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All the objects in the Universe can be divided in to two broad categories. First, the relatively large “classical objects”, the motions of which are described by the Newtonian mechanics, for example, the motion of earth around the sun or the rotational motion of a top. On the other hand, the tiny objects like, atoms and nuclei obey an entirely different mechanics, the quantum mechanics. It was the genius minds of Aage Bohr, Ben Mottelson and James Rainwater who were able to describe discrete quantum energy levels of certain nuclei, which deviate from their spherical symmetry, in analogy with the motion of a classical top. They got Nobel Prize in Physics in 1975 for their work and it remains, since then, an intense field of research in nuclear structure physics, both theoretically and experimentally. With the technological advancement, it is now possible to experimentally identify different manifestations of their simple model in nuclei. With the help of the Cyclotron accelerator at VECC, Kolkata, we use nuclear reactions with energetic light- and heavy-mass projectiles, to excite different modes in deformed (both axially symmetric and axially asymmetric) nuclei and identify them by detecting the gamma rays, they emit, in an array of clover HPGe detectors, a state-of-the-art modern semiconductor detector for the detection of gamma rays. I shall discuss about our very recent findings of wobbling motion in 183Au nucleus, which is a common phenomenon for an asymmetric top in the classical world but an extremely rare one in atomic nuclei.

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Dr. Arijita Sarkar from University of Southern California will deliver a talk on Looking through the Omics window in search of a solution for Cartilage Regeneration on 7th Feb 2020 at 3pm (Annexe Building Seminar Hall)

Low cost and massively parallel sequencing technologies have revolutionized the area of genomics research in last two decades. Large scale discoveries have allowed understanding of origin and function of genomic mutations. During this talk, I will tell two such stories: 1) Structural variations in the human genome originate from different mechanisms related to DNA repair, replication, and retro-transposition. Analyses were performed to understand how chromatin organization and/or epigenome affects origin of structural variations in human genome. Several evidences suggested that majority of non-allelic homologous deletions are non-meiotic (non-classical) i.e. originate during homology directed repair of spontaneous DNA double-stranded breaks. This study also indicated a potential beneficial role of repetitive elements in the human genome. 2) Genes implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders are active in human fetal brain, yet difficult to study in a longitudinal fashion. Organoids from human pluripotent cells can be used to model cerebral cortical development. A multi-omics analysis revealed differentially active genes and enhancers during cortical development. Networks of converging gene and enhancer modules were assembled into six and four global patterns of expression and activity across time. Few such modules were enriched in autism-associated genes and genomic variants in autistic children. This study indicated a role of non-coding mutations in autism etiology.

In the last ten years electron cryotomography (cryo-ET) has made it possible to visualize large macromolecular assemblies inside intact cells in a near-native, "frozen-hydrated" state in 3-D to a few nanometers resolution. Increasingly, atomic models of individual proteins and smaller complexes obtained by X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy, or other methods can be fit into cryotomograms to reveal how the various pieces work together inside cells. A few good pictures is therefore sometimes all that is really needed to distinguish between competing models. To illustrate these points, I will present examples of current results from our recent work on bacterial secretion systems and eukaryotic stress responses. The range of cellular samples that cryo-ET can reveal is dramatically expanding with FIB-milling, and will likely soon become dramatically more useful with correlated light and electron microscopy (CLEM) targeting. Two major developments in cryo-ET technology further suggest that cryo-ET will become an important new method for determining the structures of single particles and small proteins as well. First, highly eucentric stages are now allowing tilt-series to be recorded in seconds rather than minutes, opening the possibility of high resolution single particle tomography. Second, cryo-ET of very small crystals (“nanocrystals”) offers compelling potential advantages over X-ray crystallography. I will explain these advances and their projected implications with examples from our work.

Special Centenary Lecture by Nobel Laureate Joachim Frank.

The system created in relativistic non-central nucleus–nucleus collisions may possess large orbital angular momentum directed perpendicular to the reaction plane. However, the local asymmetries in the velocity fields, e.g due to anisotropic flow can also generate vorticity at different regions of the system. The produced particles can get polarized along the direction of the system’s global or local angular momentum due to spin-orbit coupling. In the parity violating weak decays of (Anti) Lambdas, the momentum vector of the decay proton is correlated with the hyperon spin and can be used to estimate the global and local vorticity of the system created in relativistic heavy ion collisions. In this talk, the recent experimental measurements of global and local polarization of the lambda hyperons in heavy ion collisions will be discussed.

Technical features of the Super-Resolution Microscopy OMX platform

Technical features of the Super-Resolution Microscopy OMX platform

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I will discuss results of multiplicity dependence of jet properties in pp collisions at 13 TeV. I will also discuss the proposed measurements of photons at forward rapidity in ALICE using FoCal.

Resistive Plate Chamber is a proposed detector for the 3rd and 4th station of CBM-Muon Chamber. One of the main requirements of CBM experiment is to operate the detector for long period and stably with high rate handling capability. Another requirement is the use of non-Freon gas mixture as the global pollution agreements has now changed. So, an R&D program has been started to operate the RPC detector with Ar/CO2 gas mixture. Several RPC prototype has been built using bakelite and tested. The test results and the related issues will be discussed.

I will present the results of charged jet production cross sections and its properties and their dependence on centre-of-mass energy in proton-proton collisions using ALICE at LHC.

In this talk, I will present the details of the Photon Multiplicity Detector (PMD) of ALICE experiment and I will discuss the results of multiplicity and pseudorapidity distributions of photons at forward rapidity in pPb collisions obtained using PMD.

A systematic study of the variation in gain due to the charging up of the dielectric in the active volume of the GEM detector has been performed with different irradiation rates in Argon base gas mixture. The uniformity of performance over the active area of the prototype has also been investigated. Some basic simulation studies regarding the detector setup of the Muon Chamber (MUCH) has been carried out and the results will be presented in the presentation.

Leica Pulsed gated STED3x with WLL is an option for STED CW and based on Leica Microsystems highly versatile core confocal TCS SP8 Next Generation. In this talk, An overview of the product and application portfolio ranging from super-resolution imaging (Lightning and STED3x) inside live cell to colocalization at the nanoscale will be given.

In higher eukaryotes, the RNA interference (RNAi) uses two key enzymes, Dicer and Argonaute, which are assisted by a variety of multiple dsRNA binding domains (dsRBDs) containing proteins (dsRBPs) to regulate RNA mediated gene silencing. A seemingly conserved pathway of RNAi exhibits significant heterogeneity across organisms, by recruiting uneven numbers of enzymes and their partner proteins. For example, A. thaliana requires four Dicers and seven dsRBPs to accomplish the small RNA pathway in a unique and highly controlled fashion. To understand the origin and necessity of the evolutionary divergence in RNAi, we have defined the functional roles of RDE-4 C. elegans as well as DRB2, DRB3, DRB4, DRB5, and DRB7.2 in A. thaliana and R2D2 in D. melanogaster using solution structures and complementary assays. The backbone dynamics in ns-ps and micro-milisec timescale were used to probe functionally relevant dynamics in these dsRBDs. Results elaborate on the divergence in seemingly conserved and highly homologous proteins implying a fine balance in which subtle changes can “make or break” the small RNA mediated gene silencing in plants. The results further exemplify that the process of RNAi initiation is unique for each organism and is heavily dependent on the step-wise assembly of the Dicer, its partner proteins, and the trigger small RNA. Surprising heterogeneity in structure and function of these dsRBPs imply their application in therapeutics towards selective knock-down in gene therapy.

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Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has come a long way since its discovery seven decades ago and continues to evolve unabated with new applications emerging in many areas of biology and chemistry. Our group has been engaged for the past several years on enhancing the speed of protein structure determination, elucidation of equilibrium folding transitions and self-association pathways, characterization of intrinsically disordered proteins, on one hand, and on obtaining high resolution spectra of complex organic mixtures which are involved in interactions with target proteins, on the other. Encompassing the above, this talk will summarize the accomplishments from our laboratory that includes design of new pulse sequences, and application to important biological systems.

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Our immune system protects us from commensals and invading pathogens. Broadly, there are two arms of this system: innate and adaptive. The innate response is quick and non-specific. On the other hand, the hallmarks of the adaptive immune response are specificity and memory. B cells and T cells, via the B cell receptors (BCRs) and T cell receptors (TCRs) respectively, are the two types of cells responsible adaptive immunity. TCRs recognize peptide antigens in complex with the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) encoded molecules. However, binding of cognate MHC-peptide complexes alone does not trigger T cell activation. Optimal T cell activation requires "context" in the form of costimulation. This talk will describe the principle of T cell costimulation and the interactions of appropriate costimulatory receptors with their ligands that are required for optimal activation of T cells. Subsequently, the studies that led to discovery of CD28 and CTLA4 as costimulatory receptors with opposing functions will be discussed. Finally, the foray into anti-tumor responses using antibodies against T cell costimulatory receptors, CTLA4 and PD1, will be discussed. A highlight will be the insights gained by the speaker as a graduate student in Prof. J. Allison's laboratory during 1986- 1992.

Generating the full complement of functional cell types requires coordinating the production of cells with the specification programs that distinguish one cell type from another. Asymmetric cell division, in which one cell divides to create daughter cells that differ in size, location, cellular components or fate, is extensively used in the development of animals. In development of the epidermis in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, the specification and distribution of stomatal guard cells also requires oriented cell divisions. By studying stomatal development, one can explore how cells choose to initiate asymmetric divisions, how cells establish an internal polarity that can be translated into an asymmetric cell division, and how cells interpret external cues to align their divisions relative to the polarity of the whole tissue. Moreover, approaching these questions in a plant system is likely to reveal new solutions to the problem of balancing the robust specification of cell types with the ability to change development in the face of injury or environmental change.

Experimental hands-on demonstration under a theme ‘Science for the People and the People for the Science’ by Prof. Samar Bagchi and Dr. B N Das

At Bose Institute, an initiative has been taken for R&D of Straw tube detector and GEM detector for the CBM Muon Chamber (MUCH). The characteristic study of a straw tube detector prototype using premixed gas of Argon and CO2 in 70/30 and 90/10 volume ratio has been performed. The main motivation of this work is to study the variation of the gain and energy resolution of the straw tube detector with X-ray rate per unit length in a laboratory for the first time. Study of the stability of gain and energy resolution for a triple GEM detector has been performed under continuous radiation of X-ray with high rate, using premixed gas of Argon and CO2 in 70/30 ratio and conventional NIM electronics. A strong 55Fe X-ray source is used for this study. The novelty of this study is that for the stability test same source is used to irradiate the GEM chamber and to monitor the spectrum. The results will be discussed. The cosmic ray energy spectrum has revealed new fine structures and consensus about the origin and composition of the primary particles is yet to be known. For this purpose, Extensive Air Shower (EAS) experiments are carried out throughout the world. An air shower array of seven plastic scintillation detectors has been built commissioned at an altitude of 2200 meters above sea level in the Eastern Himalayas (Darjeeling). Continuous measurement of shower rate using this array is going on since the end of January, 2018. The method of measurement and experimental results will be presented.

Although we think of memories as being rooted in the past, they have a profound influence on how we respond to experiences in the future. Memory come in many different flavours, some more potent then others. Unconscious emotional memories of fearful experiences, formed in a brain structure called the amygdala, appear to leave an indelible mark that may last for a lifetime. But the rapid and efficient encoding of emotional memories can become maladaptive - severe stress often turns them into a chronic anxiety. What are the cellular mechanisms underlying these powerful emotional symptoms? To answer this question, we have been using a range of behavioural and cellular measurements to identify neural coreelates of sf stress-induced modulation of amygdala structure and function - from cellular and synaptic mechanisms to their behavioural consequences in rodents. Our findings points to unique featurs of stress-induced plasticity in the amygdala that could have long term consequences for pathological fear and anxiety exhibited in people suffering from psychiatric disorders

We have just begun to understand a few of the lessons on nanotechnology that nature has been willing to teach us for millennia but we were not smart enough to appreciate. I will touch upon natural examples of structural colour (peacocks’ wings), structural adhesives (lizards’ feet), anB-reflecBve coaBngs (cicadan wings), and walking on water (water striders). I will focus parBcularly on how the complex, hierarchical nanostructures of lotus leaves and rose petals can give rise to qualitaBvely different types of hydrophobic surfaces. The colloquium is aimed at anyone who is interested in nature, science and the sociology of science!

Aphids constitute a large group of insects that have adapted to feeding from the sieve elements of plants. Nearly 250 aphid species are considered pests of a wide variety of plants. Damage to plants is the outcome of a combination of factors, including loss of phloem sap and reduction in flow of nutrients to primary growth zones resulting from alterations in source-sink patterns in aphid-infested plants. In addition, aphids vector several economically important viruses. The long-term goal of my research is to understand the interaction between plants and aphids, in particular the processes that allow plants to limit infestation. The compatible interaction between Arabidopsis thaliana and the green peach aphid (GPA; Myzus persicae Sülzer) has provided a model system to uncover the molecular events and physiological processes that contribute to plant defense. I will discuss our recent discoveries on the involvement of actin cytoskeleton dynamics involving the Actin depolymerizing factor 3 in controlling aphid infestation

Recently a data set containing linear and circular polarisation information of a collection of six hundred pulsars has been released. The operative radio wavelength for the same was 21 cm. Pulsars radio emission process is modelled either with synchroton / superconducting self-Compton route or with curvature radiation route. These theories fall short of accounting for the circular polarisation observed, as they are predisposed towards producing, solely, linear polarisation. Here we invoke (pseudo)scalars and their interaction with photons mediated by colossal magnetic fields of pulsars, to account for the circular part of polarisation data. This enables us to estimate the pseudoscalar parameters such as its coupling to photons and its mass in conjunction as product. To obtain these values separately, we turn our attention to recent observation on 47 pulsars, whose absolute polarisation position angles have been made available. Except, a third of the latter set, the rest of it overlaps with the expansive former data set on polarisation type & degree. This helps us figure out, both the pseudoscalar parameters individually, that we report here.

The specific shear viscosity eta/s of quark gluon plasma has been extracted with increasing accuracy from comparing viscous fluid dynamics calculations to data. Together with lattice QCD and new NLO perturbative calculations a consistent picture seems to emerge. On the other hand, for hot hadron gas below Tc uncertainties are larger, with transport models typically predicting very large eta/s up to T=Tc. We explore the possibility to constrain eta/s of hot hadron gas from data by utilizing the deformation of particle distributions in the presence of shear stress. Following this strategy we obtain values of the specific shear viscosity vs temperature. Results are consistent between LHC and RHIC data, and values of eta/s drop significantly between 110 and 140 MeV temperature. We make an effort to estimate the systematic uncertainties on the numbers we extract.

J.C. Bose started modern science in India through his example. His discovery of microwave electromagnetic radiation is a complete example of great originality, perseverance under impossible odds and of the highest values of science. It is inspiring to all of us who came after. His pioneering exploration of communication in plants, illuminated by exquisite instrumentation and transcendental motivation, was decades ahead . It is a great honour to revisit these on the Foundation Day of the institution which enshrines his work and values,

Traditionally the sky has been observed through optical telescopes, first with the eye, and then with the help of photographic and solid-state detectors. However, our atmosphere prevents most of the radiation, e.g. Infrared, Ultraviolet, X-rays and Gamma-rays and charged particles, from celestial sources, from reaching the Earth-s surface. Early research by Professor D M Bose involved observing cosmic rays from Darjeeling and surroundings, and similar research on high-energy photons were carried out from aircraft and balloons. Now we have observatories in orbit. I will give an account of how some essential knowledge of the Universe cannot be observed from the ground, and needs to be accessed from observatories at high altitude, or in orbit, and what major challenges we face in observing from Space.

Within the framework of an improved flavour SU(3) chiral mean-field (CMF) effective model, with parameters constrained by realistic nuclear-matter ground-state properties, the QCD phase diagram is investigated vis-a-vis, the effect of the intermingling between the crossovers corresponding to the nuclear liquid-gas (LG) and the chiral/deconfinement phase transitions. It is observed that the LG transition has considerable effects on the fluctuations of the system, manifest in the beam-energy dependence of its baryon-number cumulants; for matter with isospin-symmetry and zero net strangeness chemical potential. For isospin-asymmetric matter, the model is successfully modified to produce symmetry energy and slope parameter values in agreement with experimental astrophysical constraints. Furthermore, in conjunction with the Tolmann-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equations, the model Equation of State (EoS) is found to result in a maximum mass, and radius, neutron star consistent with the most recent observations. For a non-zero net strangeness chemical potential, the phase diagram is revealed to be modified, such that the chiral/deconfinement phase boundary becomes a smooth crossover for all temperatures and baryo-chemical potentials. Hydrodynamic simulations of heavy-ion collisions are undertaken using the CMF model EoS, to produce results in accordance with currently available di-lepton data from the HADES experiment at GSI.

Termination by RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is tightly regulated to ensure proper 3-end maturation and to prevent interference between neighboring genes. Pol II accumulation at a 3 pause site downstream of the cleavage and polyadenylation signal (CPS) leads to phosphorylation of Ser2 (pSer2) in the carboxy-terminal domain (CTD) and recruitment of factors involved in mRNA 3-end processing and termination, but how this sequence is initiated remains unclear. In a chemical-genetic screen, we identified human protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) isoforms PP1β and PP1γ as substrates of positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb), the cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (Cdk9)-cyclin T1 complex. In fission yeast, Cdk9 phosphorylates the PP1 ortholog Dis2 on Thr316—the residue analogous to the sites labeled by Cdk9 in the human PP1 isoforms—to inhibit its phosphatase activity. Dis2 in turn negatively regulates phosphorylation of the essential elongation factor and canonical Cdk9 substrate Spt5 in vivo. Mutations that reduce Dis2 activity increased Spt5 phosphorylation on chromatin, most markedly downstream of the CPS, and led to decreased termination efficiency detected by precision run-on transcription and sequencing (PRO-seq). These results support a model in which a bistable Cdk9-PP1 switch regulates the transition of Pol II from elongation to termination; an analogous switch comprising Dis2 and the major cell-cycle CDK, Cdk1, controls progression through mitosis. This mechanism appears to be conserved in human cells, by the following criteria: 1) by chromatin immunoprecipitation and sequencing (ChIP-seq) analysis, phosphorylation of human Spt5 on a carboxy-terminal site (Thr806) dropped sharply downstream of the CPS, concomitant with 3’-pausing of Pol II; 2) chemical inhibition or RNAi-mediated depletion of PP1 increased Spt5-Thr806 phosphorylation; and 3) inhibition of Cdk9 diminished phosphorylation of PP1γ-Thr311 in vivo. In both yeast and human cells, ChIP-seq analysis revealed a reciprocal relationship between Spt5-Thr806 phosphorylation and pSer2, which decrease and increase, respectively, downstream of the CPS, where Pol II accumulates at the 3 pause site. Therefore, the CDK-PP1 switch is a common regulatory module governing mitotic and transcriptional exit, which is likely to be conserved between fission yeast and humans.

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Due to having a non-zero mean magnetic field, solar wind turbulence is often described in the framework of anisotropic turbulence. The power and spectral indices in the parallel and perpendicular directions are different. Various theories are proposed for explaining the anisotropic behaviour. In this talk, I shall give a brief description of my current research work on the power and spectral anisotropy using a method based on wavelets. In previous studies, this method showed results which are consistent with critical balance theory giving a -5/3 perpendicular spectrum and a -2 parallel spectrum for magnetic energy (Horbury et al., PRL, 2009). In my work I have shown that some statistical properties are different from the polar solar wind to the near ecliptic wind. However, the spectral index anisotropy does not change with heliospheric latitude.

The increase of atmospheric CO2 is unavoidable but sinks for this carbon are not well understood. Wetlands are one of the major drivers of the global inter-annual variability of green house gases (GHGs) emissions (mainly CO2 and CH4)and its atmospheric growth. Among the wetlands, mangroves are particularly important because of their high productivity (higher than sea grass, saltmarsh, corals) and CO2 fixing capacity. These ecosystems are recognized as important component in the global C budget by the climate mitigation program (IPCC). The largest mangrove systems are found in Asia (42%), with the Sundarbans representing the largest tract of mangrove forest in the world. The results, obtained since 2009 from the Indian Sundarbans, highlight these mangroves as natural sink of atmospheric CO2 and source of CH4. These mangroves sequester C at an annual rate of 2.79 Tg (1Tg =102 g), being faster than Amazonian wetlands, and their total C stock in the above ground and below ground biomass is lower than in the terrestrial tropical forest. Box model approach and simulation results reveal that Sundarbans are potentially sensitive to the increasing atmospheric CO2 and the fertilization effect is a result of their from past disturbances. Air-water emission flux of CO2 and CH4 shows insignificant contribution to the total GHGs emission from the biosphere (forest+soil) and water part is dominated by the heterotrophic respiration over the years. Main components of carbon i.e dissolved and particulate organic carbon (DOC, POC) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) are quantified at different spatial scale (mangrove creek water, swamp water, pore water, river water, offshore water). Finally, a comprehensive carbon mass budget for the Indian Sundarbans is derived for the first time and results produce a significant fraction of ‘missing carbon’ that should be studied further to better understand underlying biogeochemical processes and source/sink effect. Besides Sundarbans, this ongoing research on understanding C biogeochemistry and climate change effect covers a wide range of other mangroves across the latitudinal gradient (50 S-270 N covering Indonesia, Philippines, India, Iran and Amazonian system (French Guiana).However, future studies will be conducted in high altitude systems of eastern India (Himalayan) to better understand carbon sequestration capacity at contrasted vegetational level (wetland and mountain) and GHGs emissions in the context of climate change.

The increase of atmospheric CO2 is unavoidable but sinks for this carbon are not well understood. Wetlands are one of the major drivers of the global inter-annual variability of green house gases (GHGs) emissions (mainly CO2 and CH4)and its atmospheric growth. Among the wetlands, mangroves are particularly important because of their high productivity (higher than sea grass, saltmarsh, corals) and CO2 fixing capacity. These ecosystems are recognized as important component in the global C budget by the climate mitigation program (IPCC). The largest mangrove systems are found in Asia (42%), with the Sundarbans representing the largest tract of mangrove forest in the world. The results, obtained since 2009 from the Indian Sundarbans, highlight these mangroves as natural sink of atmospheric CO2 and source of CH4. These mangroves sequester C at an annual rate of 2.79 Tg (1Tg =102 g), being faster than Amazonian wetlands, and their total C stock in the above ground and below ground biomass is lower than in the terrestrial tropical forest. Box model approach and simulation results reveal that Sundarbans are potentially sensitive to the increasing atmospheric CO2 and the fertilization effect is a result of their from past disturbances. Air-water emission flux of CO2 and CH4 shows insignificant contribution to the total GHGs emission from the biosphere (forest+soil) and water part is dominated by the heterotrophic respiration over the years. Main components of carbon i.e dissolved and particulate organic carbon (DOC, POC) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) are quantified at different spatial scale (mangrove creek water, swamp water, pore water, river water, offshore water). Finally, a comprehensive carbon mass budget for the Indian Sundarbans is derived for the first time and results produce a significant fraction of ‘missing carbon’ that should be studied further to better understand underlying biogeochemical processes and source/sink effect. Besides Sundarbans, this ongoing research on understanding C biogeochemistry and climate change effect covers a wide range of other mangroves across the latitudinal gradient (50 S-270 N covering Indonesia, Philippines, India, Iran and Amazonian system (French Guiana).However, future studies will be conducted in high altitude systems of eastern India (Himalayan) to better understand carbon sequestration capacity at contrasted vegetational level (wetland and mountain) and GHGs emissions in the context of climate change.

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Quantum materials are on the ascent. In this talk, I will discuss about quantum materials and some of the emergent properties in them. Broadly, the talk will be divided into few sections based........ Finally, I will discuss briefly about my future research plan to elucidate novel phenomena in quantum materials for basic and applied perspective.

It is believed that at a few microseconds after the Big Bang, the universe was in the states of quark gluon plasma, whose temperatures are much larger than the temperature of Sun. The experiments of heavy ion collisions like RHIC at BNL, USA and LHC at CERN, Switzerland have successfully produced this artificial baby universe, whose temperature is of the order of trillion degree Kelvin - a highest man-made temperature till now. Our studies are focus on this high temperature state by investigating its in-medium spectral and transport responses, where quantum field theory at finite temperature is used as a main mathematical tool. The investigation on spectral responses is aimed to solve the longstanding “low mass dilepton enhancement” puzzle, which is believed to be a signature of the medium. On the other hand, the studies of transport responses have tried to probe on the (nearly) perfect fluid nature of this medium, which is observed in experiments.

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Any physicochemical stress that may perturb protein-conformation is capable to trigger misfolding and insolubility. Heat stress unfolds the secondary structures, exposes the hydrophobic stretches of proteins and results in the formation of reversible or amyloidogenic aggregates. Similarly, imbalance of protein homeostasis (proteostasis) network can also promote insolubility as the protein-stabilizing factors are gradually sequestered by the increasing load of misfolded proteins. However, protein aggregation may not be always deleterious. Multiple studies have suggested that transient aggregation of proteins may be a part of cellular defence as well. The goal of our lab is to systematically snapshoot various stages of the proteome-destabilization events in different age-related protein-aggregation models to investigate whether widespread insolubility of proteins is stochastic in nature or organized and, how do these aggregation events contribute to cellular protection or toxicity. In this study, we induced protein aggregation by perturbing the turnover of proteins. Snapshots of proteome -reorganization events were captured in Neuro2A cells after short-term proteasome inhibition. Partitioning of mitochondrial respiratory chain complex (RCC) subunits from soluble to insoluble fraction was reflected as the major perturbation in the proteome. Many of these nuclear-encoded RCC subunits were found to contain N-terminal mitochondrial target signal (MTS) with arginine rich low complexity regions that could seed phase separation as these proteins accumulate in the proteasome-inhibited cells. Complexome profiling experiments revealed that disappearance of small assembly intermediates of respiratory complexes composed of these aggregation-prone subunits earmarks the onset of long-term respiration stress. Redistribution of histones across the proteome fractions, increased load of H3K4 trimethylation and induction of hsp-transcription were identified as early-adaptive responses in the pursuit of re-establishing the proteome-equilibrium.

Talk 1 Guanine- and cytosine-rich sequences may fold into tetrahelical structures called G-quadruplexes and i-motifs under certain conditions, respectively. G-quadruplexes are noncanonical four stranded structures consisting of stacks of guanine residues assembled into G-quartets and coordinated with intercalated cations such as potassium and sodium. These structures exist in dynamic equilibrium within the single-stranded G-rich DNA generated during major genomic events (replication, transcription). G-quadruplexes may be modulators of nucleic-acid- processing proteins and, as such, as potential components of new pathways of genome and epigenome regulation. Solution-state NMR spectroscopy has contributed significant insights that helped to uncover overall topologies and local features of non-B- DNA structural families alone or in interaction with other molecules such as small molecule ligands. An unexpected four-stranded structures stabilized by G-A and G-C base pairs stimulated us to explore if G- and A-rich repeat segments of DNA can adopt tetrahelical structures different from G-quadruplexes. 5'-AGCGA- 3' repeat sequences are found in regulatory regions of 38 different human genes linked to neurodevelopment and neurological disorders, abnormal cartilage and bone formations, cancer and regulation of basic cellular processes. In contrast to the expected G-quartet- based topologies adopted by 5'-GGG- 3' repeats structures are stabilized by G-C, G-A and G-G base pairs that interact to form unique structures. In comparison to G-quadruplexes novel structural family does not show the same sensitivity to the presence of cations. New structures suggest that folding landscapes and structural diversity of DNA oligonucleotides are much more complex than previously assumed. Talk 2 Guanine(G)-rich DNA oligonucleotides can fold into higher-order structures called G-quadruplexes (G4). These structures have been associated with genomic instability and regulation of gene expression [1]. Formation of G4 structures arises from non-covalent interactions, which makes their detection in native form inside live cells a challenging task. DAOTA-M2 is a small- molecule optical probe that has a significantly longer fluorescence lifetime upon binding to G4 in comparison to double- and single-stranded nucleic acids [2,3]. Thus, DAOTA-M2 provides means to monitor G-quadruplexes in vitro and in vivo. Using NMR spectroscopy we determine a high-resolution structural model of the complex between DAOTA-M2 and G4 from c-myc gene (PDB ID: 5LIG) [4]. Moreover, MD calculations reveal a dynamic behaviour of DAOTA-M2 when bound to G4. The insights into binding characteristics of DAOTA-M2 provide a structural rationale for its unique fluorescence behaviour upon binding to G4s.

The topics of this talk are investigations of phenomena occurring in and around biological membranes using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Lipid bilayer membranes are liquid crystals. The oppositely oriented head group dipoles in the lipid head groups makes the bilayer leaflets respond differently to applied electrical potential. While the density of dipoles decreases in one leaflet, it increases in the other leaflet upon application of a transmembrane electrical potential, thus resulting in bending of the bilayer. We investigated this flexoelectric phenomenon using coarse grained molecular dynamics simula- tions and show that increasing potentials bend the membrane to a larger extent. We demonstrate the implications of the phenomenon in the tubulation of giant unilamellar vesicles upon application of a calcium flux. I will also talk about the use of the ”virtual sites algorithm” to increase the timestep of MD simulations to 5 femtoseconds, resulting in 2.5x faster simula- tions of biological systems. Finally, I will spend some time describing the molec- ular basis of how nucleotides in food increase the sensation of the ”umami” by several-fold. Umami is the ”sixth” official taste which is triggered by the pres- ence of glutamate (popularly known as MSG or Ajinomoto) in, particularly, Asian cuisine.

We study magnetised accretion onto a magnetised compact star like neutron star or a white dwarf. We upgraded the existing models significantly, and are able to satisfy the inner boundary conditions. We are able to predict terminating shock, but also predict another secondary shock.

Viruses have evolved sophisticated strategies to penetrate biological membranes to enter host cells and cause disease. While membrane penetration by enveloped viruses is reasonably well characterized, the mechanism by which non-enveloped viruses breach a host membrane remains largely enigmatic. To infect cells, the non-enveloped polyomavirus SV40 traffics from the cell surface to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) where it penetrates the ER membrane to reach cytosol. In the cytosol, the virus moves further into the nucleus to stimulate lytic infection or cell transformation. ER-to-cytosol membrane transport of SV40, a critical infection step, remains unclear. It is previously reported that SV40 is partially destabilized in the ER lumen, generating a hydrophobic viral particle that integrates into the ER membrane in preparation for extraction into the cytosol. Several ER membrane proteins including three structurally homologous ER membrane bound DnaJ proteins (B12, B14, C18) support this membrane penetration step. But as we found that these three J proteins perform non-overlapping role in SV40 membrane penetration step, we tried to check their binding partners through an unbiased IP-mass spec study. As a preferential binding partner of C18, we now find that a multi-subunit ER membrane complex called the ER membrane protein complex or EMC supports SV40 infection by stabilizing SV40 within the ER membrane. Transmembrane region of largest subunit of the complex, EMC1, binds to SV40 coat proteins and stabilizes the membrane penetrating virus. This EMC1-dependent stabilization prevents premature viral destabilization, enabling a cytosolic chaperone complex to properly engage and extract the virus into the cytosol to complete the membrane penetration event. These findings are consistent with the normal cellular function of the EMC1, which is thought to stabilize multi-pass membrane proteins during their biogenesis. Our results illuminate how SV40 exploits an ER quality control machinery during infection, specifically revealing a novel principle in which coordinated destabilization and stabilization of a non-enveloped virus is crucial to its membrane penetration process.

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Complex biological process can be understood from the properties of specific molecules that are building blocks of living organism. How do living organism composed of molecules have self-organized to do ‘engineering tasks’ such as efficient processing of information and control? This potentially brings together many fields of research including non-equilibrium statistical physics, classical mechanics and control theory to study biology. To do this, we identify specific molecules involved in biological processes, and determine their molecular structures, organization, and properties using multiscale modeling. We address two important questions below. Early works both theoretically (Gourishankar, K. et al., Cell 2012) and experimentally (Goswami, D. et al, Cell 2008) show that the outer leaflet GPI-anchored proteins (GPI-APs) of the cell surface are organized as monomers and cholesterol sensitive nanocluters, which are regulated by the active remodeling of the underlying cortical actin and myosin. Since, GPI-APs are lipid tethered proteins which reside on the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane, the natural question is how the outer-leaflet GPI-APs couple to the cortical actin that abuts the inner leaflet of the cell membrane. As a variety of high resolution experiments on live cells using FRET found no direct linkage between the GPI-APs and cortical actin (CA), there must be an indirect coupling between the outer leaflet GPI-APs and CA or its immediate interacting partners. We address these important issues using atomistic MD simulations on multicomponent model membrane. We find that long saturated acyl-chains are required for forming GPI-anchor nanoclusters. Simultaneously, at the inner leaflet, long acyl-chain containing phosphatidylserine (PS) is necessary for transbilayer coupling. Now, we focus on an important receptor protein embedded in the cell membrane, employed in different physiological activity. Integrins are transmembrane cell-surface molecules that act as primary adhesion receptors for the extracellular matrix (ECM) and play critical roles in cell-cell adhesion, cell migration, proliferation, and survival. Integrins undergo tension-dependent conformational transitions correlated with changes in binding affinity. Despite of the importance of integrin conformation in ECM binding, pathway of integrin activation remains elusive. Using multiscale molecular dynamics modeling and simulation, we study the conformation changes in wild type and mutant integrins and provide an atomic-scale structural information for integrin intermediates. we use multiscale (atomistic to coarse-grained) simulation approaches in order to test how integrin β mutations destabilize the closed conformation and to probe the intermediate conformations along the activation pathway. We demonstrate that local correlated motions of residues are likely responsible for extension of the integrin headpiece before separation of transmembrane legs, without persistence of these motions across the entire receptor. Together, our results provide new insight into the structural pathway of full-length integrin activation.

Proteins fold under mechanical forces in a number of biological processes, ranging from muscle contraction to co-translational folding. As force hinders folding, chaperones must play a crucial role in this scenario. Nevertheless, to date, it has not been possible to monitor the direct influence of a chaperone on a protein folding under force. Here, we introduce single molecule magnetic tweezers to study the folding dynamics of protein L in presence of the prototypical molecular chaperone Trigger Factor (TF) over the range of physiological forces (4 to 10 pN). Our results show that TF modulates folding of protein L by prominently increasing the probability of folding against the force and accelerating the refolding kinetics. Moreover, we find that the ability of TF to catalyze the folding reaction depends on the pulling force; as the force increases, higher concentrations of TF are needed for rescue folding. We propose for the first time that chaperones such as TF can work as foldases under force by restricting the entropy of the unfolded state. In a separate study, we studied the mechanism of the GroEL/GroES chaperonin system. A novel and sensitive dual color fluorescence cross-correlation spectroscopy assay shows the absence of transient aggregates at single molecular concentration. Using a single molecule FRET based assay, we show that the acceleration of substrate protein folding by GroEL is preserved under single molecule conditions, where aggregation is excluded. We apply photo induced electron transfer fluorescence-quenching correlation spectroscopy to demonstrate that the acceleration of substrate protein folding is achieved by encapsulation of a dynamic folding intermediate inside the GroEL cavity. Furthermore, we provide evidence that modulation of the folding energy landscape is a result not only of steric confinement during encapsulation, but also of the net negative charge of the GroEL cage wall. Taken together, our results demonstrate the mechanism of a set of chaperones and arguing in favor of an active cage mechanism. Furthermore, they highlight the potential of single-molecule methods in elucidating the mechanistic details of complex biochemical systems.

Resveratrol (3,5,4′-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene), a polyphenolic compound which is present in several plants and fruits especially in grapes, have shown several potential health benefits with devoid of any toxicity. Resveratrol protects many normal cells from DNA damage and apoptosis by modulating the anti- and pro-apoptotic mediators as well as shows anti-tumor activity. We have elucidated the effect of resveratrol on Benzo(a)pyrene [B(a)P], a environmental carcinogen induced male reproductive dysfunctions. Resveratrol inhibited B(a)P induced testicular oxidative stress, p38MAPK activation and subsequent suppression of ATF2 mediated iNOS production. Studies with isolated testicular Germ cells indicated the involvement p53 and activation of both intrinsic and extrinsic mode of apoptosis upon B(a)P exposure. Resveratrol efficiently prevented B(a)P induced Germ cell apoptosis. Resveratrol also prevented the activation of AhR and CYP1A1 expression. Resveratrol acts as a natural AhR antagonist and prevented the promoter activation of CYP1A1, thus inhibited the formation of toxic BPDE-DNA adduct. Our findings delineated the molecular interplay of B(a)P and resveratrol to prevent the damage of testicular Germ cell population and restoring the reproductive health and fertility. On the other hand, we have identified a novel synthetic resveratrol analog, Z-DAN-11 [(Z)-3-(3, 4-dimethoxyphenyl)-2-(3, 4, 5-trimethoxyphenyl) acrylonitrile], which shows remarkable efficacy in blocking tumor growth and progression both in vitro and in vivo. Z-DAN-11 inhibits proliferation of cancer cells in vitro through microtubule depolymerization that induced G2/M arrest and consequently leads to apoptotic cell death. More importantly, Z-DAN-11 shows limited cytotoxicity to normal cells as compared to cancer cells. Mechanistic studies reveal that Z-DAN-11 induces the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins and decreases anti-apoptotic protein expression that decisively helps in the activation of caspases, leading to cleavage of PARP-1 and cell death via intrinsic and extrinsic pathways of apoptosis. Additionally, Z-DAN-11 mediated apoptosis of cancer cells is through a p53-dependent pathway, since in both HCT116 p53-/- as well as p53 siRNA was able to block p53-mediated apoptosis. Finally, in vivo study with immune-competent syngeneic mice tumor model shows Z-DAN-11 to be able to impede tumor progression without any adverse side effects. Hence, our studies have identified a novel, synthetic trans-stilbene derivative having remarkable anti-tumorigenic potential which might tremendously help in devising potential therapeutic strategy against cancer.

The research work of Nuclear and Particle Physics group of University of Basel is centered around Hadron Physics. Investigation of excited nucleon states via photoproduction of mesons and the modication of the properties of nucleon resonances and mesons are studied with electromagnetic interactions for the structure of nucleons and meson. Photoproduction of Mesons provides an efficient tool for the study of decays of nucleon resonances. The excitation spectrum of hadrons reflects directly the underlying symmetries and the internal degrees of freedom. Our group is involved in international collaborations of Crystal Ball at MAMI, Crystal Barrel at ELSA,TAPS for the photoproduction of mesons; in the PANDA-project at GSI and Muse collaboration at PSI for Proton Radius Puzzle experiment. I will include couple of my preliminary results inside CB-TAPS collaborative works, as well as my so far contribution to Muse and CB-ELSA.

The goal of relativistic heavy ion collider experiments is to explore the properties of the strongly interacting matter produced with very high temperature and energy density, conditions under which the formation of a Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) is expected. Heavy quarks, i.e. charm and beauty are sensitive probes of the QGP as they are produced in the initial stages of the collision and witness the entire evolution of the system. Measurements in p--Pb collisions help understanding Cold Nuclear Matter (CNM) effects such as the modification of the nuclear Parton Distribution Function (nPDF) with respect to the expectation from proton PDF, parton momentum ($k_{ m T}$) broadening from soft scattering processes and parton energy loss in nuclear matter. Studies of heavy-flavour production in different centrality intervals can provide information on the dependence of CNM effects on the collision geometry and on the density of final-state particles. In this talk, I will present the $p_{T}$-differential cross-section of heavy-flavour decay electrons for different centrality intervals in p-Pb collisions at $sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV at mid-rapidity ($|eta| <$ 0.8). The Time Projection Chamber (TPC) was used to identify the electrons in 2 $< p_{T} <$ 8 GeV/c and the Electromagnetic Calorimeter (EMCal) was used to extend the $p_{T}$ range up to 16 GeV/c. The nuclear modification factor, $Q_{pPb}$, ratio of transverse momentum spectra in p--Pb collisions and the corresponding cross section in pp collisions scaled by the nuclear overlap function, and the central-to-peripheral ratio $Q_{cp}$, ratio of transverse momentum spectra measured at central collisions to that from peripheral collisions, scaled by the corresponding nuclear overlap functions, will be presented for different centrality intervals of p--Pb events.

Neutrino is an elusive and one of the most abundant particle in nature. Many neutrino physics experiments around the globe are trying to explore its properties. I am actively involved with two such experiments NOvA and LArIAT based at Fermilab, USA. NOvA is a neutrino oscillation experiment envisioned for precise measurements of neutrino oscillation parameters and LArIAT is a testbeam facility to execute a comprehensive program to characterize liquid argon TPC performance and charged particle interactions on argon nuclei in the energy ranges relevant for neutrino experiments. Both the experiments are operating since last few years and have published their results recently. I have contributed on their data taking, data processing, physics analysis and also on the detectors. In this seminar, I will briefly explain these two experiments and their physics goals. I will talk about my contributions and also the future plans in coming years for these two experiments.

Understanding of the microphysical processes of cloud and precipitation system is an outstanding scientific problem which is the key parameter in having robust numerical weather prediction models. The situation is more critical in tropical regions like India where rain characteristics are different from mid-latitudes and also varies widely for different parts of the country. Radar and radiometers are the two components of present day remote sensing techniques used to monitor the precipitation whereas in-situ sensors like raingauges and disdrometer are commonly used to supplement the remote sensing observations. My research is focused on the understanding of the rain characteristics over India based on these types of measurements and quantify the microwave-atmosphere interaction. Accurate quantification of the interaction between precipitation and microwave signal plays is an important role in accuracy of the retrieved information from remote sensing data. The works are carried mostly in collaboration with ISRO, Ahmedabad who have deployed several in-situ instruments, radar and radiometer at different parts of India. The analysis of these data helps to understand microphysical structure of rain, particularly characteristics difference of different types of rain, their evolution process, vertical structures and the changes in microwave environment associated with rain. This further helps to simulate the microwave signal characteristics for remote sensing applications and helps to devise suitable strategy for local area nowcasting of heavy rain events well in advance.

Activation of IKK-complex is the gateway to NF-kappaB activation. Canonical IKK-complex is composed of two catalytic subunits, IKK1/IKKalpha and IKK2/IKKbeta that bear Ser/Thr kinase domains and a non-catalytic regulatory scaffolding subunit, NF-kappaB Essential Modulator (NEMO). IKK activity is tightly controlled in cells and loss of this regulation has been associated with many human diseases, and its potential as a drug target was readily realized. Subsequently, many highly specific and potent active-site directed IKK-inhibitors were developed with little clinical application owing to intolerable side effects upon prolonged treatment. It is important to inhibit aberrant IKK-activity leaving the basal and protective IKKactivity intact, an aspect that these inhibitors failed to achieve. In another approach, peptides targeting the protein:protein interaction interface between IKK and NEMO were designed and used in many disease models with promising outcomes. As the importance of higher order assemblies in signal transduction is becoming increasingly clearer, it will be beneficial to realize the structural and biochemical differences between the IKK-complexes (minimal and higher order), before and after induction by a stimulus. Targeting novel protein:protein interaction interfaces in the activated complex may lead to better clinical outcomes.

Bacterial chromosomes initiate replication at a particular time in the cell cycle, whereas there is generally no fixed time for plasmid replication initiation. In bacteria with divided genomes, the replication system of one of the chromosomes typically resembles that of bacteria with undivided genomes, whereas the remaining chromosomes have plasmid-like replication systems. For example, in Vibrio cholerae, a bacterium with two chromosomes (Chr1 and Chr2), the Chr1 system resembles that of the Escherichia coli chromosome and the Chr2 system, that of iteron-based plasmids. However, Chr2 still initiatesreplication at a fixed time in the cell cycle and thus offers an opportunity to understand the molecular basis for the difference between random and cell cycle-regulated modes of replication. We find that although the Chr2 control mechanisms in many ways are reminiscent of those of plasmids, they also appear to combine more regulatory features than are found on a typical plasmid, including some that are more typical of chromosomes. One of the regulatory mechanisms is especially novel: the coordinated timing of replication initiation of Chr1 and Chr2, providing the first example of communication between chromosomes for replication initiation.

Frustrated magnetism is one of the growing research intersts in condensed matter physics. Theoretically different properties of these frustrated quantum magnets have been put forward a while back, .....................

Lupulin glands localized in female hop (Humulus lupulus L.) cones are valuable source of bitter acids, essential oils and polyphenols. These compounds are used in brewing industry and are important for biomedical applications. Over the past years we have cloned and characterized several transcription factors (TFs) and TFs complexes that activate or suppress hop (Humulus lupulus L.) lupulin-specific genes involved in the regulation of prenylflavonoids and bitter acids biosynthetic pathway. Among them there are regulatory genes from Myb, bHLH, WRKY, WD40 and bZIP families. The purpose of our work during several past years was to analyze regulatory network connections especially within regulation of the end steps of prenylflavonoid biosynthesis involving genes encoding enzymes like chalcone synthase CHS_H1, prenyltransferase (Prt) and O-methyltransferase 1 (omt1). Several specific TF genes like HlMyb3, HlMyb7(transcriptional repressor), HlMyb8 and TFs complexes like HlMyb3/HlbHLH2/HlWDR1, HlMyb2/HlbHLH2/HlWDR1 and HlWRKY1/HlWDR1 (WW) are of special interest and they were mapped in the initial regulatory network. In the case of WW complexes we described wide dependency of HlWRKY1 on phosphorylation, autoactivation and RNA silencing. According to our recent analyses hop gene modulation by tripartite complexes is, in addition, strongly dependent on experimental light conditions enriched either by blue, red or UVA spectra. Thus, all factors analysed so far suggest high complexity of lupulin regulatory network. Several independent breeding programs around the world have been initiated to develop new cultivars with enriched lupulin and secondary metabolite contents, but met with limited success due to several constraints. Recently, a pioneering attempt has been made to overexpress master regulator binary transcription factor complex formed by HlWRKY1 and HlWDR1 using plant expression vector to enhance the level prenylflavonoid and bitter acid content in hop. Subsequently, we performed transcriptional profiling using high-throughput RNA-Seq technology in leaves of resultant transformants and wild-type hop to gain in-depth information about the genome-wide functional changes induced by HlWRKY1 and HlWDR1 (WW-Lines) overexpression. The transgenic WW-lines exhibited elevated expression of structural and regulatory genes involved in prenylflavonoid and bitter acid biosynthesis pathways. In addition, the comparative transcriptome analysis revealed a total of 522 transcripts involved in 30 pathways including lipids and amino acids biosynthesis, primary carbon metabolism, phytohormone signaling and stress responses were differentially expressed in WW-transformants. It was apparent from the whole transcriptome sequencing that modulation of primary carbon metabolism and other pathways by HlWRKY1 and HlWDR1 overexpression, resulted in enhanced substrate flux towards secondary metabolites pathways. The detailed analyses suggested that none of the pathways or genes which have detrimental effect on physiological, growth and development processes were induced on a genome-wide scale in WW-transgenic lines. Taken together, our results suggest that HlWRKY1 and HlWDR1 overexpression positively regulates the prenylflavonoid and bitter acid biosynthesis pathways in hop and thus are presented as prospective candidate genes to achieve enhance secondary metabolite content in hop

It is well known that the diffraction of light limits the resolution achievable in microscopy. The diffraction barrier to resolution for example limits the transverse resolution to about lambda/2. In the last two decades techniques have been developed which allow one to achieve resolution of about 10 nm. Some of the newer techniques use quantum optical ideas. A review of the super resolution microscopy i.e. microscopy beyond diffraction limit would be presented. I will also review the newer developments based on the anti bunching property of quantum emitters that yield a spatial resolution reaching far into the sub-classical regime.

This talk will emphasize the importance of logical arguments in science, with illustrations from different fields. In particular four examples will be given:
1.The Travelling Salesman problem involving factors of numbers,
2.Triangle Fallacy which proves an impossible result.
3.Naval Warfare including how Nelson won the battle of Trafal.
4.Astronomer Eddington's cricket problem adapted to India vs South Africa

Phytoplanktons, the miniature marine plants are responsible for half of the global primary production thereby generating valuable oxygen comparable to land plants. Dinoflagellates are one of the predominant members of marine phytoplankton community and dwell in both marine and freshwater environments. Lingulodinium polyedrum, a photosynthetic, bioluminescent and unicellular dinoflagellate, is a model for circadian biology research for the past 60 years. Living organisms adapt to the surrounding environment by coordinating different biological tasks with the 24 h rotation of the earth. They are able to do so with the help of a cell-based clock, termed as the circadian clock. Circadian clock generates selfsustaining endogenous rhythms in physiology, behaviour and metabolism that have wide implications in eukaryotes and prokaryotes. Therefore, understanding how the clock regulates physiology is critical and manipulating them can have wide range of applications, from increasing production of commercially important bioactive molecules (drugs, biofuels etc.) in microalgae to finding cure for circadian rhythm disorders. Although the genes constituting the clock differ between plant, animal, and fungal model systems, the transcriptional-translation feedback loop (TTFL) is considered to be a conserved element of the clock mechanism. However, my experiments demonstrate that the Lingulodinium clock is functional without the requirement of rhythmic RNAs, which is an exception to the conserved TTFL system prevalent among eukaryotes. L. polyedrum has been principally studied as a model to understand the biochemical details of the many physiological rhythms whose timing is controlled by the circadian clock. The circadian clock has strong association with metabolism and also plays critical role in stress response. Algae model systems are simple and will play a key role to comprehend the mutual interaction between the clock, metabolism and stress acclimation. With the advancement of the –“Omics” technology the unconventional algae systems have much to offer.

Plants, being sessile organisms, are subjected to ever changing different biotic and abiotic stresses. To cope with stress, they have evolved complex mechanism to balance their growth, development and defence response with appropriate mechanism but how they respond swiftly to the environmental cues is not yet known. Post-translational modifications, such as SUMOylation, play an important role by quickly altering the fate of pre-existing proteins and protein complex. SUMOylation or SUMO (Small Ubiquitin-related Modifier) conjugation is one of the regulatory post-translational modifications. SUMO conjugation is a highly dynamic process that can be rapidly reversed by the action of SUMO proteases. SUMO conjugation/de-conjugation on proteins is critical during the stress but it remains challenging and unresolved, especially in plants. We have identified the SUMO proteases in Arabidopsis and are investigating the mechanistic role of these regulatory enzymes in biotic and abiotic stress. Recently, we revealed the ULP-like SUMO protease gene family in rice and demonstrated its critical role in salt stress. Here, we will have an overview of the SUMO proteases in abiotic stress in plants and highlight the ‘fine-tuning’ of SUMO conjugation/de- conjugation in balancing growth versus stress.

A Cancer cell was treated as a runaway miscreant who lost its ways of growth regulation-dividing uncontrollably and causing death when it began to grow in organs, away from the primary site of cancer.Since then we have learned that cancer is not a single disease, it has its origins in faulty genes, and often requires multiple events to become a killer. In its quest for incessant growth, a cancer cell has embraced enormous plasticity, which can include differentiation,dedifferentiation,transdifferentiation, reprograming back to a stem cell, and can display enormous genetic heterogeneity,manipulate cell-signaling mechanisms and out maneuver the immune system.

FAIR will be the next-generation facility for fundamental and applied research with antiprotons and ion beams. It will provide world- unique accelerator and experimental facilities, allowing for a great variety of unprecedented forefront research in physics and applied sciences. FAIR is an international project with 10 partner countries and more than 2500 scientists and engineers from more than 50 countries involved in the preparation of the experiments. FAIR research focuses on the structure and evolution of matter on both a microscopic and a cosmic scale, bringing our Universe into one laboratory. The FAIR four scientific pillars will expand our knowledge in various fields beyond current frontiers, addressing the structure of hadrons and nuclei, the properties of matter at extreme densities, the key processes in nuclear astrophysics and a variety of applications of nuclear beams to Biophysics and Material Science. The talk will introduce FAIR, its unique scientific Opportunities, and the status of the realization of the project