Green Tea Might Help Tackle Covid

Green Tea Might Help Tackle Covid: Indian-Origin Researcher

Green Tea 

As India continues to be ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic, a team of researchers is investigating how green tea could give rise to a drug capable of tackling Covid-19.

The initial findings suggested that one of the compounds in green tea could combat the coronavirus behind Covid-19, said lead author Suresh Mohankumar, who researched during his time at JSS College of Pharmacy in Ooty before taking up his current role at Swansea University Medical School.

"Nature's oldest pharmacy has always been a treasure of potential novel drugs and we questioned if any of these compounds could assist us in battling the Covid-19 pandemic?" said Mohankumar.

"We screened and sorted a library of natural compounds already know to be active against other coronaviruses using an artificial intelligence-aided computer program," he added.

Mohankumar emphasized that the research was still in its early days and a long way from any kind of clinical application, in the study published in the journal RSC Advances.

"The compound that our model predicts to be most active is gallocatechin, which is present in green tea and could be readily available, accessible, and affordable," the researcher said.

There now needs to be further investigation to show if it can be proven clinically effective and safe for preventing or treating Covid-19.

"This is fascinating research and demonstrates that natural products remain an important source of lead compounds in the fight against infectious diseases," said Andrew Morris, Professor, Swansea University.

"I am also really pleased to see this international research collaboration continuing now that Mohankumar has joined the Pharmacy team," Morris added.

Green Tea Video Link 

Second Made-In-India vaccine soon

Second Made-In-India vaccine soon: Centre finalizes advance to deal with Hyderabad-based firm for 30 crore doses

The COVID-19 vaccine of Biological-E is currently undergoing Phase-3 clinical trials after showing promising results in Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials.

The Union Ministry of Health has finalized arrangements with Hyderabad-based vaccine manufacturer Biological-E to reserve 30 crores of COVID-19 vaccine doses. These vaccine doses will be manufactured and stockpiled by M/s Biological-E from August-December 2021. 

For this purpose, the Union Ministry of Health would be making an advance payment of Rs. 1500 crore to M/s Biological-E. 

The COVID-19 vaccine of Biological-E is currently undergoing Phase-3 clinical trials after showing promising results in Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials. The vaccine being developed by Biological-E is an RBD protein sub-unit vaccine and is likely to be available in the next few months.

The proposal of M/s Biological-E was examined and recommended for approval after due diligence by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC). 

The arrangement with M/s Biological-E is part of the wider government's endeavor to encourage indigenous vaccine manufacturers by supporting research & Development (R&D) and financial support.  

Biological-E COVID Vaccine candidate has been supported by the government from the Preclinical stage to Phase-3 studies. Department of Biotechnology has not only provided financial assistance in terms of grant-in-aid of over Rs 100 cr but has also partnered with Biological-E to conduct all animal challenge and assay studies through its Research Institute Translational Health Science Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad.

This has been undertaken as part of the government's ‘Mission COVID Suraksha- the Indian COVID-19 Vaccine Development Mission’ which was launched to reinforce and accelerate COVID-19 vaccine development efforts as part of the third stimulus package, Atmanirbhar 3.0.

The Mission aims to bring to the citizens a safe, efficacious, affordable, and accessible COVID-19 Vaccine. The Mission is supporting the development of 5-6 COVID-19 vaccine candidates. Some of these are now closer to licensure and introduction in public health systems. It has accelerated COVID-19 Vaccine development efforts and fostered a robust end-to-end vaccine development ecosystem in the country that will be available for other ongoing and future research and developmental activities for other vaccines.

Vitamin D May Not Prevent COVID-19 Risk

Vitamin D May Not Prevent COVID-19 Risk

A New Study Says Vitamin D Supplement May Not Prevent COVID-19 Risk

A study made by Bonnie Patchen, a Ph.D. student at Cornell University finding the link between vitamin D and COVID-19. In her findings of the new study are similar to what she and her colleagues found with their research, which was published May 4 in the journal BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health. Patchen said that in their research, she and her colleagues looked at how well the genetic variants predicted vitamin D levels across different populations. Their results were consistent for people of European ancestry, she said, even when taking into account other factors that can affect vitamin D levels such as body mass index (BMI) and older age. But the associations were less consistent in African ancestry individuals. Patchen said the level of variation is similar to a change that might be seen with taking a low-level supplement, around 400 to 600 International Units (IU) of vitamin D. But it doesn’t necessarily address the kind of acute changes in vitamin D levels that you might get with a high-dose treatment, Patchen explained. In another study, which was published on June 1 in the journal PLOS Medicine researchers at McGill University in Canada focused on genetic variants that are linked to increased vitamin D levels. People whose DNA contains one of these variants are more likely to naturally have higher levels of vitamin D, although diet and other environmental factors can still affect those levels. 

This type of analysis called Mendelian randomization study is like a genetic simulation of a randomized controlled trial, the “gold standard” for clinical research. Researchers found that people who have one of these variants - who are more likely to have higher vitamin D levels didn’t have a lower risk for coronavirus infection, hospitalization, or severe illness due to COVID-19.

Dr. Martin Kohlmeier, a professor of nutrition in the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina, said “If you feed somebody a vitamin D supplement, it doesn’t matter how much you change the bound amount, it’s how much you change the free amount that matters for innate immunity.” The problem, he explained, is that the genetic variants used in Mendelian randomization studies of vitamin D are mainly related to the gene-binding protein for vitamin D.

Another study that was published February 17 in the journal JAMA, was carried out in Brazil. Where doctors gave patients COVID-19 patients a single oral dose of 200,000 IU of vitamin D, which is a very high dose, one that should only be taken under medical supervision or an inactive placebo. Researchers found that the large dose of vitamin D had no effect on patients’ length of stay in the hospital.

Dr. David Meltzer, a professor of medicine at The University of Chicago Medicine and his colleagues did their own analysis of the data from this study. They found that for people with low vitamin D levels, there was no effect of vitamin D levels on COVID-19 outcome. But it was a different story for people who entered the hospital with higher levels. The people with high vitamin D who were given additional vitamin D actually did better. 

Like Kohlmeier, Meltzer thinks it’s important to test the effect of vitamin D supplementation on COVID-19 risk, rather than just look at the levels in the blood. The vitamin D intake that you have on a daily basis or the amount you produce through sun exposure probably matters to some degree, he said, independently of your blood levels.

The results from these studies, which may not be available until later this year may provide a better idea of whether vitamin D can prevent respiratorily infections such as COVID-19.

'Potentially hazardous'? An asteroid the size of the Space Needle will pass near the Earth on Tuesday

 'Potentially hazardous'? An asteroid the size of the Space Needle will pass near the Earth on Tuesday

published by - USA Today at 4:17p.m. ET May 31, 2021 | Updated on 4:45p.m. ET May 31, 2021

A massive asteroid is expected to whiz by Earth in a relatively close encounter – 4.5 million miles –  on Tuesday, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 

The asteroid, known as 2021 KT1, is about 600 feet, the size of the New York Olympic Tower or the Seattle Space Needle.

NASA classified the asteroid as a “potentially hazardous object” because it is larger than 492 feet and within 4.6 million miles of Earth. It will fly near Earth at 40,000 mph, according to the laboratory, which tracks objects that drift close to Earth's orbital area. Though the asteroid is not expected to make a direct hit, NASA is keeping a close watch.

This asteroid is not the only one to come close to the Earth. An asteroid is known as 2021 GW4 was 12,000 miles away from the Earth's surface, traveling 18,700 mph in April. Astronomer Gianluca Masi, the founder of the Virtual Telescope Project said it was "an exceptionally close encounter."

Four smaller asteroids as big as an airplane or house are expected to pass the Earth from Monday to Wednesday;  none of them is potentially hazardous.

NASA defines an asteroid as “rocky fragments left over from the formation of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago.” This space matter is supposed to orbit the sun but occasionally strays from its orbital path because of the gravitational tug of planets. 

Scientists say the evolution of the planet could have stemmed from collisions of near-Earth objects, including comets and asteroids. One such theory holds for the extinction of dinosaurs 66 million years ago. The objects hitting the Earth can potentially hold water ice or carbon-based molecules, which are needed for animals and plants to thrive and cause geologic change.

Though Earth hasn't experienced a massive hit from an asteroid in decades, small asteroids pass between Earth and the moon's orbit several times every month, according to the Planetary Defense at NASA. Meteoroids, which are fragments of asteroids, less than 3 feet, can hit Earth's atmosphere and explode, creating bright meteor showers that people can watch from the balcony of their house. 

NASA is studying ways to deflect hits from asteroids in case one does pose a huge threat. One of these techniques, called the gravity tractor, would involve a spacecraft using mutual gravity attraction from a satellite to change the path of the asteroid. This method is still in the works.

The Missile Woman of India - Dr. Tessy Thomas

Agni Putri - The Missile Woman of India

The Missile Woman of India(Agni Putri) - Dr. Tessy Thomas

It was an April 1963 a girl born somewhere in Alappuzha, Kerala, to a Syrian Christian family. When that girl was just 13years her father who was IFS officer father suffered from a stroke which left his right side paralyzed. Her mother who was a teacher remained a home maker to look after the family in such dire condition. She was one of the Distinguished Scientist of India named as Agni Putri (daughter born out of fire) – The Missile Woman of India Dr. Tessy Thomas. She grew up near Thumba Rocket Launching Station and says her fascination with rockets and missiles began then. Thomas has four other sisters and one brother. Her parents ensuring their children received proper education and encouraging the siblings to pursue careers of their own interest. Two of her siblings are engineers while another pursued a MBA.

Dr. Tessy Thomas studied in St. Michael's Higher Secondary School and St. Joseph's Girl's Higher Secondary School in Alleppey (Alappzuha). She had a natural flair for mathematics and physics. She scored one hundred percent in mathematics during her 11th and 12th years in school. In the same years she had also scored more than ninety five percent in science. She obtained her B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from Government Engineering College was affiliated to the Calicut University, Thrissur and she taken an education loan of Rs. 100 per month from State Bank of India to study engineering.  She also had completed M.Tech in Guided Missiles from Institute of Armament Technology (now Defence Institute of Advanced Technology), Pune and PhD in Missile Guidance from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU), Hyderabad. She obtained MBA in Operations Management from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi.

Dr. Tessy Thomas Joined IAT, Pune as a faculty member in Guided Missiles in the year 1986. In 1988 Dr. Tessy Thomans joined DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organization) where she worked under Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. So, while Dr. APJ Adbul Kalam is the “Missile Man of India,” Dr. Tessy Thomas is the “Missile Woman of India. She was appointed by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and placed in the department of design and development for the Agni Programme, the new generation ballistic missile, Agni. She has designed the guidance scheme for long range missile systems which is used in all Agni missiles for an solid propelled long range systems for which she was conferred with Agni self reliance award in the year 2001. She has contributed in various fields such as Guidance, Control, Inertial Navigation, Trajectory Simulation and Mission Design. She leads a major project AGNI-4 as Project Director, for a state-of-art system with many new technologies for the first time and successfully flight tested and proven. She was also Project Director (Mission) for the long range AGNI-5 system, which was successfully flight tested and proven. As Director, Advanced Systems Laboratory, DRDO, she held multi-dimensional roles and responsibilities and lead the development of strategic missile system from 2014 to 2018. 

Tessy has many accolades- she is a recipient of fellowships from the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), Institution of Engineers India (IEI), and Tata Administrative Services (TAS). She has also received honorary doctorate from five universities. Her other prestigious awards include the DRDO Scientist of the year(2008), DRDO Performance Excellence Award (2011, 2012), India Today Woman of the Year(2009), Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration (2012), and FLO Icon Award (2018) from FICCI, among many others. While serving as the Director of the Advanced Systems Laboratory, Hyderbad, Tessy was also the only speaker from Hyderbad at the Global EnterpreneurshipSummit (GES) 2017. 

She is married to Saroj Kumar, a commander in the Indian Navy and they have a son Tejas - named after India's Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas. In 2018, she was promoted as Director-General, Aeronautical Systems (DG-Aero) at DRDO w.e.f 01-Jun-2018, the fifth woman to adorn that position. 

Cyclone Man of India

Cyclone Man of India-Dr. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra

On October 29, 1971, a deadly cyclone struck India’s east coast and villages of Odisha mainly Bhadrak. It caused widespread devastation in coastal villages in Odisha. Life came to a standstill in many villages and large-scale destruction of trees got uprooted, houses damaged were ravaged and thousands of acres of paddy fields were damaged due to saline water of the sea. This left a lasting impression on the mind of a six-year-old boy in the village. Not only his family but also and the rest of the village had to bear the post-cyclone trauma for about a year had no food, rice, and crops left with them that had been lost during the 1971 cyclone. They all had to depend upon wheat that had been supplied as relief material. After 11year in 1982, another deadly cyclone hit the state again and that little boy got astonished by nature’s fury, so he resolved that one day he would ‘tame’ cyclones and save lives. And when he grew up, he did exactly the same thing.

This Little boy On 12 August 1956, in a small village of Rajgurupur near Ghanteshwar of Chandabali Block, Bhadrak District, Odisha where that little boy was born and he spent his childhood and got an education and become a renowned scientist and all the people know him as ‘Cyclone Man of India' for being accurately predication cyclonic storms. This Little Boy is Named Dr.Mrutyunjay Mohapatra. On the year 2021 Day May 26, another tropical cyclone was going to struck Northern Districts of Odisha (Balasore Bhadrak, Kendrapara and Mayurbhanj) and it was predicted that the tropical Cyclone named Yaas has made landfall near the village where Dr.Mohapatra was born and made up his mind to do something to save the people from this devastating natural calamity. At the age of 54, Dr. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra took the chargers as Director-General of Meteorology of India weather department replacing K.J. Ramesh on 1st August 2019.

Dr. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra after getting his Master’s Degree in Physics from Utkal University, Dr. Mohapatra joined Interim Test Range (ITR)Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) laboratory in Chandipur in Balasore district of Odisha as Junior Scientific Assistant in Fiber Optic Communication and Data Management. This time the first Agni missile was tested in 1988.where he got the chance to meet and also shook his hand with the late and former President of India and a senior scientist of DRDO Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. This job did not give him the satisfaction that he was seeking, so he joined as a lecturer in Physics at Dinakrushna College in Jaleswar, Balasore District of Odisha. In 1992 there was an opening at the IMD, he knew it was his calling and joined the IMD. At age of he joined as a Meteorologist Grade-II Trainee at the IMD, Pune. He was later posted in the same rank to the Meteorological Centre, IMD, and Bhubaneswar and promoted to Meteorologist Grade-I in Weather Forecasting and Cyclone Warning, Climatology, Aviation Meteorology.

Cyclone Man of India - Dr. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra

He was also working in Odisha when the 29 October 1999 Super Cyclone that made landfall near Paradip with the estimated maximum wind speed reached 260-270kmph struck the coast killing more than 15,000 people. At that time, only a 24-hour prediction warning was available and that surely was not sufficient to save lives and this was the biggest human tragedy at that time. He and others could do nothing as the cyclone ravaged. This made IMD embarked upon modernization of the weather prediction to predict natural disasters such as cyclones and tsunami in advance and provide accurate reliable advance information to civil authorities to undertake precautionary actions. Dr. Mohapatra was shifted to Delhi in 2002 and asked to oversee the modernization. In 2008, Dr. Mohapatra and his team made effective early warnings on Tropical Cyclones and his famous prediction are Mohapatra shot to fame for his accurate prediction on the movement of the Cyclone Phailin in 2013, Cyclone Hudhud in 2014, Cyclone Titli and Lubna(in Yemen) in 2018, Cyclone Fani in 2019 and Cyclone Amphan in 2020. Due to him and his team was able to predict the point of landfall, wind velocity, and wave height with accurate inputs from IMD, the State and Central government and civil authorities evacuated one million people before the cyclone struck the coast. Due to early and timely action, thousands of lives and likelihood can be saved earlier. He has pasted large size pictures of the cyclone devastation in various parts of the country in cyclone division and says “we want to remember, our timely and conscientious action will make a difference between life and death; devastation and preservation of assets. This made him popular as ‘Cyclone Man of India’. 

Dr. Mohapatra got his Distinctions from FM University, Balasore, and Odisha-2020 as Honorary Doctor of Science. In 2019 he got a Fellow, Indian Meteorological Society, and Indian Climate Congress. His areas of specialization are Weather Forecasting Services, Project/Programme Management, Research & Development, General Administration & Management. His Research and Scientific Publications are mainly based on weather forecasting & cyclone warning, cyclonic disturbances, monsoonal low-pressure systems, heavy rainfall, thunderstorm, forecast verification. 

Dr.Mrutyunjay Mohapatra Research scientific publication over 80 Research Publications to the credit and here is some of his Profession Career is:

1. Director, Regional Meteorological Center, IMD, Guwahati (2004 - 2005) Weather forecasting, Climatology, Aviation Meteorology. 
2.  Director, National Weather Forecasting Centre (NWFC) formerly Northern Hemispheric Analysis Centre (NHAC), IMD, New Delhi (2005 - 2010) Weather forecasting and Cyclone Warning.
3. Scientist-E, NWFC (Formerly NHAC), IMD, New Delhi (2010 - 2015) Weather forecasting and Cyclone Warning, Disaster Management. 
4. Scientist-F, NWFC (Formerly NHAC), IMD, New Delhi (2015 - 2016) Weather forecasting, Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) and Cyclone Warning, Disaster Management. 
5. Scientist-G, IMD New Delhi (2016 - 2019) Weather forecasting, Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) and Severe Weather warning, Disaster Management. 

Dr. Mohapatra has received many national and international awards. This is why he is called the 'Cyclone Man of India'. Here are some of his Awards & Distinctions are:

1. Honorary Doctor of Science from FM University, Balasore, Odisha-2020.
2. Fellow, Indian Meteorological Society, 2019.
3.  Fellow, Indian Climate Congress, 2019.
4. Bharat Gaurav Award-2019 by Jai Bharat Foundation, Cuttack Odisha.
5. Felicitation by Sh. Naveen Pattanaik, Chief Minister, Odisha for outstanding contribution in disaster management.
6. Satyasai Samman-2019 by Satyasai Charitable and Education Trust, Odisha for distinguished contribution in cyclone forecasting and meteorological applications.
7. Bhumiputra Samman-2020 by the Biplbi Beera Chakradhar Smruti Sansad, Ghanteswar, Odisha for Cyclone Warning Services.
8. Achiever’s Award-2013 for excellence in cyclone warning services to Cyclone and Warning Division from India Meteorological Department.
9. Certificate of Merit for Young Scientist Award – 2008 by Ministry of Earth Sciences, for outstanding contribution in the field of atmospheric science and technology.
10. 25th Biennial Mausam Award (2008-2009) for the paper, published in MAUSAM.
11. Commendation certificate during 1989 from Defence Research and Development Organisation, for contribution to Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme.
12. Commendation Certificates-2019 and 2020 from various organizations for prediction of the cyclone.

 I.   Ganatantrik Nagarik Parishad, Bhadrak Odisha

                        II.   Zila Biju Smriti Committee, Bhadrak Odisha.

                       III.   Odisha Forum, New Delhi.

                       IV.   Retired Employees Association, Bhadrak, Odisha.

13. Felicitation by Utkal University in recognition of cyclone warning services.

14. Felicitation by Berhampur University, Odisha for excellence in cyclone warning services.

15.  Appreciations received for improvement in cyclone warning services.

16. Appreciations received globally and nationally from government and non-government agencies including WMO, NDRF, IAF, State Govts for successful predicting of cyclones during 2013-2020.

Dr. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra was also the chairman of various committees, including the task force for the finalization of meteorological payloads of the INSAT-4 satellites to be launched in 2025 and the committee for revision of guidelines of the National Disaster Management Authority for cyclone management. In 2016 Dr. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra headed the service and also helms the affairs of the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC).  Dr. Mohapatra is also a permanent representative for India at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and was an elected member of the executive council of the organization since June 2013. 

This is a nutshell Biography of Dr. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra who is affectionately known as 'Cyclone Man of India' for having accurate prediction for the path of ferocious cyclonic storm.