Ankit’s Weblog

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Today I attended another event at GKU. It was the inaugural function of Summer School on The Recent Trends in Biotechnology, spearheaded & sponsored by the State Biotechnology Programme Govt. Of Uttarakhand, Haldi, UdhamSingh Nagar. The function was adorned by lots of guests including Vice Chancellor Prof. Swantatra Kumar, Department Heads & Professors, Dr. Ved Prakash Shastri, Dr. Vijay Shankar (Founder of the Department of Microbiology at GKU,Haridwar) , Dr. A.K. Chopra (Registrar), Dr. A.M. Purohit (Retd. Prof. Botany H.N.B., Gharwaal) and the “Guest of Honour” Dr. Rajendra Dhobhal(Senior Scientific Advisor, State Biotech. Programme).

The workshop is focused on Plant Tissue Culture & Molecular Biology with Special Reference to Microbial Diversity. The experts from I.I.T Delhi; Delhi University North & South Campus; JNU, Delhi; Jamia Hamdard University and IMTech Chandigarh will be delivering their lectures on concerned topics during this workshop which is going to last 15 days.

Dr. R.C. Dubey (H.O.D Botany & Micro) started this event with his words after lighting the lamp, The Lamp of Light in his words, Vice-Chancellor Prof Swantantra Kumar appreciated this workshop & also assured for other such events in future.

Dr. R.C. Dubey urged Prof. Ved Prakash Shastri to deliver his speech in Sanskrit. Though most of the audience faced problem deciphering his Sanskrit articulation but it was subtle.

Then Dr. R.C. Dubey ceded the mic to Dr. A.M. Purohit who started with rather ribtickling part saying that “I don’t wanna die the miserable death of Bhishmah Pitamah” as Dr. R.C. Dubey honoured him as the Bhishmah Pitamah of Botany for the Uttarakhand Students. He has been awarded Padamshree Award from Govt. of India.

We must understand the recent concepts of Biotech & so as the advance tools. For this one should concentrate and put hands on practical work, he said.

Citing the example of a product developed by Japan using 10-12 plants products & fermenting to produce it on mass scale he explained the big scope of Fermentation Technology. These industries follows herbal scenario, he added.

In proceeding event Dr. Rajendra Dhobhal pondered into pre-eminent contribution of Indians in various fields citing LHC,Geneva; BPO Sector; Biotechnology. He admired the fact that there are good human resources in India. He also said that the rise in all scientific research fields is attributed to the spurt in I.T industry.

State government’s Biotechnology department culled Gurukul Kangri University, Haridwar among three institutes- I.I.T Roorkee, IVRI Mukteshwar and GKU Haridwar.

The Department of Microbiology at University of Gurklul Kangri is also celebrating its silver jubilee. And on this occassion Prof. Swatantra Kumar awarded Rs-25000 to Prof. Vijay Shankar as laurel who established this department and was present at this event.

Also there present was the 1994’s student of Grukul, Mr.Sumitra Pandey. He works as export manager in a MNC St.herb Cosmetics International Co., Ltd., Thailand.

Final Words:-

We UK’ians can also earn millions of dollars like America and other first world countries solely from Insulin- Dr. R.C. Dubey.

Here’s the list other upcoming events at GKU, Haridwar.

Yesterday I attended the inaugural function of International Conference on Management Sciences & Arts organized by Faculty of Management Studies at Gurukul Kangri University, Haridwar. Though the topic Management Sciences is none of my interest, my friend Rohit urged me to attend this event. I was fascinated and intrigued by knowing the name of the chief guests and the fact that numerous foreign delegates were attending the event I thought it’s a worth a shot.
Here’s the few names who attended this event- Yogrishi Swami Ramdev Ji Maharaj, Prof. Li. Shengxiao-Dean School of Business & Mgt. Shaoxing University China, Prof. Swatantra Kumar-Vice Chancellor GKU, Prof A.K. Chopra-Registrar GKU, Dr. C.P. Singh and Shri Chitranjan Sawant.
As expected, I took lots of photos at this conference till my batteries lasted.

By Rebecca Morelle
Science reporter, BBC News, Costa Rica

Discovery of the world’s rarest tree frog is caught on camera- See Video

An extremely rare female frog has been spotted for the first time in 20 years.

The tiny tree frog, Isthmohyla rivularis, was seen in Costa Rica’s Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve.

This species was thought to have become extinct two decades ago, but last year a University of Manchester researcher caught a glimpse of a male.

However, the discovery of the female and more males suggests this species is breeding and has been able to survive where many other frogs have not.

Andrew Gray, a herpetologist from Manchester Museum at the University of Manchester, said: “This has been the highlight of the whole of my career.

The only time you ever come across a female is by chance Andrew Gray

“Now that we know that both sexes exist in the wild, we should intensify efforts to understand their ecology and further their conservation.”

The BBC has been following the team from the University of Manchester and Chester Zoo that is working on amphibian conservation programmes

The BBC video of the frog is the first-known footage of this species.

The 2.5cm-long female, which was released after the discovery, was brown with metallic green speckles and was packed full of eggs.

A difficult task

Finding female frogs is extremely difficult; males make a distinctive call but females are silent for most of the time.

And tracking down this particular species in a great expanse of rainforest was even more difficult – the team had few clues about where the frogs might be, and the search could only take place at night.

The team trekked deep into the forest to a spot close to where the male Isthmohyla rivularis was spotted last year.

The researchers first discovered another male from its soft insect-like call.

The conservationists then trained their torches on the undergrowth, and eventually Luis Obando, head of park maintenance at Monteverde’s Tropical Science Center, found the tiny female, which was sitting on a leaf.

Mr Gray told the BBC: “It is hard to describe just how unlikely it was to have discovered a female of this particular species.

“The only time you ever come across a female is by chance – and it is only once in a blue moon that they come down to lay their eggs. You really have to be in the right place at the right time.

“You could come out here every night for a year and not see a thing.

“I really think that this time we have had luck on our side.”

Rare male frog filmed

-Wach The BBC exclusive video!

The discovery of both sexes of this species has given the researchers hope that this population may be surviving against the odds.

Mr Gray explained: “Last year, when we saw the male, we had no idea whether this was one of the last few remaining male specimens of this species.

“But now we have found the female, there is hope that the species may recover.

“It still seems that these critically endangered creatures are on the very brink of extinction – and although we have been intensively searching the streams all through the night, it appears that the density of the population is precarious.”

The researchers swabbed the frogs before they were released to see if they are carrying the chytrid fungus – a disease thought to have killed of many other species in this area.

They also used a spectrometer to look at the properties of the frogs’ skin to try to find out why this species has survived where others have not.

“It is imperative for the future conservation of Costa Rican amphibians that collaborative efforts harness the skills of biologists, researchers, educators and committed individuals, if we are to save these rare species,” Mr Gray added.

:-Source www.bbc.co.uk

After protracted delay, I finally got my BSNL Broadband installed toady.

I insisted BSNL in the form, a modem with four Ethernet ports but the BSNL’s chap came up with a modem having just one Ethernet and one USB port, saying that the modem that I mentioned in the form is no longer supplied by BSNL.

Damn, How I gonna share my DSL with another PC/laptop/Portable Wi-Fi device ?(Currently, none of which I have).

And after today’s extravagant browsing spree I hitherto ended up spending substantial 40MB of my 1GB quota! (HOME 250 Plan gives you 1GB free usage for Rs-250).

Update:- Actually It wasn’t 45MB it was 270MB !!