Dr Ganesh Nagaraju, Associate Professor at the Department of Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, has been awarded the 2018 Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in Biological Sciences for his work on DNA repair, chromosome instability, genetic diseases and cancer.
The study from IISc found a previously unidentified yeast-like symbiont inside the lac insect Kerria lacca, which gives the insect its distinctive red colour and, may also provide other nutrients in return for shelter.