Utsuka and Jigyasa were thinking about the day they had loads of chocolates. Jigyasa rightly pointed out that eating too much chocolate causes cavities; that’s why we brush our teeth. This made them wonder: “How does brushing help stop cavities?”   Listen to the episode as they both explore teeth up close. They learn about the microbial community living on tooth surfaces, how they function, and what role the microbes and food you eat play in causing cavities.   They also talk with Dr. Karishma Kaushik from Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), a scientist who studies microbes, about how researchers study microbes of teeth in labs. As a clinician turned scientist, Dr. Kaushik shares how her unique background allows her to see her research from a unique perspective.     References

1. https://www.atsu.edu/faculty/chamberlain/mosdoh/dentalbiofilmplaguegonebad.htm
2. Pitts, Nigel B, Svante Twetman, Julian Fisher, and Philip D Marsh. “Understanding Dental Caries as a Non-Communicable Disease.” British Dental Journal 231, no. 12 (December 1, 2021): 749–53. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-021-3775-4.
3. Marsh, P. D., and Egija Zaura. “Dental Biofilm: Ecological Interactions in Health and Disease.” Journal of Clinical Periodontology 44, no. S18 (2017): S12–22. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpe.12679.
4. Chhaliyil, Pranav, Kael F Fischer, Bernd Schoel, and Pradheep Chhalliyil. “A Novel, Simple, Frequent Oral Cleaning Method Reduces Damaging Bacteria in the Dental Microbiota.” Journal of International Society of Preventive & Community Dentistry 10, no. 4 (August 6, 2020): 511–19. https://doi.org/10.4103/jispcd.JISPCD_31_20.
5. Huang R, Li M, Gregory RL. Bacterial interactions in dental biofilm. Virulence. 2011 Sep-Oct;2(5):435-44. doi: 10.4161/viru.2.5.16140. Epub 2011 Sep 1. PMID: 21778817; PMCID: PMC3322631.

Credits:

Hosts: Shweata N. Hegde and Ruchi Manglunia

Audio Editor: Indulekha MS 

Poster: Ruchi Manglunia 

Advisor: Megha Kumar

“Why do squirrels bury nuts?”, Utsuka asks.

One afternoon Utsuka was enjoying a movie about ancient animals when she observed that the squirrel in the movie was obsessed with its hazel nut. This made her wonder why some squirrels bury nuts in the forest.

In this episode, Utsuka and Jigyasa explore how squirrels know where to store and what to store. And importantly, who teaches them that they need to store their food?

After learning not all squirrels bury nuts, they get speculative and ask what would happen if they move squirrels from the cold countries to India forever. Would the future generations of that squirrel forget to bury food? To answer this question, they ring up Dr. Karthikeyan Vasudevan, a wildlife scientist from CCMB. Utsuka and Jigyasa also ask him how he studies animals in captivity and in forests. 

 

We’re sure that Utuska and Jigyasa’s conversations would have made you ask questions. You can leave them on our website ( https://www.indiaaskswhy.org/contact/), and we’ll pick them up :)

References:

1. https://phys.org/news/2018-04-uncovers-squirrels.html
2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347205003374
3. https://www.wildlifeonline.me.uk/questions/answer/what-controls-the-caching-behaviour-of-squirrels-and-how-do-they-find-their-bur#:~:text=During%20her%20work%20with%20hand,flawlessly%20from%20the%20first%20day

“Why do trees not stop growing?”, Jigyasa asks!

Jigyasa and Utsuka were going through Utsuka’s photo album when they realized something: Utsuka had barely grown a foot taller in a few years, whereas the tree in their backyard had grown several feet. This made them wonder why trees continue to grow in height, unlike us. 

What is growth? What drives trees to grow? Do trees grow all the time? Listen to the episode to learn about the tale of how trees grow. 

Towards the end, they reach an interesting question: what happens if all trees grow to the same height? To explore that question, they talk with Dr. Vinita Gowda, a plant scientist from the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER), Bhopal. After answering their curious question about trees, she shares with them why she loves plants so much. 

We’re sure that Utuska and Jigyasa’s conversations would have made you ask questions. You can leave them on our website ( https://www.indiaaskswhy.org/contact/), and we’ll pick them up :)

References:

1. NCERT Class 11. Plant Growth and Development
2. EurekAlert! “How Plants Become Good Neighbors in Times of Stress.” Accessed March 12, 2022. (https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/526169).
3. “Chapter 25: Plant Growth—Patterns, Limitations and Models – Inanimate Life.” Accessed March 12, 2022. (https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/botany/chapter/plant-growth-patterns-limitations-and-model/).
4. Fouracre, Jim P., and Richard Scott Poethig. “Lonely at the Top? Regulation of Shoot Apical Meristem Activity by Intrinsic and Extrinsic Factors.” _Current Opinion in Plant Biology_ 58 (December 2020): 17–24. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbi.2020.08.008).
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shade_avoidance
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auxin
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_development

“Why do we like chocolates?” Utsuka asks!

 

Jigyasa was nibbling her bar of chocolate when Utsuka wondered, “Why do we like chocolates so much?” That question made them discuss how chocolate eating is an experience we love!

 

What makes chocolate-eating an experience? Why do we crave them so much? What part of the brain tells you to eat chocolate? Join Utsuka and Jigyasa to find answers to their chocolatey questions and many more in the first episode of Season 2!

 

To understand how brain researchers study this chocolate-eating experience, they talk with Dr. Nandini Chatterjee Singh, a physicist studying the human brain. From physics to brain – how did she make that transition? We’ll also get to know more about it in this episode!

We’re sure that Utuska and Jigyasa’s conversations would have made you ask questions. You can leave them on our website ( https://www.indiaaskswhy.org/contact/), and we’ll pick them up :)

Credits: 

Hosts: Shweata N. Hegde and Ruchi Manglunia

Audio Editor: Indulekha MS

Poster: Ruchi Manglunia 

Advisor: Megha Kumar

Utsuka and Jigyasa are back with more questions! They can't wait to share what they have learned. Subscribe on Libsyn or Spotify to get notified when the first episode comes out! You can revisit all the season 1 episodes on our brand new website

Credits:

Co-hosts: Shweata N. Hegde and Ruchi Manglunia

Advisor: Megha Kumar

Trailer Audio Editor: Shweata N. Hegde

Podcast Cover: Ruchi Manglunia

IndiaAsksWhy is supported by IndiaBioscience Second Outreach Grant. 

It’s a cloudy evening. You are sitting at your window and, suddenly, it starts raining. Along comes that earthy smell Ever wondered, why does rain smell so good? In the last episode of season 1 of IndiaAsksWhy, Utsuka and Jigyasa talk about the origins of the smell of rain! They discover how microbes and the winds together lead to this lovely aroma!

In the Ask A Scientist segment, they speak to Dr. Samay Pande, who studies the evolution of bacteria to understand why organisms help each other!

Utsuka and Jigyasa, on their recent trip to the zoo wondered why tigers have stripes. We’re sure you must have had that question, too! Listen to this portfolio as they explore why!

👨‍🔬In the Ask A Scientist segment, they both talk to Mihir Trivedi, a wildlife biologist, to know the purpose of these stripes in the wild. He also talks about his life as a biologist in the wild!

Have you ever looked up at the sky and wondered why some birds fly in groups? Join Utsuka and Jigyasa to find the reasons why.

In the Ask A Scientist segment, they both talk to Dr. Vishwesha Guttal (https://teelabiisc.wordpress.com/), a theoretical ecologist, to know why some animals group whereas others don’t. He also talks about how researchers use maths and computers to study grouping and other behaviours.

 

Most of us find babies extremely cute -- their tiny toes, little fingers, and button nose make us go Awwwwwww! Ever wondered why we find babies so cute? What is it in our brain that makes us all warm and fuzzy on seeing a baby? Utsuka and Jigyasa had the same questions too! Join them in this episode to know more about human brain wiring!

In the second segment Dr. Vidita Vaidya, a brain scientist, talks more about how emotions are studied in the lab.

Launching our brand new Podcast series: IndiaAsksWhy, where Utsuka and Jigyasa answer your curious questions!

Growing up, we all have had a lot of questions running through our minds, and they seldom get answered by our science textbooks at school! We are bringing you the answers to all such questions. We also talk to Indian scientists and understand how they find such answers in their labs.

Stay tuned for more updates from IndiaAsksWhy!