Blog

1. ISRO and Quantum Communication – First time in the country ISRO has successfully demonstrate the the free space Quantum Communication over a distance of 300 metres. – For this a number of key technologies were developed indigenously. Like the use of indigenously developed NAVIC receiver for time synchronisation between transmitter and receiver modules and gimbal mechanism systems instead of bulky large- aperture telescopes for optical alignment. This is a a major milestone achievement for unconditionally secured satellite Data Communication using Quantum technologies.

2. New and Effective diagnosis of TB using Immune System Biomarker –

TB or Tuberculosis can be tricky to diagnose which affects the other parts of the body then the lungs . Researchers led by S. Vijaya in the Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology have found a new and more faster and efficient way to diagnose TB by the use of a person’s immune response to certain proteins unique to the TB bacilli to detect whether they have active TB or not.

Immune cells in our blood have different shades of molecules on their surface like – proteins , sugars , small compounds depending on whether they are inactive as in healthy people, fighting a current infection or remembering past infection. The presence or absence of a certain unique combination of such molecules, called Biomarkers , makes it possible to detect current disease in the body. Those Biomarkers are used by our organs and immune system to check and react to the foreign particles , allergens and most importantly harmful microorganisms.

They have discovered that active TB can be diagnosed if blood samples have immune cells with the following types having the biochemicals CD38 and CD4 but lacking CD27 , while releasing in messenger molecule called Tumor Necrotic Factor or TNF-a .

By adding TB antigens to a blood sample to trigger an immune reaction and analysing the presence or absence of marker proteins on T cells of the blood sample , using a method called flow cytometry ,it was possible to accurately diagnose Tuberculosis.