The government of Odisha has approved the Biotechnology Policy 2024 to create a flourishing ecosystem for the biotech industry. This will further promote higher education, research & infrastructure development in the sector and strengthen the supportive ecosystem for innovation, incubation, investment, income & impact to build enterprises. Association of Biotechnology …
tumours are a form of uncontrolled tissue growth. One of the main reasons why a malignant tumour can lead to death is that the tumour secretes factors that induce the growth of blood vessels in its neighbourhood. Thus, by increasingly monopolising the supply of nutrients, the tumour succeeds in starving …
Matching blood from the scene of a crime to a suspect may soon be easier, thanks to an antibody test. Researchers say the test is quicker than conventional DNA tests, and also much cheaper. The test exploits "individual-specific autoantibodies' that are specific to each person. Scientists at Miragen, a biotech …
The IISc seems to be preoccupied with basic research as distinct from application-oriented research. Much of the institute's work is today removed from the concerns of the common person. Do you agree this is true? This is not true. Fundamentally, I do not care for labels like basic and applied …
The much-talked about women's biotechnology park, to be set up near Chennai, may be shifted to another state. The Tamil Nadu government has not taken any steps towards commissioning the park. On the other hand, the Madhya Pradesh government and the Andhara Pradesh government have shown willingness to establish the …
" a human being born of clonal reproduction will most likely appear on the Earth within the next 20 to 50 years, and even sooner if some nation should actively promote the venture,' said Nobel laureate James D Watson in 1971. Nobody took him seriously until the announcement of the …
scientists from Switzerland and Ukraine have developed what they call a "biological equivalent of the Geiger counter'. The team has engineered a plant that warns of dangerous levels of radiation. Right now, the only method to detect if plants have been exposed to radiation is to look for cell damage …
it seems , for now that is, all the frantic debates on the implications of human cloning were not really necessary. The last few months have not been very pleasant for cloning scientists. In December, researchers at the Kinki University, Japan, cloned eight genetically-identical cows from only 10 implanted embryos. …
the possibilities are beyond measure. From providing cures to health menaces with no cure at present, such as aids , to attaining global food security. Biotechnology has given humanity a faint taste of god-like power, symbolised in Dolly, the first cloned animal. It is the ultimate key to unlock mysteries …
in the field of science, the next century would belong to biology, say scientists attending the 86th Indian Science Congress Association ( isca), held in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, from January 3-7. They discussed issues that could possibly play a crucial role in shaping India's next millennium. The theme of the …
ON NOVEMBER 5, two teams of US scientists announced that they had independently achieved a major breakthrough in biology by growing some "primitive" undifferentiated cells, known as the human embryonic stem cells, by isolating them from human embryos and foetuses. These cells have the capacity to rapidly multiply and grow …
EUROPE's biotechnology patent laws are to be challenged by the Netherlands in the European Court. The case will restart a longstanding debate over the legitimacy of patenting biotech inventions based on living organisms. This could prove to be a major setback for the European pharmaceutical industry. In May 1998, the …
An alliance between the Bangladesh's Grameen Bank and US-based Monsanto company, a biotechnology corporation, is a cause of concern for farmers- Under the deal, the farmers will be offered small loans to buy "appropriate, environment-sensitive" agricultural technologies, including Mon santo's own proprietary herbicides and hybrid rice and cotton - both …
AT FIRST glance, nothing seems wrong or extraordinary about the toy car that zips around Jeff Bloomquist's lab at University of Washington, USA. But when you look closer, you find the oddity: tied to a small bloom that juts like a bowsprit from the front of the car is a …
Researchers at Japan's Marine Biotechnology Institute at Shimizy City are currently conducting sea trials of a new nontoxic paint that prevents fouling of ships' hulls by mussels and barnacles. Made from tribromogramine (TBG), a com-pound that mussels and barnacles detest, the new paint does not release damaging chemicals into the …
on june 7, 1998, Swiss citizens voted in favour of research in genetic engineering. The biotechnology industry has not stopped smirking since. To the environment organisations, at the end of two years of campaigning against genetic engineering, this has come as a rude shock. The Swiss vote is relevant in …
by being a member of the World Trade Organisation (wto ), India has agreed to provide protection to plant varieties through patents or an effective sui-generis system or by a combination of the two. Trade related intellectual property rights (trips) of the wto do not insist upon the protection of …
all shook up: Roche, which has one of the highest research spends in the pharmaceutical industry, has launched a big overhaul of its research strategy in a bid to slash costs and speed up drug launches. The move is expected to lead to job losses at its research centres in …
Myriad Genetics, a noted biotechnology company based in Washington, USA, recently announced that it had been awarded a patent on 47 different mutations in the BRCA1 gene, abnormalities in which substantially heighten risk of such diseases as breast and ovarian cancer. According to Peter Meldrum, Myriad's president and chief executive …
