New and Cheaper Device for Reliable Detection of Adulterated Milk

A new cheaper and easy-to-use device detects adulterated milk reliably by measuring its electrical conductivity and pH, claim scientists at the IIT Hyderabad, India in their recent study.

The most common adulterant of milk is water that is added to increase its volume. The addition of clean water may not cause serious health threats despite lowering the nutritional statistics. However, recently, milk that is adulterated with harmful chemicals such as hydrated lime, sodium hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide, urea, borax, and tertiary nitrogen compounds has become a matter of serious concern. These chemical adulterants are added to milk to alter its acidity, or to increase its shelf life or preservation but may cause a wide variety of health-related problems ranging from food poisoning, and gastrointestinal complications, to cancer and even death.

At present, adulterated milk is tested by using a lactometer that detects changes in the density of milk. This strategy fails because most chemical adulterants do not alter the density of milk, hence, cannot be detected by a conventional lactometer.  Many other techniques that are ELISA- and PCR- based, that detect chemical adulterants reliably are costly, time-consuming and require lab infrastructure.  

For detecting adulterants in milk, we need a technique that is rapid, cost effective, easy-to-use and reliable. Scientists at the IIT, Hyderabad have developed a new and cheaper device that detects adulterants in milk. It uses a convenient device and 10ml milk sample to carry out the tests.

A pH meter is immersed into the milk sample that calculates its pH within a few minutes. While fresh cow milk should have pH values between 6.6 and 6.9, the values of adulterated milk range anywhere from 4 to 11. By using a device made of fabricated gold electrodes that provide reliable results quickly, the electrical conductivity of milk is also measured. The scientists proudly proclaim, “The research aims at simultaneous monitoring of multiple biophysical properties through a multiplexed lab-on-chip platform for milk adulteration detection across the globe, irrespective of the geographical, biological and seasonal variations; and the present work is a proof of concept in that direction.”

A combined report from results of pH and electrical conductivity is used to label the tested milk as adulterated. This new device can prove to be a valuable on-the-spot test to detect adulterants in milk quickly and reliably.

Reference: Food Chemistry 217: 756­765.

New Device to Detect Antibacterial in Milk

A new device that detects antibacterial in milk has been developed by researchers at the ICAR-National Dairy Research Institutes at Bengaluru and Karnal, claims their recent study published in the journal Food chemistry.

Antibacterials are frequently given to dairy animals to improve their growth and productive performance, and to lower the incidence of disease. According to a report by US Food and drug administration, the most common antibacterial given to cattle is tetracycline. The indiscriminate use of antibacterials for dairy management causes contamination of milk by antibacterials that are harmful for human consumption causing undesirable alterations in gut microbiota, and allergies. In the long run, this may also cause antibacterial resistance that is a serious concern as per WHO report 2011. Milk meant for human consumption, hence, should be tested to confirm that it is free from antibacterials and safe. This calls for a rapid, user-friendly, specific, and inexpensive technique for the on-site detection of antibacterials such as tetracycline in milk.

Researchers at the ICAR-National Dairy Research Institutes in Bengaluru and Karnal have synthesized a new device using gold nanoparticles coated with tetracycline antibodies that detect the antibacterial tetracycline in milk with high sensitivity and specificity. The 20 nanometer wide gold nanoparticles effectively bind tetracycline antibodies and detect as low as 30 parts per billion antibacterial in a few drops of milk. The device can be stored for up to 4 months without any loss of its detection capacity. The scientists claim, “anyone can perform the test by placing few drops of suspected milk sample on the (device). Therefore, this test can be adopted by any consumer, household women, individual farmers, small dairy enterprises, even by commercial dairy industry. It works similar to that of human pregnancy detection kit. Results can be obtained within 5 min.”

Since this test can be used in both raw and boiled milk, it can be used at home, or in industries to confirm that the milk is fit for human consumption.

Reference: Food Chemistry 219: 85–92.

Representatives of the Ministry of Science and Technology discuss Indian Science and its Various Perspectives

Professor R. Chidambaram, principal scientific adviser to the Government of India gave the opening remarks of the plenary session on the Ministry of Science and Technology Perspectives at the 104^th Indian Science Congress in Tirupati. He then, invited other speakers at the dais to discuss India’s stand in the innovation economy, present challenges, and future directions for shaping Indian science and technology.

The audience witnessed sessions from Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary DST, Professor M. N. Rajeevan, Secretary Ministry of Earth Sciences, Dr. V. K. Saraswat, NITI Aayog, Dr. Satheesh Reddy, scientific advisor to Raksha Mantri, who discussed the present statistics of the Indian science, the initiatives taken by the government to promote science and innovation, and the future planning and directions of the ministry of science and technology.

All the members agreed that Indian science faces some challenges that demand immediate attention and resolution. We need to empower scientists and ease the process of doing science. We also need to connect academia, research institutes and industry to pamper commercialization and bridge the gap between basic research and technology. “We need transformation in science and technology, and we are already in the path of transformation”, Dr. V.K. Saraswat said.

Many initiatives have been taken up by the ministry of science and technology to foster research. More budget allocation, new programs for promoting women scientists, generating new ideas and prototypes, funding postdoctoral fellows to prevent brain drain, aiming for greater flexibility in doing research are some of the measures that the Ministry has taken. Newer schemes are in the pipeline to address challenges of the R&D ecosystem. “It is not shameful to fail, but it is shameful to fail to try”, says Professor Ashutosh Sharma when he announces one of its kind policy called SERB that funds higher gain, higher risk research.

The representatives of the Ministry of Science and Technology emphasized upon the need to pump up research in the sectors of waste management, clean energy, developing micro industry for rural sectors, and establish a global connect with researchers and institutes across the world. We also need to explore the oceans and harness the energy of ocean heat, currents, and winds for increased supply of cleaner energy.

India may soon venture to explore the Antarctic pole after acquiring an exploration ship that takes a team of Indian researchers far down south. This at present, however, needs more funds and interdisciplinary talent.

Dr. Satheesh Reddy emphasized that we must thrive to become a country that manufactures defense weapons and not import them. We could become a world-class hub for defense research and development, in both training and manufacturing. “We need to produce state of the art goods and sell them to global markets, and redefine roles of academia and industry”, he said.  

We also need to devise systems to predict, manage, and mitigate damage due to natural disasters by setting up more observatories, and data collection and monitoring centers. “We must improve severe and accurate monitoring systems in the next 3-4 years”, said Professor Rajeevan.

The representatives of the Ministry of Science and Technology jointly agreed that India must enhance its R&D potential in agriculture, medicine, education, computing, ocean and earth sciences, energy, transport, and defense sectors for national development.

Talk by Nobel laureate Professor William E. Moerner, Stanford University, USA

Scholars and scientists gathered in the Srinivasa Auditorium at Sri Venkateshwara University, Tirupati on Tuesday afternoon at the 104^th Indian Science congress 2017. They were here to listen to Professor W. Moerner who shared the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 2014 for his discovery of single molecule fluorescence microscopy.

His lecture entitled- Science and Single Molecules, was a story of physical chemistry, ultrasensitive detection, and industrial basic research having unexpected effects. He ventured into a field that once seemed mission impossible- detecting and viewing single molecules of the size of a few nanometers- many folds smaller than the thickness of a human hair. His research had begun at IBM, San Jose, California in early 1980s where he could measure the optical absorbance of single molecules.

The first question that boggles our mind is as to why should one measure a single molecule in the first place, why is it so important? Professor Moerner comes to our rescue and elaborates it with an analogy. He refers to it as the “Baseball analogy”. While the overall batting score of a baseball team may be very good, there could be players in the team who do not bat at all; they could just be good bowlers. Similarly, in the absence of super resolution imaging we observe an overall or ensemble effect of all the molecules; the behavior or dynamics of individual molecules could be totally different.  Hence, super resolution imaging could be of immense importance in studying single molecules like DNA.

It is known since long that a molecule exhibits Brownian or random zigzag motion in space, in other words, it resonates. With some colorful visuals, he shows us that molecules at low or room temperatures move in and out of resonance dynamically. A dramatic improvement in super resolution imaging came by coupling this technology with fluorescent molecules. These molecules absorb or get excited by light of one wavelength and emit another wavelength that enables their detection in the colored spectrum of light. You can view fluorescent molecules as yellow, or green under an optical microscope. This could help detect dynamic movement of molecules in living cells, their localization and even interaction with other molecules.

Improvements in imaging single molecules also came with studies on yellow fluorescent protein where the molecules seem to blink at room temperature. This happens because the molecules go into a different dark state that resumes to fluorescence when the molecule is exposed to blue light. This provides for what he calls, active control of emitting concentration where not all the molecules in a living cell will emit fluorescence. We could turn on the fluorescence of some molecules via a switch and turn them off too. Images from two such time points could be combined to achieve super resolution.

The other strategy spreads a single image over many pixels during acquisition and then combines data from individual pixels to reconstruct a high-resolution image. The two methods combined together enable images that have at least five orders of improved resolution and helps biologists and chemists fetch deeper understanding of cell biology and materials sciences.

On a lighter note, Professor W. Moerner also tells us a method to predict Nobel Prize winners. He directs audience’s attention to a cartoon of Homer Simpson from the famous TV show “The Simpsons” where the family members have listed their bets for the next Nobel Prize.  “For you to have a Nobel, you must be picked up by Millhouse, the Simpsons”, he jokes.

He talks about how his discovery has caused a paradigm shift in microscopy that provided blurry images due to constrained resolution earlier. Conventional microscopy required high sensitivity, specificity, spatial resolution, and the ease of working in living cells- all of which can now be achieved with single cell super resolution microscopy!  

Prime Minister inaugurates the 104th Indian Science Congress

Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi inaugurated the 104^th Indian Science Congress 2017 at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh today. “If we want science to deliver, we must not constraint it”, he said. In his hour-long address to science scholars, scientists and dignitaries; he strongly emphasized the need for institutions to give more importance to research and envisioned India to be one of the top three countries in science and technology by 2030. He also paid tribute to Padma Vibhushan Dr. MGK Menon, an institution builder and eminent scientist at TIFR, Mumbai, whom the country lost in November 2016.

Members of the dais included Governor of Andhra Pradesh- Shri E. S. L. Narasimhan, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh- Shri N. Chandrababu Naidu, Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences- Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of State for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences- Shri Y. S. Chowdary, General President of the Indian Science Congress Association- Professor D. Narayana Rao and Vice-Chancellor of Sri Venkateswara University- Professor A. Damodaram, who also joined hands to inaugurate the Indian Science Congress.

Dr. Harsh Wardhan advocated that innovations in science and technology have the potential to meet the growing needs of today and address the challenges of the future. He emphasized the need to find solutions to waste management, water pollution, clean energy, development of newer and better vaccines, agriculture and animal husbandry for sustainable and holistic national development.  

The Indian Science Congress is a premier institution with headquarters in Kolkata and over 30,000 scientists, who meet in the first week of January every year. They discuss innovations in science and technology with an emphasis to stimulate research that is crucial for development.

This year’s science congress is an endeavor to build upon and hold true to its theme- Science and Technology for National Development.  Beginning 3^rd of January, the congress will provide an opportunity to scholars and visionaries to listen to eminent Nobel laureates from across the globe and Indian scientists who have made a significant contribution to the society.

The 5 days of the Indian science congress in the holy city of Tirupati will help scientists showcase their research, and network with like-minded community of scholars. PM Modi congratulated the Indian scientists by saying, “The nation will always be grateful to the scientists who have worked tirelessly to empower our society by their vision,  labour, and leadership”.

The upcoming week until January 7^th, will witness seminal sessions in the field of cyber security, environment and clean energy, nanotechnology, space research, and advanced computing. It will also hold special sessions during the women’s science congress, and children science congress that aim to attract young and enthusiastic talent into science. A science communicators meet for academicians, activists, journalists, film makers, scientists, and communicators will provide for professional growth and popularization of science.

Later in the day, amidst beefed up security, PM Modi also plans to visit the famous Lord Sri Venkateswara Temple in the Eastern Ghat hills of Tirumalla. Meanwhile, 18,000 participants and scientists from Indian universities and research institutions at the Indian Science Congress 2017 would brainstorm on critical scientific issues and developments in the upcoming week in Tirupati.

Novel Drug Delivery Method for Sustained Release of anti-HIV Drug

A novel drug delivery platform that uses natural polymers to deliver anti-HIV drug Zidovudine in a slow and sustained manner in the body is developed by researchers at the Yogi Vemana University, Andhra Pradesh in their recent study.

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The organism that causes AIDS is a virus called HIV. In 2015, there were 2.1 million new HIV infections worldwide, adding up to a total of 36.7 million people living with HIV as per the UNAIDS 2016 report. To manage HIV infections, an antiviral drug Zidovudine is orally administered to AIDS patients. Treatment with this drug, however, causes side effects such as anemia and leucopenia because the drug is toxic to blood cells at high doses. Because of these side effects, many patients withdraw treatments midway that leads to poor patient compliance.

The present limitations of the anti-HIV drug Zidovudine demand new drug delivery platforms that cause targeted and sustained drug delivery in the body. Researchers at the Yogi Vemana University, Andhra Pradesh have synthesized new microbeads from two natural polymers, guar gum and sodium alginate that efficiently encapsulate anti-HIV drug Zidovudine. The microbeads also release the anti-HIV drug Zidovudine specifically in the colon or lower intestine because the process is pH- and temperature- dependent.

The scientist claim the novelty of their drug delivery beads by saying, “Effective novel dual responsive delivery carriers were developed from sodium alginate and modified guar gum”. They found that the microbeads released approximately 96% of the encapsulated anti-HIV drug Zidovudine in a slow and sustained manner for up to 34 hours.

After they are tested for safety and efficacy in humans in clinical trials, the novel drug delivery microbeads can help millions of patients worldwide who are suffering from AIDS.  

Reference: Carbohydrate Polymers 156: 125–134.