Sunaina Rao, M.Sc Biotechnology - Page 2 of 3

Chief Editor, FROMTBOT · 50 stories

Sunaina Rao is a molecular biologist and the Chief Editor of FROMTBOT. Sunaina is also a science illustrator and passionate about science communication.

The act of gifting has a huge effect on our nervous system, general physiology and our psychology. © Sunaina Rao.

neuroscience · Life · 20 Mar 2021

Why Do We Enjoy Presenting Gifts To Our Loved Ones?

The answer lies in our evolution, neurobiology and psychology.

Scientific research and science policy making - Connected or disconnected? © Sunaina Rao.

covid-19 · Science Policy · 10 Feb 2021

Are our COVID 19 Policies Grounded in Quality Science?

A recent research published in the journal Science, explores how COVID 19 science affected policy making in government agencies, think tanks and IGOs.

Innovative thinking involves integration of knowledge from diverse disciplines. Image created by Sunaina Rao using vectors designed by Freepik.

mindset · Life · 20 Jan 2021

Paving The Way to Innovation

How interest in fields outside your established area of interest, can help in integrative thinking.

A decorated Christmas tree. Photo by Oleg Zaicev from Pexels.

plants · Life · 24 Dec 2020

The 'Evergreen' Tradition of Christmas Trees

Why Christmas trees stay green all year long and its relevance to the Christmas culture.

A group of nomadic female humans seen here with their children. Photo by Ian Macharia from Unsplash.

humans · Life · 10 Dec 2020

Sexual Division of Labour May Be Less ‘Natural’ Than What We Think

Man the hunter and woman the gatherer? Well maybe not, in the more ancient human societies.

The CRISPR-Cas story. © Sunaina Rao.

gene-editing · Life · 28 Nov 2020

The CRISPR-Cas Story

How a serendipitous observation led us to edit the code of life.

The earth is drowning in plastic. What can we do about this? © Sunaina Rao.

environment · Earth · 20 Oct 2020

The Earth is Drowning in Plastic. Will Enzymes from this Plastic Eating Bacteria Provide New Hope?

Scientists show how re-engineering enzymes from a plastic eating bacteria, can provide us new avenues in plastic degradation.

Vaccines help save us from many deadly viral and bacterial infections. © Sunaina Rao.

vaccines · Life · 26 Sep 2020

Vaccines - What are They and How are They Made?

A peep into the different kinds of vaccines and how they work.

The human body is surrounded by a large variety of pathogens. © Sunaina Rao.

immune system · Life · 01 Sep 2020

How Does The Immune System Work? (Part 2)

The war rages on – The adaptive immune system.

The human body is surrounded by all kinds of pathogens. © Sunaina Rao.

immune system · Life · 30 Jul 2020

How Does The Immune System Work? (Part 1)

The fascinating story of the warriors in our body - The innate immune system.

How Does a Cell Move?

cells · Life · 05 Jun 2020

How Does a Cell Move?

Actin microfilaments in the movements of neutrophils.

Soap and the coronavirus. © Sunaina Rao.

coronavirus · Life · 19 May 2020

How Does Soap Kill The Coronavirus Particle

A simple soap bar can instantly crumble the entire framework of the coronavirus particle, rendering it inactive. But how does it do this?

A broken cell illustrates the complexity of a single unit of our life. © Sunaina Rao.

cells · Life · 20 Apr 2020

What Would Spill Out if You Burst a Cell Open?

Imagine you pulled out a single cell from your body and burst it open. What do you think would spill out of it?

Cancer cells flowing through blood vessels. © Sunaina Rao.

cancer · Life · 21 Mar 2020

The Adventurous Journey of a Cancer Cell

The long tiring journey of a cancer cell from its site of origin to a distant metastatic organ.

Cells affected by viruses. Here, T-lymphocytes are depicted as being affected by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) particles. © Sunaina Rao.

viruses · Life · 26 Feb 2020

When Your Cells Go Viral

Sunaina Rao and Devadas Vivek

How viruses can take over your cells and dictate them to do their bidding!

Here I depict using acrylic art, the different organelles that exist within cells like the nucleus, mitochondria, chloroplast, endoplasmic reticulum, golgi apparatus, lysosome and ribosome. © Sunaina Rao.

cells · Life · 09 Feb 2020

The Story of The Cell

From a primitive packet of molecules to complex multicellular plants and animals, the history of the cell spans billions of years.

Graphene Oxide nanoparticles on wheels carrying the chemotherapeutic drug into a cancer cell. One of the Graphene oxide molecules has successfully made its way into the cell. Green: Cancer cell; Red and white: Chemotherapeutic drug. © Sunaina Rao.

cancer · Applied Science · 13 Jan 2020

Nanoparticles in the Delivery of Chemotherapeutic Drugs

Advancing cancer therapy using nanoparticles.

On the left - A fibrotic tissue which favours increased colonization and outgrowth of metastasising cells. On the right - A less fibrotic tissue, which does not favour as much persistence and colonization of metastasising cells (red - blood vessels; blue - metastasising cells; brown - collagen). © Sunaina Rao.

cancer · Life · 06 Jan 2020

Can Tissue Fibrosis Influence Metastasis?

The role of fibrosis in cancer progression.

Membrane proteins dispersed on the cell membrane - Integrin, Receptor Tyrosine Kinase (RTK), cadherin, ion transport channel and G Protein Coupled Receptor (GPCR). © Sunaina Rao.

cells · Life · 03 Dec 2019

The Antennas, Doors and Bridges of The Cell

Receptors and transport channels.

In the normoxic cells, oxygen helps hydroxylate the proline residues in HIF1 α (dark blue), which then interacts with VHL (light blue), thereby leading to the proteolysis of HIF1 α. Whereas in hypoxic cells, the HIF1 α remains intact and hence enters the nucleus and brings about transcription. © Sunaina Rao.

cells · Life · 20 Nov 2019

Oxygen Sensing in Our Cells

The research behind the 2019 Nobel Prize in medicine.

The hustling molecules in the nucleus. © Sunaina Rao

cells · Life · 20 Nov 2019

The Hustle Inside a Cell’s Nucleus

The nucleus really is a jungle of busy, hustling biomolecules and here I represent a minuscule of what really goes on in there.

Evolution of the plasma membrane models - the Groter and Grendel model, the Danielli – Davson Model, the unit membrane model and the fluid mosaic model. © Sunaina Rao.

cells · Life · 20 Nov 2019

Evolution of The Plasma Membrane Models

A brief history of how our understanding of the cell/plasma membrane has evolved.

Lysosomes (green) moving in the cell using the microtubules (red and pink). © Sunaina Rao

cells · Life · 20 Nov 2019

The Highways in Our Cells

How microtubules help in the movement of lysosomes, and in-turn aid cancer metastasis.

Cellular microenvironment. © Sunaina Rao.

cells · Life · 20 Nov 2019

Can Our Cells Function Alone?

The importance of the cellular microenvironment.

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