CUBE Kishore Bharati Assistantship Report

CUBE chat Periodic Reports
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CUBE Kishore Bharati Assistantship Report: 1st January to 31st January 2025

  1. Number of Days Attended in the Chatshaala: 20/31

Highlights of Chatshaala:

  1. Mosquitoes: We discussed the identification of male and female mosquitoes, the blood-feeding behavior of females, and mosquito-borne diseases. The major questions addressed were: “Do males suck blood?” and “How do mosquitoes attract animals?”
  2. Butterfly: One of the questions addressed in Chatshaala was, “How does the female butterfly recognize the host plant?” We also discussed the culture of Common Mormon butterflies by Amritha in her homelab.
  3. Hydra Regeneration: Sakshi presented a paper at NIMHANS about regeneration in Hydra and the influence of cobalt chloride. We also discussed the culture and maintenance of Chlorohydra and Moina.
  4. DNA Extraction at Homelab:
  5. Mango Tree Flowering Status: We analyzed data on mango flowering across different parts of India and discussed the role of hormones in flowering.
  6. Fruitfly: We performed and discussed fruitfly trapping and food preferences. Cubists from CHM College actively participated in the Chatshaala sessions. Enosh and others set up a system to trap and culture fruitflies in the homelab.
    We also discussed the role of Y tube in food preferences assay in labs.
  7. Microbial Culture at Homelab: Vamshika, a new Cubist from CHM College, isolated curd bacteria in her homelab.

Developing Context for Curriculum:

A) We asked the question in Chatshaala: “Why is ATP considered the energy currency of the cell?”
B) The role of vitamins in daily life, along with their structure and function, was discussed.
C) We also discussed the development of BT cotton and the practical aspects of it. Cotton is part of the outer cell coat, where the exocarp, endocarp, and mesocarp are fused into one single wall.

Preparation for Azim Premji University Workshop:

We discussed the mango flowering status across the country and predicted the current status of mango flowering at Azim Premji University. We also explored how topics like statistics can be introduced in the curriculum.

Shivani, currently working at NCBS in stem cell-related studies, joined the discussion. We discussed about stem cells and her work in collaboration with NIMHANS.

Developments in CUBE Homelab:

CUBE CHM College:
Microbial Culture: Vamshika
Fruitfly Setup: Enosh, Vamshika
Cardamine:CUBE Sapekshati ,Rechel
Nail growth study:Rechel,Vikram
Fruitfly: Batul
Food preferences:Enas,sakshi, Nidhi, Sailakshmi,Arunan sir
Chlorohydraand moina : Sakshi
Mango mapping january:Republic day celebration in cube :mango mapping ,january 2024