| |
Mumbaikar
develops anti-cancer gene in US
|
| |
|
Vivek
Rangnekar, one of Mumbai's own who
is now settled in the US, has created
the world's first breed of super mice
that are resistant to cancer, even
the highly aggressive forms. Dr Rangnekar,
professor of radiation medicine at
the University of Kentucky, who spent
over 25 years of his life in Matunga,
a central Mumbai suburb, created the
breed with a more active tumour-suppressor
Par-4 gene. Carrying this gene made
them completely invulnerable to cancer.
Not only did they not develop tumours,
they even lived longer than the control
animals, indicating that they had
no toxic side-effects. Reporting this
breakthrough in the journal Cancer
Research, Dr Rangnekar, who studied
at Don Bosco School and the Indian
Education Society School in Dadar,
said the gene offered the potential,
unlike most other cancer treatments,
of destroying cancer cells without
harming normal cells. Rangnekar told
TOI , "We found that these mice with
the super protein killed the cancer
cells which were produced inside their
body, both artificially and spontaneously.
What's most exciting is that through
our cell culture studies, we know
that this killer gene only destroys
cancer cells. It does not harm normal
cells at all and there are very few
such molecules in both animals and
humans." Rangnekar, who completed
his bachelor's from M V College in
Andheri, his masters from Harkisondas
Hospital and PhD from Bombay University
before completing his post-doctoral
studies from the University of Chicago,
now plans to breed these super mice
with other types of animals that are
prone to cancers of the lung, breast
and colon to see if the pups become
resistant to these cancers.
Courtesy:
www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, November
29, 2007
Back
to Index
|
| |
India
receives solar energy equivalent to
over 5,000 trillion kWh per year
|
| |
|
India
receives solar energy equivalent to
over 5,000 trillion kWh per year.
The daily average solar energy incident
over India varies from 4 -7 kWh per
square meter depending upon the location.
Solar energy can be harnessed through
two routes, namely solar photovoltaic
(PV) and solar thermal, by direct
conversion to electricity and heat
energy respectively. The utilization
of solar energy in the country is
regularly increasing, however, the
high initial cost of the solar energy
systems is a barrier in its large-scale
utilization. The estimated unit cost
of electricity from grid connected
solar energy plant is estimated to
be around Rs. 12 -15 per unit, which
is very high compared to electricity
generated from conventional sources
including thermal power and other
renewable energy sources such as wind,
small hydro and biomass. A total of
33 grid interactive solar photovoltaic
power plants have been installed in
the country with financial assistance
from the Ministry. These plants, with
aggregate capacity of 2.125 Megawatt
peak are estimated to generate about
2.5 million units of electricity in
a year. In view of the high initial
cost, at present, solar energy systems
are mainly being used for stand-alone
applications in lighting, telecommunication,
small power requirements, battery
charging, water heating and cooking
etc. so far around 14 lakh solar photovoltaic
systems aggregating to about 110 Megawatt
peak solar photovoltaic module capacity
have been installed in the country.
In addition about 6 lakh solar cookers
and about 20 lakh square metre collector
area has been installed for solar
water heating applications, which
is equivalent to about 1400 Megawatt
thermal capacity.
Courtesy:
www.jansamachar.net, November 19,
2007
Back
to Index
|
| |
Cat's
DNA may hold key to human diseases
|
| |
|
An
Abyssinian cat from Missouri, named
Cinnamon, has just made scientific
history. Researchers have largely
decoded her DNA, a step that may aid
the search for treatments for both
feline and human diseases. The report
adds cats to the roughly two dozen
mammals whose DNA has been unravelled,
a list that includes dogs, chimps,
rats, mice, cows and of course, people.
Why add cats? They get more than 200
diseases that resemble human illnesses,
and knowing the details of their genetic
makeup should help in the search for
vaccines and treatments, researchers
say. The list includes a cat version
of AIDS, Sars, diabetes, retinal disease
and spina bifida, said Stephen J.
O'Brien of the National Cancer Institute.
The new work is reported in the November
issue of the journal Genome Research
by a team including O'Brien and colleague
Joan Pontius. It covers about two-thirds
of the DNA of Cinnamon, a research
cat that lives at the University of
Missouri in Columbia; more complete
results are expected in 2008, O'Brien
said. Richard Gibbs of the Baylor
College of Medicine in Houston, who
led a team that decoded the DNA of
a monkey called the rhesus macaque,
called the new work "a good outline"
of cat DNA. Scientists are looking
forward to the complete version, which
will be useful for making detailed
comparisons to the DNA of other animals,
he said.
Courtesy:
www.theasianage.com, November 02,
2007
Back
to Index
|
| |
|
|
|
