BRSI News Letter Vol 9 (1), January 2012

News Letter
Volume 9, No 1 [January 2012]

Dear members, Greetings for New Year-2012! A report on VIII Convention of the Biotech Research Society: The VIII Convention of the Biotech Research Society, India (www.brsi.in) was organized by the National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, CSIR, jointly with Society as International Conference on New Horizons in Biotechnology at Hotel Residency Tower, Trivandrum during 21st to 24th November 2011. The conference aimed to bring together eminent scientists, engineers, industry experts and researchers from across the world to deliberate on global developments in the fields of Industrial Biotechnology, Medical Biotechnology, Environmental Biotechnology and Food & Agriculture Biotechnology. NHBT-2011 offered a stage for all the researchers working in the various thrust areas of Biotechnology to come together and deliberate on various important issues. The conference was participated and supported by various organisations of international importance such as International Forum on Industrial Bioprocesses (IFIBiop), International Organization for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Elsevier - UK, Thomson Reuters - USA, etc. and national organizations such as Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), State Committee on Science, Technology and Environment, Govt of Kerala, State Bank of Travancore, IX BRSI Convention The ninth Convention of the Biotech Research Society, India (www.brsi.in) will be held at Punjabi University, Patiala during November 21-23, 2012. Prof Ram Sarup Singh, Head, Biotechnology Department is its Convener. For details, please contact Prof Ram Sarup Singh at rssingh11@lycos.com. The conference discussed the cutting edge research areas in Biotechnology and Medicine across
Lighting of lamp by Dr Suresh Das, Director, NIIST during the Opening Session
In this issue.... A report on VIII BRSI Convention ...........................................1 Best Poster Award Winners............................ .....................3 Annual Award Winners and Fellows ....................................4 IX BRSI Convention .................................................................1 Glimpses of Board of Governors Meeting ...............................8 Glimpses of GB Meeting ...........................................................9 Members Forum ........................................................................9 Conferences/symposia schedules ..........................................10 Biotech News & R&D Round-up...............................................10 Drug headlines of 2011 ..........11 Top Science Scandals of 2011. ............... ........................13 Food Security and GM Crops ................................................22 Preventing Hunger 23 India-Agri Biotech Annual Report 2011 26 World Hunger Report 2011 ..26 Review article .........................................................................28
the world and eminent scientists and academicians provided lectures on the most recent advances in the field. The conference provided a common platform for industry and academia to focus on various issues and to develop possible linkages among them. It also served the purpose of global networking among them and helped in creating a nucleus of interface research. This would lead to various collaborative research among different scientific group across the world/country and serve the society.
BRSI News Letter Vol. 9 (1) January 2012
There were a total of about 575 participants, which included about 150 invitees and speakers and chairpersons. A total of 108 lectures were delivered in 30 parallel sessions and about 400 posters were presented in four poster sessions. There were about 110 overseas delegates, including about 70 invitees from United States, Canada, UK, Greece, Cyprus, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovakia, Russia, Finland, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Uganda, Nigeria, Mexico, Japan, Australia, Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia.
Distinguished guests on dais during the Opening session
Managers from Governmental agencies. This session offered an ideal stage for the young researchers to interact and share the experiences and needs of the Industry. It aimed to motivate the young researchers to plan their careers in biotech industries and also think of developing themselves as entrepreneurs. The opening session was addressed by Prof CG Dussap, Chairman, International Forum on Industrial Bioprocesses, France; Prof Charles Tweisgye, Chairman, International Organization of Biotechnology and Bioengineering; Prof P Gunasekaran, President, The Biotech Research Society, India; Dr Suresh Das, Director, NIIST-CSIR and Prof Ashok Pandey, Chairman, Organizing Committee. In addition, Dr K Madhavan Nampoothiri, the convener of the conference welcomed the delegates and also acknowledge the support provided by the organizations who extended financial support to the event. Dr Rajeev K Sukumaran, Co-Convener outlined the whole program and gave the details of scientific sessions. The Opening session witnessed the declaration of annual awards of the BRSI. These included Life Time Achievement Award to Prof Asis Datta, National Institute for Plant Genome Research, New Delhi, Industrial Medal Award to Dr RBN Prasad, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad, Women Scientist Award to Dr Jyoti P Jadhav, Shivaji University, Kolhapur and AU-CBT Excellence Award (for research scholars) to Mr Srikanth Sandeepam of Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad. Sri Piyush Palkhiwala, CMD, MAPS Enzymes Ltd, Ahmedabad was conferred Honorary Fellowship of the Society and Prof Rekha S Singhal, Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai; Prof D Das, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur; Dr AJ Varma, National Chemical Laboratory, Pune and Dr VK Garg, GJ University, Hisar were conferred as Fellow (FBRS) .
A glimpse of the delegates during breaks
The scientific program was divided into three parallel technical sessions focussing on different areas. There were two mini symposia addressing the currently relevant topics of Biofuels and on Probiotics & Functional Foods. Another major attraction of the event was the Industry Young Researcher interactive session. This session was specially for the young researchers who were encouraged to ask queries to eminent panellists from the Industry, including CEOs of leading biotech companies in India and Science
A glimpse of the Closing sessio
The conference had also cultural eves where the delegates enjoyed the classical dances of Punjab and Kerala presented by the research scholars of Punjabi University, Patiala and NIIST-CSIR, Trivandrum on 21st November and musical orchestra by Police Band of Kerala Police on 22nd November, followed by delightful singing by the delegates from various countries in Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Greek, Nigerian, Korean, Hindi-Marathi, and Malayalam.
CSIR, Trivandrum
Marina Mathew, Ashok Pandey & Rajeev Kumar Sukumaran Production of microbial cellulose by a bacterium isolated from fruit; Firdaus Jahan, Vinod Kumar, Garima Rawat & R.K. Saxena
Industrial Biotechnology
Ms Firdaus Jahan, Department of Microbiology, University of Delhi South Campus, New Delhi Ms Mrudula V. Ushasree, Biotechnology Division, National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, CSIR, Trivandrum Mr K Naresh, Bioengineering and Environmental Centre, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad
Single-step purification and immobilization of MBP-phytase fusion on starch agar beads: application in dephytination of soy milk; Mrudula V. Ushasree & Ashok Pandey
Dr Madhavan Nampoothiri, Convener addressing the delegates during the Closing session
Best Poster Awards Winners: To encourage the young

researchers, awards were being given for the best posters in various categories. These were declared in the closing session of the conference on 24 th November 2011 and the winners are as below:
Area Industrial Biotechnology Award winner Ms Garima Rawat, Department of Microbiology, University of Delhi South campus, New Delhi Title and authors Qualitative and quantitative screening of potent shikimic acid producing microorganisms; Garima Rawat, Priyanka Tripathi, Pinki Anand, Firdaus Jahan & R.K. Saxena Identification and Characterisation of a Glucose tolerant glucosidase from a novel fungus Aspergillus unguisNII 08123; Kuniparambil Rajasree, Gincy
Environmental Biotechnology
Functional role of anoxic microenvironment in comparison with aerobic and anaerobic conditions during azo dye degradation: Bioelectrochemical analysis; K Naresh, S Srikanth, P Suresh Babu and S Venkata Mohan Design of composting piles base on fundamentals of biological reactors engineering; P. RuizSnchez, G. RosasAlcantara, E. FavelaTorres, G. SaucedoCastaeda
Environmental Biotechnology
Ms Kuniparambil Rajasree, Centre for Biofuels, National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology-
Prof G. SaucedoCastaeda, Metropolitan Autonomous University, Dept.of Biotechnology, Iztapalapa Campus, Mexico Ms Gowri K, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of
Food & Agricultural Biotechnology
Prevention of hyperglycemia and oxidative stress in high-fat induced obese in C57/BL6j
Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur
mice by polysaccharides extract from Pleurotus sp.; Gowri, K., Sri Nurestri , A.M., Kuppusamy, U.R., Mahmood A.A., Vikineswary, S. A Reverse vaccinology approach for the identification of potential vaccine candidates from Leishmania spp.; John Lijo, John J Georrge & Kholia Trupti Predominance of genes responsible for resistance to multiple antimicrobials in E. coli; Gulshan Singh, Poornima Vajpayee, Chandra Bali Patel, Neetika Rani & Rishi Shanker
Medical Biotechnology
Mr John Lijo, Department of Bioinformatics, Christ College, Rajkot, Gujarat,
International. He is Chairman, All India Biotech Association (AIBA-WC) and members in several government and industries committee, including Federation of Industries, Gujarat Biotech Council, Entrepreneurs Development of India, Gujarat State Biotech Mission, etc. The Biotech Research Society is privileged to confer Honorary Fellow Award for the year 2011 to Sri Piyush Palkhiwala for his outstanding contributions for the growth and commercialization of Biotechnology in India. Fellow (FBRS): Professor Rekha S Singhal is currently Professor of Food Technology at the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai. Prof Singhal has been working in the area of food chemistry and biotechnology with special reference to carbohydrats, and on fermentative production and downstream processing of various biomolecules, ranging from enzymes to antibiotics, carotenoids and industrial biopolymers. Prof Singhal has co-authored one book, 20 book chapters, 31 review papers, three patents and 210 research papers in peer reviewed national and international journals. She has been a recipient of young scientist award from AFST (I) (1995), Fellow of Maharashtra Academy of Sciences (2005) and Fellow of AFST (I) (2009), besides prizes for best poster and paper presentations at several conferences. Her works on the fermentative production of many therapeutic molecules such as clavulanic acid, compactin, cyclosporin A, glutaminase, serratiopeptidase, poly--glutamic acid and compactin has been widely acclaimed. Similarly, her work on supercritical carbon dioxide extraction of secondary metabolites of commercial interest such as lycopene, -linolenic acid, zeaxanthin and CoQ10 from microbial biomass as well as microencapsulation of spice oleoresins and neutraceuticals derived from fermentation origin is noteworthy and has attracted attention from industry and academicians alike. The Biotech Research Society is privileged to honour Professor Rekha S Singhal as Fellow of the Society (FBRS) for the 2011 for her outstanding contributions in Food Biotechnology. Fellow (FBRS): Professor Debabrata Das received PhD degree from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. After his post-doctoral training at University of Utah, USA, he joined Indian Institute of Technology at Kharagpur in April 1988. Currently, Dr. Das is Professor in the Department of Biotechnology. His research is focused mainly on the development of biohydrogen production processes.
Medical Biotechnology
Mr Gulshan Singh, Environmental Microbiology, CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow
To sum up, NHBT-2011 was not only educative to all, but also bridged the gap between the scientific communities across the world and helped in developing collaboration and networking. Winners of BRSI Annual Awards for the year 2010 and Fellows for 2011 Honorary Fellow: Sri Piyush S Palkhiwala is Chairman & Managing Director, Maps Enzymes Limited at Ahmedabad. Mr. Palkhiwala received a graduate honors degree in Science from MG Science Institute, Ahmedabad and MTech degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. His areas of interests are enzyme processing (fermentation products), biochemical research & development, equipment design, isolation of cultures and research in genetic engineering, and enzyme biotechnology. His indigenous efforts in biotechnology have given global recognition to Indian Industry and Maps Enzymes. His unique vision has led Maps India transition from an industrial enzymes company to an integrated biotech company. Mr Palkhiwala is the recipient of the Best Entrepreneur of the Year Award, 1994-95 from the Rotary Club
bagasse to cellulose. Dr Varma has likewise made cutting edge contributions to the development of novel strategies for converting non-degradable hydrocarbon polymers into biodegradable polymers. He is on the Editorial Board of two international journals, and is an ICS-UNIDO expert group member for environmentally degradable polymers. He has authored over 60 peerreviewed publications. The Biotech Research Society is privileged to honour Dr A J Varma with Fellow of the Society (FBRS) for the year 2011 for his outstanding contributions in Industrial Biotechnology.
Dr Das has made cutting edge contributions to the general knowledge of the scientific community regarding improvement of biohydrogen production by optimization of different operational parameters. He has been awarded IAHE Akira Mitsui award in 2008 and DBT Overseas Associateship in 2000 for his hydrogen research. He has authored more than 90 peer-reviewed publications. The Biotech Research Society is privileged to honour Professor Debabrata Das as Fellow of the Society (FBRS) for the year 2011 for his outstanding contributions in Biohydrogen Production Technology.
Fellow (FBRS): Dr AJ Varma received PhD degrees from the State University of New York and from Syracuse University, USA. After post-doctoral research in USA, he joined the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, where he now heads the Natural & Biodegradable Polymers Group. His research is focused on the development of technologies using biomass as a green organic raw material to produce series of chemicals, polymers, and fuels utilizing a concept known as biorefinery. He has been awarded the VASVIK AWARD for his commercialized research on sugarcane
Fellow (FBRS): Dr Vinod Kumar Garg received PhD degree from CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar. After that, he joined CCS Haryana Agricultural University in 1992. Currently, Dr. Garg is Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar. His research is focused on solid waste management and wastewater treatment technologies. Dr Garg has made significant contributions to impart scientific knowledge to the community regarding solid waste management, especially vermicomposting. He has authored about 120 peerreviewed publications. The Biotech Research Society is privileged to honour Dr Vinod Kumar Garg with Fellow of the Society (FBRS) for the year 2011 for his outstanding contributions in Environmental Biotechnology. Life Time Achievement Award: Professor Asis Datta is the Professor of Eminence at the National Institute of Plant Genome Research, New Delhi. He has been Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Founder Director of National Institute of Plant Genome Research (2002-2008).
Professor Asis Datta has done pioneering work in the field of molecular biology and genetic engineering. His work on the pathogenic yeast, Candida albicans as a model system opened up the possibility of designing a therapy to combat the candidiasis. In addition, the scientific/research contributions have been vital in areas of food/nutritional security and use of genetically modified food..His relentless effort throughout has established a vibrant school of research on structure function-application of eukaryotic genes, which led to the establishment of the National Institute Plant Genome Research, Indias first and only one research centre of its kind. Prof Datta is recipient of several prestigious awards such as Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Award, Guha Memorial Award, Sir Amulya Rattan Oration Award, First GD Birla Award for Science and Technology, FICCI Award for R&D in Life Sciences, Om Bhasin Award for Science and Technology, Third World Academy of Sciences Award in Biology, Ranbaxy Award in Medical Sciences, Dr BR Ambedkar Centenary Award for Excellence in Biomedical Research, etc. He is a Fellow of several academies, including the Third World of Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, Indian Academy of Science, and National Academy of Sciences, India. Professor Datta was conferred Padma Shree in 1999 and Padma Bhusan in 2008. The Biotech Research Society is privileged to confer Life Time Achievement Award for the year 2010 to Professor Asis Datta for his outstanding contributions in Plant Biotechnology. Industrial Medal Award: Dr R B N Prasad is presently working as Chief Scientist and Head, Centre for Lipid Research, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad.
Dr Prasad received his Ph D from Osmania University and carried out Postdoctoral Research at Koln University, Germany. He has received several awards and noted amongst are CSIR Technology Prize and TDB National Award for Best Commercialized Indigenous Technology. Dr Prasad has made significant contributions in the area of Lipid Science & Technology making use of biotechnological options for processing and value addition to vegetable oils. He has about 100 publications and 35 patents to his credit. The Biotech Research Society is privileged to honour Dr R B N Prasad with Industrial Medal Award of the Society for the year 2010 for his outstanding contributions in Bioprocess Technology.
Woman Scientist Award: Dr Mrs Jyoti P Jadhav is currently working as an Associate Professor and Head of Department of Biotechnology at Shivaji University, Kolhapur. She has received her doctorate degree in Biochemistry in 2000 and since then she has made several noteworthy contributions in the areas of bioremediation, biotransformation of L-Dopa and melanin and plant biotechnology. Dr. Mrs. Jadhavs
research also encompasses the study of enzymes for the predication of metabolic pathways for textile dye degradation followed by cytotoxicity and genotoxicity assays to analyze toxic nature of dye and its degradation metabolites. She has authored more than 50 publications in journals and books. The Biotech Research Society is privileged to honour Dr Mrs Jyoti P. Jadhav with Woman Scientist Award of the Society for the year 2010 for her outstanding contributions in Environmental Biotechnology.
research scholar and contribution in the fields of renewable bioenergy generation and sustainable biotechnology.
NHBT-2011 was participated and supported by Applied Biosystems Avio Enterprises, Trivandrum Biorad India Pvt. Ltd. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India, New Delhi Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India, New Delhi Elsevier, UK Eppendorf India Pvt. Ltd., Chennai Evolva Biotech Private Limited, Chennai Gynaxy Scientific Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi International Forum on Industrial Bioporcess International Organization of Biotechnology and Bioengineering Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment, Trivandrum Labmate (Asia) Pvt. Ltd., Chennai Mar Athanasios College For advanced Studies, Thiruvalla Metrohm India Ltd., Chennai Riviera Glass Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai Riya Travels, Trivandrum Scigenics (India) Pvt. Ltd., Chennai SciGenom labs Pvt. Ltd., Cochin SMSM Institute, Trivandrum Spectra Labs, Trivandrum Spinco Biotech Pvt. Ltd., Chennai
AU-CBT Excellence Award: Mr Srikanth Sandipam is a Senior Research Fellow at Bioengineering and Environmental Centre, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, CSIR under the research supervision of Dr S Venkata Mohan. His research is mainly focused on the interfacial areas of biochemistry and electrochemistry aspects of renewable energy generation. Shrikanth has been successful in applying electro-analytical techniques to understand the metabolic activities of the biocatalyst. Output from his work has significantly contributed in understanding the bioprocess and metabolic shifts during biohydrogen and bioelectricity generation using wastewater. His research was disseminated in the form of 19 publications and one book chapter. Mr Srikanth is a recipient of Dr RN Sharma memorial Best Junior Research Fellow (JRF) Award for the year 2008 and Best Business Plan Award as Group Leader/Technology Manager for biohydrogen commercial plant during Technology Led Entrepreneurship Programme organized by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore in 2011. The Biotech Research Society is previleged to honour Mr. Srikanth Sandipam with AU-CBT Excellene Award for the year 2010 for his significant performance as
State Bank of Travancore, Pappanamcode, Trivandrum Thomson Reuters, US University of Ulster, UK Wiley-Blackwell, UK Wisdom Book Distributors, Mumbai
The organizers express their gratitude to these organizations and agencies.
Glimpses of the Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Society held on 20th November 2011 at 1500 h at Trivandrum
Glimpses of the Meeting of the General Body of the Society held on 20th November 2011 at 1800 h at Trivandrum
Members Forum Professor Gopal Reddy, Fellow of BRSI has been conferred the AMI-Louis Pasteur Award 2011. The award has been given for the significant contribution made by Prof Reddy in the area of microbial fermentations.
Dr Jyoti Prakash Tamnag, Fellow of BRSI has been appointed as the First Registrar of the Sikkim Central University.
Dr S Venkata Mohan, Fellow of BRSI has been inducted as Fellow of Andhra Pradesh Academy of Sciences (APAS) on 24th December 2011 at CSIR-IICT, Hyderabad by Dr V P Dimri, President-APAS and Dr Ch Mohan Rao, Director, CSIR-CCMB, Hyderabad.
CONFERENCES/SYMPOSIA SCHEDULES
IX Convention of the Biotech Research Society, India (BRSI) and International Conference on Industrial Biotechnology, November 21-23, 2012, Patiala; for details please contact Prof R S Singh at rssingh11@lycos.com 7th Annual International Symposium on Environment (Energy), May 14-17, 2012, Athens, Greece; details can be found at www.atiner.gr/environment.htm 3rd International Conference on Industrial Biotechnology (IBIC2012), June 24-27, 2012, Palermo, Italy; details can be found at www.aidic.it/IBIC2012 3rd International Symposium on Antimicrobial Peptides: Today knowledge and future applications, June, 13-15, 2012, Lille (Villeneuve d'Ascq), France; details can be seen at http://www.amp2012.fr CRETE 2012- 3rd International Conference on Hazardous and Industrial Wastes Management, September 12-14, 2012; Chania (Crete) Greece; details can be found at www.hwm1.tuc.gr CESE-2012: The 5th International Conference on the Challenges in Environmental Science and Engineering, Melbourne, Australia; September 13-16, 2011. For details please visit cese-conference.org or contact Dr Jega Jegatheesan jega.j@deakin.edu.au 15th International Biotechnology Symposium (IBS) and Exhibition, September 16 - 21, 2012, Daegue, Korea; details can be found at www.ibs2012.org 12th International Symposium on Biosafety of Genetically Modified Organisms (ISBGMO 2012) conference to be held in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, between 16-20 September 2012. For details, please visit http://www.isbgmo.com/ EFB Conferences schedules: Date 68 February 2012 EFB Events Applied Synthetic Biology in Europe Venue Barcelona Spain
10 - 12 April 2012 2 - 4 May 2012 10 - 13 May 2012 23 - 26 September 2012 Date
Environmental Microbiology & Biotechnology Conference 2012 9th International Conference on Protein Stabilisation. Microbial Stress: from Molecules to Systems II European Congress on Biotechnology. BIOCROSSROADS Other Events
Bologna Italy Lisbon Portugal Belgirate Italy Istanbul Turkey Venue
February 29 Pichia 2012 Conference - Alpbach/Tyrol March 3 ACIB. Austria 2012 26 29 February 2012 19 - 22 March 2012 Hands-On Pichia Lab Course - ACIB. 8th World Meeting on Pharmaceutics, Biopharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Tech. Graz, Styria Austria Istanbul Turkey
Dear Members, From this issue of the News Letter, we are starting the publication of research and review articles in it. Those willing to submit any article should contact the editor, Prof Ashok Pandey by email at ashokpandey56@yahoo.co.in
BIOTECH NEWS AND R&D ROUNDUP

The Biotech Companies that Failed in 2011: A roundup of eight biotech companies that didnt make it through this years continuing tough economic times - In an incredibly competitive environment, with venture capital funds parsed more carefully than ever, FierceBiotech reported on eight innovative biotech companies that closed their doors recently.
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Heres the list (in alphabetical order), and an account of why they bit the dust.
Company: Advanced Life Sciences- Founded: 1998 Focus: Treatments for infection, cancer and respiratory illness - While Advanced Life Sciences was waiting on
the US Food and Drug Administrations response on an antibiotic treatment for community-acquired pneumonia in 2009, it was forced to lay off 30 percent of its staff. Then an expert panel reviewing the drug said it was not effective, ultimately causing the company to suspend operations in early May.
detrimental effects. The company went public in 2007, but then scaled back operations after its blood clotting compound showed no improvement over existing therapies. In 2010 the company cut its employees to less than 20, and when the FDA delayed giving guidance on a drug ARYx was developing for gastrointestinal disorders, the companys funders turned away. It began to liquidate its assets in March.
Company: Peptimmune - Founded: 2002 Focus: To develop peptide and peptide-copolymer therapies for central nervous system and autoimmune disorders Genzyme spun off Peptimmune to develop drugs to treat autoimmune diseases. One compound in particular showed promise. Named PI-2301, it was a treatment for multiple sclerosis, based on the research of Jack Strominger at Harvard University and Hidde Ploegh from the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. The company was in the process of liquidating its assets earlier this year, when Merck Serono decided to buy full rights to PI-2301 for $1.5 million.
Company: Altair Therapeutics, Inc. Founded: 2007 Focus: Drugs for respiratory diseases like asthma and rhinitis - Altair Therapeutics, a spin-off of ISIS
Pharmaceuticals, was dissolved in February, its assets reabsorbed by its parent company after Phase II clinical trials of its inhaled antisense asthma drug showed no benefit. The drug was supposed to specifically knock down the production of two inflammatory cytokines, IL-4 and IL-13. Although there was some evidence that the drug was hitting its target, it showed no improvement in patients. The company, which only had seven full-time employees, garnered big support just two years into its start, pulling in $17 million from venture capital firms in 2009. But after the failure of its asthma drug, the company was forced to close shop.
Company: Phenomix Corporation - Founded: 2001 Focus: Small-molecule drugs that target enzymes, including targets for diabetes and hepatitis C infection-
Company: Ambrilia Biopharma - Founded: 1998 Focus: Diagnostics and therapeutic drugs for oncology and infectious diseases - The Canadian company
Ambrilia Biopharma had a promising start, securing a $215 million deal with Merck for the development of its HIV drug. In 2008, however, Merck put the program on hold. The company kept holding on, continuing to pursue Phase III trials for a drug to treat acromegaly, a disease that causes facial deformity, even as its employees were cut to a total of 15. Last year its CEO and CFO were let go, and in April of this year, the company filed for bankruptcy.
California-based Phenomix Corporation started out well, receiving multiple rounds of venture capital funding, and even a $340 million dollar deal to develop its oral diabetes drug dutoglyptin from Forest Labs. Then as the drug entered Phase III clinical trials, even showing promising early results, Forest withdrew from the deal, leaving Phenomix to unsuccessfully look for other funders. It closed in late 2010.
Company: Tolerx - Founded: 2000 - Focus: Immune manipulation by targeting T-cell responses to diseases from diabetes to cancer and chronic viral infections Tolerx landed a partnership with GlaxoSmithKline in 2007 worth $760 million to develop its antibody therapy for type 1 diabetes, called otelixizumab. The drug failed to show the expected efficacy in Phase III clinical trials, and the company began to lay off employees in March and May. GSK, however, said it would continue to develop otelixizumab.
Company: ARYx Therapeutics - Founded: 1997 Focus: To change the metabolic profile of established drugs to improve their safety and reduce side effects -
ARYx Therapeutics had an interesting idea: take drugs which appeared effective, but were too toxic to be used, and redesign them so that they could be absorbed, metabolized, and easily excreted without
Company: Transdel Pharmaceuticals - Founded: 1998Focus: Topical formulations of pharmaceutical products- Transdel, a pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical
company, filed for bankruptcy this June after a slow decline. Some of its products, however, will be
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developed by Cardium Therapeutics, which purchased Tansdels entire portfolio for $4 million. Cardium plans to develop Ketotransdel, a non-steroidal antiinflammatory drug in a topical formulation, as well as treatments for hyperpigmentation and cellulite. Source: http://the-scientist.com/2011/12/20/the-companiesthat-failed/ 21st December Drug Headlines of 2011: A list of 2011s newsworthy successesand failuresin drug development Developing new medicines is tricky business, requiring sound science, regulatory savvy, and marketing skills. The past year has seen success and failure in all these realms. Here, The Scientist recounts some of the noteworthy drug developments of 2011. Notable Drug Approvals:
New cancer drugs: gene-ie in a bottle: The FDA

approved two mutation-specific cancer drugs in August alongside diagnostic tests for those mutations. Genentechs Zelboraf (vemurafenib) for late-stage melanoma targets a specific mutation in the BRAF oncogene that spurs cell growth, and is marketed with a companion diagnostic for the mutation from Roche. Nine days later, the FDA approved Pfizers Xalkori (crizotinib) for the 2-7 percent of people who have non-small-cell lung cancer and a mutation in the gene ALK, with a FISH probe for the gene made by Abbott. These drugs represent a new paradigm for drug development, where a small but welldefined fraction of people get a very well-defined drug, oncologist Paul Bunnof the University of Colorado Medical Center told the National Cancer Institute Cancer Bulletin. Recent Drug Withdrawals:
First new lupus drug in 52 years: After more than 18

years of development, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)approved the first drug to treat lupus in more than a half-century. Benlysta (belimumab) is a human monoclonal antibody, produced by Human Genome Sciences and GlaxoSmithKline, that cuts B-cells proliferation, a proposed mechanism underlying the autoimmune disorder. The once-monthly injectable drug has limited efficacy, reducing the symptoms of 43 percent of patients compared to 34 percent of those on placebo in a Phase III trial, but nonetheless is a major advance for the disease with few approved treatments, reported The Wall Street Journal.
Avastin nixed for breast cancer: Genentechs Avastin

(bevacizumab) had its breast cancer indication revoked in November, four months after an FDA advisory committee unanimously voted it down. The injectable chemotherapy drug was originally approved for breast cancer in 2008 under the FDAs accelerated approval program, but subsequent trial data suggested that the drug does not prolong length or quality of life for people with the disease. Genentech hasnt given up yet, however: the company will begin a new Phase III trial of Avastin to identify a biomarker for those patients who do benefit from the therapy.
Hope for hepatitis: People with hepatitis C had cause

for celebration with the approval of two new drugs for the liver-infecting virus. In May, the FDA approved Incivek (telaprevir) from Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Mercks Victrelis (boceprevir). Both pills are protease inhibitors that interfere with the viruss replication, and each achieve what is effectively considered a cure when combined with existing treatment, wrote The New York Times. Furthermore, its likely that there are more medicines to come for the disease: Gilead recently purchased the biotech Pharmasset and its hepatitis C pipeline for a staggering $11 billion, while Johnson & Johnson and Bristol-Myers Squibb have a drug cocktail up their sleeves, which will begin Phase III trials in 2012
Movectro
In June, Switzerlands Merck Serono (unaffiliated with the USbased Merck & Company) voluntarilywithdrew Movectro (cladribine), the first oral pill for multiple sclerosis, as well as its regulatory applications to the FDA and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) after the FDA requested follow-up trials. The pill had already been approved in Australia and Russia but is no longer available.
isnt
moving
anywhere:
Xigris doesnt work10 years late: After 10 years on

the market, Eli Lilly announced in October that it was pulling its injection for the treatment of severe septic shock from the market. The recombinant human protein drotrecogin alfa, marketed as Xigris, did not increase survival in a follow-up Phase III trial initiated in 2008, and the company recommended that all patients on the
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drug stop taking it immediately. While there were no new safety findings, the study failed to demonstrate that Xigris improved patient survival and thus calls into question the benefit-risk profile of Xigris and its continued use, Lillys Chief Medical Officer Timothy Garnett said in a press release. Other Big Drug News:
Advanced Cell Technology, the only other company currently engaged in clinical trials involving hESCs,told The Scientist. Theres a lot of exciting potential here in this field, and it would just be a real shame for this not to move ahead full steam. Source: http://the-scientist.com/2011/12/20/drug-headlinesof-2011/ 20th December Top Science Scandals of 2011: A list of this years most high-profile retractions and controversies in science - cience is no stranger to controversy. This year, some high profile scientists have been accused of widespread misconduct, while other headline-grabbing research has been retracted after technical errors or sloppy techniques were pointed out by critics.The scientific field may deal with aftershocks of the misconduct or retraction for years. Here are five of the biggest science scandals of the year, as well as updates on some of the juiciest scandals of years past. Five New Scandals in 2011:
Promise for malaria vaccine: The RTS,S vaccine for

malaria, built upon basic research from the 1960s and more than a decade of clinical development, cut the risk of infection by more than 50 percent after one year in babies aged 5-17 months. The results, released by GlaxoSmithKline in October, are the first batch from an international Phase III trial enrolling more than 15,000 children, with newborn (aged less than 12 weeks at time of vaccination) results expected in 2012 and full-trial data in 2014. The efficacy is modest compared with the typical high efficacy of childhood vaccines, but its better than nothing, Joe Cohen, head of the malaria vaccine project at GlaxoSmithKline, told ScienceNOW. This vaccine will not be a magic bullet against what is a very, very difficult disease, he said. It is one weapon to be added to an arsenal of other interventions.
More than 100 Retractions Expected: The work of

Diederik Stapel, who headed the Institute for Behavioral Economics Research at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, epitomizes the old saying that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Stapel routinely came out with counterintuitive findings that seemed to capture human nature, peppering the headlines of media outlets around the world. But at least 30 of Stapels papers were retracted after evidence of massive data fabrication was uncovered, and many scientists expect that number to continue to grow. In total, more than 100 published papers could be affected by the fraud. Among the most novel of his findings to be retracted: that thoughts of meat make people surly, and that a chaotic environment makes people more likely to stereotype.
Tumbling from the patent cliff: The end of 2011 saw

the first of several blockbuster drugs lose their patent protection, falling off the proverbial patent cliff. Pfizers cholesterol-lowering statin Lipitor (atorvastatin) made the biggest splash, as the company worked to delay the yearly loss of $5 billion, as estimated by Daily Finance, by making deals with generic manufacturers. Other notable medicines that went off-patent in 2011 are Eli Lillys antipsychotic Zyprexa (olanzapine), which raked in more than $2 billion in 2010, and Johnson & Johnsons drug for ADD/ADHD Concerta (methylphenidate), grossing nearly $1 billion in 2010.
Geron offs stem cell research: The pioneering stem

cell treatment company Geron, which launched the first-ever clinical trial for human embryonic stem cell treatments in 2010, shut down its entire stem cell research unit in November, effectively ending its trial for spinal cord injury trial. Citing financial difficulty, the announcement came as a shock to researchers, raising doubts that the field of stem cell medicine has a future. Its certainly going to have a very chilling effect, Robert Lanza, chief scientific officer at
Mouse Virus and Chronic Fatigue: The link between a

mouse leukemia virus and chronic fatigue syndrome made waves when it was first announced in 2009. But after several labs failed to recreate the link, the paper, which was cited 200 times, was retracted. The story took a turn for the dramatic when Whittemore Peterson Institute director Judy Mikovits, who led the retracted 2009 study, refused to hand over key lab notebooks. She allegedly had an underling take the notebooks, then skipped town to California. She has
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beenarrested on counts of felony overnight, and is now awaiting trial.
theft,
jailed
Communications, was co-authored by the president of

the university, Teruo Iwamasa. The president denies knowing anything about the image duplication. The study was cited 5 times.
Short-Lived
Longevity Paper: Boston University biostatistician Paolo Sebastiani retracted a splashy paper identifying 19 genes associated with extreme longevity in centenarians. Within days of publication, critics wondered whether the strong correlation they found was due to an error in the sequencing chip the team used. After reworking their data to eliminate the source of error, the researchers found that the magnitude of the correlation was less impressive, and Science ultimately retracted the paper, which was cited 25 times in just a year. The researchers have resubmitted the revised findings to another journal. Arsenic-based Life: In late 2010, NASA researcher
Felisa Wolfe-Simon and colleagues reportedly uncovered a species of bacteria in Mono Lake that not only survived in unusually high levels of arsenic and low levels of phosphorus, but also appeared to incorporate arsenic into its DNA backbone. However, critics were soon questioning the results, citing poor DNA extraction techniques and a supposedly phosphate-free growth medium which actually did contain phosphate. Science published 8 technical comments about the work in May, though the paper, which has been cited 26 times, has yet to be retracted.
The
Not-So-Moral Mind: Harvard cognition researcher Mark Hauser resigned in July, after his colleagues voted to bar him from teaching this fall and restrict his research duties. In his letter, he cites private sector opportunities as well as an interest in working with at-risk teenagers. The well-known researcher, whose work includes Moral Minds, retracted a 2002 Cognition paper last year showing that cotton-top tamarins could generalize patterns. Questions were also raised about two other papers, one of which was corrected, while the findings for the other were confirmed. Immune System Fraud: Another paper from immunologist Sylvia Bulfone-Paus has been retracted for incorrect image information. Last year, the Research Center Borstel director retracted 12 articles and was forced to step down after an investigation found widespread data and image manipulation. That investigation pointed to two former post-docs in her lab, Elena Bulanova and Vadim Budagian, as the culprits, but the newly retracted paper, which was cited 5 times, does not include Bulanova or Budaigian as co-authors and predates Bulfone-Pauss tenure at the Research Center Borstel. Duke University Sued: The families of breast cancer
patients who died are suing Duke University for fraudulently and negligently allowing a flawed cancer trial to continue. The patients were enrolled in a trial led by oncologist Anil Potti, who last year admitted to pretending to be a Rhodes Scholar and to fabricating a statistical analysis of chemotherapy response in breast cancer. The plaintiffs claim that Duke knew of problems with Potti and his colleague cancer geneticist Joseph Nevins work, but allowed the trial to continue.
Climate Change-up: A controversial climate change

paper was retracted when it was found to contain passages lifted from other sources, including Wikipedia. The paper, published by climate change skeptic Edward Wegman of George Mason University in Computational Statistics and Data Analysis in 2008, showed that climatology is an inbred field where most researchers collaborate with and review each others work. But a resourceful blogger uncovered evidence of plagiarism, and the journal retracted the paper, which was cited 8 times, in May. Five Updates of High Profile Cases from 2010:
University President Retracts Paper: Virologist Naoki

Mori of the University of the Ryukyus in Japan was suspended from his job last year for image duplication that led to the retraction of 20 papers. Now it seems that one of the papersbeing retracted, a report on the discovery of a downregulator of apoptosis published in Biochemical and Biophysical Research
Science Saboteur: In May, the Office of Research

Integrity announced its finding that postdoc Vipul Bhrigu is guilty of misconduct. Grad student Heather Ames thought she was going crazy when her experimental results kept messing up. But after conducting experiments in her boyfriends lab and getting solid results, she suspected foul play. Sure enough, her colleague Brighu was caught on tape
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sabotaging her samples. In July 2010 he pled guilty to malicious destruction of property and received six months of probation and a $10,000 fine. Source: http://the-scientist.com/2011/12/19/top-sciencescandals-of-2011/ 19th December Matters of Taste-Compounds we perceive as sweet or bitter in the mouth trigger similar receptors and signaling pathways elsewhere in the body, helping to regulate digestion, respiration, and other systems: In the choice of what to ingest, the sense of taste is both a guardian and a guide. The sensations of bitter and sour keep us from eating potentially toxic substances and strong acids, while the preferred qualities of sweet, umami (the savory taste of glutamate), and salty drive intake of carbohydrates, amino acids, and sodium, respectively. Taste sensations are mediated by taste budssmall clusters of specialized epithelial cells on the tongue, soft palate, and larynx. Over the last two decades, as scientists have uncovered the array of G proteincoupled receptor (GPCR) cascades and ion channels that underlie taste signaling, they have also discovered, to their surprise, that the expression of these receptors and channels is not limited to taste buds. Indeed, elements of the taste transduction cascade occur in many chemoresponsive epithelial cells scattered throughout the stomach, the intestines, and even the airways. Despite the similarities in receptor molecules and signaling cascades, however, only the chemoreceptive systems in the mouth evoke a sensation of taste. The others, researchers are learning, serve different functions depending on their location.
In 1996, researchers at the University of Wrzburg reported that -gustducin is expressed by brush cells of the stomach and intestine.1 Brush cells are tall, columnar epithelial cells that display a distinctive tuft of stiff microvilli at their apex. Based on morphological features, researchers had suspected that these cells were chemosensory, but the findings of gustducin, taste receptors,2 and the ion channel TrpM5, another taste transduction element,3confirmed this early speculation, and suggested that brush cells detect nutrients in the gut. In the last 15 years, researchers have uncovered more and more taste cascade elements throughout the digestive tract, and even in the airways, suggesting a widespread distribution of complete taste transduction cascadesfrom taste receptor to transduction channel. These seemingly misplaced taste-like pathways do not, however, give rise to sensations of taste, though they appear to detect compounds known to elicit a taste response in the mouth. Instead, these compounds initiate the taste transduction cascade with the end result of inducing particular physiological changes. For example, the pancreatic release of insulin in response to glucose is partially mediated by the binding of glucose to sweet-taste receptors on cells of the intestine and subsequent activation of the signaling cascade.4 Similarly, accidental inhalation of a beverage into the airways triggers taste receptors there, but rather than evoking a sensation of taste, the substance is irritating and provokes choking or coughing. (Although we use the phrases taste transduction and taste receptors below, we do not mean to imply that these equate to a perception of taste.) Indeed, for every taste transduction cascade discovered outside the oral cavity, researchers seek to uncover the functional significance of the chemoresponsive cells in those areas. Taken together, the findings suggest that the taste transduction cascade is not restricted to the sensation of taste per se, or even to systems regulating food intake. In fact, the receptors mediating taste transduction appear to have evolved early in the vertebrate lineage, and to have since been widely adopted as a chemodetection system in a variety of organ systems.
The taste transduction story: The sensations of taste

are divisible into five distinct qualities: salty, sour, bitter, sweet, and umami. Salty and sour sensory perceptions rely on ion channels, which are expressed in a variety of tissues, such as kidney, as well as in taste buds. Bitter, sweet, and umami qualities rely predominantly on two distinct families of GPCRs, Tas1R and Tas2R (T1R and T2R), first identified in taste tissues in 1999, but subsequently identified in other tissues, including gut and airway epithelia. Despite the difference in the qualities detected by the two families of taste receptors, both utilize similar, if not identical, downstream signaling effectors, including the taste receptor-associated G protein -gustducin, one of the first identified proteins of a GPCR taste transduction cascade.
Taste in the gut: In taste buds, receptors of the

T1R family combine to form either a sweet receptor (T1R2 + T1R3) or an umami receptor (T1R1 + T1R3), and signal the presence of macronutrients necessary for survival: a carbohydrate energy source or amino acids,
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respectively. In the gut, the presence of sweet substances is detected by hormone-producing cells known as enteroendocrine cells that respond by secreting the glucagon-like peptide GLP-1, which in turn stimulates the release of insulin from pancreatic cells. The presence of circulating insulin results in the uptake of glucose from the bloodstream by diverse tissues. In addition, activation of the sweet receptors in the gut drives the insertion of the glucose transporters SGLT-1 and GLUT2 into the membranes of cells lining the intestines, thereby facilitating uptake of glucose.5,6 While the presence of T1R-class receptors for macronutrients in the gut is an obvious means to regulate digestive functions, the function of widespread T2R bitter receptors throughout the GI tract is less clear. Researchers have shown in vitro that activation of T2R receptors in an enteroendocrine cell line results in release of the peptide hormone cholecystokinin (CCK), which can reduce gut motility. Thus, intake of a potential toxin that activates the T2R pathway should decrease the rate at which food passes through the stomach and lower the drive for continued eating.7Nonetheless, a recent study suggests that the lowered gut motility following intake of bitter substances is not dependent on T2R signaling, nor on CCK, leading researchers to reconsider the function of the receptors in this context.8 One possibility is that the CCK-secreting enteroendocrine cells are involved in a local epithelial signaling system that reduces transfer of toxic substances from gut into circulation. The CCK released from T2R-expressing enteroendocrine cells in response to stimulation by some bitter-tasting ligands may act on CCK2 receptors located on nearby intestinal epithelial cells, called enterocytes, which regulate the absorption of molecules from the intestinal lumen into the bloodstream.9 In vitro studies show that activating CCK2 receptors on these cells increases expression of the transporter ABCB1, which pumps out toxins or unwanted substances from the cytoplasm, allowing the toxins to be excreted rather than absorbed into the blood. Thus, activation of T2R signaling in the intestines indirectly results in increased elimination of absorbed toxins from gut epithelium before the toxins can enter circulation.
Lower in the gut, activation of T2R receptors similarly appears to combat toxins, though via a different mechanism. When some bitter-tasting ligands bind to epithelial cells in the colon, they induce the secretion of anions, which leads to fluid secretion into the intestine.10 This induced efflux of fluids is likely to flush out any noxious irritant from the colon, resulting in diarrhea.
Taste in the airways: Three years after tasterelated signaling components were discovered in the gut, Zancanaro and colleagues at the University of Verona described the presence of gustducin-expressing cells in the airway. Specifically, the researchers examined mice and identified gustducin-expressing cells scattered in the epithelium lining the incoming ducts of the vomeronasal organ, a specialized part of the olfactory system found in many vertebrates, but not in adult humans. Such cells were also identified in the nasal respiratory epithelium. The morphology of these cells is similar to chemosensory cells scattered within the epidermis of fishes, first described by Mary Whitear in the 1970s. In a series of elegant ultrastructural studies, she identified a distinctive type of epithelial cell that extends through the height of the epithelium with microvillous extensions at its apical end. Since these cells also form extensive synapses at their base with local nerve fibers, Whitear suggested they must be a sensory cell type. Furthermore, since the apical specializations were not rigid, she deduced that the cells could not be mechanosensory, and therefore were likely chemosensory elements. Later, two physiological studies on fish with specialized appendages rich in solitary chemosensory cells confirmed the chemoresponsiveness of this system, although the identity of the natural stimulus remains controversial. Subsequently, we and others showed that morphologically and molecularly similar solitary chemosensory cells (SCCs) are present throughout the upper respiratory systems of alligators, mice, and rats; and in the rodents, the cells express the entire panoply of taste-related signaling molecules, including T2R receptors, gustducin, PLCb2, and the transduction channel TrpM5.3,11 In 2003, we confirmed that the taste signaling cascade is necessary for activation of the SCCs of the nasal cavity.11 These SCCs synapse onto polymodal pain fibers of the trigeminal nerve, which produce a sensation of irritation and pain when
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activated. In addition, activation of these fibers evokes protective airway reflexes such as apnea (to prevent further inhalation) and sneezing (to remove the irritant). Thus, inhalation of a toxin that activates T2R receptors will be irritating and will provoke changes in respiration,12 but will not, of course, produce the sensation of a bitter taste. More recently, we showed that even some bacterial metabolites and signal molecules can activate the nasal SCCs and the trigeminal nerve.12 Upon activation, the trigeminal nerve fibers not only transmit the information towards the brain, but also release peptide modulators (such as substance P and calcitonin generelated peptide) into the local tissue, including around nearby blood vessels. These modulators bind to receptors on mast cells and blood vessels, causing a local, neurally mediated inflammation of the airway lining. In this way, SCCs not only act as sentinels warning against inhalation of irritants, but also serve as guardians capable of activating the innate immune system to respond to the presence of potentially damaging toxins or pathogens. In all of the examples described so far, the taste signaling cascade is used to detect molecules in the lumen of an organ (oral cavity, gut, respiratory passages), and to generate an intracellular cascade to effect release of a neurotransmitter or hormone to signal to other cells in the body. Two recent reports on the expression of taste receptors in the airways indicate that taste-receptor signaling may directly affect the function of the cell that actually detects the stimulus (i.e., a cell-autonomous effect). Last year, Deshpande and colleagues reported that human airway smooth muscle cells express T2R (bitter) taste receptors along with -gustducin and some components of the taste-associated phospholipase C (PLC) arm of the signaling cascade.13 Application of various bittertasting substances to cultured human airway smooth muscle cells shows the same PLC-dependent increases in intracellular Ca2+ typical of taste cells or solitary chemosensory cells. Surprisingly, however, these increases in intracellular Ca2+ caused relaxation, rather than contraction, of the muscle cells. This paradoxical effect is attributed to the proximity of the T2R receptor complex to calcium-activated potassium channels (BKCa channels), which open in response to increased intracellular Ca2+, causing the hyperpolarization and subsequent relaxation of the
muscle cells. In contrast, in taste cells of the mouth and solitary chemosensory cells of the upper airways, the increase in intracellular Ca2+ as a result of T2R activation triggers the transduction channel TrpM5 to depolarize the cell and evoke transmitter release to stimulate other cells. Thus, in different signaling contexts, activation of the same receptor can produce opposite cellular-level effects. However, two recent letters to the editor call Deshpandes results into question, so the resolution of this remains controversial. T2R activation has also been reported to have a cellautonomous effect in ciliated cells of human lower airways.14 Cultured human airway epithelium expresses some T2Rs along with associated downstream elements. Curiously, these are the first cells with motile cilia known to express sensory signaling elements. In these cells, the T2Rs are present on the cilia, while PLCb2 is associated with the cell membrane where the cilia insert into the cell body. Binding of the T2R receptor by a bitter ligand initiates a transduction cascade to activate PLCb2 at the base of the cilium, generating a Ca2+response. The resulting T2R-mediated increase in intracellular Ca2+ causes an increase in ciliary beat frequency, which the researchers suggest could serve to sweep irritants away from the surface of the cell. But while T2Rs can be detected in cultured human airway cells, they are not detected in the lower airways of mice.12 Whether this represents a species difference or the difference between in vivo and in vitro states remains to be determined.
Remaining taste mysteries: It is evident that taste

receptors and their associated downstream signaling components are widely dispersed in diverse organ systems, and in many cases serve to help with digestion or to protect cells from potential toxins. But taste receptors have also been identified in other organs and tissues, such as the bile ducts, where their functions are still unclear. The composition of the fluid in the bile ducts is dictated by secretions of the pancreas, liver, and gall bladder. Why should it be necessary to diligently monitor the composition of biliary fluids as they move from gall bladder to intestine? Similarly enigmatic are the reported effects of T2R (bitter receptor) agonists on contractile elements of both the airway and the gut. In the trachea, T2R agonists cause muscle relaxation (see above), but it is
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not clear how a bitter substance would have access to the smooth muscle cells of the trachea under normal conditions. The smooth muscle of the trachea is buried beneath a relatively tight airway epithelium, and so it seems unlikely that an inhaled bitter substance would penetrate the epithelium to access T2R receptors on the muscle. Similarly, the inhibition of smooth muscle contractility by T2R agonists in the stomach is not mediated by any of the peptides released by dispersed endocrine (enteroendocrine) cells of the gut, and may not even be mediated by T2R receptors. These and other nonspecific effects of bitter ligands emphasize the need to utilize either well-defined pharmacological agents or, better still, knockout animals to establish the specificity of receptors and transduction pathways and the consequences of their activation. Though they may not be for tasting per se, the taste-family receptors are surely doing something to affect the physiology of the organs in which they reside.
Thomas E. Finger is a professor of Cellular & Developmental Biology at the University of Colorado Medical School and codirector of the Rocky Mountain Taste & Smell Center. Sue C. Kinnamon is a professor of Otolaryngology at the University of Colorado Medical School and a core director of the Rocky Mountain Taste & Smell Center.
References
T. E. Finger et al., Solitary chemoreceptor cells in the nasal cavity serve as sentinels of respiration, PNAS, 100:8981-86, 2003. M. Tizzano et al., Nasal chemosensory cells use bitter taste signaling to detect irritants and bacterial signals, PNAS, 107:3210-15, 2010. D.A. Deshpande et al., Bitter taste receptors on airway smooth muscle bronchodilate by localized calcium signaling and reverse obstruction, Nat Med, 16:1299-304, 2010. A. S. Shah et al., Motile cilia of human airway epithelia are chemosensory, Science, 325:1131-34, 2009. By Thomas E. Finger and Sue C. Kinnamon | December 1, 2011 Source: http://the-scientist.com/2011/12/01/matters-of-taste/
D. Hfer et al., Taste receptor-like cells in the rat gut identified by expression of alpha-gustducin, PNAS, 93:6631-34, 1996. S.V. Wu et al., Expression of bitter taste receptors of the T2R family in the gastrointestinal tract and enteroendocrine STC-1 cells, PNAS, 99:2392-97, 2002. S. Kaske et al., TRPM5, a taste-signaling transient receptor potential ion-channel, is a ubiquitous signaling component in chemosensory cells, BMC Neurosci, 8:49, 2007. H.J. Jang et al., Gut-expressed gustducin and taste receptors regulate secretion of glucagon-like peptide-1, PNAS, 104:15069-74, 2007. O.J. Mace et al., Sweet taste receptors in rat small intestine stimulate glucose absorption through apical GLUT2, J Physiol, 582:379-92, 2007. R.F. Margolskee et al., T1R3 and gustducin in gut sense sugars to regulate expression of Na+-glucose cotransporter 1, PNAS, 104:15075-80, 2007. J.I. Glendinning et al., Intragastric infusion of denatonium conditions flavor aversions and delays gastric emptying in rodents, Physiol Behav, 93:757-65, 2008. S. Janssen et al., Bitter taste receptors and -gustducin regulate the secretion of ghrelin with functional effects on food intake and gastric emptying, PNAS, 108:2094-99, 2011. T.I. Jeon et al., Gut bitter taste receptor signaling induces ABCB1 through a mechanism involving CCK, Biochem J, 438:33-37, 2011. I. Kaji et al. Secretory effects of a luminal bitter tastant and expressions of bitter taste receptors, T2Rs, in the human and rat large intestine, Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol, 296:G97181, 2009.
How Probiotic Yogurt Works: Researchers show that the bacterial species in probiotic, fermented dairy products may alter gene expression and metabolism in native gut microbiota - The bacteria found in some fermented dairy products, such as yogurt, may alter gene expression in human gut microbes, and resultant tweaks to metabolic processes could be behind gastrointestinal benefits often observed in people consuming such probiotic products, according to a study published today (26 October) in Science Translational Medicine. The work was funded by several grants from the National Institutes of Health and by Danone Research, the scientific research arm of Groupe Danone, a Paris-based multinational food products corporation that specializes in dairy products. Since the 1990s, clinical trials have shown that probiotic bacteria can aid digestion in humans, but the molecular mechanisms involved in conferring those health benefits have proved difficult to pin down. Nobody really understands how probiotics affect human health. Jeffrey Gordon, a microbiologist at Washington University in St. Louis, and his team gave a commercially-available probiotic yogurt containing five strains of bacteria to healthy adult volunteers and administered the same five strains to mice that harbored a subset of genetically-characterized human gut microbes. The yogurt bacteria did not significantly alter population structure in any of the entrenched gut microbes, in humans or micea result that is not surprising, according to Mills. To assume that you could eat a yogurt and numerically challenge whats in your gut is kind of like dumping a gallon of Kool-Aid in your swimming pool and expecting it to change color, he said. But RNA sequencing of the human gut microbes in the mice revealed that the probiotic bacteria changed the expression of gut microbe genes encoding key metabolic enzymes, such as those involved in the catabolism of sugars called xylooligosaccharides, which are found in many fruits and vegetables. Mass spectrometry of
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metabolites in urine, which result from the ramped up metabolic processes in the probiotic-fed mice, confirmed the alterations, and when the researchers ran similar analyses on gut microbes from the human yogurt eaters, they found upregulation of the same genes. The fact that Gordons team could detect a signal of altered gene expression in the mice, which harbored only 15 species of human gut microbe, and that same signal was also apparent in the vastly more complex human gastrointestinal milieu is the start of something big, according to Gregor Reid, a nutritional researcher at the Lawson Health Research Institute in Canada who wasnt involved with the study. Even with a very simplified model, they could replicate the effects they found in humans, said Reid, who wrote an accompanying opinion piece that was published in the same issue of Science Translational Medicine. Gordon noted that the mouse model he used in the current study points a way forward to further probe the interactions between entrenched gut microbial communities and probiotic products, which could allow researchers to develop new hypotheses, identify novel biomarkers, and apply findings in preclinical models and eventually clinical uses for such products. Continued research may also help to elucidate the precise interactions between probiotic bacteria or other dietary inputs and resident gut microbes that lead to alterations in gene expression and metabolism. Source: http://the-scientist.com/2011/10/26/how-probioticyogurt-works/ 26th October) Fukushima Radiation Worse Than Feared: A new analysis suggests that more radioactive contaminants were released from the crippled nuclear power plant than accounted for in official Japanese estimates Japanese officials underestimated the amount of radiation released from the Fukushima Daiichi power plant after Marchs devastating earthquake and tsunami, according to a recently-published report analyzing data from a global array of sensors and detectors. In June, the Japanese government released a report stating that 1.51016bequerels (Bq) of caesium-137a harmful radioisotope that was released in large amounts from the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 and 1.11019Bq of xenon-133, which does not pose a serious health risk as its not absorbed by the body or the environment, had spewed from the crippled power
plant. But the new report, submitted and available for open peer review in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, revises those totals to almost twice the official estimate, calculating a release of 3.51016Bq caesium137 and 1.71019Bq of xenon-133.
Nuclear power plant Dukovany, Czech WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, PETR ADAMEK
Republic
The new findings are based on reading from dozens of sensors positioned within Japan and around the globe. Andreas Stohl, an atmospheric scientist with the Norwegian Institute for Air Research in Kjeller and first author on the paper, told Nature that the larger data set his team used to generate their estimates is likely the reason that theyre higher than the official Japanese numbers. For example, the Japanese governments calculations did not take into account clouds of radioactive particles that blew out over the Pacific Ocean in the aftermath of the accident. Source: http://the-scientist.com/2011/10/26/fukushimaradiation-worse-then-feared/ (26th October) Rhino Goes Extinct in Vietnam: The last rhinoceros left in Vietnam was found killed, its horn sawed off, most likely by poachers - Although conservationists havent recorded a sighting of a Javan Rhino in Vietnam since 2008, the droppings collected between 2009-2010 confirmed that there was only one animal left. In April 2010, researchers found the rhinos body. It was already beginning to decompose, and its horn had been sawed off, suggesting it was most likely killed by poachers. The International Union for Conservation of Nature reported that rhino populations were under increasing pressure from poachers this year, due to demands from Asian markets,according to BBC News. Only 50 of these rhinos or fewer are thought to remain in the wild.
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Saharan African children when combined with existing interventions, such as the use of insecticide-treated bed nets, according to a new study published online today by the New England Journal of Medicine Officials and researchers collaborating on the project announced preliminary results from the Phase III clinical trial of the RTS,S malaria vaccine today (18 October) at a malaria meeting in Seattle. WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, THOMAS HORSFIELD, RHINO RESOURCE CENTER Source: http://the-scientist.com/2011/10/26/rhinogoes-extinct-in-vietnam/ (26th October) Researchers Question Malaria Vax: Scientists are questioning the results of a malaria vaccine trial that were released last week The effectiveness of a malaria vaccine that was widely heralded as potentially saving millions of lives is now being questioned by several researchers, including some of The Scientists own readers. Among the concerns is that preliminary results for the vaccine, called RTS,S/AS01, were released even though the full results on long-term protection will not be available until 2014. In addition, the results were released only for children 5 to 17 years old, despite the fact that very young infants (between 6 and 12 weeks old) are the target group that would eventually be given the vaccine. When the limited data available for the youngest children is included, the protection rate drops from more than 55 percent to just 34 percent, raising questions about the effectiveness of the vaccine in the youngest group. The vaccines effectiveness suffers a similar drop when the protection level is recalculated 12 months after getting the vaccine, as opposed to including vaccinations that were more recent. According to a World Health Organization consortium on malaria vaccine efficacy, an effective malaria vaccine must reach a threshold target of 50 percent long-term protection. Source: http://thescientist.com/2011/10/27/researchers-questionmalaria-vax/ (26th October) Malaria Vax Yields Promising Results: Data from the Phase III trial of a malaria vaccine breeds hope for immunization as a possible weapon against the dreaded disease - An experimental vaccine reduced the risk of developing malaria by about 50 percent in 6,000 subDoctors at 11 sites spread across seven African nations administered three successive doses of the RTS,S vaccine to 6,000 children, aged 5-17 months. Monitoring the patients for up to 12 months the researchers found that the children were 56 percent less likely to experience clinical symptoms of malaria, and 47 percent less likely to develop severe symptoms of the disease. The RTS,S vaccine, created in the late 1980s by researchers in pharmaceutical giant GSKs Biologicals division, uses a protein from an existing hepatitis B vaccine to fuse a surface protein, called circumsporozoite, from the malaria parasite that helps it invade human liver cells, where it matures, reproduces, and launches its attack on the bodys red blood cells. GSKs proprietary adjuvant mixture strengthens the immune response provoked by the vaccine. Partners in the trial, which began in 2009, include the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, and several African research centers. The results announced today support data from the Phase II efficacy trial published earlier this year in Lancet Infectious Diseases. The RTS,S vaccine trial continues in Africa, with results in the crucial 6-12-week-old infant age group expected by the end of 2012, and long-term efficacy data for all of the studys 15,460 participants expected by the end of 2014. According to GSK CEO Andrew Witty, the vaccine could garner approval by appropriate regulatory authorities and a recommendation from the World Health Organization by 2015. Witty added that GSK would strive to make the vaccine as affordable as possible, contributing an estimated $50-100 on top of the $300 million already spent on the project to make the RTS,S vaccine, which does require refrigeration in transit, available to African children on a wide scale. Source: http://the-
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scientist.com/2011/10/18/malaria-vax-yields-promisingresults/ (18th October) Conserving Our Shared Heritage: Reversing catastrophic threats to our planets biodiversity is not optional: our lives depend on it - Every living thing plants, animals, microorganismsshares an extraordinary history that stretches back 4 billion years to the origins of life on Earth. Although countless species have come and gone in that grand interval, today we share the planet with tens of millions of species, simultaneously shaping the Earths very form and function. Akin to the miracle of loaves and fishes, living things have turned, and continue to turn, stone into soil. The presence of life on Earth is so robust that it has markedly affected the composition of our atmosphere and continues to do so. Indeed, the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration rises and falls in an annual rhythm tied to the seasons by biological activityalmost as if the planet itself was a living organism. Because each species represents a set of biological solutions to problems particular to its own survival, the diversity of Earths organisms is, in essence, an incredibly valuable reference library with a countless number of volumes, most of them yet to be cataloged. Societies, excepting the most despotic, place enormous value on libraries and never justify them in terms of their economic benefit.
medicine, much to O.J. Simpsons chagrin. It has enabled all kinds of new scientific work, including genomics and the entire Human Genome Project. The benefit to society must already be on the order of at least a trillion dollars. The urgent and pressing problem is how to ensure that the riches of biodiversity are properly cared for. One way would be to incorporate more of the value of ecosystems and living things into the basis and process of policy decision-making. In a fascinating case 15 years ago, the Environmental Protection Agency was about to require New York City to build an eight-billion-dollar water filtration plant because of deterioration in the watershed. Instead, a proper analysis of the value of a functioning watershed led to watershed restoration at a tenth the cost. So the delectable water today quaffed by Manhattanites (with which I slaked my thirst as a youth) is once again the direct product of the watershed ecosystem and its constituent biological diversity. The third Global Biodiversity Outlook, produced for the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity, tells us this value is severely threatened. Extinction rates on land and in the seas are soaringat perhaps 1,000 times normal levels. There is ever more forest clearing and grassland degradation. Most of the major predatory fish of the oceans and most major traditional fisheries are decimated, and atmospheric CO2 is causing the oceans to become more acidic.
The benefits of maintaining biodiversity: There are

many reasons to value biological diversity as we do any great library. The life sciences are transformed regularly by the discovery of previously unknown biological properties in organisms that had been considered esoteric or lacking in utility. A case in point is the antitumor drug Taxol (paclitaxel), which was first isolated from the Pacific yew, then considered a trash tree in forests of the Northwest. Oil-eating bacteria, which are natural denizens of the oceans, went to work after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and offer the potential to improve industrial and environmental cleanup. And perhaps the greatest example to date is the heat-resistant enzyme derived from an extremophilic bacterium living in a Yellowstone hot spring, without which there would be no polymerase chain reaction (PCR). As a consequence of the enzymes use in PCR, for much of diagnostic medicine it is no longer necessary to culture the offending microbe to identify the disease agent. The technique has revolutionized forensic
Climate change is making itself felt forcefully. Ecosystem failure is occurring worldwide: as warming sea temperatures cause coral reefs to bleach, their diversity, productivity, and value to coastal communities
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is crashing. Coniferous forests of western North America are experiencing widespread tree mortality caused by native bark beetles, which thrive in summers that are now longer and winters that are warmer. The Amazon forest is fast approaching a tipping point where deforestation combined with other factors could lead to dieback in the south and southeast. Not only must deforestation be stopped, but substantial reforestation must follow. Roughly half of the excess atmospheric CO2 that is driving climate change comes from the destruction and degradation of ecosystems over the past three centuries, which means biology and its diversity could actually be utilized to help reduce the atmospheric CO2 burden. Because life in all its diversity is built of carbon, ecosystem restoration (reforestation, grassland recovery, agro-ecosystems that accumulate rather than lose soil carbon) could remove a significant amount of carbon from the atmosphere. That doesnt solve the entire carbon dioxide problem, but it would lower the climate-change threat to the living planet while simultaneously fortifying ecosystems and ensuring the future of the diverse life of the planet. In the end, the choice is whether to embrace nature and its miraculous diversity or to suffer the consequences. Those consequences are vividly laid out on the island of Hispaniola, where Columbus stopped during his first voyage: the Dominican Republic is verdant and relatively prosperous; Haiti has been stripped of most of its ecosystems and biodiversity and is what a Trinidadian colleague terms the unthinkable experiment no scientist would be allowed to conduct. Surely the choice is obvious.
Notable Papers N. Myers et al., Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities, Nature, 403:853-58, 2000. P.M. Vitousek et al., Human domination of Earths ecosystems, Science, 277:494-99, 1997. O.E. Sala et al., Global biodiversity scenarios for the year 2100, Science, 287-1770-74, 2000. J.B.C. Jackson et al., Historical overfishing and the recent collapse of coastal ecosystems,Science, 293: 629-38, 2001. C.D. Thomas et al., Extinction risk from climate change, Nature, 427: 145-48, 2004.
FOOD SECURITY AND GM CROPS

U.S. Approves Monsanto Drought-Tolerant GM Corn: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Thursday deregulated Monsantos genetically modified (GM) drought tolerant corn, known as MON 87460. The USDA approved the GM variety after reviewing environmental and risk assessments, public comments, and research data from Monsanto. In a statement, Monsanto said it plans farm trials in the western U.S. Plains in 2012 to demonstrate the variety for farmers and to generate data that will help guide Monsanto's commercial decisions. "Our drought system is designed to help farmers mitigate the risk of yield loss when experiencing drought stress, primarily in areas of annual drought stress," said Hobart Beeghly, U.S. product management leader. The major U.S. area for adoption of drought-tolerant corn would be the Great Plains, which produce one-quarter of U.S. corn, Monsanto estimated, as well as similar dryland regions of Africa, Europe, and Latin America. The GM corn variety is the product of a research collaboration between Monsanto and the company BASF. In its 2009 petition for approval of the GM corn, Monsanto said that 40 percent of crop losses in North America are due to sub-optimal moisture. Source: Food Security and AgriBiotech News, 27th December Brinjal Debacle Still Raw, Bt Rice on Course: Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco), which is affiliated with the multinational biotechnology company Monsanto, plans to apply in six months to be allowed to sell genetically modified (GM) varieties of rice and okra to Indian farmers. Mahyco managing director Raju Barwale says: We are very close to regulatory approval. As a first step in this direction, we are looking to submit the results of the tests and field trials with RCGM (Indias Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation) in six months. As a matter of practice, RCGM would assess whether we have followed all the government norms or not. And then, they would forward our request to the GEAC (the Indian Genetic Engineering Approval Committee) for final approval. We expect this to be completed in a year from now. Barwale says that Mahyco began research on the GM rice and okra six years ago. The company says that the varieties are designed to resist insects (both chewing/biting and sucking), to be herbicide tolerant, to provide better management of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, and to be drought/flood tolerant.
Source: http://the-scientist.com/2011/10/01/ conserving-our-shared-heritage/ (1st October)
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According to Barwale, field trials indicate that the GM rice and GM okra will increase Indian yields by 20 and 30 percent, respectively. Barwale states that in a worst case scenario, the Indian government might ask Mahyco for one more season of field trials. But, "Since we have followed all the norms, we are sure to get approval for both Bt rice and Bt okra, he says. Barwale adds that Rice and okra are staple foods and the world needs high-yielding seeds to feed a growing population, especially when resources like land and water are getting squeezed." The article by Indian rice traders and exporters oppose approval of the GM crops. Bt cotton has been grown in India since 2002. Bt brinjal was approved for planting by GEAC in 2009, but the environment minister prevented its final authorization. Source: Food Security and AgriBiotech News, 12th December Economic Impact after 15 Years of GM Crops in Argentina: A new report on the Economic Impact after 15 years of GM Crops in Argentina calculates that the additional gross economic benefits generated by adoption of genetically modified (GM) crops in Argentina between 1996 and 2010 amounts to US$72.36 billion. The report was prepared for the Argentine Council for Information and Development of Biotechnology (ArgenBio) by Eduardo Trigo, a senior researcher with the Forges Foundation and CEO Group, both institutions involved in research and counseling for the agricultural sector. The gross benefits from Argentinas adoption of GM soybeans, corn, and cotton were estimated using SIGMA, a mathematical model developed by INTA (Argentinas National Institute for Agricultural Technology) that uses data from the Technological Profile of Argentinas Agricultural Sector (INTA), with additional information provided by Argentinas Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, ArgenBio, INDEC (the National Institute of Statistics and Census), and the UN FAO. The report calculates that Argentinas adoption of GM crops has drastically reduced consumer prices worldwide --by 14 percent in the case of soybeans. The use of GM crops is also estimated to have created 1.82 million jobs in Argentina. Source: Food Security and AgriBiotech News, 8th December French Court Annuls Ban on Monsanto GM Crops: France's top administrative court, the State Council, has overturned a government order banning French farmers from planting genetically modified (GM) MON
810 maize. MON 810 is approved at the EU level for EU-wide commercial cultivation. But France's agriculture ministry imposed a ban in February 2008 amid concerns over public safety. The State Council, in its ruling, said the government failed to prove that the GM corn plants "present a particularly elevated level of risk to either human health or the environment." In September, the European Court of Justice, the EUs top court, ordered France to review its ban. Since then, the State Council ruled, the French government has failed to present new evidence of the supposed dangers posed by the plants. Frances Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire, in a first reaction, said the government will "examine all options in order not to grow Monsanto 810 maize." There were "still too many uncertainties about the consequences for the environment," Le Maire said. Source: Food Security and AgriBiotech News, 1st December Preventing Hunger: Sustainability Not Aid: Food aid has saved millions of lives, but it cannot, by itself, solve hunger, says this opinion piece by Josette Sheeran, head of the UN World Food Program (WFP). This is why, over the past few years, the WFP has been undergoing one of the most profound transformations in its history, the opinion piece says. Sheerans opinion piece is one of three on the subject of solving hunger that appears in the November 24 edition of the journal Nature. The opinion piece says that the WFP is now focusing on projects that help communities weather food crises. In Cameroon, for example, where about 2.8 million people are food insecure and the lean season in the north of the country lasts an average of three to four months, every year can be a crisis for the most vulnerable people. To help break the boom-and-bust cycles of hunger, the WFP provides a one-time donation of 10 tons of cereal for each community granary and helps to train farmers in food-storage management and financial accounting. Community members can withdraw stocks from the granary during the lean season, and later replenish from their own crops during harvest, paying little interest. As this and other examples show, the opinion piece says that ending hunger does not require a major scientific breakthrough. What is needed is political will and the commitment of national leaders. Source: Food Security and AgriBiotech News, 29th November Preventing Hunger: Biotechnology Is Key: If African countries cannot plant genetically modified (GM) crops
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to produce more and healthier food, vulnerable populations will be at risk, argues this opinion piece by Calestous Juma, director of the Agricultural Innovation in Africa Project at Harvard Universitys Kennedy School. The opinion piece acknowledges that solving world hunger will involve more than just producing more food, but it argues that all technological options for meeting global food needs must be on the table. It notes, for example, that without the scientific advances of the second half of the twentieth century, food imports to developing nations would be more expensive, and the crop varieties grown in developing countries would be less high-yielding. The opinion piece says that at present, only a few African countries are allowed to grow GM crops, partly because of restrictive national biosafety policies that impose excessive regulatory barriers to the adoption of agricultural biotechnology. This, it argues, must change. To begin with, African farmers need pest-resistant GM cotton, which is already being cultivated in South Africa and Burkina Faso and which offers higher yields to poor farmers. Future innovations could bring even more benefits to African countries, says the opinion piece. For example says the opinion piece, Africa needs GM varieties of the black-eyed pea, a subspecies of the cowpea (Vigna unguiculata). Attacks by the insect Maruca vitrata cause US$300 million in losses annually to small-scale farmers in Africa; their only means of controlling the disease is using expensive pesticides, which cost Nigeria an estimated US$500 million a year. But a Bt variety developed at the Institute for Agricultural Research at Nigerias Ahmadu Bello can help to control the disease. The opinion piece says that concerns such as the transfer of GM genes to wild relatives and the development of resistance to pests need be taken seriously and kept under constant review. But a 2010 European Commission report, which was based on a decade of EU-funded GM research, found that GM crops are not per se more risky than e.g. conventional plant breeding technologies. In addition, it says that GM crops offer a range of unintended ecological benefits. Source: Food Security and AgriBiotech News, 29th November Preventing Hunger: Change Economic Policy: his opinion piece argues that the global food system has been destroyed by decades of misguided policies that emphasized exports over feeding domestic populations and by runaway financial speculation. The opinion piece is authored by Peter M. Rosset, a researcher at the
Center for the Study of Rural Change in Mexico (CECCAM). The opinion piece says that according to the economic law of comparative advantage, agribusinesses should export the food, agrofuels and other products that are grown in a country, while cheaper foods are imported to feed the people. But although per capita food production has climbed steadily for decades, food prices have become very volatile, which has promoted hunger. Fifty years ago, it says, the UN World Food Program (WFP) was formed to help reduce hunger. But its original mandate of handing out food was a band-aid at best and can actually enable bad policies. Among other policy changes, the opinion piece argues for more national subsidization of farmers in developing countries. It says that in most countries the past three decades of neoliberal economic policy have resulted in the cutting back of support for people who produce food for domestic markets. These policies also forced public sectors to downsize their food reserves and stop buying food to stockpile against famine. Small farmers thus lost a key buyer and their guarantee of minimally acceptable crop prices3, so they began to produce less food for local populations. The opinion piece argues that although government food agencies have been plagued by corruption and inefficiency, eliminating them has been worse. A new system should include transparent co-ownership and co-management between the public sector, farmer and consumer organizations. At the international level, it says effective governance mechanisms are needed to keep speculative funds out of the food economy and to apply anti-monopoly measures. Source: Food Security and AgriBiotech News, 29th November Scientists Crack Pulses Mystery: Public sector researchers in the country have sequenced the genome of pigeonpea (also known as arhar or red gram), a widely consumed lentil. Pigeonpea is grown throughout India, and is a staple food for millions of people. This is the first time that Indian researchers have sequenced a plant genome. Thirty-one scientists at the Indian Institute of Agricultural Research and various Indian universities were involved in the four-year project to sequence the pigeonpea genome. The prices of pigeonpea have soared in recent years. The pigeonpea yields are quite low, meaning that much of what is consumed in the country has to be imported from abroad. Lead scientist Nagendra Kumar Singh of the Indian Council of Agricultural Researchs (ICARs)
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National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology in India says that the new genomic information should facilitate the development of high yielding, diseaseresistant varieties of pigeonpea, and end India's reliance on costly imports. Researchers have also joined efforts to sequence the genome of wheat. Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has sanctioned Rs 34 crore (US$7 million) to allow Punjab Agriculture University, ICAR, and Delhi University to engage in the sequencing effort. A completed sequence is expected in three years. Sixteen other nations are involved in the wheatgenome-sequencing project: the U.S., the U.K., France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic, Norway, Israel, Turkey, Russia, China, Japan, Australia, and Argentina.] Source: Food Security and AgriBiotech News, 4th November GM Foods: a 'Biotech Revolution'?: The biotechnology revolution has been a tawdry and most of all a limited revolution, this opinion piece argues. At a global scale, the commercial planting of genetically modified (GM) crops has expanded rapidly over the last 15 years, the opinion piece acknowledges. But it says that this does not mean Game over. While GM crops are now grown on about 10 percent of global cropland, they for the most comprise varieties of only a few crops -- cotton, soybean, maize, and oilseed rape, says the opinion piece. The opinion piece states that just four countries Canada, the U.S., Brazil and Argentina now grow more than 90 percent of GM crops, and more than 80 percent of the GM seeds sold each year are owned and sold by one company, Monsanto, which dominates the GM and global seed industries. Meanwhile, the opinion piece says that only two traits, that of herbicide tolerance and insect resistance, have been successfully developed and marketed, and these are now leading to the development of so-called "superpests" and "superweeds". Critics of the technology say the biotech revolution is stuttering, according to the opinion piece. It cites how Europe is growing 23 percent less GM than it did in 2008 and how China, reportedly, will not now commercialize GM staple crops such as rice and wheat for up to 10 years. Powerful farm movements in Latin America, Southeast Asia, India, and elsewhere are, in addition, strongly opposing GM introduction. Such movements support GM-free agro-ecology, the opinion piece says. Finally, the biotech revolution has been a tawdry revolution, the opinion piece concludes. According to the Global Citizenship Report, the
biotechnology food industry spent more than US$22 million in U.S. political campaign contributions since 2009. And, the opinion piece says, WikiLeaks has shown U.S. diplomats around the world pressing governments to accept GM. Source: Food Security and AgriBiotech News, 31st October UniMelb Scientists Developed Iron-Fortified Rice: A research team led by Alex Johnson at the University of Melbourne in Australia are reporting the development of genetically modified (GM) rice plants containing heightened levels of iron. The research team identified a gene in rice that is responsible for picking up iron. The team then used genetic engineering to increase the activity of the rice gene. Iron levels in the resulting rice have been increased by up to 400 percent, the research team reports. These iron-fortified rice plants have been successfully grown in laboratory and greenhouse environments. The next step will be to test them in the field. Source: Food Security and AgriBiotech News, 28th October GM Crops Promote Superweeds, Food Insecurity and Pesticides, Say NGOs: A new report by 20 Indian, south-east Asian, African, and Latin American food and environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) says that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have not lived up to promises made about them, according to this article. The report, entitled The GMO Emperor Has No Clothes: A Global Citizens Report of the State of GMOs, was coordinated by Vandana Shiva, an antiGMO activist and director of the Indian organization Navdanya International. The article says that the NGOs that signed onto the report collectively represent millions of people. The report claims that genetically modified (GM) crops have failed to increase yields, have led to increased chemical use, and in some cases damage human health. The report cites the emergence of weeds tolerant of the herbicide glyphosate (to which Roundup Ready GM crops are resistant) and the increase in China of pest populations that before the use of Bt cotton caused only minor problems. It also makes claims about the domination of the biotechnology companies Monsanto, Dupont and Syngenta. Farmers have largely adopted GM crops, it asserts, because these companies have heavily lobbied governments, have bought up local seed companies, and have withdrawn conventional seeds from the market. "Choice is being undermined as food systems are increasingly controlled by giant corporations and as chemical and genetic pollution
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spread. GM companies have put a noose round the neck of farmers. They are destroying alternatives in the pursuit of profit," said Shiva, who highlighted what he said are high seed prices being charged farmers. Monsanto disputed the report's findings, saying that "In our view the safety and benefits of GM are well established. Source: Food Security and AgriBiotech News, 26th October Biotech Firms Warn EU over Pace of GM Crop Approval: Europe's biotechnology industry has warned the European Commission that agricultural imports vital to EU food security are increasingly being put at risk, due to the slow pace of the EU's approval system for genetically modified (GM) crops. In a report presented to EU policymakers earlier this month, the biotechnology industry association EuropaBio said the speed of GM crop authorizations in Europe is slowing. EuropaBio estimates that the EU's approval process takes 15 to 20 months longer, on average, than in the three top global exporters of GM crops: the U.S., Brazil, and Canada. The number of GM crops awaiting approval in Europe has risen from about 50 at the end of 2007 to 72 today: 51 for import and 21 for cultivation. Based on current trends, EuropaBio said it expects more than 90 products to be pending approval by 2015. The European Commission, which is the EUs executive body, said its own analysis of GM approvals found the delays were not as significant as stated by EuropaBio and that it gave extra priority to cases that could disrupt imports. The article says that EU policy on GM crops has long been politically fraught, with a majority of consumers opposed to GM foods, but the bloc reliant on imports of about 30 million tons of GM animal feed each year -- equivalent to 60 kg per person. Source: Food Security and AgriBiotech News, 26 th October Govt Moving Cautiously on GM Crops Commercialisation: Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has said that the government is not opposed to genetically modified (GM) crops but is studying their impacts before allowing GM crops other than Bt cotton to be grown commercially. We are not opposed to GM crops, but we are very cautious about that, Pawar said. We are taking lots of precaution, conducting number of trials and are assessing any impact on soil and on environment and human being and animals, he said. Discussing Indias experience Bt cotton, Pawar said that Indian farmers have shown clear appreciation for the
governments decision to approve that crop, as 92 percent of Indias cotton area is now planted to Bt varieties. Our per hectare yield of cotton was somewhat 1.5 quintal and that has reached to 5 quintal. It has benefited the farmers community who have adopted GM variety of cotton, Pawar said. In October 2009, Indias Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) approved the commercial planting of Bt brinjal (a.k.a eggplant). But in February 2010 the countrys environment minister placed a moratorium on the GM brinjal variety, following protests from anti-GM groups that highlighted health concerns. Source: Food Security and AgriBiotech News, 24th October India - Agricultural Biotechnology, Annual Report: This report from the U.S. Department of Agricultures Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) discusses the state of agricultural biotechnology regulation and commercialization in India. Refined soybean oil derived from Roundup Ready soybeans is currently the only genetically modified (GM) food product approved for importation into India, the report says. There has not been any significant progress on the approval of Bt eggplant, according to the report. The report describes how the Depart of Biotechnology (DBT) under India Ministry of Science and Technology (MST) has submitted a draft Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) bill for parliamentary approval. The draft bill, if approved, would change Indias GM regulatory system by establishing a single window clearance mechanism for GM products and processes. According to the report, Bt cotton is currently the only GM crop currently approved for commercial cultivation in India; a total of six events and more than 300 Bt cotton hybrids have been approved for commercial cultivation. Source: Food Security and AgriBiotech News, 24th October World Hunger Report 2011: High, Volatile Prices Set to Continue- Food price volatility featuring high prices is likely to continue and possibly increase, making poor farmers, consumers, and countries more vulnerable to poverty and food insecurity, says a UN global hunger report published today. The annual "The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2011" (SOFI) was produced by three Rome-based UN agencies: the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the World Food Program (WFP). "Demand from consumers in rapidly growing economies will increase, the population
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continues to grow, and further growth in biofuels will place additional demands on the food system," the report predicts. Additionally, it is thought that more frequent extreme weather events may occur, which would further promote food price volatility. The report says that price volatility makes both smallholder farmers and poor consumers increasingly vulnerable to poverty. Small, import-dependent countries, particularly in Africa, are thought to be especially at risk. Many of them still face severe problems following the world food and economic crises of 2006-2008. Such crises, including in the Horn of Africa, "are challenging our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of reducing the proportion of people who suffer from hunger by half in 2015," the heads of the three UN agencies warn in a preface to the report. (In Africa, the number of undernourished increased by 8 percent between 2007 and 2008 while it was essentially constant in Asia.) In the face of these problems, the report stresses the need to increase investment in agriculture. Key areas where such investments should be directed are said to be: cost-effective irrigation, improved land-management practices, and better seeds developed through agricultural research. National-level food export bans should also be avoided; food waste in developed countries and food loss in developing countries needs to be cut down; and more sustainable management of fisheries and forests is needed, the report says. The FAOs best estimate of the number of hungry people for 2010 remains at 925 million. For the 2006-2008 period, the FAO calculates the number of hungry at 850 million. Source: Food Security and AgriBiotech News, 10th October New Borlaug Institute for South Asia Fosters Improved Farming for Food SecurityThe International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), together with Indian authorities, has officially launched the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA): a new institute that it is hoped will help improve food security throughout South Asia. Speaking October 5 at BISAs launch, CIMMYT Director General Thomas Lumpkin said that CIMMYT has been in India for 50 years. Its time we laid down some roots. BISA facilities are being located at cities in three different Indian states: Ludhiana in the Indian state of Punjab, Pusa in Bihar, and Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh. The press release says each of these states contains varied agro-ecological zones, allowing for the testing of a variety of maize and wheat cultivars suited to the
equally varied environments of South Asia. Also at the October 5 launch, Indian Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar highlighted major food-security-related challenges, including continuing population growth both globally and especially in South Asia and the problem of rising food prices and unrest caused by food insecurity. Pawar also praised Norman Borlaug, known as the father of the Green Revolution, after whom the new institute is named. It would not be an overstatement to say that Norman Borlaug is a household name in India, Pawar said. CIMMYT is a research institute of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Source: Food Security and AgriBiotech News, 7th October Pesticides, Soil, All Count in GM Crops Effectiveness, Finds Study: Public sector researchers in India have found that the amount of Bt toxin produced by Bt cotton plants appears to vary depending on the depth of the soil in which the cotton is planted and on soil moisture levels. Bt cotton planted in deep soil produced nearly three times as much insecticidal toxin as Bt cotton that was grown in shallow soil, says D. Blaise of the Indian Institute of Soil Science in Bhopal, India and K.R. Kranthi of the Central Institute for Cotton Research in Nagpur, India. The research results have been published in the journal Current Science. Blaise and Kranthi found, in addition, that variable soil moisture levels, as are found in non-irrigated, rain-fed fields, can reduce Bt toxin levels. They report that Bt toxin levels vary over the course of the planting season and in some cases were much below necessary levels. The research results are based on trials conducted in 2006 and 2007, on 21 test plots at the Central Institute for Cotton Research. There is no doubt that we need Bt cotton. But in regions like Vidarbha which is rain-fed and has a lot of shallow soil, Bt cotton wouldnt work as well as in other parts of the country. The study just points out that you need different kinds of cotton in different regions. A one-size-fits-all approach cant work, says Kranthi. According to the article, 90 percent of Indian cotton acreage is now Bt. The article says that genetically modified (GM) cotton has been credited with tripling cotton production since 2006 and making India a net cotton exporter as well as the worlds second largest cotton producer. In a report released last year, Kranthi pointed out several unforeseen consequences of the widespread adoption of Bt cotton. Ninety percent of current GM cotton hybrids appear to be susceptible to mealy bugs and whiteflies (a
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minor cotton pest), and insecticide use in cotton, as (US$163 million) in 2008, Kranthi found. Source: Food measured by value, appears to have increased from Rs Security and AgriBiotech News, 3rd October 640 crore (US$130 million) in 2006 to Rs 800 crore ______________________________________________________________________________________ Review Article Biotechnological applications of thermostable biocatalysts of thermophilic bacteria T. Satyanarayana
Department of Microbiology, University of Delhi South Campus, New Delhi-110 021, India
ABSTRACT
Temperature is probably the most important environmental parameter that affects the activity, distribution and evolution of living organisms. A small fraction of the total living beings that are capable of growth at elevated temperatures are called thermophiles. Thermophilic microbes may have tremendous potential in future microbial and enzyme technology because their unique ability to function at high temperatures that make them suitable for application in industrial processes. This article deals with biology and biotechnological applications of bacteria that are capable of optimal growth between 60 and 100C.
INTRODUCTION The prokaryotic microbes growing optimally in the temperature range between 65 and 80C, and 80 and 105C are known as extreme and hyper thermophiles, respectively. These microbes have been found to occur in hot water springs, oceanic thermal vents, boiling outflows of geothermal power plants, coal spoil tips, mine effluents, as well as laundry and domestic hot water heaters. After the isolation of Thermus aquaticus from the boiling springs of Yellowstone National Park by Brock and Freeze in 1969, and Sulfolobus acidocaldarius by Brock and his coworkers in 1972 from sulphur springs, several attempts have been made to culture these microbes from hot environmental samples in New Zealand, Australia, Iceland, USA, Russia, Japan and France. Extreme and hyper thermophiles are found in eubacterial and archaebacterial kingdoms (Table 1). Except Thermotoga, all known microbes growing optimally above 75C are archaebacteria. The highest optimum growth temperature recorded for a living organism is 105C for the archaebacteria, Pyrodictium brockii, P. occulcum, Pyrococcus furiosus, P. abyssi, P. woesei, and Pyrobaculum islandicum. These organisms are able to grow even at 110C. According to Brock, bacteria are able to grow at any temperature where water exists in liquid state. Water is known to exist in liquid state even at 250C at the bottom of oceans due to very high hydrostatic pressure (approximately 1400 atm). Obligate anaerobes: All hyperthermophiles, except Acidianus infernus and Aquifex pyrophilus, are obligate
anaerobes because oxygen solubility and thus availability is limited above 90C. The reduction of sulphur rather than O2 appears to be the predominant means of energy conservation by hyperthermophiles. Therefore, all hyperthermophiles are anaerobic SO2 reducing organisms, except methanogens which utilize H2 and CO2 as energy source. All hyperthermophiles are strict organotrophs and most obtain energy by S o respiration. Thermophiles play an important role in organic matter degradation and sulphur cycle in hot environments. The recent developments in molecular ecology such as 16S rRNA analysis in situ, specific whole cell hybridization within enrichments and cloning under the laser microscope allow the detection of uncultured orgaisms, and their isolation. With the newer approaches, a deeper understanding of microbial ecosystems and their participants is expected in future. Advantages offered by thermophiles in biotechnological processes: The utilization of thermophilic bacteria in biotechnology can offer several advantages in overall stability as listed below : Reduced viscosity of media. High solubility of most reactants and accelerating diffusion. Increased productivity due to enhanced reaction rates at elevated temperatures. Thermophilic processes have the potential for shorter reaction times, higher loading rates and increased volume reactors. No cooling requirement for mass cultivation
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Fermenter operation at elevated temperatures readily prevents accumulation of known bacterial and viral pathogens. Less contamination problems. Thermophiles are non-pathogenic. The low activity and high stability of thermophilic cells and their enzymes at room temperature reduce the need for refrigeration during exoenzyme or cell recovery, and provide catalytic activity with a longer half-life for developing immobilization technology. Thermophiles produce a large number of thermostable enzymes which are useful in molecular biology and industrial processes such as starch bioconversion to sugar syrups. Volatilization of products which are potentially inhibitory. Anaerobic fermentations would be easier to operate.
temperature of extreme and
Table. 1. Cardinal hyperthermophiles
Organism EUBACTERIA :
Temperature (C) Min. Opt. Max. 38 45 45 40 40 45 64 72 65 60 70 72 80 72 82 70 67 79 85 90
Bacillus stearothermophilus B. caldolyticus Clostridium themohydrosulfuricum C. thermosulfurogenes Thermus aquaticus T. thermophilus Thermotoga maritima
ARCHAEBACTERIA :
in using thermostable enzymes in industrial processes in comparison with thermolabile enzymes. Higher yields of purified enzymes can be obtained from separation procedures when thermophilic organisms are used as the source. Due to thermostability, the enzymes have a longer useful life in industrial enzyme reactors than their cost-effectiveness. The reactors using thermophilic enzymes can be operated at sufficiently high temperatures to prevent microbial contamination. The resistance of thermophilic enzymes to proteolytic attack will tend to negate the effect of any microbial contamination that occurs. The resistance to detergents and solvents will enable the use of these to improve the solubility of enzyme substrates or products. It will also minimize losses during the cleaning of reactors using immobilized enzymes. The use of highly thermostable enzymes has been increasing, partly due to the ability to clone genes from thermophiles into mesophiles to circumvent problems concerned with growing them, such as nonGRAS (generally regarded as safe) organisms and low productivity of natural strains. The thermostability of an enzyme is a function of its stabilizing forces. These include hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic bonding, ionic interactions, metal binding, and disulphide bridges. These stabilizing forces contribute to overall stability, and the means by which this is achieved varies among enzymes. Enhanced thermostability is not due to any single attribute or mechanism but to a combination of stabilising effects derived by various interactions. The additional stability of proteins from thermophilic organisms can be achieved by accumulation of small changes by substituting aminoacid residues by site-directed mutagenesis, immobilization of enzymes and chemical modification. Thermophiles in biotechnology: A good example of the specialized application of enzymes isolated from extreme thermophiles is the use of Taq DNA polymerase (half life at 95C-40min) from Thermus aquaticus in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The use of vent DNA polymerase from Thermococcus littoralis (half-life at 95C-7h) or Deep vent DNA polymerase from Pyrococcus species (half life at 95 C25h) instead of Taq polymerase in PCR reduce error frequency significantly due to their proof reading (35 exonuclease) activity. Another such example is the development of ligase amplification reaction (LAR) or ligase chain reaction (LCR) where thermostable
Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum Methanococcus jannaschii Sulfolobus acidocaldarius Pyrodictium occultum Pyrodictium islandicum Acidianus infernus Pyrococcus furiosus Thermococcus littoralis
2530 50 55 85
6570 85 75 105 100 90 100 88
7578 86 80 110 102 96 105 97
Advantages of using thermostable enzymes in industrial processes: There are quite a few advantages
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DNA ligase from Thermus thermophilus is used. This technique is useful in identifying gene defects, point mutations and microorganisms. Restriction endonucleases such as Taq I, BcII, Bst EII, Tth 111 and Sua I are obtained from T. aquaticus, Bacillus caldolyticus, B. stearothermophilus, T. thermophilus and Sulfolobus solfataricus respectively. Since these are thermostable, these can be stored at room temperature. The main application for thermostable enzymes has been starch liquefaction using amylases from B. licheniformis and B. stearothermophilus, proteases for food processing and detergents. Some new areas for application are the production of cyclodextrins using cyclodextrin glycosyl transferase and biobleacing of wood pulps using xylanases. The enzymes utilized for the currently used conversion process of starch to sugar syrups in liquefaction, saccharification and isomerisation steps function at different temperatures and pH. The discovery of various starch-hydrolysing enzymes which are active at high temperatures and low pH vales will significantly lower the sugar production costs. The amylases of Dictyoglomus thermophilum and Clostridium thermosulfurogens are thermostable as well as calciumindependent. The -amylase from Pyrococcus woesei is optimally active at 100C and pH 5.5 and it does not require Ca++. The maltase from P. furiosus and P. woesei is optimally active at 100C and pH 5.5. Cyclodextrin glycosyl transferase from Thermoanaerobacter sp. is optimally active at 95C and pH 5.0. This enzyme liquefies starch and produces cyclodextrin. The use of this enzyme reduces reaction time from 1-3 days to 36h. Most of these enzymes have been cloned in mesopiles and expressed. Thermostable proteases such as thermolysin from B. thermoproteolyticus and SP369 from a mutant of B. stearothermophilus are useful in the hydrolysis of proteins at high temperatures, and enzymatic production of aspartame and other peptides. Pyrolysin from P. furiosus has a half-life 600h at 98C. In Kraft pulping, alkaline cooking of pulp is carried out for removing 95% of lignin present in wood. The remaining 5% of lignin gives a dark brown colour that darkens in U.V. light or by oxidation. For obtaining white pulp for high quality paper, the brown colour is removed by a multistage bleaching process using chlorine or chlorine dioxide. Presently, there is much concern about the environmental impact of the chemicals generated from bleaching process. The
treatment of pulp prior to bleaching with thermostable and alkaline xylanase removes lignin linked to xylan, and thus reduces the amount of chlorine required. The species of Thermotoga, Geobacillus, Dictyoglomus and Thermoanaerobacter are known to produce highly thermostable xylanases. Clostridium thermocellum ferments cellulose and cellodextrins to produce a mixture of ethanol, actic acid, lactic acid, H2 and CO2. The problems in the fermentation of cellulose to ethanol by C. thermocellum are low yield of ethanol, slow rate of cellulose fermentation, low cell yield and toxicity of ethanol and organic acid end products. The production of ethanol from wood cellulose with C. thermocellum could be enhanced by co-cultuing with Thermoanaerobium or C. thermohydrosulfuricum which can ferment xylose, mannose, cellobiose and glucose. The major limitation with thermophilic anaerobic fermentations is the apparent lack of end product tolerance of these species. Other important roles for hyper thermophiles and their enzymes are in transesterification reactions, oligosaccharide synthesis and phospholipid synthesis. Thermophilic methane generation employing non-defined mixed cultures has been suggested as an attractive bioconversion process for the treatment of municipal wastes and animal manure. Thermophilic methane formation using Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum may have process potential for natural gas production in future. Thermophilic archaebacteria may become a source for special lipids or biopolymers, and they may also contain new and useful secondary metabolites. Some new and specialized applications that have been developed are the use of B. stearothermophilus in spore strip sterility indicators and measurement of penicillin in milk. The extraction of soluble metals from sulphide containing ores can be facilitated by using iron-and sulphur oxidizing themophilic bacteria. Thermophilic biomining is particularly advantageous where the leaching rate is temperature dependent (e.g., the release of copper from chalcopyrite). The acidophilic Sulfolobus and Acidianus are the candidates for this technology. High extraction rates have been obtained with Sulfolobus. The use of thermophilic microbes resulted in a rapid rate of desulphurization. Using S. acidocaldarius, 90% removal of pyritic sulphur was achieved in 4-6 days, and that with Thiobacillus ferroxidans required 15-20 days. The removal of sulphur was dependent upon the sulphur content and particle surface area.
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BRSI News Letter Vol. 9 (1) January 2012 Kristjansson, J.K. 1992. Thermophilic Bacteria, CRC Press, London and New York, pp. 228. Robb, F., Antranikian, G., Grogan, D. Driessen, A. 2007. Thermophiles: Biology and Technology at High Temperatures, CRC Press, pp. 368.
Further Reading
Adams M W W 1993. Enzymes and proteins from organisms that grow near and above 100 C. Ann. Rev Microbiol. 47: 627-658. Brock T D 1986. Thermophiles, Wiley Interscience. pp. 316. Coolbear T, R M Daniel and H W Morgan 1992. The enzymes from extreme thermophiles : bacterial sources, thermostabilities and industrial relevance. Adv. Biochem. Engin. Biotechnol. 45 : 57-98.
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News Letter

Volume 9, No 1 [January 2012]

BRSI News Letter Vol. 9 (1) January 2012

Distinguished guests on dais during the Opening session

A glimpse of the delegates during breaks

A glimpse of the Closing sessio

BRSI News Letter Vol. 9 (1) January 2012

Best Poster Awards Winners: To encourage the young

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Prevention of hyperglycemia and oxidative stress in high-fat induced obese in C57/BL6j

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Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur

Mr John Lijo, Department of Bioinformatics, Christ College, Rajkot, Gujarat,

Mr Gulshan Singh, Environmental Microbiology, CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow

BRSI News Letter Vol. 9 (1) January 2012

BRSI News Letter Vol. 9 (1) January 2012

BRSI News Letter Vol. 9 (1) January 2012

BRSI News Letter Vol. 9 (1) January 2012

The organizers express their gratitude to these organizations and agencies.

BRSI News Letter Vol. 9 (1) January 2012

BRSI News Letter Vol. 9 (1) January 2012

10 - 12 April 2012 2 - 4 May 2012 10 - 13 May 2012 23 - 26 September 2012 Date

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BRSI News Letter Vol. 9 (1) January 2012

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BRSI News Letter Vol. 9 (1) January 2012

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BRSI News Letter Vol. 9 (1) January 2012

BRSI News Letter Vol. 9 (1) January 2012