Category Archives: Science & Technology

B’lore lab helping develop first TB vaccine in 100 years

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Scientists at Max Planck Institute of Infection Biology, Germany, are trying to develop a tuberculosis vaccine for adu-lts which will be the first in nearly hundred years since the Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine for children was developed. Lending a helping hand in this is a clinical lab at St John’s Research Institute (SJRI) in Bangalore.

The SJRI has been commissioned to come up with biomarkers to test the efficacy of the new vaccine, which is set to go into phase three trials.

The vaccine being developed by Max director Stefan H E Kaufmann is considered the most promising among a clutch of other candidates that have appeared following a renewed interest on account of the emergence of drug-resistant varieties of the disease.

Kaufmann, who was in Bangalore last week, has tied up with John Kenneth, head of the infectious disease unit and molecular diagnostics at SJRI, to locate biomarkers that will establish the efficacy of any tuberculosis vaccine administered to patients.

“All current vaccine candidates are relatively low on ambition. They all attempt to contain mycobacterium tuberculosis. We do not have a candidate that claims to prevent infection or eradicates the pathogens,” Kaufmann said.

Max has created a vaccine against adult TB of the lungs by working with a recombinant version of the BCG vaccine that prevents TB in children.

The vaccine had been sub-licensed to Serum Research Institute of India that wants to test it, Kaufmann said.

“When you put the vaccine candidate into the trial cycle you need an end point measure of the efficacy of the vaccine to indicate that antibodies have been produced to provide immunity. We don’t have that marker at present,” Kenneth of SJRI said. The presence of a biological databank and a TB patients to carry out tests for biomarkers is key to the tie-up between Max and SJRI.

“Biomarkers are critical factors for the future research on TB. They are critical factors for better vaccines, better drug design and better diagnosis,” Kaufmann said. One of the questions that the researchers are trying to answer in the quest for biomarkers for TB is, what distinguishes patients with active TB and those who remain healthy.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home / Bangalore, Saturday – December 14th, 2013

Mangalore doctor re-elected to AOMSI

Leaders, Records, All, Science & Technology

Mangalore :

City based oral and maxillofacial surgeon Manjunath Rai has been re-elected as the honorary general Secretary of Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons of India (AOMSI) for 3 years term.

Election for the new office bearers was held during the 38th national annual conference of AOMSI at Bubaneshwar, Orissa. Dr Rai is having the rare distinction of being the youngest person to hold the post of honorary general secretary when he was elected unanimously in 2010 for a term of 3 years.

Presently, he is the vice principal and head, department of oral and maxillofacial surgery, KVG Dental College and Hospital, Sullia. He is also the consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon at Father Muller’s Medical College and Hospital. He is a practitioner running a successful practice at Rai Dental Specialty clinic in the city. He is also the elected Senate member of the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bangalore from the Professor category. He has made the City proud by organising the First Asian PG convention in August 2013 at Mangalore.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Mangalore> Health Sciences / by Vinobha KT, TNN / December 06th, 2013

Stage set for animation festival in Mysore

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion

The event will feature some of the best names in animation industry such as DreamWorks Animation.

The Association of Bangalore Animation Industry will stage ABAI 2013, India’s first exclusive film and digital arts festival for animation, VFX and gaming on December 6 and 7. The event will unfold at three venues in the Manasagangotri campus of University of Mysore — Senate hall, humanities auditorium and the open air theatre — on both days from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The event will feature some of the best names in animation industry such as DreamWorks Animation. Feature films, short films, game cinematics and visual effects will be featured. Raman International Institute of Information Technology (RiiiT), an IT finishing school here, has given local support to the event.

Addressing presspersons here, ABAI convener and executive committee member Archana Krishnamurthy said the animation industry in India is growing and needs talent to keep it going. There are plenty of employment opportunities in the field. Mysore can become the animation hub over the years. The combination of art, culture, technology and heritage works well for this industry. For this reason, ABAI has been brought to Mysore.

Animation is used in the fields of education, medicine, defence etc. It is used by the corporate world for training and assessment. But, there is not much awareness about animation and this needs to be addressed seriously,” Ms. Krishnamurthy said.

Stan Lee, the co-creator of Spiderman, Hulk, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Iron Man and the Avengers, along with Sharad Devarajan of Graphic India, will showcase Indian superhero Chakra.

Ron Diamond, member of the Academy of Motion Pictures will present ‘The Giants’ First Steps’ and the ABAI special edition of ‘Show of Shows’. Shelley Page of DreamWorks Animation will present her ‘Eye Candy Show’.

There will be a screening of Shilpa Ranade’s ‘World of Goopi and Bagha’, a film based on Satyajit Ray’s Goopy Gayne Bagha Bayne. The 3D animation film ‘The Croods’ will also be screened. Animation artistes from the State have contributed significantly to making the film.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mysore – December 05th, 2013

CNR to scientists: Have we done enough for youth?

Leaders, Science & Technology

Bangalore :

As he turned 80 on Sunday, Bharat Ratna C N R Rao expressed his concerns about the future of the country and asked the scientific community if it had “done enough for the younger generation”.

In his address, after being felicitated by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Science Research (JNCASR), Prof Rao said in the years to come, India will have the largest population of youth, with one billion people below 30 years of age.

“But have we been fair to the younger generation? Have we done enough for the country’s young people? That is something we need to introspect on,” he said.

Stating that this aspect has been worrying him, he said: “I have even been writing to the Prime Minister seeking additional investments to improve human resources in the country. The future, in my opinion, is bothersome for the country and we need to do something.”

Saying that science has given the society so much, Rao wondered if the scientific community had reciprocated similarly. “Have we lived the way scientists should live? Are we worried about humanism?” he asked.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> India> Scientists / TNN / December 02nd, 2013

Facebook to make first Indian acquisition with Bangalore-based Little Eye Labs

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Facebook is reportedly all set to make its first ever Indian acquisition soon. Talks are apparently on for Facebook to acquire Little Eye Labs, a Bangalore-based startup.

According to a report by the Business Standard , the deal is being facilitated by Indian Software Products Industry Roundtable (iSpirt). The Indian software product think-tank tries to help Indian companies find global buyers. As far as Little Eye Labs goes, the startup builds performance analysis and monitoring tools that identify and fix issues faced by Android app developers.

The company was founded by Bangalore-based programme analysis enthusiasts, Giridhar Murthy, a former Apple employee; Kumar Rangarajan who has worked with IBM and HP; Satyam Kandula, an IIT Kharagpur alumnus and Lakshman Kakkirala, also a former IBM and Yahoo! employee. CrunchBase shows Little Eye Labs currently has seven employees. The company had earlier received between $100,000 and $200,000 from GSF Accelerator, a start-up incubator.

The deal is being struck as part of the M&A connect programme by iSpirt. The firm had launched the programme’s hot-line for product companies to help them be acquired or raise funds. iSprit was kicked off in February this year after it broke out of Nasscom. The talks were reportedly conducted in Palo Alto, US, back in May. Besides Facebook, IBM, Cisco and VMware participated too.

If Facebook ends up purchasing Little Eye Labs, it will be a big push for not just iSpirt, but other startups in India, aiming to be noticed globally. Besides trying to get Facebook to see Little Eye Labs’ potential, iSpirt is reportedly working on match-making three more deals on similar lines currently.

source: http://www.tech2india.in.com / Tech 2 / Home> News> General / by Nishta Kanal / December 02nd, 2013

2nd edition of Doctors Directory launched

Business & Economy, Science & Technology
Mysore University VC Prof. K.S. Rangappa (centre) who released the directory is seen with (from left) Dr. C.D. Sreenivasa Murthy, Dr. C.G. Narasimhan, Dr. C. Sharath Kumar and Dr. Shashidhar.
Mysore University VC Prof. K.S. Rangappa (centre) who released the directory is seen with (from left) Dr. C.D. Sreenivasa Murthy, Dr. C.G. Narasimhan, Dr. C. Sharath Kumar and Dr. Shashidhar.

Mysore :

The second edition of Doctors Directory was released at a function held at Hotel Dasaprakash Paradise in city recently.

The Directory was released by Prof. K.S. Rangappa, Vice-Chancellor, University of Mysore.

Prof. Rangappa, speaking on the occasion, said that the directory had all the information about doctors, hospitals, diagnostic centres which would serve as a guide for the general public of Mysore, Kodagu, Mandya and Chamarajanagar.

Dr. C.D. Sreenivasa Murthy, senior Physician & Cardiologist and Dr. C.G. Narasimhan, senior surgeon, were felicitated on the occasion.

The directory and the website has been published by Team Beeline, Mysore and contains the names and contact numbers of doctors, hospitals, diagnostic centres of all the four districts.

Dr. C. Sharath Kumar, Director, Mediwave Fertility Research Hospital, Mysore, presided.

Dr. Shashidhar, senior Ayurveda practitioner, compered the programme.

Harish of Team Beeline was present. The directory can be accessed online on www.doctorsdirectory4u.com.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / December 08th, 2013

Kundapur: Dr Robert Rebello elected president of IMA

Science & Technology

Kundapur :

Dr Robert Rebello MBBS,MS (ENT) has been elected as the president of Indian Medical Association (IMA) Kundapur for the year 2013-14.

He hails from Kundapur parish and he is the only Mangalorean Catholic doctor at the IMA.

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He is currently serving as senior ENT specialist in the Government general Hospital Kundapur and also a visiting consultant to all the major private hospitals in Kundapur.

He is also the vice president of Karnataka government employees Associations and also the treasurer of officers Club of Kundapur.

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / Daijiworld.com / Home> Karnataka / by Media Release / Kundapur – November 30th, 2013

Ascent Capital-backed Skanray acquires healthcare business of Pricol

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

Last year, the company acquired the medical equipment business of L&T.

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Mysore-based medical device company Skanray Technologies Pvt Ltd has acquired healthcare business of Coimbatore-based auto component maker Pricol Ltd for an undisclosed amount.

“This is strategically a very important transaction for us, as it increases our strength in the respiratory segment, with the addition of Ventilators to our portfolio,” Vishwaprasad Alva, managing director of Skanray, said.

According to the company, respiratory ailments are on the rise and some of the biggest pandemic outbreaks in the recent past like avian flu have seen hospitals fall short of ventilators.

The company sees business from government epidemic and disaster management departments in several developed countries which are planning to buy large volumes of ventilators in case any pandemic outbreaks.

“With this addition, we will be able to offer complete ICU packages for hospitals and be a single point contact for supply, custom solutions and life cycle management of all equipment in the ICU,” Alva said.

This is the second acquisition of the company in as many years. Last year it acquired medical equipment business of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) through its fully owned subsidiary Skanray Healthcare.

Between Skanray Healthcare and Skanray Technologies, the group has 12 USFDA approved products in segments such as X Ray imaging, vital sign monitoring and surgery devices. The company plans to launch more products in the US and European markets.

“We started the healthcare business to use the synergy of the core technology that Pricol has in embedded hardware and software, mechanical subsystems, engineering plastics and systems integration. We are happy to transfer the healthcare business to Skanray who are growing aggressively in the primary healthcare segment,” said Vikram Mohan, MD of Pricol.

Skanray Technologies, which was set up in 2007, specialises in high frequency X-Ray imaging systems, critical care devices and primary healthcare & telemedicine-compatible devices.

The company recently raised $14.7 million from Ascent Capital. It has also raised an undisclosed amount from Arun Kumar, promoter of public listed pharmaceutical company Strides Arcolab.

(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)

source: http://www.vccircle.com / VC Circle / Home> M & A / by Lohit Jagwani / Tuesday – November 26th, 2013

36 Year Old Undergoes 16 Hour Liver Transplant Surgery at HCG, Gets a New Lease of Life

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HCG Hospitals, organized a press conference on treating 36 year old Indian from USA, diagnosed with liver cirrhosis, underwent marathon 16 hour liver transplant surgery, with the organ donated from his wife.

A year ago, the patient had weakness and loss of appetite. During his routine health check-ups, he was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis, due to autoimmune hepatitis. After further investigations he was placed on the Liver Transplant waiting list in USA. With time running out, he did not get any organ offers and returned to India, for the liver transplant surgery.

Dr. Basant Mahadevappa, Consultant, Liver Transplant Surgeon, HCG Hospitals, said, “The patient was in a difficult situation, as he was decompensated with severe ascites (Liquid in the abdomen). His wife was worked up for donation. Anatomy of the donor was complicated, and was left with no other donor. With a multi-disciplinary team approach we took up the challenge and performed the transplantation. The patient & the donor are doing well and are on regular follow up.”

(From Left): Mrs. Shilpa Arun Kumar, Donor, Dr. Basant Mahadevappa, Mr. Arun Kumar, Recipient and Dr. Ganesh Bhat
(From Left): Mrs. Shilpa Arun Kumar, Donor, Dr. Basant Mahadevappa, Mr. Arun Kumar, Recipient and Dr. Ganesh Bhat

Dr. Ganesh Bhat, Consultant, Gastroenterologist, HCG Hospitals, “The incidence of liver disease is on the rise and 2% to 3% of the people are living with Hepatitis B & Hepatitis C. People diagnosed with hepatitis B, are more likely to develop into liver cancer. Most of the times, its asymptomatic and when the patients start to see the see the symptoms, it’s in an advanced stage, which may require liver transplantation or a liver surgery. Early diagnosis of the disease helps in better medical outcomes.”

Mr. Arun Kumar, Recipient, said, “I was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis, and the only medical solution was Liver Transplant. With my condition worsening & surgery being an emergency I was lucky to find a donor in my wife. She came forward to donate her liver, though it was high risk surgery. I have recovered and got a new lease of life.”

source: http://www.moneylife.com / MoneyLife / Home / Bangalore, Karnataka, India / Business Wire India / November 27th, 2013

City-based Paediatric Oncologist wins Schweisguth prize

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Mysore :

Dr. Meenakshi Hegde, a Paediatric Oncologist at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, was awarded the 28th Schweisguth Prize from the International Society of Paediatric Oncology for her scientific paper “Combinational targeting offsets antigen escape and enhances effector functions of adoptively transferred T cells in High Grade Glioma,” which was presented at the 45th Congress of the International Society of Paediatric Oncology in Hong Kong last month. The award is given in honour of Dr. Odile Schweisguth, renowned clinician, investigator, founding member and the first President of the Society.

Dr. Meenakshi, hailing from Sirsi, is the wife of Dr. G. Bharath Raj, a renowned Tennis Player and a Psychiatrist at Houston and the proud daughter-in-law of Sumana and D. Guru Raj of Kuvempunagar, Mysore.

Her completed research paper was recently published in Molecular Therapy. The prestigious Schweisguth Prize is awarded only to best scientific contribution to the Paediatric Oncology field in the world.

Her research focuses on developing novel treatment for malignant gliomas that targets more than one tumour associated-proteins simultaneously with the aim of decreasing the risk of tumour recurrence. Malignant gliomas are tumours that often do not respond to even the most aggressive forms of therapy currently available. Less than 25 percent of children with this type of brain tumour survive after five years.

Dr. Meenakshi Hegde completed the research during her fellowship training at Texas Children’s Cancer Centre and at the Centre for Cell and Gene Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / December 01st, 2013