Temperatures in India are rising, which could mean more deaths due to heat waves, say scientists at IIT-Delhi and Bombay

A recent study has found that the mean temperatures in India have risen by 0.5 degree Celsius over a period of 60 years, which corresponds to a 146% increase in the probability of deaths due to heat waves in the country. Done by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Delhi and IIT-Bombay, Mumbai, and University of California, Irvine and Los Angeles, and Boise State University, USA, it deciphers that even moderate increases in mean temperatures, such as 0.5°C, may lead to large increases in heat wave-related deaths. Based on their findings, they urge the government to put in more efforts to build up the resilience of vulnerable populations in regions with severe heat waves.

They studied temperature data from 395 weather stations from Indian meteorological department between the years 1960 to 2009. “Our results suggest that future climate warming will lead to substantial increases in heat-related deaths, particularly in developing low-latitude countries, such as India, where heat waves will become more frequent and populations are especially vulnerable to these extreme temperatures” they say. The research team comprised of Omid Mazdiyasni, Amir AghaKouchak, Steven J Davis, Shahrbanou Madadgar, Ali Mehran, Elisa Ragno, Mojtaba Sadegh, Ashmita Sengupta, Subimal Ghosh, CT Dhanya, and Mohsen Niknejad. They published their results in the journal Science Advances. ^.

Their data shows that in years—1972, 1988, 1998, and 2003—when there were more than 10 heat wave days on average across India, there was a corresponding spike in heat-related deaths of between 650 and 1500 people.

The substantial increase in mortality rates due to 0.5°C increase in summer mean temperature or two more heat wave days suggests that future climate warming could have a relatively drastic human toll in India and similarly in developing tropical and subtropical countries. “Our data will create awareness about the impact of rising temperatures in India on health, and this needs to be urgently communicated to the society”, says Dr. Subimal Ghosh, at the Department of Civil engineering at IIT-Bombay in Mumbai, who did the study.

Reference: Science Advances 3: e1700066.

This story got published in Down To Earth, BioVoice, CatchNews, Newsroom24X7, and Dainik Jagran.  

Indian scientists find 5g to kill leukemia

Indian scientists have found a new compound that effectively kills leukemic cancer cells. Named 5g, it kills more than 70 percent leukemic cancer cells in culture in 48 hours time at an extremely low concentration of 50 micromolar. It did not affect blood cells from healthy individuals, which signifies that it shows a higher toxicity to cancer cells. “After treating cancer cells, they either entered cell death or reverted back to normal cell cycle”, say scientists who tested this new compound.

This effect of 5g was most prominent on leukemic cells, while some cancer cell lines like colorectal and cervical cancer cell line showed less effect, which implies that this drug is of particular relevance in treating leukemia. The new compound accumulates death-inducing reactive oxygen species in cancer cells leading to breaks in DNA, which ultimately causes cell death. “We are working with Mysuru University to improve its efficacy. We believe that it has the potential to be developed as an anti-leukemic agent”, says Professor Sathees Raghavan, at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. 

Daily doses of 5g for 2 weeks reduced the size of tumor in mice. It was nontoxic and moderately increased the life span of tumorigenic mice. The tumor regression was incomplete, because of which, the scientists suggest that 5g needs combinational compounds to increase its efficiency. “We identify a novel inhibitor of cell cycle and provide evidence at proof of principle level that 5g can be developed as a potent anticancer molecule for chemotherapy”, they say.

This study was done at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, University of Mysore in Mysuru, and Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology in Bangalore. It was supported by IISc-Department of Biotechnology partnership. The research team consisted of Mahesh Hegde, Supriya V Vartak, Chandagirikoppal V Kavitha, Hanumappa Ananda, Doddakunche S Prasanna, Vidya Gopalakrishnan, Bibha Choudhary, Kanchugarakoppal, S Rangappa, and Sathees C Raghavan. 

This story was published by Down To Earth, OutlookIndia, Newsroom24X7, BioVoice, Amar Ujala, Dainik Jagran, and India Science Wire. 

 This news appeared in Amar Ujala. 

                                                  This news appeared in Dainik Jagran. 

Dr. Sathees Raghavan from IISc, Bangalore, with his student Supriya Vartak, who are co-authors of the study. 

Reference: Scientific Reports 7: 2533.

TB vaccination programs and deworming need to go together, say scientists

There is an immediate need to combine deworming and TB vaccination programs, according to a report by researchers from India and USA that appeared in a recent issue of the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. They studied latent TB patients who are infected with the disease-causing bacterium but cannot spread it to others because the infection is kept under control by the immune system of the body. Some of these latent TB patients were also infected with the threadworm Strongyloides stercoralis. This worm survives in the small intestine of many organisms including humans, cats, dogs, and non-human primates like chimps. It spreads through feces contaminated soil common in rural areas from developing countries where sanitation standards are poor.  

They studied a total of 132 individuals in Tamil Nadu, with 44 people in each of the three groups- those with latent TB, threadworm infestation, and with latent TB and worm infection both. They found that latent TB patients with worm infestation had lower numbers of immune cells called B-cells that secrete antibodies that keep TB under check. In addition to lowered B-cell numbers, they had reduced levels of antibodies against TB in their blood that signifies a weak immune response against TB in their body. When these patients were treated with deworming drugs ivermectin or albendazole, the immune cells and antibody levels recovered.

“The implications of our study are twofold: threadworms might promote reactivation of active TB in latent TB infected patients, and also negatively influence the immune response to TB vaccines. We suggest that treatment for worm infection would make for a prudent first step in the conduct of TB vaccine trials in countries endemic for both TB and worms”, says Professor Subash Babu, Scientific Director at the National Institute of Research in Tuberculosis, formerly Tuberculosis Research Center in Chennai.

The research team comprised of Rajamanickam Anuradha, Saravanan Munisankar, Yukti Bhootra, Chandrakumar Dolla, Paul Kumaran, Thomas B Nutman, and Subash Babu. The study was done at the National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis in Chennai and National Institutes of Health, Bethesda in USA. 

This news was published by Newsroom24X7, BioVoice, and India Science Wire. 

Reference: PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 11 (5): e0005569.

A new superbug emerging in Indian hospitals calls for immediate action

A new multidrug resistant fungal superbug identified in several hospitals worldwide including India is giving doctors sleepless nights. Named Candida auris, it is resistant to most available antifungals. This superbug is fatal if untreated and infects intensive care patients with prolonged hospital stays.

In a short span of 7 years, this superbug has emerged as a cause of hospital-acquired multidrug resistant infection in many countries including India, Pakistan, Japan, Korea, Spain, UK, South Africa, Venezuela, Columbia, and the USA. This superbug demands immediate action from the medical community and Indian authorities.

According to Dr. Anuradha Chowdhary (picture above), Professor at the Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute in New Delhi, the problem is exacerbated by the fact that more than 90% of the patient samples are misidentified by most commercial laboratory equipment. As a result, patients miss getting specific drugs. Also since this fungus can persist around bed areas, mattress, chair, and windowsill for more than 3 months, it is seen as a serious concern in large bedded hospitals where rigorous cleaning and strict infection control practices are not a priority. While there are many antibacterials available, there are only three categories of antifungals used, of which this superbug is resistant to azoles, and has limited susceptibility to amphotericin B and echinocandins, which are expensive.

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Public Health England, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Europe, and the centers for disease control, USA have issued health alerts for strict vigilance of C. auris cases. Consultant microbiologists Anuradha Chowdhary, Cheshta Sharma, and Jacques F Meis recommend implementing control measures such as isolation of patients and their contacts, wearing of personal protective clothing by healthcare workers, screening of patients on affected wards, skin decontamination with chlorhexidine, environmental cleaning with chlorine-based reagents, and terminal room decontamination with hydrogen peroxide vapor or UV light as preventive measures to stop the superbug from spreading.

The study is a collaborative effort of Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi in New Delhi and Canisius-Wilhelmina Hospital, Nijmegen in the Netherlands. It was published in the journal PLOS Pathogens.

Reference: PLOS Pathogens 13(5): e1006290.

This was published by FirstPost, OutlookIndia, Amar Ujala NewsPaper in Hindi (clip below), BioVoice, and India Science Wire. 

Indian scientists find a new better drug to treat depression and anxiety

Psychological disorders that affect mood, emotion, and cognition are a rising global health concern. These include depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, dementia, Alzheimer’s, and cerebral ischemic stroke. Indian scientists have found a new compound that is an effective drug against these central nervous system disorders.

The compound is called 2-oxa-spiro [5.4] decane#3, and acts specifically on nerve cells, also inhibits their inflammation. It showed potent anti-depression and anti-anxiety activity in various animal models. 

“The new compound has the potential to be advanced as a versatile therapeutic molecule to treat stroke, depression, and possibly other neuropsychiatric disorders”, say scientists. 

According to WHO more than 300 million people globally of all ages suffer from depression. Giving the new drug increased social interaction, loss of which is a hallmark of depression. It was non-toxic and more effective than fluoxetine, a commonly used anti-depressant.

This research was initiated under an Indo-French collaboration called Joint Laboratory for Sustainable Chemistry at Interfaces and Joint Laboratory for Natural Products and Synthesis towards Affordable Health. The research team consisted of Pranav Chintamani Joshi, Ramesh Samineni, Dwaipayan Bhattacharya, Bommana Raghunath Reddy, Lenin Veeraval, Tapatee Das, Swati Maitra, Abhipradnya Bipin Wahul, Shailaja Karri, Srihari Pabbaraja, Goverdhan Mehta, Arvind Kumar, and Sumana Chakravarty. They published their results in a recent issue of the journal Scientific Reports.

It is a joint effort of CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, University of Hyderabad, and CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad, and Academy ofScientific and Innovative Research in New Delhi. 

This story was published by CatchNews, YahooNews, BioVoice, IndianScienceJournal, MedicalDialogues, and India Science Wire.

Reference: Scientific Reports 7: 1492.

Traditional and Nano medicine combo against diabetes

Indian scientists have used a substance from plant source to make silver nanoparticles that are effective against diabetes.  The new medicine is called NanoHerb and is made using gymnemic acid isolated from leaves of Gurmar plant.

Gurmar plant is native to India and Sri Lanka and its extract is taken orally along with insulin or diabetes medications to reduce blood sugar in traditional medicine. The silver nanoparticles made in this study had an average diameter of 21.5 nanometers. This small size enhances uptake in the body, which is the possible mechanism by which it increases the secretion of pancreatic insulin thereby managing diabetes, according to scientists. 

Diabetic rats were orally given metformin or the NanoHerb for 2 weeks. They found that NanoHerb lowered blood glucose, harmful LDL cholesterol, concomitantly increasing the beneficial HDL cholesterol, just like metformin. The scientists find the new NanoHerb medicine to be very promising. “We recommend biologically synthesized silver nanoparticles to be utilized for treatment of diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidemia. It can be a natural alternative to drugs such as metformin that are synthetic and have side effects”, says Dr. Shankar Kalakotla, Professor at Pullareddy Institute of Pharmacy, Sangareddy in Telangana.

They have applied for a patent and looking forward to ethics permission to test NanoHerb in human patients. Studies in mice showed that it is safe and nontoxic. It was published in a recent issue of the Journal Material Letters.  

The research team consisted of Kalakotla Shanker, G Krishna Mohan, Vinyas Mayasa, and Lakshmi Pravallika. The study was done at the Institute of Science and Technology, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, in Telangana, and KLE University, Belgaum in Karnataka. The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology provided funding. (India Science Wire)

 

Dr. G Krishna Mohan (left) and Shanker Kalakotla (right), Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad did the study.

Reference: Materials Letters (2017). Doi: 10.1016/j.matlet. 2017.02.137

This story was published by BioVoice and India Science Wire. 

Indian scientists develop rice that yields better under drought

A group of Indian, Chinese, and Canadian scientists have made transgenic rice that gives high yields even under severe water deficit. The rice is made by transferring the TOR gene from Arabidopsis thaliana plant into Indica BPT5024 variety of rice, commonly known as samba mahsuri. This gene is known to be involved in pathways controlling growth and development.

Putting this gene into rice increased its height, length of the panicle that encloses the grain, efficiency of photosynthesis, chlorophyll content, and water use efficiency. Under lab controlled water scarce conditions, the transgenic rice performed better than their unmodified counterparts. The results were published in a recent issue of the journal Scientific Reports.

The content of chlorophyll- the pigment required for plants to grow; reduces under stress conditions like drought, which in turn minimizes the yield. The new transgenic rice maintained high chlorophyll content even under water-deficit and therefore performed better. Transgenic rice were made by Achala Bakshi, Mazahar Moin, M Udaya Kumar, Aramati Bindu Madhava Reddy, Maozhi Ren, Raju Datla, E A Siddiq, and P B Kirti at the University ofHyderabad and PJTS Agricultural University in Hyderabad, University ofAgricultural Sciences-GKVK in Bangalore, National Research Council of Canada in Canada, and Chinese academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing, and ChongqingUniversity in Chongqing, China. 

Seedlings of transgenic rice that perform better under drought conditions are seen growing in small plates in the lab (above). They grow taller compared to non-transgenic rice plants in pots with lesser water in a greenhouse (below).

“The need of extensive irrigation is a major constraint in rice production. Overexpressing TOR gene plays a major role in improving plant development, biomass, and yield potential under limited water conditions. Transgenic plants would be expected to have higher yields and better plant performance. Also, saved water, the most important ingredient in cultivation, could be utilized in the cultivation of other crops that need water and are deprived of it”,  says PB Kirti, professor at the Department of Plant sciences, University of Hyderabad. 

This story was published by Down to Earth, Outlook India, BioVoice, and IndiaScience Wire. 

Reference: ScientificReports 7:42835.