CSIR in the news..

Mild tremors in Khammam, Guntur

csirindia — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:58:41 +0000

27 January 2012

VIJAYAWADA/KHAMMAM: People in the riverbed villages of Khammam, Krishna and Guntur districts ran out of homes and shops when the earth shook for a few seconds on Thursday afternoon. Hundreds of villages experienced mild tremors between 12.25-12.35 pm leaving people in a state of shock.

……NGRI scientist R K Chadha said there was nothing to worry about the temblor effect. He said less than 3 magnitude would not get recorded on the Richter scale. However, unofficial reports said the temblor recorded close to magnitude 4. The tremors were reported from Nandigama, Kanchikacherla, Gampalagudem, Penuganchiprolu, Chandarlapadu, Veerupaladu, Jaggaiahpet and Tiruvur in Krishna and Krosure, Atchampet, Amaravathi, Jidugu, Malladi and Tullur mandals in Guntur districts….

Plan panel to allocate Rs 5000 crore to develop civilian plane

csirindia — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:30:57 +0000

22 January 2012

NEW DELHI: Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s ambitious plans to develop a 90-seater passenger aircraft are set to get a boost with the Planning Commission expected to allocate Rs 5,000 crore for the project in the 12th Five Year Plan.

“The Planning Commission is expected to sanction Rs 5,000 crore for the design and development phase of the project in the 12th Plan,” officials said.

The civilian aircraft project was proposed by a 15-member High Powered Committee (HPC) for National Civil Aircraft Development (NCAD), set up by the CSIR in May 2010 under the aegis of former ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair…..

‘Bharat Asmita’ awards for CSIR, TISS chiefs

csirindia — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 01:37:54 +0000

22 January 2012

PUNE: Noted scientist and director general of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) Samir K Brahmachari, social scientist and director of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) S Parasuraman, actor-director Nana Patekar and media professional Siddhartha Basu are among the recipients of the ‘Bharat Asmita national awards 2012′, to be presented in the city on February 3…..

Nature’s beauty at its best

csirindia — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 01:36:25 +0000

22 January 2012

LUCKNOW: The two-day annual rose and gladiolus show-2012 began on the central lawn of CSIR-NBRI here on Saturday. Visitors appreciated the clusters of cut flower pots for their intrinsic beauty. Despite the severe cold wave, a total of 53 exhibitors are participating in the show with 743 entries…..

Plastic to fuel the environment

csirindia — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 01:35:07 +0000

18 January 2012

PANAJI: A successful chemical recycling experiment to convert polyolefin waste, comprising plastic bags and packaging into LPG, gasoline and diesel spells hope for Goa in treating a bulk of its non-biodegradable garbage into a useful resource.

A pilot plant in council of scientific and industrial research-Indian institute of petroleum (CSIR-IIP) Dehra Dun can produce 300g per hour of fuel. “If pulverized waste polymers (plastic) are fed into the plant, gas and liquid fuel comes out,” K N Ponnani, a faculty member in chemical engineering department of Bits Pilani K K Birla Goa campus said……

Jammu institute develops breast cancer drug

csirindia — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 05:08:10 +0000

17 January 2012

JAMMU: The Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM), Jammu, has developed a drug for the treatment of hypertension and breast cancer, an official said. The drug ‘Risorine’ is presently used by the medical fraternity for management of tuberculosis.

The director said the institution has “produced drugs with low toxicity for the treatment of hyper-tension and breast cancer.”

He said “Jammu and Kashmir is the only state in the world which produces basic drug element ‘texas beccata’ for management of cancers,” and claimed that the IIIM, Jammu has “one of the four highly technical laboratories in the country to handle microbes and conduct researches.”…..

Science made easy for students at RSC expo

csirindia — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:47:51 +0000

20 January 2012

NAGPUR: It was all about a lot of discoveries and revelations for some of the budding scientists of the city. Veteran scientists told these youngsters to take science as part of their lives rather than something they need to rote.

From anthropology to the various earth sciences, from the realms of space to the depths beneath the surface of the earth, the research work undertaken by these institutes was placed before visitors on the first day of the three-day science expo organized at Raman Science Centre (RSC). SR Wate, director of National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), asked the children to not only learn something but also assess the work being done by the scientific community of the city….

Pioneering chemist Sukh Dev to be felicitated

csirindia — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:46:26 +0000

19 February 2012

RAJKOT: Padma Bhushan Sukh Dev, a giant in the field of organic and natural product chemistry, will be felicitated on January 20 by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Central Salt Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI), Bhavnagar, a national laboratory which works under the aegis of CSIR….

‘Think global, plan local to end mess’

csirindia — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:43:53 +0000

20 January 2012

NEW DELHI: Serious about bringing down its pedestrian death rate, New York City is improving 60 miles of road length every year. The plan is to make the megalopolis completely pedestrian friendly by 2030. Many other developed cities, too, have shown similar seriousness on pedestrian safety with master plans and strict laws. In Singapore, for instance, accidents can result in cancellation of driving licence.

……”Most Delhi roads don’t have a safe crossing. We need crossings that allow pedestrians enough time. At present, vehicles jumping lights eat up a lot of the pedestrian time at crossings. Walking facilities along roads are also needed and different modes of public transport should be properly linked,” says Dr Nishi Mittal, scientist at Central Road Research Institute…..

Bile helps fight cholera

csirindia — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:40:22 +0000

15 February 2011

new ways are being devised to tame the cholera bug. Of late, the bug has been getting increasingly resistant to antibiotics. A team from Kolkata has found that the digestive juice bile helped reduce production of cholera toxin by 97 per cent. Bile hinders the toxin to bind with cells in the intestine, thus preventing the onset of cholera. Unsaturated fatty acids in bile check the toxin’s binding abilities.

Scientists say one way of checking cholera would be to administer unsaturated fatty acids orally, along with oral rehydration solutions–used to maintain fluid balance in the body. “This could be used as a precautionary and therapeutic measure for cholera and even diarrhoea,” says Rukhsana Chowdhury, lead researcher from the biophysics division, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata……….