AUGUST

VOLUME 5

2011

DEPARTMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY RAJALAKSHMI ENGINEERING COLLEGE THANDALAM-600110

BIO-SNIPPETS
The value and utility of any experiment are determined by the fitness of the material to the purpose for which it is used, and thus in the case before us it cannot be immaterial what plants are subjected to experiment and in what manner such experiment is conducted. Gregor Mendel

I
[Link] ALI ,HOD , DEPARTMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY . NEWSLETTER IS AN ORGANIC PIECE OF INFORMATIVE DOCUMENT WHICH PROVIDES NEWS TO THE MIND AND [Link] NEWSLETTER IS THE ONE WHERE STUDENTS AND STAFF MEMBERS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PEN DOWN THEIR THOUGHTS AND IDEAS AND SHARE IT WITH [Link] INFORMATION GIVEN ON A NEWSLETTER ALWAYS CARRIES WITH IT AN EXCLAMATORY MARK. . [Link] RAJKUMAR,DEAN , DEPARTMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IS A [Link] ,PH.D FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOCHEMISTRY, POST GRADUATE INSTITUTE OF BASIC MEDICAL SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF [Link] IS AN IMPORTANT PIECE OF PAPER WHICH HELPS US KNOW THE LATEST INFORMATION AND UPDATE US WITH CURRENT EVENTS.

DR. N. PARTHASARATHY, DIRECTOR OF THE BIO-TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT, A THOROUGHBRED PROFESSIONAL IN THE FIELD OF BIO-TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH HAVING OVER 30 YEARS OFRICH EXPERIENCE WITH STRONG SUBJECT KNOWLEDGE COUPLED WITH ADMINISTRATIVE SKILLS. READING A NEWSLETTER PROVIDES COMMUNITY MEMBERS WITH THE SENSE THAT THEY ARE TRULY INVOLVED IN THEIR ORGANIZATION.

Editor Coordinator: [Link].S [Link].,M.B.A., Department of Biotechnology. Students Coordinator: Aishwarya Subramaniam ,IV Year, Department of Biotechnology

DEPARTMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

RAJALAKSHMI ENGINEERING COLLEGE

NANO-BIOTECHNOLOGY :

Sounds too imaginative? Yes! Imagination is the key in human life and that is the main force behind every development of human lifestyle. Man founded technology, nurtured it, needless to say used it to perfection, and now, technology seems to have turned around and leading to 'payback time'. What you sow, so you reap will be apt in describing the marriage of these two technologies; semiconductors and bio-tech; that has transformed into one called nano-biotechnology to form a branch called nanoway. So what is it that we are talking about here? A techno-monitor: a chip that checks various parameters in a human body, and its functions and help in supplying appropriate potions/drugs to keep it going. Are we saying it is going to give life and increase the longevity of humans? Considering the impact that science and technology have had on the human race in the past, its natural to think that nothing is impossible. [Link], III YEAR, BIOTECHNOLOGY

Health Tip 1 : Diet Watchers

According to USDA, 61% of cotton, 25% corn, and 54% soybean acreageare grown from genetically modified seeds. These seeds produce healthier, fuller products.
Cancer is a peculiar disease. Our own cells rebel , become more effective , break their limits and expand their presence. It starts with a particular organ gradually spreading all over. They are so engrossed in their own survival that they endanger the whole organism and so killing themselves. If Earth is one giant organism with all its species in harmony with each other, then we are unique. We rebelled , became more effective , pushed our limits , expanded our presence. It all started in Africa gradually spreading all over. We are so engrossed in our own survival that we endanger earth(life) and so killing ourselves. So are we cancer ?? No, Definitely not. We are not some stupid bag of chemicals. We have a choice. A choice that defines our future and the choice is yours. CHETAN KUMAR 4TH YEAR, BIOTECHNOLOGY.

Camellia sinensis
infusions were useful for treating conditionsincluding tumors, abscess es, bladder ailments, and lethargy. Im talking about TEA buddy .

Scientists believe tears also carry certain undesirable hormones and other proteins that are produced during periods of stress out of the body, which may explain the cathartic effect of "a good cry.

There are multiple types of edible vaccines. Two types include serums and antigens from purified yeast. These can be injected into plants which will then produce the antigen. An example is potatoes with the cure for Hepatitus B virus

DEPARTMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

RAJALAKSHMI ENGINEERING COLLEGE

CURE FOR AIDS? Up until a few years ago, HIV-1 infection was regarded as an inevitably progress-ive and inexorably fatal disease. In recent years advances in HIV/AIDS research have been able to somewhat modify this sombre and fatalistic outlook on HIV infection. Firstly, the advent of powerful and effective anti-retroviral drugs, and specifically the use of synergistic combinations of drugs, have significantly increased the potency of the antiviral attack and effectively forestalled the development of drug resistance (previously an inevitable consequence of mono-therapy). Modern antiretroviral drug strategies have now been able to convert HIV1 from being an inevitably lethal infection to a chronic medical condition which is controllable by long term therapy. The second important breakthrough has been the recent discovery that there are certain individuals who possess natural mechanisms to resist HIV infection, or, if they do become infected, are able to control the infection so effectively that they remain asymptomatic for long periods of time. Although these cases are still comparatively rare, studies of them have provided very important insights into natural mechanisms for resistance, or for overcoming HIV infection, which could be exploited for developing new antiretroviral drugs or HIV vaccines. Natural resistance to HIV/AIDS can be considered at two levels:A) Resistance to becoming infected with the virus: There are individuals who are repeatedly exposed to HIV infection but remain seronegative. They are also referred to as highly exposed seronegative individuals. They include persons who continue to indulge in high risk activities such as numerous unprotected sexual contacts with multiple partners yet still remain antibody negative. B) Persons who are infected but who resist progression to AIDS: They are referred to as long-term nonprogressors (LTNP). These HIV-positive individuals have not been on antiviral therapy yet have remained clinically well and have reasonable immune function with high and stable CD4+ lymphocyte counts for many years without showing signs of immune compromise or evidence of progression to AIDS. The New York Times reported on November 14, 2008, that doctors at a Berlin hospital were able to cure a man of AIDS by injecting him with transplanted blood stem cells from a person who is resistant to the virus (the article did not mention, by the person who is resistant to the virus is probably a descendant from a surviving family from the Black Plague as they have been known to be resistant to AIDS). But will such a treatment mean the end of AIDS? Unfortunately no. The act of injecting someone with stem cells is still very risky with 10-30% of patients dieing as a result. The process entails destroying ones immune system with radiation and drugs. Further, the chances of finding someone with a proper tissue match and a resistant to AIDS is extremely rare. But for the present, and for the majority of HIV infected individuals, antiretroviral therapy remains the only effective way of controlling HIV infection. [Link] 3RD YEAR, BIOTECH-B

DEPARTMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

RAJALAKSHMI ENGINEERING COLLEGE

ROBOTIC A RM TAKES CUES FROM BRAIN

Artificial limbs have come a long way from the wooden legs and plastic arms of old: Today's prosthetics take messages directly from the brain. Their performance far exceeds that of the previous generation of devices, which required concentra ted effort to make ungainly motions. You think, and then your muscles [Link] new arms are complicated and expensive, and implementation requires preserving nerves from the amputated limb. Those nerves are then attached to chest muscles, where tiny electrodes watch for the body's natural nerve signals and radio them to the arm. With the new technology, amputees can manipulate small objects like balls and shoelaces without having to concentrate more than any other person.

BIOGRAPHY
FRANCIS H. C. CRICK When Francis Crick (1916 - 2004) was growing up in England, he received a children's encyclopaedia from his parents, which exposed him to the world of science. His fascination with this world has continued throughout his life. He received his college degree in physics and was starting graduate school when the World War II began. During the war, Crick worked on weapons for the British Admiralty. He was in his late 20s by the time the war ended, but he decided to go back to school for a PhD. Around the same time, he read a book that inspired him to begin studying biology. He went to the Cavendish Laboratory of Cambridge University to pursue this interest by studying proteins. In 1951, James Watson arrived at Cavendish, and the two began the collaboration that would lead to the discovery of the structure of the DNA molecule. Before Crick received his PhD, he completed the work that would earn him a Nobel Prize. Since 1976, Crick has been at the Salk Institute in California, where he investigates topics such as the origin of life and consciousness. [Link] BIOTECHNOLOGY THIRD YEAR

DEPARTMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

RAJALAKSHMI ENGINEERING COLLEGE

Myth : GM potatoes had toxic effects on rats that may also affect humans Dr. Arpad Pusztai, a senior scientist at the Rowett Institute, Aberdeen, Scotland, came to international attention when he announced to the media that eating genetically modified potatoes depressed rat immune systems and caused changes in their intestinal tract. Dr. Pusztai and his colleague, Dr. Stanley Ewen, tested the dietary effects of potatoes genetically modified to contain and express a gene for snowdrop lectin, called alanthus nivalis agglutinin (GNA). Lectin was introduced to potatoes as an insecticidal protein, but is also an antimetabolite, i.e. it slows down cell growth. Dr. Pusztai and co-workers compared rats fed genetically modified potatoes with those eating nonmodified potatoes, with and without added GNA. The genetically modified potatoes appeared to cause changes in the rats immune response and the structure of the intestinal lining. They asserted that this outcome was the result of the way the lectin gene had inserted into the potato genome, rather than the expression of lectin by the potatoes. While the experimental design appears to be correct for this type of feeding study, there were difficulties with the use of a raw potato diet. Rats do not like to eat raw potato, and a standard 110-day trial had to be abandoned after 67 days, because the rats were starving. Starvation affects gut histology, and the lining of the gut of control rats eating unmodified potatoes was shown to be abnormal. This led to confusion regarding the significance of Dr. Ewens histological results, particularly to the reported over growth of gut epithelial cells of rats eating genetically modified potato. The presence of other potato toxins could also have had a confounding effect on cells in the intestine, especially since the potato lines were not substantially equivalent. It is also noteworthy that the evidence used by Dr. Pusztai to indicate that the rats had depressed immune systems was not the result of standard immune response tests. Within the scientific community there is general agreement that the results of Dr. Pusztais experiment are inconclusive so far as there were flaws in the process, and the project was incomplete. Extensive testing carried out by Chinese researchers, similar to that described by Drs. Pusztai and Ewen, has not replicated their results.
College :
Rajalakshmi Nagar Thandalam, Chennai - 602 105. Phone : 91 44 2715 6750 / 51 / 52 / 53 91 44 37181595 / 96 / 97 / 98 / 99 Fax : 91 44 2715 6640 / 41 Biotechnology : 9381981008 e-mail : admin@[Link] Website : [Link] [Link]

Administrative Office :
# 69 New Avadi Road, Kilpauk, Chennai - 600 010. Phone : 91 44 2644 2472 / 2646 1316 / 2646 0124 91 44 3058 6900 / 01 / 02 / 03 / 04 Fax : 91 44 2644 5151 e-mail : cityoffice@[Link] Website : [Link]

DEPARTMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

RAJALAKSHMI ENGINEERING COLLEGE