GM rice, wheat to damage liver, kidneys

January 5, 2008
By Syed Akbar
Visakhapatnam, Jan 4: Regular consumption of genetically engineered rice or wheat will lead to severe liver and kidney complications, warn senior scientists.
Though genetically modified or engineered crops improve yields and offer resistance to plants against a variety of pests, the damage they cause to human beings outweighs the over all benefits. GM crops particularly rice, wheat and maize formed the hot topic of discussion among scientists attending the 95th Indian Science Congress being held in this port city.
According to Prof GE Seralini, an expert on genetic engineering technology, a study conducted clandestinely by a multinational seed company showed that rats, fed on maize developed from GM technology, showed signs of severe damage to kidney and liver. "The same can happen to human beings if they consume such GM crops," he points out.
Another biotechnologist Dr D Krishna Rao, who was adviser to Clinton administration in the US, attributes regular stomach upsets among Americans to the use of GM maize and other GM crops. "Since we do not have supporting evidence, we attribute such gastric problems to things other than consumption of GM crops. But recent studies point out that GM crops are capable of making liver and kidney toxic which may ultimately lead to death, if untreated," Dr Rao points out.
Prof Seralini regrets that many countries have approved GM food crop despite the dangers associated with such food products. The testing procedures should be stringent and scientifically advanced enough to give accurate results.
In India, GM technology is increasingly utilised in cotton, though there are reports of GM bhendi (lady's finger) being developed in some parts of the country. However, the major concern will be the much touted Golden Rice which is rich in vitamin A. The Golden Rice is also a GM crop whose ill effects on human health is yet to be studied. The Hyderabad-based Directorate of Rich Research is conducting trials on Golden Rice in an effort to reduce incidents of preventable blindness due to vitamin A deficiency.
"In the wake of research on rats, the Central government should not allow any sort of GM food items in India before they are tested thoroughly for genetic toxicity. Only those crops that are proved to be good should be permitted. Otherwise the number of liver and kidney failure cases will go up and the nation will lose its precious healthy generation," Dr Rao warns.

Vaccine to prevent malaria

January 5, 2008
By Syed Akbar
Visakhapatnam, Jan 4: Vaccine to prevent malaria, one of the most dreaded diseases afflicting human beings, will be available in the market for commercial use in the next couple of years.
Eminent biotechnologist Dr Dronamraju Krishna Rao, who has done considerable research on malaria and its causative agent Plasmodium, told this correspondent on the sidelines of the ongoing 95th Indian Science Congress here that the malaria vaccine had been found to be affective in laboratory tests and it would take some more time for the vaccine to be available for general administration.
To begin with malaria vaccine will be available to tackle the health menace caused by two of the four Plasmodium species that cause malaria. "Work is going on briskly for vaccination against Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax. Together they are responsible for 90 per cent of malarial cases around the world. Vaccine will also differ from region to region to suit the malarial strains," he said.
Vaccine to prevent the spread of malaria has been on cards for quite long and now it is becoming a reality. Malaria is responsible for the death of almost a quarter of humanity since the advent of man and it still leads to death in Africa and several poor countries. It kills more people than any other communicable disease except tuberculosis. Malaria continues to be a public health problem in more than 90 countries including India and at risk are almost half of the humanity. Almost 50 crore people develop malaria every year.
Dr Krishna Rao says an ideal malaria vaccine will prevent all infection by priming the immune system to destroy all malarial parasites. But the problem is this degree of protection is very difficult to achieve and may not be technically feasible with present human knowledge of vaccinology and expertise. The ongoing work on malaria vaccine will be a solace as it will be able to prevent malarial deaths to a large extent, if not wipe out the problem altogether.
Scientists in the US, the UK and Germany have thus far identified 40 promising antigens. There are many more antigens to be isolated for effective development of malarial vaccine. "Moreover the parasite changes through several life stages even while in the human host, presenting a different subset of molecules for the immune system to combat at each stage," he said, adding that scientists are working on solutions to over come these challenges.

Camera Mouse for visually impaired

January 6, 2008
By Syed Akbar
Visakhapatnam, Jan 5: A city professor has developed a Camera Mouse that will aid people with low or impaired vision to read even fine prints and verify the genuineness of currency notes and bank drafts.
Prof MS Raju, an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur, has displayed his Camera Mouse at the 95th Indian Science Congress being held here. This simple equipment that costs less than Rs 2000 has been specially designed for the vision impaired persons. Prof Raju has patented the invention and won financial support from the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research under Technopreneurs Promotion Programme.
Using the Camera Mouse, people with low vision and senior citizens can read newspapers and magazines and view photographs. It is equally good for partially blind persons.
“It is also a valuable magnification and illumination tool that can help normal persons scrutinize documents/objects with magnification up to 20 times in true colour and proportions. Unlike scanners and web cams, this device will not distort the image or quality,” says Prof Raju.
The Camera Mouse can be easily attached to a television set and scroll over the object to be read. It catches the picture and displays it on the TV set. There’s no need for a computer.
Low vision persons may not be able to see objects even from close because the visual information that goes into their brain get restricted due to defective cornea, retina or optic nerve. “There are three methods to enhance visual information going into the brain. The Camera Mouse utilises illumination, magnification and contract to provide a good quality and large print on the TV screen,” he says.
If the user has a large screen TV, the image is further enhanced. With a suitable contract created in the TV set, helpful contrasted images can be obtained.
The Camera Mouse uses a high quality continuous rated miniature movie camera that gives a video feed to any ordinary TV. The wired-in advanced technology power unit has circuit that adjusts itself automatically to the supply power and maintains sharpness and brightness. Since it works on a low voltage DC it is safe for handheld use.

Students find herb with anti-venom properties

January 6, 2008
By Syed Akbar
Visakhapatnam, Jan 5: Two students of class VIII of a private school in Warangal have documented over 150 rare plant species of high medicinal value deep in the woods, including an herb that treats snake bites.
Tanmay and Abhilash Bandari of Vidya Niketan High School went on a six week expedition in the thick forests of Eturunagaram, Kaleswaram, Pakal, Polwoncha and Lakkavaram searching for medicinal plants that are not normally found in the plains. The search yielded more than 150 species of plants, some of which have anti-venom properties.
The students displayed their herbarium at the ongoing 95th Indian Science Congress in this port city. “We have hundreds of species of plants that have anti-toxic properties. These plants cleanse the body system. But the students have found a species which has chemicals that will fight snake poison effectively. It will, however, not work against the poison of scorpion,” said marine engineer T Sreenivasa Rao, who is coordinating the herbarium show with the students.
Most of these plants are not found in plains, says Abhilash. “They grow only in the wild. Our idea is to popularise such species so that the forests department takes up large scale cultivation in the woods. With some basic research these plants can be made to grow even in our backyards,” he adds.
Visha Mushti (poison nut) found in Eturunagaram forests is highly poisonous and it has to be administered under medical supervision. The derivatives from this plant species are used as anti-venom. Generally anti-venom is prepared from snake venom but the authorities at Warangal Science Club, of which these students are members, point out that Visha Mushti is a plant equivalent of serpent poison.
Other herbal species found by the students include Chilaka Duddi (Polyalthia ceracides) for diarrhea control, Barre Duddi (Annonacea family) for removal of kidney stones, Tada (Gravia orbiculata) an antiseptic agent, Thuja, an anti-coagulant, and Reddyvari Nanabali, anti-asthmatic.
The department of botany of Kakatiya University coordinated with the students in the preparation of the herbarium. A number of scientists from different parts of the country visited the stall where the herbarium is displayed.

Herbicide resistant crops popular

January 1, 2008
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, Dec. 31: Crops that withstand herbicides and give higher yields are the in-thing now in Andhra Pradesh. Several farmers are now going in for crops which are genetically designed to withstand herbicides or pesticides that kill weeds. Whenever specially made pesticides to kill weeds are sprayed, the normal plants also wither away. But herbicide tolerant plants are not affected by pesticides.
According to official records, loss in crop yield due to weed infestation in the country in case of rice is 41.6 per cent, 16 per cent in case of wheat, 39.8 per cent for maize and 29.5 per cent in case of soyabean. As much as 47.5 per cent of cotton is lost due to weed.
Herbicide tolerant crops will save crop loss due to weeds up to 50 per cent while improving the yields. Even if 25 per cent of weeds in rice crop is controlled, the overall production will go up from 91.79 million tonnes to 101.4 million tonnes.
If 50 per cent weeds are controlled, production will touch 110.9 million tonnes. In case of cotton, if 50 per cent of the weed is controlled, the overall production will increase from 24.4 million tonnes to 30.2 million tonnes, Central government’s agricultural statistics point out. In the century, farmers exploited the selectivity of herbicides to control weeds within crop plants and ensure a better harvest.

Turmeric prevents cataract in diabetics

January 1, 2008
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, Dec 31: Turmeric, a common kitchen ingredient, has been known for its anti-septic properties, and city nutritionists now find out that it also has the natural chemicals that are capable of preventing cataract in people suffering from diabetes.
"It is for the first time we report that turmeric, at the levels that are close to
average daily intake, can be effective in preventing diabetic cataract. One of
the important observations of this study is that both turmeric and its chemical
constituent, curcumin, delay the progression and maturation of cataract, despite elevated levels of glucose. These results thus provide a clue, for the first time, that turmeric or curcumin may act downstream to glucose-mediated changes," says a study by nutrition scientists of the National Institute of Nutrition.
Diabetes and cataract are inter-linked and cataract is more pronounced in people suffering from the disease. At present, the only treatment for cataract is surgery. It has been estimated that a delay in cataract onset by 10 years could reduce the need for cataract surgery by as much as half. The pronounced effect of turmeric may be due to other ingredients besides curcumin. The NIN study gains significance as any strategy that prevents or slows the progression of cataract has a significant health impact.
The joint study by P Suryanarayana, M Saraswat, T Mrudula and others involved feeding Wistar rats a diet including curcumin and turmeric. The turmeric and curcumin rich diet delayed the progression of diabetic cataract in rats. "Although, multiple mechanisms may contribute to these effects, the antioxidant effect of curcumin and turmeric appears to be the predominant mechanism of action," they said.
The NIN scientists selected Wistar rats and diabetes was induced by streptozotocin (a substances that damages insulin producing cells). They monitored the cataract progression due to hyperglycemia (high levels of sugar in blood). At the end of eight weeks, the animals were killed and the crystalline profile in the lens was investigated.
"Although, both curcumin and turmeric did not prevent streptozotocin-induced hyperglycemia, as assessed by blood glucose and insulin levels, slit lamp microscope observations indicated that these supplements delayed the progression and maturation of cataract," they added.
The results indicated that turmeric and curcumin are effective against the development of diabetic cataract in rats. Further, these results imply that ingredients in the study’s dietary sources, such as turmeric, may be explored
for anticataractogenic (that works against cataract formation) agents that prevent or delay the development of cataract.