CCMB, Sickle Cell Institute join hands to tackle sickle cell anaemia

26th July, 2016, Page: 1

CSIR-CCMB

The Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and the Sickle Cell Institute, Chhattisgarh

(SCIC), Raipur have joined forces to tackle sickle cell anaemia.

In Chhattisgarh, about 10 per cent of the 15 lakh individuals screened under a state project have been found to be

carriers of the disease, according to Pradeep K Patra, Director-General, SCIC.

CCMB and SCIC will work together to identify eligible carrier couples who are at the risk of giving birth to an

affected child and follow them with genetic testing, prenatal diagnosis and genetic counselling.

Sickle cell anaemia is a serious disorder of haemoglobin and is widely prevalent in the states of Chhattisgarh,

Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Orissa and sparingly in other places. It is an inherited form of anemia — a condition in

which there aren't enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen throughout the body of an individual.

The disease occurs globally due to a single mutation in the beta globin gene and follows an autosomal recessive

pattern of inheritance meaning that parents are usually the carriers of the defective gene and the disease occurs

when both copies of it are inherited together by the children.

Rakesh Mishra, Director, CSIR-CCMB, said “ We are committed to reduce the societal burden of sickle cell anemia in

India and countries like Cyprus and Sardinia have already been successful in the near abolition of risk of

hemoglobinopathies by such collaborations of scientists and clinicians.”

He said both institutes will also conduct research to identify molecular markers to understand the molecular basis of

these differences and thus help identify newer management strategies and eventually a therapy for the disease.

26th July, 2016, Page: 2

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/science/ccmb-sickle-cell-institute-join-hands-to-tackle-sickle-cell-anaemia/article8897536.ece

M SOMASEKHAR| HYDERABAD| July 25, 2016

DPS STUDENTS MEET CSIR SCIENTISTS

26th July, 2016, Page: 3

As part of a work education programme, 20 students of

class XI (CBSE section) from Delhi Public School

underwent a three-day apprenticeship programme at CSIR-

IICT to have a firsthand experience in the areas of

excellence available at the National Laboratory.

The programme gave students a variety of options to

explore in the field of chemical science. In addition, CSIR-

IICT provided exposure to students of the R&D activities

and brought about awareness and importance of science in

them.

CSIR-IICT

http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Hyderabad-Tab/2016-07-26/DPS-students-meet-CSIR-scientists/244630

THE HANS INDIA | July 26, 2016

The opportunity provided a once-in-a-lifetime experience to the students who aspire to choose pure science as their

graduation subject. Students were asked to submit a report of their experiences at the end of the programme.

Telangana University signs multiple MoUs

26th July, 2016, Page: 4

CSIR-IICT

Continuing their spree of developmental initiatives, Telangana University in-charge Vice-Chancellor C. Partha Sarathi and

Registrar Prof. R. Limbadri have signed multiple memorandum of understanding (MoU) with prestigious institutes and

various government wings for the benefit of students.

The TU, which has achieved accreditation from National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with the help of the

duo’s untiring efforts, has recently signed MoUs with prestigious institutes like Centre for Economic and Social Studies

(CESS), Hyderabad, for offering joint Ph.D programme in social sciences.

Similarly, it has inked an agreement with Information and Public Relations Department for joint and effective promotion of

welfare and developmental programmes of the State government, besides taking up joint training programmes. They would

be carried out under the supervision of mass communication department headed by Raja Ram Kankata.

Earlier, biotechnology and botany departments of the varsity signed an MoU with the Indian Institute of Rice Research for

taking up rice research programme aimed at coming up with best quality paddy.

To strengthen the earlier MoU signed with the US-based Chicago State University (CSU), Prof. Limbadri visited the CSU

campus and met senior administrators and worked out an action plan to fully implement student and faculty exchange

programme. The MoU between the CSU and TU was signed in the presence of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao in

September last year.

“It’s my endeavour to see that at least a couple of students and faculty members join the CSU by the next academic year as

part of the MoU, and we have worked out the details for the same,” the Registrar said.

He met Telangana NRIs to drum up support for TU in the U.S. during his visit to Chicago and Detroit as part of a

delegation to take part in the America Telugu Association (ATA) silver jubilee celebrations earlier this month.

The other important MoUs are with the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad, and the Indian

Institute of Technology, Mumbai.

26th July, 2016, Page: 5

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-educationplus/telangana-university-signs-multiple-mous/article8894734.ece

P. RAM MOHAN | July 25 , 2016

THE MAGICAL HERBS

26th July, 2016, Page: 6

I have used Neem to solve the reproductive health problems of women in South Sudan

During our discussion with the authors, one issue that repeatedly kept coming up concerned whether to include

traditional medicine in the new version. My opinion was that it should be included. We in our villages use both modern

and traditional medicine and in countries like China traditional medicine is widely and officially used in primary

healthcare settings.

To prove my point, I shared a piece of news on how one Chinese pharmaceutical company desired to produce medicine

from pudina (mint) to combat H5N1 avian influenza, also known as bird flu. The company applied for patent right with

the European Patent Office (EPO). However, the company was prevented from doing so by the Council of Scientific and

Industrial Research, India (CSIR). With the help of India’s Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), the council

was able to show that pudina’s medicinal values had been known for thousands of year.

CSIR-TKDL

In 2011, I was asked by the authors of “Where There is No Doctor” (“Doctor

Nabhayema”) to come to California and work on a new edition of the book. I

was proud to be part of this project as this book has been used by health

workers, all over the world, in primary healthcare settings since its publication

in English in 1977. It has since been translated into 88 languages, including

Nepali.

Therefore, it was argued that the new company could not have patent rights on the knowledge which had been there for

thousands of years. If that patent had have been granted, the company would have the right to make and sell medicine

out of mint. We would then have had to buy such medicines paying probably 100 times than what pudina costs in the

local market. If mint can be used to combat bird flu, similar remedies could be found for other diseases too.

One plant with great medicinal value is Neem, which is widely distributed in the Tarai region of Nepal and India and it

can, in fact, be found in abundance in many parts of the world. I remember when I was small my grandmother used to

brush her teeth with the twigs of Neem tree. I tried it once. The bitterness stopped me from using it again. At that time

I didn’t know that after many years, I would use Neem in South Sudan to combat some reproductive health problems of

women.

I am fascinated by a story about Neem. According to Hindu mythology, long time ago the Gods and Demons had a fight.

The demons won so they took “Nectar” (Amrit) from heaven. Now the problem was how would the Gods survive in

heaven without Amrit?

Therefore, they ordered a crow to steal the Nectar from the demons. The crow obeyed their orders. While it was

bringing the nectar in a wooden pot from the demons to heaven some nectar fell from sky on a Neem tree. The legend

goes that since that time Neem got blessed with all the qualities of the Nectar. But this valuable medicinal plant has been

neglected by our health workers and policymakers and we have now forgotten that many common health problems could

be solved by using this plant.

The Neem in Persian language is called Azad Dirakht Hind. Azad means free, Dirakht means tree, i-Hind means of

Indian origin, thus ‘The Free Tree of India”. However, it can also be argued that this name has been given to the tree as

it can grow freely in any part to the world.

26th July, 2016, Page: 7

The Neem plant originated in India, where is has been used for centuries for several purposes. It is known as the “Village

Pharmacy” there.

What make this a wonder tree are its chemical properties. Neem tree was rediscovered in 1959 when a German scientist

witnessed a locust swarm in Sudan. After the swarm had passed the only trees left untouched by the locusts were the

Neem trees. On closer investigation, it was found that the locusts did land on Neem trees, but they left without

destroying them. Since this discovery, there has been worldwide scientific interest in Neem. As a result, we now know

that the Neem tree contains many ingredients which make it resistant not only to locusts but also to more than 300

different types of insects, as well as fungi, bacteria, and even viruses.

These chemical defenses are not only useful in protecting Neem trees but can also be used as the basis for natural

medicines. Therefore it is indeed a shame that its medical value is now forgotten.

I was thus able to insert some chapters on herbal medicine in the new version of “Where There is No Doctor”. Since

that time I have also been speaking in favor of using herbal plants in primary healthcare settings.

As the World Health Organization (WHO) puts it: “The time is right to view traditional medicine as a precious resource.

It needs to be respected and supported as a valuable source of leads for therapeutic advances and the discovery of new

classes of drugs”. Amen!

26th July, 2016, Page: 8

http://www.myrepublica.com/news/2685

Dr Aruna Uprety | July 26, 2016

Two day training programme on “Boiler Tube Failure and Remedies organised

by NDT & Metallurgy Group of CSIR-CMERI

26th July, 2016, Page: 9

CSIR-CMERI

Publishing Training Course Material by Director, CSIR-CMERI,

Mr. S. N. Jha, CE & HOP, DSTPS, DVC, Andal (Chief Guest) and

Mr. B N Singh, Head NDT & Metallurgy Group

Participants from various power plants attended the

Training Programme.

The NDT & Metallurgy Group of CSIR-CMERI organized a two day training programme on “Boiler Tube Failure and

Remedies” (BTFR-2016) from July 14-15, 2016 at CSIR-CMERI, Durgapur.

Youtube video link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sgokYhXrY0

26th July, 2016, Page: 10

The basic objectives of this training program are :

• To enhance technical knowledge regarding different aspects of boiler

tube failure.

• Investigative analyses of the failed tubes along with the case studies.

• To offer hands on training on the state-of–the art of various nondestructive

testing and metallurgical analysis in connection with failure

analysis.

A total number of Twenty Six (26) skilled technical personnel from various power plants (viz. DVC, CESC, WBPDCL,

DSP, NSPCL, ALSTOM etc.) joined this two day training program conducted by CSIR-CMERI.

The significance of such training can be gauged from the financial impact of Boiler Tube Failure on a typical Power Plant

as mentioned below :

Tube failure in a 500MW Unit

• Average outage time for a Unit due to boiler tube failure-03 days, Generation

loss for 3 days- Approx Rs. 18 crore @ Rs. 6crore/day (considering Rs.5 per

unit).

• Average failure rate in a year is 5 failure/year.

Total loss in National exchequer 18x5 = Rs. 90 crore/year

http://www.cmeri.res.in/abt/Doc/ReportBTFR2016.pdf

July 2016

CSIR-CMERI DEVELOPS SOLAR POWER TREE FOR GENERATION OF

ELECTRICITY

26th July, 2016, Page: 11

Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth

Sciences, on 22 July 2016 launched the Solar Power Tree in New Delhi.

The Solar Power Tree has been developed by the CSIR-Central Mechanical

Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-CMERI), a constituent laboratory of

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

The product harnesses solar energy for producing electricity with an innovative

vertical arrangement of solar cells. Therefore, it reduces the requirement of land

as compared to conventional Solar Photovoltaic layout.

As a future prospect, the Solar Power Tree will be developed in a rotatable module, which will have a motorized

mechanism to align itself with the movement of the Sun during the day.

Key features of the Solar Power Tree

• It takes only 4 square feet of land for a 5 KW Solar Power tree. On the other hand, a conventional layout requires 400

square feet of land.

• By holding the photovoltaic panels at a higher height, it gets more sunrays for one hour in a day on an average. As a

result, it is possible to harness 10-15% more power in comparison to a conventional layout on ground.

CSIR-CMERI

• It has a battery back-up of 2 hours on full load. Therefore, it is capable of giving light even after sunset.

• It is facilitated with water sprinkler at the top for self-cleaning of panels, which increases the efficiency of the solar

panels.

• The estimated cost of the device is around 5 Lakh rupees for a 5 KW specification.

26th July, 2016, Page: 12

http://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/csircmeri-develops-solar-power-tree-for-generation-of-electricity-1469443067-1

New Delhi| July 22, 2016

26th July, 2016, Page: 13

CSIR-CLRI

Jagran | July, 2016

26th July, 2016, Page: 14

CSIR-CLRI

Hindustan | July, 2016