Monthly Archives July 2021

Biotechnological applications of polar microbes have been identified as a key area of ​​interest. In addition, as highlighted in a series of MoES tweets, the proposed center will need to study the relationship between climate change and the emergence of infectious diseases, derive products from nature that could be valuable to industry, identify compounds. for purposes such as preventing infections, and exploring new molecules for commercial use.

The MoES-DBT collaboration will jointly identify other areas for action over time.

As a first step, the researchers will submit proposals to carry out research using the existing polar stations of the MoES. However, joint laboratories will be set up in the future so that researchers do not have to move samples to and from laboratories in India to perform experiments.

“We have done research in the Arctic, the Antarctic and the Himalayas – the three poles – but unfortunately we do not have expertise in biological sciences. DBT has the expertise, so we want to work together, ”said Dr M Ravichandran, director of the National Center for Polar and Oceanic Research (NCPOR), Swarajya.

Based in Goa, NCPOR is India’s premier R&D institution responsible for the country’s research activities in the Polar and Southern Ocean regions. It is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, which is the nodal ministry of polar research in India.

According to Dr Ravichandran, the joint MoES-DBT effort will focus on “bioprospecting” and microbiology research.

Bioprospecting is the abbreviation for prospecting for biodiversity. It is the systematic study of bio-resources, such as plants and microorganisms, with the aim of developing products of commercial value for pharmaceutical, agricultural and other applications, and globally for the good of society. .

The bioprospecting process goes through the stages of sample collection, isolation, characterization and translation through to product development and commercialization, notes the United Nations Development Program in its report. 2016 on the subject.

“Bioprospecting, when properly regulated, generates income that can be directly linked to biodiversity conservation and the benefit of local communities,” the report says.

With eyes on bioprospecting and other biology research, India aims to add the muscle of biotechnology to the science it conducts in the polar region.

“We want to encourage cold climate polar biotechnology studies to strengthen the field of polar research,” said Dr Ravichandran.

Small-scale polar biology research is underway in India. The work is carried out by very few people and usually includes researchers from different universities and institutes whose proposals are accepted by NCPOR.

The Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology, the Wildlife Institute of India, the Zoological Survey of India and the Hindu University of Banaras are among the institutes that have fields such as microbiology and wildlife ecology at the poles.

Much of the biology over the past decade has involved the study of bacterial diversity and adaptability in snow and ice, both in terrestrial and marine environments in the region.

However, there is now a feeling that India can do more in polar biology.

The regions around the North and South Poles – north of the Arctic or south of the Antarctic Circles, respectively – are important natural laboratories for scientific research.

Much of the land and sea area of ​​this region remains unexplored and this is where the opportunity lies for researchers to find answers to scientific questions.

India’s engagement with the polar regions goes back a long way. It started with the signing of the in February 1920 to initiate formal links with the Arctic. Getting into the Antarctic region took longer, but finally started when India launched its first Antarctic expedition in 1981.

Now, four decades later, India is participating in its 40th scientific expedition to Antarctica in January 2021.

Scientists pressured to publish are more likely to be guilty of questionable research practices, according to an integrity study according to the NRC.

The results of Lex Bouter’s National Research Integrity Survey showed that more than half of Dutch scientists routinely break scientific rules by omitting unwanted research results, concealing methodological issues, or citing meaningfully. selective scientific literature. About eight percent of scientists have even identified or falsified research results in the past three years.

The investigation found a link between the violation of scientific procedures and a number of external factors. Scientists who thought they needed to publish an article as quickly as possible to receive funding were more likely to be guilty of questionable research practices. Men and early-career scientists were also more likely to forge results.

On the other hand, if the researchers felt that their article would be thoroughly reviewed by their peers, they were less likely to commit fraud.

“Maybe not very shocking, Bouter notes, but this is the first time that it has been drawn this way. Please note: these are associations. Our research does not actually determine cause and effect. It is therefore not a given that if we refuse the publication pressure, this behavior will immediately diminish. “

The integrity survey was sent to employees of 22 Dutch universities and medical centers. Questions were asked about scientifically inappropriate behavior and the factors that could possibly influence it. In total, Bouter sent over 63,000 surveys and got a response rate of 21%.

Science Minister Ingrid van Engeloven called the results “worrying” and “an important signal” that something is wrong with science. The minister said she wanted to discuss with the universities how to resolve the problem. “Shouldn’t we value the work of scientists differently? She asked herself. “So that they are not paid only for the number of publications but also for what they contribute to research, education and their impact on society.”

Participants were allowed to answer the most sensitive questions anonymously. “This technique is also used in investigations into doping in sport and social security abuses. This leads to a two to three times higher percentage of people admitting to breaking the rules, ”Bouter said.

Bouter stressed that the investigation reflected the actions of individuals and not on Dutch science as a whole. However, it is unlikely that the number of scientists who commit fraud is actually lower. “In any case, they will not be much lower because I cannot imagine that the respondents have admitted mistakes that they did not make,” thought Bouter.

Excelsior correspondent
NEW DELHI, July 10: Minister of State of the Union (Independent Charge) Science and Technology, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Staff, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today proposed that the Department of Science and Technology (DST) strive to create the first National Scientific and Technological Research University of India, to take advantage of the research strength of its various autonomous research and development institutions working in the field of science and technology.
Speaking to the scientists and officials of Technology Bhawan here, Dr Jitendra Singh said that India today is ranked 3rd in the world in terms of research publications and number 9 in the world for the quality of research publications. in reputable and recognized SCI journals. Even though, he said, India’s global ranking in terms of research paper quality has dropped from number 14 to number 9, our concerted effort should be to be among the world’s No. 5 for research papers. quality research when India celebrates 75 years of independence.
The Minister referred to the special emphasis Prime Minister Narendra Modi placed on science and technology and said that it was thanks to the personal intervention of the Prime Minister that in 2016 the patent law was passed. less regulatory and more incentive, which not only leads to ease of work but also reduces the time required to improve patents. Not only that, over the past 7 years there has been a gradual increase in the number of resident patents filed, the number of full-time equivalent researchers (FTEs) and the number of female scientists, he added.
The Minister stressed the need to focus on an increasing number of beneficiaries in human resource related programs such as MANAK, INSPIRE, doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships and other programs.
Further stressing the need to project the successes of DST when India celebrates its 75th anniversary, i.e. Bharat Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Minister asked DST to present important goals and plans for 2022. It s It is clear that during the 75th year of independence in 2022, DST will aim to launch 7,500 ITS-based start-ups, 750,000 students from 6 to 10 classes participating in MANAK Award programs. In addition, under the Vigyan Jyoti program, DST will target 75,000 female students benefiting from the program by 2022. Dr Jitendra Singh called on all DST institutions and scientists to wholeheartedly participate in the 75th year of independence. of India to celebrate what science and scientists have contributed to India all these years.
Earlier, the Minister was greeted by Secretary, Professor DST Ashutosh Sharma, as well as others including Professor Sandeep Verma, SERB Secretary, Vishvajit Sahai, AS&FA, Anju Bhalla, JS (Admin), Sunil Kumar, JS (SMP) and Dr Akhilesh Gupta, Chief, PCPM. In addition, the chief accountant, division heads of scientific divisions and officers of the administrative wings of the department attended the meeting.

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania – As the gender gap in STEM slowly narrows, a new study illustrates just how far modern science has to go to view male and female scientists as equals. You might think that people judge any research project by its findings and methodology, not by its authors. Unfortunately, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania report that scientific papers with female authors receive far less attention than similar studies by male scientists. According to the results, this is especially the case when women are the primary and primary perpetrators.

Researchers analyzed a total of 5,554 articles published in five of the top academic medical journals between 2015 and 2018 for this project. Within this group, 35.6% of the studies had a female principal author and 25.8% had a female principal author.

On average, other researchers cited studies in which a woman was the lead author 36 times. Meanwhile, other studies have referred to reports primarily written by men an average of 54 times. Likewise, the scientific community cited an average of 37 times articles with senior female authors, compared to an average of 51 references for senior male authors. Studies that included a female principal and principal author received the fewest citations on average (33) in other works. Articles written primarily by men, however, received the most references, with an average of 59 references.

“The number of times a peer-reviewed article cited by other researchers is commonly used as a measure of academic recognition, influence, as well as in professional reviews and promotions,” says lead author Paula Chatterjee, MD, MPH, assistant professor of General Internal Medicine at Penn Medicine, in a university outing. “Women academics already face a number of barriers to career advancement, and the disparity in citations only widens the gap between them and their male peers. “

Is the science gap even bigger than it looks?

The research team also notes that a number of included studies appear in specialized journals in the field of internal medicine. This is worth mentioning because internal medicine generally has more female specialists than other clinical specialties. This may suggest that these results, if any, may in fact be sub-sale how drastic the gap is between male and female quotes.

“Gender disparities in quotes are just one way to look at inequalities in academic medicine. Our results highlight that the disparities stem in part from inequalities in the recognition and amplification of research. This imbalance will not be resolved by hiring and mentoring more women alone, ”concludes lead author Rachel Werner, MD, PhD, executive director of the Leonard Davis Institute for Health Economics. “We also need to ensure that women already in academic medicine are also valued and promoted for their contributions and successes. From journals publishing this work to academic institutions promoting articles once published, everyone should be involved in bridging this gender gap.

The team published its results in the review JAMA network open.

Henry Carscadden broadens his horizons, both as a member of the US Space Force and as a computer scientist.

Carscadden, who graduated from the University of Virginia in May, received a Louis T. Rader Undergraduate Research Award, from the Department of Computer Science at the School of Engineering, for his work at UVA’s Biocomplexity Institute, where scientists use mathematical and computer sciences to solve problems. These awards are given to undergraduate students based on their academic performance, ability to get along with people, and demonstrated ability to work hard.

Carscadden, from Goochland, has more than research in its future. While a ROTC Air Force cadet at University, Carscadden, who earned degrees in computer science and math, is now a member of the US Space Force.

“Last summer, all Air Force cadets except those headed for flight were given the opportunity to apply to serve in the Space Force instead of the Air Force,” he said. he declared. “Prior to this opportunity, I had been very interested in operations research work in the Air Force due to its research style environment.”

Carscadden, who was one of five members of his ROTC class to opt for the Space Force, believes the potential of space is to transform the Earth’s economy.

“For example, the launch of initiatives such as Starlink [a satellite internet system being built by SpaceX] could provide high-speed, high-availability Internet access to rural communities, which could promote more uniform economic development, ”said Carscadden. “That being said, I see no real use for humans in space at this point outside of scientific progress. As far as I know, the current value of space to humanity consists of spacecraft without pilot providing a certain service. “

Carscadden conducts research in network science at the Biocomplexity Institute and his work on complex networks has won him the Rader Prize.

“The idea of ​​network science is that you can divide a system into atomic units and define local interactions between the units to understand the system as a whole,” Carscadden said. “Many systems work this way, the spread of contagion is one of them. “

Carscadden’s research focused on finding a way to efficiently allocate resources to block two contagions spreading simultaneously in a population.

“Multiple contagion is a newer area and we have focused on a simpler type of contagion model than disease,” he said. “We worked on blocking the spread of social contagions, like a certain type of fashion, on a network. This is important because we can try to extend these tools to real diseases to decide how to allocate scarce resources when multiple contagions spread through a population. “

Carscadden and his work are greatly appreciated at the institute.

“In general, the quality of the students in the computer science department is excellent and many of them participate in research with faculty members,” SS Ravi, lecturer-researcher at the Biocomplexity Institute. “The price is very competitive. We proposed Henry since his distinguished major project resulted in a conference publication and was subsequently invited to a journal. Henry is the co-author of several other articles which discuss certain software subsystems within a cyber infrastructure for network science. We were delighted that Henry was chosen as one of the winners.

Ravi said that Chris Kuhlman, Associate Research Professor, and Dustin Machi, Senior Software Architect, both at the Biocomplexity Institute, have worked closely with Carscadden and are very impressed with his analytical and programming skills.

“Henry is also a very sincere and humble person,” Ravi said. “He has the ability to quickly understand difficult concepts and algorithms. With a strong background in computer science and math, he also has the ability to quickly think through different approaches to solving a problem and identify which one is most appropriate for a given situation. He needs very little supervision. I have enjoyed working with him for the past two years.

Carscadden is also working on another project at the institute.

“As part of a project funded by the National Science Foundation, we are developing a scalable and ubiquitous cyber infrastructure that can be used by researchers around the world to study problems related to the science and engineering of networks.” said Madhav Marathe, professor emeritus in biocomplexity. and the Carscadden thesis director. “Henry is part of the project and has supported the development of a number of innovative software modules; some of this work will be published at the next Winter Simulation conference.

Carscadden will continue his research at the Biocomplexity Institute, where he has worked since 2019, while waiting to enter active service. He plans to start working on a master’s program at the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.

“I chose to work at the Biocomplexity Institute because I wanted to learn more about data science,” he said. “Before entering active service, I was working on a web application to allow researchers to work on complex network problems without writing a lot of code.”

Marathe describes Carscadden as “conscientious, brilliant and hardworking”.

“He is diligent and takes the work entrusted to him seriously,” said Marathe. “I believe he has a bright future and I have no doubts that he will carry out all of the duties assigned to him in a very thoughtful manner and exceed the expectations of his mentors and supervisors. Henry has already published three articles, which is no small feat for an undergraduate student. He also supported ongoing projects and did all of this while majoring in computer science and math while serving at ROTC. It is an exceptional achievement. “

Marathe said Carscadden receiving the Rader Undergraduate Research Award was a first for the institute.

“It’s a very prestigious award and we’re delighted to see Henry get it,” said Marathe. “… We are a young institute and personally believe that this will motivate other students to work hard and achieve academic excellence as well. “

Marathe said the price is also important because of its subject matter.

“Our institute is one of the leaders in the field of network science,” he said. “The award then shows how young researchers can participate in ongoing collaborative research on cutting-edge topics. In addition, our institute carries out transdisciplinary team science. Henry worked as a team, was advised by several faculty members and researchers, and collaborated with a number of students. This way of doing research at a university is unique. We believe that this way of doing science on large, complex problems is the way of the future. “

Carscadden’s life is about more than research. Self-taught guitarist, he learned some country tunes. Echols Fellow and Intermediate Award Recipient, he was a member of the UVA Climbing Club and St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church. He has also volunteered locally, including with the Catholic Hoos Homelessness Ministry and planning and attending service events for the Air Force ROTC unit.