May, 2016
Science India/International Forum (SIF)-Middle East representatives met Dr.Harshavardhan
Science India/International Forum (SIF)- Middle
East representatives met Dr.Harshavardhan, Minister
for Science and Technology, Sri.Shripad Yesso
Naik, Minister for Ayush, Mr.YSK Seshu Kumar,
Chairman of CBSE, Mr.Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary
DST and Mr.Ajith M Sharan, Secretary of Ayush at
Delhi and briefed them about our various activities in
Middle East.
Various proposals on further collaborations of SIF
with the respective ministries were discussed. SIFMiddle East, Organizing Secretary Sri Abga
Raveendranadha Babu expressed satisfaction over
the meetings and said that he received positive
response from the Ministers and other officials
who appreciated SIF’s Voluntary activities among
Indian Childrens in the region. Further announcements
on SIF-Middle East Joint ventures with the Ministries
is expected to come over the next few months.
.
2
Kuwait Children's Science Congress (KCSC)- Young Scientists 2016-Orientation Session Held
Science International Forum (SIF), Kuwait organized an
orientation program for the registered students and guides
participating for the Kuwait Children Science Congress-Young
Scientists' Program 2016. The program was conducted at
Kuwait Indian School Auditorium in Abbassiya. Well attended
by participants,
the orientation
proved to be a
confidence builder for the team members. The orientation was
meant to help understand the different aspects of Kuwait
Children's Science Congress-Young Scientists Program, how
students
should
approach a scientific research project, benefits of doing it,
understand the current year theme and sub themes
announced, evaluation criteria, and how to kick start the
process.
The sessions were handled by Dr.N R Bhat (Senior
Research
Scientist,
Kuwait
Institute
for
Scientific
Research),
Dr. S. Neelamani (Senior Research Scientist, Kuwait Institute
for Scientific Research) and Dr. Krishnakumar Sugumaran
(Associate Research Scientist, Kuwait Institute for Scientific
Research) followed by a Question and Answer session which
gave the opportunity for the participants to clarify their doubts.
Over a period of Next Five months 200 plus young children
scientists from different schools in Kuwait will undertake
research projects on various topics under the theme ' Science,
Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development'.
Team selection for the KCSC program was done exclusively through schools.
.
3
.
4
'Dead Man Walking': US-IndiaProject Could Revive BrainDead Patients
A team of doctors from India and the US are working on an ambitious project to infuse life into those
deemed brain dead. The Multi-Modality Approach to reverse brain death could be the path to a medical
breakthrough. As part of the project a US biotech company has been granted ethical permission to enroll 20
patients who have been declared clinically dead from traumatic brain injury. During the clinical trials scientists
will use a combination of therapies to test whether parts of the patient’s nervous system can be brought back to
life.
The first stage of the trial named ‘First In Human Neuro-Regeneration and Neuro-Reanimation’ will be
conducted at Anupam Hospital in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand in India. Multi-Modality Approach or ReAnima
Project’s success will make it possible to regenerate the brain of dead people.
Dr Himanshu Bansal further added that, “We have got some very encouraging results in patients in
coma, persistent vegetative state. We have even offered the same protocol to a couple of brain dead subjects in
Saudi Arabia as well as in Europe. We have been able to revert those brain dead subjects into a stage of
consistent vegetative state as of now. So encouraged by those results, we are now trying to create a definitive
study in 20 subjects and prove that the brain death is reversible. This will open the door for future research and
show that all damage in the body is reversible if treated appropriately.”
Dr Himanshu Bansal, Principal Investigator of the project and also owner of the Anupam Hospital,
where first clinical trial will be conducted, is very enthusiastic about the project.
.
5
Someone out there is looking after India!!!
Pradyut Ghosh
In a small laboratory on the ground floor of the Indian
Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS)
opposite Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 41-year-old
Pradyut Ghosh and his research group are focusing on
developing molecules that will free potable water
from excess fluoride. "We are trying to develop
organic solvents and molecules that would react with
the fluoride in water and segregate it," says Ghosh.
An excess of fluoride can retard human intelligence by inhibiting brain development in children. "An
estimated 110 million people worldwide suffer from the ill-effects of excess fluoride," says Ghosh. As of
now, his project, estimated to cost around Rs 2 crore for three years, is being funded entirely by the Government's Department of Science and Technology. "With the development of technology, the scale of the projects
will go up," says Ghosh.
The son of a farmer from Birsingha in Medinipur, West Bengal, Ghosh completed his PhD from IIT,
Kanpur, in 1998. He then went to Texas A&M University to do post-doctoral work in inorganic chemistry.
But he then gave up his $2,200-a-month position of research associate in May 2000 to return to India and join
the Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI), Bhavnagar, Gujarat, as a fellow at a
monthly salary of Rs 13,000. His Texas colleagues kept the position vacant for three months hoping he'd
change his mind, but Ghosh didn't return. Instead, he applied for and got the prestigious Alexander von
Humboldt Fellowship from Bonn.
He took leave from CSMCRI and went to Kekule Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry in
Bonn as a research fellow from November 2001-April 2002 and April 2003-October 2003. Ghosh's stint with
CSMCRI lasted almost seven years. Among notable researches he conducted there was that of developing
gypsum chalk in place of the traditional chalk made of calcium carbonate. In April 2007, he joined IACS as
an associate professor. Last year, Ghosh got an out-of-turn promotion. "It's not an easy job," says the scientist
with 62 publications to date, whose awards include The Chemical Research Society of India Bronze Medal
for 2012 and Swarnajayanti Fellowship Award in Chemical Sciences for 2009.
.
6
Microbes: The Tiny Friends of Farmers
Balaram Mohapatra
The Earth’s biosphere is crowded with organisms that have
made this planet worthy of living. They include bacteria, fungi, algae,
protozoa, etc. Apart from a relatively small number of disease causing
agents, the importance of microbes cannot be over emphasised; they
contribute to the functioning of our biosphere with cycling of
elements and materials essential for life. It is estimated that micro
organisms contain 50% of the biological carbon and 90% of the
biological nitrogen on Earth, exceeding rest of the organisms present.
Pioneers like Antony Van Leuwenhoek, Louis Pasteur and Robert
Koch made tremendous contribution to make the field of microbiology
for a key factor in human welfare.
The recent trend in the use of microorganisms in food, feed, cosmetics, medicines, industries,
agriculture, and other sectors has made life more comfortable, safe and sustainable. Use of microorganisms
has led to tremendous success in increasing agricultural production in a safe and sustainable way which has
had a positive impact on famers. From agricultural viewpoint, soil microorganisms play a crucial role for
plant growth and development which has significant impact on food production. Microbial diversity in soil is
much higher than in any other environment and portions of soil (microhabitat) around the plant root
(rhizosphere) are the crucial sites for microbial growth. They reside in the pores of the soil particles and
remain associated with plants. Plants generally produce certain secreting substances (called root exudates,
mostly phenolics and sugar in nature) in the soil. Microorganisms (mostly bacteria) sense these molecules, get
attracted towards them, use it for their growth and reproduction and in return produce certain substances
which help in plant growth and development. So, it is a mutual interaction between plants and microbes that
sustain the plant growth. Hence these microbes are called plant growth promoting (PGP) bacteria. It is estimated that microbial diversity within a typical forest soil is of the order of 5×109 cells/cm3 and that microorganisms rather than the plants account for most primary production (i.e., vegetation produced directly from
sunlight available for trophic levels) in terrestrial ecosystem.
What are PGP microbes?
PGP microbes can be defined as the most essential part of plant-root microbial community, which grows in
association with the host plant and can stimulate the growth of the plant due to their high adaptability in a
wide variety of environments, faster growth rate and production of plant growth factors, ability to metabolise
a wide range of natural and xenobiotic compounds to non-toxic level. The important bacterial members of
PGP groups are: Agrobacterium, Arthrobacter, Azotobacter, Azospirillum, Bacillus, Pseudomonas,
Allorhizobium,
Azorhizobium,
Bradyrhizobium,
.
Mesorhizobium,
Rhizobium,
Streptomyces,
7
Streptosporangium, etc. These bacteria perform various actions responsible for plant growth like: fix nitrogen,
lower production of stress-related hormone ethylene, synthesise auxin, cytokinins, siderophore for iron
metabolism by plant, induce pathogen resistance, solubilize phosphorus, potassium, sodium and other trace
minerals, decrease toxic level of heavy metals and other foreign substances, produce of antibiotic compounds,
reduce water and other physiological stresses, etc.
Farmer’s friends
As we all know that our population is growing rapidly and we have to produce enough food for the
growing population. The increasing use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and harmful chemicals for
achieving higher food production is threatening our environment and soil health. The only way to keep our
environment safe is to go for better, safer, organic and eco-friendly way of agriculture with limited use of
chemical fertilizers and more use of green chemicals (natural agro-based chemicals and microorganism-based
formulations). In this context, PGP microbe-based “bio-fertilizer ” are the best alternative for the farmers as
replacement to chemical fertilizers. They are prepared from living microorganisms which, when applied to
seeds or any plant parts adjacent to soil can colonize the whole area and thereby promote plant growth. Green
manure and compost can be used along with bio-fertilizer for better yield of crops. The microorganisms used
for this purpose are known as “biocontrol agents” due to their ability of killing harmful disease-causing insect
pests and pathogens (bio pesticides) and have been an important part of integrated pest management. The PGP
microbes are usually formulated with solid substances (called carrier materials) like chalk, peat, charcoal
powder, etc., in which microorganism are mixed in a proper ratio with desired water activity and sold in
market under different trade names. The US Department of Agriculture as well as Indian Council of
Agricultural Research (ICAR) has set the recommended dose of using these bio-fertilizer with minimum
amount of chemical fertilizer for better yield.
USA has made tremendous progress in this field with thousands of commercial bio-fertilizer products,
but India is still at a low pace due to lack of production technology and commercialization skill which relates
scientific organization and industries. World market of microbial bio-fertilizers is very demanding and there
are many potential products in the market like: Diegall, Azo-Green, Rhizo-Plus, Blue Circle, Victus, Bio-Save
10, Mycostop, etc. Indian market is still in deficit of these bio-fertilizer mainly due to technological
constraints, although there are some products related to Azotobacter, Azospirillum, Rhizobium and Bacillus
bio-fertilizer which are good. Good commercialization of these bio-fertilizer requires market demand,
consistent and broad-spectrum action, safety, stability, low capital costs and easy availability of carrier
materials. Considering all the parameters, it is now essential to explore new and unique ecosystems where
these potent microbial species can be found. Now-a-days scientists are focusing more on specific potential
.
8
bacterial and fungal species that can work best with all
India makes impressive strides in scientific
soil conditions and crops. So, genetic manipulation of
research
these microorganisms through genetic, use of genetically
India's research performance in science and
technology has improved significantly over the
past few years. Scholarly output in the country
grew by 13.9 per cent during 2009-13, against a
compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.1
per cent for the world.
modified PGP bacteria for higher efficiency is still in
progress.
Future prospects and challenges
PGP microbes can fulfil diverse beneficial interactions in
plants leading to promising solutions for sustainable and
environment friendly agriculture. Their applications in
agricultural
crops
with
desirable
bacterial
populations have established considerable promise in
greenhouse
and
pot-trial
experiments.
Improved
understanding of their way of action can lead to reducing
the
potential
negative
environmental
effects
associated with the food production. Recent progress in
this field of research has led to interesting finding that
these microbes can reduce the toxic level of heavy metals
and other foreign substances and understanding their
mechanism of tackling the toxicity could encourage
suitable area of research for the coming young
scientific minds of the country. Higher studies in this field
(research or engineering) are the most challenging and
promising task to develop proper strains to make
agriculture
more
productive.
Many
agricultural
universities and research institutions (IARI, CRRI, CRIDA, NIPGR, etc.) funded by ICAR, DBT, DST and CSIR
are focusing on development of suitable bio-fertilizers and
their upstream as well as downstream processing
pathways.
Courtesy: Dream 2047, Vigyan Prasar
.
Moreover, India has also demonstrated a
growing
impact
through
its
research
worldwide. For instance, India's share of world
patent citations and top cited papers increased
between 0.8 and 1.2 percentage points from 2009
to 2013. In 2013, India held over 3 per cent of
the world's top 10 per cent cited papers. This
indicates India is not just growing scientifically,
but growing aggressively at the very top end of
scientific excellence. India's share of world
patent citation, or patent cited for later papers or
patents, also improved from 2.2 per cent in 2009
to almost 3 per cent in 2013. Experts said, in
absolute terms, the growth was significant with
India registering 109 patent citations in 2013.
The findings are part of a new bibliometric study
published in international scientific journal
'Elsevier'. The international comparative study,
conducted by Department of Science and
Technology,
analyzed
India's
research
performance during 2009-13 using Scopus
database, the largest of peer-reviewed literature.
According to the study, India's scholarly output
increased from 62,955 papers in 2009 to 106,065
papers in 2013.
9
India To Spend $6 Billion To Create New Forests
India plans to spend an equivalent of $6.2 billion to increase the country's green cover. Earlier this
week, lawmakers in the lower house have passed the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2015, which
aims to increase the forest cover in the country from 21.34 percent of the total land to 33 percent. The bill,
which now awaits to be approved by
the upper house, ensures the
expeditious use of the unspent
Rs 40,000 crore (about $6.2 billion),
which has accumulated and lie idle
with an ad-hoc central body for more
than a decade, to create new forests.
The money comes from the
amount paid to the government by
companies and other entities since
2006 for letting them set up projects
on forest land. "This was the historic
because for the last 12 years the funds
meant for afforestation were deposited in only banks and were not used on the ground," said India's Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar.
"Our forest cover will dramatically increase and it will result in achieving our target 33 percent of tree
cover and most importantly 2.5 billion tonne of carbon sink as we have indicated in our INDCs."
The world's forests are considered crucial in negating the impacts of over a quarter of man-made
carbon emission, but deforestation has become rampant with population growth worldwide. Large-scale
afforestation projects thus serve as an effective means of fighting man-made climate change. While India is
allotting what appears to be a large amount of money to create new forests, the returns could be far more
beneficial in the long run.
Besides taking in planet-warming carbon dioxide, which helps in the fight against global warming,
trees are known to provide a range of social, environmental and economic benefits. With its large population,
for instance, India has been struggling with air pollution, but trees can help absorb pollutants and improve air
quality. Forests also serve as a safe home and haven for many
plants and animals and thus help in promoting biodiversity and in Hello Kiddies, Here is your Answers!!!
the management and conservation of wildlife.
1. Central Processing Unit
Forests also protect the watersheds. According to the World Wide 2. The Apple iPod
Fund for Nature, 1.6 billion people worldwide currently depend
3. CDs
on forests for their livelihood.
Courtesy: www.techtimes.com
.
4.
A female deer
5.
False
10
Indian scientists working tirelessly on Mine the Moon for Helium-3
Renowned defense technologist A. Sivathanu Pillai, said Indian scientists were working tirelessly to mine the
moon for Helium-3, which could be used in nuclear reactors to provide enormous amount of power without
any harmful carbon emissions or radioactive
products.
He was addressing the gathering of
academicians and research students at the
wo-day National
Science,
level
Engineering
Conference
and
on
Technology
(NCSET–2016) organized by School of
Electronics Engineering, VIT University,
Chennai campus.
In his plenary address, he urged the students to pursue research-oriented subjects. He said, currently, a number
of global scientists, including those from India were working on International Thermonuclear Experimental
Reactor and their focus was to develop a fusion reactor that used helium 3 and deuterium. Interestingly, the
solar winds have helium, but our atmosphere absorbs it.
However, on the moon, there is no atmosphere as such and helium lies there untapped. “I hope that in the next
two decades, we could see missions being carried out to tap the resources in moon,” the scientist said.
Mr. Pillai exuded confidence that high availability of thorium — India accounts for one-third of world reserves — would enable the country to achieve the target of 40,000 MW nuclear power generations by 2020.
Assistant Vice President, VIT University, Chennai, Kadhambari S. Viswanathan, presented the ‘Lifetime
Achievement Award’ to Mr. Pillai, Convener and the Dean, School of Electronics Engineering, S.R.S. Prabaharan said the event would help students exchange knowledge.
Courtesy: www.thehindu.com
.
11
Harsh Vardhan advocates for making science
people centric
Minister for Science and Earth Sciences Harsh
Vardhan today said the approach of science has to be
people centric and the common man should not remain
Court Order Brings Cheer to
Environmentalists, Man Asked to Plant 5000
Saplings as Punishment
On the 4th of this month, the Punjab & Haryana
High Court meted out a fairly unusual
punishment to Mr R S Kharab.
deprived of its benefits.
"Common people should not remain deprived of the
benefits of science," Vardhan said while launching the
Department of Biotechnology, DBT, under Government of
India funded
Twinning Network Program on Chemical
Ecology of North East Region with Bangalore-based
scientists here. Stressing on the intellectual acumen of
young minds of the region, the Union minister said their
coming together would produce dramatic results in
meeting objectives of organic farming which is the need of
the hour.
He also underlined the need for fostering better
coordination and support among science professionals.
Twinning Network Program on Chemical Ecology is a new
collaborative and interdisciplinary programme in Chemical
Ecology between institutions in the NER and partners in
Bangalore.
This platform aims to provide a strong stimulus to
ongoing research in the NER, while building enduring
research and training links with partner institutions in
Bangalore. Vardhan, who was in the state as part of his two
-day maiden visit, last evening inaugurated DBT funded
Biotech Infrastructure Facility at ICAR-National Research
Centre on Mithun at Jharnapani, Medziphema under
Dimapur district.
In his address at ICAR, Vardhan said it had been
his long cherished dream to visit Nagaland which finally
came true. "I have this strong conviction that science has
the potential to solve many problems faced by our country
even after 69 years of Independence," he said.
Courtesy: www.indiatoday.com
.
R S Kharab, who is Haryana’s Director of
Elementary Education had previously been
ordered by the Court to promote several arts and
crafts teachers to the position of headmaster. The
directive by the Court was issued following the
announcement of the New Service Rules in 2012.
Since Kharab failed to comply, several teachers
from Jind – led by Sandeep Singh – got together to
file a contempt petition.
On Wednesday, Justice Rajesh Bindal dismissed
the petition but ordered Kharab to plant 5,000
trees. Terming it a ‘corrective measure,’
Additional Advocate General of Haryana,
Gagandeep Wasu told The Times of India that the
order was passed with the aim of making Kharab
realise his mistake, while also reassuring him that
he was not found guilty of contempt.
Kharab has been asked to plant 5,000 saplings in
middle-level schools of the state before the
monsoons begin. He will also be required to
submit a compliance report.
With the announcement of the New Service Rules
in 2012, the petitioners, who were previously
working as arts and crafts teachers were redesignated as Trained Graduate Teachers (TGTs).
85% of the posts for elementary school
headmasters have been kept reserved for TGTs.
12
Bengaluru Will Be A Dead City In 5 Years According to Scientists @ Indian Institute Of Science
Rampant urbanization and invasive real estate growth are going to destroy Bengaluru’s ecosystem, a study by
Indian Institute of Science (IISc) recently revealed. According to the numbers, there’s been 525% growth in
built-up area in the last 40 years, corresponding to a 78% decline in vegetation, and an almost equivalent
decline in water bodies. According to Prof T V Ramachandra of the Centre for Ecological Sciences, the IISc,
this is “‘senseless growth”.
"What’s the point earning better when the
food that you eat is adulterated? As a result
of unplanned urbanisation, Bengaluru is
going to be an unliveable and dead. city in
the next five years," he told the Deccan
Chronicle.
Urban expert Ashwin Mahesh said that the
Bangalore Development Authority (BDA)
was to blame, for not creating a planned
city:
“The BDA has become an agency
which facilitates land deals for the benefit of
corrupt politicians. People feel it should be
closed down,” he said.
Environmentalist Yellappa Reddy said, “The government is not competent enough to foresee the future
implications of the present
growth. There is no proper
policy on land use and water.
Land is being exploited on the
whims and fancies of the politicians.”
Bengaluru used to be the most
in demand metropolitan cities
for its climate and affordable
housing.
Courtesy: www.indiatimes.com
.
13
"If I were asked under what sky
Do You Know!!!
the human mind has most fully
1. Sound travels faster through water than air, True or False?
developed some of its choicest
2. Water is made up of what two elements?
gifts, has most deeply pondered
3. What is another name for a tidal wave?
on the greatest problems of life,
4. The Indian Ocean is the biggest ocean on Earth, True or False?
and has found solutions, I
should point to India.”
5. The solid state of water is known as what?
Max Mueller
You have time till next edition
Discover
VOLUME 02
ISSUE 02 MAY, 2016
Compiled & Edited
By
Prasanth Nair
Reshmy Krishnakumar
Rajesh Sankaranarayanan
Corporate Partner :
Science International Forum, Kuwait
facebook.com/sifkuwait
.