Blog

Discovery of New Galaxy-

Astronomers have discovered a new active galaxy identified as the farthest gamma – ray emitting galaxy that has so far been stumbled upon. This is called the Narrow – Line Seyfert 1 (NLS1). This is about 31 billion light years away . It opens up avenues to find more gamma- ray emitting galaxies like this.

Controlling Molecular Signatures in Live Cells using Light-

Secondary messengers play a very important role in cells, coveying information from the receptors on the surface of the cell membrane to the target within the cells. cAMP , the cyclic nucleotide, is a major secondary messenger in the brain and important to modulate various physiological processes , like – learning and memory, contraction of the heart and relaxation. Adenyl cyclas, an enzymes catalyse the synthesis of cAMP from ATP. One of the molecules altered by cAMP are ion channels called HCN channels involved in rythmic pacemaker activity in cardiac cells and communication between neurons, Photoactivated adenylyl cyclases (PACs) enable control of cAMP level generated withun the cells by controlling the amount of blue light falling on them. A research group from the Centre for Neuroscience led by Dr. Mini Jose shows how global and local photoactivation controls the organisation and random movement of single molecules of HCN channels in live cells by altering the intracellular cAMP levels. The research opens up new ways of alteration of organisation and movement of biomolecules in live cells by a light – controlled non – invasive approach.

Identification of a New Gene responsible for Microspherophakia

Microspherophakia (MSP) is a rare genetic disorder , which is characterised by a smaller – than-normal spherical lens in the human eye . It can be a cause of glucoma and sometimes blindness. Rsearchers led by Upendra Nongthomba and Arun Kumar, Professors at the Department of Molecular Reproduction, Development and Genetics at IISC, have now identified a new gene responsible for this disorder. In collaboration with the Prabha Eye Clinic and Research Centre, Bangalore, the IISC team identified to two families whose members exhibited this abnormality and advanced genetic analysis indicated that mutations in a particular gene(WRAP73/WDR8) were linked to this disorder.

Development of Artificial Enzymes to work against HIV

Researchers of IISC or Indian Institute of Science have developed artificial enzymes to block reactivation and replication of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV in the host’s immune cells. These nanozymes have been developed from vanadium pentoxide nanosheets by mimicking a natural enzyme called glutathione peroxidasethat helps reduce oxidative stress levels in the host’s cells.This study was led by Amit Singh, Associate Professor at the Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology and Centre for Infectous Diseases Research(CIDR) and Govindasamy Mugesh, Professor at the Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry.