Biotecnika newspaper 2 may 2018

May 2nd, 2018.

Vol. 02 NO 18

NEWS - PAGE 2 BHARAT BIOTECH COMMITS TO 1 CRORE WORTH VACCINES IN TELANGANA

NEWS - PAGE 7 TEMPERATURE INFLUENCES FAT EPIGENETICS: STUDY

NEWS - PAGE 6

SCHOLARSHIP/ADMISSIONS

INDIAN GOVERNMENT ENTERS BIOTECH-CHAMPIONING FINANCE AGREEMENT WITH WORLD BANK

Twisty “Knot” DNA IN LIVING CELLS

PAGES 8-12

SCIENCE GOES one step FURTHER IN DISCOVERING This unusual DNA is typically present in the wild and has *knot* been seen in living cells hitherto. The traditional double helix DNA occurring in living cells has now got an upgrade- a twisted knot upgrade.

By Disha Padmanabha

TWISTY “KNOT” DNA DISCOVERED IN LIVING CELLS FOR THE FIRST TIME Scientists have now discovered a new structure inside human cells: a never-before-seen twisted “knot” of DNA. Dubbed the “i-motif,” this four-stranded knot looks totally different from the iconic double helix. This discovery in living cells confirms our complex genetic code is crafted with more intricate symmetry than just the double helix structure everybody associates with DNA – and the forms these molecular variants take affect how our biology functions.

The twisted knot structure only occurs in a relatively small region of a genome, like a knot in the helical double strands of DNA. In the twisted knot structure, Cs bind to Cs instead of to Gs. This phenomenon was first observed in labs in the 1990s, but for a long time it seemed that the structure could only occur under acidic conditions that did not exist inside a living cell. More recent work has shown the knots could also occur in other environments. On a hunch, Garvan Institute researchers devel-

oped an antibody that could sniff out i-motifs in the genome and identify them, tagging them with an immunofluorescent glow.

This allowed researchers to see how frequently and where these knots of DNA occur.

They found that the i-motifs are could fold and unfold depending on the acidity of their surroundings, and that the codes were generally found in areas of the genome involved in whether or not a certain gene gets expressed.

This suggests the i-motifs may be some kind of switch that can regulate gene expression.

DNA, which hold that adenine always binds to thymine, and cytosine always hooks up with guanine. In this instance, the structure is formed by two cytosines pairing up.

Given that 98% of the genome does not code for proteins, yet much of this DNA code predicts health and disease, the push is on to decode this information. “Its probably not one dimensional but three or four dimensional”, says Mattick. As Dinger puts it, “These findings will set the stage for a whole new

Human genome function is underpinned by the primary storage of genetic information in canonical B-form DNA, with a second layer of DNA structure providing regulatory control. I-motif structures are thought to form in cytosine-rich regions of the genome and to have regulatory functions; however, in vivo evidence for the existence of such structures has so far remained elusive. push to understand what this new DNA shape is really for.”

In the future, Zeraati and colleagues will attempt to learn what exact functions these DNA structures serve inside our bodies. Also, perhaps other alternative DNA conformations exist in human live cells, as well, such as A-DNA, Z-DNA, triplex DNA, and cruciform DNA. Such discoveries might open the gates for a new age of genetic research.

“What excited us most is that we could see the green spots – the I-motifs – appearing and disappearing over time,” says Mahdi Zeraati, the first author of the paper. “It seems likely that they are there to help switch genes on or off.”

Rather shockingly, the I-motif doesn’t just disobey the structural rules, it also disobeys the normally strict base-pairing rules for

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Vol. 02 NO 18

May 2nd, 2018.

Bharat Biotech Commits to 1 Crore Worth Vaccines in Telangana The pioneering Indian vaccine maker has now announced that it will be supplying Rs. 1 crore worth of vaccines in the Telangana region on its 20th year eve. The commitment letter was handed over to the Hon’ble Minister Shri. KT Rama Rao, Cabinet Minister for IT E&C, MAUD, Industries & Commerce, Mines & Geology, Public Enterprises and NRI Affairs, Government of Telangana.

The Genome Valley based biotech will be undertaking the distribution of Rotavac and TypbarTCV vaccines that have got global recognition and endorsement from World Health Organisation. Speaking at the logo launch, Rama Rao said, “Bharat has been instrumental in making Hyderabad a vaccine capital of the world. We will soon be having Genome Valley 2.0 to further strengthen our position in the global biotech destination.”

“Our journey began 20 years ago and we have demonstrated our expertise in all activities required for an integrated biotech company. Our focus is on preventing infectious

diseases and to reduce its public health impact,” Dr. Krishna Ella said.

Since it began its operations 20 years ago at Genome Valley, Bharat Biotech has emerged as a trusted vaccine research, development & manufacturing partner to governments, public health agencies, healthcare providers, delivering at global scale with highest degree of indigenisation capabilities, and leveraging advancements in new molecule research.

Led by over 50 patents, a strong pipeline of vaccine brands that is accessible in over 100 countries Bharat Biotech is a uniquely integrated company that has built strong infrastructure to consolidate its leadership to make made in India vaccines for the world.

The announcement was made jointly with the company’s decision to renew its corporate logo.

By Disha Padmanabha

Chinese Biotech Could be the Next Major Player in Pharma Shanghai Hengrui Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Co., Ltd, is a fully integrated pharmaceutical company in China, with annual net sales of over U.S. $1.4 billion. Hengrui’s products and R&D span over multiple therapeutic areas, such as oncology and hematology, anesthesiology and pain management, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, contrast media, and anti-inflammation.

Recognised as the top innovative Chinese drug company, with about 20 new molecular entities entering clinical trials and dozens more under pre-clinical development- it is now pitched to the next Roche in the market, Bloomberg reports.

Hengrui specializes in new medicines for antineoplastics, endocrine system, cardiovascular and the immune system. Last year, Hengrui achieved a breakthrough with the China approval of apatinib, a small-molecule anti-angiogenesis targeting agent for late-stage gastric cancer. Apatinib is currently undergoing phase II trials in China for liver and lung cancer indications.

The company also has two simultaneous trials under way in the U.S. and China. Pyrotinib, an EGFR/HER2 inhibitor for HER2+ breast cancer is in phase II, and retgliptin, a DPP-4 inhibitor for type II diabetes is in phase III. But in the last three years Hengrui has dedicated itself to biologics as well, Lianshan Zhang, vice president and head of R&D at Hengrui.

Formed in 1970 as a state-owned company, it began investing in its own R&D in 2004 and has since cultivated an innovative drug subsidiary that employs 2,000 people.

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Hengrui invests more than 10% of its sales in R&D, “which is big by Chinese standards.” With sales of $1.6 billion last year, Hengrui does most of its business in China.

The company may file for approval to market its first biotech drug in the second half and push out innovative drugs every two to three years thereafter, reckons China International Capital Corp.

There’s a caveat says Bloomberg- Hengrui is one of the world’s most expensive largecap healthcare providers. Valued at 56 times forward earnings, it’s outstripped only by South Korea’s Celltrion Inc., whose pipeline holds great potential as biologic drugs reach their patent cliffs.

China wants to go big on biotech- something that’s been long in the making and neither is the country shy on the subject- the country is the site of about a third of global trials of chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy, a type of immune treatment in which cells are removed from a patient, armed with proteins that allow them to recognize cancer, and reinserted into the body.

Therefore, all this put together, for the time being, investors are unfazed- so all’s going well for Hengrui.

By Disha Padmanabha

Vol. 02 NO 18

May 2nd, 2018.

Gene Correction in Transfusion-Dependent Thalassemia Works Wonders β-thalassemia is an inherited blood disease that can cause severe anemia, a condition where there are not enough healthy red blood cells in the blood. β-thalassemia is one of the most common genetic diseases in the world, and approximately 60,000 children are born every year with a serious form of the disease.

Transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia, also called β-thalassemia major or Cooley’s anemia, is fatal within the first few years of life if not treated. Treatment of transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia includes frequent and lifelong blood transfusions, which deliver healthy red blood cells to the body to correct the anemia.

However, blood transfusions can cause too much iron to build up in the body. Because iron build up cannot be eliminated naturally, accumulated iron can damage vital organs especially the heart and the liver – and cause additional issues, such as abdominal pain, weakness, fatigue and joint pain. Patients

who receive ongoing blood transfusions must also take medicines to remove the excess iron. Those medicines, called iron chelation therapy, also have side effects and can negatively impact a patient’s quality of life.

Now, Swiss-US firm bluebird bio has results from two clinical studies showing its LentiGlobin gene therapy is effective in treating patients with beta-thalassemia.

The results clearly indicate that the technology could remove the need for patients with beta-thalassemia to get regular blood transfusions, which can cause iron to build up in a patient’s blood, damaging the heart, liver and other organs.

In this international clinical trial of Bluebird’s treatment, 15 out of 22 patients with the disease were able to stop blood transfusions entirely after receiving the therapy. The other seven patients, the majority of whom had the most severe form of the disease, now need transfusions less often.

Kerala Startup Encashes on Azolla to Crank Up Cattle Yield Fifty-five million years ago, when scientists believe the Earth was in a near-runaway state, dangerously overheated by greenhouse gases, the Arctic Ocean was also a very different place. It was a large lake, connected to the greater oceans by one primary opening: the Turgay Sea. When this channel closed or was blocked nearly 50 million years ago, the enclosed body of water became the perfect habitat for a small-leaved fern called Azolla. Imagine the Arctic like the Dead Sea of today: It was a hot lake that had become stratified, suffering from a lack of exchange with outside waters.

That meant its waters were loaded with excess nutrients.

Azolla took advantage of the abundant nitrogen and carbon dioxide, two of its favorite foods, and flourished. Large populations formed thick mats that covered the body of the lake. When rainfall increased from the changing climate, flooding provided a thin layer of fresh water for Azolla to creep outward, over parts of the surrounding continents.

Azolla bloomed and died like this in cycles

for roughly 1 million years, each time laying down an additional layer of the thick blanket of sediment that was finally found in 2004 by the Arctic Coring Expedition.

Now, this mighty, legendary fern is aiding a student startup at Kerala boost the production of cattle milk.

As a solution to the country’s lacking poultry nutrition, students of MET’s School of Engineering in Mala identified the importance of Azolla, an aquatic fern found commonly in India covering large water surfaces, and used it to begin a startup venture.

21-year-old Nikhil VM, a third-year student at the institute along with a bunch of his friends started out by promoting variants of dried and green Azolla- which in turn was found to be extremely wholesome given the fern’s ability to grow at lightning speed across the water and provide wholesome nutrients thereby facilitating its use as a form of livestock feed and come to the rescue of poultry and dairy farmers.

“The idea came because there are a lot of

By Disha Padmanabha

In the Bluebird Bio treatment, blood stem cells are taken from patients and modified by a virus that inserts a working copy of the gene that is defective in people with beta-thalassemia. The patients receive chemotherapy to remove the blood stem cells with defective genes from their bodies, then the modified stem cells carrying the proper gene are infused to replace them.

“These interim data demonstrate the potential of LentiGlobin gene therapy to address the underlying genetic cause of TDT and increase production of functional red blood cells,” said Dave Davidson, M.D., Bluebird’s chief medical officer.

“Nearly all patients in the two studies with a non-β0/β0genotype achieved freedom from chronic blood transfusions and, importantly, several of these patients reached normal or near-normal total hemoglobin levels and sustained those levels throughout the interim study period. We hope the refined manufacturing process implemented in our ongoing pivotal trials of LentiGlobin will translate into further normalization of total hemoglo-

bin levels across genotypes.”

“We look forward to our first filing in the European Union (EU) this year and continue to work closely with investigators and regulatory authorities to complete our trials and bring this important treatment option to patients as soon as possible,” Davidson said.

Nine of the twenty-two patients suffered from severe beta thalassemia, and, after treatment, the number of blood transfusions they required fell by seventy-four per cent. Three of the nine no longer need any transfusions at all. The same is true of twelve of the thirteen patients with the less severe version of the disease.

So far, the subjects of the trial have been observed for a maximum of forty-two months, but they will be monitored long into the future, to insure that the benefits of the therapy persist and cause no serious side effects. One early concern—that the procedure could disrupt the DNA of the stem cells, potentially triggering leukemia—has not, fortunately, come to fruition.

By Disha Padmanabha

poultry and dairy farmers near our college.

We see them every day. But they were using ordinary livestock feed which had no micronutrients at all. So we thought of experimenting with Azolla,” says Nikhil, who took the idea via his college professor to the Kerala Startup Mission (KSM).

To convince KSM for funding to take the product forward, the students built a temporary tank on their college terrace to grow Azolla. “Getting the seeds was the toughest part. We couldn’t get them anywhere. Finally, we found a farmer who had grown it in a small tank. We bought some from him,” says

Nikhil.

“We got really good feedback. The dairy farmers said they could notice a rise of 20 per cent in milk production from a cow after they used our Azolla,” Nikhil told The Indian Express. “Farmers don’t know the importance of Azolla. There’s no awareness. We want to go and tell them about its benefits.”

Whereas the team is not looking at numbers at the moment, they do intend toscale up production, in order to help more dairy and poultry farmers in Kerala in the near future.

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Vol. 02 NO 18

May 2nd, 2018.

Monsanto’s BT Cotton Patent Plea Snubbed by Delhi HC Cotton and other monocultured crops require an intensive use of pesticides as various types of pests attack these crops causing extensive damage. Over the past 40 years, many pests have developed resistance to pesticides.

So far, the only successful approach to engineering crops for insect tolerance has been the addition of Bt toxin, a family of toxins originally derived from soil bacteria. These toxins are effective against a variety of economically important crop pests but pose no hazard to non-target organisms like mammals and fish. Three Bt crops are now commercially available: corn, cotton, and potato.

As of now, cotton is the most popular of the Bt crops: it was planted on about 1.8 million acres (728437 ha) in 1996 and 1997. The Bt gene was isolated and transferred from a bacterium bacillus thurigiensis to American cotton. The American cotton was subsequently crossed with Indian cotton to introduce the gene into native varieties.

When Monsanto wanted to introduce Bt Cotton into India, it did so through a partnership with Mahyco, a well-known seed company based in Maharashtra to form Monsanto-Mahyco Biotech (MMB). Monsanto provided the technology and Mahyco would produce local seeds and distribute them.

This way Monsanto ensures the spread of the technology while it takes a share of profits from each of the seed companies. Today Monsanto has a clear monopoly in the Bt Cotton market, which is why they can sell each seed packet at the same price that they do in the USA. However during the time of crop failure the company is not around to take on the liability in addition to all the harassment of farmers.

And in order to curb this unhealthy situation, the government cut royalties that local seed companies pay to Monsanto, for the second time in two years. This follows previous attempts to defang Monsanto.

In a landmark judgment, the Delhi HC order turned down Monsanto India’s patent on Bt cotton technology- thereby ending a prolonged row between the US agri-biotech major and seed companies in India over the issue of the patent over the plant material.

The court also said that the seed companies will pay the trait value as ascertained by the Government.

As a result, the patent held by Monsanto, through its Indian arm Mahyco-Monsanto Biotech Ltd (MMBL) over its Bollgard-II Bt cotton seed technology, a genetically modified variant which resists the bollworm pest,

By Disha Padmanabha

was decreed to be unenforceable in India.

The division bench of justices Ravindra Bhat and Yogesh Khanna, however, permitted MMBL to approach the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPVFRA) under the agriculture ministry for registering the variety within three months, following which the authority will decide on a benefit-sharing mechanism. Currently, trait fees on Bt cotton seeds are decided by a price control committee under the agriculture ministry.

The court’s order came in a case filed in 2015 by Monsanto, through MMBL, against Nuziveedu Seeds and its subsidiaries for selling Bt cotton seeds using its patented technology despite termination of a licence agreement in November 2015. The order and the court’s interpretation of section 3(j) of the Patents Act, 1970, may prove to be an impediment for entry of new technology in Indian agriculture as technology developers will lose pricing freedom.

Reacting to the judgment, a spokesperson for Monsanto India in a statement said: “As a company focused on bringing relevant innovation to India’s farmers, MMB (Mahyco Monsanto Biotech) is very disappointed with today’s order by the Delhi High Court. Over the years MMB has conducted its business in adherence with all applicable laws of India and all our patents were granted after due review under these laws. Today’s order will have wide-ranging, negative implications for biotech-based innovation across many sectors within India, and is inconsistent with other international markets where agricultural innovation has flourished.”

After the verdict was pronounced, Monsanto sought that the decision be kept in abeyance for a few weeks so that it could file an appeal in the Supreme Court. The high court declined to keep the operation of its decision in Bench, but granted the US company a certificate of fitness to file an appeal in the apex court.

Deep Buried Link between Extrachromosomal DNA and Tumors Unearthed Cancer genomes are subject to continuous mutagenic processes in combination with insufficient DNA damage repair. Chemotherapy and ionizing radiation may further enhance tumor evolution by eliminating cells lacking the ability to cope with increased levels of genotoxic stress, while targeted therapy may favor subclones in which the targeted vulnerability is absent.

GBM, a World Health Organization (WHO) grade IV astrocytoma, is the most prevalent and aggressive primary central nervous system tumor. GBM is characterized by poor response to standard post-resection radiation and cytotoxic therapy, resulting in dismal prognosis with a 2-year survival rate around 15%.

The genomic and transcriptomic landscape of GBM has been extensively described. To evaluate how genomically heterogeneous tumor cell populations are affected by selective pressures arising from the transitions from tumor to culture to xenograft, scientists at the Henry Ford Health System’s Hermelin Brain Tumor Center in Detroit and The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) have now performed a comprehensive genomic and transcriptomic analysis of 13 GBMs, highlighting the evolutionary process of GBM cells, placing emphasis on the diverging dynamics of chromosomal DNA alterations and extrachromosomally amplified DNA elements in tumor evolution.

A multi-institutional team led by Professor Roel Verhaak, Ph.D., of The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) and Ana C. deCarvalho, Ph.D.,

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Assistant Professor from Henry Ford Health System’s Hermelin Brain Tumor Center in Detroit, MI, conducted a detailed analyses of the tumor cells from patient to culture to mouse revealed that, for the most part, the cells retained the same genomic lesions.

The primary caveat was the finding that in a few cases, the numbers of oncogene copies differed between tumors and the cultures and PDX mouse samples derived from them. If an oncogene is increased or amplified, that can both cause and maintain cancer, so differences in gene amplification can be very important.

“The selective advantage conferred to tumor cells by the regulation of oncogene copy number in ecDNA has not been sufficiently addressed in interpreting results in the laboratory or in clinical trials. Using the GBM patient-derived models carrying cDNA amplification of the most frequent oncogenes, we are developing and testing novel combination therapies specific for each unique tumor,” says de Carvalho. ecDNA elements were first discovered when directly under microscopes in cancer cells more than 50 years ago, but it remains unknown how they arise in the first place.

Unlike chromosomal DNA, these “extras” are inherited inconsistently as a tumor grows.

That is, when a cancer cell divides, the DNA on the chromosomes almost always gets accurately duplicated and remains the same in the daughter cells. But ecDNA inheritance

By Disha Padmanabha

appears to be far more random. Sometimes both daughter cells inherit DNA, but sometimes all or most of it will end up in one cell and not the other.

“The process quickly creates important differences between cells within the same tumor, and it helps accelerate the evolution of cancer,” says Verhaak. “It provides the cells with more ways to evade stress. Therefore, there’s a better chance that at least some of the cells

will survive severe stress, such as stresses caused by a chemotherapy or radiation.”

“We think targeting DNA has huge potential for the development of new cancer treatments,” says Verhaak. “We’re now working to develop sequencing-based protocols to identify DNA more efficiently. The bigger goal is to learn how and why DNA elements form. If we can block those mechanisms, we’ll have a way to prevent the evolution, and perhaps even the formation, of many cancers.“

Vol. 02 NO 18

May 2nd, 2018.

Scientists Generate “Essentialome” with the Help of CRISPR Screening Haploid cells allow genetic screening through the generation of a highly enriched hemizygous mutant library, owing to the single set of chromosomes in these cells. Much previous work on haploid genetics has been carried out in unicellular organisms, but recent developments have made it possible to extend this field into mammalian cells.

Now, however, scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem isolated haploid human embryonic stem cells and performed a genome-wide CRISPR–Cas9-based lossof-function screen on karyotypically normal haploid hPSCs to define the genes essential for normal growth and survival of human PSCs and the genes that restrict their growth.

“Our screen revealed the essence of hPSC-specific genes and marked the major pathways that regulate the growth of these cells,” the scientists wrote in its published paper in Nature Cell Biology. The results also revealed opposing roles for tumor suppressors and oncogenes, evaluated the role of genes for hereditary diseases in early development and growth in humans and showed how carcinogenic genes could affect the growth of the human embryo.

“This study creates a new framework for understanding what it means to be an embryonic stem cell on it genetic level, “says co-author Atilgan Yilmaz, Ph.D. “The more complete a picture we have of nature in these cells, the better chances we have for successful therapies in the clinic.”

The researchers analyzed virtually all human genes in the human genome by generating more than 180,000 distinct mutations.

To produce such a vast array of mutations, they combined a sophisticated gene-editing technology (CRISPR-Cas9 screening) with a new type of embryonic stem cells that was recently isolated by the same research group.

This new type of stem cells harbors only a single copy of the human genome, instead of two copies from the mother and father, making gene editing easier thanks to the need of mutating only one copy for each gene.

The study found that a mere 9% of all the genes in the human genome are essential for the growth and survival of human embryonic stem cells, whereas 5% of them actually limit the growth of these cells.

The team could also analyze the role of genes responsible for all hereditary disorders

In a Moonshot for Biology, Earth BioGenome Project to Sequence all of the Planet’s Eukaryotic Biodiversity Increasing our understanding of Earth’s biodiversity and responsibly stewarding its resources are among the most crucial scientific and social challenges of the new millennium.

And powerful advances in genome sequencing technology, informatics, automation, and artificial intelligence, have propelled humankind to the threshold of a new beginning in understanding, utilizing, and conserving biodiversity. For the first time in history, it is possible to efficiently sequence the genomes of all known species and to use genomics to help discover the remaining 80 to 90 percent of species that are currently hidden from science.

Therefore, a new ambitious project dubbed a moonshot for biological science- The Earth BioGenome Project- aims to sequence the DNA of all the planet’s eukaryotes, some 1.5 million known species including all known plants, animals, and single-celled organisms.

The ambitious project will take 10 years to complete and cost an estimated $4.7 billion.

The project stands to redefine our understanding of life on Earth, the researchers claim and carve inroads in other fields such as conservation, technology, genomics, and medicine, among others. It might also lead to the discovery of 10 to 15 million eukaryotes

species still unknown, the bulk of which is believed to be single-celled organisms, insects, or tiny marine life.

A goal as ambitious as this one requires the help of many people. As such, the project will gather citizen scientists and students around the globe for help. Whatever data they gather will end up being available for free for other scientific uses.

EBP calls for scientists to sequence the genomes of 9,330 species, one from each plant, animal and protozoan taxonomic family as reference genomes in the first three years.

Then, the plan calls for sequencing the genome of one species from each genus—the next taxonomic division finer than family— during years four to seven, although in less detail, for a total of about 150,000 genera.

The remaining 1.5 million species would be sequenced in still less detail during the final four years of the project.

“The partnership will construct a global biology infrastructure project to sequence life on the planet to enable solutions for preserving the Earth’s biodiversity, managing ecosystems, spawning bio-based industries and sustaining human societies,” said Harris Lewin, who chairs the Earth BioGenome Project working group. Lewin holds appoint-

By Disha Padmanabha

in early human development and growth.

Furthermore, they showed how cancer-causing genes could affect the growth of the human embryo.

“This gene atlas enables a new functional view on how we study the human genome and provides a tool that will change the fashion by which we analyze and treat cancer and genetic disorders,” said Prof. Nissim Benvenisty, MD, PhD, Director of the Azrieli Center for Stem Cells and Genetic Research and the

Herbert Cohn Chair in Cancer Research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the senior author of the study.

Another key finding of the study was the identification of a small group of genes that are uniquely essential for the survival of human embryonic stem cells but not to other cell types. These genes are thought to maintain the identity of embryonic stem cells and prevent them from becoming cancerous or turning into adult cell types.

By Disha Padmanabha

ments in the Department of Evolution and Ecology and the UC Davis Genome Center.

Technology will be key to the project, such as terrestrial and underwater robots, portable genetic sequencers and instrumented drones that can go out, identify samples in the field, and bring those samples back to the laboratory. When completed, the project is expected to require about one exabyte (1 billion gigabytes) of digital-storage capacity.

The EBP, however, is not beginning its massive task from scratch. It is building on already-existing efforts to sequence the genomes of more specific taxonomic groups such as the Global Invertebrate Genomics Alliance (GIGA), which is targeting 7,000 non-insect/non-nematode species with an emphasis on marine taxa, and the i5K Initiative, which is sequencing the genomes of no less than 5,000 arthropod species important to agriculture and biological research.

So far, scientists from around the world, individually and in various networks, have sequenced the genomes of about 15,000 species, less than 0.1 percent of all life on Earth.

The total cost for phase I of EBP is estimated at about $500 million. The total cost of the 10-year project is expected to be roughly $4.5 billion. EBP’s feasibility benefits from the sharp decline in sequencing costs, down from $10,000 per genome in 2001 to $1,000 today.

As a proof of concept project, Lewin and

partners have organized the Amazon Bank of Codes initiative in the Amazon basin. The pilot project aims to offer indigenous and traditional communities an opportunity to reap a fair share of the economic value generated from the use of biological data and natural assets from their local biomes.

“Although a global enterprise of this scale might initially seem technically challenging or expensive, we are confident that we currently have all of the necessary tools and knowledge to accomplish these audacious goals through coordinated high-throughput workflows that are replicated in ecosystems throughout the world,” said Warren Johnson, a research zoologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. “We are fully aware that the longer we wait to get organized and started, the more likely we are to lose important biological insights of our planet’s biodiversity.”

Natural history museums and botanical gardens will serve a critical role in providing the expertise on the classification of biodiversity and the necessary genomic samples for analyses to ensure the success of the Earth BioGenome Project. The National Museum of Natural History’s Global Genome Initiative (GGI) is already filling their liquid-nitrogen tanks with samples provided by scientists from around the globe.

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Vol. 02 NO 18

May 2nd, 2018.

Indonesian “Sea Nomads” are Aided by Genes for Oxygen-Free Deep diving Humans are the only mammals to have colonized all of Earth’s most extreme environments, from high altitude mountain chains to the remote islands of the Pacific. Human phenotypic adaptations to extreme environments have been the subject of much research, in part because locally adapted populations provide an opportunity to study the genetic and physiological consequences of environmental perturbations.

People in Tibet and Ethiopian highlands have adapted to living at high altitudes, for example. Cattle-herding people in East Africa and northern Europe have gained a mutation that helps them digest milk as adults.

Now, a team of researchers reported a new kind of adaptation — not to air or to food, but to the ocean. A group of sea-dwelling people in Southeast Asia have evolved into better divers.

For over 1,000 years, the Bajau people – known as “sea nomads” have traversed the seas in houseboats, hunting for food by free diving with spears. As a result, the Southeast Asian population has evolved a remarkably ability to dive to great depths. Known for their remarkable breath-holding abilities, Bajau are capable of diving up to 70m with nothing more than a set of weights and traditional wooden goggles.

But while the Bajau people’s talents have long been known, it was unclear whether the skill was the result of practice, as in the case of the excellent underwater vision of Thai “sea nomad” children, or the result of adaptations which have their roots in the Bajau people’s DNA. What wasn’t previously known was whether their preternatural diving skills have a genetic basis, given that they may spend 60% of their workdays underwater hunting for fish and sea cucumbers.

“That doesn’t really compare to any other humans. The closest thing to that is sea ot-

ters,” said evolutionary geneticist Melissa Ilardo, whose latest research focuses on a Bajau community in Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Previous work showed that in seals, marine mammals that spend much of their life underwater, spleens are disproportionately large. Study author Melissa Llardo from the Center for Geogenetics at the University of Copenhagen wanted to see if the same characteristic was true for diving humans. During a trip to Thailand, she heard about the sea nomads and was impressed by their legendary abilities.

“I wanted to first meet the community, and not just show up with scientific equipment and leave,” she says of her initial travels to Indonesia. “On the second visit, I brought a portable ultrasound machine and spit collection kits. We went around to different homes, and we would take images of their spleens.”

Over three trips in the summer of 2015, she got to know people from the Bajau village of Jaya Bakti in Indonesia. She explained her work as a geneticist, went diving with them, and learned about their lifestyles. On one trip, she brought along an ultrasound machine, and scanned the bodies of 59 villagers. That’s when she realized that the Bajau have unusually large spleens—50 percent bigger than those of the Saluan, a neighboring group who barely interact with the sea.

Ilardo took saliva samples from and performed ultrasounds on 43 Bajau people and 34 Saluan people, who live on a nearby island but are predominately farmers. She found that while Saluan people had an average spleen size of about 100 cubic centimeters, Bajau spleens averaged 150 cubic centimeters—about the size of a tennis ball.

The spleen acts as a warehouse for oxygen-carrying red blood cells. When mammals hold their breath, the spleen contracts, expel-

By Disha Padmanabha

ling those cells and boosting oxygen levels by up to 10 percent. For that reason, the best competition free divers tend to have the largest spleens, as do the deepest-diving seals.

spleen. Scientists who work on mice are quite familiar with this gene, as it regulates the thyroid hormone that controls the size of, you guessed it, the spleen.

Ilardo suspected that the Bajau could have genetically adapted spleens as a result of their marine hunter-gatherer lifestyle, based on findings in other mammals. “There’s not a lot of information out there about human spleens in terms of physiology and genetics,” she said, “but we know that deep diving seals, like the Weddell seal, have disproportionately large spleens. I thought that if selection acted on the seals to give them larger spleens, it could potentially do the same in humans.”

Ilardo suspected that the Bajau could have genetically adapted spleens as a resulet of their marine hunter-gatherer lifestyle, based on findings in other mammals. “There’s not a lot of information out there about humen spleens in terms of physiology and genetics,” she said ”but we know that deep diving seals. like the Weddel seal, have disproportionately large spleens. I thought that if selection acted on the seals to give them larger spleens, it could potentially do the same in humans.”

“Overall, our results suggest that the Bajau have undergone unique adaptations associated with spleen size and the diving response, adding new examples to the list of remarkable genetic adaptations humans have experienced in recent evolutionary history,” conclude the authors in their study.

Accordingly, and for the next stage of the study, the researchers conducted a genetic analysis. They uncovered over two dozen genetic mutations, or variants, among the Bajau people that were distinct when compared to two other populations, the Saluan and the Han Chinese. One marker, a gene known as PDE10A, was associated with the enlarged

Indian Government Enters BiotechChampioning Finance Agreement with World Bank The Central Government of India has now reportedly entered a financial agreement with the World Bank which will allow the latter help India in developing an innovative biopharmaceutical and medical devices industry.

The USD 250 million agreement between Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, a PSU of Department of Biotechnology, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development on behalf of World Bank), which is intended for five years

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with 50 percent funding through the World Bank Loan, is aimed at the development of novel, affordable and effective biopharmaceutical products.

This project will nurture next-generation technical skills; provide companies with advanced shared facilities to conduct clinical validation; link clinical trial sites with networks of expert advisors and international bodies; and strengthen all institutions involved in the facilitation and adoption of global innovations, technologies, and licens-

“The chance of finding evidence of population-specific natural selection, even in a population as extreme as the Bajau, was pretty slim,” says Ilardo. “It was very exciting to find, and it just opens up so many possibilities. I think it’s fascinating to see just how extraordinary this population is, to think that they’re almost like superhumans living among us with these really extraordinary capabilities. But I also think natural selection is a lot more powerful than we sometimes give it credit for, and maybe we should be looking for it in more places than we thought.”

More importantly, Ilardo’s team’s work highlights the need to work with minority populations. “There’s incredible genetic diversity [in Indonesia], and it’s really under-characterized,” she says. People who are not white are chronically omitted from medical research, which leaves huge holes in scientific literature.

By Disha Padmanabha

ing models.

This Programme of DBT would strengthen the translational capability of academic researchers; empower bio-entrepreneurs and SMEs by decreasing the cost and risk during early stages of product development and also elevate the innovation quotient of the industry.

The global experience of World Bank would be instrumental in building sustained global linkages, technical assistance and knowledge flow between public-private partners for

business promotion in the biotech sector.

This mission will mark the beginning of a new partnership between DBT and World Bank. It is envisaged that this programme will revolutionize the Biotech market. It will help deliver 6-10 new products in the next five years, create several dedicated facilities for next-generation skills, and hundreds of jobs in the process.

Vol. 02 NO 18

May 2nd, 2018.

Study Links Autism Risk to Paternally Passed Down Genes A new study probing so-called noncoding DNA has found that alterations in regions that regulate gene activity may also contribute to autism. And surprisingly, these variations tended to be inherited from fathers who aren’t autistic.

While de novo protein-altering variants contribute to about a quarter of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) cases, researchers from University of California, San Diego, suspected that variants affecting regulatory elements could also contribute to risk of the condition.

UCSD’s Jonathan Sebat and his colleagues searched for structural variants in cis-regulatory elements (CRE-SVs) within the whole genomes of more than 9,000 people from 2,600 families affected by ASD. The researchers found that paternal-origin CRESVs were more likely to be inherited by their children with ASD rather than by their unaffected children.

The newly discovered risk factors differ from known genetic causes of autism in two important ways. First, these variants do not alter the genes directly but instead disrupt the neighboring DNA control elements that turn genes on and off, called cis-regulatory elements or CREs. Second, these variants do not occur as new mutations in children with autism, but instead are inherited from their parents.

“For ten years we’ve known that the genetic causes of autism consist partly of de novo mutations in the protein sequences of genes” said Jonathan Sebat, a professor of psychiatry, cellular and molecular medicine and pediatrics at UC San Diego School of

Medicine and chief of the Beyster Center for Genomics of Psychiatric Genomics. “However, gene sequences represent only 2 percent of the genome.”

The study is the largest yet to explore how mutations outside of genes contribute to autism: It is based on an analysis of 9,274 whole genomes. And it focuses on ‘structural variants’—deletions or duplications in DNA—in these noncoding regions. Once dismissed as ‘junk DNA,’ some of these regions are now known to control the expression of genes.

Sebat and his colleagues sequenced the genomes of 311 families that have at least one child with autism. They also analyzed the genomes of 518 individuals with autism and their unaffected parents and siblings. Sebat’s team detected structural variants of 100 or more DNA letters. They found an average of about 3,700 such inherited variants in any one person.

The researchers further analyzed structural variants, deleted or duplicated segments of DNA that disrupt regulatory elements of genes, dubbed CRE-SVs. From the complete genomes of families, the researchers found that CRE-SVs that are inherited from parents also contributed to ASD. “We also found that CRE-SVs were inherited predominantly from fathers, which was a surprise,” said co-first author William M. Brandler, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in Sebat’s lab at UC San Diego and bioinformatics scientist at HLI. “Previous studies have found evidence that

By Disha Padmanabha

some protein-coding variants are inherited predominantly from mothers, a phenomenon known as a maternal origin effect. The paternal origin effect we see for non-coding variants suggests that the inherited genetic contribution from mothers and fathers may be qualitatively different.”

Sebat said current research does not explain with certainty what mechanism determines

these parent-of-origin effects, but he has proposed a plausible model.

“There is a wide spectrum of genetic variation in the human population, with coding variants having strong effects and noncoding variants having weaker effects“, he said. “If men and women differ in their capacity to tolerate such variants, this could give rise to the parent-of-origin effects that we see.”

Temperature Influences Fat Epigenetics: Study Cold stress is a major threat for warm-blooded animals, and therefore adaptive thermogenesis to combat cold stress is crucial for survival. Now, a new study has found a molecular mechanism that controls how lifestyle choices and the external environment affect gene expression.

The study by scientists at the University of Tokyo and Tohoku University in Japan demomstrates how epigenome changes after long-term exposure to cold temperatures, and how those changes cause energy-storing white fat cells to become heat-producing brown-like, or “beige,” fat cells.

Gene expression is regulated by epigenetics – patterns of chemical signals that are “above” the gene sequence. An individual’s gene sequence is determined at conception, but the external environment and an individual’s lifestyle can change the epigenetic sequence throughout a lifetime, continually altering how genes are expressed.

“We believe that this is the first time that anyone has collected data to prove that there are two steps between the environmental stimuli and epigenetic changes,” said Professor Juro Sakai from the University of To-

kyo and Tohoku University, an expert in the epigenetics of metabolism.

We have three types of fat- brown, white and, now we are finding out, beige. Brown fat, which is the fat we are born with that allows babies at birth to go from a warm uterus of 98 degrees Fahrenheit to room temperature of around 74 degrees. This fat is not associated with health problems. It got its name because it looks brown under a microscope due to its containing many mitochondria, the powerhouses of cells that produce energy.

Mitochondria contain a protein called UCP1 that breaks down fat to make heat.

Researchers in the study of mice at the University of Tokyo found that long-term cold exposure can actually stress the white fat cells into developing more mitochondria and eventually becoming more efficient, calorie-burning beige cells.

One group of mice was kept at 39 degrees Fahrenheit and another at 86 degrees Fahrenheit for one week. Without any change in diet, the mice that were kept at the lower temperature had more thermogenic activitymeaning their cells were able to burn calories and stored fat to create heat.

By Disha Padmanabha

The researchers explain that the process begins when the cold kick-starts a change in a protein called JMJD1A. When combined with other proteins, this altered protein changes the way a gene functions in producing heat. Subsequently, a chemical process called thermogensis is initiated which changes epigenetic patterns so white fat cells are transformed into beige fat cells, which function like brown fat cells.

The JMJD1A protein is involved in a wide variety of other processes, including cancer, infertility, stem cell renewal, and sex determination of an embryo. However, Sakai’s re-

search team has discovered sites within the protein sequence that are extremely specific for controlling different activities of the protein. Manipulating those specific amino acids may provide precision drug targets.

“Understanding how the environment influences metabolism is scientifically, pharmacologically, and medically interesting. Our next experiments will look more closely at epigenetic modifications within the thermogenesis signaling pathway so that we may manipulate it,” said Sakai.

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Vol. 02 NO 18

May 2nd, 2018.

SCHOLARSHIP & ADMISSIONS tial 12 to 24 month secondment for training at a “partner organization” in the Third Country (e.g. India) followed by a mandatory 12 month training period at the European host organization. The researcher must be national or long-term resident of a Member State or Associated Country.

Global Fellowships | Europe → India:

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF) 2018 @ CEFIPRA Indian nationals are encouraged to apply for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF): European Fellowships (EFs) and Global Fellowships (GFs). Candidates from all STEM fields are encouraged to apply for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships. Check out all of the details on the same below: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF): European Fellowships (EFs) and Global Fellowships (GFs) Individual Fellowships are aimed at individual fellows who already have a doctorate or equivalent research experience. This fellowship help experienced researchers to advance their careers and gain new skills through advanced training, international mobility, and optional intersectoral secondments. European Fellowships are held in Member States or countries Associated with Horizon 2020 and are open to researchers either coming to Europe or moving within Europe. There are two types of Individual fellowships: European Fellowships and Global Fellowships.

European Fellowships | India → Europe: European Fellowships are open to Indian researchers currently within or outside Europe who want to work in an EU Member State or Associated Country (MS or AC). The mobility rule applies to the MS or AC (i.e. the researcher must not have lived, worked, or studied in the MS or AC for more than 12 months during the 3 years prior to deadline).

The duration of the fellowship is 12 to 24 months and primarily covers the salary of the researcher.

Global Fellowships are based on a secondment to a non-European country (e.g. India) and a compulsory 12 month return phase in a European host organisation. Global Fellowships function in the same way of European Fellowships, but include support for an initial 12 to 24 month secondment for training at a “partner organization” in the Third Country (e.g. India) followed by a mandatory 12 month training period at the European host organization. The researcher must be national or long-term resident of a Member State or Associated Country.

Opportunity for Indian institutes : Global Fellowships may be attractive for Indian institutions (universities, research institutes or companies) as they could receive full funding (salary, travel and accommodation) to host postdoctoral or more senior European researchers at their laboratory to conduct research for one to two years.

WHY SHOULD YOU APPLY? You can diversify your competences and acquire new skills at a multi- or interdisciplinary level through advanced training and mobility.

WHO CAN APPLY? This fellowship is for experienced researchers from across the world (including India).

Applicants need a doctoral degree or at least four years’ full-time research experience by the time of the call deadline

HOW DO I APPLY? You submit a research proposal, including your CV. The proposal is written jointly with your chosen host organisation(s). First, find the right call on the participant portal: https://ec.europa.eu/research/mariecurieactions/actions/get-funding/individual-fellowship2018_en Here you will find details of all active calls for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. The information is linked directly to the EU’s Participant Portal, which provides all you need to start your application.

WHEN CAN I APPLY? The 2018-MSCA-IF call is expected to open on 12 April 2018 with a deadline on 12 September 2018 (17:00 Brussels time) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Guide on “How to Write a Winning Proposal for Individual Fellowships (IF)”: http://horizon2020.lu/content/download/19636/181855/file/How%20to%20 write%20a%20winning%20MSCA%20proposal.pdf Individual Fellowships Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 2015: http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/ portal/doc/call/h2020/h2020-msca-if2015/1650133-if-2015-faq_en.pdf Call will be closing on 12 Sept. 2018 https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/ portal/desktop/en/opportunities/h2020/topics/msca-if-2018.htm FOR ENQUIRY: EURAXESS India | india@euraxess.net EU DEL India | delegation-india-ri@ eeas.europa.eu

WHAT CAN BE FUNDED? All research areas in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), can be funded. MSCA Fellows come from a wide variety of disciplines – from physics to linguistics, and from health-sciences to mathematical modelling.

Opportunities for India researchers : European Fellowships may be attractive for postdoctoral or more senior Indian researchers seeking positions and advanced research and/or innovation training in Europe. Indian researchers are eligible to receive funding under the MSCA European Fellowships scheme.

Global Fellowships | Europe → India:

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Global Fellowships are based on a secondment to a non-European country (e.g. India) and a compulsory 12 month return phase in a European host organisation. Global Fellowships function in the same way of European Fellowships, but include support for an ini-

Proposals are submitted jointly with a “host” organisation in Europe and you as the researcher. You, the researcher, develop the proposal in cooperation with a European organisation that would be willing to host you.

Host organizations can be universities, re-

Common Entrance Test (CET) 2018 – Admission Notice Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Indore announces the registration for its Computer Based (Online) Common Entrance Test (CET-2018) for admission in the following UG and PG courses being offered at Its University Teaching Departments for the session 2018-19: Courses After 10+2 : Group D : LL.M. (Business Law)/M.Sc. (Life Sciences/Industrial Microbiology/Biochemistry)/ M.Sc. (Electronics/Electronics & Commun-2 Yrs/M.Sc.[Genetic Eng./Binformatics / Biotechnology industry sponsored) How to Apply: Applyonline only through http://www. dauniv.ac.in. The Computer based entrance test for group A, B, C and D will be held on May 22,2018 (in two shifts; Groups A & C-10.00 to 11.30 AM, Groups B & D-2.00 to 3.30 PM). The application fee is Rs. 1550/·.

The application fee can be paid either by Credit Card/Debit Cardi Net Banking/ Challan in SBI. The online (Computer based) entrance test will be held at Indore, Dewas, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Gwalior, Ujjain, Sagar, Satna, Rewa, Mandsaur, Khandwa, Ranchi, Patna, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Raipur, Bilaspur, Allahabad, Lucknow, Kota, Vadodara, Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Kochi, Bhuvneshwarcities. University has the right to change the cities for entrance test.

After entrance test, counseling will be in offline (manual) mode at Indore only.

Last date of online submission of application form is Thursday, 10th May, 2018. The details of eligibility, number of seats, fee structure, dates for counseling etc. are in CET-2018 brochure available on our website www.dauniv.ac.in. All the Notices will be put on the University Website only. Helpline: cetdauniversity@gmail.com M.P. Madhyam/89542/2018 Reference : Published on Friday, 20th April 2018 in The Indian Express (epaper. indianexpress.com//c/28055191)

WHAT THE FUNDING COVERS The grant provides €4650/month (monthly allowance, adjusted by country, plus a mobility allowance of €600/month and a family allowance of €500/month), In addition, the EU contributes to the training, networking and research costs of the fellow, as well as to the management and indirect costs of the project.

The grant is awarded to the host organisation, usually a university, research centre or a company in Europe.

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search centres or companies.

DAVV, Indore CET 2018 MSc Life Sciences Admissions 2018 Notification Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Indore MSc Life Sciences Admissions Common Entrance Test (CET 2018). DAVV, Indore Life Sciences CET 2018. DAVV Common Entrance Test 2018 MSc Life Sciences Admission Notification. Interested and eligible candidates are encouraged to apply for the same, via the details given below: DEVI AHILYA VISHWAVIDYALAYA, INDORE (NAAC Accredited “A” Grade )

Vol. 02 NO 18

May 2nd, 2018.

The applicants under this category possessing qualification as mentioned under the Category I or the qualification for which Equivalent Certificate obtained from Association of Indian Universities, New Delhi are eligible to apply. They will be required to produce Eligibility Certificate from Pondicherry University, Puducherry, subsequently for recognition of their qualification. Applications should be routed through the employer or sponsoring/ nominating authority/organization. Applicants with valid visa for the entire duration of the study, only, will be admitted.

MSc PHE Admission With Scholarship 2018-2020 @ ICMR-VCRC The official notification for MSc PHE Admission 2018-2020 at ICMR-VCRC. ICMR-VCRC MSc PHE Admission 20182020 admission notification. BSc Life Sciences MSc PHE Admission 2018-2020 ICMR-Vector Control Research Centre notification. Check out all of the details on the same below: ADMISSION NOTICE – M.Sc., PHE (Academic year 2018-20) ICMR-VECTOR CONTROL RESEARCH CENTRE (Indian Council of Medical Research) Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India Indira Nagar, Puducherry 605 006, INDIA. Applications are invited in the prescribed format (downloadable from the website http://www.vcrc.res.in) for admission to the TWO year Post-Graduate Degree Course in Public Health Entomology affiliated to the Pondicherry University, Puducherry.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR ADMISSION: Category I: Open Competition Candidates seeking admission under this category should have passed any one of the following examinations of any University accepted by the Academic Council of Pondicherry University, Puducherry: B.Sc., in the discipline of Zoology / Botany / Life Sciences / Medical Laboratory Technology/ Microbiology / Ecology / Environmental Science / Biochemistry, or B.V.Sc., or M.B.B.S., or B.E., / B.Tech., degree with Biotechnology as one of the subjects. Those who are appearing for the Under Graduate final examinations / waiting for the results of the above courses can also apply. However, they need to produce evidence for the successful completion of the course fulfilling the eligibility criteria at the time of admission.

Category II: In-service (Self supporting / Sponsored) A. Indian Nationals In-service candidates employed either in Government or Non-Government organizations and sponsored by the employer should have passed the Degree examination in any of the disciplines indicated under Category I from a recognized University accepted by the Academic Council of Pondicherry University, Puducherry. The in-service candidates should send their application with a “No Objection Certificate” from their employer.

B. Foreign Nationals

NO. OF SEATS: 12 Category I : 8 (General 50.5%, OBC 27%; SC 15% & ST 7.5%); Category IIA : 2; Category IIB : 2 METHOD OF SELECTION: Selection of the candidates under Category I will be based on their performance in the common entrance test (Objective type test of two hours duration). The common entrance test will be held only at Puducherry. Category II A : Based on personal interview and Category II B : Based on a letter of recommendation/ reference from the Employer, marks obtained in graduation and experience in the relevant fields. The list of candidates selected for admission will be published in the Institutes’ website (http://www.vcrc.res.in).

SCHOLARSHIP: Candidates selected under Category-I will be paid a sum of Rs. 6,000/- per month and candidates selected under Category-IIA will be paid a sum of Rs. 3,000/- per month, with the approval of the Admission Committee.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS: The envelope containing the application form should be superscribed as: “APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION TO M.Sc., PHE 2018” and sent by Registered / Speed Post to: The Director, ICMR-Vector Control Research Centre, Medical Complex, Indira Nagar, Puducherry 605 006. Applications from Indian Nationals should be accompanied by (i) a Demand Draft to the value of Rs.100/(Rs.50/- in the case of SC/ST candidates) towards application fee, drawn in favour of “The Director, ICMR-Vector Control Research Centre”, payable at Puducherry, and (ii) a self addressed envelope stamped to the value of Rs. 50/-. Foreign nationals can pay the application fee at the time of their admission. For more details, including the fee structure, please see the prospectus. Incomplete application in any respect will be rejected and no communication in this regard will be entertained.

Please note the following important dates: i) Last date for the submission of filled-in application (a) Category I: 18th May 2018; (b) Category II: 28th May 2018 ii) Common Entrance Test (Category I): 17th June 2018 iii) Date of Personal Interview (Category IIA): 18th June 2018 iv) Declaration of Results: 20th June 2018 v) Admission: 25th to 29th June 2018 vi) Commencement of Classes: 2nd July 2018

1. Ph.D in Sciences Candidates with a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/ Technology, Medicine or Master’s degree in Science with a keen sense of scientific enquiry for pursuing advanced research in frontier areas of Biological, Chemical, Physical and Mathematical & Information Sciences. The candidate should have a valid National level fellowship (JRF/ SRF) from any of the various funding agencies such as CSIR, UGC, DBT, DST etc.), INSPIRE or other equivalent fellowships.

AcSIR PhD Admissions August 2018 Official Notification The official notification for the PhD Science Admissions 2018 (August Batch) at AcSIR. Admissions AcSIR for Biological Sciences area 2018. Interested and eligible candidates can apply for AcSIR Admissions PhD August 2018. Check out all of the details on the admission process given below: AcSIR, CSIR-Human Resource Development Centre (CSIR-HRDC) Campus, Sector-19, Kamla Nehru Nagar, Ghaziabad – 201 002 | India Tel: +91-120-2783 009 (LL) +91-9266600847, 9266600947 (Mob/ WhatsApp) Email: info@acsir.res.in WHY STUDY AT AcSIR? The objective of AcSIR is pursuit of excellence as well as doing something relevant.

We promote the culture of being singularly dynamic and innovative. The Academy was established by a Resolution of the Parliament in 2010 and received recognition as an “Institution of National Importance” by the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) Act 2011. The Academy aims to maximize the number of qualified researchers and professionals of impeccable quality in the domain of science and engineering; and to equip them with the skills to innovate and conduct seamless interdisciplinary research.

ABOUT PROGRAMS: The programs equip students to undertake interdisciplinary research by providing a broad-based practical training in the best in the class national laboratories of CSIR. The Programs are structured around academic coursework (as per program requirement) and mandatory courses viz. one Project Proposal & one Review Article writing; and Societal Program; and research in frontier areas of Science, Technology and Engineering leading to Ph.D degree.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR ADMISSION:

2. Direct Ph.D in Sciences Undergraduate degree in Science or allied subjects with at least 8.5 and/or 1st rank holder in University/ Institution. Possible funding sources for students are INSPIRE, CSIR-JRF, CSIR-UGC-NET or other equivalent national fellowships.

3. Sponsored Ph.D (Sciences) Regular: Master’s degree in Science* Direct: Undergraduate degree in Science or allied subjects with at least 8.5 and/or 1strank holder in University/ Institution*. * with endorsement from Industry, Academic or Research Institutes for required academic leave and financial support during the program.

Candidates whose final results are awaited, but who are otherwise eligible as per the screening criteria, can also apply. If selected, they will be provisionally admitted to the program. Their continuation in the program will be subject to securing required percentage/ equivalent grade (depending on the cutoff marks for screening for the specific program) and submission of marks-sheet of their final result at the time of joining the program.

ADMISSION PROCESS: The candidates can exercise a maximum of three preferences for CSIR Labs (which are AcSIR centres). Candidates will be screened based on their preferences given. However, it does not give any right to the candidate to offered admission as per his/her preference/ choice, as the selection is purely based on merit/ performance and/ or available vacancies. Please visit AcSIR website (http://acsir. res.in) for details of online application form submission and additional details.

Short-listed candidates for the program will be intimated electronically and they will be required to appear for interview for selection at the designated centers on the dates announced. Details of date of interview at different laboratories/ centers will be posted on the AcSIR website (http://acsir.res.in). In addition to their academic performance and/ or depending on the vacancies, final selection will be based on performance of the candidate in the interview. Reservation shall be applicable as per GoI rules.

Candidates are required to familiarize themselves with the rules and regulations of the Pondicherry University (www.pondiuni.edu.in)

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May 2nd, 2018.

Availability of Disciplines for PhD 2018 Academic Session Discipline of Chemical Sciences

NIPER JEE – 2018 Official Notification For PhD & Masters Program NIPER JEE 2018 Official Notification is out for PhD and Master’s Program Admission. Depts. of Biological Sciences, Chemical Sciences & Pharmaceutical Sciences, MPharm have vacancies for Master’s and PhD Program. Check out all of the details on the same given below:

Discipline of Biological Sciences

National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) (Ahmedabad; Guwahati; Hajipur; Hyderabad; Kolkata; Raebareli; S.A.S.Nagar) NIPER Joint Entrance Examination 2018 for Masters & Ph.D. Program 1. ACADEMIC PROGRAMMES AND ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA The Doctoral research programme of the institute is classified into the following three disciplines.

Availability of Disciplines for MSc 2018 Academic Session M.S.(Pharm.); M.Pharm.; M.Tech.

(Pharm.), M.B.A. (Pharm.) Departments/ Disciplines, Offering NIPERs and Eligibility Criteria.

Biotechnology

M.S.(Pharm)

Offering Niper

Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Hajipur, S.A.S. Nagar

Eligibility

B.Pharm;M.Sc.(Biological Sciences)

Pharmaceutical Technology (Biotechnology)

M.Tech.(Pharm)

Offering Niper

S.A.S. Nagar

Eligibility

B.Pharm;M.Sc.(Life Sciences)

Pharmacoinformatics

M.S.(Pharm)

Offering Niper

Kolkata, S.A.S. Nagar

Eligibility

B.Pharm;M.Sc.(Org a n i c s / P hy s i c a l / Pharmaceutical Chemistry);M. S c . / B. Te c h . ( B i o informatics);M. Sc.(Biochemistry/ Biotechnology/Molecular Biology/Microbiology)

Regulatory Toxicology

M.S.(Pharm)

Offering Niper

Hyderabad, S.A.S. Nagar, Raebarelli

Eligibility

B.Pharm; B.V.Sc.;M. Sc.(Pharmacology, Toxicology, LifeSciences/Biochemistry/Medical Biotechnology/Zoology); M.B.B.S.

Traditional Medicine

M.S.(Pharm)

Offering Niper

S.A.S. Nagar

Eligibility

B.Pharm; B.A.M.S.;M.Sc.(Botany)

Pharmaceutical Management

M.B.A.(Pharm)

Offering Niper

Hyderabad, S.A.S. Nagar

Eligibility

B.Pharm;B. Tech(Chemical Engg. or equivalent);M.Sc.(Chemical/Life Sciences)

CHEMICAL SCIENCES : Includes departments of i) Medicinal Chemistry ii) Natural Products iii) Pharmacoinformatics iv) Pharmaceutical Technology (Process Chemistry) BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES : Includes departments of i) Pharmacology and Toxicology ii) Biotechnology iii) Pharmacy Practice v) Pharmaceutical Technology (Biotechnology)

Discipline of Biological Sciences

PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCE: Includes departments of i) Pharmaceutical Analysis ii) Pharmaceutics iii) Medical Devices

Discipline of Biological Sciences

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How to Apply : •

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Applicants shall register online on www.niper.gov.in as per instructions given on the website. The process of online registration shall commence on 12th April 2018 onwards and will continue till 15th May 2018, 5.00 PM. Instruction for Registration is available on http://www.niperahm.ac.in/ website.

Registration Fee for : 1.Gen/OBC/PH : Rs. 3000/‐ 2. SC/ST : Rs. 1500/‐ •

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Take Printout of the Registration form , put signatures at the bottom of the registration form and attach the following (i) copy of award letter if any pertaining to NET-JRF of CSIR/DBT/UGC/ ICMR, DST Inspire etc. (ii) Sponsorship certificate from Industry / Government sponsored candidates (as per format given at Annuxer-2 ) should be sent to Chairman, NIPER Joint Entrance Examination Ph.D, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, NIPER – Ahmedabad, Palaj, Opp. AirForce Station, Gandhinagar, Gujarat -382355, (through speed post/registered post/in person) so as to reach on before 28 May 2018. The Institute will not be responsible for any loss or postal delay. Registration form received after the due date will not be considered. The Institute shall not be held responsible for misplacement of any loose sheet. Therefore, all the documents are required to be submitted properly tied together. Incomplete forms which are not properly submitted will not be accepted. No correspondence/ inquiry in this regard will be entertained.

Candidates appearing for final qualifying examination (including NET-JRF) can also apply but they must produce final result on the day of interview failing which their candidature shall be

rejected.

which will carry 15 marks.

Online Admission Test:

Admission Procedure:

Online test will be held on Sunday, the 10th June 2018 at AHMEDABAD, SURAT, RAJKOT, BENGALURU, BHOPAL, CHENNAI, CHANDIGARH, DEHRADUN, GUWAHATI, HYDERABAD, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, NEW DELHI, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, PUNE,AGRA, VIJAYAWADA, COIMBATORE, PATNA, RANCHI, RAIPUR and BHUBANESHWAR.

Admission to the Ph.D. Programme will be based on the combined merit obtained by a candidate in the entrance examination and interview. Interview of the eligible candidates for the Ph.D. Programme will be conducted based on the merit in the entrance examination.

The candidates have to report to the institute for Interview on scheduled date and time.

Candidates will be allowed to participate in Interview, only if they are carrying requisite documents as mentioned in Sec 8 “Documents to be submitted” of this brochure and have to show proof of having passed the qualifying degree examination.

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Based on the performance in the online test, list of candidates to be called for interview will be displayed on the website www.niperahm.ac.in. Interview will be held on 16-7-18 and 17-7-18 at NIPERAhmedabad. No TA/DA will be paid for attending online test and interview. Candidates have to make their own arrangement for stay during online test and interview.

Permission granted to the candidates to appear in online test and interview is merely provisional. Final consideration of the candidature is subject to fulfilment of the eligibility criteria to be verified at the time of Interview.

There will be one objective type question paper containing 170 questions of 85 marks, for each of the following areas i.e. Chemical Sciences; Biological Sciences and; Pharmaceutical Sciences.

The question paper will be of the level of M.S. (Pharm.); M.Pharm.; M.Tech.

(Pharm.); M.V.Sc.; M.D. and M.Sc. (in relevant discipline) level.

Each discipline will also have questions from general Pharmaceutical Sciences and general aptitude. Duration of the examination will be 2 hours.

There will be negative marking in the entrance examination. 25% marks will be deducted for each wrong answer.

The qualified candidates in each discipline shall have to appear for interview

Documents to be Submitted: The candidates will be required to submit the following documents in original and a set of photocopies of these certificates at the time of interview, failing which, the candidature shall be summarily rejected: • Matriculation Certificate as a proof of age and correct name.

• Marksheets of all the semesters years of qualifying degree.

• Admit Card of NIPER online test.

• GPAT/GATE/NET Card wherever applicable.

• Award letter (if any) of NET‐JRF of CSIR/UGC/DBT/ICMR, DST etc.

• Caste certificate, if applicable.

• Certificate of disability, if applicable.

• Medical Certificate from a Registered Medical Practitioner of a Government Hospital to be provided in the format given at Annexure‐1.

• Sponsorship certificate from the employer in case of Government/Industry sponsored candidates as per form attached at Annexure‐2.

• Affadavit to be provided by the candidate against ragging in the format provided at Annexure‐3.

• Undertaking to be given by the parents of the candidate. Format provided at Annexure‐4.

NOTE: All the documents required to be submitted should be self attested by the candidates.

Submission through speed post/registered post/in person, of signedHard copy of application form along with documents as mentioned in NIPER JEE brochure-2018, is essential for generating admit card .

IMPORTANT : Candidate are advised to visit the website www.niperahm.ac.in regularly for information regarding online registration, eligibility, availability of academic programs, admission procedures and other relevant information etc. Any subsequent Addendum/Corrigendum/Updates/Information etc. will be uploaded/updated on the NIPER Ahmedabad website only.

Technical Helpline: Call : 022 – 61087566 Email: helpdeskjee-2018@niperahm.ac.in Phone numbers are available till end of exam date 09:00 AM To 06:00 PM (Monday To Friday) Program Related Queries: Call : 079 66745555 Email : admissions@niperahm.ac.in Timings : 09:00 AM To 06:00 PM (Monday to Friday)

PhD Life Science Admission 2018-2019 @ National Institute of Advanced Studies Candidates who are expecting a degree in July 2018, are encouraged to apply for a Doctoral Programme Admission 20182019 at National Institute of Advanced Studies, IISc Bengaluru. National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bengaluru, Doctoral Programme Admission 2018-2019 notification is out.

National Institute of Advanced Studies Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bengaluru 560 012 Tel. 080-22185000, Fax: 080-2218 5028 URL: www.nias.res.in ADMISSION TO NIAS DOCTORAL PROGRAMME 2018-19 The National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) is looking for exceptionally motivated students interested in pursuing interdisciplinary research in natural and engineering sciences, social sciences, humanities and the arts. Unencumbered by the constraints of traditional disciplinary PhD programmes, NIAS PhD students have a unique opportunity to broaden their intellectual horizons beyond their narrow training during their thesis research in one of the listed areas.NIAS not only values such cross-pollination of ideas but encourages and provides the necessary support to its students to develop interdisciplinary orientation to problem-solving. This interdisciplinary ethos is also reflected in the work of its faculty and research scholars.

NIAS was established by the late J.R.D. Tata to develop and train leaders with a multidisciplinary orientation for problemsolving. The Institute is recognized as a centre for research

by Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) and The Institute of Trans-disciplinary Health Sciences & Technology (TDU) from which students get their PhD degrees.

A limited number of scholarships are available for exceptionally bright and motivated postgraduate students. Candidates who have passed the NET/SET/GATE examinations with good scores or qualified for JRF/ DST/ CSIR/ ICSSR/ JEST fellowships will also be considered for admission.

If you are a post-graduate or expecting the degree by July 2018, you can apply to one or more research areas represented by faculty research interests and funded projects at NIAS. For the 2018-19 academic year, we invite applications from those interested in the following areas: • •

Primate Population and Behavioural Ecology, Urban Ecologies, Cultural Studies in Theatre and Music Megalithic Burials, Landscape Archae-

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ology and Experimental Archaeology Complexity Theories of Consciousness, Causality Testing Behaviour and Cognition in Fishes Science Communication Primate Behaviour and Ecology, Human Wildlife Conflict, Human Animal Relations Nuclear Power and Risk Communication Material Culture and Archaeology, Specifically Archaeomaterials Research and Archaeometallurgy and Artisanal and Crafts Studies and Art History Armed Conflicts and Security in South Asia, Peace Processes South Asia Afghanistan and Pakistan, Science and Diplomacy Gifted and Talented, Diversity and Culture Social Exclusion, Education, & Conflict Zones Conflict Studies Landscape Archaeology: Geospatial Analysis for Cultural Heritage Geopolitical dimensions of Maritime Security, Maritime Security and Maritime Cooperation in International Politics Sustainable Energy Options’, ‘Human

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Development and Policy Marginalised /Glorified History and Social Identity

Applicants are advised to visit the NIAS website for more information on faculty and their research interests (www.nias.res.in) Eligibility: Admissions to the NIAS PhD Programme are open to those who have completed/are completing a Master’s/M.Phil., degree in any relevant subject in the natural sciences, engineering, mathematics, social sciences, humanities or the arts, and with a consistently proven academic record (minimum 55% marks). Some research and/or field experience in the concerned areas will be preferred.

Candidates who have passed the NET/ SET/ GATE examinations with good scores or qualified for JRF/ DST/ CSIR/ ICSSR/ JEST fellowships are also encouraged to apply.

Financial Support: A limited number of selected candidates will be eligible to receive NIAS fellow-

ship, which will be available for a period of four years on a yearly renewable basis. The NIAS fellowship amount is currently fixed at Rs.25,000/- per month for the first two years and Rs.28,000/- per month from the third year, with an additional 24% per month as House Rent Allowance. Limited hostel seats are available on campus for women.

Admissions are also open to those applying under specific funded research projects, candidates with external support such as CSIR fellowships and DST/INSPIRE fellowships, candidates with employer sponsorship, and self-funded candidates. Under no circumstances will NIAS financially support externally funded candidates and self-funded candidates. Candidates supported by project will receive financial support only for the duration of the project.

How to Apply:

Selection Procedure:

For additional information, applicants may contact: niasphd@gmail.com, admin@nias.res.in

Irrespective of the source of funding, admission to the NIAS PhD Programme will be based on a common entrance test and two levels of interview. Short-listed candidates will be invited for a written test and interviews on 18 and 19 of June 2018.

Please download the application form (http:// www.nias.res.in/content/doctoral-programme) from our website. The completed and signed application form should be sent along with scanned copies of undergraduate and post-graduate degree certificates and mark sheets and a resume containing your academic history, skills, interests, published work, and accomplishments should be collated and sent as a single PDF file to the email address: niasphd@gmail.com Please note that the Institute will only accept applications submitted by email. The deadline for receiving application with all required documents by email is April 20, 2018.