Author Archives: Arun Kumar N

About Arun Kumar N

Arun has been associated with India International Times since 2018 and he has been a key reporter in covering science and space related stories. He can be reached at arunKnn@indiainternationaltimes.com.

Curcumin in turmeric helps eliminate certain viruses, says Wuhan Lab study

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In a boost to Ayurvedic medicines which recommend turmeric during the cold, flu and other virus-related disease, scientists found that curcumin, a natural compound found in the spice turmeric, could help eliminate certain viruses.

A study published in the Journal of General Virology showed that curcumin can prevent Transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) – an alpha-group coronavirus that infects pigs – from infecting cells and at higher doses, it was also found to kill virus particles.

Infection with TGEV causes a disease called transmissible gastroenteritis in piglets, leading to diarrhoea, severe dehydration and death. TGEV is highly infectious and is invariably fatal in piglets younger than two weeks, thus posing a major threat to the global swine industry. There are currently no approved treatments for alpha-coronaviruses and although there is a vaccine for TGEV, it is not effective in preventing the spread of the virus.

To determine the potential antiviral properties of curcumin, the research team treated experimental cells with various concentrations of the compound, before attempting to infect them with TGEV. They found that higher concentrations of curcumin reduced the number of virus particles in the cell culture.

The research suggests that curcumin affects TGEV in a number of ways: by directly killing the virus before it is able to infect the cell, by integrating with the viral envelope to ‘inactivate’ the virus, and by altering the metabolism of cells to prevent viral entry.

“Curcumin has a significant inhibitory effect on TGEV adsorption step and a certain direct inactivation effect, suggesting that curcumin has great potential in the prevention of TGEV infection,” said Dr Lilan Xie, lead author of the study and researcher at the Wuhan Institute of Bioengineering.

Inhibits virus replication

Curcumin has been shown to inhibit the replication of some types of virus, including dengue virus, hepatitis B and Zika virus. The compound has also been found to have a number of significant biological effects, including antitumor, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities. Curcumin was chosen for this research due to having low side effects according to Dr Xie.

“There are great difficulties in the prevention and control of viral diseases, especially when there are no effective vaccines. Traditional Chinese medicine and its active ingredients, are ideal screening libraries for antiviral drugs because of their advantages, such as convenient acquisition and low side effects,” they said.

The researchers now hope to continue their research in vivo, using an animal model to assess whether the inhibiting properties of curcumin would be seen in a more complex system.

Amitabh Bachchan Rushed to Nanavati Hospital with Coronavirus

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Bollywood’s top actor Amitabh Bachchan said he was infected with the coronavirus and rushed to  Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai. Initial reports said the symptoms are not severe and the members of his family are also undergoing tests, with results pending.

In a tweet, Amitabh Bachchan said,”I have tested CoviD positive .. shifted to Hospital .. hospital informing authorities .. family and staff undergone tests , results awaited .. All that have been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested ! ”

More details are awaited and doctors are still conducting tests on him in the hospital. The most beloved actor of Indian Bollywood did not hesitate to warn all those who came in close proximity to him to go for coronavirus test. “All that have been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested,” he advised.

Amitabh Bachchan

The social media has gone into frenzy within minutes after the megastar tweeted his positive results. Many users have begun searching for his condition and Google Search has hit the roof with the search. While many people started wishing him a speedy recovery, the entire Bollywood swamped the Twitter platform to send him good wishes for his recovery. It remains to be seen whether any of his family members are also infected.

Ever since the coronavirus started in India, Amitabh Bachchan has been appearing continuously on TV for the last four months actively spreading awareness about corona and advising people to take  extreme precautions. 

 

Japan, India scientists develop new approach to lessen severity of malaria

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A new approach focusing on a critical stage in the life cycle of one of the most common malaria parasites was developed by scientists at Kyoto University’s Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) in Japan, in collaboration with India and Swiss scientists.

“The Plasmodium vivax malaria parasite can stay dormant in a person’s liver cells up to years following infection, leading to clinical relapses once the parasite is reactivated,” says Kouichi Hasegawa, an iCeMS stem cell biologist and one of the study’s corresponding authors of the paper published in the Malaria Journal.

P. vivax is responsible for around 7.5 million malaria cases, half of which are in India. Currently, there is only one licensed drug to treat the liver stage of the parasite’s life cycle, but with many side effects and cannot be used in pregnant women and infants. The liver stage is also difficult to study in the lab.

Study liver infection

Hasegawa and his colleagues in Japan, India and Switzerland developed a successful system for breeding mature malaria parasites, culturing human liver cells, and infecting the cells with P. vivax. While it doesn’t solve the high infection rate problem, still it provides new insight into the parasite’s liver stage.

“Our study provides a proof-of-concept for detecting P. vivax infection in liver cells and provides the first characterization of this infectious stage that we know of in an endemic region in India, home to the highest burden of vivax malaria worldwide,” says Hasegawa.

The researchers bred Anopheles stephensi mosquitos in India. Female mosquitos were fed with blood specifically from Indian patients with P. vivax infection and two weeks later, mature sporozoites, the infective stage of the malaria parasite, were extracted from the mosquitos’ salivary glands and added to liver cells cultured in a petri dish.

The scientists tested different types of cultured liver cells to try to find cells that would be infected by lots of parasites like in the human body. Researchers have already tried using cells taken liver biopsies and of various liver cancer cell lines. So far, none have led to large infections.

Resistance in liver cells

Hasegawa and his colleagues tried using three types of stem cells that were turned into liver cells in the lab. Notably, they took blood cells from malaria-infected patients, coaxed them into pluripotent stem cells, and then guided those to become liver cells. The researchers wondered if these cells would be genetically more susceptible to malaria infection. However, the cells were only mildly infected when exposed to the parasite sporozoites.

A low infection rate means the liver cells cannot be used for testing many different anti-malaria compounds at once. But the researchers found the cells could test if a specific anti-malaria compound would work for a specific patient’s infection. This could improve individualized treatment for patients.

The scientists were also able to study one of the many aspects of parasite liver infection. They observed the malaria protein UIS4 interacting with the human protein LC3, which protected the parasite from destruction. This demonstrates their approach can be used to further investigate this important stage in the P. vivax life cycle.

Staring at red light 3 minutes daily may lessen the risk of sight loss, says study

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Staring at a deep red light for three minutes a day can significantly improve declining eyesight, finds a new study, which may bring immense potential to bring about new affordable home-based eye care technique or therapy, helping millions of people globally with naturally declining vision as they age.

The first of its kind in humans study by scientists at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology was published in the Journals of Gerontology. Once over 40, the retinal sensitivity and colour vision gradually decline and with an ageing population, this is an increasingly important issue. The new method can reverse this decline, by rebooting the retina’s ageing cells with short bursts of longwave light.

In humans around 40 years-old, cells in the eye’s retina begin to age caused, in part, when the cell’s mitochondria, whose role is to produce energy (known as ATP) and boost cell function, also start to decline. In the UK there are currently around 12 million people aged over 65 and in 50 years this is estimated to increase to around 20 million.

Retina Decline Reversible

Mitochondrial density is greatest in the retina’s photoreceptor cells, which require high energy and thus, the retina ages faster than other organs, with a 70% ATP reduction over life, causing a significant decline in photoreceptor function. Researchers built on their previous findings in mice, bumblebees and fruit flies, when their eyes were exposed to 670 nanometre (long wavelength) deep red light.

Red light vision therapy (UCL)

“Mitochondria have specific light absorbance characteristics influencing their performance: longer wavelengths spanning 650 to 1000nm are absorbed and improve mitochondrial performance to increase energy production,” said Professor Glen Jeffery, lead author and scientist at UCL Insitutute of Ophthalmology. The retina’s photoreceptor population is formed of cones, which mediate colour vision and rods, which provide peripheral vision and adapt vision in low or dim light.

For the study, 24 people (12 male, 12 female), aged between 28 and 72, who had no ocular disease, were recruited. All participants’ eyes were tested for the sensitivity of their rods and cones at the start of the study. Rod sensitivity was measured in dark adapted eyes (with pupils dilated) by asking participants to detect dim light signals in the dark, and cone function was tested by subjects identifying coloured letters that had very low contrast and appeared increasingly blurred, a process called colour contrast.

All participants were then given a small LED torch to take home and were asked to look into* its deep red 670nm light beam for three minutes a day for two weeks. They were then re-tested for their rod and cone sensitivity

Study Results

Researchers found the 670nm light had no impact in younger individuals, but in those around 40 years and over, cone colour contrast sensitivity (the ability to detect colours) improved by up to 20% in some people aged around 40 and over. Improvements were more significant in the blue part of the colour spectrum that is more vulnerable in ageing. Rod sensitivity also improved significantly in them though less than colour contrast.

Professor Jeffery said: “Our study shows that it is possible to significantly improve vision that has declined in aged individuals using simple brief exposures to light wavelengths that recharge the energy system that has declined in the retina cells, rather like re-charging a battery. The technology is simple and very safe, using a deep red light of a specific wavelength, that is absorbed by mitochondria in the retina that supply energy for cellular function.

The team is planning to make devices costing about £12 to make, so the technology is highly accessible to the public.

Wind blows, ground moves on Mars, says study after INSIGHT lander findings

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A new study by researchers at Kyushu University’s International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research, Fukuoka in  Japan after comparing findings of Mars Insight lander after comparing with our own planet Earth, found Mars might seem like a “dead” planet, but even there, the wind blows and the ground moves.

Similar to earthquakes, the ambient seismic noise rippling mainly due to ocean activity to peek underground at the structure of the Earth’s interior. Can we do the same on Mars without ocean? The Japanese researchers’ study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, is based on data collected by NASA’s InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) Martian lander, which landed on Mars on November 26, 2018.

This is ambient noise on the Mars CREDIT: Takeshi Tsuji, I2CNER, Kyushu University

 

 

The InSight lander placed a seismometer on the surface of Mars and its readings collected between February and June 2019 revealed the existence of several hundred marsquakes, most of them much weaker than the quakes typically felt on Earth, although some reached a maximum magnitude of 4.

The data from these “microtremors” helped to determine the directions of propagation and directional intensity. Study co-author Tatsunori Ikeda said, “Our polarization analysis revealed that seismic waves of different frequencies and types showed different patterns of variation over the course of the Martian day. The temporal variations in low-frequency P-waves were related to distant changes in wind and solar irradiation, and the low-frequency Rayleigh waves were related to the wind direction in the region near the lander.”

This artist’s concept depicts NASA’s InSight lander after it has deployed its instruments on the Martian surface (NASA)

Higher-frequency ambient noises were, of course, made by vibration of the lander itself and hence, these microtremors of different types and frequencies likely have different sources, and some are probably influenced by geological structures, noted the scientists.

Mars Interior

These differences between the dominant sources of Martian microtremors may help in efforts to identify geological structures in Mars’s interior, as we inferred the lithological boundary beneath the seismometer from high frequency ambient noise.

A single seismometer is not yet enough to reconstruct images of the planet’s interior as usually done on Earth from data networks of multiple seismometers. But this analysis of the InSight lander’s seismic data is a key step toward achieving that goal on Mars, said scientists of the study.

The study’s senior author Takeshi Tsuji said:”These results demonstrate the feasibility of ambient noise methods on Mars. Future seismic network projects will enable us to model and monitor the planet’s interior geological structure, and may even contribute to resource exploration on Mars, such as for buried ice.”

Indian Navy Begins Next Phase of Operation ‘Samudra Setu’

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The next phase of Operation “Samudra Setu” to repatriate Indian citizens from overseas will commence from Monday, June 1, 2020, said Indian Navy. In this phase, Indian Navy Ship Jalashwa will repatriate 700 personnel from Colombo, Sri Lanka to Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu and subsequently repatriate another 700 personnel from Malè, Maldives to Tuticorin.

Indian Navy has already repatriated 1,488 Indian nationals from Malè to Kochi during the previous phase of operations from May 8, 2020 as part of Phase-1. The ships have been suitably provisioned for the evacuation operation. The evacuated personnel would be provided the basic amenities and medical facilities during the sea-passage.

Indian Naval Ship Jalashwa brought 588 Indian citizens, including six expectant mothers and 21 children on 15 May from Maldives as part of Operation Samudra Setu, braving rain and winds gusting at 30-40 knots at Male. The ship staff ensured completion of all formalities for the manifested passengers while observing safety and medical protocols, though the inclement weather hampered the embarkation process requiring various pre-embarkation activities to be done onboard the ship itself.

Indian Missions in Sri Lanka and Maldives are preparing a list of Indian nationals to be evacuated and will facilitate their embarkation after requisite medical screening. COVID-related social distancing norms have been catered onboard and evacuees would be provided basic amenities and medical facilities during the sea-passage.

After disembarkation at Tuticorin, the evacuated personnel will be entrusted to the care of State authorities. This operation is being progressed in close coordination with Ministries of External Affairs, Home Affairs, Health and various other agencies of the Government of India and State governments.

Earlier, Indian Prime Minister spoke to Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa on the occasion of completing 50 years since his first entering Parliament. The leaders discussed the health and economic impact of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic and the measures being taken in the two countries to counter them. PM Modi assured his counterpart that India stands ready to extend all possible support to Sri Lanka during this challenging time.

Back to Office? Replace coffee pot, restrain from hand shake – say CDC Guidelines

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No more hand shakes or fist bumps if you are returning to your office. Temperature and symptom checks, plastic desk shields, and face coverings worn at all times — are some of the urgent recommendations from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for those who are gearing up to return to offices despite the pandemic.

“Replace high-touch communal items, such as coffee pots, water coolers, and bulk snacks, with alternatives such as prepackaged, single-serving items,” says one of the guidelines issued by the CDC.

Workers in office buildings may be at risk for exposure to the coronavirus. Office building employers, building owners and managers, and building operations specialists can take “steps to create a safe and healthy workplace and protect workers and clients,” said the CDC on its website.

Applicable anywhere in the world, including India once the lockdown is lifted next week, here’s the list:

CDC Guidelines to Office Goers

  • Replace high-touch communal items, such as coffee pots, water coolers, and bulk snacks
  • Upon arriving at work, employees should get a temperature and symptom check.
  • Inside the office, desks should be six feet apart or partition with plastic shields be erected.
  • Seating should be barred in common areas.
  • Face coverings should be worn at all times.
  • Regular hand washing of at least 20 seconds; no fist bumps or handshakes; no face touching.
  • Limit use and occupancy of elevators to maintain social distancing of at least 6 feet.
  • Repeat disinfecting of surfaces, cleansing out the ventilation system, opening windows and allow ventilation.
  • Display posters in offices recommending best practices.

The guidelines would lead to a far-reaching remaking of the corporate work experience and those who are returning to work are urged to drive to work by themselves, instead of taking public transportation or car-pooling, to avoid potential exposure to the virus.

The CDC has finally advised companies to allow white-collar employees at all levels to continue work from home, which has proved effective in the last few months.

Coronavirus vaccine by October end, announces US pharma giant Pfizer

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American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has announced that its ongoing development of a COVID-19 vaccine could be ready in five months period by October end. Pfizer is working on the vaccine project in collaboration with German firm Biontech.

Pfizer and its vaccine development German partner BioNTech announced on Friday, May 29, that the first participants have been given the doses in the US in the Phase 1/2 clinical trial for the BNT162 vaccine program to prevent COVID-19. “If things go well, and the stars are aligned, we will have enough evidence of safety and efficacy so that we can have a vaccine around the end of October,” said Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla.

The trial is part of the dosing of the first cohort in Germany that was completed last week. The Phase 1/2 study is designed to determine the safety, immunogenicity and optimal dose level of four mRNA vaccine candidates under study. The dose level escalation portion (Stage 1) of the Phase 1/2 trial in the U.S. will enroll up to 360 healthy subjects into two age cohorts (18-55 and 65-85 years of age). The first subjects immunized in Stage 1 of the study will be healthy adults 18-55 years of age, said the company.

Older adults will be immunized with a given dose level once testing and dose level in younger adults has provided initial evidence of safety and immunogenicity. Currently,the participants are being given these doses at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and the University of Maryland School of Medicine, with the University of Rochester Medical Center/Rochester Regional Health and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

“The short, less than four-month timeframe in which we’ve been able to move from pre-clinical studies to human testing is extraordinary and further demonstrates our commitment to dedicating our best-in-class resources, from the lab to manufacturing and beyond, in the battle against COVID-19,” said Albert Bourla, Chairman and CEO, Pfizer.

Pfizer and BioNTech’s Vaccine Program

Pfizer and BioNTech’s development program includes four vaccine candidates, each representing a different combination of mRNA format and target antigen. The ongoing trial allows for the evaluation of the various mRNA candidates simultaneously in order to identify the safest and potentially most efficacious candidate in a greater number of volunteers.

“It is encouraging that we have been able to leverage more than a decade of experience in developing our mRNA platforms to initiate a global clinical trial in multiple regions for our vaccine program in such a short period. We are optimistic that advancing multiple vaccine candidates into human trials will allow us to identify the safest, most effective vaccination options against COVID-19,” said CEO and Co-founder of BioNTech, Ugur Sahin, whose firm will provide the vaccine from its GMP-certified mRNA manufacturing facilities in Europe.

Once this stage is successfully accomplished, both Pfizer and BioNTech plan to rapidly increase production of millions of vaccine doses in 2020, increasing to hundreds of millions in 2021. BioNTech and Pfizer will work supply the vaccine worldwide once regulators allow except China, where BioNTech has a collaboration with Fosun Pharma for BNT162 for both clinical development and commercialization.

Pfizer-owned sites in three U.S. states (Massachusetts, Michigan and Missouri) and Puurs, Belgium are being pressed into  manufacturing COVID-19 vaccine production, with more sites to be selected once the vaccine rolls out. Through its existing mRNA production sites in Mainz and Idar-Oberstein, Germany, BioNTech plans to ramp up its production capacity.

Coronavirus: Who is the loser in US-WHO rift? Global Health

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When US President Donald Trump tweeted a letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus last week threatening to make permanent the US freeze on WHO funding that began in April, unless the organization “can actually demonstrate independence from China” within 30 days, it has heralded another onslaught on fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

If President Trump sidelines the World Health Organization, experts foresee incoherence, inefficiency and resurgence of deadly diseases. The fissure between the United States and the World Health Organization has unveiled further the repercussions which could range from a resurgence of polio and malaria to barriers in the flow of information on COVID-19.

On the flip side, scientific partnerships around the world would be damaged, and the United States could lose influence over global health initiatives, including those to distribute drugs and vaccines for the new coronavirus as they become available, according to health experts.

“I don’t think this is an idle threat,” says Kelley Lee, a global health-policy researcher at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada. The acrimony is poorly timed when the need of the hour is for international coordination and cooperation to contain with the coronavirus. “In this pandemic, people have said we’re building the plane while flying,” Katz says. “This proposal is like removing the windows while the plane is mid-air,” said Rebeca Katz, director of the Center for Global Health at Georgetown University in Washington DC.

Trump’s Allegations

Trump’s letter, which he tweeted on 18 May, reiterated his earlier allegations that the WHO intentionally ignored reports that COVID-19 was spreading between people in Wuhan, China, in December itself. “I cannot allow American taxpayer dollars to continue to finance an organization that, in its present state, is so clearly not serving America’s interests,” he wrote.

A few of Trump’s claims such that the medical journal The Lancet had published on the new coronavirus in December was debunked the next day when the journal issued a statement calling the claim factually incorrect because their first reports on COVID-19 were published on 24 January.

Tedros has reiterated his commitment to an independent evaluation of the WHO’s response to COVID-19, and an assessment of the organization’s operations in the first part of 2020 that has already been made public. But when reporters asked Tedros, he said, “Right now, the most important thing is fighting the fire, saving lives.”

Last year, the US government gave the WHO roughly US$450 million. Nearly 75% of that was voluntary, and the other quarter was mandatory — a sort of membership fee expected from the 194 member countries, adjusted by the size of their economies and populations. The United States is the biggest donor, representing about 15% of the WHO budget.

So far this year, it has paid about one-quarter — $34 million — of its membership dues, according to a WHO spokesperson. Voluntary funds are more complicated because a large portion were paid last year, however the spokesperson says that the freeze has put a hold on new agreements, meaning that the full-blown effects of the decision will be felt in 2021.

The US government provides 27% of the WHO’s budget for polio eradication; 19% of its budget for tackling tuberculosis, HIV, malaria and vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles; and 23% of its budget for emergency health operations. David Heymann, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, says this will also amount to resurge of polio.

The WHO will survive a US funding freeze in the next few months as other donors will help to compensate for the financial gap during the pandemic. Already, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged $2 billion to the coronavirus response.

Even the United States would lose its influence on what the agency does and eventually lose its voting rights. Currently, only three countries — South Sudan, Venezuela and the Central African Republic — are in this category.

With that loss, the United States will relinquish its ability to shape health agendas around the world, says Lee. Ironically, that is exactly what the Trump administration is complaining about. “If the US pulls out and leaves a vacuum, it will be filled by other countries, like China,” she says. “You’ll see a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

 

 

Angle of Asteroid that Doomed Dinosaurs was ‘Deadliest’, says New Study

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It’s widely believed that a deadliest asteroid had doomed the dinosaurs to extinct on Earth 66 million years ago. Amid growing theories of how and what could have ensued current life form on Earth, here’s a new study Dinosaur-dooming asteroid struck earth at ‘deadliest possible’ angle.

The study, published in Nature Communications, is based on simulations showing that the asteroid hit Earth at an angle of about 60 degrees, thus maximizing the amount of climate-changing gases thrust into the upper atmosphere. It could have unleashed billions of tonnes of sulphur, blocking the sun and triggering the nuclear winter which could have killed the dinosaurs and wiped off 75% of life on Earth.

Using a combination of 3D numerical impact simulations and geophysical data from the site of the impact, the new models are used to reproduce the whole event – from the initial impact to the final crater, now known as Chicxulub. All the simulations used a 17-km diameter asteroid with a density of 2630 kgm3 and a speed of 12 km/s, and were performed on the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) DiRAC High Performance Computing Facility.

Besides the lead researcher Prof. Gareth Collins of Imperial’s Department of Earth Science and Engineering, the team involved the University of Freiburg, and The University of Texas at Austin. “Our simulations provide compelling evidence that the asteroid struck at a steep angle, perhaps 60 degrees above the horizon, and approached its target from the north-east. We know that this was among the worst-case scenarios for the lethality on impact, because it put more hazardous debris into the upper atmosphere and scattered it everywhere – the very thing that led to a nuclear winter.”

Crater creation

The researchers say that while the study has also given them important insights into the dinosaur-dooming impact and project how large craters on other planets such as Mars are formed. The study co-author Thomas Davison, also of Imperial’s Department of Earth Science and Engineering, said: “Large craters like Chicxulub are formed in a matter of minutes, and involve a spectacular rebound of rock beneath the crater.”

The study of upper layers of earth at the Chicxulub 200-km wide crater in present-day Mexico showed high amounts of water as well as porous carbonate and evaporite rocks,indicating that when heated and disturbed by the impact, these rocks would have decomposed, flinging vast amounts of carbon dioxide, sulphur and water vapour into the atmosphere.

The sulphur, which rapidly forms aerosols that would have blocked the sun’s rays, halting photosynthesis in plants and rapidly cooling the climate would have eventually contributed to the mass extinction event that killed 75 per cent of life on Earth 66 million years ago.

The team of researchers also examined the shape and subsurface structure of the crater using geophysical data to feed into the simulations that helped diagnose the impact angle and direction, while they also drilled into the 200 km-wide crater for more evidence to corroborate with rocks experiencing enormous due to the asteroid’s impact.

At Chicxulub, these centres are aligned in a southwest-northeast direction, with the crater centre in between the peak-ring and mantle-uplift centres at the angle of 60 degrees.

 

 

 

How migrant labourers can register on Govt websites to return home?

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As coronavirus lockdown has been lifted or being lifted gradually, all state governments are working overnight to facilitate migrant labourers to return safely to their home states across the country. They have to register on official websites to return home and here are the links to register.

For migrant labour registration, one can go to the link of the state mentioned against the name. To register, click on the link of state and go to the migrant labour registration link. Fill in all the details.

Provide a document such as Aadhar card for identity verification.

Here is the state-wise list of websites with links for migrant labourers’ registration:

Rajasthan– https://emitraapp.rajasthan.gov.in/emitraApps/covid19MigrantRegistrationService
Tamil Nadu– https://rtos.nonresidenttamil.org/
Gujarat– https://www.digitalgujarat.gov.in/
Uttarakhand– http://dsclservices.org.in/movement-outside-uttarakhand.php
Odisha– https://covid19regd.odisha.gov.in/migrant-registration.aspx
Karnataka– https://sevasindhu.karnataka.gov.in/Sevasindhu/English
Kerala– http://www.lc.kerala.gov.in/index.php/goverment-orders
Punjab– http://covidhelp.punjab.gov.in/PunjabOutRegistration.aspx
Arunachal Pradesh– http://covid19.itanagarsmartcity.in/scr/register/index.php
Haryana– https://edisha.gov.in/eForms/MigrantService
Chattisgarh– http://cglabour.nic.in/covid19MigrantRegistrationService.aspx
Madhya Pradesh– https://mapit.gov.in/covid-19/
Telangana– https://tsp.koopid.ai/epass
Goa– https://goaonline.gov.in/
West Bengal– https://wb.gov.in
Uttar Pradesh– http://jansunwai.up.nic.in/
Chandigarh– http://admser.chd.nic.in/migrant/
Jammu & Kashmir– https://serviceonline.gov.in
Ledakh– https://leh.nic.in/epass/
Jharkhand– https://jharkhandpravasi.in
Maharashtra– https://covid-19.maharashtra.gov.in
Himachal Pradesh– http://covid19epass.hp.gov.in/
Manipur– https://tengbang.in/
Andhra Pradesh– https://www.spandana.ap.gov.in/
Delhi– https://www.delhishelterboard.in/covid19/migrant-info.php
Meghalaya– http://meghalayaonline.gov.in/covid/login.htm
Nagaland– https://iamstranded.nagaland.gov.in/

US firm Inovio’s coronavirus vaccine trial on mice turns positive

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US vaccine maker Inovio Pharmaceuticals said on Wednesday that its experimental vaccine to prevent coronavirus infection produced protective antibodies and immune system responses in mice and guinea pigs, raising hopes that it could provide relief if Moderna’s vaccine fails.

The company’s shares, which have more than quadrupled this year on hopes of its vaccine working, surged another 18% to $15.77 in early trading, reports Reuters.

“We saw antibody responses that do many of the things we would want to see in an eventual vaccine,” said Dr. David Weiner, director of the immunotherapy center at the Wistar Institute, which has collaborated with Inovio. “We are able to target things that would prevent the virus from having a safe harbor in the body.”

There are currently no approved treatments or vaccines for COVID-19, and more than 100 vaccines are under trials across the world, with more than 12 to 18 months to develop one effective vaccine among the candidates.

Apart from Inovio, other drug makers such as Moderna, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi and AstraZeneca are in various stages of vaccine development. On Monday, Moderna said its experimental COVID-19 vaccine produced protective antibodies in a small group of healthy volunteers.

Inovio said preliminary results from its human trial are expected in June. The 40 healthy participants in the Phase 1 trial are given two shots, four weeks apart, of the vaccine, called INO-4800, and then followed for two weeks.

“We are already seeing safety data and it has been benign,” Dr. Katherine Broderick, head of research and development at Inovio, told Reuters. “Some people have slight redness of the arm.”

Both Moderna and Inovio are focusing on specific genes on the outer “spike” portion of the virus for vaccine. Inovio’s vaccine was designed using its DNA medicine platform, while Moderna’s vaccine uses messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. Once the preliminary data is in, Inovio will seek FDA approval to move into a Phase 2/3 trial, which could happen in July or August.

Coronavirus: As India reopens, Indians reluctant to use public transport, 62% averse to use Ola, Uber

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As India prepares to ease the lockdown from May 18, a survey revealed that more than 70% people do not want to use public transport while 62% are reluctant to use cab-hailing apps like Ola and Uber. The new survey conducted by market research and analysis firm Velocity MR revealed on Friday that 71% would reduce shopping in malls and supermarkets and 80% would prefer to continue with online shopping.

At least 50% people anticipated increase in unemployment rates, followed by lack of job security in the private sector (53%) due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “Our study shows that in the next six months to one year, 47% are planning to invest in mutual funds followed by stock/shares (33%) and gold (30%),” said Jasal Shah, Managing Director and CEO, Velocity MR.

About 77% of those surveyed wish to use Arogya Setu app and more than 57% want to maintain social distancing and washing and sanitizing hands at regular intervals going forward in their daily lifestyle in the wake of the coronavrus pandemic.

Banking sector can witness a major boost through their digital payment services as close to 90% of respondents are willing to shift from cash to digital payments. “Almost 80% of respondents considered the non-availability of alcohol and cigarettes as one of the major benefits, and 74% considered work from home advantage and not a disadvantage,” the survey said.

The survey was conducted in April with a sample size of 3,000, covering categories including shopping habits, purchase habits, travel, social activities, investments, social responsibilities during the pandemic.

COVID-19 outbreak is nothing like India has ever seen before. If smallpox that took over 15,000 lives in 1974, is regarded as the worst epidemic in India, then COVID-19 is the one deadliest pandemic case that the country has ever come across. With just a little over 3 months, the virus-infected over 4 million people across the globe.

Velocity MR, acknowledging the impact of the COVID-19, conducted a study to understand and gauge the sentiments of the Indian towards the virus outbreak. This study covers the concern level, awareness level of the consumers as well their thoughts on the outbreak, the business it impacted and the initiatives taken by the government in India.

Coronavirus: Loosening COVID-19 restrictions now is not a good idea, says expert

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Now that India and other glbal nations are being forced to re-open normal life and movement, here is an expert from Monash University in Australia who differs strongly at this idea as too early to reap the benefits of lockdowns in several nations that could effectively bar the spread of coronavirus or COVID-19.

Ever since the coronavirus hit the city of Wuhan in December last year, more than two months went in observing how the virus transfers from human to human and what kind of restrictions China imposed to contain the virus. When the infection entered Europe and destroyed several historic cities and devastated the economies, US woke up to the dangers more intensely than previously thought.

While most of the world’s scientists are working on developing a vaccine, “the bottom line is that we simply don’t yet know enough about how it works,” says Stephen Turner, Professor of Microbiology at the  Monash University. He warns that the COVID virus can’t be wished away by opening gyms, allowing sports like boating and golf, and resuming church congregations, which may relieve those who feel their personal rights have been stymied, but it’s no signal that this virus has been conquered.

“In this world we’ve created of instant gratification, we equally expect a pandemic to be studied, solved and an answer made available to everyone, so we can all return to our normal lives,” he said.

Short-lived South Korean example

Citing South Korea, one of the countries that has done an exemplary job of dampening the disease with social distancing and widespread testing, some people who recovered from coronavirus have retested positive, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). Alongwith Singapore, these two nations showed how to flatten the COVID-19 curve, but then a spike in new cases washed offsuch hopes. Many of them showed negligible and below the detection of current tests, according to KCDC deputy director Kwon Joon-Wook.

But the prospect of people remaining positive for the virus, and therefore potentially infectious, is of utmost concern now when life is returned to normal levels. Of the more than 4 million people globally who have tested positive for the virus, more than one million have recovered and assuming they’re OK to interact with those who haven’t been infected is not true.

“We simply don’t know whether they remain infectious, all while the world is already starting to pull back on lockdown laws and allowing people to congregate with restrictions… Thankfully, the virus doesn’t appear to mutate much, which makes the development of a universal vaccine easier, but its super power may be that, as appears to be the case for other human non-SARS coronaviruses, immunity wanes over time – so those of us who have been infected, and think we’re immune against developing or spreading the disease, may only be confident in that for a period of time.” 

A recent study by Chinese researchers published in The Lancet, showed that those with severe COVID illness have, not surprisingly, a heavier viral load, and took longer to rid themselves of the virus. Other data suggests that about seven in 10 of those mildly infected actually develop antibodies to kill the virus and eradicate it from the body. This will be crucial in the development of a prototype vaccine.

“Every day we learn something new about this coronavirus. But most often, like these cases of South Koreans mysteriously testing positive after ridding themselves of the disease, what we learn every day is how little we know about how SARS-CoV-2 operates. To assume we can just resume our previous normal lives, when we still don’t truly know what we’re fighting, could be considered premature,” writes Stephen Turner.

India’s new FDI rules violate WTO norms, says China

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China, which has invested more than $8 billion in India, has taken recent India’s revision of its foreign direct investment (FDI) norms to prevent the takeover of Indian firms amid the coronavirus pandemic as discriminatory and in violation of World Trade Organization’s principles.

The Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) revised the FDI regulations stating, “An entity of a country, which shares land border with India or where the beneficial owner of an investment into India is situated in or is a citizen of any such country, can invest only under the government route.” India’s move comes after similar changes undertaken by countries such as Australia, Germany and the Czech Republic in recent months.

Recent reports said China, recovering from Coronavirus is aggressive in global markets and fears gripped economies that it may result in hostile takeovers by Chinese companies of Indian firms whose market values have dipped drastically due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In its reaction since India tweaked the rules on Saturday, April 18, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in New Delhi said the move is against the commitments made by India to World Trade Organisation (WTO)and other multilateral commitments.

“The barriers set by Indian side for investors from specific countries violate WTO’s principle of non-discrimination, and go against the general trend of liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment,” spokesperson Ji Rong said. “More importantly, they do not conform to the consensus of G20 leaders and trade ministers to realize a free, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent, predictable and stable trade and investment environment, and to keep our markets open,” she said.

“Companies make choices based on market principles. We hope India would revise relevant discriminatory practices, treat investments from different countries equally, and foster an open, fair and equitable business environment,” Ji noted.

The Indian foreign ministry has not reacted to the Chinese comments so far. Experts believe that India’s action is allowed under the WTO when a country’s national security is at stake and many countries have either tweaked the FDI norms or issued a moratorium of some sort to prevent hostile takeovers.

Ji pointed out that Chinese investments in India had crossed $8 billion as of December 2019. “Chinese investment has driven the development of India’s industries, such as mobile phone, household electrical appliances, infrastructure and automobile, creating a large number of jobs in India and promoting mutual beneficial and win-win cooperation.”

“Facing the economic downturn caused by covid-19, countries should work together to create a favorable investment environment to speed up the resumption of companies’ production and operation,” she added.

Ever since India pulled out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in November last year, trade ties have taken a dip between the two countries.

Facebook and Google may have to reveal algorithm changes to Australian media firms soon

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In a new move, Facebook and Google will be forced to share advertising revenue with Australian media companies and inform them in advance about algorithm changes that would affect content rankings, favour original source news content in search page results, and share data with them.

The move come in the wake of an inquiry in December by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to develop a code between media companies and digital platforms including Google and Facebook. Following the findings, the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg has asked the competition watchdog to develop a mandatory code of conduct for the digital platforms in view of a steep decline in advertising revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic.

To be finalised in November this year, the ACCC will implement the code mandatorily in the country. It will propose a voluntary adherence to the code but spell out penalties and binding dispute resolution mechanisms for negotiations between the digital platforms and news businesses. Besides news content, the code will also cover other social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter.

The government informed the Australian media that the draft code will be finalised by the end of July and the final text will be made soon after that. Defending the government move, Frydenberg said that it was a fair play for both media companies that created the content and the aggregators who deliver it on their platforms. “This will help to create a level playing field,” he said.

The communications minister, Paul Fletcher, said the code will enable to create a fair news media ecosystem. “Digital platforms have fundamentally changed the way that media content is produced, distributed and consumed… Digital platforms need to do more to improve the transparency of their operations for news media providers as they have a significant impact on the capacity of news media organisations to build and maintain an audience and derive resources from the media content they produce.”

The sudden disappearance of advertisement revenue for the print media has forced many newspapers to shut down during the pandemic already, while the online editions are struggling to make revenue out of aggregators or online advertisement. Several media companies in Australia have asked staff to take a pay cut or stand down in view of the onslaught on the print media.

Finally, Trump tested for coronavirus, result negative

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US President Donald Trump has undergone the test for coronavirus and tested negative, said the president’s personal physician Saturday night after Trump revealed that he too had undergone the test and his temperature was “totally normal.”

The coronavirus has already infected more than 2,200 people in the US and caused 50 deaths. Trump, 73, has come under radar ever since he met with at least three visitors from Brazil who have since tested positive for COVID-19. Due to the exposure by Trump to many visitors and aides, the White House has begun conducting temperature checks on all visitors, including reporters who attend White House briefing. On Saturday, one reporter with high temperature was not allowed.

Ignoring the advice to shun handshake, Trump said, “It almost becomes a habit. People come up to me, they shake hands, they put their hand out, it’s sort of a natural reflex. We’re all getting out of it. All of us have that problem.” However, he quickly said, “Shaking hands is not a great thing to be doing right now, I agree.”

The Brazilian Embassy in Washington DC said late Friday that the country’s chargé d’affaires, Nestor Forster, tested positive after sitting at Trump’s dinner table last week while a top aide to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who took a photo with Trump and another person who attended a campaign fundraiser with the president too found to be affected with the novel coronavirus

White House said its occupants don’t need to be tested or isolate themselves unless the symptoms appear while experts insist that the virus can be spread even by people who are asymptomatic. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines include washing hands regularly and keeping a distance of at least 1.5-meter distance from people.

Meanwhile, Trump has extended the new travel ban to Britain, bringing the total number of US travel-restricted countries in Europe to 28.

Taranjit Singh Sandhu, new ambassador to US, has to do balancing act with strategic ally

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India’s new ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu

Taranjit Singh Sandhu (IFS:1988), presently High Commissioner of India, Colombo has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the United States of America. He has served as the Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka from 2017 and his new appointment comes at a time when New Delhi is trying to balance its strategic and tensed trade ties with the US.

Sandhu will succeed Harsh Vardhan Shringla, who will take charge as the country’s new foreign secretary on Feb 4, Wednesday. His immediate task will be overseeing a visit by US President Donald Trump next month to India, where New Delhi wants to pursue its push for a bilateral trade pact.

Taranjit Singh Sandhu’s appointment also comes at a time when New Delhi is facing criticism from the US Congress where Democrat leader Pramila Jaypal has introduced a resolution in the US House of Representatives over Kashmir and taken jibes at the current government over Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and Kashmir policy following abrogation of Article 370. The Indian embassy Saturday faced the wrath of protesters over these two issues.

Sandhi, a 1988 IFS batch member, had two stints at the Indian Embassy in Washington DC in the past.  He was Deputy Chief of Mission at Embassy of India in Washington D.C. from July 2013 to January 2017. He was First Secretary (Political) at Embassy of India, Washington, D.C. responsible for liaison with the United States Congress from 1997-2000.

He also served as Consul General of India in Frankfurt from September 2011 to July 2013. He served in the Ministry of External Affairs from March 2009 to August 2011, as Joint Secretary (United Nations) and later as Joint Secretary (Administration) heading the Human Resource Division. High Commissioner Sandhu was at the Permanent Mission of India to United Nations, New York from July 2005 to February 2009. Prior to it, he served as the Head of the Political Wing in the High Commission of India, Colombo from December 2000 to September 2004.

In a distinguished career spanning nearly thirty years in the Indian Foreign Service, he worked on various assignments including a three year stint at the Indian embassy in erstwhile Soviet Union (Russia) from 1990 to 1992 as Third Secretary (Political) / Second Secretary (Commercial). Following the breakup of Soviet Union, he was sent to open a new Embassy in Ukraine.

He served as Head of Political and Administration Wings in Indian Embassy in Kiev from 1992 to 1994. On his return to India, he served as Officer on Special Duty (Press Relations), Ministry of External Affairs from 1994 to March 1997. He was responsible for liaison with foreign media in India.

Born on 23 January 1963 in a family of educationists, High Commissioner Sandhu studied at the Lawrence School, Sanawar and graduated with History Honors from St. Stephens’ College, Delhi. He pursued a Masters Degree in International Relations at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi in 1982-84.

Sandhu is married to Mrs. Reenat Sandhu, who is also an IFS officer and is currently India’s Ambassador to Italy. They have two children.

NASA finds tropical storm Sarai strengthening

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On Dec. 27 at 0135 UTC (Dec. 26 at 8:35 p.m. EST) NASA’s Aqua satellite analyzed the using the AIRS instrument. AIRS showed the strongest storms were located over the Lakshadweep Islands where the coldest cloud top temperatures as cold as or colder than 210 Kelvin (purple) minus 81 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 63.1 degrees Celsius) around the center (NASA)

NASA analyzed the cloud top temperatures in Tropical Storm Sarai using infrared light to determine the strength of the storm.  Already there are regional warnings in effect for Fiji and Tonga.

In Fiji, there is a storm warning is in force for Vatulele and Kadavu. A gale warning is in force for Vanua Levu, Taveuni, Yasawa and the Mamanuca Group, Kadavu, Lomaiviti Group, Viti Levu and nearby smaller islands. Tonga is on tropical cyclone alert

One of the ways NASA researches tropical cyclones is using infrared data that provides temperature information. Cloud top temperatures identify where the strongest storms are located. The stronger the storms, the higher they extend into the troposphere, and they have the colder cloud temperatures.

On Dec. 27 at 0135 UTC (Dec. 26 at 8:35 p.m. EST) NASA’s Aqua satellite analyzed the storm using the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument. The AIRS imagery showed the strongest storms circling the center of circulation, just west of Fiji and in a thick band of thunderstorms northeast of Fiji.

In those areas, AIRS found coldest cloud top temperatures as cold as or colder 210 Kelvin minus 81 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 63.1 degrees Celsius). NASA research has shown that cloud top temperatures that cold indicate strong storms that have the capability to create heavy rain.

Tropical cyclones do not always have uniform strength, and some sides have stronger sides than others, so knowing where the strongest sides of the storms are located helps forecasters. NASA then provides data to tropical cyclone meteorologists so they can incorporate it in their forecasts.

At 10 a.m. EST on Dec.27 the Joint Typhoon Warning Center or JTWC noted that the center of Tropical cyclone Sarai was located near 18.7 degrees south latitude and 176.1 degrees east longitude. That is about 136 nautical miles west-southwest of Suva, Fiji. Maximum sustained winds were near 55 knots (63 mph/102 kph) and the storm was strengthening. It was moving to the south and expected to turn east.

Sarai is forecast to move toward the east. The storm is expected to strengthen briefly to 65 knots on closest approach to the main Fijian islands, but weaken as it nears Tonga.

Typhoons and hurricanes are the most powerful weather event on Earth. NASA’s expertise in space and scientific exploration contributes to essential services provided to the American people by other federal agencies, such as hurricane weather forecasting.

The AIRS instrument is one of six instruments flying on board NASA’s Aqua satellite, launched on May 4, 2002.

High BMI may improve cancer survival, says study by Australian scientist

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Above average or high BMI – often linked to cancers, diabetes, cardiovascular and other diseases – may in some cases improve the chance of survival among certain cancers, showed new research from Flinders University that focused on clinical trials of atezolizumab, a common immunotherapy treatment for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the Australian cancer researchers found improved responsiveness to the drug in those with a high body mass index (BMI).

The surprising result, published in JAMA Oncology, goes against the established warnings about the health risks of patients who are overweight and obese. “This is an interesting outcome and it raises the potential to investigate further with other cancers and other anti-cancer drugs,” says lead investigator Dr Ganessan Kichenadasse, a medical oncology researcher at the Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer.

This is a comparison of cancer cells and normal cells after being infected with the dl355 adenovirus. The top four cell types listed on the left (HeLa, C33A, A549, and H1299) are cancer cells, and the bottom two (BJ and WI38) are normal cells. As the amount of dl355 virus administered to the cancer cells increased (represented by MOI), more cancer cells died in 7 days, while the normal cells continued to live. Credit

Previous studies have explored a concept called as ‘obesity paradox’ where obesity is associated with increased risks for developing certain cancers and, counter-intuitively, may protect and give greater survival benefits in certain individuals. But he said, “Our study provides new evidence to support the hypothesis that high BMI and obesity may be associated with response to immunotherapy.”

The Flinders researchers found NSCLC patients with high BMI (BMI = 25 kg/m2) in four clinical trials had a significant reduction in mortality with atezolizumab, apparently benefiting from immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy. Treatment options for this form of lung cancer are rapidly evolving and includes ICIs, molecular targeted drugs and chemotherapies.

The WHO estimates at least 2.8 million people die each year as a result of being overweight or obese. Overweight and obesity leads to adverse metabolic effects on blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides and insulin resistance. Risks of coronary heart disease, ischemic stroke and type 2 diabetes mellitus increase steadily with increasing body mass index (BMI), a measure of weight relative to height.

Of the 1,434 participants studied in the Australian research, 49% were normal weight, 34% were overweight and 7% were obese.