Being a Scientist in India

Being a Scientist in India

An Hour at the most desirable Institute of India.

I was in Mumbai when I got a mail from BITS-PILANI that we have been selected among the top 30 teams of CONQUEST 2011 - AN INTERNATIONAL B PLAN CONTEST. I was really very happy as it was my first international selection.Conquest is one of the most prestigious B Plan contest of India organized by CEL, BITS.It gives you an international platform to share your business idea to the best Entrepreneurs of country who further sharpen your idea and really want you to choose the rare path of entrepreneurship for which they went for.It was really great that we were selected out of 1800 participants who applied from 18 different countries.The mentoring sessions organized by Conquest team was really great as we were able to know certain aspects of the plan that we missed totally.To refine our idea to best level possible and improve  chances to successfully implement the plan we wrote to the CENTER FOR INNOVATION , INCUBATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP , IIM-AHEMADABAD.Fortunately we got a positive response from Mr. Pranay Gupta the CEO of CIIE,IIM-A who had great record of supporting the most sensational startups of India.I reached IIM-A with my friend Kushal who actually came with the eureka moment.We reached the new campus of IIM-A on the right side of which is CIIE is located.I was great to talk Mr.Pranay Gupta.He showed great enthusiasm in our project and assured to help in all possible means.Then me and kushal just went around the campus of a Institute which gives the highest financial secutrity in your life.It was really great to feel the LOUIS KHAN PLAZA.You can easily feel the warmth of the love with which Louis Khan designed the institute.Only going there you can really know the vision of Dr.Vikram Sarabhai.Hope we will make out and will be part of the best stories of CIIE.

A good initiative by Indian Govt to curb Antibiotic Misuse.

Regulating Over-the-Counter Antibiotic Sales: What Will "Schedule HX" Mean for India?

2 Aug 2011

Author: Alice Easton

In the wake of the NDM-1 controversy, the Government of India created a committee to frame a new antibiotic policy for the country. One of the recommendations of this committee was to regulate the sale of antibiotics by introducing “Schedule H1” under the Drugs and Cosmetics rules, to “regulate sale of antibiotics exclusively” (Ministry of Health & Family Welfare 2011). The existing Schedule H contains 536 drugs, which cannot be legally dispensed without the prescription of a registered medical practitioner (RMP). The packaging of these drugs must include the warning “Schedule H drug - warning: To be sold by retail on the prescription of a Registered Medical Practitioner only.” Schedule H1 was envisioned as a tool to enable strict regulation of the sale of third generation antibiotics, despite the fact that regulation of the other Schedule H drugs is rarely enforced.
The antibiotic policy written by this committee is currently under review by the Union Law Ministry, after which it will be reviewed by the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (Assary 2011). The proposal (for what is now called Schedule HX) contains two parts. Part A consists of 16 antibiotics that should only be sold in tertiary hospitals. These drugs will be color-coded to enable quick identification. These 16 drugs include Cefpirome, Colistin, Doripenem, Ertapenem, Imipenem, Linezolid, Meropenem, and Moxifloxacin (Assary 2011).
Part B contains 74 drugs that could only be sold at pharmacies to patients with two copies of a prescription from a RMP. These include Amoxicillin, Ampicillin, Cefaclor, Cefalexin, Cefdinir, Ciprofloxacin, Erythromycin, Gentamicin, Norfloxacin, Oxacillin, Pencillin, antibiotic eye drops, some drugs for tuberculosis, sleeping pills, paracetamol and cough syrups such as Benadryl (Assary 2011; Deshpande 2011; Times News Network 2011).
Some Ministry of Health officials and doctors have defended the new regulations, pointing out that only very specialized, expensive drugs will be limited to tertiary hospitals, and that it is important to restrict these antibiotics to stem the spread of antibiotic resistance (Deshpande 2011; Express News Service 2011). Indeed, in situations where diagnostic and antibiotic sensitivity tests are unavailable, it is unwise for patients to take expensive, strong drugs. These drugs should only be prescribed when it has been determined that the patient is resistant to milder, widely available antibiotics through diagnostic tests. If patients are wantonly prescribed newer antibiotics, such as those restricted to tertiary hospitals, this will lead to a decrease in their effectiveness when patients with resistant infections really need them.
However, several parts of this new regulation have caused widespread protest. The All India Organization of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) has pointed out that in many rural areas, RMPs are scarce or unavailable, making many drugs inaccessible to rural populations (Deshpande 2011). Others fear that new regulations will make life-saving drugs scarce, and lead to increased use of the black market (Indian Pharmacist Association and Pharmabiz 2011). To show their opposition, several pharmacists’ organizations staged a strike on August 1^st (Express News Service 2011; Indian Pharmacist Association and Pharmabiz 2011; Times News Network 2011). However, many re-opened during the day due to the protests of customers and police (Express News Service 2011). After a meeting with the Health Minister, the strike was officially called off in Delhi and other locations, based on the feeling that there is still time to change the specifics of the new regulations before they are enacted (Ahuja 2011; Indo-Asian News Service 2011).
These controversial new regulations raise a number of interesting issues. Of course, pharmacists are only part of the picture. The new antibiotic policy contains measures targeting overprescribing of antibiotics as well, such as educational programs for physicians (Ministry of Health & Family Welfare 2011). Preventing doctors from primary and secondary level facilities from dispensing the newest antibiotics without the diagnostic tests to determine whether they are necessary could also go a long way towards preserving the effectiveness of new antibiotics, which would ideally only be used when absolutely necessary. However, these regulations may have been diluted by the inclusion of drugs other than antibiotics. I find it hard to believe that I will actually be unable to buy paracetamol (acetaminophen) and cough syrup once these new regulations are put in place. Just in case, I’m planning on stocking up.
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References:
Ahuja, S. (2011). Chemists to remain open on August 1. Hindustan Times. Gurgaon.
Assary, G. (2011). Losing battle against bacteria? Deccan Chronicle. Thiruvananthapuram.
Deshpande, D. (2011). Chemists super bugged by govt’s new policy. Pune Mirror. Pune.
Express News Service (2011). Chemists strike over new rules for drug sale, leave patients stranded. Indian Express. New Delhi.
Express News Service (2011). Chemists to down shutters on Aug 1 to protest antibiotics order. Indian Express.
Indian Pharmacist Association and Pharmabiz. (2011). "AICDF calls for pharmacy bandh in Delhi & Haryana against govt’s decision to include Schedule HX in D&C Rules."   Retrieved July 29, 2011.
Indo-Asian News Service (2011). Chemists end strike after meeting Ghulam Nabi Azad. NDTV. New Delhi.
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. (2011). "National Policy for Containment of Antimicrobial Resistance - India." from http://www.nicd.nic.in/ncdc_new/ab_policy.pdf.
Times News Network (2011). Druggists warn of stir over move to ban 90 OTC drugs. Times of India. Hyderabad.

ALLOY THAT CAN TURN WASTE HEAT INTO ELECTRICITY - SCIENCE DAILY

Generating 'Green' Electricity: Waste Heat Converted to Electricity Using New Alloy

ScienceDaily (June 27, 2011) — University of Minnesota engineering researchers in the College of Science and Engineering have recently discovered a new alloy material that converts heat directly into electricity. This revolutionary energy conversion method is in the early stages of development, but it could have wide-sweeping impact on creating environmentally friendly electricity from waste heat sources.

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Researchers say the material could potentially be used to capture waste heat from a car's exhaust that would heat the material and produce electricity for charging the battery in a hybrid car. Other possible future uses include capturing rejected heat from industrial and power plants or temperature differences in the ocean to create electricity. The research team is looking into possible commercialization of the technology.
"This research is very promising because it presents an entirely new method for energy conversion that's never been done before," said University of Minnesota aerospace engineering and mechanics professor Richard James, who led the research team."It's also the ultimate 'green' way to create electricity because it uses waste heat to create electricity with no carbon dioxide."
To create the material, the research team combined elements at the atomic level to create a new multiferroic alloy, Ni₄₅Co₅Mn₄₀Sn₁₀. Multiferroic materials combine unusual elastic, magnetic and electric properties. The alloy Ni₄₅Co₅Mn₄₀Sn₁₀ achieves multiferroism by undergoing a highly reversible phase transformation where one solid turns into another solid. During this phase transformation the alloy undergoes changes in its magnetic properties that are exploited in the energy conversion device.
During a small-scale demonstration in a University of Minnesota lab, the new material created by the researchers begins as a non-magnetic material, then suddenly becomes strongly magnetic when the temperature is raised a small amount. When this happens, the material absorbs heat and spontaneously produces electricity in a surrounding coil. Some of this heat energy is lost in a process called hysteresis. A critical discovery of the team is a systematic way to minimize hysteresis in phase transformations. The team's research was recently published in the first issue of the new scientific journal Advanced Energy Materials.
Watch a short research video of the new material suddenly become magnetic when heated: http://z.umn.edu/conversionvideo.
In addition to Professor James, other members of the research team include University of Minnesota aerospace engineering and mechanics post-doctoral researchers Vijay Srivastava and Kanwal Bhatti, and Ph.D. student Yintao Song. The team is also working with University of Minnesota chemical engineering and materials science professor Christopher Leighton to create a thin film of the material that could be used, for example, to convert some of the waste heat from computers into electricity.
"This research crosses all boundaries of science and engineering," James said. "It includes engineering, physics, materials, chemistry, mathematics and more. It has required all of us within the university's College of Science and Engineering to work together to think in new ways."
Funding for early research on the alloy came from a Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) grant from the U.S. Office of Naval Research (involving other universities including the California Institute of Technology, Rutgers University, University of Washington and University of Maryland), and research grants from the U.S. Air Force and the National Science Foundation. The research is also tentatively funded by a small seed grant from the University of Minnesota's Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment.

SCIENCE DAILY REPORT ON BACTERIAL RESISTANCE

Bacterial Resistance to Antibiotics: The More They Resist, the More They Divide

ScienceDaily (July 28, 2011) — The number of multiresistant strains of bacteria in hospitals is increasing. Bacteria acquire resistance to antibiotics through mutations in their chromosomes and by incorporating new genes, either from the surrounding environment or from other bacteria. Now, a research team at the Portuguese CBA research (University of Lisbon) and the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência has shown that, surprisingly, when both mechanisms of resistance are playing out in the bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli), its ability to survive and reproduce is increased.

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These results are now published in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics.
Usually, the acquisition of new genes, either through the insertion of pieces of DNA -- called plasmids -- or through mutations, comes at a cost to the bacteria, reflected in a reduction in its rate of cell division, for example. Francisco Dionísio, senior author of the paper, describes the process using the following analogy: "If you disassembled your computer and randomly changed connections and pieces, you wouldn't expect it to work better than before."
However, Francisco and his colleagues show that, when a mutation occurs in the chromosome of a bacterium that has already incorporated a resistance-carrying plasmid, the bacteria divide faster in 10% of the mutation-plasmid combinations tested. Similarly, bacteria that first acquire resistance to antibiotics through mutation of their chromosome and then gain further resistance by insertion of plasmids into their DNA show reproduction rate increases in 32% of combinations.
In 2009, the same research groups showed, for the first time, the importance of interactions between random genes in determining antibiotic resistance in bacteria. This latest study takes their initial findings a step further, by demonstrating that this is a general phenomenon, and thus may help to predict how a bacterial population will evolve after receiving a plasmid that confers resistance to a certain antibiotic.
Francisco Dionísio adds: "These results are, at least, unexpected in light of what we previously knew about genetic interactions, and may underlie the mechanism whereby rapid resistance to antibiotics appeared.

SCIDEATION.ORG

Sc!deation

new ideas in drug discovery, development & commercialization

Crowdfunding for Technology Startups

by Euan Ramsay on May 24, 2011

Funding is the lifeblood of all start-ups. You may be fortunate to generate revenue early through sales, but in the capital-intensive, regulation-heavy industries like biotech early funding often has to be secured from other sources. There are many possible avenues for financing, both dilutive and non-dilutive, for example, loans, convertible debt, equity, grants, etc. These are essentially top down approaches. The ubiquity of social media is providing a new bottom-up opportunity – crowdfunding. This post will provide an overview of crowdfunding websites which might offer a source of dilutive or non-dilutive microfinancing capital for the entrepreneur.
Crowdfunding is defined in Wikipedia as “the collective cooperation, attention and trust by people who network and pool their money and other resources together, usually via the internet to support efforts initiated by other people or organizations”. Leveraging a network to raise money has traditionally been used to support charitable causes. The emergence of the web as a distribution platform has exponentially increased the number of potential donors that can be reached. This rise of web-based social networks has led to the subsequent expansion and divergence of crowdfunding, with dedicated sites to fund everything from making movies, investing in bands, supporting social action, and to fund businesses.
Using crowdfunding as a source of equity finance for businesses could break new ground because government regulations in many jurisdictions often restrict the financing models available for small private for-profit enterprises. For example, in the US there are three main regulatory obstacles that prevent crowdfunding as a mechanism for equity investment: (i) a limit of 499 investors before a private company has to disclose its finances; (ii) an investment is restricted to “sophisticated” investors, i.e. those with substantial personal funds; and (iii) a concern that removing these restrictions will expose unsuspecting investors to fraud. However, recent correspondence in the US between Mary Shapiro, the Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Darrell Issa, the Chair of the House Oversight Committee has indicated that the authorities are considering revising the decades-old regulations in light of crowdfunding initiatives.
For more insight into the potential impact of the SEC announcement see the post on Ross Dawson’s blog. And for a perspective on how government regulations are inhibiting innovation and entrepreneurship in Canada, see the recent excellent post from Mike Volker, a Vancouver-based angel investor.
The following table provides an overview of select crowdfunding websites that may offer the (bio)technology entrepreneur a source of finance.
crowdfunding post table
It is clear that the structure of the financing models described in the table reflect the regulations of the countries where these crowdfunding companies are based; however, there are also mechanisms to maximize the “friends and family” concept to leverage the network effects of online communities created via FaceBook, LinkedIn, etc. This funding avenue for start-ups is set to explode in the coming years and it will be interesting to see what new financial business models emerge from the convergence of web-based crowdfunding and evolving government regulations.
And how will this affect biotech start-ups? Debt financing offered by Cofundit, or loans/commercial paper as described by 40Billion would be unlikely options. Would ProFounder’s investors be happy with the wait for a potential revenue stream in potentially a decade or more? And will the equity investors of GrowVC, Seedups and CrowdCube fund capital-intensive industries, with numerous web-based enterprises competing for their dollars?
I believe that crowdfunding has potentially two distinct constituents: investors focused on financial return such as Angels, VCs and other “sophisticated” investors; and investors looking for a social return on investment based on the “venture philanthropy” model championed by disease-focused foundations such as the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation. In both cases, I believe that biotech and technology start-ups will benefit from access to these expanded sources of capital.
Have you raised money through crowdfunding? Or do you consider this avenue as a viable financing option? Please share your thoughts by commenting below.
For those interested in learning more about crowdsourcing mechanisms to support start-ups have a look at these sites:
GoBigNetworks – the biggest network for startup opportunities
WebEquity - WebEquity is a community site bringing together entrepreneurs with business ideas and anyone willing to work on an equity and/or revenue share basis to make them a reality.
Foundrs – recruit great co-founders
For those interested in learning more about crowdfunding check out these additional sites:
KickStarter – a new way to fund and follow creativity
IndieGoGo – the world’s largest global funding platform
Sellaband – where fans invest in music
RocketHub – your creative launchpad
Quirky – social product development
Pozible – crowdfunding creativity (previously Fundbreak)
Fansnextdoor- platform for all creatives to promote and fund their projects together with their fans

Professor hatches company for his drug-delivery software

The process of developing new drugs can be long and expensive. Optive Research Inc. aims to make the search faster and more efficient with software that helps researchers decide which compounds to synthesize and test in finding new drugs.
Dr. Robert Pearlman, a University of Texas at Austin professor who developed the computer-aided drug-discovery software, worked with the Office of Technology Commercialization to create Optive to sell the technology that he developed in his UT lab. At the university, Pearlman is the Coulter R. Sublett Regents Chair in Pharmacy and the Director of the Laboratory for the Development of Computer-Assisted Drug Discovery Software. At Optive, he's president and chief scientific officer.
Previously, the university licensed the technology to Tripos Inc., a life science company based in St. Louis. It was the second most lucrative of the university's licensing agreements, bringing in $1.8 million in just the past two years.
Now Optive will handle the Tripos licensing (and continue to split it with the university), sell its own products (sending a share of those revenues to the university) and accelerate development of the software. “Operating as a company rather than as an academic lab, we are now positioned to provide a much higher level of support, service, and software R&D to these scientists, their companies, and to the rest of the molecular discovery community,” Pearlman said.
Pearlman said that as a commercial entity Optive can afford to attract top-level researchers and funding to further development. The company has 15 employees and more than 15 products to be used by computational chemists and bench chemists who are engaged in molecular design and discovery research.
Pearlman and Dr. Neil Iscoe, director of the UT Office of Technology Commercialization, hope Optive's influence extends beyond its own future. “The company creates jobs,” Iscoe said. “But it also highlights the growing cadre of biotechnology and life science companies in the Austin area.”

RNA BASED SOLUTION TO FIGHT CHOLESTROL

RNA-Based Cholesterol Drug Is Readied for Human Tests

New methods for delivering the therapies to the target tissue could boost a wavering field.

A number of drugs can help lower dangerously high cholesterol, but as many as half a million people worldwide are resistant to existing therapies. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, a leader in the development of therapies using RNA, aims to begin human tests of a treatment that could make a drastic dent in drug-resistant high cholesterol. The company recently filed a clinical trial application to test a new formulation of the drug in 32 U.K. volunteers. It will be the fourth therapy from Alnylam to be tested in humans.
The technology targets an enzyme involved in clearing cholesterol from the blood. A single dose has already been shown to reduce LDL, or "bad," cholesterol, in nonhuman primates by as much as 50 percent.
Alnylam's technique coöpts a method of gene silencing employed by our own cells. It uses short lengths of small interfering RNA (siRNA) to interrupt gene transcription and prevent the production of proteins produced by the gene. The process was first discovered in animals fewer than 15 years ago, and was heralded as a way for drug manufacturers to regulate troublesome, disease-causing genes. Over two dozen such therapies have advanced to early-stage clinical trials.
But progress hasn't been as fast as pharmaceutical companies had hoped. Last year alone, Roche terminated its program after only three years, and Novartis decided not to spend $100 million to renew its partnership with Alnylam.
One big problem is getting the molecules delivered to the right tissues. Many RNA interference approaches use "naked" siRNA delivered as directly as possible to the relevant tissue, such as the eyes or lungs. But this only works for easy-to-access tissues. In Alnylam's cholesterol therapy, siRNA is encapsulated into a lipid-based nanoparticle designed to be taken up by liver cells. The siRNA blocks transcription of the gene that produces an enzyme called PCSK9, which binds to LDL receptors on liver cells and prevents them from clearing LDL from the blood.
A new version, developed in collaboration with AlCana Technologies and MIT researchers, uses the same siRNA encapsulated in a nanoparticle that is more effectively taken up by the liver. In animal testing, the second-generation drug was just as effective as the first at a substantially lower dose.
"A few years ago, achieving human systemic delivery was something that was still on the horizon for us," says Akshay Vaishnaw, Alnylam's chief medical officer. "But our second-generation nanoparticles have now shown very effective systemic delivery in nonhuman primates in very low doses."
Alnylam and its collaborators have developed an extensive library of lipids, each with specific properties that can help get their payload to the right tissue. "They have this nice grocery store of [lipid-like molecules] that they can pull off the shelf and test for various indications," says John Rossi, a researcher at City of Hope in Duarte, California. Rossi was not involved with the research but is working with a competing company on an siRNA treatment for HIV. "I think it's a great technical improvement in the field," he says.

Intelligent Viewing: 100 Most Informative Video Collections on the Web

Whether you’re a seasoned professional, in search of a new hobby, or a student looking for new material to help you study, watching online videos can be an effective method for learning something new. Videos are often more personal than text-only websites, and through partnerships with top universities and media outlets, they allow you access to some of the most exclusive events and lecture series in the world. Below you’ll find 100 informative and inspiring video collections for business, leadership, science and technology, the arts, language learning, news analysis, and more.
General
When you’re not sure where to start, browse the different categories on these video collections from MIT, HBO, Harvard, and more.

1. The Open Video Project: This easy-to-search open collection features documentaries and lectures from Johns Hopkins, the Internet Moving Images Archives, and a lot more.
2. HBO: You can watch special HBO presentations on YouTube, from TV shows to documentaries.
3. Academic Earth: Schools like MIT, Harvard, Yale, UCLA, Princeton and Stanford share lectures and videos in all disciplines on this site.
4. Videos Posted by Harvard University Press: Harvard University Press uploads videos and interviews about literature, medicine, history and the environment on Facebook.
5. MIT Open Courseware: Get connected to the audio/visual resources from each of MIT’s departments here.
6. TED: Watch TED videos from industry leaders and everyday people who are changing the world one step at a time in politics, art, business, science and technology.
7. NYT Shorts: The New York Times’ short films delve into the behind-the-scenes issues and lives of talked-about topics and personalities in entertainment, politics and beyond.
8. TIME: Just as the magazine covers all avenues of culture, science and politics, so do the captivating videos on Time.com.
9. Hulu: You can watch your favorite TV programs or get more informative reports and videos from news stations, home and garden channels, history channels, and more.
10. Netflix: With a paid subscription, you can watch certain videos — including documentaries and foreign films — online for no extra charge.
11. Georgetown University: Featured videos from Georgetown’s archive include talks with faculty and experts about the environment, history, U.S. politics, international relations, and more.
12. MIT World: Watch groundbreaking lectures and speeches from MIT discussing the energy crisis, climate change, business, technology, the arts, and more.
13. Yale Open Courses: Yale has uploaded literature, history, architecture, science and economics lectures onto YouTube for public viewing.
14. Princeton Event Streaming Media: You can download streaming video lectures about the global economy, neurology, biology, and other subjects.

Science
From space exploration to chemistry experiments and endangered animals, science geeks will find all kinds of fascinating videos here.

15. NASA Connect: From meteorology to astronomy, these educational videos teach kids all about science.
16. NewScientist: NewScientist’s videos explore new trends in robotics, computers, video games and virtual technology, health sciences, and more.
17. Nature Online video streaming archive: Nature.com’s video archive includes presentations and shows about archaeology, the environment and space.
18. Discovery Channel: Watch full episodes of popular Discovery Channel shows like Man vs. Wild and Mythbusters here.
19. Science Hack: ScienceHack videos are screened and filtered by actual scientists and cover biology, chemistry, physics, robotics, engineering, and more.
20. Free Science Videos and Lectures: From the health sciences to chemistry experiments, you’ll find a range of popular science videos here.
21. National Geographic: Visit NatGeo’s online video collections for awesome images and coverage of the environment, space, animals, and live streaming videos through WildCams.
22. CalTech Today: Science videos from significant lectures and guest speaker series at CalTech are archived here.
23. Chance Videos and Audios: Dartmouth has organized lecture series — mostly dealing with science and math — from 2000, 1998 and 1997 right here.
24. Online Neuroscience Lectures: UT Dallas’ lecture archive also includes videos from Johns Hopkins and other institutes.

Technology and Engineering
When you want to explore the next big thing in Internet, robotics, mechanical engineering and gaming, head to these video collections for news, tutorials and more.

25. MIT TechTV: MIT’s technology collections show experiments, tech culture, and more.
26. AtGoogleTalk’s Channel: Also known as @Google Talks, this YouTube channel features interviews and lectures from writers, tech execs and other leaders in new media and Internet.
27. Computers and Math Videos: ScienceDaily’s computers and math videos include sub-categories like nanotechnology, video games and artificial intelligence, and robotics.
28. Popular Science: The videos here can be a fun but informative resource for anyone who’s into gadgets, technology and science.
29. Wired: Watch videos on Wired.com to learn more about gaming, gadgets, spacecraft, and more.
30. Computer History Museum: Watch the ComputerHistory channel to find out what’s next in the world of computers, the Internet, usability, and more.
31. CNET: CNET’s tech news videos will teach you about iPhones, GPS, Google, airplanes and more.
32. UW CSE Video Collection: Undergraduate capstone design videos from University of Washington computer science and engineering students are archived here.
33. Mathematical Sciences Research Institute: You can watch streaming video and media files from the MSRI from Fall 2004-Fall 2009.
34. MechanicalEngineering.tv: Channels on this site include technology, physical and science, mechanical design, and CAD CAM.
35. Oxford Internet Institute: From Internet regulation to web research to microblogging, the OII is a good resource for dissecting tough tech questions.
36. Technology: The New York Times’ Personal Tech and David Pogue, as well as CNBC Technology News, contribute to this video collection.

Politics and History
Browse these video collections to supplement courses or projects in politics, economics, history, culture, and journalism.

37. American Memory: The Library of Congress’ American Memory features 15 collections of American history videos documenting Teddy Roosevelt, Coca-Cola advertising, 9/11, theatre, and more.
38. NARA on Google Video: The National Archives offers public viewing of films and newsreels from NASA, World War II and more.
39. History Channel: You can watch full episodes, short clips or specials on History.com.
40. PBS: PBS is an excellent source for news, history and politics, and videos include in-depth discussion from The NewsHour and more.
41. John F. Kennedy School of Government: This video archive has videos from 2000-2008, including full lectures about global climate change, improving leadership skills, and more.
42. Biography.com: The Biography Channel’s website allows you to watch full episodes of shows about Mark Twain, Abraham Lincoln and Henry Ford, as well as regular programming and features about broader topics in history.
43. FreeDocumentaries.org: On this site, you’ll find documentaries that comment on culture, history, world events, politics, and the media.
44. History Highlights: Get original videos from enormously important and riveting moments in history, like the fall of the Berlin Wall.
45. EASE History: You can watch hundreds of videos from historical events from the early 1900s to today.
46. LinkTV: LinkTV is "television without borders" and is a good source for getting more detailed coverage about global issues and current events.
47. American History in Video: You’ll learn all about American history from 1492-the late twentieth century on this site.
48. Smithsonian: From archaeology and anthropology to folklife events, the Smithsonian YouTube resource is a great resource for all history students.
49. Famous Moments in American History: From Ben Franklin to Benedict Arnold to Molly Pitcher, watch videos about famous early Americans here.

Language and Literature
Here you can get help learning a new language or watch interviews with your favorite authors.

50. BBC Languages: BBC offers online video courses in German, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese and more.
51. Foreign Language Videos: OhioLINK’s open-to-the-public has beginning language videos here.
52. Barnes & Noble Studio: You can watch video interviews of top authors here.
53. Booknotes: Booknotes has archived over 800 streaming videos with authors.
54. Bookstreaminc: Watch video interviews with top-selling authors like Al Franken and Wiliam Mann.

Arts and Music
From Carnegie Hall to the National Theatre and the Whitney Museum, these videos take you to the most distinguished art and music institutes in the world.

55. MoMA: The Museum of Modern Art’s online communities page connects you to video collections — including interviews with artists and exhibition tours — via YouTube, Facebook, iTunes U and other outlets.
56. Roland Collection of Films on Art: Download films for just $1.99 each, from categories like landscapes, religious art, architecture and the environment, and archaeology.
57. Arts and Culture: LA Times arts and culture videos highlight certain artists and special art events.
58. Whitney Watch and Listen: Here you can watch featured videos with artists, about exhibitions, museum news and more.
59. Bravo TV: Watch full episodes or special features about fashion, art, design and more.
60. Sundance Channel: Get previews and clips from soon-to-be aired or released films, plus online specials from comedy, fashion, independent movies, and more.
61. National Theatre: On this website, you can download video recordings from London’s National Theatre.
62. BlueGobo: Musicals and musical clips have been uploaded onto this site, from Annie Get Your Gun to Fosse to Les Miserables.
63. From the Top: PBS’ From the Top lets you watch full episodes from Carnegie Hall’s youngest performers.
64. MTV: Explore music videos from up and coming artists as well as established celebrities.
65. Style.com: Vogue’s Style.com videos include designer profiles and interviews, fashion show coverage, and more.
66. Interior Design TV: On this channel, you’ll get to tour showrooms and listen to interviews with top interior designers.

Social Sciences, Philosophy and Religion
These video collections help to make philosophy courses and discussions more accessible.

67. A&E: A&E programs like Hoarders and Intervention will teach you a lot about mental disorders and societal trends.
68. Heidegger: This collection of philosophy videos from Berkeley focuses on Heidegger and Descartes.
69. Young Philosophers: SUNY Fredonia’s website shares philosophy lectures on ethics, the philosophy of religion, free will, research, and more.
70. Philosophy Free Audio and Video: From Gandhi to Henry David Thoreau, you’ll find a variety of philosophy lectures, speeches and videos here.

News
For streaming video and analysis of current events, check out these news videos from CBS, ABC, PBS, C-SPAN and others.

71. 60 Minutes: You can watch short clips or full episodes of 60 Minutes on the CBS website, here.
72. CSPAN: Even if you can’t stand to watch it on TV, C-SPAN online is a great resource for looking up reference videos and coverage of debates, House Sessions, and general news broadcasts.
73. BBC News: Watch videos from recent conflicts and news-worthy events around the world, as well as interviews with major personalities.
74. CNN.com: The breaking news videos from CNN.com range from seen-on-TV reports to web-only specials of international coverage.
75. Current.com: Current.com covers the most talked-about people and events in news, technology, the environment and entertainment.
76. ABC News: Watch streaming video, Good Morning America programs and news features here.
77. MSNBC TV: At the online station for "the place for politics," you’ll get commentary and video from Capitol Hill and beyond.
78. Reuters: This classic news service gets a new media update thanks to its broad video archive.
79. Newsweek Multimedia: You can watch video stories of trending topics like unemployment and the economy, as well as from the publication’s 7 Things feature.

Health Sciences
Whether you’re a medical student wanting to learn how to perform a surgery, or someone wanting to research a particular disease or condition, check out these video collections.

80. Health and Medicine: Health and Medicine is another ScienceDaily video collection covering all sorts of research studies, diseases and conditions, and health care issues.
81. Rice University: These health sciences videos tackle current topics in medicine, like the H1N1 virus, as well as more wide-ranging issues like health care reform.
82. WebMD: Watch a video to learn about virtually any disease or condition on WebMD.
83. Medical News Today: This authoritative health sciences reference offers streaming video clips that cover specific conditions, medical research, medical controversies, and more.
84. VideoMD: Expert physicians share their advice and analysis on this site.
85. Prevention TV: Prevention.com’s online TV channel tackles current health topics like aging, nutrition and fitness.
86. Videos of Surgical Procedures: This collection from MedlinePlus includes surgical procedure videos for the heart, bones, muscles, brain and more.
87. Medical Videos: Learn how to examine patients, diagnose diseases and more on this NSFW site.
88. Medical Students: Medscape’s resource page for med students includes a video section with interviews and more.
89. Video for Your Health: These videos combine news and health for families, smokers, kids, the elderly and terminally ill.

Business and Leadership
These videos highlight the people and campaigns that are changing the world, and can help you do the same.

90. FORA.tv: This website shares "videos on the people, issues and ideas changing the planet," from the environment to the economy to politics and culture.
91. dotSUB: You can watch activist videos in any language on this site.
92. Wall Street Journal: The WSJ archives videos for technology, markets, business, world news, and more.
93. Nobelprize.org: Watch videos of speeches, interviews and features about Nobel Laureates.
94. AllBusiness.com Video Library: Learn about entrepreneurship, green business and more when you watch these videos.
95. BW Video: Get interviews and whole programs devoted to investing, business and innovation.
96. Small Business Video and Audio Presentations: The IRS provides information videos for small business owners here.
97. Nightly Business Report: You can watch PBS’ Nightly Business Report for investing news, analysis on the economy, and more.
98. Bplans.com: This business planning resource offers video tutorials to help you get organized.
99. SmallBusinessNewz Videos: From marketing to franchises to sales to HR, these videos help business students and professionals become more responsible, successful individuals.
100. On Leadership: The Washington Post’s On Leadership video collection interviews people like Jeffrey Kindler and Zainab Salbi of Women for Women International.

100 BEST SCIENCE DOCUMENTARIES YOU MUST WATCH

No matter how much you know, there is always something new to learn about science. While your college courses may cover the basics, you can get a more in-depth look at a wide variety of topics from Internet resources such as these great documentaries. These selections will help you explore everything from the inner reaches of the human mind to the outer areas of our universe and just about everything else in between. Better yet, they’re all free to watch online so you can learn more without spending a dime.
Health and Medicine
These documentaries cover topics like health care, diseases, nutrition and more so you can get great insights into health and medicine.

1. Super Size Me: In this movie, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock attempts to subsist on only a diet of McDonald’s for a full month. His discoveries will make you question your own food choices.
2. The Age of AIDS: Here you’ll find a program done by Frontline that examines some of the worst pandemics the world has ever known, focusing on AIDS.
3. How Does Your Memory Work?: Do you know how your brain really works? While there are still many mysteries to be unraveled about the brain, this film attempts to foster a better understanding of how we learn and remember.
4. Sicko: Filmmaker Michael Moore exposes the ramifications of a lack of universal health care in America in this controversial documentary.
5. The Origins of AIDS: Check out this film to learn how the AIDS virus moved into humans and the factors that led it to spread so rapidly.
6. The Slow Poisoning of India: In the spirit of Silent Spring, this film exposes the serious health ramifications the use of pesticides has had on many Indian people.
7. Body of War: What is life like after returning from war? What if you come back disabled? This heartbreaking film shows one man’s journey back home.
8. Cryonics: Death in the Deep Freeze: This film shows the first woman to have her body cryogenically frozen after her death.
9. The Half-Ton Man: Learn more about Patrick Deuel, weighing in at about 1100 pounds, and doctors’ battle to save him.
10. Darkest Hour: This movie examines the lack of health care assistance for parents of children with mental health problems.
11. Swine Flu: The Science of Pandemics: Check out this show to see how pandemics like the swine flu spread and the impact they can have on populations.

Drugs
Learn how drugs impact the brain and the variety of legal restrictions imposed upon them from these documentaries.

12. Ecstasy Rising: Watch this video from Primetime to learn more about ecstasy, its effects and more.
13. Big Bucks, Big Pharma: This documentary attempts to expose the business behind medicine–often done at the expense of the health of consumers.
14. Prescription for Disaster: Learn why the billions poured into medical treatments may not be helping people to live longer, healthier lives through this documentary.
15. The World’s Most Dangerous Drug: This show will expose the true danger behind methamphetamines.
16. In Pot We Trust: Here you’ll find a film that wants to show the medical benefits of marijuana.
17. The Drugging of Our Children: More and more children these days take drugs for behavioral issues like ADD and ADHD, but this documentary points out that those drugs can have pretty serious side effects as well.

Genetics
From cloning to genetic disorders, these documentaries will shed some light on your DNA.

18. Mapping Stem Cell Research: Terra Incognita: Learn more about the research being done with stem cells as this neurologist seeks a cure for his paralyzed teenage daughter.
19. The Science of Dwarfism: Here you’ll find an informative program that will teach you about the genetic causes of dwarfism.
20. Panacea or Poison?: Check out this film to learn more about the battle between those who support and those who oppose genetically modified foods.
21. The World According to Monsanto: Watch this film to learn more about Monsanto, the leader in genetically modified organisms as well as one of the most controversial and hated corporations of all time.
22. Boy with the Incredible Brain: This documentary tells the story of David Tammet, one of the world’s true savants.
23. Clone: This film will show you the amazing potential as well as some of the more negative aspects associated with human cloning.
24. Designer Babies and Gene Robbery: If you could design your child, would you? As technology evolves, this documentary shows how this may soon be a reality.
25. Strange Culture: Learn how one man’s work with genetically modified organisms nearly got him branded as a bio terrorist.
26. Ghost in Your Genes: This film will show you how a mysterious second genome could also play a roll in determining our biology.
27. Gorillas: 98.6% Human: Remind yourself of just how close we are to the natural world with this stunning movie about the endangered mountain gorilla.

Evolution and Biological History
Learn more about life on earth, from the earliest cells to the evolution of humans, from these documentaries.

28. The Four-Winged Dinosaur: Watch this film to learn how one of the earliest ancestors of birds may have been able to fly.
29. Neanderthal: Learn more about this close human relative, what it was like, and some of the factors that caused it to go extinct while we flourished in this film.
30. The Ape That Took Over the World: This film will help you to better understand the steps and even leaps in evolution that brought human beings to where they are today.
31. Why are We Here?: In this film, you’ll get a scientific examination of the origins of life from author Richard Dawkins.
32. A War on Science: This documentary shows the longstanding battle between proponents of evolution and those of intelligent design.
33. From Butterflies to Humans: Try out this documentary to learn what forces cause animals to evolve and how the process works over time.
34. Ape to Man: Here you’ll find the story of the quest for human origins, one that has already spanned 150 years.
35. Dinosaur Hunters: Secrets of the Gobi Desert: This film brings some of the latest dinosaur finds to life in stunningly realistic animations.
36. The Truth About Killer Dinosaurs: This BBC documentary explores how some of the fiercest dinosaurs lived, ate, got around and more.
37. Dinosaur Planet: Follow along with this documentary as it shows you the story of a young velociraptor named White Tip.
38. Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia: This movie will allow you to see some of the biggest dinosaurs brought to life as well as learn what the most important dinosaur discoveries have been.
39. Origins of Life: Check out this movie to learn more about how scientists think life arose from single-celled organisms.

Physics
Even if you don’t know a ton about physics, these great movies will show you how the universe works from the smallest particles to the biggest galaxies.

40. The Quantum Revolution: Dr. Michio Kaku explores the cutting edge of quantum science in this short documentary.
41. Pythagoras: While not really a physicist, Pythagoras did come up with some of the most important mathematical and philosophical issues, or so we think, as this documentary will show.
42. Cold Fusion: Fire from Water: This documentary offers a chance to learn more about a potentially cleaner and better source of energy.
43. Uncertainty Principle: This short film will explain the history and fundamentals of quantum mechanics.
44. Illusion of Reality: Professor Jim Al-Khalili explores how studying the atom forced us to rethink the nature of reality itself in this engaging documentary.
45. Albert Einstein: Check out this documentary to learn more about this renowned physicist and thinker.
46. The Atom Smashers: This documentary follows researchers at Fermilab as they attempt to find the Higgs-Boson particle.
47. Stephen Hawking and the Theory of Everything: Learn more about the work of cosmologist Stephen Hawking in this film.
48. The Universe: Beyond the Big Bang: This movie shows how different cultures think the universe began and how it will end, including information from leading scientists.
49. Absolute Zero: Here you’ll follow a team of scientists as they attempt to reach absolute zero.

Environment
These documentaries focus on technologies and conservation efforts meant to preserve the environment.

50. Car of the Future: From hydrogen fuel cells to cars you can plug in, this film takes a look at where the automobile is headed in the next decades.
51. The 11th Hour: This documentary narrated by Leonardo Di Caprio shows the truly perilous state our planet is in.
52. Who Killed the Electric Car?: Plans for electric cars have been around for awhile, and this film examines the reasons why they’ve never come to fruition.
53. Here Comes the Sun: Learn about what a big role solar energy may play in the future of our planet.
54. An Inconvenient Truth: This famous documentary shows the true impact of global warming through a talk given by former Vice President Gore.
55. The Great Global Warming Swindle: This film takes the opposite stance, claiming that global warming is just propaganda, not reality.
56. Global Dimming: Find out more about the phenomenon known as global dimming in this film, as well as the impact it may have on our climate, our planet and, ultimately, us.
57. Darwin’s Nightmare: Take a look at this film to see some of the unexpectedly negative effects of introducing a foreign species into an environment.
58. It Runs on Water: Think things can’t run on water? This 1995 film shows otherwise, with a technology that never came to be.
59. Robinson Crusader: Keith Robinson is fighting to keep his Hawaiian island home free from corporate development in this film.

Geology
In these movies, you’ll be able to learn about the regions of the world, how Earth’s processes work, and much more.

60. Africa: The Serengeti: Check out this film to see the world of the Serengeti in detail.
61. Lost Worlds: Life in the Balance: This film will show you just how interconnected the world truly is.
62. Ocean Oasis: In this film you’ll get to take a look at Mexico’s Sea of Cortez and Baja California.
63. Australia: Land Beyond Time: The wilds of Australia seem at first like a pretty inhospitable place, but this film will show you the amazing ways life has found to survive.
64. The Bermuda Triangle: What is it about the Bermuda Triangle that makes it so dangerous to travel through? This film takes a scientific look at the phenomenon.
65. White Sands: White Wilderness: This film gives a detailed account of the plants, animals and geologic formations of New Mexico’s White Sands National Monument.
66. Volcano: Nature’s Inferno: This documentary will let you take a closer look at the volcanoes and the volcanic processes that shape our planet.
67. Hunt for the Supertwister: Follow along with this team of storm chasers as they attempt to find the biggest and baddest tornadoes out there.
68. Crude: The Incredible Journey of Oil: Here you’ll be able to learn where oil comes from and how it gets from there into your car.

Space
Explore the solar system and beyond with these great space-focused documentaries.

69. Hubble: 15 Years of Discovery: Take a look back at some of the awe-inspiring images captured by the Hubble telescope in this film.
70. Supermassive Black Holes: While black holes are still largely mysterious bodies, you can increase your knowledge of them by watching this great documentary.
71. Asteroids: Deadly Impact: Learn what (literal) impact asteroids may have on Earth and what we may be able to do to protect ourselves.
72. Carl Sagan’s Cosmos Series: Though made several years ago, this series has stood the test of time and still offers one of the best and most accurate looks at the universe.
73. 3D Sun: This documentary uses stunning 3D images of the sun to explain its history and phenomena.
74. Revealing Mars: Take a look at the Mars orbiter in this film and some of the images of Mars that have been captured.
75. Colonizing Space: This documentary will present some of the plans already in motion to take the first steps into the final frontier.
76. Secrets of the Sun: Learn more about the star central to our own solar system in this film.
77. International Space Station: This film will explain how the space station was built and is maintained and operated.
78. Alien Galaxies: Give this documentary a try to better understand the galaxies that lie elsewhere in the universe.
79. Saturn: Lord of the Rings: This documentary will allow you to learn more about this beautiful and mysterious ringed planet.
80. The Life and Death of a Star: Take a look at how stars form, live, and ultimately die in this great documentary.

Technology
These documentaries will help you learn about computers, robots and even the beginnings of electricity.

81. Nikola Tesla: The Genius Who Lit the World: Check out this film to learn more about the inventions of this man and how they shaped the modern world.
82. Big Brother, Big Business: Learn about the myriad of technologies that watch your every move from this Orwellian documentary.
83. New York City Hackers: This documentary film will introduce you to the first hackers, a group of students from MIT, and what the name originally meant.
84. Building Gods: Watch this film to learn more about the development of AI technology.
85. Welcome to Macintosh: Here you can delve into the history and development of one of the largest technology companies in the world.

Nature
Study the natural world and the fauna that calls it home through these free documentaries.

86. The Ultimate Predators: Here you can watch the life and death battle between predators and their prey first-hand with cameras strapped to the animals themselves.
87. Life After People: Learn what would happen to Earth should the human race somehow become extinct in this interesting hypothetical documentary.
88. The Private Life of Plants: Take a look at the inner world of a variety of plant species in this film.
89. Ants: Nature’s Secret Power: Ants may be tiny, but they are strong and play a valuable role in ecosystems around the world, as this film shows.
90. Cassowaries: Learn more about these giant and little known birds in this informative film.
91. Life in the Freezer: Want to find out more about Antarctica? This film will introduce you to the land and the animals who call it home.
92. Microcosmos: Get tiny and explore the creatures that live all around us, but very often, out of our sight.
93. Africa: Wilds of Madagascar: This film lets you see some of the truly unique and beautiful creatures that call this island nation home.
94. Search for the Great Sharks: Travel the world to learn about the whale shark, the blue shark and the white shark.
95. Whales in Crisis: Whales may be the largest creatures on Earth, but this film shows how they are struggling to survive.
96. The Great Barrier Reef: The Great Barrier Reef is large enough to be seen from space, comprising miles upon miles of complex, beautiful ecosystems, as this film shows.
97. Amazing Journeys: If you thought your last flight was bad, consider the long journeys these migratory animals make each year.

Miscellaneous
Watch these films to fill in the gaps in your scientific knowledge.

98. Dangerous Knowledge: Here you’ll find a great biographical film that addresses some of the eccentric, depressed, and often volatile men who helped foster modern science and mathematics.
99. Earthlings: Gain a greater respect for the creatures and the world around you through this documentary.
100. This Is Coffee: Learn more about the history, biology and social role of coffee through this film.

Relativity made simple

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30KfPtHec4s

Gene therapy may be the answer for HIV

Clinical Trials Of Breakthrough Gene Therapy To Treat HIV Expected In 2012

Scientists at Calimmune, a stem cell company founded by Nobel Laureate Dr. David Baltimore, plan to start Phase I/II clinical trials of a revolutionary new gene therapy to treat HIV infections.

Narayanan Suresh 07/25/2011

About one percent of people in Europe have a rare gene mutation that makes them immune to the dreaded HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection that has so far killed over 30 million people globally since 1981. Scientists have identified that gene that makes them immune and using that knowledge developed a novel gene therapy to provide immunity to HIV patients.
Scientists at San Francisco-based Calimmune, founded by Nobel Laureate Dr. David Baltimore, have sought the permission of US regulator FDA (food and drugs administration) to start phase I/II clinical trials of their proprietary gene therapy that aims to remove the protein that is used by the HIV virus to infect a person.
Calimmune scientists presented the results of their studies so far and made the announcement about the clinical trials during the BIO International Convention in Washington DC on June 28,2011.
The therapy works like this. HIV infects a person using a protein CCR5 which acts as the co-receptor for the virus to invade the T cells. Most people inherit two copies of the gene, one from each parent, that codes for the CCR5 protein. However, it was discovered that about one percent of adult Europeans have a mutation in both the copies of the gene and hence do not produce the CCR5 protein. This makes them resistant to HIV infection because the virus cannot infect a person in the absence of this protein.
Nobel laureate Dr. Baltimore had suggested a decade ago that this knowledge could be used to develop gene therapies that block the protein aiding the HIV infection. Calimmune was founded in 2007 by a group of distinguished scientists and entrepreneurs which included Dr. Baltimore.
Calimmune scientists have since then pioneered a blood stem cell therapy that uses several mechanisms such as RNAi interference to block the expression of the protein CCR5.
Currently HIV infections leads to the prevalence of AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) over a period of time and proves fatal in most of the patients. These patients are given lifelong treatment of antiretroviral drugs. The annual treatment for each patient costs about $25,000 (Rs. 11.4 lakh) or about $750,000 (Rs. 3.4 crore) on average for a patient’s life time. More than 30 million are known to have HIV infection globally now.
If the gene therapy is successful, a patient needs to be given a one-time treatment that too without any hospitalization. The patient should develop the immunity to handle the HIV infection. “This is the culmination of more than a decade of research and development, and we look forward to being able to treat patients with this powerful approach,” said Dr. Geoff Symonds, chief scientific officer of Calimmune, in a press statement released during the BIO convention. Dr. Symonds had led the world’s largest cell-derived HIV gene therapy trial during his stint with Johnson and Johnson prior to joining Calimmune.
Added Dr. Baltimore: “The scientists who started Calimmune are devoted to trying to blunt the impact of HIV infection on the world’s population. We came out of our laboratories to form a company that could have an effect on this disease. We are committed to devoting the time and energy necessary to be successful. For all of us, such an outcome would be the most gratifying event of our lives.”
Dr. Baltimore shared the 1975 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Howard Temi and Renalto Dulbecco for the discovery of reverse transcriptase which is essential for the reproduction of retroviruses such as HIV. He is currently the chairman of the board of Calimmune and President Emeritus of California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Genetic modification, if successful, should pave the way for a permanent cure to this dreaded disease. The currently used retroviral treatments only help to delay the infection from turning into AIDS and enhance the patient’s life by a few years. It does not provide a permanent cure.

Novel Bacterial Detectors

Bacteria blues: Bacteria collected in the bottom of the tube on the right have been labeled with a blue imaging agent.
Credit: Niren Murthy

Biomedicine

A Light Switch for Bacterial Infections

A new contrast agent could detect bacteria on medical implants, and help doctors decide how to treat infection.

• Monday, July 25, 2011
• By Katherine Bourzac

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A new contrast agent that targets microbes can be used to illuminate bacterial infections in living animals. It could ultimately enable doctors to safely spare more of a limb during amputations.
It's usually clear when a patient has a bacterial infection and needs to be treated with antibiotics, says Jason Bowling, director of epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, who was not involved with developing the imaging agent. But sometimes an infection is more difficult to diagnose. For example, it can be difficult to tell when a patient who has pain at the site of a hip or knee replacement has an infection. This sometimes leads doctors to prescribe antibiotics when they aren't necessary.
An imaging scan capable of detecting bacteria would quickly answer the question, sparing uninfected patients from unnecessary antibiotics or even from surgery to remove the implant. Where there is an infection and the implant is removed, imaging could help ensure that no new hardware is implanted until the infection has been completely cleared.
It's challenging to image infections because many of the molecules used to target bacteria can accumulate in tissue that is merely inflamed rather than infected, says Niren Murthy, professor of biomedical engineering at Georgia Tech, who was involved with developing the new agent. The new imaging agent is taken up by bacteria in large quantities, but it won't stick around in other tissue. "We had to find something very specific to bacteria," he says.
Murthy's group stole a trick from a group of viruses that gets its genome inside bacteria by attaching it to a bacterial food source, a carbohydrate called maltohexaose. Bacteria have proteins on their cell walls whose job is to bring maltohexaose inside the cell, and this happens even if that maltohexaose is attached to an imaging agent. Animal cells don't have these proteins, so they don't take up the contrast agen

Innovation Raga

“Asia’s Nobel Prize” For India’s Solar Lighting Pioneer

Harish Hande, the IITian(IIT-Kharagpur) and University of Massachusetts doctorate and founder of Selco gets the coveted Ramon Magsaysay Award 2011 for his pioneering efforts to provide solar-based lighting solutions in rural India.

Narayanan Suresh 07/28/2011

Kantamma is a vegetable vendor in Karnataka’s silk town, Ramanagaram, just 50 kilometers away from the glittering lights of India’s silicon city. Till recently, she used to pack up her business as dusk falls. Not any longer. Thanks to an innovative social innovator, Kantamma carries on her business during the peak buying hours till 8 pm.
How? She basks in the glory of a solar lantern, rented from a local NGO, at a nominal daily cost of Rs. 10 (22 US cents) which has helped to increase the business hours by 180 minutes. The extra volume of business generates more than compensates for the nominal rent.
The lantern for the program comes from Dr. H. Harish Hande’s Solar Electric Light Company (Selco) India, a social enterprise founded by him in 1995 to electrify rural India using innovative solar power technologies. Dr. Hande was a member of the jury for Technology Review India’s Grand Challenges 2010 program to pick innovative technology solutions relevant to India.
In the last few years, the program has caught on with the involvement of civil society groups and philanthropic organizations, and micro finance institutions in the states of Karnataka, Gujarat and Kerala. Selco, founded as a social enterprise, works with these groups to provide innovative lighting solutions in rural areas. More than 125,000 households in these states have benefited from the Selco program so far.
It is not just increased business that matters, said Dr. Hande in a recent meeting. Most of the vegetable and other vendors in rural areas are women from poor families and the only bread winner in their families. The additional income generated enhances the overall quality of life of their families and gives them an extra edge in the subtle power plays at home, besides boosting their self esteem.
After completing his engineering education at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, he enrolled for doctorate at the University of Massachusetts. His topic was on rural electrification and traveled extensively in Latin American countries. He was impressed by some of the innovative solutions used there and decided to start something on his own.
Back in India, Dr. Hande chose solar power to fulfill his mission to light up the lives of rural poor. (Read his Notebook Think Beyond Subsidies on Government of India's model of capital subsidy for solar systems.) 
Dr. Hande and Selco have embarked on another ambitious initiative, the Light for Education program. Under this program just last week, students at the Viveka Tribal School in a rural hamlet, which is part of the Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka, got 80 solar lanterns.
The lanterns, made by Selco were bought and supplied by the Rotary Club of Bangalore (RCB) in association with Arjun Menda Foundation.
The program works like this: NGOs like RCB and the Menda Foundation use their funds and buy the solar lantern each costing about Rs. 1,500 ($34) and donate it to schools of their choice. Selco sets up the solar lantern charging stations at the selected schools. RCB members have decided to supply hundreds of solar lamps in other needy schools.
Students from homes without electricity are given a fully-charges lantern each for use at home. With assured lighting available, students get to study in the evenings which was not possible earlier. Students have to take it back to the school for recharging and hence there is additional incentive for attending school regularly. Absenteeism by students mainly to do farm work is a major problem in rural schools. Free supply of midday meals in many of these schools have somewhat improved the attendance records.
The power of Dr. Hande’s simple idea has caught on. Arjun Menda is an alumnus of IIT-Kharagpur. The IIT-Kharagpur Alumni Association in Bangalore is a supporter of the Light for Education program. The Association has targeted a supply of 1,000 solar lamps in 2011. Corporates like Tyco Electronics, Tulip, Sungard, Empyrean, Total Environemnt have all enrolled as sponsors.
So Selco provides the basic raw material. But the success comes from the wide network of supporters who take this good idea forward in their own way.
And the Magsaysay Award citation has captured the essence of Dr. Hande’s work in the citation which reads: “… for his pragmatic efforts to put solar power technology in the hands of the poor through his social enterprise Selco India.” The Award was instituted in 1957 in memory of late Philippines President Ramon Del Fierro Magsaysay to recognize outstanding contributions in the public and community service. Each winner gets a citation and $50,000 cash prize. So far 290 Asians have got the award. The 2011 awards have been given to six people/organizations including Dr. Hande and the presentation ceremony is scheduled for August 31, 2011 in Manila

Act Selfish .Help Somebody today

      IT’s a story that is over 100 years old, but the lessons are still relevant today. The year was 1892. The place: Stanford University. A young, 18-year-old student was struggling to pay his fees. He was an orphan, and not knowing where to turn for money, he came up with a bright idea.      A friend and he decided to host a musical concert on campus to raise money for their education. They reached out to the great pianist Ignacy J. Paderewski – who was quite a superstar those days. His manager demanded a guaranteed fee of $2000 for the piano recital. A deal was struck. And the boys began to work to make the concert a success.      The big day arrived. Paderewski performed at Stanford. But unfortunately, they had not managed to sell enough tickets. The total collection was only $1600.      Disappointed, they went up to Paderewski and explained their plight. They gave him the entire $1600, plus a cheque for the balance $400. They promised to honour the cheque soonest possible.      “No way!” said Paderewski. “This is just not acceptable!” He tore up the cheque, returned the $1600 and told the two boys “Here’s the $1600. Please deduct whatever expenses you have incurred. Keep the money you need for your fees. And just give me whatever is left!” The boys were surprised, and quite overjoyed. They thanked him profusely.      It was a small act of kindness. But it clearly marked out Paderewski as a great human being. Someone special. He would have been within his rights to demand his “guaranteed money”. And why should he help two people he did not even know? We all come across situations like these in our lives.      Times when other people need our help. And most of us only think “If I help them, what would happen to me?” The truly great people think, “If I don’t help them, what will happen to them?” We only think of ourselves, the loss we might incur, the trouble we might have to go through and the sacrifice we need to make. The great guys don’t think of themselves. They think of the difference it could make to other people. And that’s what drives their actions.      They help not because someone else is watching, or because it will look good when the world comes to know about it. They don’t do it expecting something in return. They do it because they feel it’s the right thing to do.      It may not surprise you to know that Paderewski went on to become the Prime Minister of Poland. He was a great leader, but unfortunately when the World War began, Poland was ravaged. There were over 1.5 million people starving in his country, and no money to feed them. Paderewski did not know where to turn for help.      He reached out to the US Food and Relief Administration for help. The head there was a man called Herbert Hoover – who later went on to become the US President. Hoover agreed to help and quickly shipped tons of food grains to feed the starving Polish people. A calamity was averted. Paderewski was relieved! He decided to go across to meet Hoover and personally thank him.      When Paderewski began to thank Hoover for his noble gesture, Hoover quickly interjected and said, “You shouldn’t be thanking me Mr. Prime Minister. You may not remember this, but several years ago, you helped two young students go through college in the US. I was one of them.”      Make it a habit to help others. It is rightly said that you can achieve everything you want in life if only you help other people achieve what they want in their lives.      Do something selfish today. Help someone! Just do it. And don’t expect anything in return. The world is a wonderful place. What goes around usually comes around.      Let the magic begin!      Prakash Iyer is MD, Kimberly-Clark, and executive coach.      Post your queries and comments below this column, and Prakash will respond!     Published on: December 02, 2010         print         |  

Inspirational Story

ARJUN Verma is an unhappy young man. He was an outstanding student in engineering college. He landed a plum job with an MNC oil firm. He is admired for his technical acumen. And respected by his colleagues. So why is he unhappy? Arjun desperately wants to do an MBA ! He is convinced that without it his career won’t go anywhere.

For two years now, he has been attending classes and slogging for the CAT exams. But while he’s got interview calls, he hasn’t been able to make the cut. His employers were initially delighted to have hired an outstanding engineer – but are now wondering what’s gone wrong and why he seems distracted and stressed.

Do you sometimes feel like that too? Do you wish you had a degree, or a skill or a trait that’s missing? Do you sometimes worry that you are not successful because you grew up in a small town, or didn’t go to an English medium school or didn’t have rich parents?
 

Maybe you - and Arjun - should hear the story of the three goats.
 

It all started on a lazy Sunday afternoon in a little town near Toronto in Canada. Two young school-going friends had a crazy idea. They rounded up three goats from the neighbourhood and painted the numbers 1, 2 and 4 on their sides. They then let loose the goats inside their school building at night.
 

The next morning, when the authorities entered the school, they could smell something was wrong. They soon saw goat pings on the stairs and near the entrance and knew that some goats had entered the building. A search was immediately launched and very soon, the three goats were found. But the authorities were worried. Where was goat number 3? They then spent the rest of the day looking for goat number 3. There was panic and frustration. The school declared a holiday for the students. Teachers and helpers and the staff and the canteen boy were all busy looking for the goat number 3, which, of course, did not exist.
 

If you think about it, we are all like those folks in the school. We may have our own goats, but we are forever looking for the elusive, missing, non-existent goat no. 3. And that becomes an obsession. So instead of making the most of what we have and focusing on our strengths – like all successful people do – we get obsessed with the missing piece and worry about our shortcomings. In the build up to the recent World Cup, you might recall there were a lot of people who felt that while the Indian team had a strong batting line-up and an effective bowling attack, it was a weak fielding side. They reckoned that would prove to be a stumbling block. So what did Dhoni and the think-tank do? They didn’t let that worry them too much. Dhoni acknowledged that we could not suddenly become a great fielding side. That’s all. No big deal. They stayed focused on their strengths, scored a lot of runs, and bowled well. And the rest as they say is history.
 

Not just success. Happiness too is a function of this mindset. Notice how some people are forever unhappy and stressed, and constantly looking for a bigger salary, or a more fancy title, or a bigger car. No time to have fun with the goats they have! Do the best you can – with what you have – and be grateful for what you get. Success and happiness will come your way.

And yes, stop worrying about goat no. 3 !

Prakash Iyer is MD, Kimberly-Clark, and executive coach.