News on Science, Technology and Research in India
The technology developed byDr Chiranjib Bhattacharjee, Professor at the Chemical Engineering Department in Jadavpur University, Kolkata, uses a combination of Electrocoagulation and Electroflotation Enhanced Membrane Module (ECEFMM) techniques for waste water treatment.
Scientists from Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India, and scientists from Norway and Switzerland used high-resolution 3D seismic data to unravel geomorphology of recurrent cases of movement of soil, sand, regolith, and rock downslope like a solid in Taranaki basin off New Zealand. This is technically called mass wasting of sediments. The study led by Prof. Kalachand Sain was published in the journal ‘Basin Research’.
In a major boost to the scientific efforts for crop improvement to save nitrogenous pollution and fertilizers worth billions, Indian biotechnologists identified candidate genes for nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in rice. This was accomplished by Prof. Nandula Raghuram, Dr. Supriya Kumari and Dr. Narendra Sharma from the School of Biotechnology, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi.
A team of Scientists including Jiya Albert, Bishnupriya Sahoo, and Prasad K. Bhaskaran from IIT Kharagpur, with support from the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India under the Climate Change Programme (CCP), devised a novel method using Eddy detection technique to investigate the formative stages and advance detection time of tropical cyclogenesis in the North Indian Ocean region. The research was published in the journal ‘Atmospheric Research’ recently.
The 4th June, 2021 was a historic day for TMH, IIT Bombay team and cancer care in India as the first CAR-T cell therapy (a type of gene therapy) was done at the Bone Marrow Transplant unit at ACTREC, Tata Memorial Center in Mumbai. The CAR-T cells were designed and manufactured at Bioscience and Bioengineering (BSBE) department of IIT Bombay.
Researchers at the Engines and Unconventional Fuels Laboratory, IIT Delhi developed a new technology and built “Hydrogen fuelled Spark-Ignition Engine Generator” in collaboration with Kirloskar Oil Engines Limited (KOEL), and the Indian Oil R&D Centre for the utilization of hydrogen in internal combustion engines for zero-emission with higher thermal efficiency. A dedicated lubricating oil for the engine was also developed by the IOCL.
Indian Scientists have developed an environmental-friendly process, which can provide excellent corrosion resistance to the high-strength aluminium (Al) alloys extensively used in aerospace, textile, and automotive applications. It involves an electrochemical method for the production of an oxide film on the metallic substrate.
A laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and a relatively recent Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) centre have come together to conduct special tests for India’s landmark Gaganyaan mission.
Astronomers tracking star formation activity of the young Universe billions of years ago have long been intrigued by the fact that star formation in galaxies which was at its highest about 8-10 billion years ago, had declined steadily thereafter. Searching for the reason behind this, they have found that the likely cause for the decline is that galaxies were running out of fuel.
Scientists from the Indian Institute of astrophysics have pinned down the mechanism behind the Lithium production in low mass red clump stars. Having found lithium excess to be common among the low mass red clump giants, they have now traced Helium (He)-flashing phase of the star’s evolution as the site for high lithium production. This transition phase lasts for about 2 million, during which RGB giants with inert He-core at the centre become red clump giants of He-core burning.
