Health

As part of COVID-19 mitigation mission of Country, CSIR has strategized its R&D to develop, integrate, scale-up, and deploy necessary technological interventions for combating Coronavirus pandemic in the country. Considering the multifarious problems created by coronavirus, which require interventions, the CSIR under the guidance of its Director General, Dr. Shekhar Mande has formed five verticals to coordinate various research activities into Digital and Molecular Surveillance, Drugs & Vaccines, Rapid and Economical Diagnostics, Hospital Assistive Devices & PPEs, and Supply Chain and Logistics.

A team of researchers at Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), Bangalore, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology, have developed a cup-shaped design (patent filed) of the mask that helps to create enough space in front of the mouth while speaking. It has been transferred to a Bangalore based company for mass production.

In a massive development, a vaccine developed by Pune’s Serum institute is currently being tested at Pune’s Naidu Hospital along with an Ayurvedic formula

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday said that at least four of the 14 candidate vaccines for novel coronavirus in the country may enter the clinical trial stage very soon.

The chemicals in Kangra tea could also be effective in boosting immunity as they can block coronavirus activity better than anti-HIV drugs, said Dr Sanjay Kumar, Director, Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT), based in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh. Dr Kumar has revealed this fact during a webinar organized at IHBT on the occasion of the International Tea Day.

To boost the civil use of atomic energy for the welfare of society, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the government will establish a research reactor in public–private partnership (PPP) mode to facilitate the production of medical istopes for treatment of cancer and other diseases, and also set up food preservation facilities by using irradiation technology to prevent rotting of perishable food items.

The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) has fast-tracked the roll-out of the global ‘Solidarity’ trial launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) towards finding an effective treatment for COVID-19.