News on Science, Technology and Research in India
Prof. Anand Ranganathan and his colleagues at Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, teaming up with researchers from Shiv Nadar University, Noida have identified a novel anti-malarial peptide that could be used in combination with other antimalarials for blocking the Plasmodium falciparum parasite from infecting blood cells.
A team from Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum (SCTIMST), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India has developed a device for the prevention of DVT. The engineering team included Mr. Jithin Krishnan, Mr. Biju Benjamin and Mr. Koruthu P Varughese from SCTIMST.
While nanoparticles have various applications, their synthesis and assembly still remain a major bottleneck restricting their wide usage. Recognizing that a method to assemble gold nanorods (rod-shaped) will open various avenues of its applications, Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) researchers have developed a simple technique for assembly of nanorods.
In their quest to develop materials for tunable and effective optical devices, Scientists from the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India, have discovered that high levels of light in the blue wavelengths or actinic light lead to switching between two photo isomers — Chiral Nematic (Ch) and Twist Grain Boundary Smectic C* (TGBC*) which are liquid crystal phases possessing photonic structures in one and three dimensions, respectively. This work involving the research team of Rajalaxmi Sahoo, D.S. Shankar Rao, U.S. Hiremath, C.V. Yelamaggad, and S. Krishna Prasad from CeNS, has been published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry.
Recently researchers from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), an autonomous institute under the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Govt. of India, have developed a theranostics (diagnostic therapy) drug candidate for lung cancer. The research work funded jointly by DST, BRICS Multilateral R&D Projects grant, and SwarnaJayanti Fellowship Grant was published in the journal Theranostics.
The number of seasonal monsoon birds who thronged mangrove forest belts in Bhitarkanika national park in Odisha for their annual nesting has registered an impressive rise this year, officials said.
To automate the process and accelerate the interpretation, Scientists from Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology(WIHG), an autonomous Institute under the Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India, have developed a neural-based (machine learning-based) practical approach for automatic interpretation of 3D seismic data. This first of its kind approach has been developed by computing a new attribute called meta-attribute.
Gujarat forest department officials said the new site is about 35 km from Flamingo City and merely 30 km from the Pakistan border. Principal chief conservator of forest (PCCF) Shyamal Tikadar said the site has been put under surveillance.
“Nearly one lakh nests are reported at the site which is located in the area with highly restricted movement. Entry here is facilitated only with permission from the Border Security Force (BSF),” he said.
There is good news for the Brahmaputra River Valley (BRV). Researchers have found that the concentration of near surface ozone in this region in the North-East corner of India is low compared to the other urban locations in India
With the ever-growing technology, cyber-attacks have become rampant. A team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (IIT Guwahati), in collaboration with scientists from the University of Pardubice, Czech Republic, is working towards developing indigenous algorithms that can protect the Nation’s digital data from cyber-attacks by advanced computers. The team has also designed encryption architectures that can be used to protect sensitive health data that is transmitted through the internet.
