full issue - Association of Biotechnology and Pharmacy

Current Trends in Biotechnology and PharmacyVol. 5 (2) April 2011. ISSN 0973-8916 (Print), 2230-7303 (Online)NEWSiIndian Government will universalise secondaryeducation: President of India Pratibha Patil recentlyemphasized on Right to Education for primaryschooling and government committed to universalizethe secondary education through RashtriyaMadhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan. Further announced inbudget session that Girls’ hostels are being set up in3,500 educationally backward blocks in the country tobring secondary education to all.Moment of immense tragedy for Japan: Prime Ministerof India Dr. Manmohan Singh said, “This is a momentof immense and grave tragedy for Japan”. Dr. Singhexpressed heart-felt condolences to Japan and saidIndia stands in full solidarity with the people of thatcountry. He said in Parliament that “I am confidentthat this House will join me in reiterating the heartfeltcondolences of people of India to the friendly peopleof Japan and extending our prayers and thoughts tothem during this most horrific disaster”.Peace needed for development: President PratibhaDevisingh Patil underscored the need for peace tousher in development so that people can devote theirenergy to cultural, educational, social and economicaldevelopment. Addressing the public at the NagaHeritage Village, Kisama, on her maiden visit to thestate, the President made a fervent appeal to the peopleof Nagaland to ensure an atmosphere of peace andtranquility. She asserted, people must work togetheras one unit, whatever tribe they are from, whateverregion they may come from, and whatever communitythey may belong to in order to add to the overallprogress of the nation. Asserting that our nation ismoving ahead to be counted as one of the majoreconomies of the world, she said our objective remainsto have a high economic growth rate and to have aninclusive growth process.Bacterial Computers: GeneticallyEngineered Bacteria have Potential to SolveComplicated Mathematical ProblemsA research team at Missouri Western StateUniversity in Missouri and Davidson College in NorthCarolina, USA engineered the DNA of E.coli, creatingbacterial computers capable of solving a classicmathematical problem known as the Hamiltonian PathProblem. The Hamiltonian Path Problem asks whetherthere is a route in a network from a beginning node toan ending node, visiting each node exactly once. Thegenetic circuitry of the bacteria was modified to enablethem to find a Hamiltonian path in a three-node graph.Bacteria that successfully solved the problem reportedtheir success by fluorescing both red and green,resulting in yellow colonies. The findings of theresearch demonstrate that computing in living cells isfeasible, opening the door to a number of applications.The second-generation bacterial computers illustratethe feasibility of extending the approach to othercomputationally challenging math problems.Anshul SarvateMicrowave Pre-Cooking of French FriesReduces Cancer ChemicalsMicrowaving the French fries before frying themreduces the levels of a cancer-causing substance. Thediscovery of acrylamide - a possible carcinogenic inhumans — has led to much research being done toinvestigate the benefits of alternative cookingmethods. Acrylamide forms during processes such asfrying, baking and roasting where high-temperatureand low-moisture conditions exist. Microwaveapplication prior to frying resulted in a markedreduction of the acrylamide level in the surface region.When the potato strips were subjected to frying aftera microwave pre-cooking step, acrylamide content inthe whole potato strip was reduced by 36%, 41% and60% for frying at 150, 170 and 190 o C respectively.Microwaving French fries before cooking takes littletime and in fact, microwave pre-cooked samples friedto the same degree of cooking appeared to have amore acceptable colour, probably due to the moregentle heat treatment they experienced during frying.Pavithra VFound: The Apple Gene for RedCSIRO researchers have located the gene thatcontrols the colour of apples — a discovery that may