First pill for dengue shows promise in human challenge trial

First pill for dengue shows promise in human challenge trial

The positive early data supports ongoing Phase II trials of the pill to prevent the four different types of dengue in a real world-setting.

“It is the first ever to show antiviral activity against dengue,” Marnix Van Loock, who oversees emerging pathogens research for J&J’s Janssen division, said of the drug.

In human challenge trials, researchers intentionally expose healthy volunteers to a pathogen to test a vaccine or treatment, or better understand the disease they cause.

Dengue fever, while often asymptomatic, is also known as “break bone fever” for the severity of the joint pain and spasms that some patients experience. It has long been a scourge across much of Asia and Latin America, causing millions of infections each year and tens of thousands of deaths, and is likely to spread further as climate change makes more areas hospitable for the mosquitoes that spread it, the World Health Organization’s chief scientist Jeremy Farrar said earlier this month.

In the trial done with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 10 volunteers were given a high dose of the J&J pill five days before being injected with a type of dengue. They continued to take the pill for 21 days afterwards.

Six of the 10 showed no detectable dengue virus in their blood after being exposed to the pathogen, as well as no signs that their immune system had responded to infection by the virus over 85 days of monitoring.

The five people in a placebo group, who were also injected with dengue, all showed detectable virus when tested. Trial participants received standard care from medical professionals where necessary, and the virus used was a weakened version to minimise symptoms.

Scientists create human embryo in lab without eggs, sperm

Scientists create human embryo in the lab without eggs, sperm

The models accurately emulated embryonic development in its earliest stages - a process still poorly understood due to ethical constraints on real embryo research.

A stem cell–derived human embryo model at a developmental stage equivalent to that of a day 14 embryo.

In a scientific first, researchers at Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science have successfully created synthetic models of 14-day-old human embryos derived entirely from stem cells grown in a lab.

The breakthrough, reported in the journal Nature, provides an unprecedented glimpse into the mysterious earliest stages of human development and could open up new avenues of research into infertility, birth defects, and organ growth.

Led by molecular biologist Professor Jacob Hanna, the Weizmann team started with two types of stem cells - those reprogrammed from adult skin cells and others derived from established lab-grown stem cell lines.

Using a specialised technique developed by Hanna in 2013, they reverted the cells to an earlier, more flexible “naive” state resembling a 7-day-old embryo ready for implantation.

 Industrial Visit 

VANITECLIMITED

  Common Effluent Treatment Plant

Vaniyambadi, Tamil Nadu.

BACKGROUND

Vanitec Limited was incorporated in the year 1986 with the aim of providing wastewater treatment utilities for the benefit of its member-tanneries. The Company services the wastewater treatment needs of its 134 member-tanneries through a Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) located in Valayampet, Vaniyambadi.

The Company was a pioneer in setting-up the first CETP for clusters of tanneries in India and commissioned the plant in May 1991 that continues to be in operation till date.

The Board oversees the day-to-day operation and maintenance of the Common Effluent Treatment Plants through a Plant Manager who has an able team of qualified engineers and chemists supervising a dedicated group of electrical, instrumentation, process and mechanical engineers alongwith general workmen operating on a 24-7-365 schedule. Administrative and accounting staff are available to take care of documentation and billings and the total personnel strength is 100.

PROCESS - FROM 1991 TO 2013

Wastewater treatment was based on a 2-stage process comprising of a Primary & Secondary treatment system. In the Primary Treatment, coarse debris and suspended solids were removed from the wastewater and the remaining dissolved organics were degraded in a biological treatment phase that used a consortia of a bacteria that brought about the wastewater to a condition that was suitable for river discharge

PROCESS - FROM 2013 ONWARDS

With the implementation of the Zero Liquid Discharge System, the Common Effluent Treatment Plant has stopped the discharge of its effluent into the River Palar. The wastewater is treated through a 4-Stage process whereby the water is completely recovered and reused by its member-tanneries and crystalline salt is recovered and stored for safe disposal. The 4-Stage process comprises of the following components -

- Primary Stage
- For removal of coarse debris and suspended solids
- Secondary Stage
- For the degradation of dissolved organics in the wastewater and thereby making it relatively benign
- Based on Membrane Bio Reactor technology
- Tertiary Stage
- Removal of remnant dissolved inorganics and organics and delivering 70% of very clean water that measure up to drinking water standards
- Final Stage
- Evaporation of 30% of the balance of �rejects� in a multiple-effect evaporator for crystallization of the inorganic salts that would go for storage or for possible reuse

FINANCIAL BACKGROUND

As stated earlier, the Company was a pioneer in setting-up the first CETP for clusters of tanneries in India. Keeping this in mind, the Central Pollution Control Board, New Delhi invested Rs.10 lakhs in the equity of the Company. As it was a demonstration plant for tanneries in India, the Ministry of Industry, Government of India supported the effort with a special subsidy of Rs.15 lakhs. Matching grants were given by the Government of Tamil Nadu, which allocated a sum of Rs.25 lakhs as it was to be a concept-demonstrator. Apart from such participation, the Company received subsidies from the Central and State Governments to the extent of Rs.141.25 lakhs. The remaining funds were contributed by the member-tanneries that stood at Rs.145.75 lakhs. When the plant was commissioned in 1991, the capital investment stood at Rs.337 lakhs.
Between 1992 & 2004, further investments required for the modernization of the CETP took up the Gross Block of the Company to Rs.9.00 crores.

To comply with the mandated norm of Zero Liquid Discharge by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board in the year 2004, the Company embarked upon the full-scale upgradation of its Common Effluent Treatment Plant.

The Water Recovery & Reuse Project was established at a cost of Rs.62.00 crores and was funded through a grant (35% of the project cost) from the Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme sponsored by the Department of Policy & Promotion, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, New Delhi while the balance of 65% being sourced from the beneficiary members and financial institution/s.

In 2012, the Company installed a Cross-Flow MBR at a cost Rs.6.00 Crores and further is in the process of erecting and commissioning an 8-Stage Multiple-Effect Evaporator at a cost of Rs.19.00 crores. This investment of Rs.25.00 crores has come solely from the pockets of the tanneries thus resulting in the total cost of the ZLD plant at Rs.87.00 crores and the cumulative cost of the project to Rs.96.00 crores.

MKJC Celebrates National Science Day & Mathematics Day on 11.10.2023 & 12.10.2023

MKJC Celebrates National Science Day & Mathematics Day on

11.10.2023 & 12.10.2023 

Tamil Nadu State Council  for  Science and Technology,Govt of TamilNadu and Marudhar Kesari Jain College for Women, Vaniyambadi Jointly Organizes 

 Popularization of Science 

 National Science Day & Mathematics Day Celebration 

📋  *Date:11.10.2023 and 12.10.2023 

⏰ Time:10:00 am

 *Venue : Sri Roop Rajat Block - New Seminar Hall

Registration link: https://forms.gle/MNsnnD3g1rPN5Bpm7

Paper, Poster, Innovative Projects/ Model Presentations are invited

Resource Person 1  

Dr.R.Babujanarthanam 

Professor & Head, Department of Biotechnology,

Thiruvalluvar University,

Serkkadu, Vellore

Resource Person 2 

Dr.R. Srinivasan 

Associate Professor & Research Supervisor, Department of Mathematics,

Islamiah College (Autonomous), Vaniyambadi

Website www.mkjc.in 

Chief Patron 

Sri C.Lickmichand Jain 

Secretary,MKJC

Patron 

Dr.M.Inbavalli

Principal, MKJC

Organizing Members 

Ms.C.B.Sumathi 

Head, Department of Mathematics

Dr.M. Gomathi 

Head, Department of Biotechnology

Ms.S.Semmalar 

Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics

 

Indian-origin researcher detects 135 new melanin genes responsible for pigmentation

Bajpai developed a novel method to detect and quantify the melanin-producing activity of melanocytes. A new study by an Indian-origin researcher has identified 135 new genes associated with pigmentation, which when targeted could help in developing melanin-modifying drugs for vitiligo and other pigmentation diseases.

“To understand what actually causes different amounts of melanin to be produced, we used a technology called CRISPR-Cas9 to genetically engineer cells,” Bajpai said.

"Using CRISPR, we systematically removed more than 20,000 genes from hundreds of millions of melanocytes and observed the impact on melanin production.”

Bajpai’s role in the study was completed during his professorship at the University of Oklahoma. However, a portion of this research took place during his postdoctoral research fellowship at Stanford University.

 

Rats sense the wind with antennae-like whiskers above their eyes

Sensitivity to airflow may help the rodents detect the movements of predators in the dark

Rats’ faces bristle with highly sensitive whiskers that are primarily used for feeling around their surroundings. But wispy whiskers above their eyes may be especially adept at detecting faint air movements.

Many rodents use whiskers to feel their way around their world. But rats appear to take this one step further, using special, antennae-like whiskers above their eyes to sense subtle air movement. 

These long, thin hairs may help the rats detect the movements of predators or prey in dark, cramped environments.

Many studies of rodents have focused on the snout whiskers, says Ann Clemens, a neuroscientist at the University of Edinburgh. But “there are a plethora of whiskers beyond the snout, on other parts of the face and the body.”

 

A brain implant helped a man with paralysis walk more naturally

Restoring a communication link between the brain and spine enables more control over movement

A biking accident left 40-year-old Gert-Jan paralyzed by a spinal cord injury. Here, he and a researcher put a brain-spine interface that has restored some of his ability to walk through its paces.

A system that restores communication between the brain and spine has enabled a man paralyzed by a spinal cord injury to regain near-natural walking ability.

Once the patient’s brain activity was decoded, the brain-spine interface took mere minutes to calibrate, after which the man reported natural-feeling control over movements. He still needs crutches but can easily navigate ramps and steps, surpassing gains from previous treatments.

 

A rare mutation helped one man stave off Alzheimer’s for decades

It’s the second such case ever to be reported

A rare genetic mutation never seen before protected a man with an inherited form of Alzheimer’s from developing the disease for decades.

He is the second person found to have such protection, following a report in 2019 of a woman with a different mutation (SN: 1/26/20). Both mutations may have staved off the disease for years by acting in similar ways in the brain, an insight that could lead to new treatments for all forms of Alzheimer’s.

Bowhead whales may have a cancer-defying superpower: DNA repair

The ability could help the marine mammals live for more than 200 years.Bowhead whales (a mother and calf shown here) are the world’s longest living mammals. Enhanced ability to repair DNA may be key to their longevity.

 

PG & Research Department of Biotechnology organised "Industrial Visit cum Educational Tour". Our Students have explored the well sophisticated Plant Biotechnology Laboratory equipped with state- of - art equipments/ Instruments at Tamilnadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. They also explored Tea Museum, visited various tourist places and enjoyed the aesthetically pleasing nature of Ooty. 

 PG & Research department of Biotechnology & Biochemistry organised an International Conference on "Biological Research in Health".  Experts from diverse biological field have delivered lecture on recent advancement and  also provided thought provoking research ideas to the participants.

Biomaterial heals tissues from the inside out

 A new biomaterial that can be injected intravenously, reduces inflammation in tissue and promotes cell and tissue repair. The biomaterial was tested and proven effective in treating tissue damage caused by heart attacks in both rodent and large animal models. Researchers also provided proof of concept in a rodent model that the biomaterial could be beneficial to patients with traumatic brain injury and pulmonary arterial hypertension. "This biomaterial allows for treating damaged tissue from the inside out," said Karen Christman, a professor of bioengineering at the University of California San Diego, and the lead researcher on the team that developed the material. "It's a new approach to regenerative engineering."