Author: Biotech Express

by Seema Pavgi Upadhye On the occasion of world biodiversity day May 22, 2021 and #SwachhSagarSurakshitSagar, World’s longest coastal cleanup campaign which not only aims to clean 7500 km long coastline but will also give a major boost to the “Blue Economy” envisaged by PM Sh Narendra Modi. Despite the fact that our planet is mostly ocean and human activity is more intense than it has ever been, we know remarkably little about the state of the ocean’s biodiversity — the variety and balance of species that support healthy and productive ecosystems. And it’s no surprise — marine biodiversity is…

As a student during early 2000s many were heard of saying “Who Said Biotechnology Lelo Bhut Scope Hai”. This implied that the biotech sector had limited opportunities in 90s and early 2000. The students were not getting enough jobs and research opportunities were very limited. It is estimated that out of 1000 students who were passing out only 5 students were going abroad for PhD and around 20-25 were getting admission in PhD in India. Most of the students were opting for foreign degree because the fellowship was very less in India and jobs after PhD were preferentially reserved for…

Scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed a stretchable and waterproof ‘fabric’ that turns energy generated from body movements into electrical energy. A crucial component in the fabric is a polymer that, when pressed or squeezed, converts mechanical stress into electrical energy. It is also made with stretchable spandex as a base layer and integrated with a rubber-like material to keep it strong, flexible, and waterproof. In a proof-of-concept experiment reported in the scientific journal Advanced Materials in April, the NTU Singapore team showed that tapping on a 3cm by 4cm piece of the new fabric generated enough electrical…

In recent months, as vaccines and treatments helped reduce the pandemic’s severity, members of the lab have turned away from working on COVID-19. With so many researchers piling into the field, Schoggins says, “there was a sense of saturation.” As a result, his Ph.D. candidates began looking elsewhere for promising dissertation topics. Overall, the number of pandemic-related papers appears set to decline this year, after explosive and unprecedented growth in 2020 and 2021 (see graph). In key disciplines such as infectious diseases and public health, the proportion of new papers devoted to COVID-19 appears to be flattening out (see table).…

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham announced on Thursday that it has got approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) for conducting a pilot clinical trial for a novel bone graft developed jointly by Amrita School of Nanosciences, Amrita School of Medicine, and Amrita School of Dentistry, Kochi. The synthetic bone graft, named Nanotex Bone, provides a first-of-its-kind solution in the world for patients who lose part of their lower jaw (mandibular bone) due to cancer, injury, or trauma. The product, patented by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, can enable patients to lead a close-to-normal life even after losing a portion of…

Conspiracy theorists claim that monkeypox cases are seen in countries that have vaccinated their population with AstraZeneca, which uses a chimpanzee adenovirus. As the world reels under the after-effects of the deadly coronavirus pandemic, conspiracy theorists have now begun to link the Covid-19 vaccines to monkeypox, the cases of which have been reported in a few countries over the last two-three weeks. Their theory? Covid-19 vaccines contain a chimpanzee virus that’s causing the monkeypox outbreak. The theory is based on the fact that the AstraZeneca vaccine developed by the University of Oxford (available in India under the label Covishield), contains a…

Concerns are mounting for people who have been given Pfizer’s Paxlovid treatment regimen after contracting COVID-19, only to become positive for the infection once again after completing the treatment. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other health officials have stepped in to clarify the rise in infections, issuing a warning for the unlucky patients who experience symptom recurrence after treatment with Paxlovid. U.S. health officials have acknowledged reports of rising COVID-19 infections over the last month. From mid-April to mid-May, reports of new COVID-19 cases have jumped from 12,000 to almost 20,000. Death rates have remained…

Moderna told a Delaware federal court that it was immune from patent-infringement charges over the COVID-19 vaccine because it supplied the vaccine for a U.S. government effort. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc is required under a longstanding federal law to sue the government directly over shots used in its nationwide vaccination effort, Moderna said in a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Alnylam sued Moderna and Pfizer Inc in Delaware in March, seeking royalties for the lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology their vaccines use to deliver genetic material known as mRNA. Moderna made a motion for the courts to dismiss patent challenges…

The European Commission has authorized two genetically modified (GM) crops for food and animal feed. The Commission’s authorization decision does not allow for the cultivation of the two GM crops, maize, and soybeans in the EU. The GM crops have gone through a comprehensive and stringent authorization procedure, which ensures a high level of protection of human and animal health, and of the environment. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued a favorable scientific assessment concluding that these GM crops are as safe as their conventional counterparts. The authorizations are valid for 10 years, and any product produced from…

The Ayush Ministry and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) on Wednesday signed an MoU for mutual collaboration to explore the possibility of cooperation, convergence and synergy to bring out the expertise under one platform towards evidence-based biotechnological interventions in the Ayush sector. In a statement, the Science and Technology Ministry said the joint R&D efforts ranging from fundamental science to validation and thereafter product development will significantly help in the growth of Indian contributions to this important sector not only nationally but internationally as well. Emphasis would be given to mechanistic studies of Ayurveda Therapeutics, it said. The…