Biotecnika newspaper 8 may 2018

May 8th, 2018.

Vol. 02 NO 19

SCHOLARSHIP - PAGE 2 CSIR – G N RAMACHANDRAN GOLD MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES & TECHNOLOGY 2018

NEWS - PAGE 7

NEWS - PAGE 8

ADMISSIONS - PAGE 10 PHD ADMISSION 2018 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES @ S N BOSE NATIONAL CENTRE FOR BASIC SCIENCES, KOLKATA

LIQUID BIOPSY FOR BRAIN TUMOR BIOMARKER DETECTION DEVELOPED

SUPRA CAR: THE “SWISS ARMY KNIFE” OF CART IS HERE

NEW SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE

japanese goveRnment scholarship program The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) is offering scholarships to Indian students for pursuing graduate courses at Japanese university as research students (either non-degree or degree students) under the Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship Program for 2018.

By Diluxy Arya

JAPANESE GOVERNMENT [MEXT] SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM – FOR PHD & MSC BIOTECH & BIOLOGY Type : Research Student Level : Research/Masters Course/Ph.D. course Age : Under 35 (born on or after April 2, 1983) Subjects: (A) Japan related Humanities (B) Japan related Social Science (C) Information Technology (D) Mathematical Science (E) Physics (F) Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (G) Biology and Biotechnology (H) Agriculture and Fishery (I) Environmental Science (J) Pharmaceutical Science (K) Geology and Geoinformatics (L) Civil Engineering (M) Architecture (N) Material Science / Engineering (O) Electrical Engineering (P) Electronics & Communications Engineering (Q) Mechanical Engineering (R) Aerospace En-

gineering (S) Robotics Eligibility Conditions: 1. For Research Student / Master’s Degree Bachelor’s Degree in the relevant field with minimum 65% marks. The candidates should obtain their mark sheet and degree on or before 31st March 2019 for April 2019 batch and 30th September 2019 for October 2019 batch.

Age : Under 35 (born on or after April 2, 1984) Term of scholarship : Two years from April or One and a half year from October*1 (Including a half year of Japanese language training period*2) Stipend : 143,000 Yen/ month (Approx. Rs. 87,000 / month for the year 2017 *3) Tuition fees : Exempted Airfare : Round-trip airfare will be provided

tative) : – Receiving completed applications: 1st June 2018 (Last date ) – Preliminary Screening: 1st and 2nd week of June 2018 – Notification of shortlisted candidates for written test/interview (on this page): 15th June 2018 onwards – Dates for Written test/interview: 23 June, 24 June, 30 June, 1 July, 2018 How to apply and where to send the completed forms : The completed application form mentioning subject Research Student and file name as field of study-name.docx (e.g. physics-amit.

Schedule of Preliminary Selection (Ten-

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2. For Ph.D. Degree Master’s degree in the relevant field with minimum 65% marks. Candidate having practical research/teaching/work experience after obtaining the prescribed qualification on or before 31st March 2019 for April 2019 batch and 30th September 2019 for October 2019 batch.

GET THIS NEWSPAPER e-copy VIA WHATSAPP every week

GIVE MISSED CALL TO

080-395-34707 1

Vol. 02 NO 19

May 8th, 2018. docx) should be sent to the Embassy through email as an attachment, by 1st June 2018, positively.

Email id: scholarship-india@nd.mofa. go.jp Applications received on this email id only will be considered as submitted application.

Note: The size of the file should not exceed

200KB. For more details contact Mr. S. Sinha Japan Information Centre (JIC), Embassy of Japan, 50-G, Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi – 110021.

Tel:011-4610-4865 Email:jpemb.sinha@nd.mofa.go.jp

Please write your telephone number with area code, when you send a query by email.

Past Examination questions are available! - http://www.studyjapan.go.jp/en/toj/ toj0302e-32.html#1 NB : *1: If a student opts for Masters or Ph.D. program, the scholarship term may get extended, provided that he/she has outstanding

academic achievement that meets certain criteria set by the MEXT. *2: It will be exempted if student has a good ability of Japanese or enters the courses offered in English. *3: The amount is subject to change depending on the annual budget of each year Last date of application : by 1st June 2018

SCHOLARSHIP Purpose Recognition of outstanding work in Biological Sciences & Technology.

Eligibility:

CSIR – G N Ramachandran Gold Medal for Excellence in Biological Sciences & Technology 2018 CSIR – G N Ramachandran Gold Medal for Excellence in Biological Sciences & Technology 2018 official notification has been announced. CSIR – G N Ramachandran Gold Medal for Excellence in Biological Sciences & Technology 2018 for interested and eligible candidates as per the details given below: Nominations are invited for G N Ramachandran Gold Medal for Excellence in Biological Sciences and Technology 2018 The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) invites nominations for the G N Ramachandran Gold Medal for Excellence in Biological Sciences and Technology for the year 2018. The award is bestowed every year to an outstanding Indian scientist, who has made conspicuously important contributions, applied or fundamental, in the inter-disciplinary subject / field of Biological Sciences and Technology. The award would be given for the work done primarily in India during ten years preceding the year of the award.

Preamble: a) The Award is named after Prof. G N Ramachandran and will be known as the “ G N Ramachandran Gold Medal for Excellence in Biological Sciences & Technology”. b) The Award is given each year for outstanding contributions to Biological Sciences & Technology.

Nature of Award: A Gold Medal and a citation are to be presented to the recipient on 26 September, the CSIR Foundation Day. Medal is awarded for notable and outstanding research, applied or fundamental, in the inter-disciplinary subject / field of Biological Sciences and Technology.

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a) Any citizen of India engaged in research in Biological Sciences & Technology. Overseas citizen of India (OCI) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) working in India are also eligible. b) The Award shall be bestowed on a person, who in the opinion of Advisory Committee constituted by CSIR, has made conspicuously important and excellent contributions to human knowledge and progress, fundamental or applied in the particular field of endeavor, which is his / her specialization. c) The award would be given on the basis of contributions made through work done primarily in India during the ten years, preceding the year of prize (For this purpose “primarily” will mean “for the most part”).

Award: The Award shall be given every year with the approval of the Governing Body of CSIR on the recommendations of the Advisory Committee.

Advisory Committee: a) The Advisory Committee for each year’s award would be constituted by DG, CSIR. The Committee would consist of a maximum of seven experts in broad areas. b) On receipt of the nominations for a particular year, CSIR would circulate the list of nominees along with the detailed statement of work and attainments of each candidate to all members of Advisory Committee. c) Meeting of the Committee would be convened by CSIR, in consultation with the Chairperson for selecting the recipient of the “G N Ramachandran Award” and the recommendations of the Committee would be submitted to DG, CSIR for approval. d) The composition of Advisory Committee, the information submitted for their scrutiny, the proceedings of the meeting and the procedure for consideration of the nominations, other than as detailed herein would be kept confidential.

Nominations: a) Name of candidates may be proposed by a member of the Governing Body (CSIR); Presidents of approved scientific societies and academies of all-India character, Vice-Chancellors of Universities; Deemed Universities and Institutions of national importance; Directors of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Director-General of the major R & D organizations, such as the Defence Research

& Development Organisation, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Indian Council of Medical Research, Directors of CSIR Laboratories, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Secretaries of the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research, Department of Biotechnology, etc. Member in-charge (Science) in the Planning Commission and former Prof GNR Gold Medal Awardees. University Faculties can recommend scientists working in their institutions only and route nominations through their respective Vice-Chancellors, while the faculties in IITs are required to send their nominations through their Directors.

Directors-General of the R & D Organisations and Chairperson of Commissions may sponsor names of the scientists working in their respective organizations. The Directors of CSIR laboratories can nominate candidates in disciplines of their interest irrespective of the fact whether they are working in CSIR laboratories or outside. The recipients of Prof GNR Gold Medal can send nomination of one person only for each year’s award.

Nominations from other individuals sponsoring their own names or of other are not acceptable. Each nomination should be accompanied by a detailed statements of work and attainments of the nominee and a critical assessment report (not more than 500 words) bringing out the importance of significant research and development contributions of the nominee made during the ten years preceding the year of the Prize. b) A candidate, once nominated, would be considered for a total period of three years, if otherwise eligible. Once such a nomination has been received, CSIR can correspond directly with the candidate for supplementary information, if necessary.

Presentation a) The Award will be presented to the recipient on 26 September, the CSIR Foundation Day. b) In all matters of award of “G N Ramachandran Gold Medal for Excellence in Biological Sciences & Technology” the decision of CSIR shall be final.

How to Apply : Nominations addressed to Scientist Incharge, SSB YSA Unit, Human Resource Development Group, CSIR Complex, Library Avenue, Pusa, New Delhi 110 012 should be sent as per prescribed pro-forma (Original + one copy) along with reprints of five most significant publications of the last 10-year’s period by 31 May 2018. The details of the award and the prescribed pro-forma for nomination may be downloaded from the website www.csirhrdg.res.in Last Date to Apply : by 31 May 2018

SERB International Travel Support (ITS) Scheme – Official Notification Interested and eligible candidates are encouraged to apply online for a SERB International Travel Support Scheme. International Travel Support Scheme SERB Govt of India Scheme. International Travel Support (ITS) Scheme 2018 announcement. Check out all of the details on the same below: International Travel Support (ITS) Scheme provides financial assistance to Indian researchers for presenting a research paper in an international scientific event (conference, seminar, workshop etc.) held abroad. In addition, support is also provided to young scientists (age limit below 35 years as on date of start of the event) for attending training programmes, Short-term schools and Workshops. Economy class air-fare by shortest route from Air India, airport-tax and visa fees are provided under the scheme. Registration Fee is provided to young scientist in addition to the above support. Applications can be submitted within the window of 60-90 days in advance from the date of start of the event.

The system will not accept early or late submission of applications.

Scope : The ITS scheme is to provide financial assistance for presenting a original research paper or chairing a session or delivering a keynote address in an international scientific event held abroad (conference/seminar/ symposium etc.). This scheme also provides support to young researchers (Age<35 years on the date of start of event) for attending workshop, short term training programmes and schools being organized outside India.

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Vol. 02 NO 19

May 8th, 2018.

Eligibility :

Terms & Conditions of ITS grant:

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Applicant should be an active Indian researcher engaged in R&D work in recognized academic institutions or research laboratories in India.

The applicant should have an invitation for presenting an original scientific paper. Similar invitation is required in the case of young scientists attending training programmes such as short term courses, summer/winter schools, workshop etc.

The applicant should not have availed financial assistance under this Scheme during the last three years.

The scientific event should be of an international character. Invitation of personal nature such as for carrying out post-doctoral work, informal training programmes/courses, internship, observer-ship etc. will not be eligible for support.

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Nature of Support: This scheme provides to & fro economic class air fare by the shortest route, airport tax and visa fees for attending the specific event.

Registration fees is also provided to young scientists (Age<35 on the date of start of event) in addition to the above support. The support is provided on reimbursement basis as per actual expenditure incurred by the applicant within the guidelines of the scheme.

However, Taxi fare will not be reimbursed.

Documents required: • • •

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An endorsement letter duly signed and stamped by competent authority of the institute.

A copy of letter of acceptance of the presenting paper (oral/poster) by the organizers.

A copy of the abstract of the paper to be presented. Please be sure to include name of all the authors, authors’ affiliated institutions with full address and title of the abstract.

Biodata with complete list of Scientific / Technical publications and Patents, if any.

Application Stage: • • • • • • • • • •

Endorsement by the Head of the Institution Certificate by the Applicant including Event Benefits Bio-data of the Applicant Acceptance Letter from the Organizer Abstract(s) of the paper(s) to be presented Event Details Event Details Date of Birth Certificate Event Benefits Financial Support from Other Sources

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Travel grant should be used only for attending the scientific event for which the SERB accorded its approval.

The Institute/Applicant should submit the claim bills, and other necessary documents within 90 days from the last day of the event.

The host institute/Applicant shall ensure that the fund released is used exclusively and appropriately for which it has been sanctioned.

If the applicant to whom the travel grant has been awarded leaves the institution, the Institute and the applicant should inform SERB immediately, and the grant released, if any, should be refunded back by the Institute to SERB immediately by means of DD drawn in favour of “Fund for Science and Engineering Research”.

If the results of research are to be legally protected, the results should not be presented in international fora without action being taken to secure legal protection for the research results.

If any candidate found to have furnished incorrect / misleading information at any stage, his/her candidature will be cancelled and no reimbursement will be made. The candidate will also be debarred for next three years for availing support under this scheme.

Contact Person:

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Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellowship – SERB | Official Notification Golden opportunity for Indian nationals only via SERB Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellowship that has been announced.

Candidates that are interested and eligible check for all of the details on the Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellowship – SERB. that have been detailed down below: Objective: Application for support to undertake research training during the doctoral research in overseas countries on a competitive mode is sought from eligible researchers.

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The contact details of Programme Officers are given below: Dr. T Thangaradjou, Scientist ‘E’ 5 & 5A, Lower Ground Floor, Vasant Square Mall, Sector-B, Pocket-5, Vasant Kunj New Delhi-110070 Telephone: 40000355 / 011-40000305 / 40000321 Email: ms.its@serb.gov.in For security reasons, IP addresses of the applicant’s computers are being recorded during the usage.

If any candidate found to have furnished incorrect / misleading information at any stage, his/her application for support will be cancelled and no reimbursement will be made. The candidate will also be debarred for next three years for availing support under this scheme.

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Eligibility: • •

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Claim Reimbursement Stage: • • • • • • • • • •

Claim Form Bank Account Details Air/Rail/Bus/ Others tickets Cash Receipt of Air Ticket Boarding Passes Visa Charges Registration Receipt Participation Certificate Certificate(s) for amount received from other sources Civil Aviation Permission Letter Any other(Miscellaneous Upload)

To build national capacity in frontier areas of Science and Engineering, which are of interest to India by providing research training to PhD students admitted in the Indian institutions in overseas universities / institutions of repute.

To provide opportunity to performing Indian research students to gain exposure and access to top class research facilities in academia and labs across the world.

To create opportunities to build longterm R&D linkages and collaborations with accomplished scientists and technologists from around the world.

To tap the expertise gained by these young scientists to strengthen/initiate national programmes in their domain knowledge.

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The scheme is open to Indian nationals only.

The applicant should have registered for full-time Ph.D. Degree in any of the recognized Institutions / Universities in India in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (including Medicine, Pharma, Agriculture and related S&T areas) disciplines.

Should have received an offer letter from a reputed overseas institution to carry out research for a specified duration. The host supervisor should provide an official confirmation that they will host the student detailing the period of stay and other requirements.

Part-time and sponsored students are not considered under the Program. Also students who have submitted their thesis for award of the Degree of Ph.D. are not eligible to apply.

APPLICATION & SELECTION: Applications are invited from Ph.D. students in two modes•

eign counterparts in their individual capacity .

Indian/Overseas Institutions who had signed an Agreement / MoU with SERB for student mobility.

Applications will be sought twice a year.

The selection would be made among students who obtained an offer letter from overseas institution to carry out research in chosen areas of interest to India. The applicants belonging to mode (i) above should apply directly to SERB through www.serbonline.in . In case of mode (ii) the application / recommendation should reach SERB through the Institute / University concerned. Students intend to undertake research visit to the following Universities to whom SERB had signed MoU should apply directly to the University: •

Purdue University, West Lafayette, USA Contact Person: Mrs. Heidi Arola (harola@ purdue.edu), Managing Director for Global Partnerships.

More Details available at: http://www.purdue.edu/india/ •

University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada Contact Person: Mr. Dan Fredrick (dan. fredrick@ualberta.ca), Manager, Sponsored Student Program More Details available at: https://www. ualberta.ca/graduate-studies/prospective-students/apply-for-admission/visiting-exchange-applications Fellowship and Other Component:The selected fellows will be paid a monthly fellowship amount equivalent to US $ 2000, one-time Contingency / Preparatory allowances of Rs. 60,000/- to cover visa fee, airport transfer charges, medical insurance etc.

The selected fellows will also be provided shortest route economy class air fare from their place of work in India to the place of the host institute and back. One additional to and fro travel cost would also be provided to the fellow, if the period of stay is one year or more. Students should make their own arrangement for accommodation etc.

While formulating the proposal, the host overseas scientist should clearly mention the level of fees that their Institute charge for undertaking the research training of the student.

If necessary, a nominal grant is provided as Bench fee / tuition fee / consumable cost / overhead charge to the overseas host institution.

One visit, each by the Indian supervisor to the Overseas Institution where the student is working and overseas faculty to the host Indian Institution of the student during the tenure of the fellowship is also admissible under the Scheme. The following provisions are made for them to undertake research visits: Travel: Both the Indian supervisor and overseas scientist will be provided shortest route round-trip economy class air fare not exceeding Rs. 1.5 lakh per round trip from their place of work to the city of host institute and back. Any additional cost would have to be borne by the visitors.

Contingencies and related travel cost: Allowance of US $ 250 per visit is provided to both Indian Supervisor and Overseas host to

Indian Ph.D. supervisors who had made research collaboration with for-

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Vol. 02 NO 19

May 8th, 2018.

Documents required : • • •

cover the expenditure incurred towards visa fees, travel / medical insurance, airport transfers and other contingencies

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OTHER GUIDELINES •

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The application for consideration under the Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellowship Program (OVDF) can be submitted only when the call for application is made.

The duration of the research training is up-to a period of twelve months. The fellowship may be extended for six more months subject to performance evaluation. Application for such extension should reach SERB Office well in advance accompanied by reports from Indian supervisor and the host justifying the extension of the fellowship.

No extension is possible beyond 18 months. Fellowship for less than six months will not be entertained. However, in exceptional cases fellowship for shorter periods may also be considered.

For scientists / researchers in regular employment, rules governing payment of salary, leave, medical, gratuity, GPF and pension etc. of the organization/ institution/ university to which the fellow belongs would continue to be applicable. No liability on any of these accounts will be borne by SERB. The selected fellows while taking up the SERB overseas fellowship should not draw their regular research fellow-

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ship in India.

The candidates selected for the award of the fellowship should commence their research in the overseas institution within three months from the date of the offer letter, and if not, the offer will be automatically stands withdrawn and no correspondence will be entertained thereafter.

The exchange visit of the supervisors should be during the tenure of the Ph.D. work of the applicant. Both the supervisors should ensure a residency period of at least two weeks and not exceeding one month in their respective foreign institutes.

Application from researcher should be forwarded through the head of organization/ department where the applicant is enrolled for Ph.D. along with recommendation of the Indian supervisor.

The candidate should also submit a letter of approval of research plan from the overseas host. The same should be endorsed by the Indian Supervisor.

Copy of acceptance letter from host institution should be sent along with the application.

The Indian Institution should ensure the availability of necessary facilities including scientific equipment, infrastructure, manpower, etc. for facilitating the visit of overseas scientist for undertaking the collaborative research.

The institution should also extend all necessary administrative support to the

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proposed work.

Please make sure to quote the registration number/ letter number (given by SERB) in all your future communications.

The information should be given under each section, even if it is Nil. The candidates may submit 3 copies of the application printed on both the sides of A4 size paper and send to the Program Coordinator in the following address.

How to apply online: For successful online submission of the application the following points may be noted: • •

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Applicants should first register into the online website After log-in, applicants are required to fill all the mandatory fields in Profile Detail section under User Profile. which includes Bio-data, Photo, Institute Address etc.

Details including Project Title (max 500 characters), Project summary (max 3000 characters), Keywords (max 6), Objectives of project (max 1500 characters), Outcome of the proposal (max 1500 characters) should be provided online at the time of submission of the application.

Work Methodology and Research plan has to be uploaded in single PDF file not more than 4 pages (max 10 MB).

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Copy of the Ph.D. registration certificate Bio-data of the Indian Supervisor ( Including Academic & Research Qualifications, Publications list , Patent list, Details of research projects being implemented/ completed/ submitted, if any) Bio-data of Overseas Host Scientist (Including Academic & Research Qualifications, Publications list , Patent list, Details of research projects being implemented/ completed/ submitted, if any) Certificate from the applicant Endorsement letter from the head of the Indian institution Letter of acceptance of research plan by the Host Scientist and Indian Supervisor Letter of acceptance from Overseas Host Institution Recommendation letter from the Indian supervisor along with undertaking

Contact Person: The contact details of Programme Officers are given below: Programme Coordinator, Overseas VDF, Science and Engineering Research Board 5 & 5A, Lower Ground Floor, Vasant Square Mall, Sector-B, Pocket-5, Vasant Kunj New Delhi-110070

NEWS

CRISPR Facilitates Successful Red Blood Cell Transfusion Popular simplification of blood groups while collection of blood at hospitals and centres has led to the misrepresentation of the complexity of RBC surface antigens that influence donor–recipient compatibility with 36 blood group systems and more than 350 different antigens recognised by the International Society of Blood Transfusion.

Mismatch of any blood group antigen has the potential to cause alloimmunisation (generation of antibodies to non‐self RBC antigens). Across all transfusion recipients, this occurs in approximately 2–5% of cases; however, in chronically transfused sickle‐cell disease (SCD) patients, RBC alloimmunisation occurs in approximately 30% of cases.

Whilst alloimmunisation of chronically transfused patients increases the difficulty in obtaining suitably matched donations, individuals exist with non‐pathological but particularly rare naturally occurring blood group phenotypes that also present major challeng-

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es for blood transfusion services across the world to match.

The ability to generate RBCs with bespoke phenotypes for individuals with rare blood types together with a “more universal” source of RBCs designed to minimise alloimmunisation in SCD patients and to meet the transfusion needs of existing patients for whom alloimmunisation has reduced the suitable donor pool would have obvious clinical benefits.

The desire to improve RBC compatibility for transfusion is not a new concept. Now, scientists at the U.K.-based NIHR Blood and Transplant Research Unit (NIHR BTRU) in red cell products, BrisSynBio Center, and NHS Blood and Transplant in Bristol have developed individual cell lines in which specific blood group genes were altered using CRISPR to prevent the expression of blood group proteins that can cause immune reactions.

By Disha Padmanabha

Dr. Ashley Toye Director of the Bristol NIHR BTRU said: “Blood made using genetically edited cells could one day provide compatible transfusions for a group of patients for whom blood matching is difficult or impossible to achieve within the donor population. However, much more work will still be needed to produce blood cells suitable for patient use.”

The study is the first that demonstrate the

use of gene editing in combination with laboratory culture of red blood cells to generate rare or customized red blood cells for patients with specific needs. While the authors stress the many challenging technical obstacles that must be overcome before this approach could be translated to a clinical product, they believe their work does provide a window into the possible applications of red blood cells produced from gene-edited cell lines.

Vol. 02 NO 19

May 8th, 2018.

Yikes! China Breeding 6 Billion Cockroaches a Year Using AI Roaches are a nightmare. Specially give me the heebie jeebies. They are the bane of our existence. Definitely the worst creatures to ever roam the earth, and it certainly doesn’t help that they’re also the most resilient. Synonymous with dirt and filth, to make matter worse, they are like a giant bacteria magnet.

But then, no one loves them like the Chinese do.

Decades ago, physician and medical professor Li Shunan was traveling in the Dali region of the Yunnan province and met several older people who used cockroaches as a treatment for tuberculosis. They ground the exoskeletons up and mixed the powder with oil, and then either consumed the mixture or rubbed it on their skin.

Today, “roach powder” is an in-demand item for practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine and is used to treat “blood stasis,” cuts and bruises, broken bones, cirrhosis and cancer. Some patients even claim it helps them maintain a youthful appearance.

The powder is a big business, commanding almost $90 a pound, and roach ranches have popped up all over the country to get some of that sweet bug money and satiate a demand that wild-caught roaches can’t meet on their

own.

China has about 100 cockroach farms, and new ones are opening almost as fast as the prolific critters breed. But even among Chinese, the industry was little known until a few years ago, when a million cockroaches got out of a farm in neighboring Jiangsu province. The Great Escape made headlines around China and beyond, evoking biblical images of swarming locusts.

Also, if you are getting ideas in that crazy head of yours now, the start-up costs of these farms are minimal too— get some roach eggs, a run-down abandoned chicken coop and the roofing tile. Notoriously hearty, roaches aren’t susceptible to the same diseases as farm animals. As for feeding them, cockroaches are omnivores, though they favor rotten vegetables. Killing them is easy too: Just scoop or vacuum them out of their nests and dunk them in a big vat of boiling water. Then they’re dried in the sun like chile peppers.

Perhaps understandably, the cockroach business (“special farming,” as it is euphemistically called) is a fairly secretive industry. Which is why this massive AI company, located in the southwestern Sichuan province,

Chinese Shrub Engineered to Bolster Antimalarial Compound Production Malaria is a global health problem: in 2016 alone, there were an estimated 216 million new cases of malaria, 445,000 deaths, and nearly 1 one billion people living in areas with a high risk of the disease.

Artemisinin, an endoperoxide sesquiterpene lactone, is an effective anti-malarial compound that is synthesized in the glandular trichomes of the Chinese medicinal plant Artemisia annua. Currently, the supply of Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) is reliant on the agricultural production of artemisinin. However, plant-based production sometimes cannot meet the global demand due to the low amount of artemisinin produced in A. annua leaves (0.1%–1.0% of dry weight).

Chinese scientists have now, therefore, managed to design high-quality draft genome sequence of A. annua and their use of this information along with gene expression data to metabolically engineer plant lines that produce high levels of artemisinin.

“Nearly half of the world’s population is at risk of malaria,” says senior study author Kexuan Tang of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. “Our strategy for the large-scale production of artemisinin will meet the increasing demand for this medicinal compound and help address this global health problem.”

The A. annua genome contains 63,226 protein-coding genes, one of the largest numbers among any known plant species. It took the

team several years to complete the sequence, due to its size and complexity. Previous efforts to increase the yield of artemisinin had been hampered by the absence of a reference genome and the limited information about the genes involved in regulating the drug’s synthesis. But by simultaneously increasing the activity of three genes – HMGR, FPS, and DBR2 – the researchers generated A. annua lines that produced high artemisinin levels – about 3.2% of the dry weight of the leaves.

Leveraging these findings, Tang and his team have sent artemisinin-rich seed samples to Madagascar, the African country that grows the most A. annua, for a field trial.

They are also continuing to explore ways to enhance artemisinin production, with the goal of developing A. annua lines whose leaves contain 5% artemisinin.

“We hope our research can enhance the global supply of artemisinin and lower the price from the plant source,” Tang says. “It is not expensive to generate high-level artemisinin lines. We have propagated hundreds of high artemisinin producer lines via cutting and selection, and scaled up the production of these plants. Hopefully our high artemisinin transgenic lines will be grown at a massive scale next year.“

breeding farm that is producing more than six billion cockroaches per year has been hidden from public.

The facility, which is described by the South China Morning Post as a multi-story building about the size of two sports fields, is being operated by Chengdu-based medicine maker Gooddoctor Pharmaceutical Group. Inside the breeding site, the environment which is described as “warm, humid, and dark” allyear round, the layout is wide open, allowing the roaches to roam around freely, find food and water, and reproduce whenever and wherever.

Perhaps recognising consumers could be less keen on taking their medicine if they knew saw behind the scenes, Gooddoctor lists the only ingredient as “Periplaneta americana.” As the scientific name for the American cockroach, this is strictly accurate but requires you to have a working knowledge of entomology.

With the help of artificial intelligence, folks at this Chinese pharmaceutical company are breeding cockroaches by the billions every year, the “potion,” consumed by over 40 million people in China, is made by crushing the cockroaches once they reach a desired weight and size, according to the publication. There is a “slightly fishy smell” to the potion, which tastes “slightly sweet” and looks like tea, it added.

The giant facility is managed with the help of a “smart manufacturing” system powered

by AI algorithms. The system is responsible for collecting and analysing over 80 categories of data to ensure an optimal environment for the cockroaches to grow, according to the SCMP. These include factors such as humidity, temperature, food supply and consumption, as well as changes like genetic mutations. The system also “learns” from its historical data so it can make improvements to grow the population.

The population of cockroaches is reportedly so massive that it’s been warned there would be a “catastrophe” if the roaches were to be suddenly released. Worse, some critics are concerned that amplified reproduction and genetic screening could accelerate the natural evolution of the insect, thus producing “super cockroaches” of abnormal size and breeding capability.

Now, now, let’s have a little hope- hoping against hope that this doom does not befall on us. To prevent any cockroaches escaping, the building is surrounded by a 1m moat of water, full of fish. The fish eat any cockroach that dares escape.

Although this doesn’t do anything to soothe my presently hyper jittery nerves, it is safe to say writing this piece has taken away my appetite and many days of sound sleep.

By Disha Padmanabha

SCIENTISTS UNEARTH LONG NCRNA CHROMOSOMAL INTERACTIONS Thousands of long non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are encoded in the genome, fulfilling regulatory functions in development and disease. Long ncRNAs are often enriched in the nucleus and in some cases tethered to chromatin suggesting an involvement in epigenetic regulation.

Long ncRNAs are emerging as key players in transcription regulation, exerting both positive and negative activity; through currently emerging sequence-structure motifs, some long ncRNAs have been shown to target promoters or interact with chromatin, while others mediate transcriptional interference of antisense overlapping genes without leaving the site of transcription.

Now, scientists have now demonstrated that not only the where and when of long non-coding RNA expression is important for their function but also the how. The results can have a big impact on our understanding of dynamic regulation of gene expression in biological processes.

The research team has paid particular attention to long non-coding RNAs that can enhance the production of specific mRNAs, and

hence proteins, in breast cancer cells. They show that the expression of long non-coding RNAs can result in particularly high expression levels of specific proteins with involvement in cancer.

The study found that the non-coding RNA called A-ROD (Activating Regulator Of DKK1 expression) is only functional the moment it is released from chromatin into the nucleoplasm. At this phase, it can bring transcription factors to specific sites in DNA to enhance gene expression. After its complete release from chromatin, A-ROD is no longer active as an enhancing long non-coding RNA. In a way, A-ROD functions as a lasso that can be thrown from DNA to catch proteins.

This study bears interesting results and the team believes that these differences can be exploited to optimize the approaches for targeting RNA-dependent processes in disease.

A future scientific goal is to identify more of the non-coding RNA lassoes to fully understand their potential and application in regulation of gene expression.

By Disha Padmanabha

By Disha Padmanabha

5

Vol. 02 NO 19

May 8th, 2018.

Zika Virus Unsuspected Aide in Fighting Brain Tumors Zika virus (ZIKV) is largely known for causing brain abnormalities due to its ability to infect neural progenitor stem cells (NPC) during early development. The nasty virus has now been found to be surprisingly effective in treating two types of childhood brain tumors, as reported by scientists at the University of São Paulo in Brazil.

The studies were conducted using human cell lineages derived from two types of embryonic tumors of the central nervous system (CNS): medulloblastoma and atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT). These are tumors that mainly affect children under 5.

“CNS tumors are the most common solid tumors in children and adolescents,” explains Keith Okamoto, one of the study’s lead authors. “The peak incidence of medulloblastoma is in children aged 4 to 5 years. AT/RT has a higher incidence in even younger children, of up to 2 years old.”

Mayana Zatz, coordinator of the center and one of the lead authors of the study, does not

hesitate to describe the results as “spectacular”. “We’re going to have to handle the anxiety and not put the cart before the horse.

It’s very important to start with two or three patients, and if it works, do it for a larger number.”

When evaluating the oncolytic properties of Brazilian Zika virus strain (ZIKVBR) against human breast, prostate, colorectal, and embryonal CNS tumor cell lines, the scientists verified a selective infection of CNS tumor cells followed by massive tumor cell death.

ZIKVBR was more efficient in destroying embryonal CNS tumorspheres- a commercial one of medulloblastoma (“DAOY”), and two generated by the researchers themselves, one of medulloblastoma (“USP-13”), and another of AT/RT (“USP-7”)- than normal stem cell neurospheres.

In the in vivo experiments, embryonic CNS tumors, which are of human origin, were grafted onto mice. A single intracerebroventricular injection of ZIKVBR in BALB/c nude mice bearing orthotopic human embryonal CNS tumor xenografts resulted in a

By Disha Padmanabha

significantly longer survival, decreased tumor burden, fewer metastasis, and complete remission in some animals.

Specifically, in 20 of 29 animals treated with the Zika virus in the study, the tumors regressed. In seven of them (five with AT/RT and two with medulloblastoma), the remission was complete: the tumor disappeared.

In some cases, the virus was also effective against metastases – it either eliminated the secondary tumor or inhibited its development.

The researchers were also able to relate the effects of the Zika virus to the molecular pathway of Wnt, a pathway that had previ-

ously been described as important in the development of AT/RT and medulloblastoma.

“The virus did not infect tumor cells indiscriminately,” explains Okamoto. “It is quite specific for tumor cells of the nervous system.” In addition, it also did not infect already differentiated neurons, which is a very advantageous behavior if repeated in humans with brain tumor.

“There is a very positive outlook,” says Okamoto. “But there is a path still to be pursued so that we can move safely into the clinical part.“

Scientists Come Up with “Infinitely” Recyclable Plastic Polymer The development of chemically recyclable polymers offers a solution to the end-of-use issue of polymeric materials and provides a closed-loop approach toward a circular materials economy.

However, polymers that can be easily and selectively depolymerized back to monomers typically require low-temperature polymerization methods and also lack physical properties and mechanical strengths required for practical uses.

Now, chemists at the Colorado State University have developed what they call an “infinitely” recyclable new material, and could, one day, provide a sustainable alternative to plastics.

The material created by Professor Eugene Chen has many of the same characteristics

6

of everyday plastics, including strength, durability and heat resistance. However, unlike conventional plastics it can be converted back to the molecules that form its building blocks with ease.

The team’s new material is relatively environmentally-friendly to manufacture, too.

Its monomers can be polymerized at room temperature in a matter of minutes, with tiny amounts of a catalyst and without the use of solvents.

The new material builds on the team’s previous work into chemically-recyclable polymers, but the current iteration has a significantly improved recipe.

The older version was reportedly soft, had low heat resistance and molecular weight and needed to be manufactured under extremely

By Disha Padmanabha

cold conditions – all issues which have reportedly been improved this time around.

Publishing its findings in the journal Science, the team outlined how the newly discovered polymer has a structure that allows the monomers to be “re-polymerised” over and over in an environmentally friendly way, without the use of solvents. With just a catalyst, and a few minutes of reaction time at room temperature, the material becomes a feasible substitute to conventional plastics – that is, if it can be scaled up.

What’s next for the team? Chen emphasized this polymer technology has solely been demonstrated at the academic laboratory scale, and more research is necessary to polish the patent-pending processes of monomer and polymer production. The chemists do have a seed grant from CSU Ventures, and Chen said, “It would be our dream to see this chemically recyclable polymer technology materialize in the marketplace.”

Vol. 02 NO 19

May 8th, 2018.

SUPRA CAR: The “Swiss Army Knife” of CART is Here T cells expressing chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) are promising cancer therapeutic agents, with the prospect of becoming the ultimate smart cancer therapeutics. To expand the capability of CAR T cells, scientists at Boston University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have now developed a new CAR technology, called split, universal, and programmable (SUPRA) CAR, that they believe, has the potential to overcome some of the big issues that continues to plague the first generation of drugs now on the market.

Wilson Wong, of the Boston University, working alongside graduate student Jang Hwan Cho and MIT’s Jim Collins, has devised what they call the “Swiss army knife” of CAR-T to address issues correlating CART Therapy and technology such as patient relapse, toxicity and specificity, and not all patients respond well.

Wong’s team created a split, universal, and programmable (SUPRA) CAR system.

Instead of relying on a single fixed CAR, the technology splits the molecule into a two-component receptor system.

It comprises universal receptors, dubbed zipCARs, expressed on the T cells, plus adaptor molecules, called zipFv molecules, which carry an antibody that targets a specific antigen on the tumor cell. Both components use leucine zippers to bind to each other, allowing the engineered T cells to seek and destroy cancer.

Normally, the immune system requires T-cells to sense two targets coming from an invader cell before it attacks it. SUPRA CAR-T works in the same way-before it attacks cancer cells, it needs to sense that both targets are present on the cell. If you have a lightning cable and a micro USB cable plugged into the adapters, both devices would need to connect to activate the killer T-cell response. If only one is present, the system isn’t activated.

SUPRA CAR-T also splits the T-cell from the target-sensing portion of the system-the adapter from the cable. The antigen is chosen is sought out by an antibody on the CAR T-cells. The new system breaks apart the T-cell from the antibody and allows for the ability to switch targets; unplugging a lightning cable from an adapter and plugging in a different charging cable.

The ability to switch targets is what can prevent relapse in patients. Cancer cells are smart and will mutate to no longer display the target when they sense the T-cells attacking after attaching to it.

The SUPRA CAR-T system allows the T-cells to attack a new target by simply injecting the patient with a new batch of antibodies rather than having to re-engineer the T-cells, which is the most expensive portion of the treatment.

The team also tested their system in mouse models. Mice injected with Her2-positive breast cancer cells were given a dose of zip-

By Disha Padmanabha

CAR-expressing T cells, followed by the appropriate adaptor molecules every other day for two weeks.

While the SUPRA CAR treatment showed “robust tumor burden clearance” over traditional CAR-T, the researchers took care to note that the engineered T cells alone could not reduce tumor burden. As for the blood cancer model, mice were injected with adaptor molecules every day for six days after receiving the engineered T cells.

The results were similar, demonstrating the “potential of the SUPRA CAR system to combat many different cancers.”

“Our most immediate work is to figure out what type of cancer would really benefit from

this type of combinatorial targeting and control,” Wong said. This could include cancers with a lot of heterogeneity that don’t have a single good marker, he said. The rest will be a major engineering challenge, he added. “Every cancer is probably going to need some fine-tuning in the adaptor molecule.”

“The way I imagine it is a tricked-out cell,” he says. “We want something off-the-shelf so we wouldn’t have to make it for every patient, which would bring the cost down, with the capability to switch it on or off. We’d also want it to be able to make certain proteins it might need–proteins that chew up solid-tumor boundaries for example. Lots of sensors, lots of switches, all these bells and whistles that make a very smart cell.”

Fungus-Fighting 3D-Printed Dental Prostheses Developed The significant incidence of fungal infections in dental prostheses that has a major impact on quality of oral and overall general health remains to be adequately addressed.

Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. denture-wearing population suffer frequent fungal infections that cause inflammation, redness and swelling in the mouth.

Therefore, researchers at the University of Buffalo, have now invented 3-D printed dentures that can fight denture-related fungal infections. To achieve this, the scientists filled the prosthetic devices with microscopic Amphotericin B-releasing capsules.

Amphotericin B is a polyene antifungal antibiotic commonly used in the treatment of denture-related stomatitis. Incorporating the antibiotic in dentures can help deter and treat fungal infections.

“The antifungal application could prove invaluable among those highly susceptible to infection, such as the elderly, hospitalized or disabled patients,” said Praveen Arany, DDS, PhD, the study’s senior author and an assistant professor in the Department of Oral Biology in the UB School of Dental Medicine. “The major impact of this innovative 3-D printing system is its potential impact on saving cost and time.”

The researchers 3D printed the dentures with acrylamide, which is the current go-to material for dentures. The study looked to determine whether the 3D printed dentures were as strong as conventional ones, and if they could effectively release the medication.

To test the dentures’ strength, the researchers used a flexural strength testing machine to bend them and test their breaking point.

Conventional lab-fabricated dentures were used as a control. Although the 3D printed dentures’ strength was found to be 35 percent less than the conventional ones, they never broke.

The scientists then tested the ability of the dentures to release Amphotericin B. The teeth were tested with one, five and ten layers of the medication, to see if more could be held within the teeth without impeding its ability to be released. The researchers found that sets of teeth with five and ten layers were impermeable, preventing the medicine from being released, but that Amphotericin B was easily released by dentures with a single porous layer.

Future research aims to reinforce the mechanical strength of 3-D printed dentures with glass fibers and carbon nanotubes, and focus on denture relining. – the readjustment of dentures to maintain proper fit.

By Disha Padmanabha

7

Vol. 02 NO 19

May 8th, 2018.

Liquid Biopsy for Brain Tumor Biomarker Detection Developed Mutations in the DNA, changes in epigenomic makeup, and variations in gene expression associated with brain tumors can inform clinical practice by providing invaluable information for diagnosis, prognostication, disease monitoring, and development of personalized treatment strategies.

Such molecular biomarkers, which can be examined in surgical resection or biopsy specimens, are becoming an integral component of clinical practice. However, direct surgical tissue biopsy to determine tumor molecular profiles is associated with potential complications such as hemorrhage and infection.

Therefore, scientists at the Washington University are now developing a technique that allows them to detect brain tumor biomarkers through a simple blood test.

Liquid biopsies are a hot field, with several companies, including Foundation Medicine and Grail, either marketing tests or working to develop them. Such tests are designed to pick up in the bloodstream small pieces of DNA shed by cancerous tumors — information that then can be used to treat and monitor the disease.

Currently, doctors largely use surgical biopsies for information about a tumor’s genetic mutations and whether the cancer can be

treated with available drugs. But such biopsies are invasive and can be expensive and painful. In addition, patients aren’t always healthy enough to undergo them, and sometimes not enough tissue is procured to allow pathologists to conduct high-level analysis.

Hong Chen, a biomedical engineer, assistant professor of biomedical engineering in the School of Engineering & Applied Science and of radiation oncology in the School of Medicine, said while researchers have already learned how to get a drug through the blood-brain barrier into the brain via the bloodstream, no one — until now — has found a way to release tumor-specific biomarkers — in this case, messenger RNA (mRNA)— from the brain into the blood.

Over a dozen people have now come forward against Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and a Jaipur-based Multispecialty hospital claiming the duo tricked, inducted them into an ongoing clinical trial for the former’s pain medication, GRC 27864, without their knowledge.

These men were told they would be taken to a “medical camp,” where there would be some work, some remuneration, some alcohol and an opportunity to watch the IPL cricket match. On reaching the Malpani Multispeciality Hospital in Jaipur, where the medical camp and the money were supposed to be, they claimed that they were served dinner at the hospital and then went to sleep.

days, and gave them one tablet to be taken that same morning (19 April). From here on, things got a little fuzzy for these men as they fell asleep and then woke up again after about a day. And that’s when they realised something had gone wrong– they were feeling drowsy and some said they are still in pain, days after they were given these tablets.

“I see a clear path for the clinical translation of this technique,” said Chen, an expert in ultrasound technology. “Blood-based liquid biopsies have been used in other cancers, but not in the brain. Our proposed technique may make it possible to perform a blood test for brain cancer patients.”

The blood test would reveal the amount of mRNA in the blood, which gives physicians specific information about the tumor that can help with diagnosis and treatment options.

Jaipur Hospital & Glenmark Accused of “Duping” People into Trial

The next morning, the accusers told The Wire, a doctor by the name of Rahul Saini came and spoke to them. “We are going to give you some medicines. If you feel uncomfortable, do not worry as we are all doctors here…” He told them they would be given nine different tablets over the next nine

8

The trial aims to be conducted on 624 subjects. The trial is currently underway in 38 sites around the country, including two sites in Rajasthan, both in Jaipur, one of which is Malpani hospital. It is a randomised, double blind, placebo controlled phase 2 trial.

ANI reported that these drugs were meant for animal testing. But this is not likely as phase 2 trials are conducted on humans, not animals.

The hospital has denied the claims and allegations, as the persons in question were in fact told they could not participate in the trial because they were not eligible.

By Disha Padmanabha

The method allows biomarkers from a brain tumor to pass through the blood-brain barrier into a patient’s blood through the use of targeted ultrasound and microbubbles.

The technique, which was tested in 12 mice models, allowed messenger RNA to pass through the brain into the blood. Something never done before, according to authors.

Scientists experimented on mice using two different types of the deadly glioblastoma brain tumor. They focused on the tumor utilizing centered ultrasound, a strategy that utilization ultrasonic vitality to target tissue somewhere down in the body without entry points or radiation. Like an amplifying glass that can center daylight to a small point, centered ultrasound concentrates ultrasound vitality to a minor point profound into the

cerebrum.

When they had the objective — for this situation, the mind tumor — specialists at that point infused microbubbles that movement through the blood like red platelets. At the point when the microbubbles achieved the objective, they popped, causing minor breaks of the blood-mind obstruction that permits the biomarkers from the cerebrum tumor to go through the hindrance and discharge into the circulatory system. A blood test can decide the biomarkers in the tumor.

The team continues to work to refine the process. The future will require integration with advanced genomic sequencing and bioinformatics to enable even more refined diagnostics.

By Disha Padmanabha

According to a GPL spokesperson, “In the wake of the event of media reports alleging irregularities at the hospital, the company has decided to immediately investigate the matter and suspend the clinical trial at the site.”

In an official company statement obtained

by The Hindustan Times, the company says, “Glenmark has been conducting clinical trials in India and around the world for many years. Patient safety and regulatory compliance are of utmost importance to us. Malpani Hospital in Jaipur is one of the many sites that have recently initiated Phase ll clinical

trial for Glenmark’s molecule GRC 27864 in patients with moderate osteoarthritis pain.

Malpani Hospital has enrolled only three patients in this trial and no adverse reactions have been reported so far. The Phase II study for GRC 27864 has been initiated at 23 sites so far across India and we have not faced any protocol-related issues at any of the sites. For the trial at Malpani Hospital, Glenmark has in place all the necessary regulatory approvals. Glenmark will also fully support and cooperate with the regulatory authorities in any investigation on this trial. As a responsible organisation, we will not compromise the safety of patients.”

Vol. 02 NO 19

May 8th, 2018.

Researchers Map Telomerase in More Detail than Ever Before Why do we get old? It is, on the face of it, a puzzle. Cells can effect repairs, and divide to make new copies of themselves – they’ve been doing it for four billion years, give or take. So why do the cells in our bodies wear out? Why, after a few short decades, do they stop working?

The search for the key to ageing – and a means of slowing or reversing it – is far older than anything we’d call science. In ancient China around 200 bc, a Qin emperor sent an alchemist Xu Fu to the eastern seas to find the elixir of life; medieval alchemists sought the “philosopher’s stone” which, as well as transmuting base metals into gold, was said to prolong the life of anyone who ate a piece of it. A more scientific version of this quest is still going on.

For years now, it’s been said that telomeres – the tips of your chromosomes – are the key to cancer and aging. The shorter they are, the worse off you are – so the story goes. But what do we really know about them?

Now, in the most detailed map of telomeres yet, researchers at UC Berkeley have presented the cryo-electron microscopy structure of the substrate-bound human telomerase holoenzyme at subnanometre resolution, showing two flexibly RNA-tethered lobes: the catalytic core with telomerase reverse transcriptase

(TERT) and conserved motifs of telomerase RNA (hTR), and an H/ACA ribonucleoprotein (RNP).

Telomerase was discovered in 1997, but it’s so complicated that researchers have been unable to determine what it looked like until now. The researchers used a new imaging technique called cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), which involves cryogenically freezing a sample before looking at it with an electron microscope. This technique can illuminate structures too sensitive for normal electron microscopes.

Telomerase has an exceptionally complex structure, with an RNA backbone decorated by six types of protein that move around as they add DNA to the ends of chromosomes.

With the complex structure comes complex questions, such as whether the enzyme operates singly or as conjoined twins, and how and just how many proteins decorate the RNA backbone.

Without answers to these questions, it has proven difficult to design a drug to target the molecular machine and either destroy telomerase activity, or indeed restart telomerase, such as to boost cell division after a bone marrow transplant.

The Berkeley lab has been trying to determine the structure of telomerase for 20 years

By Disha Padmanabha

and had made some advances before now, including discovering and characterising many of the proteins in the enzyme, as well as the broken-up hairpin structure of the RNA backbone of telomerase.

The newly revealed structure still lacks fine detail, but combined with knowledge of the gene sequence of human telomerase, it provides enough information to start thinking about potential targets for drugs, said first author Thi Hoang Duong “Kelly” Nguyen, a Miller Institute postdoctoral fellow at UC Berkeley.

“The best previous images of human telomerase had a resolution of only 30 Ångstroms; we were able to get about 7 to 8 Ångstroms resolution using cryoelectron microscopy,” Kelly said. “When I got to the point where I could see all the subunits – we had 11 protein subunits in total – it was a moment of, ‘Wow, wow, this is how they all fit

together.’”

Nguyen was able to isolate the active enzyme and purify it much better than anyone had before, and employed a new, state-ofthe-art cryoelectron microscope to determine the structure of the active telomerase unambiguously. Cryo-EM is a technique for determining molecular structures of compounds that cannot be crystallized and imaged with X-rays, and its developers won the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

The team is ecstatic to finally have a definitive structure for telomerase and looks forward to learning more about the intricate assembly process of one of the most complex enzymes in the body: a polymerase as complicated as the ribosome, which reads RNA to produce proteins.

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Vol. 02 NO 19

May 8th, 2018.

ADMISSIONS At present, the Centre has nearly 179 students in its PhD and Integrated PhD (IPhD) programmes. The Alumni of the Centre have gone on to work in academic and research sectors in India and abroad. The Centre offers an excellent atmosphere for academic development of students.

The students, after registering with a Research Supervisor, have to undertake a prescribed Course Work Programme. The details of the admission are furnished below:

cessful online submission.

(E) Send the signed hard copy of the online receipt only along with (DO NOT SEND ADMIT CARD) (i) a crossed Demand Draft of Rs 600/(non-refundable), in favour of ICGEB, New Delhi payable at New Delhi. (ii) documentary evidence for SC/ST/OBC (non-creamy layer), if applicable to The Director, International Centre for Genetic Engineering Biotechnology (ICGEB), Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi 110 067 by 25th May, 2018. The Envelope should be clearly marked with Application for Ph.D. Programme 2018

ICGEB-JNU PhD Programme 2018 Admission | Official Notification

•

The official notification is out for the ICGEB-JNU PhD Programme 2018 Admission. ICGEB-JNU PhD Programme 2018 Admission notification is out . Admission to Ph.D. Programme 2018 ICGEBJNU Ph.D. Programme-2018 notification.

Interested and eligible candidates can check out all of the details on the same below: Admission to Ph.D. Programme 2018 Applications are invited from candidates for admission to the ICGEB-JNU Ph.D. Programme-2018 in the following streams.

• • •

Molecular Medicine Plant Biology III. Integrative Biology

Visit our website http://www.icgeb.org/ research-groups-Delhi.html for more details on the research interest of above PIs. Minimum Qualification: (A) First class (60% or equivalent grade) M.Sc. in any branch of Science (e.g. Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics etc) or M.Tech. or M.B.B.S. or M.V.Sc. or M.Pharm. or equivalent qualification recognized by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, is required. Candidates appearing for the qualifying examination this year may also apply; they will be admitted provisionally pending satisfactory fulfilment of the above requirements at the time of joining (1st July 2018).

(B) The applicant should have cleared any one of the following examinations: CSIR, UGC, ICMR, DBT (I), DST-INSPIRE, BINC or any other equivalent JRF examination.

The fellowship must be valid for at least four years. GATE and DBT(II) are not accepted.

Application Procedure: (A) Applications MUST be filled online (click the link at the bottom) (B) Before starting online application prepare demand draft of Rs 600/- in favour of “ICGEB, New Delhi”, payable at New Delhi as you are required to fill the demand draft details online.

(C) Scan recent colour passport size photo.

Size of photo should be less than 2 MB. (D) Print the online receipt and the admit card in COLOUR, generated after the suc-

10

• •

Eligible candidates will be called for a written exam on 12th June, 2018.

Intimation will be sent by email.

Written examination will be ONLY in your choice of first stream. No changes will be allowed later.

Candidates shortlisted based on the written exam will be interviewed on 13th & 14th June 2018.

PhD Admission 2018 Biological Sciences @ S N Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata PhD Admission 2018 for biological sciences candidates at S N Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata. S N Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata phd admissions 2018 notification.

PhD Admission 2018 at S N Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata as per the details given below: S.N.BOSE NATIONAL CENTRE FOR BASIC SCIENCES BLOCK-JD, SECTOR-III, SALT LAKE CITY, KOLKATA-700106 Admission 2018 Ph.D Programmes in Physical, Chemical and & Biological Sciences The S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences invites students with consistently good academic record (First Division/Class) to apply for admission into the Ph.D Programme in Physical, Chemical & Biological Sciences 2018. The students who apply are expected to be motivated to make a career in Research. The programme is fully residential and the students are offered on-campus accommodations and boarding facilities. The Centre charges no fee for the programmes.

All students joining the centre get contingency grants to meet research contingency expenses that include expenses for attending conferences and training programmes in India. The students also get generous support to attend International Conferences outside India.

The Centre is a premier autonomous research institute under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.

In addition, the Centre receives extramural funding from various funding agencies of India and abroad for its different research programmes. The Centre has extensive collaborative programmes with other premier institutions in India and abroad through bi-lateral exchanges in which the PhD research scholars take active part. The Centre is fully equipped with the state-of-the art infrastructure (experimental and computational) including a digital library for advanced research in chosen areas of Physical, Chemical, Biological and Mathematical Sciences. The research programme in biological sciences focuses on the areas of overlap with chemical and biophysical problems. For research profiles of the members of the Faculty and for the facilities available, please visit the URL: www.bose.res.in.

1. Basic qualification: M.Sc/Masters with First Class/Division i.e., minimum 60% in aggregate (55% for SC/ST/OBC candidates) in Physics, Chemistry, Applied Mathematics, Biophysics , Biotechnology ,Nanotechnology 2. Further Qualifications required in addition to (1) : JEST – Upto 160 Rank OR GATE – Upto AIR 400 (2016, 2017 and 2018) (GATE rank from 401 to 1000 in “Chemistry” be allowed to appear for interview in the CBMS department only) OR CSIR NET-JRF and UGC-NET-JRF (June/ Dec 2016, June/Dec 2017 with valid award letter till 31.8.2018) OR INSPIRE – PROVISIONALLY SELECTED and Award Letter to be valid upto 31.08.2018 3. Date of Interview: 18th June – 20th June 2018 4. Age Limit: None. However, the last qualifying University examination (M.Sc/ Masters.) should have been taken not earlier than 2016.

5. Fellowship: As JRF – Rs. 25,000/- (per month) As SRF – Rs. 28,000/-(per month) The programme is strictly residential and all students will be provided on campus accommodation.

6. Online Application: Starts on 5th May 2018 and Closes on 31st May 2018.

Only online applications will be accepted.

Please log on to http://www.bose.res.in for further details. In matters of admission, the decision of the Director of the Centre is final and binding.

For any academic/official query, please write to: admission@bose.res.in For any technical query, please write to: admission-help@bose.res.in Important Dates •

Publication of advertisement in Newspapers : 30th April, 2018

Next Page>>>>

Vol. 02 NO 19 • •

Online application system starts on : 5th May, 2018 Online application system closes on : 31st May, 2018

Interview Programme Integrated Ph.D : 13-15 June, 2018 Ph.D : 18-20 June, 2018 Online Application Interface for Admission 2018 [Commencement of online application: Sat, May 05, 2018 at 12:00:00 AM IST

May 8th, 2018. al Centre of Biotechnology, Faridabad, after completion of course work and any additional requirements.

Eligibility and Selection Criteria: Individuals desirous of seeking admission must have a Master’s degree in any branch of Life Science (M.Sc., M.V.Sc., or M.Pharm) or B.Tech / M.Tech in any branch of Life Science. Candidates must also have secured CSIR/UGC/DBT/ICMR/INSPIRE NET JRF/ UGC-RGNF or any other national research fellowship for 5 years. Applications will also be accepted from candidates who have secured a fellowship and have completed or are likely to complete the required courses in the academic year 2018-19. Having a fellowship is mandatory for consideration. The terms and conditions, fellowship amount etc. will be governed by the awarding funding agency subject to the Rules and conventions of the Institute.

(CET-2018) for admission in the following UG and PG courses being offered at Its University Teaching Departments for the session 2018-19: Courses After 10+2 : Group D : LL.M. (Business Law)/M.Sc. (Life Sciences/Industrial Microbiology/ Biochemistry)/ M.Sc. (Electronics/Electronics & Commun-2 Yrs/M.Sc.[Genetic Eng./Binformatics / Biotechnology industry sponsored) How to Apply: Applyonline only through http://www. dauniv.ac.in. The Computer based entrance test for group A, B, C and D will be held on May 22,2018 (in two shifts; Groups A & C-10.00 to 11.30 AM, Groups B & D-2.00 to 3.30 PM). The application fee is Rs. 1550/·.

The application fee can be paid either by

Credit Card/Debit Cardi Net Banking/ Challan in SBI. The online (Computer based) entrance test will be held at Indore, Dewas, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Gwalior, Ujjain, Sagar, Satna, Rewa, Mandsaur, Khandwa, Ranchi, Patna, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Raipur, Bilaspur, Allahabad, Lucknow, Kota, Vadodara, Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Kochi, Bhuvneshwarcities. University has the right to change the cities for entrance test.

After entrance test, counseling will be in offline (manual) mode at Indore only.

Last date of online submission of application form is Thursday, 10th May, 2018.

The details of eligibility, number of seats, fee structure, dates for counseling etc. are in CET-2018 brochure available on our website www.dauniv.ac.in. All the Notices will be put on the University Website only.

Helpline: cetdauniversity@gmail.com

Application and Selection Procedure:

NIAB RSP 2018-2019 – Research Scholars Program @ NIAB Research Scholars Program that is available at NIAB – National Institute of Animal Biotechnology, official notification is announced. B.Tech / M.Tech / M.Sc candidates with a background in any branch of life sciences are eligible to walk-in for the NIAB RSP 2018-2019 Research Scholars Program at NIAB. Check out all of the details below: Advertisement No. RSP-II/2018 Admission for Research Scholars Program WALK-IN Interview on 11th May 2018

Candidates who meet the above eligibility criteria may attend the walk-in interview on 11 May 2018 between 10am and 1pm. Candidates are required to bring all documents in original for attending the interview with one set of self-attested photocopies and one latest passport size photograph.

Candidates must make their own arrangements for any travel / boarding and lodging.

No TA/DA will be paid by NIAB for attending the interview NIAB reserves the right to accept / reject applications or candidature or admission in case of any discrepancy observed at any stage Walk-In Details: Date of Interview – 11 May 2018 Time of Interview – between 10am and 1pm

National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB) invites applications for its Research Scholars Program 2018-2019.

NIAB is an autonomous and premier institute of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India. The Institute wishes to develop and harness novel and emerging biotechnological tools and applications, and take up research in cutting-edge areas for improving animal health and productivity as well as contribute to human health and welfare.

NIAB’s current research interests include • • • • • • • • •

host-pathogen interactions and pathogenomics next generation vaccines, diagnostics, adjuvants and drug delivery platforms nutrition, metabolomics and metabolic disorders genetics and genomics gene and protein engineering reproductive biotechnology transgenic technology bioinformatics human-animal interface and One Health

Applications are invited for NIAB’s RSP 2018-2019 from highly motivated individuals who have secured national fellowships and who are willing to take up research work to meet the challenges in the above-mentioned areas. Those admitted as Research Scholars could be registered for PhD through a recognized University or through Region-

DAVV, Indore CET 2018 MSc Life Sciences Admissions 2018 Notification Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Indore MSc Life Sciences Admissions Common Entrance Test (CET 2018). DAVV, Indore Life Sciences CET 2018. DAVV Common Entrance Test 2018 MSc Life Sciences Admission Notification. Interested and eligible candidates are encouraged to apply for the same, via the details given below: DEVI AHILYA VISHWAVIDYALAYA, INDORE (NAAC Accredited “A” Grade ) Common Entrance Test (CET) 2018 – Admission Notice Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Indore announces the registration for its Computer Based (Online) Common Entrance Test

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Vol. 02 NO 19

May 8th, 2018.

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