• PU student researchers awarded for contribution to genome project
• Hitachi launches external storage solutions for the Indian market

• Green tea helps fight eye diseases
• International diamond grading facility launched at Surat

Scientists have discovered that green tea can help prevent glaucoma and other eye diseases. They have found that the healthful substances found in green tea - renowned for their powerful antioxidant and disease-fighting properties - do penetrate into tissues of the eye. The new study has documented how the lens, retina, and other eye tissues absorb these substances. Chi Pui Pang and colleagues pointed out that so-called green tea 'catechins' have been among a number of antioxidants thought capable of protecting the eye. Those include vitamin C, vitamin E, lutein, and zeaxanthin. Until now, however, nobody knew if the catechins in green tea actually passed from the stomach and gastrointestinal tract into the tissues of the eye. The researchers resolved that uncertainty in experiments with laboratory rats that drank green tea. Analysis of eye tissues showed beyond a doubt that eye structures absorbed significant amounts of individual catechins. The retina, for example, absorbed the highest levels of gallocatechin, while the aqueous humor tended to absorb epigallocatechin. The effects of green tea catechins in reducing harmful oxidative stress in the eye lasted for up to 20 hours. "Our results indicate that green tea consumption could benefit the eye against oxidative stress," the study concluded. The study appears in ACS' bi-weekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Courtesy: www.timesofindia.indiatimescom, April 22, 2010

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The project comprehensively maps the genome of mycobacterium tuberculosis

Two student researchers from the city have been honoured by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for their contribution to the Central government's Open Source Drug Discovery (OSDD) initiative, a path-breaking project to comprehensively map the genome of mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Panjab University students Hemant Verma and Geetika Mehta are among the 114 'best annotators' honoured by the CSIR. They were awarded at a function in New Delhi on Sunday, which was held to release results of the 'Connect 2 Decode' (C2D) project, aimed at re-annotating the biological and genetic information of Mtb.

Hemant and Geetika, enrolled in M.Sc, are students of the Centre for Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering at the Institute for Emerging Areas in Science and Technology, PU. Hemant learnt about the project in November 2009 while going through the CSIR website and informed Geetika about it. Of the 800 volunteers from across the world who registered for the project, 400 left after some time. From the remaining 400, 114 were chosen as 'best annotators' by the CSIR. While working on the project, these students put in two-three hours daily, painstakingly mapping the Mtb genes. "There are approximately 4,000 genes of the deadly pathogen, and we were given weekly targets relating to their functional interactions and pathways," Hemant, a resident of Sector-48, said. "It is for the first time in the country that the hierarchical research model was replaced with scientists and students worked together, using online tools to accomplish complex research tasks." Geetika, who lives in Sector 33, said gene-mapping was a valuable experience for them. The duo, who were given laptops by CSIR for their contribution, returned from Delhi on Monday. Dr G P S Raghava, head of the Bioinformatics Centre at the Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH), Chandigarh, was one of the coordinators of the project. "Our work is to identify genes that will be the right targets to administer the drug, and work on the chemicals that will effectively tackle mycobacterium tuberculosis," Dr Raghava, a world-renowned scientist who has worked in the field of bio-informatics and chemo-informatics for about 15 years, said. Two students of the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Mohali, were also among the 114 'best annotators'. Student researchers Gourja and Anup Shah are still in Delhi and could not be contacted.

Courtesy: www.indianexpress.com, April 14, 2010

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A state-of-the art laboratory to test and grade gemstones and fine jewellery was launched here Thursday. "The intent is to come closer to the manufacturers and polishers and extend technical expertise in the art of polishing and grading diamonds," said Roland Lorie, director of International Gemological Institute Worldwide, the world's largest supplier of rough diamonds, who inaugurated the laboratory. "The new facility will bring Surat closer to its final customers - Americans, Europeans and Asians," added Lorie. With more than 4,000 diamond polishing factories employing over 400,000 polishers, Surat exports Rs.72,184 crore worth of cut and polished diamonds annually. The Surat facility is the second lab in India devoted to diamond certification. It will offer a jewellery design programme, besides customised courses for diamond houses, jewellers and retailers.

Courtesy: www.zeenews.com, April 15, 2010

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Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) unveiled its range of external storage solutions for the Indian market. The new solutions are derived from Fabrik which Hitachi acquired last year. The new products include SimpleTOUGH portable USB drive, which Hitachi claims is the first water-resistant1 and shock-resistant2 external hard drive and the Hitachi X Series, the Hitachi XL Desktop Drive and Hitachi X Mobile Drive. "Quality and reliability are two of the biggest concerns of hard drive users nowadays. Built on the global strength of Hitachi, the Hitachi branded drives deliver simple, yet reliable, storage solutions to help people store and backup whatever digital content they care about, and have it available at the office, at home or on the road. Hitachi GST is committed to developing exciting new storage solutions to fulfill a range of consumer needs in today's fast-moving digital world," said Robert Chu, vice president, Asia Pacific, Hitachi GST. The Hitachi X Mobile Drive is available in 500 GB and 320 GB versions.

Courtesy: www.telecomtiger.com, April 13, 2010

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