Monday, 23 January 2012 22:00
DEVELOPMENT DEFICIT
BY Sudarshan Chhotoray
Before marriage, we need to go for genetic counselling, because sometimes gene carries diseases which can be lethal. Even if parents escape from getting affected, children may not,” argues Prabhapal Kaur, a researcher in Micro Biology Department of GNT University, Amritsar in Punjab.
She, along with her research scholar friend Mehek Rishi, was part of 15,000 plus delegates attending the 99th Indian Science Congress held at KIIT University, Bhubaneswar in Odisha.
While demanding to legalise genetic counselling, Prabhapal said, “On an average every year, 10,000 babies born with Thalesemia. For Thalesemia patients one needs to go for regular blood transfusions and it is a costly affair. That’s the reason we should advocate for DNA testing rather than blood testing before marriage”.
Prabhapal who is studying Human Genetics had attended several plenary and parallel sessions of Science Congress, where Noble laureates presented their papers.
Aditi Ray, a student of MSc (Material Biology) of Calcutta University which is slotted to host the centenary or 100th Indian Science Congress (ISC), has further carried Prabhapal’s argument and said, “The 99th ISC was so much of learning for me especially things on Material and Medical Science which I had not known. It really surpassed all of my expectations. I plan to pursue genetics studies, I am close to my goal now, I could learn how to design my research and clinical use.”
When asked, Aditi said she came across two theories that would help her to be a research scientist in Human Genetics. These two new theories are ‘Gene Therapy’ and ‘NANO Technology’ and these models will improve our drug delivery system, she said.
“Hormones are controlled by genes, if someone has faulty hormone, he or she needs regular injections, which are very costly. We need to replace the root with little research on how to introduce gene. Genes produce hormone. We can develop our drug delivery system using a compound of sugar coupled with PEG (Polyethylene Glycol). This will not produce ant genetic reactions. Similarly, using Nano Technology and Nano Magnets, we can improve drug delivery system. Drug is coupled with magnet and encapsulated in a polymer cell will make a huge difference and it is a path breaking technology”, stated Aditi.
For Anand Pandey of University of Allahabad, the 99th ISC was a mix of Science and Tourism. “ When a lot of scientific attitude was provided to us to broaden our scope for more fellowships, grants and research openings, at the same time we learnt a lot on Odisha’s tourism, spiritual and architectural heritages.”
Professor PD Srinivash, Head, Department of Mathematics in IIT Kharagpur, praised for the smooth conduct of the ISC, “It was a very huge gathering of scientists all over the world, every session was scheduled in time, quality of papers were good so are the participants and above all participation of young generation was so good,” he said.
He further added, “As far as my expectations go, I could explore the applied mathematics and official statistics, where the emphasis on detection of hot spots and more attention on problem areas were discussed at length in thematic sessions.”
Scientific thoughts:
Despite globalisation, rapid transportation and instant communication, we still live in a world of alarming scarcity.
Dr Navarati Saxena of Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, South Korea, while presenting ecological sustainability for a green future, said the dazzling splendour and affluence of Olympics and Space shuttles are not going to escape us from an imminent material crisis. Metals and energy have become endangered. Gold is going to be not available in 2025, similarly Tin and Copper by 2087. People are now actually stealing Ions. Many of the metals are going to exhaust in this century. There are currently 118 elements in Periodic Table, which knows how many of them will be in next century.
The father of Indian green revolution Professor Swaminathan in his talk described climate change as a reality. Nature says to build climate science, asking for a Global Soil Partnership like Global Water Partnership as soil is important part of providing food. While giving emphasis on field gene bank and village knowledge centre thereby conserving biodiversity, he said one degree centigrade rise in temperature means a loss of weeks of crop session and a loss of 400 kilograms of crop, whereas per capita consumption will go up 10 times in India.
N Chandrasekhar, CEO and MD of TCS in his plenary session said 60 per cent of our labour force is working in agriculture which is contributing 15 per cent of our GDP. Technological intervention may change it to 25 per cent but India’s harvest will be at risk by ground water depletion. When cost of technology is coming down and innovation is going faster, we should make use of it, he said.
Way forward
“Our scientists delivered Green Revolution and White Revolution. By launching Chandrayan we found water in space of which USA and China are still behind us. We are now witnessing a reverse Brain Drain. Our infrastructure is growing in all sectors. We are good at pharmaceutical science. But we lack of investment and policy direction in the field of science. The difference between public and private sector is widening. In India, today 2/3rd of investments in science and technology come from Government and 1/3rd from private. But more investments should come from the private sector.
Amidst all these we need to concentrate and focus on food security, health security and defence. With science and technology, we will be able to progress that only can drive all these priorities. We should go for reforming the entire science sector and there is a need to make this sector more attractive. To ensure inclusive development, we have to have new innovations and involvement of women. Our growth lies not in investment banking but in science and technology. We need to pool young talents, encourage more competition among them….”
These were a few observations and reflections were made in the 99th Indian Science Congress. The year 2012 is being celebrated as the year of Science.
A report prepared by the General President, Indian Science Congress Association, said India has the third largest scientific and technical manpower in the world and represents one of the world’s largest systems for generation of creative science and technologies. With six major science departments, 400 National R&D centers, more than 500 universities churning out graduates and doctorates and nearly 2000 in house R&D units in industrial sector, India has world class R&D infrastructure. Over the last few years, the number of scientific publications by Indian scientists working in India has increased at more than 12 per cent per annum against the global average of 4 per cent. India has moved from the 15th rank in 2003 to 9th rank in 2010 with respect to the number of publications in peer valued journals. The university research system is also showing signs of rejuvenation. We produce 8,900 PhDs annually in science and engineering.
Prime Minister Dr Manamohan Singh while inaugurating the Science Congress stressed, “As far as resources are concerned, the fraction of GDP spent on R&D in India has been too low and stagnant. We must aim to increase the total the total R&D spend as a percentage of GDP to 2 per cent by the end of XII plan period from the current level of about 0.9 percent. This can only be achieved if Industry, which contributes about one third of the total R&D expenditure today, increases its contribution. I believe public sector undertakings especially in the energy sector should play a major role in this expansion”
While speaking to this correspondent, ISC President Dr Geetha Bali, said “We will bring out a set of recommendations and would like to suggest the Government to frame policies especially for women farmers, besides the deliberations and suggestions for improving scientific environment in the country”.
The writer is a senior freelance journalist
PUBLISHED IN THE DAILY PIONEER ON 24TH JANUARY 2012
interesting...
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