Department of Biotechnology Archives

31 Mar

New hope for mitochondrial disorders

The News Horizon0 CommentsHealth & Fitness, Scienceautosomal, brain, DBT, DBT-NII, Department of Biotechnology, DNA, ear, energy, eye, genome editing, heart, kidney, liver, maternal inheritance, mismatch, muscles, mutation, National Institute of Immunology, nerve, organ, replication, symptom, tissue, treatment

New Delhi: Efforts to find a treatment for mitochondrial disorders is set to get a major boost with a team of researchers at the Department of Biotechnology’s National Institute of Immunology (DBT-NII) figuring out a way to tackle autosomal dominant progressive external ophthalmoplegia (adPEO), which is a widely prevalent mitochondrial disorder. Mitochondrial genetic disorders refer to a group of conditions that affect the mitochondria, the structures in the body cells that are responsible for making energy. People with these conditions can be of any age with almost any affected body system. However, the brain, muscles, heart, liver, nerves, eyes, ears…

25 Mar

New tool to fight antimicrobial resistance

The News Horizon0 CommentsHealth & Fitness, Scienceantibiotic, antimicrobial, broad-spectrum, buffalo, cost, cow, dairy., DBT, Department of Biotechnology, detection, farmers, FSSAI, goat, health, hepatotoxicity, Hyderabad, import, metabolism, milk, NIAB, research, scientists, sensitivity, technique, teratogenicity, test, veterinary

New Delhi: A team of researchers at the Department of Biotechnology’s Hyderabad-based National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (DBT-NIAB) has developed a new technique to detect the presence of an antibiotic called Oxytetracycline (OTC) in milk samples. Oxytetracycline is known for its broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity and is one of the extensively used antibiotics in veterinary practices. Its excessive consumption can cause antimicrobial resistance. The new tool can help in several other ways also since consumption of milk having residual antibiotics can cause serious health complications like development of hepatotoxicity, teratogenicity, reduced growth and metabolism too. At present, the kits used for…

16 Mar

Study to help Kinnow fruit juice industry

The News Horizon0 CommentsBusinessantioxidant, citrus, Department of Biotechnology, environment, enzyme, essential oils, food supplement, Naringenin, Naringin, Naringinase, nutrients, pasta, peels, pulp, seeds, sugar, waste

New Delhi: In a welcome development for those involved in the Kinnow fruit juice industry, a team of researchers at the Department of Biotechnology’s Mohali- based Centre of Innovative and Applied Bioprocessing has come out with a technique to convert the waste generated by units producing juice from Kinnow fruit into a nutritious food supplement. Kinnow is the second most important fruit after grapes and is cultivated in almost 125 countries with a total production of 1,155 million tonnes per annum. It is one of the major citrus fruit crops in north India. It is cherished fresh and the peak…

12 Dec

A product to help disabled get in and out of car

The News Horizon0 CommentsAutoBiotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, BIRAC, DBT, Department of Biotechnology

New Delhi: There are about 2.68 crore people with disabilities in India. About 20% of them have difficulty in movement which causes problems in commuting. A significant challenge of mobility has to do with getting in & out of cars. There is a dearth of products that are completely engineered to provide assistance. Available solutions are mainly modifications made by local garages. Some imported solutions are available. But they are very expensive and only a few dealers handle them. In case of any problem with the product, servicing is a major issue. Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a not-for-profit…