International Academic Excellence Awards

  A team of scientists at the Bose Institute, Kolkata, has engineered a glowing CRISPR protein that allows real-time observation of genome editing inside living cells. The innovation, named GlowCas9, marks a major advance in the field of gene therapy, where visualising gene-editing machinery has long been a scientific challenge. Limitations Of Traditional CRISPR Monitoring CRISPR-Cas9 technology revolutionised gene correction by enabling precise DNA cutting and repair. However, researchers could not observe Cas9 activity as it occurred because existing detection methods required cell fixation or destruction. This prevented real-time tracking of editing events, limiting understanding of how the molecular machinery behaves within living systems. Design And Function Of GlowCas9 The new system fuses Cas9 with a split nano-luciferase enzyme derived from deep-sea shrimp proteins. When Cas9 folds correctly, the luciferase fragments reunite and emit light, creating a built-in indicator of...

  Researchers have developed a catalyst sourced from renewable plant waste that shows strong potential for speeding up clean hydrogen production. The material is produced by embedding nickel oxide and iron oxide nanoparticles into carbon fibers made from lignin, creating a structure that improves both efficiency and durability during the oxygen evolution reaction, a crucial part of water electrolysis. The study, published in Biochar X, reports that the catalyst reaches a low overpotential of 250 mV at 10 mA cm² and remains highly stable for more than 50 hours when operating at elevated current density. These performance levels point to a viable, low cost alternative to the precious metal catalysts typically used in large-scale water splitting. "Oxygen evolution is one of the biggest barriers to efficient hydrogen production," said corresponding author Yanlin Qin of the Guangdong University of Technology. "Our work shows that a catalyst made from lignin, a low-value bypr...

  Researchers have carried out the first investigation of how obesity affects Alzheimer's disease blood biomarkers (BBMs). In this work, BBM levels rose up to 95% more quickly in people with obesity than in people without obesity, based on findings presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). "This is the first time we've shown the relationship between obesity and Alzheimer's disease as measured by blood biomarker tests," said Cyrus Raji, M.D., Ph.D., senior author of the study and a principal investigator in the Neuroimaging Labs Research Center at Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR) at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Long-Term Brain Imaging and Blood Data To explore this connection, the team drew on five years of data from 407 volunteers enrolled in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, which provided both amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) scans and blood samples. PET s...

  H3N2, a major subtype of influenza A, is once again driving significant flu waves across multiple countries. Known for its rapid mutation rate and ability to evade immunity, H3N2 disproportionately affects young children, older adults and people with chronic illnesses. Here is a clear, in-depth explainer on what makes this flu strain particularly challenging. What Exactly Is H3N2 and Where Did It Come From? H3N2 is one of the most common influenza A strains responsible for seasonal flu epidemics worldwide. It first jumped to humans in 1968 through an antigenic shift involving avian viruses. Since then, it has become a dominant seasonal flu subtype, accounting for 10–20% of global infections each year and up to 50% of hospitalizations in severe seasons. Its tendency to mutate quickly leads to frequent “antigenic drift,” weakening population immunity and reducing vaccine effectiveness. How the Virus Enters and Hijacks Human Cells H3N2 is wrapped in a fatty envelope studded with he...

  When two black holes collide and merge, they release gravitational waves. These waves can be detected by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA detectors on Earth, allowing scientists to determine the mass and spin of the black holes. The clearest black hole merger signal yet, named GW250114, recorded by LIGO in January 2025, offers new insights into these mysterious cosmic giants. Credit: Maggie Chiang for Simons Foundation Ten years after the first detection of gravitational waves from two merging black holes, the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration, which includes Columbia University astronomer Maximiliano Isi, has captured a remarkably similar event with far greater detail. Advances in detector sensitivity allowed the team to observe this latest collision almost four times more clearly than the original discovery. With this improved view, researchers were able to verify two major predictions: that black holes produced through mergers never become smaller in total size, as proposed by Stephen Hawki...

  Google has re-emerged as a central force in Silicon Valley, not for its flagship consumer products but for its advances in AI hardware. Growing interest in its Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), now in their seventh generation, has triggered a market-wide debate on the future of AI infrastructure, especially as major players such as Meta and Anthropic explore large-scale TPU adoption. Origins and Evolution of Google’s TPU Strategy TPUs were conceived in 2013 to support massive machine learning workloads that CPUs and GPUs could not handle cost-effectively. Developed as application-specific integrated circuits, TPUs gained maturity with successive versions, culminating in the Ironwood (TPUv7) architecture. Originally built to serve Google’s internal services, TPUs remained closed systems with heavy software constraints for external use. Shift Toward Merchant Silicon and Industry Partnerships The rise of generative AI has altered Google’s strategy. TPUs are now marketed as high-perfo...

  Researchers have developed a fluorescent DNA sensor that reveals the full timeline of damage and repair in living cells. Its real-time imaging offers a clearer, more accurate look at how cells protect their genetic code. Cancer biology, drug safety studies and aging research may all benefit from a fluorescent sensor created at Utrecht University. The new technology gives scientists the ability to watch DNA damage and repair unfold inside living cells in real time. This development, described in Nature Communications, enables types of experiments that were not previously possible. DNA in our cells faces continual harm from sunlight, chemicals, radiation and even the normal processes that keep the body functioning. Most of this damage is corrected very quickly. When these repairs fail, the resulting errors can play a role in aging, cancer and several other diseases. For years, researchers struggled to directly observe these repair events as they occurred. Many traditional approach...