P Surat

India recently abolished an outdated test in use for over 50 years to prove the safety of veterinary vaccines. Synthetic reagents and human cells offer better testing options

On 25 January 2024, the United States’ National Institutes of Health announced a $390 million programme to develop and expand the use of human-based technologies in medical science.

An amendment to the New Drugs and Clinical Trial Rules (2023), recently passed by the Government of India, aims to replace the use of animals in research, especially in drug testing.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) recently outlined a plan for a potentially revolutionary new area of research called “organoid intelligence”, which aims to create “biocomputers”: where brain cultures grown in the lab are coupled to real-world sensors and input/output devices.

India is ill-equipped to detect or respond to biological threats arising from natural or artificial sources – even though it has a large biotechnological capacity.
Given the availability of this strength, our key policy priorities should be to raise awareness, establish a science-policy connection and mobilise resources.

What works in mice may not work in humans, especially in infectious diseases, argue Surat Parvatam* and Karishma Kaushik**.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought along with it increased transmission of disinformation as well. Can ‘citizen science’ offer solutions? Sunila Dixit talks to Surat Parvatam and Suryesh Namdeo about the concept of ‘citizen science’ and how it can be used effectively to develop scientific awareness.

The lack of a framework specifying reasonable working hours puts students in a vulnerable position, and could lead to burnout and loss of productivity.

Wind is a green alternative to fossil fuels, but its complex environmental impact may stand in the way of widespread use and acceptance.

Recently, several papers published from various Indian universities were reported to contain either re-used, duplicated, or fabricated images in research manuscripts1. A total 980 papers have been retracted from India so far, and of them, 33% were retracted due to plagiarism, while 13% were retracted due to image duplication and manipulation.

Day Zero: The day when a city’s taps dry out and people have to stand in line to collect a daily quota of water.

Some 50,000 Indians die each year from snakebites. An antivenom aimed at the four most dangerous snakes is the main treatment. Mapping bite occurrence and developing better antivenoms can reduce mortality

Institutionalisation of citizen science in India could help to harness its potential

I report on a recent virtual event that initiated a dialogue on the possibilities and challenges of implementing human-relevant models and frameworks in India.

Human-relevant systems are needed to understand COVID-19