BioVoice News March2023 | Page 9

disruptive . Right now , NEPAH is circulating that – H5N1 bird flu in Spain that this avian virus can spread easily between people . Mosquito born chikungunya – 12000 cases and more than 20000 in Paraguay after Monkey Pox outbreak last year and Apollo virus in Uganda .” We learn to live this new era of epidemics and climate change . If we focus in innovation and collaboration – we can take on the challenge and even prevent the next pandemic ,” added Dr Hatchett .

Nation has lots of expectations from CSIR labs : Dr N . Kalaiselvi
The CSIR-One Week One Lab program organized by CSIR-CDRI from 13th to 18th February concluded in the presence of Dr . N . Kalaiselvi , Director General , CSIR and Secretary DSIR , Govt . of India . The program was initiated with unveiling of the original foundation stone of CSIR-CDRI which was laid by Pt . Jawaharlal Nehru , then the Prime Minister of India on 17th February 1951 in the Chattar Manzil Palace . Now this foundation stone has shifted to Institute ’ s New campus . Dr . N Kalaiselvi addressed the scientists and researchers , motivating them to do their best irrespective to what capacity they are working for the organization . She interacted with the scientists and visited some important Laboratories & Facilities ( NMR , X- Ray , Electron Microscopy , CBRS , Herbarium ). To strengthen the Institutional-Academia and Institutional-Industry collaborations , two MoU was signed with Manipal Academy of Higher
Education , Manipal and another with Themis Medicare Limited , Mumbai .
IIT Guwahati researchers produce cardiac proteins to fix a damaged heart
A research team from Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati led by Dr . Rajkumar P . Thummer , Assistant Professor , Department of Biosciences & Bioengineering , along with his research scholar , Krishna Kumar Haridhasapavalan , have developed a ‘ Recombinant Protein Toolbox ’ comprising of six special proteins , which can be used to convert healthy skin cells or any somatic cells from an adult human body into heart cells , specifically cardiomyocytes . The heart cells created using this toolbox can have the same function as the original heart cells and can be used to regenerate damaged heart tissues . Importantly , this toolbox can facilitate the generation of autologous heart cells in a lab . It is now well understood that a heart attack happens when a part of the heart is damaged .
AstraZeneca ’ s Durvalumab receives CDSCO approval in India
AstraZeneca India , a leading science-led biopharmaceutical company has announced additional indication approval from Central Drugs Standard Control Organization ( CDSCO ) for

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