites in the Sundarban Delta. Image via Neelambari
By Neelambari Phalkey
I found myself travelling to the remote islands of the …
How teaching an ‘open course’ can open doors
(caption) Anuradha Batabyal with some of the students from her course “Colours in Nature” at Azim Premji University
By Anuradha Batabyal
Having survived a PhD programme, I was expecting life to get easier, or at least not as hectic. I …
Backstage secrets from the fabrication lab
(caption) Saakshi with PhD students Manjari Garg and Shuchi Kaushik at the cleanroom facility in IIT Delhi’s Nanoscale Research Facility.
By Saakshi Dhanekar | Edited by Hansika Chhabra
“Will be late – maybe an hour and a half more,” I …
How happy is the scientific workforce in India?
By Laasya Samhita
‘It’s different’. How often has one of us found ourselves proclaiming this while talking to non-academics about our daily work? It can be hard to explain aspects of academic life to an outsider: ‘No, my experiment hasn’t …
The many-eyed eight-legged beauties of India’s rainforests
Illustration by guest contributor Surbhi Munda. 🙂
By Vena Kapoor
This post came about after a rather flippant and cheeky comment by me on Twitter to an article in The Guardian listing the “world’s most beautiful spiders”. While it was …
The case of the unpaid internship
Hands-on training. Real research experience. Practical learning with experiments. A rose is a rose is a rose. An internship by any other name is still an internship. Call it what you will, but students these days are expected to go …
The hunt for superflares from the Sun
Caption: Kuljeet, Ritesh and their daughter, Esha, stand next to an exhibit of the Moon rocks which came back with the Apollo 15 and Apollo 16 mission to the Moon in 1970s, at the NASA Lyndon Johnson Space Center, Houston …
Manidipa tells us how things go viral
By Bornika Roy
Manidipa believes she’s living the dream – she has a supportive home and great scientific freedom at the Kusuma School of Biosciences at IIT-Delhi. Having trained as a chemist, she became interested in studying the structural biology …
Harini and Seema, on the value of being optimistic ecologists
Seema Mundoli (left) and Harini Nagendra (right), faculty at Azim Premji University and authors of the latest book, Cities and Canopies.
By Nandita Jayaraj
Harini Nagendra and Seema Mundoli have been talking about trees for years. As researchers based in …
Two Herpetologists Tell Us Why We Need A Week for Turtles
Sneha Dharwadkar (left) and Anuja Mital (right) on the field.
By Sneha Dharwadkar and Anuja Mital
Picture a turtle.
It’s likely that the first thing that came to your mind was an animal with its body covered by a shell. …
Highlights of my first year as an independent researcher
Written by Karishma S Koushik
As my first year as an independent researcher comes to a close, I reflect on the various events that stand out – moving back to India, starting an independent research lab – in the recent …
4 Reasons Some Women Hate Feminism (And What They’re Missing)
Originally published on Everyday Feminism |
Featured Image Source: Soman/Wikimedia Commons
“I don’t need female empowerment, because I’m not weak!”
“I’m not a feminist because I don’t hate men.”
“I don’t need feminism. I actually like cooking for my husband.”…
From teacher to administrator: A founder-principal’s perspective
Dr S Lakshmi Devi speaking at an event.
By Zill-e-anam
WHO? S. Lakshmi Devi
WHAT? Founder-Principal, Teacher
WHERE? Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women, University of Delhi
I enter the towering apartment complex on a bright Sunday morning, …
Adding women to Wikipedia: One article at a time
Image Source: Wikipedia
By Manpreet Kaur Jaswal and Srravya
Manpreet Kaur Jaswal is a Doctoral Research Candidate at IIIT-Bangalore. Other than being passionate about electronics, she enthusiastically looks forward to gaining experiences from all the technical and social opportunities at …
Finding my foothold in academia
Featured Photo: Anindita Bhadra in her lab, also called the Dog Lab. On the right, a painting of a dog made by one of her students. (Photo by Arunita Banerjee)
By Anindita Bhadra
Anindita Bhadra is an Associate Professor in …
We asked students about their women role models in science – Watch video!
Picture: Scientists featured in our 2019-20 calendar.
By CM Manasvi
On National Science Day (February 28) this year, we’d visited a research institute in Bengaluru, sometimes referred to as the science capital of India. We explored the bustling grounds and …
Excerpts from our first published study!
The study was published in ‘Difficult Dialogues: A Compendium of Contemporary Essays on Gender Inequality in India’, a volume edited by Dr. Shamika Ravi, Brookings India. The compendium was launched at the Difficult Dialogues 2019 conference in Goa on January …
Building detectors at CERN—a Q&A with Archana Sharma
WHO? Archana Sharma
WHAT? Senior Staff Scientist
WHERE? CERN, European Organization for Nuclear Research, Geneva
By Mrinal Shah
“You dream only about things that you are exposed to”, said Archana Sharma, a senior scientist at the European Organization for Nuclear …
Women in science don’t want freebies, but a level playing field
Image: Jocelyn Bell Burnell delivers the keynote speech at ‘Inspirefest 2015’. She discovered pulsars, but was ignored for the Nobel Prize in 1974. However, one half of this Nobel Prize was awarded to her male supervisor for the discovery of …
Talking about art history and math with Infosys Science Prize winners
By Nandita Jayaraj and Aashima Dogra
As she received the prestigious USD 100,000 Infosys Science Prize in the Humanities category, Kavita Singh joked that her presence at the award ceremony was “illegitimate”. The art history scholar had landed in Bengaluru, …
In the life of a single-parent postdoc
By Prabhavathy Devan
Prabhavathy Devan is a postdoctoral researcher working on stem cell biology in the laboratory of Jyotsna Dhawan at CSIR-Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology, Hyderabad.
Two years ago, just into my first postdoc position, my six-year-old son …
A Manifesto for Indian Women in Science by a Woman in Science
[Editor’s Note: Since we published this article on March 11, there has been some discussion about parts of this ‘manifesto’ by Prabhavathy. Firstly, we should point out that opinions from guest contributors are not meant to be endorsements. We believe …
Snippets from Spoorthi—Celebrating Indian Women in Science
To mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on February 11, 2019, IndiaBioscience released Spoorthi, a booklet celebrating Indian women in science. Filled with lovely illustrations, the booklet provides resources and insights for and by women …
Maithreyi moulds cells into tissues
WHO? Maithreyi Narasimha
WHAT? Cell Biologist
WHERE? Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai
By Aditi Karmarkar
“I think I would go mad if I wasn’t doing experiments”, says Maithreyi Narasimha, an Associate Professor at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research …
Hidden No More: Pumza’s Inheritance
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
As you are reading this, Pumza Tshebe is probably fighting to stay on top of things at the office of Scifest Africa in Makhanda (formerly known as Grahamstown), South Africa. The mood is much more chaotic …
Releasing Women in Science Calendar 2019-2020
Second edition of the Women in Science calendar is available for free download!
Remember the Women in Science calendar from last year? We got a heartening response—it is the most popular page on this site, it was gifted to …
How Hollywood brought women of S.T.E.A.M together
This November, 50 women who work in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (S.T.E.A.M.) from 50 countries and territories around the world converged in the United States of America for a one-of-a-kind exchange programme called ‘Hidden No More’. Though it …
Diary of a labhopper: Outreach at NCBS, Bangalore
By Aashima Dogra
It takes ages to reach Bangalore city from its airport. So I was glad my destination this time was only thirty mins away. Passing through the expansive GKVK University of Agriculture campus, the cab reached the gates …
Join TLoS As Project Co-ordinator
TheLifeofScience.com is looking for a Project Co-ordinator to join the team. (Paid) (Part-time)
Responsibilities of coordinator:
- Write, edit and publish blogs for the website
- Coordinate with guest writers: reaching out to contributors and women in science community
- Foster collaborations: Handle
What Will It Take for Science in India to Have Its #MeToo Movement?
In the lab, the power balance between juniors and their guides, principal investigators and senior faculty is multifold. Representative image. Image credit: Marlon Lara/Unsplash
By Aashima Dogra and Nandita Jayaraj
Saying that Indian Science’s #MeToo movement has arrived would be …
Drawings of women scientists
Suchi is an Independent Digital Designer + Doodler living in Dubai. She draws people and their stories – all fun and quirky. She’s drawn to the ‘Indian Women in Science’ project and believes it must reach out to more …
Draw-a-scientist bloopers and other learnings from school children
By Nandita Jayaraj
A day before I was scheduled to interact with students in Choice School in Kochi, it struck me that in addition to the usual stuff, I could try out the famous ‘Draw-a-scientist’ social experiment on …
Whether Donna Strickland or Aditi Sen De, gender gap in science remains unchanged
By Nandita Jayaraj
This week, Donna Strickland became the first woman to win a Physics Nobel in 55 years. Closer home, last week Aditi Sen De became the first woman to win a Physics Bhatnagar ever.
Two of the nine …
What it’s like to build a spacecraft to the Moon
By Deepana Gandhi
In March 2013, I came across an exciting article about a team of young Indians competing in a global space race to land a spacecraft on the Moon. It sounded unbelievable. TeamIndus (TI) was the only Indian …
Sandhya’s gusto for guts and affirmative action
WHO? Sandhya Visweswariah, 61
WHAT? Biochemist
WHERE? Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
By Aashima Dogra
“In a higher administration in the country, there is still an old boys’ club. When they think of someone [for a job], it will be …
Podcast: In conversation with Suhita Nadkarni
By Dnyanada Gokhale
Suhita Nadkarni is a neuroscientist at IISER Pune leading a generation of computational neurobiologists. She started off as a physicist but her Ph.D. introduced her to studying the brain by computationally modeling communication between brain cells.
“I …
Coming Back to the Fold with Mahalakshmi
WHO? R. Mahalakshmi
WHAT? Molecular biophysicist
WHERE? IISER Bhopal
Written and photographed by Karthik Varma
“I can show you how it works… it’s kind of cool.”
She picks up a metal hammer and taps open the valve of a gas …
VR Lalithambika, on Launching Humans into Space
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
When 26-year-old engineer Lalithambika joined Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC) in 1988, she found herself in the thick of the action. Those were heady times for control engineers as India’s space agency ISRO, of which VSSC …
Podcast: In conversation with Aparna Mukherjee
By Adita Joshi
Aparna Mukherjee is a clinical researcher working at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. She has been studying and working on tuberculosis as a doctor and researcher for over ten years. She specialises in …
Sucharita’s Guide to Preventing Diabetes
WHO? Sucharita Sambashivaiah
WHAT? Researcher in clinical physiology
WHERE? St. John’s Medical College, Bengaluru
Reported by Bidisha Ghosh
The moment I stepped into the St. John’s Medical College building, I sensed tension in the air. As I walked towards the …
Suparna searches for forgotten foods
WHO? Suparna Ghosh-Jerath, 43
WHAT? Nutritionist, specialising in public health and nutrition
WHERE? Public Health Foundation of India, Gurgaon
By Ashwini V
Eating gajar halwa (carrot pudding) in winter or drinking shikanji (lemonade) in summer is the popular seasonal rhythm …
Bushra’s biomarkers for prostate cancer
WHO? Bushra Ateeq
WHAT? Cancer biologist
WHERE? Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
Reported by Ipsita Herlekar
Clean, gleaming benches lined Bushra Ateeq’s laboratory and I watched curiously as her students worked diligently with the high-tech equipment that occupied the space. …
Video: Nano-pollution is real, warns Madhu
Reported and shot by Cyrus Khan
Madhu Khatri is a nanotoxicologist and an assistant professor at Panjab University, Chandigarh. Her research focuses on the toxic effects of nanoparticles on biological systems. While a lot of people are researching the various …
Aparna works on making healthcare accessible
WHO? Aparna Rao
WHAT? Eye Specialist and Glaucoma Researcher
WHERE? L.V Prasad Eye Institute, Bhubaneshwar
Reported by Upasana Agarwal
A spectacle for public and private health everywhere, the L.V. Prasad Eye Institute in Bhubaneswar offers state-of-the-art facilities at its free …
TeamIndus flies rockets with girl students
By Mrinal Shah
The vastness of space fascinates almost everyone as a child. In fact, a lot of kids dream of being an astronaut and flying spaceships. Why then do so few of them end up pursuing astronomy? Perhaps as …
Aparna looks for better ways out of tuberculosis
WHO? Aparna Mukherjee, 40
WHAT? Clinical Researcher
WHERE? All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
Reported by Adita Joshi
Blood. The word brings to mind a number of things such as pain, wound, injury, infection… For some, blood is …
Comic: Farah gives us a bird’s eye view
Read full story about Farah’s research here.
This is part of a series of profiles of Indian women scientists whose research has been funded by Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance. We are thankful for a grant from India Alliance
…
Government’s push for more women engineers kicks off in IIT Jodhpur
By Mrinal Shah
Vigyan 2030 is an initiative by India’s Department of Science and Technology (DST), announced in April 2017, to address gender parity in STEM fields. As part of the Rs 2,000 crore programme, DST’s KIRAN (Knowledge Involvement in …
Prerna beats the cell drums
WHO? Prerna Sharma
WHAT? Physicist
WHERE? Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
By Priyanka Sacheti and Aashima Dogra
Prerna’s lab desk is cluttered with stacks of papers and notes. A Native American doll sits in one corner. A cluttered desk is …
VIDEO: Conversation with Mahak Sharma from IISER Mohali
Interview and video by Cyrus Khan
Mahak Sharma is a cell biologist and assistant professor at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Mohali. Her work deals with understanding how cargo is trafficked inside cells.
In this conversation, …
Listen to Prof Sreelaja Nair on our podcast
Sreelaja Nair is an embryologist, working at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Mumbai. She leads a team of scientists at TIFR who study how life begins from a single cell using zebra-fish as a model. A newly …
Deepa Unravels Stem Cell Secrets
WHO? Deepa Subramanyam, 39
WHAT? Stem Cell Biologist
WHERE? National Center for Cell Science, Pune
By Trupti Thite
As adults, our bodies are made up of different types of cells, but inside the womb, we all began as a mass …
Farah Gives Us a Bird’s Eye View
WHO? Farah Ishtiaq, 45
WHAT? Ecologist and avian disease researcher
WHERE? Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
By Sandhya Ramesh
We’ve all heard of malaria. In school, we wrote answers about the female Anopheles mosquito when we were barely old enough …
Into Poonkuzhali’s cabinet of pharmacology mysteries
WHO? Poonkuzhali Balasubramanian
WHAT? Clinical pharmacologist
WHERE? Christian Medical College, Vellore
Reported by Sindhu S
My morning train to Vellore from Bangalore was a race against time. Caught in a heavy untimely downpour, I ran like a mad woman towards …
Madhumitha’s quest to understand why Indians attempt suicide
WHO? Madhumitha Balaji, 35 years
WHAT? Clinical Psychologist
WHERE? Sangath, an NGO based in Goa and The Centre for Mental Health Law and Policy (CMHLP), Indian Law Society, Pune
Reported by Karthik Varma
According to the National Crime Records Bureau, …
Download our 2018-19 Women in Science calendar for free!
The story
Back in February, Institute of Mathematical Sciences in Chennai partnered with TheLifeofScience.com for the second year in a row to do a little something special for International Day for Girls and Women in Science. Last week, Varuni and …
Nano-pollution is real, warns Madhu
WHO? Madhu Khatri, 36
WHAT? Nanotoxicologist
WHERE? Panjab University, Chandigarh
Reported by Cyrus Khan
“Air pollution” conjures up images of thick black clouds cloaking city skylines, exhausts bellowing gases and citizens wearing facemasks to walk on the street. While this …
Comic: Sucharita’s Guide to Preventing Diabetes
Keep your eye out complete version of Sucharita’s profile which will be published in the coming weeks!
This is part of a series of profiles of Indian women scientists whose research has been funded by Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance.
…
Sreelaja goes fishing for embryos
Who? Sreelaja Nair
What? Embryologist
Where? Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai
Reported and photographed by Shraddha Nayak
Triveni Menon, Janakraj Bhattrai and I stepped out of the air-conditioned Nair Lab in the Department of Biological Sciences into a …
A taste of fruit fly research with Pinky
WHO? Pinky Kain, 38
WHAT? Neurobiologist
WHERE? DBT – UNESCO Regional Centre for Biotechnology, Faridabad
Reported by Shreya Malik
Imagine you are in a restaurant, hungry and waiting for your food to arrive. Finally, the waiter places a steaming hot …
Join the labhopping team!
The Life of Science is looking for a part-time coordinator to join the team. This is a paid position. More details below.
Responsibilities of coordinator:
1. Manage thelifeofscience.com website
Publish our weekly posts
Create content for the site: blogs and …
Listen to Prof Sandhya Visweswariah on our podcast
By Aashima Dogra
Sandhya Visweswariah is one of the few women on top in Indian science. Her work on a molecular receptor for a toxin behind several types of diarrhoea has come a long way since she started her scientific …
Sonam’s Toolbox for DNA Repairs
WHO? Sonam Mehrotra, 39
WHAT? Cancer Biologist
WHERE? Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer, Mumbai
By Sukanya Charuchandra
Walking through the green environs of Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC) in Navi Mumbai, …
Suhita’s No Garland Neuroscience
WHO: Suhita Nadkarni
WHAT: Computational Neurobiologist
WHERE: Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune
By Dnyanada Gokhale
Established in 2006, the sprawling IISER Pune campus is home to a number of specialised research centres with world-class facilities. One …
On the tiger trail with Uma
Who? Uma Ramakrishnan, 44
What? Molecular ecologist
Where? National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bengaluru
Reported by Divya Vishwanath | Photography by Shraddha Nayak
As I stepped into the National Centre for Biological Sciences campus, I could not help but …
Mahak Polices Traffic in Cell City
WHO? Mahak Sharma, 34
WHAT? Cell biologist
WHERE? IISER Mohali
Reported by Cyrus Khan
As I land, Chandigarh’s unique geometric orderliness is striking. India takes pride in this great ‘planned city’ that is organised by grids of roads into sectors …
Swapna Probes into the Interrelated Universe
WHO? Swapna Mahapatra, 57
WHAT? String theorist
WHERE? Utkal University, Bhubaneswar
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
Professor, Head of Department, Director of Research and Development, Dean of Science – “You see, I have several responsibilities at same time,” chuckled Swapna Mahapatra, …
Photoessay: Krishnaveni’s life-long medical case studies
WHO? Ghattu V. Krishnaveni, 44
WHAT? Epidemiologist
WHERE? CSI Holdsworth Memorial Hospital, Mysuru
Reported by Rahul M (text and photos)
A young woman anxiously narrated how she and her friends escaped a group of hooligans during a night trek in …
New foods, new ideas: Adventures in food technology
Written by Christina Peters
Whenever I introduce myself as a food technologist, the general response is “Oh, so you work at a hotel?” It hurts to see that as Indians, coming from a land rich in soil and resources, we …
The Other Side of the Mech Lab
Written by Ronak Gupta
After the tumultuous months of preparing and writing engineering entrance exams, the time came to choose a major. It’s a risky decision that 17 or 18-year-olds are expected to make in our country. I chose mechanical …
Rekha’s Mission to Improve Forest Management
WHO? Rekha Singhal
WHAT? Human Resource Management Researcher
WHERE? Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal
By Aashima Dogra
“Bahut savaal puchti ho.” (Don’t ask questions)
“Bina jaan pahchan walo se bat mat karo” (Don’t network)
“Jaisa Kaha hai vaisa karo” …
Labhoppers need your help AGAIN
Help us Create 2 Books on Indian Women in Science via BitGiving
Here is the link to our crowdfunding campaign: https://www.bitgiving.com/labhoppingbooks
Women in science remain largely invisible in our media and in the imaginations of Indian people. Since January 2016, …
While your Brain Searches, Koel Watches
WHO? Koel Das, 41
WHAT? Cognitive neuroscientist
WHERE? Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
Humans have always been extremely good at looking and finding – whether it is while spotting a ripe berry …
Strength in unexpected places
by Chandrima Home
I work on the impact of feral dogs on wildlife and conservation and my field research has taken me across rural India. My work has taken me to places which are difficult to access, with low rates …
Kaneenika Navigates New India with Number Theories
WHO? Kaneenika Sinha, 37
WHAT? Number theorist
WHERE? Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
“This blog is no longer anonymous.”
And that’s how ‘New Prof in New India’, as she was known in …
When being a woman is an advantage
by Ovee Thorat
As a woman, my engagement with communities during the fieldwork has hugely shaped the research I do. While each gender has its advantages and disadvantages during data collection from the field, what I wasn’t ready for, was …
Poonam Powers Through Solid Mechanics
WHO? Poonam Kumari, 36
WHAT? Mechanical Engineer
WHERE? Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Assam
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
Not too long ago, on March 31, 2016, tragedy struck a busy junction in Kolkata. A bridge that was under construction suddenly …
Five books on women in science to read in 2018
by Ipsita Herlekar
Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong and the New Research that is Rewriting the Story
Author: Angela Saini
Publisher: Beacon Press (2017)
British journalist Angela Saini investigates the many biases surrounding women in …
Scratching the Surface with Shikha
WHO? Shikha Varma
WHAT? Condensed matter physicist
WHERE? Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
Shikha Varma fell in love with experimental physics while doing her Masters in IIT Kanpur. “We had a course by Prof GK Mehta on …
The data driven psychologists at Monk Prayogshala
WHO? Hansika Kapoor, Aneree Parekh and Arathy Puthillam
WHERE? Monk Prayogshala, Mumbai
WHAT? Psychology researchers
Reported by Aashima Dogra
Men are better at science, and the arts suit women more – this gender bias is implicit in the psychology of …
A new episode from our podcast series is out!
We recently launched our new podcast series in collaboration with IVMPodcasts. Listen to women scientists talk about their work and the many ways in which they juggle their personal and professional lives.
Episode 1 features Vidita Vaidya – Vidita Vaidya …
Round the carbon cycle with Sangeeta
WHO? Sangeeta Lenka, 41
WHAT? Agricultural scientist
WHERE? ICAR – Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal
Reported by Aashima Dogra
Agriculture, combined with forestry and other land use, is the second biggest contributor to climate change, after energy production. Around …
Enhancing Indian cosmetics with Sanju and team
WHO: Sanju Nanda, 51+
WHAT: Pharmaceuticals Scientist
WHERE: Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak
Reported by Aashima Dogra
The Indian cosmetics market is currently worth $6.5 billion and is expected to grow to $35 billion by 2035, a recent survey-based study has …
Rosy’s Red Alert to the North East
WHO? Rosy Mondal, 33
WHAT? Researcher in cancer genomics
WHERE? Institute of Advanced Study in Science & Technology (IASST), Guwahati
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
Browsing through literature and hospital records in 2008, young Rosy Mondal saw firsthand that the …
The Life Cycle of Shanti and Her Stars
WHO? D. Shanti Priya, 33
WHAT? Astronomer
WHERE? Osmania University, Hyderabad
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
Earlier this year, a newspaper article reported that the renowned astronomy department in Osmania University was in a state of neglect. Despite being one of …
Infosys Prizes Announced for Three Women – but That Is Not Enough
By Aashima Dogra
Bengaluru: Six researchers were about to be honoured with Rs 65 lakh each at the ninth edition of the Infosys Prize, and this author had been invited to participate in the subsequent panel on popularising science. …
Indu Has Some Concrete Ideas
WHO? Indu Siva Ranjani, 36
WHAT? Civil Engineer
WHERE? Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, Assam
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
It was a sunny but chilly day in Guwahati. Only a week into a new semester, the mood at IITG …
Getting your period while on the field
Came across this great video on thebrainscoop YouTube page on tips to handle menstruation while on the field. While this is great, we definitely need such resources for Indian researchers too. For example – there’s no hope of porta-potties here …
Srimonti Goes Minimalist with Giardia
WHO? Srimonti Sarkar
WHAT? Evolutionary cell biologist
WHERE? Bose Institute, Kolkata
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
…It’s amazing how life has been designed. You look at the molecular details and whether you believe in god or not, you wonder
Technology for All? There’s a Manual for That.
By Nandita Jayaraj
During visits to dozens of educational institutes and research centres in the course of The Life of Science project, Aashima and I have witnessed several cases where the infrastructure and technology on campus do not address the …
Devapriya and the New Era of Indian Palaeontology
WHO? Devapriya Chattopadhyay, 36
WHAT? Palaeobiologist
WHERE? Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, Kolkata
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
During the Cenozoic Era 65 million years ago, our planet began looking similar to what it’s like today. Dinosaurs had just …
Feeling stupid and doing science go together
I came across this article written by Martin A. Schwartz on twitter the …
Rama’s Got a Heart for Science
WHO? Valupadasu Rama, 46
WHAT? Biomedical engineer
WHERE? National Institute of Technology Warangal
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
NIT Warangal was the first of the National Institutes of Technology to be set up in the country. Almost six decades later, it …
Maitreyee Steps on the Accelerator
WHO? Maitreyee Saha Sarkar
WHAT? Nuclear Physicist
WHERE? Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
“Somebody asked me why I am always in a hurry – usually people become slow as they approach retirement.
I said: ‘No! I …
Sudha’s Notes from the Underground
WHO? Sudha Agrahari, 34
WHAT? Geophysicist
WHERE? Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
Kolkata was chillier than I expected in January and it took quite some effort to drag myself out of bed to catch an …
Finally a daycare center at IIT Delhi
In August this year, we received an email that made our day, month and year! Arjun Ghosh, Assistant Professor and President of the Daycare Management Committee at IIT Delhi shared the happy news of the launch of a daycare on …
The Research Life – Tips from a Star Seeker
Blog by The Star Seeker
Image credit: “Piled Higher and Deeper” by Jorge Cham www.phdcomics.com
Days blending into nights. Intermittent anxiety attacks fuelled by sleep deprivation. Excessive coffee and sugar intake. That was my first year of research. Now, a …
Bhargavi’s Quest for the Lost Bats of India
WHO? Bhargavi Srinivasulu, 44
WHAT? Chiropterologist
WHERE? Osmania University, Hyderabad
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
In 2016, Hipposideros hypophyllus slid to the bottom of a list that no species wants to be on – the ‘Critically Endangered’ section of IUCN’s Red …
Kuljeet’s Box of Pre-solar Grains
WHO? Kuljeet Kaur Marhas, 43
WHAT? Planetary Scientist
WHERE? Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad
Reported by Aashima Dogra
A rickshaw dropped me just outside the PRL scientists’ quarters. I entered my details in the security register and began searching for Kuljeet’s …
BHU woman scientist on the protests and demands
Ever since the appointment of their new VC, students at BHU has been protesting misogynistic policies as well as saffronisation of the institute. Movements like #SaveBHUfromRSS and #StopCampusSexism have been ongoing for many months now. However, a public sexual …
Archana Looks at Materials Cool and Magnetic
WHO? Archana Lakhani
WHAT? Condensed Matter Physicist
WHERE? UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research
Reported by Aashima Dogra
Indore-based UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research is an institute like no other in the country. The government-financed facility houses a selection of instruments…
Why IISER Bhopal’s Scientist-Parents are Breathing Easy
By Harini Barath
Young institutes attract young faculty. And often, young faculty have young children. With new research campuses being situated far from city centres or in small towns, childcare options are thin on the ground. IISER Bhopal is one …
From Abstract Equations to the Human Brain with Nandini
WHO? Nandini Singh Chatterjee
WHAT? Cognitive Neuroscientist
WHERE? National Brain Research Center, Haryana
Reported by Aashima Dogra
In the times of heavy propaganda and violent campaigns that describe the nation with the language of religious dogma, it is a relief …
Women in Indian Science – A Young PhD’s Perspective
Written by Trupti Thite
I was at a gift shop last week to buy a present for my 12-year-old niece. Both her parents are engineers and that’s her aspiration too. Naturally, she really loves science – robotics in particular. While …
Srubabati Detangles Weird Phenomena
WHO? Srubabati Goswami, 51
WHAT? Neutrino phenomenologist
WHERE? Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad
Reported by Aashima Dogra
Srubabati Goswami has two sides. The scientist side has taken her through a career where she stands today as an internationally renowned fellow of …
Hospital Hopping with Mahati Chittem
WHO? Mahati Chittem, 34
WHAT? Psycho-oncologist (a branch of medical psychology)
WHERE? Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
“I grew up in the time where most of us had a family physician down the street and knew …
An announcement
Hello there!
We have some news. Our next interview will be the last one of The Life of Science Season 1. Before we start releasing the next batch of reports which will come to you from Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Gujarat, …
Season 2 is in the waiting room
Hello there!
We have some news. Our next interview will be the last one of The Life of Science Season 1. Before we start releasing the next batch of reports which will come to you from Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Gujarat, …
We won a Laadli Award!
We are SO HAPPY to inform you that The Life of Science is one of the recipients of a Laadli Media Award for Gender Sensitivity. We won a Jury Appreciation certificate in the “Web | English” category at the 2015-16 …
Surya Shines her Laser on Relics
WHO? Surya Harikrishnan, 36
WHAT? Researcher in archaeophotonics
WHERE? Manipal University, Udupi
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
Last December, I conducted a science communication workshop at Manipal University as part of the Asia Student Photonics Conference 2016. Like any good hungry …
Seema Sees Light at the End of the Telescope
WHO? Seema Pooranchand, 51
WHAT? Astronomer
WHERE? University of Hyderabad, Telangana
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
For scientists, the period after their PhD is crucial. They are fresh out of the lab they spent the last four or more years in, …
Taking a Walk in Kavita’s Shoes
WHO? Kavita Vemuri, 47
WHAT? Cognitive scientist & game designer
WHERE? International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Hyderabad
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
You have probably heard of Alan Kurdi. In fact, we are likely to be more familiar with this …
Talking gender equality at Bharathidasan University
Reported by Vishwam Sankaran
“You cannot be more educated than the groom,” Dr. S. Jayalekshmi, was often told by distant family and relatives. A professor of Civil Engineering at NIT-Trichy, Jayalekshmi was speaking at a conference on Gender and Social …
Flexing muscle (stem cells) with Jyotsna
WHO? Jyotsna Dhawan, 58
WHAT? Stem cell biologist
WHERE? Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj; Edited by Aashima Dogra
“I have a friend who says that in science, what usually precedes a discovery is …
When School Girls Got to Interact with Scientists
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
“Can you name three Indian scientists for me?”
“Abdul Kalam… CV Raman… JC Bose… Kalpana Chawla… Chandrasekharan…”
“OK, OK. Now can you name three Indian female scientists?”
*silence* “Kalpana Chawla!” “Marie… no, no, she said Indian…”…
International Day of Women & Girls in Science
We found out that February 11 was the UN-designated International Day of Women & Girls in Science when the kind and dynamic jam – actually, Dr. Ramanujan but don’t call him that 🙂 – invited us to the Institute of …
Vandana and her Atom-splitting Machines
WHO? Vandana Sharma, 37
WHAT? Atomic and Molecular Physicist
WHERE? Indian Institute of Technology – Hyderabad, Kandi
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
“Say you have two fruits: an apple and a mango. To see which one has the bigger seed, you …
Following Gooseberries with Soumya
Content based on interview of Soumya Prasad by Aashima Dogra
Artwork created by the awesome Clarissa Hart. Check out more of her work here!
…
Sushmita’s second digging for Gujarat’s history
Who? Sushmita Sen Pramanik
What? Archaeologist
Where? Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda
Reported by Aashima Dogra
“You must go to MS University! Dr Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, who won the Nobel Prize in 2009, studied there,” Nandita had pinged me, the day I …
Rachel Junks the Junk DNA Theory
WHO? A.J. Rachel
WHAT? Molecular Biologist
WHERE? Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
Though human DNA, or the genome as it is called, is a chain of around 3 billion molecules called base pairs, only …
Vanita Doesn’t Waste Waste
WHO? Vanita Prasad
WHAT? Environment Biotechnologist
WHERE? Baroda, Gujarat
Reported by Aashima Dogra
In the early 80s, the 12-year-old Vanita suffering from acute headaches was one of the few fortunate Indians to get a CT scan at AIIMS Delhi, a …
Aruna and her Hungry Amoeba
WHO? Aruna Naorem
WHAT? Molecular Geneticist
WHERE? University of Delhi, New Delhi
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
Picture a racetrack shaped like a maze. The contestants arrive from all over the world, shielded carefully from the public. They’re fierce, ravenous. Once …
Nitty-Gritty of the Nation’s Psychology with Urmi
Who? Urmi Nanda Biswas, 50
What? Social Psychologist
Where? MS University, Baroda
Reported by Aashima Dogra
At one of India’s oldest universities, Urmi’s vast office is mostly occupied by an oval table at the helm of which she sits, advising …
Lipi’s Tools for a Better Biology
WHO? Lipi Thukral, 32
WHAT? Computational structural biologist
WHERE? CSIR-Institute of Genomics & Integrative Biology (IGIB), Delhi
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
“I used to hate standing up and doing experiments, absolutely abhor it. I thought that there should be some …
Nina retells stories of indigenous art
WHO? Nina Sabnani
WHAT? Filmmaker and Ethnographer
WHERE? IIT, Bombay
Reported by Aashima Dogra
So how do stories stay alive? Because they are constantly retold.
Passing through the many corridors of IIT Bombay, I finally arrived at Industrial Design Center, …
The Himalayan Adventures of Orus Ilyas
WHO? Orus Ilyas, 44
WHAT? Wildlife biologist
WHERE? Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
…WWF-India asked me if I could ride a motorcycle. I said ‘Sure, why not. Beggars can’t be choosers’. So there I was, a 24-year-old
Smitha and her Indomitable Ferns
Kiran Joan, a budding illustrator volunteered to make this comic based on one of our stories from Mangalore. The comic focuses on the science that Smitha has been doing.
If you would like to make science comics like this one, …
Rukmani Plans for a Less Hungry India
WHO? Rukmani Ramani, 56
WHAT? Food Security Economist
WHERE? MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
…You don’t have to be an economist for this to affect you. You’re always thinking you are doing very very little to
Prachi Torney, a modern day alchemist
WHO? Prachi Torney
WHAT? Chemist
WHERE? Goa University, Panjim
Reported by Aashima Dogra
“The synthesis of naturally existing compounds is one field of science that will always be required,” said Prachi Torane, a chemist at Goa University and an expert …
Vani Looks at Matter Bottom Up
WHO? Satyavani Vemparala
WHAT? Soft condensed matter physicist
WHERE? The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
What happens when you add salt to liquid water? At first thought, it may not seem as if you need a …
Some Findings after Eight Months of Labhopping
By Aashima Dogra
This week, we take a break to look back at what we’ve found in the eight months of around 50 interviews with women at scientific institutions in India for our project The Life of Science.
Our crowdfunding …
How Mathematics Found its Way to Sushama
WHO? Sushama Agarwal
WHAT? Mathematician
WHERE? Ramanujan Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics, Chennai
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
Squeezing past police vans, barricades and scattered groups of demonstrators on the wide roads of Chepauk, I made my way to …
Into the Core of Ancient Climate with Ayusmati
WHO? Ayusmati S. Manaskanya
WHAT? Oceanographer
WHERE? National Institute of Oceanography, Goa
Reported by Aashima Dogra
Under the Bay of Bengal, a three-meter deep layer of the planet’s surface lay undisturbed for the past 10,000 years until the crew aboard …
The Labhoppers Have a Request For You
Hello there!
Thank you for visiting The Life of Science. For 31 weeks we’ve been journeying across India, visiting labs, homes and colleges in search of women scientists. This is an attempt to figure out why the attrition rate of …
Ramadevi’s Super Cool Space Gadgets
WHO? Ramadevi T.S.
WHAT? Space Electronics Engineer
WHERE? Vikram Sarabhai Space Center, Trivandrum
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
“Have you ever watched a rocket launch?”“Ethrayo kandittund [So many I’ve seen]. It was part of my job, Nandita.”
The 1960s, when Ramadevi …
Shilpa on the Research Animators do
WHO? Shilpa Ranade, 50
WHAT? Animator and Filmmaker
WHERE? Industrial Design Center, IIT, Bombay
Reported by Aashima Dogra
It is not easy to become one of India’s best animators. It requires, as Shilpa Ranade’s journey testifies, that you pursue your …
Indu Likes Her Neutrinos Muon-Flavoured
WHO? Indumathi D.
WHAT? Particle physicist
WHERE? Institute of Mathematical Sciences (a.k.a. Matscience), Chennai
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
The past few years in particle physics have been exciting both for the scientists who study it as well as for the …
Mayurika starts a daycare revolution
WHO? Mayurika Lahiri, 42
WHAT? Cancer Biologist
WHERE? Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune
Reported by Aashima Dogra
The only BIG difference between men and women that everyone seems to agree on is that women can give birth. …
Asha’s Special Diet Plan for Mice
WHO? Asha Abraham, 49
WHAT? Animal Biotechnologist
WHERE? St. Aloysius College, Mangalore
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
“These days many people, especially the middle-aged, put on a lot of weight in their abdominal area. They have cardiovascular issues, high-fat profile, blood …
Monika Lends an Ear to Tradition
WHO? Monika Panchani
WHAT? Ethnobiologist
WHERE? Government College, Bassa, Himachal Pradesh
Reported by Aashima Dogra
“People in rural Kullu, are bound to the forests and importantly their protection through their local deities (demigods) along with the rule of law. The …
A Chat With Surathkal’s Mathematicians
HO? Manasa KJ, Kumudakshi, Manasa B, Sabari M. and Rashmi M.
WHAT? Mathematicians
WHERE? National Institute of Technology Surathkal (NITK), Karnataka
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
It was summer break when I visited the National Institute of Technology campus at Surathkal …
Shiney Knows What These Bacteria Love
WHO? Shiney Hangloo, 30
WHAT? Biotechnologist
WHERE? Shoolini University, Solan, Himachal Pradesh
Reported by Aashima Dogra
I met Shiney during the Him Science Congress that was taking place at a hotel in hilly Dharamshala. It was a two-day meetup of …
Swinging Across Forests with Jis
WHO? Jis Sebastian, 28
WHAT? Conservation Ecologist
WHERE? Western Ghats, Kerala (PhD registered in Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai)
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
Jis Sebastian is not the only naturalist who is enamoured by orchids. Charles Darwin, too, spent many years …
Making Cellular Art with Richa
WHO? Richa Rikhy, 40
WHAT? Cell Biologist
WHERE? Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune
Reported by Aashima Dogra
Osmosis Jones is a great movie. It is a world where cells are lovable characters that drive protein cars and …
Prajakta and Her Lab on A Chip
WHO? Prajakta Dandekar
WHAT? Pharmaceutical biotechnologist
WHERE? Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
I had a bad case of the cramps yesterday. As I usually do when this happens, I reached out for my strip of …
Following Gooseberries with Soumya
WHO? Soumya Prasad, 38 years
WHERE? Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi
WHAT? Forest Ecologist
Reported by Aashima Dogra
A volcano erupts in the ocean; an island is formed. A coconut floats from miles away. A fruit bat travels far and takes …
Smitha Hegde and Her Indomitable Ferns
WHO? Smitha Hegde
WHAT? Pteridologist (one who studies ferns)
WHERE? St. Aloysius College, Mangalore
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
Because its grace delicacy and beauty, concealed in the shadowed glens of the forest, can be seen only by the honest searcher, …
Natasha and Husnara Save the Mandarins
Our good friend Rebana John, artist-filmmaker, made a comic based on our story from Kalimpong. The comic focuses on the science that Natasha and Husnara have been doing. We wrote a special script to illustrate the sciencey bits that are …
Annamma Adds Biofuel To the Fire
WHO? Annamma Anil
WHAT? Industrial Microbiologist
WHERE? Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
Importing fuel is expensive. To ease the load on the economy and on the environment, the Government of India has placed a mandate…
Mamta Rani Deals with Chaos
WHO? MAMTA RANI
WHAT? COMPUTER SCIENTIST
WHERE? CENTRAL UNIVERSITY OF RAJASTHAN, BANDAR SINDRI
Reported by Aashima Dogra
I was leaving Rajasthan and driving northwards to Haryana. Before leaving the colourful state behind, I was happy to spend one last …
Maryam Optimizes in Electronics and in Life
WHO? Maryam Shojaei Baghini
WHAT? Electrical Engineer
WHERE? Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
“People think engineering is something that is already developed, something that you just need to blindly apply. It’s not like that at all. …
Relooking The Nation With Anu Sabhlok
WHO? Anu Sabhlok, 43 years old
WHERE? IISER, Mohali
WHAT? Social Scientist
Reported by Aashima Dogra
At a hacker conference in the shadows of the snowy mountains, in Dharamshala, I met those who not only hack computers but also their …
Vidita Vaidya Gets Into Your Head
WHO? Vidita Vaidya
WHAT? Neuroscientist
WHERE? Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
“So Vidita, what is it about a life in science that excites you the most?”
“You know that transient moment when you find something …
Hemlata Helps Women Help Themselves
WHO? Hemlata Manglani
WHAT? Economist
WHERE? Central University of Rajasthan, Bandar Sindri
Reported by Aashima Dogra
Cells, electrons or chemical bonds are not on her mind. Hemlata Manglani is a different kind of scientist – she observes the deposits in …
Radhika Moves with Cancer Cells
WHO? Radhika Nair
WHAT? Cancer biologist
WHERE? Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Trivandrum
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
Funny, candid, humble and wise, Radhika Nair makes life in research look good. Before she moved to the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology …
Aardra and Gayathri Give Back to the Homeland
WHO? Aardra Chandra Mouli & Gayathri Thankachi
WHAT? Biotechnology entrepreneurs
WHERE? Trivandrum
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
When Aardra Chandra Mouli returned to her hometown, Trivandrum, fresh after a master’s in management at Warwick Business School, she found her state in …
BRAIN GAIN WITH RAMADEVI
WHO? RAMADEVI NIMMANAPALLI
WHAT? VETERINARIAN AND BIOCHEMIST
WHERE? BANARAS HINDU UNIVERSITY
Reported by Aashima Dogra
Sometimes, you have to go around the world to find your purpose waiting for you back home. Such is the story of Ramadevi, the …
Kriti Keeps Our Satellites in Check
WHO? Kriti Faujdar
WHAT? Computer Scientist
WHERE? ISRO, Hassan
When India’s Mars Orbiter Mission launched in 2014, one photograph became the topic of much conversation. It showed seven scientists, all smiles and hugs, celebrating the success of the mission – …
Monica Explores Life in the Almost Lifeless
WHO? Dr. Monica Bhatnagar
WHAT? Microbiologist
WHERE? MDS University, Ajmer, Rajasthan
Reported by Aashima Dogra
On a rented bike, I made my way from Pushkar to Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati University in Ajmer. The afternoon sun chased me down as I …
Kavita, Doing Science Like a Boss
WHO? KAVITA SHAH
WHAT? ENVIRONMENTAL BIOTECHNOLOGIST
WHERE? INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, BHU, VARANASI
Reported by Aashima Dogra
As I waited outside Kavita’s office, she was inside, shaking hands with a delegation that conferred her the title of Director …
Elizabeth and her Eight-legged Friends
Who? Elizabeth V. Mathew
What? Arachnologist
Where? Union Christian College, Aluva
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
“Tarantulas are beautiful,” said Elizabeth V. Mathew. We were talking about the irrational fear of spiders. Tarantulas have enough venom to cause necrosis that results …
Natasha and Husnara Save the Mandarins
WHO? NATASHA GURUNG AND HUSNARA SHARMA
WHAT? HORTICULTURISTS
WHERE? INDIAN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE, KALIMPONG, GORKHALAND
Reported by Aashima Dogra
On a map of India, if West Bengal is a chicken, then the Himalayas start ascending at its neck. At …
Nidhi Writes Banaras’s Diarrhoea Diary
WHO? Nidhi Singh
WHAT? Climate change and disease research scholar
WHERE? Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development, Varanasi
Reported by Aashima Dogra
When I first arrived at the massive Banaras Hindu University, passing through its many temple-like faculty buildings, I …
Aruna, the Leather Detective
WHO? Aruna Dhathathreyan
WHAT? Biophysicist
WHERE? Central Leather Research Institute, Chennai
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
“Which sample is this? Is it sheep?”
“No. It’s Satish’s goat leather. It has some white patches that we’re looking into.”
“Ah, did you check …
Finding “Faults” with Kusala Rajendran
Who? Kusala Rajendran
What? Earth Scientist
Where? Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
Reported by Nandita Jayaraj
“I grew up at a time when choosing a career did not involve too much calculation,” says Dr Kusala Rajendran, a professor at the …
