Science, technology and innovations in India

[Lonewolf]

room temperature quantum computers maybe a thing in near future

 

[Photon]

Indian Genomics lab had to shut due to lack of funding....

Blow To India's Covid Genome Sequencing Efforts, 5 Labs Shut: Sources

Coronavirus: Delays in genome sequencing samples from Covid patients - to identify the strain of virus in each case - is due to a lack of funds for chemical reagents, top Health Ministry sources have told NDTV.

www.ndtv.com

 

[sorcerer]

Scientists develop self-disinfecting, biodegradable face masks to combat COVID-19


Posted On: 04 FEB 2022 2:38PM by PIB Delhi



A team of Indian Scientists in collaboration with an industry partner have developed a self-disinfecting ‘Copper-based Nanoparticle-coated Antiviral Face Mask to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The mask exhibits high performance against the COVID 19 virus as well as several other viral and bacterial infections, is biodegradable, highly breathable and washable.


Public mask wearing is most effective in reducing the spread of the virus COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2, an enveloped positive sense single-stranded RNA virus, where the mode of transmission is via respiratory particles that are mainly airborne.


With the science around the use of masks to impede transmission is advancing rapidly, the Indian market is selling expensive masks that neither exhibit antiviral nor antibacterial properties. Hence, it is very difficult to control the transmission by wearing the conventional mask particularly in densely populated places like hospitals, airports, stations, shopping malls and so on where the virus load is very high. In the present scenario, where mutations in coronavirus causing the COVID-19 pandemic are fast emerging, it is an urgent necessity to develop a low-cost antiviral mask.


To this end, Scientists at International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), an autonomous R&D Centre of Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India, in collaboration with the Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB) and Resil Chemicals, a Bengaluru based company have developed the self-disinfecting ‘Copper-based Nanoparticle-coated Antiviral Face Masks’ under the DST sponsored Nano-Mission project, to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.


ARCI developed copper-based nanoparticles of around 20 nanometres by a Flame Spray Pyrolysis (FSP) processing facility. FSP process involves conversion of solution precursors into nanopowders by high temperature pyrolytic decomposition. Stable nanoparticle suspension were obtained by optimizing the solid loading and pH. A uniform layer of this nano-coating on the cotton fabric with good adhesion was achieved using a suitable binder. The coated fabric exhibited an efficacy of more than 99.9% against bacteria. CSIR-CCMB tested the efficacy of this fabric against SARS-CoV-2 for their disinfection properties and reported 99.9% disinfection, as evident from the standard results. Prototype masks having different designs such as single layer and triple layers with nanoparticle coated fabric as outer layer have been demonstrated. A single layer mask is especially useful as a protective antiviral outer mask over a regular mask.


Their Industrial partner Resil Chemicals Bengaluru is now producing such double layer masks on large scale. The present-day face masks only retain the viruses by filtering and do not kill them and hence, are prone to transmission if the masks are not properly worn or disposed. Simple multi-layer cloth masks present a pragmatic solution for use by the public in reducing COVID-19 transmission in the community and wearing these self-disinfecting cloth masks is definitely one of them.


Additionally, a huge concern is expressed around the globe regarding the disposal of used masks. Most of the conventional masks effective against COVID-19 are for single-use and are not bio-degradable, creating serious environmental concerns and waste-management issues. The present antiviral mask which is made from cotton fabric that is biodegradable would eliminate that problem too besides making it highly breathable and washable.

(d)


Fig.1: (a) TEM image of the Cu based nano powders, (b) FE-SEM image of nanoparticle coated fabric, (c) Mask fabric exhibiting an efficacy >99.9% against SARS-CoV-2, and


(d) Demonstration of the single layer self-disinfecting masks at ARCI

Fig.2: Double Layer Antiviral (self-disinfecting) Cloth Masks

 

[sorcerer]

New initiative to support innovations in semiconductor & sensor domain --India Science Wire
By India Science Wire

3 minutes

Indian companies having innovative technologies at commercialization stage in semiconductor & sensor domain now have an opportunity of being supported financially for commercialisation.

Technology Development Board (TDB), a statutory body of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, has invited applications for assistance in the form of loans, equity, or grants. The companies applying can be either Indian companies as per Companies Act, 1956 /2013 or start-ups with Recognition Certificate from the Department for Promotion of Industries and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

Indian companies having innovative technologies at commercialization stage in semiconductor & sensor domain now have an opportunity of being supported financially for commercialisation.

A vision of the Hon’ble Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi is positioning India as a global hub for electronics system design and manufacturing. The government has undertaken many initiatives for the development of core components, including chipsets, and creating an enabling environment for the industry to compete globally.

Announcing the new initiative, an official press release noted that while semiconductors and displays are the foundation of modern electronics driving the next phase of digital transformation under Industry 4.0, their manufacturing process is very complex and technology-intensive involving huge capital investments, high risk, long gestation and payback periods, and rapid changes in technology.

Sh. Rajesh Kumar Pathak, Secretary, TDB, said, “TDB has played a pivotal role in developing conducive ecosystems for growth of technology companies, this call shall provide impetus to the Semiconductor & Sensor Ecosystem, which will be essential to the Atma Nirbhar Bharat initiative.” Applicants can visit TDB’s website, www.tdb.gov.in, for further details. The last date to submit the proposal is 26th March 2022.

 

[sorcerer]

Indian Institute of Science commissions 3.3 petaflops supercomputer --India Science Wire
By India Science Wire

4-5 minutes

A new supercomputer to ramp up research at IISc, Bengaluru (Photo: Harish Byndoor, SERC, IISc)

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) at Bengaluru has installed and commissioned Param Pravega, one of the most powerful supercomputers in the country, and the largest in an Indian academic institution.

The system has been set up under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM), which is steered jointly by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

The supercomputer, which is expected to power diverse research and educational pursuits, has a total supercomputing capacity of 3.3 petaflops (1 petaflop equals a quadrillion or 1015 operations per second). It has been designed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). A majority of the components used to build this system have been manufactured and assembled within the country, along with an indigenous software stack developed by C-DAC, in line with the Make in India initiative.

The NSM is implemented by C-DAC and IISc. It has supported the deployment of 10 supercomputer systems so far at IITs, IISER Pune, JNCASR, and NABI-Mohali, besides IISc and C-DAC, with a cumulative computing power of 17 petaflops.

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) at Bengaluru has installed and commissioned Param Pravega, one of the most powerful supercomputers in the country, and the largest in an Indian academic institution.

These systems have helped faculty members and students carry out major R&D activities, including developing platforms for genomics and drug discovery, studying urban environmental issues, establishing flood warning and prediction systems, and optimising telecom networks. About 31,00,000 computational jobs have successfully been carried out by around 2,600 researchers across the country to date.

A press release from IISc noted that the Param Pravega system at IISc is a mix of heterogeneous nodes, with Intel Xeon Cascade Lake processors for the CPU nodes and NVIDIA Tesla V100 cards on the GPU nodes. The hardware consists of an ATOS BullSequana XH2000 series system, with a comprehensive peak compute power of 3.3 petaflops. The software stack on top of the hardware is provided and supported by C-DAC. The machine hosts an array of program development tools, utilities, and libraries for developing and executing High Performance Computing (HPC) applications.

The release recalled that IISc already has a cutting-edge supercomputing facility established several years ago. The Institute had in 2015 procured and installed SahasraT, which was at that time the fastest supercomputer in the country.

Faculty members and students have been using it to carry out research in various areas. These include research on COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, such as modelling viral entry and binding, studying interactions of proteins in bacterial and viral diseases, and designing new molecules with antibacterial and antiviral properties.

In addition researchers have used the facility to simulate turbulent flows for green energy technologies, study climate change and associated impacts, analyse aircraft engines and hypersonic flight vehicles, and many other research activities. “These efforts are expected to ramp up significantly with Param Pravega”, the release added.

 

[sorcerer]

Scientists develop new technology platform to detect SARS-CoV-2 by fluorescence readout


Posted On: 08 FEB 2022 3:03PM by PIB Delhi



A team of scientists has developed a new technology, platform for fluorometric detection of pathogens such as viruses by measurement of fluorescent light emitted. The potential of the new technology has been demonstrated for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. This technology platform can also be used to detect other DNA/RNA pathogens such as HIV, influenza, HCV, Zika, Ebola, bacteria, and other mutating/evolving pathogens.


Viruses are a major global threat to human health, and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 continues to inflict catastrophic effects on all aspects of our lives. The unprecedented transmission rate of RNA virus has necessitated the rapid and accurate diagnosis to facilitate contact tracing (prevent spreading) and to provide timely treatment.


Scientists from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India, along with scientists from IISc (India Institute of Science), have demonstrated a noncanonical nucleic acid-based G-quadruplex (GQ) topology targeted reliable conformational polymorphism (GQ-RCP) platform to diagnose Covid-19 clinical samples. This work has been published recently in the journal ‘ACS Sensors’ and the team has also filed a patent for the novel technology.


The present work demonstrated the first GQ-targeted diagnostic platform for SARS-CoV-2 in clinical samples, based on a novel platform GQ-RCP. This molecular detection platform can be integrated into field-deployable isothermal amplification assays with more reliability and sequence specificity.


The platform lays greater emphasis on deciphering and systematic characterization of a unique set of interactions in nucleic acids to attain stable and reliable noncanonical DNA/RNA targets. The RCP-based target validation is a general and modular approach for the development of noncanonical nucleic acid-targeted diagnostic platforms for diverse pathogens, including bacteria and DNA/RNA viruses.


RT-q-PCR has been the gold standard for accurate detection of SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19). Among the recent innovations on nucleic acid-targeted diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2, the techniques such as RT RPA and RT-LAMP use general-purpose DNA sensing probes. This increases the propensity of false-positive results arising out of unbiased detection of nonspecific amplification products. Recognizing unique DNA secondary conformations can be a promising solution to achieve reliable readouts. The team has identified and characterized a unique G-quadruplex-based target derived from the 30 kb (kilobytes) genomic landscape of SARS-CoV-2 for specific detection of SARS-CoV-2. Unlike the other reliable diagnostic assays where the existing fundamental concepts have been repurposed, this work presents a completely novel strategy to target a unique, unconventional structure specific to the SARS-CoV-2 sequence using small molecule fluorophores (microscopic molecules).


The team developed GQ topology targeted detection of SARS-CoV-2 derived DNA obtained after reverse transcription and amplification from genomic RNA in clinical samples. The GQ targeted detection was achieved by pH-triggered facile transformation of the amplified double-stranded DNA into stable GQs, which forms the target for detection with remarkable selectivity using a designed fluorescent dye which is a benzobisthiazole-based target-specific turn on called BTMA. Thus this study demonstrates a reliable strategy for fluorogenic organic molecule-based GQ-RCP platform to diagnose Covid-19 clinical samples and is the first practical demonstration of it.


The team explains reliance on targeting unusual nucleic acid conformations in pathogens is an exciting approach to develop specific diagnostic assays with reliable read-outs. Molecular probes with superior conformation or sequences for specific recognition of nucleic acids would alleviate the challenge in existing techniques of eliminating false-positive detection results.


“We have demonstrated rational tailoring of molecular probes to achieve unambiguous target recognition and increase the reliability of detection, at a shorter time without requirement of expensive RT-q-PCR instrument. This RCP-based platform is very general and can be easily adopted for the detection of various DNA/RNA based pathogens including bacteria and viruses such as HIV, Influenza, HCV, etc.,” remarked T Govindaraju.

 

[sorcerer]

Researchers devise new method to desalinate seawater --India Science Wire
By India Science Wire

6-7 minutes

Image representing the research work by IITGN

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) have developed a cost-effective water desalination technique that can successfully remove more than 99% of salt ions and other impurities to make seawater drinkable. The method is cost-effective and environment friendly. The technique could controllably manipulate graphite inside aqueous solutions without damaging the structural integrity of graphite. The findings were recently reported in Nature Communications, an international high-impact journal.

According to a report from the World Health Organisation (WHO), nearly one-fifth of the world’s population lives in areas devoid of clean drinking water. The continuous increase in population and enormous energy demands have put immense pressure on conventional clean water resources. On the other hand, the widely used Reverse Osmosis (RO) technique for desalination is expensive, wastes more water, and is highly energy-intensive, which typically requires hydrostatic pressure of 60-80 bar. With rising demand for potable water and continuously shrinking freshwater resources, more countries will have to turn to desalinate seawater to meet the needs.

Motivated to find a way, a research team led by Prof Gopinadhan Kalon, Assistant Professor, Physics and Materials Engineering, IITGN, created controllable water transport channels in graphite crystal with the help of an electric field and potassium chloride (KCl) ions, which allowed only fresh water to move through the crystal and blocked all the salt ions. The research team comprises IITGN PhD scholars Lalita Saini, Aparna Rathi, Suvigya Kaushik, and a postdoctoral fellow Siva Sankar Nemala.

The research is inspired by the trees’ natural intake of water that uses the capillary effect. Selective transport of molecules and ions is commonly observed in biological systems. Mimicking these biological channels could result in highly efficient filtration systems. The research team used the capillary process in the technique, which does not cost energy, and in fact, the evaporation of water happened spontaneously without any external pressure. The evaporation rates provided a back-calculated pressure of 50-70 bar arising from the capillary and other forces present inside the Nanoscale channels.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) have developed a cost-effective water desalination technique that can successfully remove more than 99% of salt ions and other impurities to make seawater drinkable. The method is cost-effective and environment friendly. The technique could controllably manipulate graphite inside aqueous solutions without damaging the structural integrity of graphite. The findings were recently reported in Nature Communications, an international high-impact journal.

The first author of the study, Ms Lalita Saini, said, “Natural graphite is not absorptive to water or any ions including Protons. However, by its nature, the graphite crystal also does not allow any water molecules to pass through it because there is not enough space for the movement of these molecules. This issue was solved by using an electric field and inserting potassium chloride (KCl) ions in it, which create some space inside the graphite crystal and provide a stable structure for easy passage of water molecules, at the same time hindering the movement of any salt ions, giving drinkable water.”

The researchers found that this technique is self-sufficient and can successfully remove more than 99% of salt ions and other impurities from seawater, making it entirely safe for drinking. Moreover, carbon materials like graphite are antimicrobial, reducing the number of filters required for desalination.

Carbon is abundant in nature, and India is the second-largest graphite producer in the world. The current experiment has utilised natural graphite. However, the team is also devising a method that does not require natural graphite; instead, they can synthesise graphene (one-unit layer of graphite) from waste, plastics, wheat, sugar, chocolate etc. and assemble it to make graphite-like structure.

The present 2x2 mm sized device made by the research team has flow rates comparable to RO technology without using electricity. Since this involves fewer process filters, the water wastage is expected to be much lesser. The water evaporation and water filtration processes used in this technique do not involve any electricity, and therefore it does not produce any gas emissions, making it environment-friendly. The team is now developing a direct point-of-use water filter using this technique to make it accessible for the masses.

Prof Gopinadhan Kalon said, “This method is not only limited to graphite, but also to a large number of layered materials, like clays, that could be explored for high performance separation applications. With abundant seawater and appropriate plant design optimisation, our method holds a bright future in providing drinking water for everyone on the planet.”

Moreover, this technique can also prove helpful in designing filters for gas purification, proton exchange in a fuel cell, chemical separation, recovery of precious metal from waste, etc. It can also be suitable for dehumidification applications as expanded graphite has high water evaporation rates.

 

[Vamsi]

Most important thread. Must read

 

[Varoon2]

First coal to methanol plant in India, indigenously developed

Hon’ble Union Minister for Heavy Industries dedicates BHEL’s indigenously-developed, India’s first Coal to Methanol Pilot Plant to the Nation as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav | Official Website of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, New Delhi, India

www.bhel.com

 

[sorcerer]

Novel strategy to synthesize solid adsorbents for CO2 capture and utilization discovered


Posted On: 10 MAR 2022 4:06PM by PIB Delhi



Indian Scientists have discovered a strategy to synthesize novel solid adsorbents for CO2 capture and utilization.


Carbon capture and utilization are growing fields of research focusing on reducing CO2 emissions. Although several industrial advancements have already been demonstrated, none of the technologies can provide an economically viable and complete CO2 capture and utilization solution. Therefore, fundamental research on novel solid adsorbents might offer a critical material for CO2 capture and CO2 utilization.


Professor Rahul Banerjee’s group at IISER-Kolkata, with support from Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India under Mission Innovation program, has demonstrated a strategy to synthesize novel solid adsorbents, especially for CO2 capture and CO2 utilization. Prof. Banerjee’s group has discovered special types of nanoparticles or microparticles which can capture CO2 in their micro and mesoporous voids.


The novel materials with distinct physical properties on its surfaces that have been synthesized include porous Covalent organic frameworks like COF-graphene Janus thin films published in ‘Journal of American Chemical Society’ porous covalent bonded organic nanotubes published in Nature Chemistry, and COF coated zeolite published in ‘Journal of American Chemical Society’.


The judicious choice of 2D graphene sheets as a grafter helped the researchers to design and create COF-graphene Janus thin films through the interactions (non-covalent) between the COF and graphene, rendering flexible porous Janus films at the DCM-water interface. The newly designed COF-coated zeolites could be an excellent candidate for CO2 storage in the industry due to their high surface area and increased chemical stability.


The high CO2 uptake for the COF coated zeolites, even after treatment with weak acids makes it appropriate for industrial purposes. The COFs coating prevented the degradation of zeolite structure from moisture, weak acids, and water. The CO2 uptake data for COF coated zeolite at 1 bar, 293K is 132 cc/g, supersedes the CO2 uptake data of zeolite under the same condition.


Rahul Banerjee’s group has recently discovered purely covalent bonded organic nanotubes (CONTs) with a hitherto unavailable structure via a novel bottom-up approach. Although zero-dimensional covalent organic cages and two- and three-dimensional covalent organic frameworks were previously reported, the synthesis of one-dimensional organic nanotubes was hitherto unheard of. The synthesized CONTs have the edge over the analogous carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in functionalization, synthetic conditions, and porosity which exhibits a BET surface area of 321 m2 g-1. They are also promising candidates for the efficient CO2 adsorption with a CO2 uptake capacity of 60-80 cc g-1 at 1 bar and 293 K. These CONTs have also showcased photosensitizing ability, which can convert the adsorbed CO2 into CO (130-200 µmol g-1 h-1) upon irradiation of visible light (400-700 nm).

Publication link:

 

[Photon]

 

[Photon]

if government coordinate all this quantum physicists in India, sure we will make wonders

 

[fire starter]

 

[sorcerer]

IIT-Madras gets world’s first on-campus gas turbine testing facility --India Science Wire


Efforts to build fuel-efficient and less polluting next-generation gas turbines are expected to get a major boost with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras and the American multinational firm, General Electric (GE), establishing a state-of-the-art expanded gas turbine combustor testing facility at the National Centre for Combustion Research and Development (NCCRD) at IIT-Madras.


In any gas turbine engine, the combustor is one of the most essential parts dictating fuel efficiency and the extent of pollution released into the atmosphere. Several improved combustor concepts have emerged recently, intending to reduce pollution. However, bringing these concepts into reality requires testing the designs under realistic operating conditions. Unfortunately, only a few labs in the world have such capability. This new high-pressure test facility at NCCRD, IIT Madras, is expected to bridge this gap.

Efforts to build fuel-efficient and less polluting next-generation gas turbines are expected to get a major boost with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras and the American multinational firm, General Electric (GE), establishing a state-of-the-art expanded gas turbine combustor testing facility at the National Centre for Combustion Research and Development (NCCRD) at IIT-Madras.

The facility was inaugurated on Thursday in the presence of Mr Alok Nanda, CEO, GE India Technology Centre and CTO - GE South Asia, Mr Vikram Reddy, General Manager, Engineering, India, GE Aviation, Prof. V Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, and Prof. S.R. Chakravarthy, Coordinator, NCCRD, IIT Madras.


Mr Nanda said, “I look at this gas turbine combustion testing facility as a national asset. Best research work happens wherever there is collaborative work and access to funding from companies and the government. This facility is an example of how to undertake research in India in a manner that makes India independent in solving problems.”


Prof. Kamakoti noted that for the last 20 years, IIT Madras has been focusing on building Aatmanirbhar Bharat projects and said the institution is requesting General Electric to consider IIT Madras to be their top partner in the case of any academic venture that they are planning to have across the globe. “The institute has the vision to train more students from below the poverty line, give them access to the facilities and make them competent for the industry standards”, he added.

 

[gajapati]

IIT Madras to develop technologies for setting up manufacturing units in outer space

The research group will be working on the first ever microgravity drop tower research facility established in India . will work on 3D printing of metals and functional optical polymers, water-less concrete using martial soils, diamond single crystals, solar cells, metal foams etc .

IIT Madras to develop technologies for setting up manufacturing units in outer space

www.telegraphindia.com

 

[fire starter]

 

[gajapati]

This team from is working on hyperloop technology

 

[Swesh]

Balasore to get India’s first lightning research unit

BHUBANESWAR: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is all set to establish the country’s first thunderstorm research testbed at Balasore.Expected to be fully operational in next five years, the facility will aim to reduce fatalities and loss of property due to lightning strikes in Odisha and the eastern states.


DRDO Chandipur, ISRO Balasore and Bhubaneswar met office will jointly implement the project. The new facility will be developed at IMD’s observation centre in Balasore, Director General of Meteorology Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra told TNIE.Between 2011 and February 2020, about 3,218 people lost their lives in the State in lightning strikes. The IMD, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are jointly working on the project.

Balasore to get India’s first lightning research unit

The IMD, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are jointly working on the project.

www.newindianexpress.com

Odisha has highest lightning occurance in entire india

 

[Swesh]

Photo is from bhuwan portal of isro for occurance of lightning strike

 

[Varoon2]

First road in India made from steel slag

India's First Six-Lane Road Constructed From Steel Slag Inaugurated In Gujarat's Surat

Union Minister of Steel Ram Chandra Prasad Singh on Wednesday (15 June) inaugurated India's first six lane 1 km road made by using steel slag at Gujarat's Surat to connect the port with the city

swarajyamag.com