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The discovery was made by Chandrayaan-2 orbiter's imaging infrared spectrometer. The scientists said that more data will be made available in the future, giving a complete picture.

India's ambitious Chandrayaan-2 moon mission may have made a hard landing on the lunar surface in 2019, but the orbiter accompanying it has been providing useful information to scientists back on Earth. And earlier this week, a research paper revealed that the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter confirmed the presence of water molecules (H2o) and hydroxyl (OH) on the surface of the moon.

The findings were published in the journal Current Science. "The initial data analysis from IIRS clearly demonstrates the presence of widespread lunar hydration and unambiguous detection of OH and H2O signatures between 29 degrees north and 62 degrees north latitude," the August 10 research article said.

The discovery was made by the orbiter's imaging infrared spectrometer (IIRS).

"Plagioclase-rich rocks have been found to have higher OH or possibly H2O molecules when compared to the mare regions, which were found to have more dominance of OH at higher surface temperature," the group of researchers who studied the IIRS data further said.

The scientists also said that more data will be made available in the future, giving a complete picture.

The Chandrayaan-2 mission was launched by Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) in July 2019. But Vikram lander on-board the mission crash-landed on the lunar surface just 2.1 km from its destination in September that year.

However, its orbiter remains functional. Isro said that the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, with its eight scientific instruments, will continue its seven-year mission to study the surface of the Moon.

Chandrayaan-2 was launched with the aim of mapping the variations in lunar surface composition, as well as locating and studying the surface of the Moon for the presence of water.

A successful moon landing would have made India the fourth country in the world to land a rocket on the moon after the US, the erstwhile USSR, and China, and the first to have landed close to the lunar South Pole.

Source Link : https://www.hindustantimes.com/
Date : 2021-08-13

Scientists develop platform. Detect prolonged alcohol exposure effect

Scientists have custom-made a platform to detect the effect of prolonged alcohol exposure on Red Blood Cells (RBC) through high-resolution measurements of their size. The high-resolution platform that shows the reduction in size of RBCs on alcohol exposure can be tuned for a point-of-care screening of multiple conditions that alter the size and count of RBCs in blood.

Although it is known that alcohol affects RBCs, the exact physiological changes are very subtle and difficult to measure. In order to overcome this challenge, scientists from Raman Research Institute (RRI), an autonomous institution funded by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India led by Professor Gautam Soni, have developed custom-made electro-fluidic platform that can detect the change by measuring the cell size in enhanced resolution.

The device made in RRI relies on the resistive pulse sensing principle. The team first developed techniques for making tiny micron (1/1000th of a millimetre) sized holes or micro-pores at the tip of a glass capillary with careful fabrication, flame polishing, and image verification. Cells passing through the pore created very tiny electrical pulses, which give direct and most sensitive information of cell count and volume. These results may also be used to explain the lack of oxygen-carrying capability of RBC under alcohol exposure leading to blurred vision, muscular in coordination, and altered mental states from alcohol abuse. This research work, recently published in ACS Sensors journal of the American Chemical Society, was carried out by researchers Saurabh Kaushik, Manohara M., and K.D Murugan under the guidance of Dr. Soni and Dr. V. Sundaramurthy from National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bangalore.

"Our lab had been working on building nanofluidic single-molecule detectors for the last few years. We found that some of the ideas used in the nanofluidic field may also be used in microfluidics in general and cell-biology in particular. We were pleasantly surprised with the reproducibility and resolution of our devices," said Professor Soni. Cell volume changes are an important biomarker for multiple diseases, especially blood-related conditions. Accurate measurement of volume changes of RBCs has applications in detection as well as mechanistic studies of diseases such as sickle cell anemia and malaria. Similarly, small volume changes of RBCs could also be indicators of malnutrition states in a cell. With this work, the RRI team envisages that the high-resolution platform can be tuned for a point-of-care screening of several other blood-related conditions.

Source Link : https://pib.gov.in/
Date : 2021-03-06

Scientists designed & developed low-cost optical spectrograph

Indian Scientists have indigenously designed and developed a low-cost optical spectrograph that can locate sources of faint light from distant quasars and galaxies in a very young universe, regions around supermassive black-holes around the galaxies, and cosmic explosions.

Such spectroscopes were so far imported from abroad involved high costs. The 'Made in India' optical spectrograph named as Aries-Devasthal Faint Object Spectrograph & Camera (ADFOSC), indigenously designed and developed by Aryabhatta Research Institute of observational sciences (ARIES), Nainital, an autonomous institute of Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, is about 2.5 times less costly compared to the imported ones and can locate sources of light with a photon-rate as low as about 1 photon per second.

The spectroscope, the largest of its kind among the existing astronomical spectrographs in the country, has been successfully commissioned on the 3.6-m Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT), the largest in the country and in Asia, near Nainital Uttarakhand.

This instrument, a backbone of the 3.6-m DOT for observations of extremely faint celestial sources, uses a complex arrangement of several lenses made of special glasses, polished to better than 5-nanometer smoothness to produce sharp images of the celestial sky. Photons coming from distant celestial sources, collected by the telescope, are sorted into different colors by the spectrograph and are finally converted into electronic recordable signals using an in-house developed Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) camera cooled to an extremely low temperature of -120 0C. The total cost of this instrument is nearly Rs. 4 Crore.

Dr. Amitesh Omar, scientist at ARIES, led this project with a technical and scientific team, which together researched and developed various optical, mechanical, and electronics subsystems of the spectrograph and camera. The spectrograph is presently being used by astronomers from India and abroad to study distant quasars and galaxies in a very young universe, regions around supermassive black-holes around the galaxies, cosmic explosions like supernovae and highly energetic Gamma-ray bursts, young and massive stars, and faint dwarf galaxies.

"The indigenous efforts to build complex instruments like ADFOSC in India is an important step to become 'Aatmanirbhar' in the field of astronomy & astrophysics," said Prof. Dipankar Banerjee, Director, ARIES.

Expertise from various national institutes, organizations, including the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and some micro-small-medium-enterprises, were involved to review and build parts of the instrument serving as an example of effective collaboration. With this expertise, ARIES now plans to commission more complex instruments such as spectro-polarimeter and high spectral resolution spectrograph on the 3.6-m Devasthal telescope in the near future.

Source Link : https://pib.gov.in/
Date : 2021-03-03

Innovation have potential to diagnosis multiple diseases earlier

Scientists have developed a new technique to measure DNA modifications that can have applications in early diagnosis of multiple diseases like Cancer, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s diseases.

Alteration in DNA affects their expression and functions. DNA controls cell survival through the genetic code as well as via modifications to its structure. There is a demand for techniques with very high resolution to measure such modifications of DNA structures and observe and understand the molecular mechanisms associated with it to track rare diseases.

The novel nanopore-based platform developed by the scientists can directly measure such modifications or branched DNA properties with the single-molecule resolution even with extremely low amounts of sample.

The platform and associated analysis techniques developed by a team of scientists led by Professor Gautam Soni from Raman Research Institute, an autonomous Institute funded by the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India can quantitatively assess the distribution of supercoiled branches on DNA plasmids (DNA molecule outside the chromosome). This research work done by researchers Sumanth Kumar, Koushik S., and Dr. Soni has been recently published in the journal ‘Nanoscale’.

The measurement principle of the novel platform is analogous to the Archimedes principle. Individual analyte molecules are driven through a nanopore under an applied voltage, which, during translocation, results in a tiny electrical blip. Charges excluded by the analyte (supercoiled DNA) in the nanopore is directly proportional to the volume of the particle and is directly measured as the current change. This method utilizes extremely low amounts of sample and can measure DNA structural changes ranging to a few nanometers resolution in the axis perpendicular to the translocation and few tens of nanometers along the translocation axis.

Further optimization of the technique can help in the development of portable nano-bio sensors for detection and quantification of protein aggregates and cell-free DNA or nucleosomes. This may help in the early diagnosis of many diseases like Cancer, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s diseases. Currently, researchers at RRI are also exploring applications of this method for virus detection.

Source Link : https://pib.gov.in/
Date : 2021-02-24

Scientists develop a new molecule that could treat Alzheimer?s

Scientists have developed a small molecule that disrupts the mechanism through which neurons become dysfunctional in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The molecule could be a potential drug candidate to halt or cure the leading cause of dementia (70-80%) worldwide.

In the Alzheimer's brain, abnormal levels of naturally forming protein clump together to form plaques that collect between neurons and disrupt cell function. This is caused by production and deposition of the amyloid peptide (Aβ) that accumulates in the central nervous system. The multifactorial nature of Alzheimer's disease (AD) attributed to multifaceted amyloid toxicity has kept researchers from developing effective treatment.

A team of scientists led by Professor T. Govindaraju from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, designed and synthesized a set of novel small molecules and identified a lead candidate which they found could reduce the toxicity of Amyloid Beta (Aβ) toxicity.

The detailed studies established the molecule called TGR63 as the lead candidate to rescue neuronal cells from amyloid toxicity. Remarkably, the molecule was also found to reduced amyloid burden in the cortex and hippocampus, or a complex part embedded deep into the temporal lobe, thereby reversing cognitive decline. This research has been published recently in the journal Advanced Therapeutics.

Currently available treatments provide only temporary relief, and there are no approved drugs that directly act on the disease mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease. Thus, there is an unmet need to develop drug candidates to halt or cure Alzheimer's disease.

Mice brain affected with Alzheimer's disease when treated with TGR63 showed a significant reduction of amyloid deposits, validating its therapeutic efficacy. The mice also showed reduction of learning deficiency, memory impairment, and cognitive decline as revealed by distinct behavioural tests. These key attributes have validated the potential of TGR63 as a promising drug candidate for the treatment of AD.

AD severely affects the patients, families, caregivers and hence is a major societal and economic burden globally. The novel drug candidate TGR63 developed by the JNCASR team has potential as a promising drug candidate for AD treatment.

Source Link : https://pib.gov.in/
Date : 2021-02-24

New material found can efficiently convert waste heat to electricity

Scientists have found a new Lead (Pb) free material which can efficiently convert waste heat to power our small home equipment and automobiles.

Thermoelectric energy conversion allows generation of electrical voltage when one end of a material is heated while keeping the other side cold. Finding an efficient material to realize this scientific principle has been a daunting task for scientists. It entails fitting in three seemingly different properties into a single material-- high electrical conductivity of metals, high thermoelectric sensitivity of semiconductors, and low thermal conductivity of glasses.

Most efficient thermoelectric materials developed by scientists so far use Lead (Pb) as a major constituent element, restricting their use for mass-market applications.

Scientists from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bengaluru, an autonomous institution of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India led by Prof. Kanishka Biswas have now identified a lead-free material called Cadmium (Cd) doped Silver Antimony Telluride (AgSbTe2) which can efficiently allow recovery of electricity from ‘waste heat’ marking a paradigm shift in the thermoelectric puzzle. They have reported this major breakthrough in the journal Science.

Prof. Kanishka Biswas and his group doped (internally introduced) Silver Antimony Telluride with Cadmium (Cd) and used an advanced electron microscopy technique to visualize the resultant ordering of atoms in nanometer scale. The nanometer-scale atomic ordering scatters phonons that carries heat in a solid and enhances electrical transport by delocalizing the electronic state in the material.

Previously reported state of the art material is exhibiting the thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) in the range 1.5-2 in the mid-temperature range (400-700 K). The team reported a record increase in thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) to 2.6 at 573 K, which can provide the heat to electrical energy conversion efficiency to 14 %. Prof. Biswas is now trying to commercialize the high-performance thermoelectric materials and devices; in collaboration with TATA steel where lots of waste heat is generated in steel power plant.

This work is supported by Swarna-Jayanti fellowship and project fund from Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) and Department of Science & Technology (DST), India, along with support from New Chemistry Unit (NCU) & International Centre for Materials Science (ICMS), JNCASR, Bangalore.

For more details, Prof. Kanishka Biswas (biswas.kanishka@gmail.com; kanishka@jncasr.ac.in) can be contacted.]

Source Link : https://pib.gov.in/
Date : 2021-02-23

News

Scientists develop composite wrapper that can extend shelf ..

Scientists develop composite wrapper that can extend shelf life of fruits

August 10, 2021 (New Delhi)

Indian scientists have developed a composite paper made of carbon (graphene oxide) loaded with preservatives that can be used as wrappers to help extend the shelf-life of fruits, the Department of Science and Technology said on Monday.

Unlike the present technology, where preservatives are adsorbed by the fruit, causing chronic toxicity, the wrapper releases the preservative only when needed. The wrapper can be reused, which is not possible with the present technology.

Fruits are highly perishable. Hence 50 per cent of fruits produced are wasted, causing huge losses. Conventional preservation relies on coating the preservative with the resin, wax, or edible polymer, which may cause chronic health problems.

To address this problem, a team of researchers led by P S Vijayakumar from the Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Mohali, an autonomous body under the DST, looked for an alternative that could be generated from waste and would not lead to adsorption of preservatives in the fruit.

The activated graphene oxide-loaded molecules are loaded with preservatives. This high preservative-loaded graphene oxide, when cast into a paper used for fruit wrapping, ensures that the fruit is not loaded with toxic preservatives.

When the fruit over-ripens or gets infested by pathogens, the acidity increases by the secretion of acids. Oxalic acids trigger the release of preservatives to protect the fruit from decay. Otherwise, the preservative stays with the carbon wrapper.

To develop this non-toxic and reusable wrapping paper, the team allowed the carbon matrix to incubate with the preservative. After the incubation for 24 hours at room temperature, the resultant was washed several times to remove extra preservatives.

Finally, this carbon-preservative composite was cast into paper.

This work has been published in the journal 'ACS applied materials and interface'.

"Already waste-derived carbon materials are known to harbour huge amounts of organic molecule loading. Hence, the preservative loaded carbon has been prepared and cast into paper for fruit preservation. Increasing the capacity of carbon to hold organic molecules helped us to develop this product," said Vijayakumar.

This novel product can benefit the farmers and the food industry by extending the shelf-life of fruits. Using this wrapper for the fruit will also ensure that the customer gets healthy quality fruits as we have found improvement in the phenol content, he said.

Production of this graphene fruit wrapper requires only the carbon produced from the heating of biomass, hence it will also benefit in biomass consumption and employment generation.

Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

Scientists develop soft robots from waste onion peels..

Scientists develop soft robots from waste onion peels

August 12, 2021 (New Delhi)

Using porous carbon nanoparticles from waste onion peels, a team of scientists have developed soft robotic actuators with enhanced photomechanical capacity, the Department of Science and Technology said on Tuesday.

The actuators can act as efficient traps for illuminating low-power near-infrared (NIR) light and can convert a control signal into mechanical motion with bioengineering applications such as drug delivery, wearable and assistive devices, prostheses, and even artificial organs.

Soft robots or actuators consisting of rubber-like polymer with embedded nanomaterial, which convert a source of energy to mechanical motion, have been gaining much interest with targeted applications in areas, including bio-medical, military, and remote space operations.

Generation of predesigned motion facilitated by their flexibility, affordability, and easy customisation are the main reasons for such interest. The high thermal conductivity of these nanoforms results in rapid distribution of the heat generated locally by thermal and photo-thermal stimuli, the DST said.

To take these actuators to the next level of development, heat traps can be created to capture and contain the generated heat for slightly longer durations such that the achieved photomechanical actuation can be enhanced.

"A team led by prof. S Krishna Prasad at the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), Bengaluru, has realised such a possibility by utilising porous carbon nanoparticles (PCNs)," the DST said.

In the research work recently published in the Journal of Nanostructure in Chemistry, the porous nano-carbons (PCN) prepared from waste onion peels by Gurumurthy Hegde at the BMS College of Engineering in Bengaluru, it added.

The specific surface area of the high porosity PCNs were efficient traps for the illuminating low-power near-infrared (NIR) light resulting in the film comprising PCNs and PDMS achieving large magnitude (multi-mm) actuation with fast (sub-second) responses. These features are seldom obtained in single-layer films containing any other carbon nanostructure. The researchers attribute the heat-trapping capability to the manner in which the PCN is prepared.

Pragnya Satapathy, a senior research fellow, said, "Exhaustive measurements performed show that the photothermal conversion efficiency and the heat-trapping capability is seen to be strongly correlated with the pyrolysis temperature employed for PCN preparation, and thus is an effective control parameter."

As a value addition, the team also found with an additional ultrathin (30 nm) gold layer, the actuation magnitude could be more than doubled, and more importantly, bidirectional photo-controlled face-sensitive movement was realised. As a novel application-oriented demonstration of the process, the team fabricated a near-infrared-driven electrical switch, which could activate LED circuits and could be used for other similar applications, it added.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/

Global S&T Research and Initiative..

Global S&T Research and Initiative

August 10, 2021 (New Delhi)

The Ministry of Science and Technology, through Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) have played a key role in developing global S&T partnerships in critical areas including energy, water, health and astronomy. India has key partnerships in the emerging areas of Science and Technology and supporting Research and Development focused to address the India specific issues related to critical areas in energy, water, health and astronomy. Major missions have been launched in the mutually agreed areas of Global Interest through regular mode and under Public Private Partnerships. All Departments under the Ministry have dedicated Programme Divisions supporting Innovations, Research Development and Demonstration (R, D & D) Projects and Capacity Building in the flagged Areas. India is a partner in many multilateral initiatives addressing global challenges such as clean energy through Mission Innovation, Anti Microbial Resistance through Global AMR Research and Development (R&D) Hub, Grand Challenges India and others. India has emerged as a key mover of global S&T partnerships in critical areas to make the world a better and more scientific place to live in.

The Mission Innovation (MI) is a global initiative of 22 countries and the European Commission (on behalf of the European Union) catalyzing investment in research, development and demonstration to make clean energy affordable, attractive and accessible for all. Mission Innovation was launched during 21st Conference of the Parties (COP 21) in November 2015, in presence of Hon?ble Prime Minister, India along with world leaders. Department of Biotechnology is the nodal agency for coordinating national efforts in clean energy R, D & D and implementing various activities in close collaboration with DST and other line ministries. India, During Phase I played crucial role in MI Activities at global level by participating through DBT, DST and CSIR in eight Innovation Challenges and co-leading three challenges (Smart Grids, Off-Grid access to Electricity and Sustainable Biofuels). India has set up Clean Energy International Incubation Center to provide support to start-ups for providing the most impactful clean energy solutions for the societal good.

Building on success of last five year?s joint efforts, India along with other MI members has also agreed to continue its commitment for phase 2.0 for another 5 years through the Missions and Platforms for translating knowledge into deployable solutions.

The Government of India has taken up strong national and international research programs to address COVID-19 related challenges, primarily focused on basic research, diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines development in close collaboration with industries and start-up companies. The pandemic has provided a unique opportunity for India to harness the indigenous bio-manufacturing capacities for the global good. Considering the availability of a safe and efficacious vaccine for COVID-19 for effective control of the pandemic, the Government of India is supporting vaccine development and manufacturing activities through both national efforts and international partnerships. Currently, in India, 03 vaccine candidates for COVID-19 have been approved for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). Besides these, about 04 vaccine candidates are in clinical stage of development and 01 candidate is in advanced pre-clinical stage of development. Many other vaccine candidates by industry and academia are in pre-clinical and early stages of development. India is one of the few countries in the world which has a promising pipeline of vaccine candidates of different platforms in various stages of clinical development. Under the Partnerships for Advancing Clinical Trials (PACT) initiative, Department of Biotechnology (DBT) partnered closely with the Ministry of External Affairs for strengthening clinical trial capacities in neighboring countries. DST is making Interventions on Yoga and Meditation on mental health of students, healthcare workers and senior citizens during the pandemic. Yoga-based rehabilitation program for COVID-19 patients etc. are some of the unique engagements of India in comparison to other countries in tackling the pandemic. CSIR has supported projects for development of the needed Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) molecules for standardizing the process, scale-up and establishing production line of these molecules for the development of Vaccines for COVID-19. Apart from this, many bilateral and multilateral collaborative joint calls for COVID-19 across multiple platforms have been undertaken.

This information was given by Minister of State (I/C) for M/o Science & Technology and M/o Earth Sciences, Shri Jitendra Singh in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.

Source: https://pib.gov.in/

Technologies offer innovative solutions to water-related pr..

Technologies offer innovative solutions to water-related problems like clean drinking water & flood management

March 11, 2021 (N. Delhi)

Innovative technologies by an IIT Kharagpur-based center of technological excellence focusing on water purification have helped deliver clean and safe drinking water and also manage floods in several states across the country.

An efficient, low-cost, nano-filtration-based technology by The Centre for Technological Excellence in Water Purification (CTEWP) housed in IIT Kharagpur has ensured access to safe and clean drinking water free of heavy metals for 25,000 people in three different locations in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

The prototype of the highly compact vertical modular nanofiltration membrane system designed for removal of heavy metals from the groundwater was developed by the Membrane Separations Laboratory, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), with support from the Department of Science and Technology (DST) Water Technology Initiative (WTI). With a capacity of 100 - 300 Litre per hour(L/h), the system based on a membrane technically called hydrophilized polyamide membrane removes heavy metals such as Iron from groundwater. It consists of pumps that force water first through a prefilter assembly to remove suspended solids, color, and odour and then spiral wound membrane modules that separate heavy metals. It gives purified permeate of reasonable total dissolved solids (TDS) devoid of contaminants such as Iron, Arsenic, or excess hardness. Ultraviolet light is provided at the end to disinfect any pathogens that may be present in the tank or pipelines.

The water that children of a primary school in North Guwahati, Assam, drank was highly contaminated with Iron, high COD, and emanated a foul smell. Now with access to clean drinking water from a water treatment plant (300 L/h) developed by IIT Guwahati installed in the school, the students of Lathiabagicha Primary School are relieved. This plant was designed and fabricated based on chemical less electrocoagulation technique. Supported by DST, it is capable of treating Total Soluble Solvent (TSS), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Iron and Arsenic from contaminated drinking water to below BIS limit. More than 120 students of the school, as well as the villagers of Lathiabagicha (more than 500), are now assured that quenching their thirst will not affect their health. The treated water is also used for cooking mid-day meals in the school.

The CSIR-IICT's team has also developed a simple, inexpensive, hand pump operated hollow fibre ultrafiltration system that is easy to operate, has high mobility, occupies less space, and is lightweight. The technology supported by DST was based on membranes called polyethersulfone hollow fibers. The pressure generated by the hand pump to transport floodwater into the membrane module providing a driving force to facilitate the permeation of clarified and disinfected water through the porous membrane, while a small chlorine cartridge installed at the membrane outlet leaches free chlorine to tackle any secondary contamination.A total of 24 water plants were installed during recent floods in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, Bihar, Odisha, and West Bengal to provide clean and safe drinking water to 50,000 people.

The solutions by the centre for water-related problems ranging from contamination by heavy metals to flood-related water problems would comprehensively help tackling health and disaster management challenges.

Source: https://pib.gov.in/

Technologies offer innovative solutions to water-related pr..

Technologies offer innovative solutions to water-related problems like clean drinking water & flood management

March 11, 2021 (N. Delhi)

Source: https://pib.gov.in/

Metal rich environment crucial for light giant planets, but..

Metal rich environment crucial for light giant planets, but not necessary for heavy giant ones

March 11, 2021 (N. Delhi)

Far away from our little home in the solar system, planets called exo-planets orbit stars similar to the Sun, forming their own stellar system. Scientists studying exo-planets found that while a metal-rich environment of host stars is vital for the formation of Jupiter-type light, but giant planets; it is not necessary for the long orbit heavy giant planets. This study which explores connections between the planet and host star properties, can help in understanding how planets form and evolve at large orbital distances.

With more than 4300 planets discovered till date, it has become essential to characterize the exo-planets in terms of their various properties. Correlation between star and planet properties can provide vital clues about the possible formation and evolution scenarios. Stars are largely made of Hydrogen and Helium with a small fraction of other elements. In astronomical lingo, elements heavier than Hydrogen and Helium are collectively called as metals. Metal content is an important parameter of the star, and there is a consensus that planets (small or large) are more likely to occur around metal-rich stars. Although the stellar metallicity and planet occurrence rates for close-by systems have been investigated by many research groups, properties of stellar hosts of exo-planets, especially those located at large orbital distances, are not very well studied.

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, investigated the host star properties for the directly imaged exo-planets to understand various formation scenarios for these wide orbit celestial objects.

While earlier, scientists studying the short-orbit exo-planets had found that a host star with a metal-rich environment provides the favourable condition for formation of Jupiter-type low-mass giant planets, the new study published in the Astronomical Journal suggests that this is not necessarily the case for the long orbit high-mass giant planets discovered by the direct imaging technique. This finding seems consistent with an existing model called the core accretion model of planet formation. For planet mass greater than mass of Jupiter, the large scatter in metallicity distribution suggests that metallicity might not play a significant role in the formation of these celestial objects. This means there is no single dominating mechanism for planet formation at wider orbits. Planets in remote orbits could form either by core accretion process or gravitational instability.

Source: https://pib.gov.in/

Comprehensive gateway of STI information on SERB supported ..

Comprehensive gateway of STI information on SERB supported projects

March 11, 2021 (N. Delhi)

A comprehensive gateway of real-time STI information and knowledge can now forge a strong scientist-scientist, and science-society connect.

A portal that can help retrieve real-time information about research support provided by the Science and Engineering Board (SERB), the premier agency for planning, promoting, and funding of internationally competitive research in emerging areas, has been developed.

The portal called 'SERB – PRoject Information System & Management (SERB – PRISM)' developed by SERB, a Statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), was launched by Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Chairman, SERB, & Secretary, DST, recently, through an e-platform.

Speaking on this occasion, Prof Sharma suggested that the portal should be linked with important sectors such as water, energy, and climate as well as with Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR).

SERB-PRISM provides a platform which makes project details, research outcomes, facilities created, and their achievements originating from SERB funding accessible while allowing researchers to look at research trends, learn about cutting-edge science, locate critical equipment in their vicinity and help seek collaborations across disciplines.

Prof. Sandeep Verma, Secretary, SERB, highlighted the salient features of SERB-PRISM and its utility in the context of democratization of R&D funding trends since the inception of SERB.

This portal is designed to provide information regarding projects sanctioned by SERB from 2011 onwards, including funding details, status, research summary, and project output information such as publications and patents. Search facilities enables retrieval of information about projects by Name of PI, institution, state, keywords, as well as year-wise listing and equipment that has been sanctioned by SERB in these projects.

Source: https://pib.gov.in/

DST's programmes provide support for women from all walks &..

DST's programmes provide support for women from all walks & stages of life to boost their career in STEM fields

March 07, 2021 (N. Delhi)

Towards International Women's Day:

A group of schools students from the North East of India were star-struck. They were visiting Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, where they were meeting scientists from NASA and interacting with them.

The students were introduced to various opportunities in science and technology and emerging technologies like 3D printing, flexible electronics, design, polymers, solar cells, and so on during a programme called Vigyan Jyoti.

This new programme started by the Department of Science & Technology (DST) encourages young girls to take an interest in science. It had been running successfully in 50 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNV) since December 2019 and has now been expanded to 50 more JNVs for the year 2021-22.

Vigyan Jyoti activities include student-parent counselling, visit to labs and knowledge centres, interactions with role models, science camps, academic support classes, resource material distribution, and tinkering activities. Online academic support to students includes streaming of video classes, study materials, daily practice problems, and doubt clearing sessions.

Participation of women in STEM in India is limited right from the entry-level to the highest stage because of several societal and mindset obstacles. They also face challenges in moving up the academic and administrative ladder due to systemic barriers and structural factors.

DST's commitment to increase participation of women in STEM starts by tapping the young and talented girls and triggering their interest in science through the Vigyan Jyoti programme and then extends to creating an environment for women to flourish despite their challenges.

The Gender Advancement for Transforming Institutions (GATI) is an attempt to bring about gender balance in the institutions, the Consolidation of University Research for Innovation and Excellence in Women Universities (CURIE) targets to improve infrastructure in women-only universities and the Indo-U.S. Fellowship for Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (WISTEMM) exposes women to some of the best international scientific institutions for boosting their capability and enthusiasm.

GATI was launched for mentoring of institutions for transforming them towards more inclusive and sensitive approach towards women and to promote gender equity in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEMM) domains.

Support from the CURIE programme resulted in a significant increase of student enrolment at undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD levels in CURIE-supported universities. It has also enhanced the number of NET/GATE qualified students. Extramural funding has also been increased due to the presence of sophisticated labs, which resulted in publications in high impact factor journals. DST has also established an artificial intelligence lab in 6 CURIE beneficiary universities to foster AI innovations and set up AI-friendly infrastructure to prepare skilled manpower for the future.

The WISTEMM program in association with Indo-U.S. Science & Technology Forum (IUSSTF) has provided international exposure to several women scientists. Around 40 women scientists have visited leading institutions across the United States of America in two batches for furthering their research work and training in the state-of-the-art technologies related to their research.

DST's various women-exclusive schemes, with the mandate to bring gender parity in science and technology through various mechanisms, brings about support for women from all walks and stages of life to build and guide their career in STEM fields.

Source: https://pib.gov.in/

Dr. Harsh Vardhan launches "CSIR Floriculture Mission"..

Dr. Harsh Vardhan launches "CSIR Floriculture Mission"

March 04, 2021 (N. Delhi)

Dr Harsh Vardhan today exhorted scientists of CSIR laboratories across the country to develop the land available at each laboratory to be set up as a model under the "CSIR Floriculture Mission". Recently, CSIR Floriculture Mission has been approved for implementation in 21 States and Union Territories of India wherein available knowledgebase in CSIR Institutes will be utilized and leveraged to help Indian farmers and industry re-position itself to meet the import requirements. The Minister was addressing the gathering at the launch of "CSIR Floriculture Mission" through virtual mode in New Delhi today.

This Mission is being implemented in collaboration with Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Directorate of Floriculture; Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC); Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), Ministry of Commerce; Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd. (TRIFED); Fragrance and Flavour Development Centre (FFDC), Kannauj, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and Universities.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan said, "Farmers have little knowledge about floriculture which can give 5 times more return than the traditional crops. Floriculture has the potential to provide employment to a large number of people through nursery raising, floriculture farming, entrepreneurship development for nursery trade, value addition and export". The Minister pointed out, "Despite the fact that India has diverse agro-climatic and edaphic conditions, and rich plant diversity, it shares only 0.6 % of global floriculture market. At least 1200 million USD worth of floriculture products are being imported by India every year from different countries".

Dr. Harsh Vardhan highlighted,"Since 1953, CSIR has been developing new floral varieties and several value addition technologies. Through Floriculture Mission of CSIR, agro-technologies, new varieties and value addition technologies available with the CSIR institutions, efforts are being made to take these to farmers and entrepreneurs, and help them in multiplying their income". "Market linkage and trade issues will be solved with partnership of APEDA, state horticulture departments and TRIFED", he added. The convergence of Floriculture with Apiculture as envisaged in the mission will yield even greater benefits.

The CSIR Floriculture Mission is expected to create opportunity for entrepreneurship development in floriculture . Infusion of latest technologies in the field of floriculture can be successfully led by CSIR. The mission will focus on commercial floral crops, seasonal/annual crops, wild ornaments and cultivation of flower crops for honey bee rearing. Some of the popular crops include Gladiolus, Canna, Carnation, Chrysanthemum, Gerbera, Lilium, Marigold, Rose, Tuberose etc. The Indian floriculture market was worth Rs 15700 cr in 2018. The marketis projected to reach Rs47200 cr by 2024 during 2019-24.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan also launched CSIR's Societal Portal along with the Android App.This portal has been developed by CSIR Team with the help of MyGov Team. The Portal is to facilitate the public to submit the societal problems that can be resolved using S&T interventions. This is the first step in terms of seeking inputs on challenges and problems being faced by different stake holders in society.

The Minister asked the scientists to make it more people centric, solution science portal, accessible to all. Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that this portal should be the most-sought-after portal for people to express their problems and seek scientific solution to them.

Shekhar C. Mande, DG-CSIR and Secretary DSIR; Dr.TrilochanMohapatra, Secretary DARE, and DG, ICAR;Prof. S. K.Barik, Director, CSIR-NBRI, Lucknow;Dr.Vibha Malhotra Sawhney, Head, TMD-SeMI, CSIR; were present on the occasion while scientists and officials from various laboratories of CSIR, representatives and officials from KVIC, ICAR-Directorate of Floriculture; APEDA, Ministry of Commerce; TRIFED; FFDC, Kannauj, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and Universities joined the event online.

Source: https://pib.gov.in/

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