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Time of India
08-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Gujarat scientist in US Developing Tech for effective treatment of brain diseases
Vadodara: A Gujarati scientist, native of Vadodara, is working on a technology that would deliver drugs in a larger quantity inside the brain. Dr Ishan Shah is a key member of the US team that has already got intellectual property (IP) rights for the research. "It's a long process, but this technology will help those suffering from any kind of brain diseases. Currently, only 0.1% of any drug given for brain ailments is able to enter the brain. It is a challenge to deliver the drugs inside the brain, which blocks a major quantity," explained Shah, who works for a private biotech company in Boston. "We are developing antibodies that will increase the quantity of drugs delivered inside the brain from 0.1% to 1%. This will increase the efficacy of drugs. We discovered a protein that captures the drug and puts it inside the brain. Our firm even got IP rights. Such an experiment is being undertaken for the first time," Shah told TOI over the phone from the US. The team's work has also been published by the Royal Society of Chemistry. Shah, 38, was also a member of the team working on an effective drug for Alzheimer's, which currently has no cure. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like New Launch by L&T – 3 & 4 BHKs Near Viviana L&T Evara Heights Enquire Now Undo "We are trying to find out the reason behind the spike of a certain protein that causes Alzheimer's. If we manage to ascertain the reason and control the accumulation of this protein, we will be able to delay the advancement of Alzheimer's. The drug is already in the trial stage," Shah, a senior scientist, added. He is the only Indian in the team working on this drug. A student of Bright School in Karelibaug, Shah completed his Bachelor's in Pharmacy from A R College of Pharmacy in Vidyanagar in 2009. He then pursued a Master's in Pharmacy at the University of Toledo in Ohio. "I wanted to stay in the field of drug discovery, so I pursued a PhD in pharmaceutical chemistry from the University of Kansas in 2011. Then I shifted to Boston, where I worked with a small firm before joining my current company in 2020," said Shah, who is settled in Boston with his wife, Kinjal.
India Today
21-06-2025
- Science
- India Today
Award-winning professor Suman Chakraborty is new IIT Kharagpur director
Suman Chakraborty, a distinguished figure in mechanical engineering, was appointed the new IIT Kharagpur on June 19. Chakraborty, who also holds the title of Sir JC Bose National Fellow, assumes the position immediately, succeeding Professor Amit Patra, the acting to the statement, his tenure will last five years or until he reaches 70, whichever occurs first. This pivotal appointment aims to further the institute's educational and research RESEARCHERProfessor Chakraborty has gained recognition for his pioneering work in micro and nanoscale flows, contributing significantly to diagnostic technology advancements and enhanced healthcare access for disadvantaged groups. He's known for creating low-cost, easy-to-use diagnostic tools to tackle everyday medical issues like anaemia, cancer, COVID-19, and awarded him the 2026 TWAS Award in Engineering and Computer Sciences for his efforts. Notably, in 2023, he was ranked among Asia's top 100 researchers across all fields, underscoring his influence in engineering and work inspires many within the scientific AND RECOGNITIONChakraborty's remarkable career is decorated with the National Award for Teachers in 2023 and the Infosys Prize in 2022. Additionally, he received the esteemed Santi Swaroop Bhatnagar election as a Fellow of prominent bodies like the American Physical Society and the Royal Society of Chemistry highlights his status as a leading mind in science and accolades mark his commitment to and impact on his ASSOCIATION WITH IIT KHARAGPURStarting his journey at IIT Kharagpur in 2002 as an assistant professor, Chakraborty advanced to senior professor by 2008. His appointment as a full-time director by the Centre marks a significant point in his enduring association with the this, Amit Patra, director of IIT BHU (Varanasi), was the acting director following VK Tewari's term ending in December 2024. This transition highlights the institute's focus on leadership excellence.(With PTI inputs)Must Watch
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Drinking water map shows where toxic ‘forever chemicals' are found in the UK
Traces of a chemical that researchers fear could harm human reproduction have been found in dozens of Britain's rivers, a new study has warned. Researchers from York University found trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in 98% of locations in 32 rivers in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. TFA is one of a family of more than 14,000 man-made chemicals known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs), which have been used since the 1940s in everything from waterproof clothing to non-stick frying pans, as well as cosmetics and food packaging. The chemicals can accumulate in people's bodies (as well as in the water we drink) and can lead to serious health issues including cancer, liver damage and harm to unborn children. The UK government launched an inquiry this year into the issue - but campaigners say not enough is being done. Natalie Sims, from the Royal Society of Chemistry, told Yahoo News: 'There is more that could be being done, and that is why we are calling for action.' The Royal Society of Chemistry has mapped levels of the chemicals in Britain's drinking waters, and is calling for the public to take action to raise the issue. 'The public can be really powerful, and I think we have seen that when we look at tackling sewage overflows, that's really been pushed up the government agenda, because the public is also pushing for it," Sims says. 'That's why we really want to take action now, and that's why there's been much more push for it from organisations like ourselves or others. In addition to developing alternative materials, we urgently need stronger, more robust controls to prevent further pollution and reduce our exposure to harmful substances in the environment.' PFAs are a group of thousands of chemicals that don't occur in nature and are extremely hard to get rid of. They also also toxic, even in small quantities. They have been used in manufacturing and consumer products since the 1940s. 'We've used them so extensively, really since the 1940s they found our way in so many different consumer products," Sims explains. "For example, in your waterproof coat, anything waterproofing, school children's clothing, anything stain resistant. PFAs have some desirable properties, and are so good at what they do in terms of that heat resistance, that water and oil resistance, stain resistance, durability, often a lot of the things that makes it very useful in products. 'Because they're so persistent, they obviously found their way into the environment, into our food, into our water. They are also used in jet engines, medical devices, refrigeration systems, the construction industry and electrical devices. In the environment, they can last for extremely long periods: hundreds or even thousands of years. They also accumulate in human bodies. 'Forever chemicals' have been phased out of some consumer products - but are still used in products such as non-stick frying pans and some packaging, although manufacturers tend to be reluctant to say exactly where they are used. The dangers attached to PFAs often comes when they are used industrially, or when products containing PFAs are disposed of inadequately, meaning they enter the water supply. In the UK, PFAs are most likely to be found in water near industrial sites including airports and areas that produce products which use PFAs. The Royal Society of Chemistry warns that contamination is likely near landfill sites where liquid contaminated with PFAs can leak out of the site, or near incinerators which often are not hot enough to fully burn chemicals can also be found near where firefighting foam is routinely used, including airports, military sites and fire-training areas. Some airports, including Heathrow, have already switched to using foam which does not contain PFAs. Wastewater sites can also leech PFAs into the water. The chemicals have been linked to serious health issues including liver damage, some cancers and harm to unborn children, thyroid disease and fertility issues. Large-scale studies have shown that PFAs in drinking water correlates with increased levels of cancer in multiple parts of the body. A review in the journal eBioMedicine linked PFAs exposure to decreased efficiency in vaccines, premature birth, increased severity of COVID-19, along with cancer, reduced immune function and developmental delays in children. Water companies in England and Wales must monitor and regulate 48 types of PFAs, despite there being thousands of varieties, with many remaining untested. But this Drinking Water Inspectorate ruling actually goes further than EU legislation. Individual PFAs concentrations in drinking water cannot exceed 100 nanograms per litre (ng/L). This is 10 times higher than the Drinking Water Inspectorate's own 'low risk' threshold of 10 ng/L. In the US, there are limits of 4 ng/L for each of PFOS and PFOA, two of the most common PFAs, and the EU states that 20 widespread PFAs must collectively not exceed 100 ng/L. The Royal Society of Chemistry has called for new limits on the amounts of PFAs permissible in drinking water. Specifically the RSC has called for a new limit of 10 ng/L for individual PFAs. The RSC has also called for stricter controls over the sources of PFAs including in industrial discharges, with a national chemicals regulator to monitor and regulate discharges. Sims says: 'An RSC survey of more than 4,000 UK adults, carried out by YouGov in August showed nine in ten Britons believe it's 'very important' to keep PFAS out of our food, water and environment. The public do want action on this, which I think is really powerful when it comes to speaking to the government. 'In terms of industry, having them push to develop alternatives, because they've had these chemicals that they've been allowed to use for so long, in terms of because they're so good at what they do, it's trying to transition that away into more, safer and sort of sustainable alternatives. Sims says that it's also vital that British people have a clearer picture of the chemicals in the water they drink. She says: 'PFAS are contained in many products and ingredients that are made or imported to the UK for use across many industries. However, we do not have a full picture of how PFAS enter and move within the supply chain. 'It's likely that the exposure you have on the everyday is going to be quite low, but it's that long term build up where, for one thing, it can be really challenging to pinpoint where those adverse effects could come from.'
Business News Wales
04-06-2025
- General
- Business News Wales
New Project Awarded £1.8m to Boost Science in Schools
An education project led by the Institute of Physics (IOP) has been awarded more than £1.8 million through the Curriculum for Wales grant support programme. Details of the funding for 'Boosting Science Education in Wales,' a partnership between the IOP, the Royal Society of Chemistry and Science Made Simple, were announced by Welsh Government. The project will deliver a suite of support activities for teachers and technicians, working from early years through to GCSE level and will cover professional development, specialised coaching and mentoring. It will also produce bilingual science teaching resources and deliver a series of confidence-boosting workshops for primary and secondary school teachers and technicians. The programme will deliver more than 250 activities and events over three years, and work with schools across the length and breadth of Wales. Emma Tamplin, the IOP's Learning and Skills Manager for Wales, said: 'We're delighted to have been awarded this funding, which is aimed at bringing the new curriculum in the sciences to life. Scientific literacy is a key skill for work and for life. Physics alone supports more than 100,000 jobs in Wales, but science also teaches us the critical thinking skills we need to be engaged citizens. 'Our approach puts teachers and technicians at the heart of our work, recognising that inspiring and confident teachers can transform their students' lives. By working with this generation of teachers, we hope that our project will inspire future generations with a love of science, and a curiosity about the world we live in.'
Indian Express
24-05-2025
- Science
- Indian Express
Tyre particles: How EVs are a climate solution with pollution problem
By eliminating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, electric vehicles (EVs) play an important role in the fight against climate change. However, while contributing to solving one problem, they may be adding to another. A new study by Indian researchers has found that EVs may be bad news for tackling air pollution. The study, published in Soft Matter, a journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry, has shown that EVs, on account of their greater weight, experience higher wear and tear in their tyres compared to conventional vehicles, and release substantially larger numbers of small plastic particles in the atmosphere. This could have adverse implications for the health of both humans and the environment. How tyres are degraded The disintegration of automobile tyres results in the release of small rubber particles that are air pollutants. The normal wear and tear of tyres produces particles of broadly two sizes – one, about 1-10 micrometres; the other, more than 100 micrometres. Particles of intermediate sizes are also produced, but they are relatively fewer in number. The study by researchers from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), IIT Bombay, and Columbia University in the US has, for the first time, established the relationship between the weight and speed of a vehicle to the size of the plastic particles released from tyres as a result of wear and tear. ('Mechanism of microplastic and nanoplastic emission from tire wear', Shankar Ghosh et al.) The tyres of heavier and faster-moving vehicles produce a higher proportion of smaller particles, shows the study. Unlike the larger particles that settle on the ground due to gravity, smaller particles remain suspended in the air, adding to the concentration of air pollutants. The study also brings out, for the first time, that particles of different sizes are produced by different physical processes of degradation of tyres. Thus, degradation caused by sudden braking or encounters with potholes, which the researchers call 'primary fragmentation', results in the release of mainly smaller particles of varying sizes. And gradual wear and tear, called 'sequential fragmentation' in the study, leads to the release of mainly larger particles. Thus, an improvement in road quality would likely reduce the release of larger particles, but would have little effect on the smaller particles. Global relevance of study The results of the study are globally relevant because of the ongoing push for the adoption of EVs. Electric vehicles are significantly heavier than conventional petrol vehicles because of the batteries – which can weigh anything between 300 kg and 900 kg. The weight of the batteries necessitates the reinforcement of the vehicle frame, which adds to the overall weight. Typically, an EV is at least 15-20% heavier than a comparable conventional vehicle. EVs are also able to accelerate more rapidly. This can lead to additional stress on the tyres due to increased friction and heat generation. The tyres of EVs are, therefore, likely to undergo a greater degree of primary fragmentation, releasing larger amounts of smaller plastic particles that add to the concentration of pollutants in the atmosphere. The findings of the study shed new light on the relatively lesser-studied negative impacts of the deployment of EVs, which is being incentivised around the world. Road transport accounts for almost 10% of global GHG emissions, the result primarily of the burning of fuel in vehicles. EVs account for just about 2% of the global vehicle stock, but they contributed to about 20% of new car sales across the world last year, according to an International Energy Agency report. In India, about 2.5% of cars sold in 2024 were electrics, according to a recent report by S&P Global. The government aims to take this figure to about 30% by 2030. In China, EVs accounted for almost half of all car sales last year. Potential responses The researchers say their findings call for different kinds of response measures. Current air quality regulations in most countries are aimed at controlling PM2.5- and PM10-size particles. Tyre fragments are smaller than these. With the proliferation of EVs, and tyre fragments becoming a more noticeable constituent of air pollution, these regulations would probably need to be expanded. At the same time, tyre manufacturers would need to invest in research and development to produce sturdier tyres that are better suited to heavier EVs. Also, emissions standards would probably need to account for non-exhaust emissions from vehicles. The researchers have also suggested possible technological fixes – such as the possibility of capturing the small tyre fragments at the time of their release, preventing them from getting into the atmosphere.
