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Fast, accurate and accessible testing is important in dealing with tracking and halting the spread of coronavirus COVID-19. We have reached a milestone in this aspect with the approval of Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for the commercial launch of India's first Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) coronavirus test 'Feluda' (FNCAS9 Editor-Limited Uniform Detection Assay), developed by the Tata Group and CSIR-IGIB (Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology). What is CRISPR? CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats) is a defense mechanism, present in bacteria, which confers immunity against phages (Viruses infecting bacteria). ...Read More

what is herd immunity? Herd immunity is also called community immunity. Herd immunity happens when many people in a community become immune to an infectious disease that it stops the disease from spreading. How can we achieve Herd immunity? Herd immunity can be achieved in 2 ways. Critical percentage of population contract the disease and in time build up an immune response (Natural Immunity) Critical percentage of population are vaccinated against the disease to achieve immunity. So, what is this critical percentage of population? For some diseases, herd immunity can go into effect when 40 percent of the people in a population become immune to the disease. But in most cases, 80 to ...Read More

Be a Bridge to someone who is in need (World Suicide Prevention Day-2020) The aim of this blog is to create awareness about prevention of suicide on this day 10th September which is declared as World Suicide Prevention Day. According to WHO, about 8,00,000 people die every year due to suicide i.e around 2200 people each day. According to WHO, India has the highest suicide rate in the South-East Asian Region. India also had the third largest female suicide rate in the world after Lesotho and Republic of Korea. As per WHO reports that suicide is responsible for more deaths than malaria, breast cancer, war or even homicide. The reasons may be different but it is time to generate awareness. ...Read More

“Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu Guru Devo Maheswarah Guru Saakshaat Para Brahma Tasmai Sri Guruve Namah" Literally the word Guru translates to Teacher in English. But, in India, Guru is more than a teacher. In Sanskrit, "Guru" means the one who dispels the darkness and takes the student towards the light. Teachers and mentors hold a special place in every individual's life. The above verse gives a complete meaning of 'Guru'. Guru is the Lord Brahma because he/she creates the knowledge inside us. Guru is the Lord Vishnu because he/she preserves and operates the knowledge in our mind and leads us on to the right path. Guru is the Lord Shiva who destroys the wrong thoughts and transforms us with ...Read More

Festivals always meant shopping for me. Only the items I shop for will differ. I think it’s true for everyone of us. Already Tamil New Year came during pandemic. Complete lockdown was in place. I could not shop much. Just managed to celebrate with whatever I had. But when Ganesh Chaturthi approached and could not see any relief in Covid 19 situation, I was upset. Because every Ganesh Chaturthi was celebrated by us for all 10 days. The festival shopping starts with buying of Ganesha. I always prefer eco friendly Ganesha made of mud bought from a particular shop which is few km away from my place. This year I was wondering where to go for the same. I didn’t want to risk going out and ...Read More