Biotecnika Times 9th Oct 2019 Edition

Celebration Time Biotecnika turns 13 this 11th October

MESSAGE FROM THE CEO

October 8th, 2019 Vol. 03 NO 99

It’s Biotecnika’s 13th Birthday and we want to share something with you!

The year was 2006 and the internet was sold at 700 Rs for a 64 kbps connection in Bengaluru.

At approximately 7 PM IST on 11th October 2006, after a long tiring day, the founders of a future revolutionary company finally decided on a name. A name that changed the way BioSciences is read, understood and imparted.

Yes, 13 years ago, the seedling for India’s No. 1 Bioscience Web Portal, was planted with utmost care.

With the passing days and years, the seedlings grew tall and spread its branches over the Life Science and Chemical Science students and provided them with the fruits of knowledge and career guidance. Today, on October 11th, we wish Biotecnika a very Happy Birthday.

We started BioTecNika with a modest aim—create awareness about the Biotech / Life Science field around us. As our beloved BioSciences field grows in power and size, they are also turning the table of opportunities that exist around us. To write about the complexity of our field with fairness, accuracy, and independence—tenets of a great organization—requires resources, people and of course all of you, our beloved subscribers.

Since its inception, Biotecnika has been supporting the career aspirations of hundreds of thousands of students through its detailed website, conducted workshops, International conferences, countless courses, amazing faculty members, and a dedicated, hard-working support team.

Let’s start with the numerous accolades & achievements of BioTecNika in last 13 Years: • As of Today, BioTecNika.org is the world’s Number 1 Biotechnology website as per Alexa.com ( an Amazon company) • BioTecNika ranks among the top 25 Websites in the world as per similarweb.com • BioTecNika is visited by 3.6 crore BioProfessionals globally every year, Can you imagine 3.6 crores • BioTecNika is the Only BioSciences Organization to be present in 5 cities of India - Bangalore, Noida, Pune, Kolkata & Chennai and daily catering to millions of students in their career needs • I am sure many of you have been a part of this incredible journey just as Ms. Ali Aktara, who has qualified GATE 2019, DBT JRF category I, CSIR NET JRF 2019 and is now realizing her dream at IISC Bangalore as a PM Research Fellow, • or Mr. Aneesu Rahman KT, who qualified the FSSAI 2019 with the 3rd rank or • Ms. Gargi, Dimple and Snigdha who have qualified CSIR NET JRF within the top 50 rank.

• In last one year, we also launched Ask BioTecNika - An initiative to help students with their day-to-day doubts about careers and opportunities • BioTecNika Prime was launched in dec of 2018 and today it’s one of the fastest-growing segments of BioTecNika • We also completed 51 episodes of The Voice of BioTecNika in past 1 Year • In September of 2019, we also launched numerous Micro Certification Courses such as CRISPR, Molecular Modeling, Quick NET Revisor and many more.

With countless names to decorate Biotecnika’s hall of fame, there are numerous other reasons why Biotecnika is the most popular students’ choice.

Every day, we find Biotecnika’s website flooded with information about the current scenario of employment in Life Science and Chemical Science. A very detailed and updated list of all the current job openings, available internships projects and conferences along with general tips to succeed in one’s career is published. On a monthly basis, a well-organized newsletter is released which provides information about the ongoings in the research world and popular headlines for that period.

If you still wish to learn more about these, you may visit the website www.biotecnika.org and subscribe to the channel and portal if you haven’t done so yet.

Looking at a student’s busy curriculum, a user-friendly portal courses.biotecnika.org has allowed one to gather all educational information under one roof.

With a detail-oriented teaching method and improvised technology, multiple courses have been designed both for self-learning as well as classroom training.

Physical and virtual libraries have been provided for student aid. With a conceptualized and comprehensive test series, many students and toppers like Ms. Aruna, Ankita, Gurpreet, Sanhita have achieved their goal of qualifying competitive examinations.

Biotecnika believes in the concept that ‘learning never ends’, hence to enable students further, multiple industry-standard certification courses such as Molecular docking, Research Methodology, Artificial Intelligence, FACS, CRISPR, NGS have been designed, which has seen a thrust in the employability of the young minds.

Nobody likes bookish knowledge that has no industrial relevance or that does not bridge the gap between studies and employment. To overcome this, Biotecnika’s initiative of Virtualized International Conferences with unimaginable global participation has brought together with brilliant minds that spent the day discussing topics like Artificial Intelligence in Health and Bioscience, Life science career trends, CRISPR technology, etc.

To keep students connected all the time, Biotecnika has introduced its mobile app and WhatsApp connectivity. Through countless reviews and gratitude filled emails, popularity and use is evident. Youtube channel offers numerous podcasts, videos and concept animations on everyday topics and amazing science facts that intrigue young minds. Countless books, materials have been created in a manner to gain the most, through the least investment. In short, the institute has been determined and focussed to support a student, irrespective of their busy schedule or unreachable location, in order to be able to provide the country with the best of talent for overall development and growth.

The list does not end here. Once a student successfully qualifies, pursues their dream of research, they find it difficult to manage resources. To support them, there is a scope to ‘teach and earn’, where a student can associate with Biotecnika, provide course materials and then earn the benefits. They can also avail scholarship programs to help their research going, even if their fellowship terms have ended. A lot of times, research fellows find it difficult to manage their laboratory budget, finding the right quality of materials and also face occasional delays and disappointment. To avoid all this and limit the turnaround time and running around, Biotecnika offers a unique portal - Biotecnika Prime, where all lab supplies and chemicals can be observed, compared, availed at the best price and assured guarantee.

On this special day, we thank Biotecnika for all the different ways it has helped us achieve our dreams, and wish ourselves a very Happy Birthday !!

Today we embark on our fourteenth year—a journey that promises to be more adventurous and intrepid than any before.

NEW BLOOD TEST

October 8th, 2019

Vol. 03

NO 99

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October 8th, 2019 Vol. 03 NO 99

A New Blood Test Can Now Detect 20 Types of Cancer!

A new blood test could detect more than 20 types of cancer, allowing the detection of cancer in the earlier stages. The Blood test spots changes in the genes, as cancer develops. This would allow early screening of cancer, according to scientists allowing sooner treatment.

THE NEW BLOOD TEST FOR CANCER HAS 99.4% ACCURACY MEANING JUST 0.6% OF CASES WERE MISDIAGNOSES OF HEALTHY PATIENTS. THE TEST WAS ABLE TO DETECT ONETHIRD OF PATIENTS WITH CANCER IN THE FIRST STAGE, AND THREE-QUARTERS OF THOSE WITH STAGE TWO DISEASE.

By Rahul Mishra

Scientists have pledged to speed diagnosis so that by 2028, three-quarters of cancer patients are diagnosed at these two stages. Currently, 50% of patients receive a diagnosis before they reach stage three or four.

The New Blood Test For Cancer is advancement by US scientists. This blood test looks for abnormal patterns of methylation in the DNA. According to the researchers, this is an indication of cancer.

The lead author of the study is Dr. Geoffrey Oxnard of Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. It is part of the Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Geoffrey said that his team’s work indicated that methylation-based assays outperform tradi-

than 2,000 from healthy people with- cy was 32% for patients with stage one cancer; 76% for those with stage out cancer. two; 85% for stage three; and 93% for The patient samples comprised more stage four. than 20 types of cancer, including colorectal, hormone receptor-neg- According to Dr. Oxnard detecting, ative breast, ovarian, gall bladder, even a modest percentage of comIn the study, researchers analyzed oesophageal, gastric, lung, head and mon cancers early could translate into more than 3,500 blood samples. They neck, multiple myeloma, lymphoid many patients who may be able to receive more effective treatment were in a lookout for cell-free DNA. leukemia, and pancreatic cancer.

These are a kind of DNA which enters the bloodstream after becoming The New Blood Test For Cancer ac- The research- New Blood Test For detached when its parent cell dies. curately detected 76% of high mortal- Cancer- was presented today at the ity cancers.

European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

The samples were taken from more than 1,500 cancer patients and more Within this group, the test accurational DNA-sequencing approaches to detecting multiple forms of cancer in the blood sample. According to him, this study proves that methylation-based tests are a feasible way of screening people for cancer.

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Govt UPSC Biochemistry / Microbiology Drugs Inspector Jobs With Rs. 56,000 pm Salary Govt job for msc biochem/zoology candidates for Assistant Director (Industrial Hygiene) and Drugs Inspector (Unani) vacancies.

MSC HIGH PAYING GOVT JOB RECRUITMENT 2019, BIOCHEMISTRY AND MICROBIOLOGY JOBS – ASSISTANT DIRECTOR (INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE) AND DRUGS INSPECTOR (UNANI) VACANCIES. CHECK OUT ALL OF THE DETAILS BELOW:

By Diluxi Arya

This job expires in :

Post I Job Title: Assistant Director (Industrial Hygiene) Vacancy No.: 19091202228 No. of Vacancies: 01 (UR) Probation: 01 (One) year.

Head Quarter: Headquarters is in Mumbai with All India Service liability.

Ministry/Administration: Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Department/Office: Other Organization: Directorate General of Factory Advice Service and Labour Institutes DGFASLI. Age: Not exceeding 35 years as on normal closing date. Relaxable for regularly appointed Central Government Servant up to five years according to instructions/orders issued by Govt. of India from time to time. For age concession applicable to some other categories of applicants, please see relevant paras of the ‘Instructions and Additional Information to Candidates to Recruitment by Selection.’

Pay Scale: Level 10 (Rs.56,100 — 1,77,500) of Pay Matrix Total Emoluments Rs. 56,100 and D.A. as admissible per month.

Qualifications: A. Educational Master’s Degree in Chemistry or Biochemistry of a recognized University or equivalent.

Equivalent qualification(s) is Associate-ship of Institution of chemists (AIC) offered by the institute of chemists (India), Kolkata.

Note Qualifications are relaxable at the discretion of the UPSC in the event of the candidates otherwise well qualified.

B. Expertise Three years of practical research ex-

perience in Industrial Hygiene.

Desirable Qualification (s):

age concession applicable to some other categories of applicants, please see relevant paras of the ‘Instructions Doctorate Degree in Chemistry or and Additional Information to CandiBio-Chemistry from a recognized dates to Recruitment by Selection.’ university or equivalent.

Pay Scale: 7th CPC Pay Matrix Note No qualification is equal to a Level 8 ( ₹ 47,600-1,51,100/-).

Doctorate degree mentioned previously.

Qualifications: Duties: • Conducting small independent studies within the field of Industrial Hygiene and assisting in significant project work.

• Assisting in conducting training programs.

• Collection of review material pertaining to the actions of this Division.

• Assisting in the compilation of returns and reports.

Post II Job Title: Drugs Inspector (Unani) Vacancy No.: 19091203128 No. of Vacancies: 01 (UR) Probation: 02 (Two) year.

Head Quarter: Delhi under Govt. of NCT of Delhi.

Ministry/Administration: Government of NCT of Delhi Department/Office: Health and Family Welfare Department Organization: Directorate of AYUSH Age: Not exceeding 30 years as on normal closing date. Relaxable for regularly appointed Central Government Servant up to five years according to instructions/orders issued by Govt. of India from time to time. For

Commission is of the opinion that sufficient number of candidates from these communities possessing the requisite experience are not likely to be available to fill up the vacancies to reserved for them.

Desirable Qualification (s):

Experience in testing/ manufactur(A) (i) Degree in Pharmacy or Phar- ing of Unani Drugs or experience in maceutical Science or Medicine with inspection of firms manufacturing specialization in Clinical Pharmacol- Unani Drugs. ogy or Microbiology from a recognized University.

Duties: (ii) At least one year’s practical experience in Unani Pharmacy. (i) To inspect premises licensed for OR manufacture of Unani Drugs.

(B) Degree in Unani System of Med- (ii) To send a detailed report after icine from a recognised University or each inspection forthwith to the Cona State Govt. or a statutory faculty, trolling Authority. council or Board of Indian System of (iii) To take samples of the drugs Medicine recognised by the Central manufactured on the premises and Govt. / State Govts. for this purpose. send them for test or analysis.

OR (iv) To institute prosecution in re(C ) Diploma in Unani System of spect of violation of the Act and the Medicine granted by a State Govt. or Rules made thereunder. an institution recognised by the Central Govt. or a State Govt. for this pur- Application Fees: pose. (a) Candidates are required to pay Note1 Qualifications are relaxable a Charge of Rs. 25/- (Rupees Twenat the discretion of the Union Public ty five) only either by remitting the Service Commission in case of candi- money in any branch of the SBI by cash or by employing internet bankdates otherwise well qualified. ing Facility of the SBI or using visa/ Note2 The qualification regarding master credit/debit card. experience is relaxable at the discretion of Union Public Service Com- (b) No charge for SC/ST/PH/Wommission, for the reasons to be record- en applicants of any community. No ed in writing in the case of candidates ” fee exemption” is available to OBC belonging to the Scheduled Castes or male applicants and they’re expected Scheduled Tribes if at any stage of to pay the full prescribed fee. selection the Union Public Service Next Page>>>>

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(c) Applications with no prescribed fee Wouldn’t be considered and summarily rejected. No representation against such rejection would be entertained. (d) Fee once paid will not be reimbursed under any circumstance nor will the fee be held in reserve for any other examination or selection.

Important : THE LAST DATE FOR PRINTING OF COMPLETELY SUBMITTED ONLINE APPLICATION IS UP TO 23:59 HRS ON 17.10.2019.

THE LAST DATE FOR PRINTING OF COMPLETELY SUBMITTED ONLINE APPLICATION IS UP TO 23:59 HRS ON 18.10.2019.

DATE FOR DETERMINING THE ELIGIBILITY OF ALL CANDIDATES IN EVERY RESPECT SHALL BE THE PRESCRIBED CLOSING DATE FOR SUBMISSION OF ONLINE RECRUITMENT APPLICATION (ORA). THE APPLICANTS ARE ADVISED TO FILL IN ALL THEIR PARTICULARS IN THE ONLINE RECRUITMENT APPLICATION CAREFULLY AS SUBMISSION OF WRONG

October 8th, 2019 Vol. 03 NO 99

INFORMATION MAY LEAD TO REJECTION THROUGH COMPUTER-BASED SHORTLISTING APART FROM DEBARMENT BY THE COMMISSION. DATE FOR THE INTERVIEW ON WHICH THE SHORTLISTED CANDIDATE IS REQUIRED TO BRING THE PRINTOUT OF HIS/HER ONLINE APPLICATION ALONGWITH OTHER DOCUMENTS AT UPSC SHALL BE INTIMATED SEPARATELY. Prescribed Last Date (Online Recruitment Application):- 17.10.2019

Apply Online Editor’s Note: Govt UPSC Biochemistry / Microbiology Recruitment 2019, msc biochemistry jobs, msc microbiology jobs, Govt UPSC Biochemistry jobs, upsc jobs, upsc recruitment 2019, upsc biochemistry jobs, upsc msc biochem jobs, upsc msc jobs, Govt UPSC Job 2019, upsc recruitment. Check out the Biotecnika Times Newsletter and also make sure you subscribe to it. You can also follow us on our Twitter and Facebook profiles. Also, check out the Podcast that we have for free listen on SoundCloud.

Exclusive Govt Forensic Science Services Jobs 2019 With Rs. 60,000 pm Salary Government job opportunities in forensic sciences for Indian nationals.

INTERESTED APPLICANTS CAN CHECK OUT ALL OF THE DETAILS REGARDING THE VACANCIES AVAILABLE, THE SALARY, THE NATURE OF DUTIES, THE APPLICATION PROCEDURE AND MORE ALL DETAILED BELOW:

By Diluxi Arya

This job expires in :

F. NO. DFSS/2/14/2019 Government of India Ministry of Home Affairs Directorate of Forensic Science Services CGO Complex, Block 9, 8th Floor, New Delhi 110003 Post I Name of the Post: Forensic Consultant No. of Vacancies: 06 Place of Posting: DFSS Headquarters, New Delhi or it’s outlying units.

Monthly Remuneration: 60000/per month: (in case of retired governmentservant the remuneration shall be as per prevailing DOPT norms) Nature of Duties: To provide help in execution and monitoring the Nirbhaya funds. To Aid in implementation and monitoring of the State Action Plan. To maintain Quality Control and Quality Assurance in the lab. Laboratory Accreditation. To prepare training needs/ requirement for the experts viz-a-vis raining of State FSLS. To set the net-

work linkage of States together with CFSt.s. Provide help in the execution of Police Modernization Grants Scheme by MHA. To provide inputs of the respective jurisdiction of CFSL in terms of the growth of Forensic Science services. To prepare proposals for elective policies necessary to be made for the development of forensic science. Act as a Nodal officer for preparation of proposals for the procurement of equipment for setting up new divisions in the various labs.

Dispensation of legal issues and addressing courts related issues including legal advice and service, handling of their work regarding Budgetary facets, Financial matters and General administrative issues. Any other work/activity assigned by the CFSL/ DFSS/MHA.

sultant No. of Vacancies: 02 Place of Posting: DFSS Headquarters, New Delhi or it’s outlying units.

Monthly Remuneration: 60000/per month: (in case of retired governmentservant the remuneration shall be as per prevailing DOPT norms) Nature of Duties:

To co-ordinate with outlying units With respect to Quality Control and Quality Assurance in the various Laboratory, To compile & assess the Training needs/ requirement for the Expense of all CFSLs vis-a-vis training of State FSLs in consultation with CFS. DFSS. To compile/ prepare Various reports & publications on the Data offered by the outlying unis/ Forensic Consultants attached with Each CFSL and help in the formulation Of Post II additional course of action/ policy Name of the Post: Forensic Con- by DFSS/MHA, Implementation and

Monitoring of e-Forensics, Identification of growth areas of R&D. Preparing proposal on Department policies and Forensic Domain-specific plans & proposals. Laboratory Accreditation, Any other Work/activity) assigned by DFSS/MHA.

Qualifications for Post I & II a) Graduate/ Postgraduate/ PhD preferably in Science Stream b) Desirable: Sufficient expertise and knowledge in the field of Forensic Science and Laboratory management, Certification in Quality Assurance and Quality Control in testing labs, Laboratory Accreditation, knowledge and experience in legal matters, particularly in Govt. Sector in addition to legal advice. Adequate knowledge and expertise in financial planning, fiscal matters and general manageNext Page>>>>

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October 8th, 2019 Vol. 03 NO 99

ment in addition to rules pertaining to these facets.

Age limit: Between 35 to 65 years

How to Apply:

post/ speed post/ b) hand to: The Senior Scientific Officer Gr. I (FS), DiSubmission of application complete rectorate of Forensic Science Servicin all respect (according to Annex- es, Block 9, 8th floor, CGO Complex, ure-A) To be submitted by registered New Delhi I10003.

Last date of submission: 31/10/2019

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NEWS

October 8th, 2019 Vol. 03 NO 99

Latest Ultrasound Can Now Detect Early Cancer – Biggest Breakthrough Tech In 60 Years A new ultrasound technique is being regarded as the most significant development in technology for more than 60 years. The Scientists at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh have developed this New ultrasound technique that is ten times better than current scans.

RESEARCHERS BELIEVE THAT ITS ABILITY TO PRECISELY DETECT TUMORS COULD ONE DAY REPLACE BIOPSIES IN INVESTIGATING SUSPECTED CANCER CASES.

By Rahul Mishra

Ultrasound Spots Cancer Early- The History In 1958, Prof Ian Donald of Glasgow University discovered the use of ultrasound in medical sciences to reveal how babies were developing in their mothers’ wombs. Ultrasound waves are not in the hearing range of human beings. Prof Ian Donald used the pulsed waves to produce images which were breakthrough research in the field of medical science.

Women at Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital were the first to benefit from a technique which is now common worldwide.

side the body with the help of a microscope.

A High-Quality Prostate Gland Scan.

Credits HERIOT-WATT UNIVERSITY

Prof Ian Donald of Glasgow University pioneered the use of ultrasound.

Credits bbc.com

Though ultrasound has its limitations even after being discovered decades ago. The image resolution is low, and sometimes they are so indistinct it can be difficult to tell if the unborn child is a girl or a boy.

Ultrasound Spots CancerEarlyThe New Technique Dr. Vassilis Sboros says that this is the first technology that can claim to have a near-microscopic quality. He adds that in the future, this technique would be widely used.

Alongside a familiar-looking greyscale scan, there is a new, far sharper color image produced by the new technique. The image is said to be 10X higher resolution.

Dr. Vassilis Sboros describes the process as like being able to look in-

Ultrasound Spots Cancer Early- The Principle Scientists have used the technique used in physics, statistics, and bubbles.

Doctors have long used microbubbles to increase the contrast of ultrasound images during clinical studies. These are typically tiny capsules of hydrocarbon gas in a lipid shell, each bubble a fraction of a millimeter across. Clouds of them are injected into a patient’s bloodstream to diagnose liver and other diseases.

The team of scientists first used physics to observe the behavior of individual microbubbles. These microbubbles are the size of red blood cells.

Once the team had established the physics of microbubbles, Dr. Weiping Lu used statistics and computing power to reveal what ultrasound scans had not been able to show before.

Dr. Lu says it helps to think of each microbubble as a car in traffic. He used artificial intelligence to create a robust algorithm that can track each one and reveal the busiest routes.

He imagined the car as microbubbles, and the road network is a blood vessel. They monitored the speed of these ‘cars.’ The scientists also measured the ‘roads’ that is the blood vessels.

Just as tracking individual cars would build a road map, this signal processing produces an image of blood vessels by watching where microbubbles go.

How do they detect a possible tumor formation?

Dr. Lu highlights that if they go somewhere unexpected, it could be a sign of cancer. It has the potential to be detected much earlier than before. These are super-resolution images showing details far beyond the limitations of the conventional scanner.

In normal conditions, scanning a patient’s abdomen would show details as minute as a millimeter. The new images are already ten times better, and the team expects to be able to refine the process to see more minor features yet. Trials on human patients are scheduled to begin before the end of 2019 at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh.

Ultrasound Spots Cancer Early- The Applications With the help of this new technique, doctors can find patients who need urgent treatment.

Prostate Tumor patients are being tested first because a patient’s gland is typically removed entirely during surgery. This means the accuracy of the new technique can be compared with the real-time scenario.

Most essential diseases change the body’s blood flow, which means this technique could be used across medicine and may not be limited only to cancer detection.

The results have been published in the Journal of Investigative Radiology The research was funded by a Science and Technology Facilities Council project. The project was called ‘Imaging The Stars From Within.’

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Breakthrough Research – Scientists Discover How Bacteria Are ‘Hiding’ From Drugs Scientists discovered how bacteria can temporarily disguise themselves in order to avoid being detected by the antibiotics. This research study is the first to show that bacterias can change form inside the human body by hiding the cell wall inside themselves.

CONCEALING THE CELL WALL MEANS THE ANTIBIOTICS HAVE GOT NO TARGET, THAT PROVIDES A POTENTIAL CAUSE OF RESISTANCE, ACCORDING TO SCIENTISTS FROM NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY.

By Ria Roy

Researchers used state-of-the-art techniques to analyze samples from elderly patients with recurring urinary tract infections (UTI).

The study, known as “L-form switching”, shows that when antibiotics are present – such as in a patient with a urinary tract infection receiving penicillin or other cell wall-targeting antibiotics – the bacteria has the ability to change its form.

Lead author of the paper, Dr. Katarzyna Mickiewicz, said that imagine that the cell wall is like the bacteria wearing a high-vis jacket. And this gives them a regular shape – for example, a rod or a sphere, making the bacteria very strong and protecting them but also makes them highly visible particularly to the human immune system and also antibiotics like penicillin.

The research paper which showed how bacteria is hiding from drugs, published in Nature Communications, used samples obtained through a collaboration with clinicians at the Newcastle Freeman Hospital which is part of Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals Foundation Trust.

WHO has identified antibiotic resistance as one of the biggest threats to global health and development today.

The Errington lab team in their previous study demonstrated that the im-

Dr. Katarzyna Mickiewicz, center, was the lead author of the work CREDIT: NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY / PA

He added that what the team has seen is that in the presence of antibiotics, the bacterias were able to change from a highly regular walled form to a completely random cell wall-deficient L-form state which in effect is like shedding the yellow jacket and hiding inside themselves. And in this form the body can’t easily recognize these bacteria so doesn’t attack them, and neither do antibiotics.

mune system can also induce L-form switching to some extent. But that particular antibiotic treatment has a much more profound effect.

According to the current research study, L-forms of various bacterial species typically associated with Urinary Tract Infections, including E. coli, Enterobacter, Enterococcus, and Staphylococcus, were detectable in

about 29 out of 30 patients involved Dr. Mickiewicz explained that in a in the research study. healthy patient this would probably mean that the L-form bacterias left In this L-form, the bacterias were would be destroyed by their host’s flimsy and weaker but some survive, immune system. But in an elderly hiding inside the body. Scientists also patient, the L-form bacteria can surcaptured on video L-form bacteria vive. These bacterias can then reform isolated from a patient with Urinary their cell wall and the patient is yet Tract Infections reforming a cell wall again faced with another infection. after this antibiotic had gone. And this This may well be one of the main took around five hours. reasons why we see people with recurring Urinary Tract Infections. For The team showed by direct micros- doctors this may mean considering a copy in the transparent zebrafish combination treatment – so an antibimodel, that the L form switching is otic that attacks the cell wall then a possible in the contexts of whole liv- different type for any hidden L-form ing organisms, and not just only in ar- bacteria, so one that targets the RNA/ tificial conditions in the lab.

DNA inside or even the surrounding membrane, he added.

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A Single Tea Bag Can Leak Billions Of Micro Plastics Pieces – Study Finds Microplastics are everywhere- in our oceans, soil, air, snow; and even in your cup of tea! Plastic tea bags are actually shedding billions of shards of microplastics into their water, according to a new research study.

SCIENTISTS AT MCGILL UNIVERSITY, CANADA, ANALYZED THE EFFECTS OF PLACING FOUR DIFFERENT COMMERCIAL TEA BAGS INTO THE BOILING WATER.

By Ria Roy

Researchers have now found that a single bag releases around 11.6 billion microplastic particles, and about 3.1 billion even smaller nano plastic particles, into the cup that is thousands of times higher than the number of plastics previously found in any other food or drink.

Health effects of drinking these microparticles are unknown, according to the scientists, who called for furtics in various foods, but less re- year which is the equivalent of a credther research into the area. search has been done into whether it card’s weight in plastic.

The research team who led the new they can be shed into the water during study on single tea bag releases mi- the brewing of tea and any other hot In its first review of the health risks of microplastics in tap and bottled croplastics into your brew, removed drinks. water, the World Health Organization the tea leaves from inside the bags to prevent it from interfering with the Many of the tea producers use poly- said last month that these microplastics do not appear to pose any health results of the study, before boiling the propylene to seal their tea bags. risks at current levels; but the key bags in water to simulate the tea makHumans eat an average of five grams finding came with a big caveat — ing process. of plastic each week, according to a the review said available information Researchers have found microplasseparate research study earlier this was very limited and more research

studies were needed on microplastics to know how they affect the human health.

We need to know more about the health impact of these microplastics because they are everywhere including in our drinking water, said Dr. Maria Neira, the director of the Department of Public Health, Environment and Social Determinants of Health at the WHO.

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Low-Cost WBC Health Detection Chip Developed By NTU Scientists Researchers from Singapore Nanyang Technological University(NTU Singapore) have now developed a lab-on-a-chip system which helps in identifying the health aspects of an individual’s immune system from a drop of their blood, just within minutes.

USING A COMBINATION OF MICROFLUIDICS, I.E, THE TINY MICROSCOPIC CHANNELS WHICH CAN ISOLATE WBCS FROM BLOOD, AND ELECTRICAL SENSORS, THE NEW LAB-ON-A-CHIP SYSTEM WAS ABLE TO DETECT DIFFERENCES IN THE ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF WBCS TAKEN FROM HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS AND DIABETIC PATIENTS.

By Ria Roy

The proof of concept device may one day help our doctors to quickly gain insight into an individual’s immune system, and also to spot early signs of inflammation as well as infections that could signal the need for further in-depth tests.

This lab-on-a-chip system is designed and built by Hou Han Wei, Assistant Professor, and Holden Li from the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. This invention, if successful in the further laboratory and also in clinical assessments, could be turned into a portable lab-on-a-chip system device suitable for family clinics and polyclinics.

The prototype device and its engineering principles were reported in two peer-reviewed journals: Lab on a Chip earlier this year and also in Biosensors and Bioelectronics in October last year.

As our immune health is often implicated in cardiovascular diseases, the researchers say that their lab on a chip device can potentially be an additional screening tool for doctors in order to use for early detection of cardiac diseases. In Singapore, cardiovascular diseases accounted for about 30.1 percent of all deaths in the year 2017 while diabetes is a serious health problem which affects about ten percent of the world’s population.

How this invention works Asst Prof Hou, the faculty member at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine at NTU, said that their lab-ona-chip device detects electrical differences between a healthy WBC and an unhealthy one. Abnormal WBCs have been reported as an early biomarker for increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and it also suggests an ongoing inflammation.

on-a-chip first physically separates the various blood cells by size into the different outlets, just like a coin-sorting machine. The isolated WBCs are then run through a special channel where the electrical impedance is measured for each cell at very high speed (100s of cells per second).

Electrical impedance of an abnormal cell is usually higher when compared to that of the impedance of a healthy cell. The abnormal cell is larger in size and has different membrane properties.

WBCs form a significant part of the body’s immune system. And neutrophils are the first line of defense when infection or inflammation strikes the body.

Asst Prof Hou said that their chips can isolate thousands of WBCs from a single drop of blood and, within minutes. It can tell if these cells are electrically different from normal, which would be an indicator of a health issue that has to be further investigated by doctors.

He further added that more importantly, their process also does not use any chemical biomarkers or antibodies, that makes this assay a very cheap, easy to use, and that it can do further analysis on the same WBCs which have already run through the chip.

a-chip is a common medical-grade polymer. And this chip is easily manufactured using existing machinery and can be made into a desktop-sized machine for use in clinics.

He added that their WBC Health Analysis Chip was designed for easy scale-up by the companies, with an integrated system built from electronic components available on the market currently. The team is looking to commercialize this technology with an industry partner, as they see that there are market demands for a point-of-care device for doctors. This as laboratory equipment, can be used for the study of neutrophils and drug screening, Prof Li added.

The researchers added that the team is also doing more researches on the various electrical impedance levels as well as what each of them signifies, so as to build a sort of reference library for automated analysis, and the team will be also working with doctors to test their prototype in the clinical setting.

Professor Bernhard Boehm, Professor of Diabetes Research at NTU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, while giving an independent opinion on the research, said that many diabetic patients are also susceptible to chronic infections due to disease affecting the performance of their immune system.

dition to this, there is a need to improve the early diagnosis of bacterial infections and to provide guidance for antibiotic therapy.

A test system which can rapidly guide decisions about the initiation of specific therapies would be of great help in a clinical setting. And this will need in the near future randomized controlled clinical trials to provide the formal proofs that this lab-on-achip novel test system is superior to all the currently used conventional diagnostic procedures, added Prof Boehm, who was not part of this research study. This new WBC Health Analysis Chip developed by NTU Singapore Scientists could also be very useful for the study of NETosis which is a newly discovered defense mechanism in the field of immunology.

During the NETosis defense mechanism, neutrophils cells spit out DNA strands that trap bacterias and viruses, just like a spider’s web, to impede their movements and also to kill these trapped pathogens. However, too much NETosis mechanism also slows down wound healing in diabetes.

NETosis mechanism expert, Assistant Professor Christine Wong, from NTU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine who was not involved in this research study, said that the most widely adopted methodology for studying NETosis propensity currentLab-on-a-chip’s possible use in ly is real-time imaging or the microsclinical testing He said that there are a number of copy of fixed neutrophils. However, limitations to using conventional di- it is a laborious process for scientists Asst Prof Holden Li said that the agnostic markers for patients with Using very tiny channels, the lab- material used in making new lab-on- clinical suspicion of infection. In adNext Page>>>>

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to isolate the neutrophils cells for microscopy without affecting their native baseline state, & not influence experimental results.

which will be especially useful for drug screening ex vivo, said, Asst Prof Wong, in her independent comment.

tists using mouse models, as low neutrophil cell yield is a common obstacle in mouse neutrophil isolation due to their smaller blood volume available and their lower myeloid cell ratio when compared to that of humans.

This new device by Asst Prof Hou and Asst Prof Li may enable rapid and non-biased NETosis mechanism experiments and also quantification,

He added that if the device can be modified to measure NETosis mechanisms in mouse neutrophils, this Asst Prof Wong said that while the would be delightful news for scien- new lab-on-a-chip device is unlikely

to replace microscopic experiments, in particular when visualization of cell components during the NETosis mechanism is the subject matter, the resources saved from NET quantification can be diverted to those investigations.

Chikungunya Replication Protein Identified This research opens up therapeutic avenues in the fight against the deadly chikungunya virus.

THE NAME CHIKUNGUNYA DERIVES FROM A WORD IN THE KIMAKONDE LANGUAGE, MEANING “TO BECOME CONTORTED.” IT IS APTLY NAMED SO BECAUSE THE SEVERE MUSCLE AND JOINT PAINS ENDURED

BY THE PATIENTS PREVENT THEM FROM MOVING FREQUENTLY OR PERFORMING THEIR DAILY ACTIVITIES.

By Rahul Mishra

Chikungunya is an infectious disease caused by a mosquito-borne virus transmitted to humans. It is characterized by high fever including intense joint and muscle pain.

The mechanisms of infection of human cells with the virus remain very poorly understood. Scientists have now identified a protein that is crucial for the virus to replicate within its target cells.

Chikungunya Replication Protein Identified- The Challenges The clinical manifestations of the disease are well understood though the mechanisms by which the virus infects human cells and multiplies remain poorly elucidated.

None of the previous studies had succeeded in explaining why the virus preferentially targets the muscle and joint cells, consequently leading these clinical signs.

Dr. Ali Amara led the research at the AP-HP Saint-Louis Hospital Research Institute in Paris. It was a collaborative study with Marc Lecuit’s team from Institut Pasteur, Inserm, and Université de Paris.

Researches have identified that the FHL1 protein is a critical cellular factor for the replication and pathogenesis of chikungunya.

FHL1 is a molecule present mainly in the muscle cells and fibroblasts.

These cells are the preferred targets of

the Chikungunya virus. FHL1 plays an essential role in healthy muscle physiology. It is now thought to be diverted from that function by the virus to ensure its replication in the target cells.

are resistant to the virus.

the viral infection is not fully understood. The scientists have discovered that FHL1 interacts with a viral protein known as nsP3. It is binding to this that FHL1 protein participates in the replication of the virus.

Finally, the scientists performed in vivo experiments in mice whose Fhl1 gene was invalidated. They have shown that these animals are resistant to infection and do not develop the Chikungunya Replication Protein disease, whereas the virus multiplies The team of scientists will now look Identified- The Study Methodology and causes significant muscle lesions into the mechanism of action at the in mice expressing a functional FHL1 molecular level in and discover the Dr. Amara’s team used the CRIS- protein. reason behind FHL1’s specificity to PR-Cas9 technology to systematicalthe chikungunya virus. ly screen the genome of human cells These observations demonstrate that to identify the host factors necessary the FHL1 protein plays a crucial role Elucidating the molecular structure for viral replication. in chikungunya virus replication and of the FHL1-nsP3 complex could be a significant step forward in the depathogenesis.

Subsequently, they isolated the gene velopment of antivirals that block the coding for the FHL1 protein. The Chikungunya Replication Protein replication of the virus. team of researchers then conducted Identified- The FHL1 Protein a series of experiments showing the Currently, only symptomatic treatincapacity of the virus to infect cells The precise role played by FHL1 in ments are available for patients inwhose FHL1 expression had been fected with chikungunya. abolished.

Additionally, the scientists have shown that the virus was incapable of multiplying within cells derived from patients suffering Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy. It is a rare genetic disease.

This disease is the result of mutations of the FHL1 gene responsible for the breakdown of the FHL1 protein. The researchers have demonstrated that the cells of these patients

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Whole Genome Sequencing To Enable Personalized Cancer Treatment Our human genome comprises a string of molecules called nucleotides. Nucleotides are represented by the letters A, C, G& T. But sometimes, changes occur in the ‘spelling’ of our DNA i.e, an A becomes a G for example.

THESE NUCLEOTIDE CHANGES ARE KNOWN AS MUTATIONS THAT CAN BE CAUSED BY A NUMBER OF FACTORS, OR BY EVEN SOME SPONTANEOUS, OTHERS ENVIRONMENTAL, SUCH AS EXPOSURE TO TOBACCO SMOKE OR TO ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT & ALL LEAVE CHARACTERISTIC SIGNATURES ON OUR GENOME.

By Ria Roy

As the cells divide and multiply, they make copies of their DNA; So if there are any spelling mistakes, that will be reproduced. Over time, the number of errors gets accumulated, leading to an uncontrolled cell growth i.e, the development of tumors.

Whole-genome sequencing is a technique that involves reading the entire genetic blueprint of a cancer cell and also compares it to a patient’s healthy cells to see how their DNA has mutated. By studying the mutations present in a whole cancer genome and also seeking all the signatures in them, it is actually possible to identify the various factors that have acted upon the tumor cell.

In order to understand whether Whole-genome sequencing might be useful in a clinical setting, Cambridge scientists teamed up with their colleagues in Sweden running a population-wide project called SCAN-B, that has been recruiting all women with breast cancer in the South of Sweden since the year 2010. And this was critical as SCAN-B has a large amount of clinical outcome data.

This international collaboration of scientists used Whole-genome sequencing to analyze tumors from individuals who had been diagnosed as having triple-negative breast cancers. And these cancers are so-called because these lack 3 key molecules known as receptors. They account for around nine percent of breast cancers and are associated with poorer outcomes. These cancers are also more common amongst women with African and Asian ancestry.

Whole-genome sequencing gave the team a complete view of the cancer genome. It reveals many things that the team couldn’t see previously because we simply did not look for them, explained Dr. Serena Nik-Zainal from the Medical Research Council Cancer Unit at the University of Cambridge,

who led this study.

And having a complete cancer genome map for each patient helps us to understand what has caused each patient’s tumor and treat each them more effectively. Formerly, it was like going on a voyage with only a limited map, but now, with whole-genome sequencing, researchers have a much better, more detailed map and know the best route to reach our destination, he added.

The scientists then applied a machine learning algorithm called HRDetect, which they had previously developed to identify tumors with signatures caused by mutations in the genes BRCA1 or BRCA2. Having a variant of either of these 2 genes greatly increases an individual’s risk of developing breast cancer and a relatively new class of anticancer drug called PARP-inhibitors have been developed specifically for these tumors. HRDetect scores had suggested that a greater proportion of women in the general population could have tumors that are very similar to BRCA1/BRCA2-mutant cancers.

Taking the scores, the team categorized each patient as either high, intermediate or the low scoring.

Individuals who scored highly were those that had the best outcomes using current treatments for triple-negative breast cancers are also most likely to respond to the PARP inhibitors.

And surprisingly, those with intermediate scores had the poorest outcomes. Current triple-negative breast cancer treatment had limited effectiveness suggesting that novel ap-

proaches would be necessary to tackle these cancers. The genetic changes and its signatures revealed through Whole-genome sequencing gave clues to the mechanisms driving these tumors, that in turn may help to inform the development of new drugs.

Patients with low scores have poor outcomes, though not as bad as those in the intermediate group. However, the Whole-genome sequencing profile in some of these tumors suggested biological abnormalities which could potentially be targeted by existing drugs or the drugs currently going through its clinical trials, such as socalled checkpoint inhibitors or the AKT inhibitors.

Using the whole-genome sequencing technique, researchers can truly discriminate tumors that may or may not respond to current medicines among triple-negative breast cancer patients, a type of breast cancer that we still struggle to treat well, said first author Dr. Johan Staaf at the Lund University in Sweden.

Importantly, this approach also gives clues to some of the mechanisms which are going wrong in the poor-outcome tumors, and hence how we might treat those tumors differently or how we might develop new drugs.

Speed of DNA sequencing technology has progressed such that Whole-genome sequencing can be carried out within 24 hours, with another 24 to 48 hours for analysis of the data. In theory, it should be possible to offer WGS as a matter of course to all patients, allowing a personal readout of their tumor and potential treatment options.

The potential for whole-genome sequencing technique is to open up a personalized approach to treating cancer is huge, said Dr. Nik-Zainal. he added that in the past, the cost and issues with managing the huge volume of data created barriers to its widespread application. But researchers are moving closer to a time where this can be routinely offered to all tumor patients, with the potential to transform the management of even difficult to treat cancers.

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A Mouse Or An Elephant: Which Species Fights Infection More Effectively?

Among the Elephant & Mouse, what species is better at fighting an infection? is it a mouse or an elephant?!

THE BODY SIZE IS ONE OF THE MOST NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCES AMONG THESE SPECIES, BUT THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN IMMUNE DEFENSES AND THEIR BODY SIZE HAVE LARGELY BEEN UNSTUDIED.

By Ria Roy

Cynthia J. Downs, Hamilton College Assistant Professor of Biology, led a research study with co-authors Ned Dochtermann of North Dakota State University, Kirk Klasing at University of California, Davis, Ray Ball of Eckerd College, and Lynn (Marty) Martin at University of South Florida that investigated whether body masses were related to concentrations of 2 important immune cell types in the blood among hundreds of species of mammals ranging from the tiny Jamaican fruit bats (~40 g) to giant killer whales (~5,600 kg). Their study results appear in The Effects of Body Mass on Immune Cell Concentrations of Mammals, recently published online by The American Naturalist.

The scientists found that concentrations of lymphocytes, one type of white blood cell, did not change in any special way with the body sizes.

A mouse and an elephant have the

same number of lymphocytes per ml inherent advantages that infectious of their blood. agents have over the animals they infect. This advantage arises because In contrast to this, big mammals had small organisms replicate their cells far, far more neutrophils in circulation much faster than big organisms; to than the small species. These neutro- offset this benefit of being small, big phils are involved in early immune organisms maintain a large pool of responses to many different kinds of nasty cells to attack the invaders. invaders including bacterias and even bigger parasites such as worms.

This study on finding species that fight infection effectively shows that The scientists speculate that larger for some types of immune defenses, mammals might need much more cir- large and small mammals are fundaculating neutrophils to overcome the mentally different from each other.

Downs and co-author Martin observed in their study that this insight may help in developing better ways to link the results from lab mice to improvements of human health. This study also helps in enabling researchers to make predictions about the immune systems of various species never before studied. The co-authors of the study speculate that these data could also even help wildlife managers predict how good a species could be as a host for a newly emerging disease.

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New Antibacterial Food Coating Material Discovered by Scientists RUDN University chemists have developed a convenient and straightforward method for producing derivatives of the natural polymer chitosan.

THESE DERIVATIVES ARE NON-TOXIC AND HAVE A HIGH ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY WHICH CAN COMBAT COMMON BACTERIA. ACCORDING TO SCIENTISTS, THESE SUBSTANCES CAN BE USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF ANTIBACTERIAL PROTECTIVE FILMS FOR FOOD.

By Rahul Mishra

Preservatives- primarily chemicals, are widely used ascross the food industry. They are critical to extending the shelf life of products. Contrary to this, these preservatives reduce food quality.

Some of the chemical preservatives, such as benzoic acid, can even cause allergies. Synthetic waxy substances such as biphenyl used to coat fruits are considered to be carcinogens.

Biphenyl is prohibited in the United States and the European Union.

These data explain the importance of finding new preservatives that are effective and safe.

chitosan with the two commonly used killing bacteria or slowing their reantibiotics— gentamicin and ampicil- production. lin.

Consequently, a zone of inhibition New Antibacterial Food Coating- formed around the disk. The value of The Experiment the antibacterial activity is estimated by the diameter of the area of inhibiAntibacterial activity was deter- tion. A standard colorimetric test demined by diffusion into the agar lay- termined toxicity. er- same as the commonly used Disk Diffusion method. A disk of filter Azido Chitosan- the New AntibacteNew Antibacterial Food Coatingpaper impregnated with the test sub- rial Food Coating prevented StaphyAzido Chitosan stance or comparison antibiotic was lococcus aureus growth in a zone of placed on the agar plates containing 26 mm in diameter- the benchmark Chitosan is a natural polymer dethe bacterial culture. The content by ampicillin was 30 mm. For E. coli, rived from chitin. It is the main com(antimicrobials) penetrates the agar, the zone of inhibition by azido chiponent of insect and shrimp shells.

It has antibacterial properties and is already used in the food industry for packaging and coating products with a protective film. However, the conventionally used Chitosan does not have the antibacterial property at par with antibiotics.

Andreii Kritchenkov and Margarita Kurasova, RUDN University chemists along with a team of scientists, modified chitosan with organic azides.

This was done by sewing them to the polymer chain. Azides are derivatives of hydrazoic acid. Both natural and inorganic azides are toxic. Though their compounds with chitosan are considered safe. Antibacterial activity of the obtained substances- azido chitosan, was significantly higher than that of chitosan.

The study showed that samples of polymers based on chitosan had antibacterial activity comparable with that of antibiotics. The researchers compared this parameter for azido

tosan was measured to be 26 mm in diameter- the reference using gentamycin was 22 mm.

This experiment demonstrated that the polymer has almost the same antibacterial activity as antibiotics. This is a significant finding as antibiotics as components of antibacterial films is highly unacceptable because it leads to the development of resistant strains of bacteria.

New chitosan derivatives can be used as safe and effective preservatives to create protective films for food on this basis.

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NASA’s Plan To Send Shape-Shifting Robots In Search of Alien Life Nasa plans to send shapeshifter robots to the mysterious, alien moons around Saturn.

THE SHAPESHIFTER ROBOTS ARE VISIONARY ROBOTS BY NASA. IT CAN HELP US LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ALIEN WORLDS’ SURFACE. IT MAY ALSO HELP SHED LIGHT ON WHETHER THEY COULD SUPPORT LIFE.

By Rahul Mishra

The Shapeshifter robot is intended to head to Saturn’s moon Titan. According to Ali Agha Titan is the only place, expect the earth, in our solar system known to have liquid in the form of methane lakes, rivers and seas that are on its surface. He is the principal investigator at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Agha, scientists have limited information about these surface. He hy- These cobots would include a small Nasa has discovered about Titan pothesizes that there may be Rocky propeller and would be able to fly through the flybys that were carried terrain, methane lakes, cryovolcanoes around the world independently. It out by the Cassini mission. These on Titan’s surface. could connect to create long chains journeyed past the Titan more than a to dive deep under the surface, or hundred times. It extensively mapped To overcome this challenge, scien- even group together into a ball to roll the surface of the Saturn’s moon and tists thought to create a system that across and save energy. found that it appeared strikingly simis versatile and capable of traversing The cobots are currently semi-auilar to Earth. Surprisingly its lakes different types of terrain. They want tonomous, but Nasa will need to and rain are made out of methane and to create a system that is compact build robots that can stick themselves ethane, which are gasses on Earth. enough to launch it with the aid of a together without being directed to do rocket. so from Earth.

NASA In Search of LifeThe New Approach To examine that surface, Agha and Agha imagines that the shapeshifters the Shapeshifter team build a concept will drop out of a mothership, which The scientists at NASA still want for a robot that is made out of a host of would fall onto the surface by a parato learn more about what is happenother smaller robots, called “cobots.” chute. That would serve as an energy ing on Titan’s surface. According to

NASA Designing Shapeshifting Robots for Saturn’s Moons A prototype of the transforming robot Shapeshifter is tested in the robotics yard at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Shapeshifter is made of smaller robots that can morph into rolling spheres, flying drones, swimming submersibles, and more. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

source and also look like the scientific instruments that can be used to analyze samples.

NASA In Search of LifeWhat’s Next This concept will be submitted to Nasa’s Advanced Concepts​ Initiative in 2020, with the hope of having it approved for more work. But it may take some time until it arrives, as one of Nasa’s spacecraft known as Dragonfly is scheduled to launch in 2026.

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Earliest Signs Of Life- Scientists Discover Breakthrough Evidence Scientists have found clues for how life on Earth originated. They have discovered exceptionally preserved microbial remains in some of Earth’s oldest rocks in Western Australia.

RESEARCHERS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES FOUND THE ORGANIC MATTER IN STROMATOLITES. THEY ARE FOSSILIZED MICROBIAL STRUCTURES.

By Rahul Mishra

Researchers discovered them from the ancient Dresser Formation in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

The stromatolites have been thought to be of biogenic origin ever since they were first discovered in the 1980s.

The theory was unproven for nearly four decades despite strong textural evidence. Scientists had failed to prove this hypothesis. This discovery by the UNSW researchers has finally come up with some evidence.

Dr. Raphael Baumgartner, the lead researcher, said that for the first time, his team could show the world that these stromatolites are definitive evidence for the earliest life on Earth.

Dr. Baumgartner is a research associate of the Australian Centre for Astrobiology.

Professor Van Kranendonk says the discovery is the closest the team has come to prove the existence of such ancient life.

The study represents a significant advance in the knowledge of these rocks. Scientists can also use this study to find life on Mars.

Earliest Signs Of LifeThe Approach Used by the Scientists Ever since the Dresser Formation was discovered in 1980, scientists have wondered whether the structures were genuinely microbial and therefore the earliest signs of life.

Dr. Baumgartner says that in this study, his team spent a lot of time in the lab, using micro-analytical techniques to look very closely at the rock samples. This proved their theory once and for all.

Stromatolites in the Dresser Formation are usually sourced from the rock surface and are therefore highly weathered. For this study, the scien-

that contains organic matter.

Dr. Baumgartner says that the organic matter that the team found preserved within pyrite was exceptional.

They found coherent filaments and strands that typically remained of miThis approach helped scientists to crobial biofilms. look at a perfect snapshot of ancient microbial life.

The researchers say that such remains have never been observed beDr. Baumgartner and team used a fore in the Dresser Formation. He variety of cutting-edge micro-analyt- adds that he never expected to find ical tools and techniques, including this level of evidence before he startspectroscopy, high-powered electron ed this project. Dr. Baumgartner had that ‘eureka’ moment when he finally microscopy, and isotope analysis. figured out that he was looking at biHe found that the stromatolites are ofilm remains at the electron micromainly composed of pyrite. It is a scope. mineral also known as ‘fool’s gold’ – tists worked with samples that were taken from further down into the rock, below the weathering profile, where the stromatolites are exceptionally well preserved.

Earliest Signs Of Life- Can This Help Find Life on Mars?

Last month, NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) scientists spent a week in the Pilbara with Martin Van Kranendonk for specialist training. It was the first time that Van Kranendonk shared the region’s insights with a dedicated team of Mars specialists.

It included a group consisting of the Heads of NASA and ESA Mars 2020 missions.

Professor Van Kranendonk says that Australia’s ancient rocks, coupled with expert scientific knowledge, are making a significant contribution to search for extra-terrestrial life and unlocking the secrets of Mars.

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Warning! Washing Machines Spread AntibioticResistant Bacteria That Can Make You Sick A new study finds drug-resistant pathogens can be spread via washing machines. This finding has been proven by hygienists at the University of Bonn for a children’s hospital where a Klebsiella oxytoca type was repeatedly transmitted to the newborns.

FORTUNATELY, NO DANGEROUS INFECTION OCCURRED TO THE NEWBORNS. THE SOURCE OF THIS INFECTION WAS A CONVENTIONAL WASHING MACHINE USED TO LAUNDER THE CLOTHES OF THE NEWBORNS.

By Ria Roy

This case has now drawn attention, especially when antibiotic-resistant bacteria could also be transmitted via the washing machines in households with people who need nursing care. A further study of this will examine the distribution channel in more detail.

The results of this new study are now published in the journal “Applied and Environmental Microbiology”. ways to be clearly traced. Neither the parents of the babies nor the nursing Klebsiella oxytoca bacterium was staffs had transmitted these bacteria. increasingly detected during the routine hygiene screenings in the neo- The transmission to newborns was natal wards of a children’s hospital via beanies and socks in Germany. The Klebsiella oxytoca bacterium can lead to gastrointestinal Prof. Dr. Dr. Martin Exner who is the as well as respiratory infections and in Director of the Institute for Hygiene the worst case, it can also result in fa- and Public Health at the University tal sepsis. In this particular case, com- Hospital Bonn, said that the Klebsielmon medications could only be used la oxytoca bacteria type was clearly against Klebsiella oxytoca pathogen identified in the detergent drawer and to a limited extent or not at all. Once also on the door seal of a washing after newborns were repeatedly colo- machine, which was used to launder nized with the bacteria and intensive the hand-knitted socks as well as the hygiene intervention measures were beanies of the babies on the ward. unsuccessful, the children’s hospital The Klebsiella oxytoca bacteria were called in the Institute for Hygiene and passed on to the newborn babies via Public Health (IHPH) of the Univer- the clothing. sity Hospital Bonn. Dr. Daniel Exner who is a hygiene officer at the Clinic After the washing machines were and Polyclinic for General, Visceral, removed, no further colonization of Thoracic & Vascular Surgery at the the premature babies was detected.

University Hospital Bonn, said that This clearly demonstrates that the luckily, these newborns did not suffer team has found the Klebsiella source, any dangerous infections.

Schmithausen concluded. This is a In order to trace the source and also the possible distribution pathways, several environmental samples from patient and also from the staff areas and suspected risk locations were compared with the samples from the newborns. Dr. Ricarda Schmithausen who is the Head of the One Health Department at IHPH said that Klebsiella oxytoca type was so unique that it was in this form which is not yet included in the databases of the National Reference Center for gram-negative hospital pathogens. This was advantageous because it allowed the team to study the distribution path-

special case & hospitals normally uses special washing machine and laundry processes where washing is done at high temperatures and also with disinfectants, or designated laundries handle the washing externally. On the neonatal ward, the infection case that occurred some time ago involved a standard washing machine. They decided to investigate this case in order to draw attention to possible problems with antibiotic-resistant bacterias that are now advancing into the domestic environments, said Schmithausen.

Some studies have already shown

that drug-resistant bacteria can take hold in washing machines. Prof. Exner said that the team has proven for the first time that washing machines can be a source to spread antibiotic-resistant bacteria to humans. This study results also has consequences for the domestic environment. For environmental reasons, the trend in conventional household machines is towards lower temperatures of well below 60°C (140°F). According to the researchers, this is in principle a very positive development because it saves energy and protects the climate.

However, if elderly people requiring nursing care with open wounds or bladder catheters or younger people with suppurating injuries or infections lived in the household, laundry should be washed at higher temperatures, such as 60°C (140°F), to avoid the transmission of dangerous pathogens. This is actually a growing challenge for hygienists, as the number of people receiving nursing care from family members is constantly increasing.

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Yale Scientists Identify Rare Inherited Immune Disease When a nine-year-old girl with anemia, breathing problems, and recurrent infections sought help for her mysterious ailments, Yale scientists and their collaborators at the NIH sequenced her genes to pinpoint a cause.

WHAT RESEARCHERS DISCOVERED WAS NOT ONLY A NEW DISEASE BUT ALSO AN UNEXPECTED NEW ROLE FOR A GENE THAT CAN AFFECT THE IMMUNE SYSTEM. THE NINE-YEAROLD PATIENT HAD SIGNS OF BOTH A WEAK & DEFICIENT IMMUNE SYSTEM AS WELL AS AUTOIMMUNITY WHERE THE IMMUNE CELLS MISTAKE HEALTHY TISSUES AND ORGANS AS THREATS AND ATTACK THEM.

By Ria Roy

By assessing her genes, the Yale research team discovered she was lacking a protein called PI3Ky. This protein and the gene that encodes this protein had been studied in mice, but exposed to germs that interacted with researchers had never seen a human their immune systems. And over time, the PI3Ky- protein-deficient mice dewith this mutation. veloped many of the same immune In order to determine its role in her problems as like the human patient. illness, the Yale team studied her blood cells and examined that particu- According to the scientists, the relar protein’s role in mice. Researchers search study of this inherited immune put mice that had been genetically disease provided fresh insight into the modified to lack this gene in cages biology of the immune response. The with healthy mice purchased from scientists described specific roles for a pet store. Unlike the lab mice, the the mutated gene in immune dysfuncstore-bought healthy mice had been tion. Researchers also showed how

working with “dirty” mice those exposed to germs in their environment, could help them mimic human disease in the laboratory.

ing this protein in cancer patients could help in the fight against tumors, said the scientists and this nine-yearold patient’s case helps doctors know what to monitor as potential side efBy pinpointing the underlying ge- fects in cancer patients receiving netic causes of the nine-year-old PI3Ky protein inhibitors. patient’s illness, the scientists also opened a new avenue of treatments The research paper in which rare with medication. In addition to this, inherited immune disease identified, the discovery offers key information led by assistant professor of immuabout PI3Ky protein, which is a target nobiology Carrie Lucas, is published of cancer immune therapies. Block- in Journal Nature Communications.

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RESEARCH GRANT

October 8th, 2019 Vol. 03 NO 99

New Govt SERB SUPRA Research Grant – Applications Invited A brand new initiative has been launched by SERB called SUPRA (Scientific and Useful Profound Research Advancement). The call is open and will remain active till November 29th 2019.

FUNDING IS PROVIDED FOR 3 YEARS AND CAN BE EXTENDED ON ASSESSMENT. SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? BE AMONG THE FIRST TO AVAIL THE BENEFITS OF THIS GRANT WHICH IS DETAILED BELOW:

By Diluxi Arya

This call expires in : AN INITIATIVE OF SERB – DST GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

tional level and/or the emergence of critical technologies.

• Global impact, outstanding publications, the advancement of science.

tution in India with at least 5 years of service remaining. The term “Regular” refers to the applicants who are appointed against the sanctioned post or in a tenure post but are likely to be renewed after Submissions under SERB-SUPRA the end of the tenure.

SERB has developed a newly ap- can only be made against the call for • Private Academic institutions with proved scheme that seeks to explore proposals, with a public announcevalid UGC / AICTE / PCI approvnew scientific breakthroughs, with ment through SERB online portal and al, Private R&D Institutions with long-term impact on our fundamen- social media. Funding will be provalid DSIR-SIRO recognition and tal scientific understanding, and of- vided normally for a period of three Voluntary and Non-Governmenfer disruptive technologies at the years, which could be extended to 2 tal Organizations registered under cutting edge. SERB-SUPRA (Scien- years (5 years total) as assessed by an NITI-AAYOG Darpan portal are tific and Useful Profound Research expert committee. The research grant eligible to host a project.

Advancement) is a scheme beyond will encompass normal budget heads, • Faculties recruited through normal core grants and purposefully apart from an overhead grant. It is UGC-Faculty Recharge Program designed for high-quality proposals envisaged that innovative SUPRA are eligible to apply. INSPIRE consisting of new hypothesis or chal- proposals will bring out breakthrough Faculty, Ramanujan and Ramalenge existing ones, and provide ‘out- solutions in identified areas. The suclingaswamy Fellows, Research of-box’ solutions. Transformative and cess of such proposals will ideally Associates, Ad-hoc faculties, disruptive research concepts based on open up new opportunities in S&T Guest Faculty, Visiting Scientist, innovative and unproven hypothesis, and impact global science not only consultant, Project Fellows and possessing a high degree of uncer- in terms of knowledge but also in the Faculty members whose contract tainty, yet having the conviction to form of delivered outcomes. is renewed every year are not eliproduce a lasting impact across disgible. In respect of cases that are cipline boundaries qualify for support Eligibility not mentioned here, SERB reunder SERB-SUPRA. serves the right to determine the • Applicants [Principal Investigator eligibility Most important measures of this (PI) and / or Co-Principal Inves- • The PI and Co-Investigator(s) scheme are: tigator(s) (Co-PI(s))] should be should hold PhD degree in SciIndian citizens. Foreign nationals ence, Mathematics, Engineering • Quantum of advances (incre(including OCI and NRI) are also or M.D / M.S. / M.D.S. / M.V.Sc mental and short terms gains are eligible to apply provided they degree at the time of applying for strongly discouraged). fulfil the eligibility criteria nothe grant.

• The extent of disruption in fundatified by SERB (SERB Funding mental understanding or impact Guidelines for foreign nationals Nature & Duration of Support: on outstanding research grand dated 27th Oct 2016 ). challenges: new areas, new con- • The applicant(s) must hold a reg- • The SUPRA scheme provides recepts, new products, new disrupular academic/research position search support to an individual retive technologies. in a recognized academic institusearcher or a group of researchers • The ability of research outcomes tion or national laboratory or in working in a recognized academic in enhancing scientific knowledge any other recognized R&D instiinstitution or national laboratory of the cutting-edge at the interna-

or in other recognized R & D institutions in India.

• Funding will be provided normally for a period of three years, which could be extended to 2 years (5 yrs total) subject to performance evaluation.

• The research grant is provided for equipment, manpower, consumables, travel and contingency.

“Overheads” is also be provided to the implementing institution as per prevailing norms of SERB. • National Laboratories and Research Institutions should share 50% of the non-recurring cost of the project. For projects with a total cost more than Rs. 80 lakh, 50% of the non-recurring and consumables cost should be shared by the Lab/Institution. If the project is approved for SERB support, a certificate from the National Laboratory / Research Institution will be required for the same.

Selection & Mode of Application • A single submission of full SUPRA proposal will be subjected to a two-phase evaluation process.

• First phase: Initial screening will be based on the assessment of extended synopsis as described in the application format and research track record of the Principal Investigator, as judged by her/his CV. Only those proposals which proceed through the first phase will be sent out for external review.

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RESEARCH GRANT

October 8th, 2019 Vol. 03 NO 99

• Second phase: Full scientific proposal should meet the core mandate and features of SUPRA and it will be closely judged on these lines in the second step of the assessment process.

• High-value proposals (>1 crore) will mandatorily undergo international review.

• Proposals qualifying after domain expert reviews will be subjected to the formal presentation by PI / co-PIs to PAC, co-opted members and special invitees (if any).

• An applicant is eligible to apply only one proposal during a call (as a PI or Co-PI).

• Any proposal technically rejected should not be resubmitted without any substantial revision to any schemes or programs of the SERB. • Not more than one project is allowed at any given time. However, projects under the programs SUPRA are exempted from this category. The PI is encouraged to apply for another project six months prior to the completion of the project.

• The Call for applications will be notified through the website “www.serbonline.in” and “www. serb.gov.in“. The application form along with a proper research proposal highlighting the research work to be undertaken should be

submitted online through the website “www.serbonline.in“.

• The selection will be based on the recommendations of the Program Advisory Committee (PAC) constituted by the Board. If required, the applicants may be called for discussion/ presentation.

Plagiarism:

ities chosen additional budget would be provided under the separate head to carry out the chosen activities.

SERB Grantees need to undertake the proposed SSR activities during their project period.

How to Apply:

For successful online submission of the application the following points Proposals submitted must be original may be noted: in ideation and content. Plagiarism in any form will not be acceptable. All • Applicant should first register submitted proposals might be subinto the online website. jected to a third-party similarity check • After successful registration, the and proposals are liable to be rejected user will be sent a confirmation if found plagiarized. Any text taken mail on registered email id. User verbatim from other source needs to must click on the URL provided be identified using quotation marks in the mail to confirm registration. and proper reference. Applicants are • After log-in, applicant(s) are rerequested to pre-check their proposals quired to fill all the mandatory for plagiarism before uploading. fields in the Profile Detail section under User Profile. which inScientific Social Responsibility: cludes Bio-data, Photo, Institute Address etc.

SERB has adopted Scientific Social • If you have Co-PI in your proposResponsibility (SSR) Policy to imal then ensure that all the Co-PI’s bibe a culture of social commitment are also registered into the system among SERB Grantees. The policy following the same procedure. intends to effectively utilize scien- • Details of Patent, Publications in tific infrastructure and expertise of last 5 years, Projects, Research SERB grantees to benefit other S&T Collaboration, Academic Superstakeholders especially the less-envision of all investigators (PI and dowed researchers and the society. all COPI’s) has to be provided SSR activities need to be chosen after • Some of the details of your proapproval and depending on the activposal like Project Title (max 500

•

• 1.

2.

3.

4.

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characters), Project summary (max 3000 characters), Keywords (max 6), Objectives of project (max 1500 characters), Expected output and outcome of the proposal (max 1500 characters), Budget (Manpower, Consumables,Travel, Equipment, Contingency, Overheads ) have to be entered at the time of proposal submission.

Other relevant information of the proposal has to be uploaded in single PDF file not more than 10 MB as other technical documents (OTD). Download Template Documents required (in PDF) should be in prescribed format: Biodata (under user profile section) Download Template Certificate from Principal Investigator Download Template Endorsement Letter from the Head of Institution Download Template If the project is approved for SERB support, the Quotations of the approved equipment need to be uploaded within one month of the date of the Approval Letter.

Important Dates: 1. Application Starts: 1st Oct 2019 1:00 PM 2. Deadline: Nov 29 2019 05:00 PM

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PHD ADMISSIONS

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Bose Institute Admissions for PhD Programmes – Applications Invited

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he notification for the Bose Institute Admissions for PhD Programmes has been released.

It’s an online application procedure.

Candidates with a background in Biological Sciences/ Bioinformatics are eligible. Areas of research include Biochemistry, Microbiology, Biophysics, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Plant Biology. Check details below:

Medicine, Microbiology, Biophysics, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Plant Biology and Environmental Science.

Qualification for PhD admission:

• Master’s degree (Science/Engineering/Technology): Physical/ Biological/Chemical/ Environmental/Atmospheric/Veterinary / Marine /Agricultural/Computer/ This call expires in : Bioinformatics/ Mathematical/ Statistical Science.

ADVT. NO. : BI/NET• Candidate needs to have a valid JRF/15/2019-20 award of JRF (CSIR-UGC-JRF/ Admissions for PhD Programmes DBT-JRF/ICMRJRF/DST-INSPIRE/DBT-BINC etc or equivaBose Institute, founded by Acharya lent). The award Ought to Be valid J.C. Bose, an autonomous research at least for Next three months institution under the Department of from the date of the interview.

Science & Technology, Govt. of India will recruit students for the PhD pro- • Age limitation: Below 28 years gram. A counselling cum Walk-in-Inas on the day on which the appliterview will be held for the same on cation is made (relaxable in The 21st October 2019 at 10.30 am onevent of SC/ST/OBC/Women apwards in the committee room (1st plicants only according to rule) floor of main building), Centenary campus of Bose Institute, Kankur- Fellowship: As admissible according gachi, P-1/12, C.I.T. Scheme VII M, to Govt. Of India rule Contd.

Kolkata 700054.

Detailed instructions: Broad areas of research: Physics, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Molecular • Interested candidates should reg-

ister online within 14th October tion, email at webmaster@jcbose. latest by 5 PM. No Online regac.in. istration will soon be permitted • A list of registered applicants will be displayed at the institute webafter 5 PM. Click here to register site on 17th October 2019. The online.

• An online acknowledgement retime-slot of the interview for the ceipt will be generated by successregistered candidates will be mentioned in that list. ful registration. Candidates Will Need to bring the online acknowl- • Candidates appearing for the interview on 21st October 2019 edgement receipt during the time Will Need to bring original Docuof interview. No applicants will be entertained for walk-in-interments (testimonials, mark sheets, view without the online acknowlcertificates etc). edgement receipt. In case of any • No TA/DA is admissible for appearing at the interview. difficulty during online registra-

CSIR-IGIB PhD Admission January 2020 – Apply Online

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SIR-IGIB PhD Admission January. CSIR-IGIB PhD 2020 Admission notification is out. CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB) PhD admissions 2020 notification.

PhD Admission 2020-2021 CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology. Check out all of the details on the same below: This call expires in : Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (COUNCIL OF SCIENTIFIC & INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH) Near Jubilee Hall Mall Road, Delhi-110 007 Ph. No. 91-11-27666156, 27666157, 27667602, 27667439 Fax:91-11-27667471 Mathura Road, Opp Sukhdev Vihar Bus Depot New Delhi 110025 Ph. No. 91-11-29879487, 29879488

Application portal for CSIR-IGIB will be open from 27 September 2019 9:30 AM to 25 October 2019 6:00 PM It is mandatory to get AcSIR Form number through the AcSIR admission portal (directions given below) that closes on 24 October 2019.

AcSIR Form number is generated after registering and applying on the AcSIR admission portal (acsir.res.in). The portal is open from 20 September 2019 to 24 October 2019.

Introduction The CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB) invites applications from bright young people from varied backgrounds with strong motivation and great academic qualifications to pursue research in the frontier regions of modern biology resulting in a PhD degree. The wide

interdisciplinary research areas are genomics and molecular medicine, genome informatics and structural biology, systems and chemical biology, respiratory disease biology and environmental biotechnology. The selected PhD students will be enrolled in the January 2020 Session of the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) PhD Program.

Eligibility Masters degree (M.Sc/M.Tech/M. Pharm) with at least 60% (or equal in CGPA) in almost any branch of Life Sciences/Biotechnology/Chemistry/Physics/Mathematics/Computer Science or allied subjects with a particular interest in Biology. B.Tech (in Biological Sciences or other branch-

PHD ADMISSIONS

October 8th, 2019 Vol. 03 NO 99

es with a particular interest in Biology)/B.Pharm/B.E./MBBS applicants with at least 60 percent (or equal in CGPA) can also apply. Along with this, all candidates must also have got at least 60 percent (or equal in CGPA) in their XIIth standard board exam.

Both the standards are relaxed for SC/ ST/OBC (non-creamy) candidates to a minimum of 55 percent in the highest qualifying examination and at the XIIth standard board exam. Candidates that are awaiting results for its top qualifying exams are permitted to appear, but their admission is subject to clearing all of the eligibility criteria at the time of admission.

Please convert CGPA grades to percent .

Fellowship M.Sc/M.Tech/M.Pharm/B.Tech/M. Sc/M.Tech/M.Pharm/B.Tech/B. Pharm/B.E/MBBS candidates should hold CSIR-UGC(JRF)/DBT(JRF)/ICMR-JRF/DST-INSPIRE or equivalent (fellowship certificate should be valid at least till December 31, 2019 in all cases).

In case of eligible candidates with already activated JRF fellowships, the consent letter from the appropriate authority for transfer of fellowship is to be submitted to CSIR-IGIB at the time of the interview, otherwise, the candidature is liable to cancellation.

GATE is NOT a valid fellowship to join the program for Masters degree holders. Please note that JGEEBILS/ TIFR entrance exam/IISc entrance examination and similar examinations are NOT valid fellowship examinations for CSIR-IGIB. Please do not apply with these examinations as your fellowship source.

Age Limit Upper age limit is 28 years (as on the closing date of application, October 25, 2019) which is relaxable for SC/ ST/OBC (non-creamy)/physically handicapped persons as well as women candidates as per Govt. of India rules in this regard.

Application Procedure 1. Before you decide to apply, identify the scientist you would like to work with at CSIR-IGIB and contact them.

Below is a list of labs with vacancies 2. After interacting with the scientist in person/on email/on phone/ on skype etc. request a recommendation from the scientist (each candidate may submit only ONE letter of recommendation).

3. Now register on the AcSIR admission portal (acsir.res.in). The portal is open from 20th September 2019 to 24th October 2019. a. http://acsir.emli.in/ACSIRAdmissionPortal/online-admission/portal/ acsir-‌ b. Keep the AcSIR Application form number (which should be of the format AcSIRXXXXX) from the AcSIR application portal. This will be essential for applying on the CSIR-IGIB portal.

Please note that this is not the same as the registration number. c. In case you face any difficulty with online application form please inform Pratima at coordinator.igib@acsir.res. in well in advance of the deadline.

4. Things to keep ready before starting the IGIB application process: a. AcSIR Application Form Number from AcSIR portal (this should be of the format AcSIRXXXXX). b. A digital passport photograph NOT more than 2MB in size. c. Details of your educational qualifications (marks, subjects, university, year of passing, etc). Please convert CGPA grades to percentage. d. Fellowship details e. Candidates will have to submit a non-refundable application fee of Rs 1000/- [Rs 500/- for SC/ST/OBC (non-creamy) candidates]. The payment will be made through an online payment portal. Please keep your netbanking details or your card details available with you. f. Recommendation letter from your proposed Guide g. A succinctly written research proposal (this does not have to be related to the work you will actually do in the PhD). This will be used to evaluate your scientific aptitude. The proposal should address these points. i. Title of the proposal ii. Introduction on the problem.

Faculty

Vacancy Faculty

Vacancy

Hemant Gautam

1

Lipi Thukral

1

Rakesh Sharma

1

Vivek Rao

2

S Ramachandran

1

Bhupesh Taneja

1

Vinod Scaria

1

Sivaprakash Ramalingam

1

iii. What is not known? iv. How do you aim to solve it? o A one page schematic can be hand drawn, or computer made, if needed. o The total proposal can be a maximum of 1500 words (excluding the figure). o The whole proposal (with figure) file should be a single PDF file. o Please prepare and keep this ready before initiating the application process. This needs to be uploaded during the application process.

5. Link to the application form is available the bottom of this page. a. Please fill in your Gender and Category before you proceed to fill up the date of birth or your qualifications. b. In case you have made a mistake please refresh or close the tab. Refreshing the page or pressing back button of browser will reset all the details you entered. You can restart the process again to complete the registration process successfully. c. During the application process you will be required to upload your research proposal and the recommendation letter from the proposed Guide. d. After filling in the first step of the application process, you will be led to a page to confirm the details. Please check the details carefully. e. Once you have confirmed the details, you will be redirected to the payment gateway. Payment amount will be determined as per the criteria given above. f. Once payment is successful you will be redirected back to our site for the transaction and registration details. g. You will get your admit card in your registered email address following this. h. In case the payment is made and you have not obtained your registration details, please DO NOT initiate another payment. i. If you have any difficulty or confusion please email us at phd19@igib.in Selection Procedure

labs.biotecnika.org

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All candidates fulfilling minimum eligibility criteria will be invited through email for appearing in the interviews at CSIR-IGIB, Delhi, to be held on 23rd November 2019. The interviews will be aimed at evaluating abilities to comprehend, analyse and reason along with the aptitude of the candidate in

biological sciences. Candidates will also be evaluated with special focus on their research proposal that they submit at the time of application. The candidates should be ready to make a short 10-minute presentation (no slides, white board only) based on their research interest and research proposal.

Candidates finally selected will have a mandatory interaction session with the scientists of the Institute.

Admission Process 1. The names of the successful candidates eligible to join CSIR-IGIB PhD program will be declared on or before 15th December 2019.

2. The selected candidates are required to join CSIR-IGIB before 26th December 2019.

3. Admission into the CSIR-IGIB PhD Program of AcSIR is subject to the verification of all documents defining eligibility. Non-fulfilment of the eligibility criteria will result in cancellation of the candidature at any stage of admission process without any refund of the application fees.

4. At the time of joining/admission all selected candidates are required to pay a non-refundable CSIR-IGIB admission fee (Rs 10000 for general category and Rs 5000 for SC/ST/non-creamy OBC candidates).

5. Following this all selected candidates are required to pay the first semester tuition fees to AcSIR through the AcSIR portal (acsir.res.in) before 31st December 2019.

Disclaimer 1. No TA/DA will be paid at any stage of the selection process.

2. The decision of the Admission Committee will be final and binding and no correspondence will be entertained in this regard. Canvassing of any form and/or bringing in any influence will be treated as a disqualification.

3. In case of eligible candidates with already activated JRF fellowships, the consent letter from appropriate authority for transfer of fellowship is to be submitted to CSIR-IGIB at the time of interview, otherwise the candidature is liable to cancellation.

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PHD ADMISSIONS

October 8th, 2019 Vol. 03 NO 99

CSIR-CFTRI PhD Admission (January 2020) – Applications Invited

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he notification for the CSIR – CFTRI PhD Admissions 2020 has been released. Interested candidates can check out all of the details on the course, the eligibility, the application procedure, the important dates and more all given below: This call expires in : CSIR-CFTRI Ph.D. ADMISSION (January 2020)

PhD under University of Mysore CSIR-CFTRI is a recognized organization for doing a PhD degree in Science under the University of Mysore.

Students can register for PhD under Physics, Biochemistry, Bioscience, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Food Science, Food Technology, Food Science & Nutrition and Microbiology.

Eligibility criteria for PhD in CSIR-CFTRI under University of Mysore:

CSIR-CFTRI invites application from students who’ve JRF of CSIR / UGC/ RGNF/ MANF/ DBT/ ICMR/ INSPIRE/ other equal or with CSIRSRF/ ICMR-SRF. Students can pursue a Ph.D. program of University of Mysore in Biochemistry / Bioscience / Biotechnology / Microbiology / Molecular Biology / Food Science / Food Technology / Food Science & Nutrition / Physics / Chemistry.

Qualification: M.Sc. / M. Tech in related field with any of the aforementioned valid fellowship.

How to Apply: Students can send one-page soft copy of the application with name, address, email, Phone, Mark secured in Degree, Category (If applicable), scanned copy of Fellowship award letter to the PhD Coordinator (Univ.) in the contact email. The last date

for submission of application is ini P Shetty, Co-ordinator, PhD (Uni24th October 2019. v:-RRB- OR Mrs Rekha M, Convenor, PhD (Univ.), PhD Section, AcSIR ofOriginal certificates Will Need to be fice, CSIR-CFTRI, Mysore-570020. produced at the time of the interview, Telephone: +91 821 2543533. Email: please see the CSIR-CFTRI site for phduniv@cftri.res.in. dates of interview. Contact: Dr Nand-