Microgravity conditions experienced by astronauts in space induce stress and strain around human cells. Cancer cells have also been known to die under microgravity. Scientists are exploring if this knowledge can be used to develop novel ways to find new drugs.

A group of Indian scientists has figured out the mechanism of cancer cells dying under microgravity, and believe that this can be used to find new drugs in future. 

The research group at Indian Institute of Technology Madras subjected cultured colorectal cancer cell lines to microgravity and observed that they die within 48 hours. Cancer cells died due to apoptosis, which is death induced by cancer cells themselves in response to stress. For simulating microgravity conditions, an equipment called Rotational Cell Culture System-High Aspect Ratio Vessel was used.

“Cancer cells initiate their own death, it is also called programmed cell death. They did so by increasing the levels of two proteins called PTEN and FOXO3 and reducing the levels of another protein, Akt, when they experienced microgravity,” researchers said.

When brought back to normal gravity conditions, they stopped dying and started proliferating again which is their ‘normal’ state, Professor Rama Shanker Verma, who led the study, told India Science Wire. However, the time taken for cancer cells to start proliferating again was longer-  nearly three weeks as opposed to less than a week when they do not experience any microgravity, added Raj Pranap Arun, a member of the research team which published its findings in journal Scientific Reports. 

“We can exploit the properties of cancer cells under microgravity to find potential drug targets”, believes Professor Verma. The team is now extending the work to cancer stem cells that are responsible in cases of relapse. 

Seyed Ehtesham Hasnain, professor at Jamia Hamdard Institute of Molecular Medicine, New Delhi, who is not connected to the study, commented that “it is a long way to find a new drug against cancer. But this study has taken an interesting route to address a fundamental problem and may help identify novel drug targets to intervene against cancer.”

The research team also included Divya Sivanesan and Prasanna Vidyasekar from IIT Madras and National University of Singapore. (India Science Wire) 

An Indian expert on infectious diseases has strongly contested an article in the English medical journal, BMJ claiming that patients could stop taking antibiotic when they feel better saying “there was no evidence that the infections will be cured and will not relapse if antibiotic are stopped when patient feels better’’ approach.

In a letter to the BMJ, Dr Abdul Ghafur, an authority on antibiotic resistance, who is also a consultant, Infectious Diseases at Apollo Cancer Hospital in Chennai, has said it was so unfortunate but not all all unexpected that journalists from around the world, in a short span of one week since the publication of the article, had written highly misleading articles conveying the dangerous idea that patients can stop their antibiotics when they feel better.  

“We need research to prove safety of `stop antibiotics when you feel better’ approach. Until researchers produce good quality evidence for all common types of infections, in various groups of patients, ranging from small children to elderly and immune-compromised, patients must follow the course as advised,’’ Dr Ghafur said.

While agreeing with the authors that the conventional argument of “completing the course of antibiotic’’ to prevent development of antibiotic resistance is not based on scientific evidence, Dr Ghafur said there was no disagreement among experts that, as far as antibiotic resistance potential is concerned, a shorter course is safer than a longer one. 

“There is more and more evidence in the recent literature for shorter course of antibiotics for many infections and expert guidelines are already recommending shorter courses wherever and whenever published good quality evidences for shorter courses are available,’’ the letter said.

Accusing the BMJ article of presenting this already well known truth as an out of the box revolutionary idea, the letter said that the “controversial’’ articles create widespread discussion on important issues. “Unfortunately this article has probably done more harm than good to the field of antibiotic stewardship. This article is based on concrete facts, but written in a highly misleading way and interpreted by media and the public in a dangerously erroneous style,’’ Dr Ghafur said.

The BMJ article, authored by Martin Llewelyn and colleagues, has said “with little evidence that failing to complete a prescribed antibiotic course contributes to antibiotic resistance, it’s time for policy makers, educators, and doctors to drop this message.’’

 Antibiotics are vital to modern medicine and antibiotic resistance is a global, urgent threat to human health. The relation between antibiotic exposure and antibiotic resistance is unambiguous both at the population level and in individual patients. Reducing unnecessary antibiotic use is therefore essential to mitigate antibiotic resistance, the article says. 

“Avoiding overuse requires healthcare professionals and the public to be well informed about antibiotic treatment, as set out in the first objective of the World Health Organization Global Action Plan. Public communication about antibiotics often emphasises that patients who fail to complete prescribed antibiotic courses put themselves and others at risk of antibiotic resistance,’’ the article says.

For example, in materials supporting Antibiotic Awareness Week 2016 WHO advised patients to “always complete the full prescription, even if you feel better, because stopping treatment early promotes the growth of drug-resistant bacteria.” 

However, the idea that stopping antibiotic treatment early encourages antibiotic resistance is not supported by evidence, while taking antibiotics for longer than necessary increases the risk of resistance. Without explicitly contradicting previous advice, current public information materials from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Public Health England have replaced “complete the course” with messages advocating taking antibiotics “exactly as prescribed,’’ the article said.

New Delhi : India today took a major step to help the strategic and other sectors in the country to be independent of the US- based GPS system by ensuring that Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)’s recently set up indigenous regional navigation positioning system named as Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) was based on the Indian clock system instead of that of US. 

ISRO signed an agreement with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)’s  New Delhi-based National Physical Laboratory (NPL) under which it will receive globally certified high precision time measurements from the Laboratory on a regular basis. 

NPL, which maintains the time standards for the country, gets its clocks certified by the France-based International Bureau of Weights and Measures, which is the global agency that maintains UTC, the global standards time. The time measurement provided by NPL would be the same as that provided by US Naval Observatory on whose basis GPS function. 

Speaking to journalists after the MOU was signed, ISRO and NPL scientists said that though there will be no difference at all between the time measurements provided by NPL and GPS, the move to NPL timing would be highly advantageous as it would mean India will not be any more depended on GPS. 

During the Gulf War, GPS signals were barred from some part of the Gulf region resulting in difficulties for the affected countries. The move to NPL would avoid such exigencies, they noted. 

High precision time measurements are becoming increasingly important for different sectors of the economy. The smart grids for electricity distributions, for instance, need precise time synchronisation. The same applies to high speed communication such as voice over internet protocol, calling and video conferencing and for all types of financial transaction, stock handling, digital archiving, time-stamping and international trade. 

The MOU was signed in the presence of Union Minister for Science and Technology, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, and Minister of State in charge of Departments of Space and Atomic Energy, Jitendra Singh. (India Science Wire) 

New Delhi- The Bullion Federation organised a global convention to promote the concept of decrypting gold; mining to retailing. After a month of Goods and Services Tax roll out, the summit focused upon the ethical mining and production of the bullion industry around the world. The event addressed the issue of conflict mining which involves exploitation of children in this business across the globe. More than 100 international dignitaries attended the convention.

The chief guest of the convention Minister of State Finance Santosh Gangwar spoke about the GST benefits in the gold and silver industry. He said, “the country is now economically liberated which is going to boost the moral of businessmen in the country. GST will bring transparency in the bullion industry.”

Tyler Gillard from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) spoke thoroughly about the threat of illegal mining. OECD works diligently to eradicate the curse of unethical mining. The organisation has issued guidance and framework to most of the member countries educating them about responsible trade in the field of production and supply chain. Its objective is to provide practical guidelines to ensure responsible operations and source of supply chain.

Rahul Gupta, Chairman, PP Jewellers and Diamond Pvt Ltd emphasised the child labour exploitation in the mining. Being an ardent believer of OECD guidelines, Mr. Gupta spoke about the use of mercury in the extraction of gold. He appealed to the various trade associations and businessmen to work responsibly to remove such social threat for the mankind. “Today illegal mining is being practised around the world and OECD is fighting against it. Traders are using the disturbed zone to promote the conflict mining and earn benefits out endangering the lives of many.They sell and purchase arms using the money and promote terrorism in the soil,” he added.

The Bullion Federation came into being to further the cause of trade and its members. It vows to take along the members in its journey of creating better environment for the trade and commits to stand in their hour of need. It is formed to create an ecosystem that will collaborate actively with the various government agencies, to maintain stable policy regime and transparency in the trade.

CEO of Bombay Stock Exchange Mr. Ashish Chuahan reiterated the importance of GST in the trade. He emphasised the role of BSE in the global bullion trade. Speaking about the ‘Spot Exchange’ he introduced the concept of uniform platform to sell gold or silver at spot rates. Spot rates will be decided by the regulatory body Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The automation of the gold trade is also going to hit the Indian gold industry very soon. 

The convention was attended by Ram Shankar Katherine, Chairman, NCSC, Mr. Manoj Dwivedi, ,Joint Secretary Commerce Ministry, Mr. Manoj Kaushik, IPS- Additional Director FIU INDIA, Mr. Surendra Mehta, Secretary IBJA, Mr. Ashish Chauhan, CEO, BSE, Mr. Monish Bhalla, GST Consultant and other dignitaries. The convention later discussed the impact of GST across the value chain and introducing Block Chain technology to Indian gold supply chain.

In the death of Dr Pushpa Mittra Bhargava, India has lost one of the most vocal advocates of scientific temper and rationality in India. Bhargava, widely considered as father of modern biology in India, stood for ethical values in science. He was an institution builder who also played a pivotal role in policy making in science and technology in the past four decades.

Bhargava was an unconventional scientist. He believed in doing and promoting world class biology and biotechnology research in India, yet he opposed the way biotechnology was used to further commercial interests. He was deeply involved in founding the Department of BioTechnology (DBT), yet he openly criticised when the very institution faltered in implementation of biotechnology regulation. Bhargava stood on the side of victims of Bhopal gas tragedy when the mainstream scientific establishment was shying away from studying long-term health impacts of the toxic gas. 

As a scientist and a thinker, Bhargava was always ready to provide his services to the government but he quickly retracted when things did not go his way. He never chose of compromise with his values, irrespective of the government in power. He crossed swords with the Janata government in 1977 over unceremonious dismantling of the “Method of Science” exhibition which he had conceived and developed. He quit as Vice-chairman of the National Knowledge Commission (NKC) following difference of opinion, during the UPA regime and returned his Padma award during the NDA period. In the Rajiv Gandhi period, he was a member of the scientific advisory committee to the Prime Minister.

Bhargava believed in promoting excellence in scientific research. He could persuade the government to hive off his research unit at the Regional Research Laboratory (now known as the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology) as a separate research institute. That’s how the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) was born as a constituent lab of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). He wanted this lab to be developed as a centre for excellence in life sciences. In private conversations, he mentioned that labs focused on specific areas of research should be developed under leadership of individual scientists, modelled on the lines of Max Plank Institutes in Germany.

The CCMB campus in Hyderabad was built under his personal supervision and bears the stamp of his personality. He regretted that he could not opt for a modern architecture and had to settle for a CPWD design, but he improvised a lot within that framework. For instance, he requisitioned none other than M F Husain to do a mural for CCMB. It was also the first lab in India to have an ‘artist-in-residence’ – famous painter A Suryaprakash. Painting exhibitions were held regularly in CCMB in the 1980s. The only parallel would be the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), whose founder Homi Jehangir Bhabha was an art connoisseur and an accomplished painter himself.

The kind of detailing that went into building CCMB was remarkable. Not only did the lab provide all necessary amenities for scientists to do research such modern animal lab and continuous water supply, but also an enviable workplace in general. Canteen, open areas, lawns, guest house and reception – everything was designed and planned aesthetically. Bhargava, along with his wife Manorama, personally selected drapes and curtains used in the guesthouse. The cloth was specially weaved in handloom centres like Pochampally. Every room had different décor. 

“These rooms are fit for kings and queens to stay,” Bharagava had told this writer then about the international guesthouse at CCMB. 

When Department of Atomic Energy established a lab for preparation of p32- labelled nucleotide molecules at CCMB, Bhargava gave it a creative name – Jonaki (Bengali word for firefly).

Over the years, CCMB not only gave birth to other research institutes such as the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), but also spurred development of Hyderabad as a biotechnology cluster. Several scientists from CCMB became entrepreneurs setting up biotech, healthcare and bioinformatics ventures. 

Bhargava did not choose to retire into a cocoon after his long stint with CSIR. He remained active till the end, engaging in a range of activities with causes close to his heart. For instance, Medically Aware and Responsible Citizens of Hyderabad (MARCH) headed by him exposed malpractices in health care industry. He was also chairman of the Sambhavana Trust which runs a public clinic for victims of gas tragedy in Bhopal. (India Science Wire)

J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti cautions about any dilution of Article 35A of the Constitution. Agenda of PDP-BJP government pledges talks with separatists but there has been no progress so far. 

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has touched a raw nerve of her coalition partner, the BJP, by reviving her rhetoric of having assembly sittings in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK). Taking up the cause for conciliation, she suggested free flow of students and professionals from the other Kashmir or POK. 

Mehbooba was speaking on the occasion of the 18th foundation day of the Peoples Democratic party (PDP) in Srinagar last Saturday. She took strong exception to the National Investigative Agency’s suggestion of putting an end to cross LOC trade aimed at stopping terror funding while emphasising such restrictions are not considered for Wagah. 

She was vehemently against any such curbs as trade connected the two parts of a state divided between India and Pakistan. She warned that nobody will carry the national Tricolour in Kashmir if its special status was tampered with. 

It was her late father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed who tried doing the unthinkable –“bringing the North Pole and South Pole” together as he himself described it despite stout opposition to this in the PDP. 

Undeterred by the misgivings of such a move in his own party, the Mufti believed this was the only viable option for him otherwise the sensitive border state would be starved of direly needed financial resources. Also, he could not have overlooked the glaring aspect that if the PDP triumphed in the Valley during the assembly elections, the BJP had virtually swept the Jammu region. 

Impartial observers believe Mehbooba’s message to her party workers is intended to uplift their spirits after being at the receiving end of street violence since it began last year. It has been invariably found that Kashmiris harden their approach towards the Centre whenever confronted by an internal crisis. It may be recalled former J&K chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah had recently linked the state’s special status to its accession to the country. 

Inevitably, the Mehbooba’s speech raised the temperature of the leaders of the saffron brigade, who felt it was a veiled attack against the RSS. Union minister Jitendra Singh was quick in terming Mehbooba’s remarks against the national flag as “shocking and ridiculous”. He affirmed that the “Tricolour is sacrosanct for us” and “it flies high in J&K as much as it does in any other part of the country”. 

BJP leaders in J&K who have been lying low for some time affirmed their demand for abrogating Article 35A and Article 370 according special status to J&K. Inexplicably, regional politics in the state has invariably tilted towards conciliation with Pakistan. 

Therefore, it is believed the time has come to adopt a pragmatic and realistic approach. Mehbooba demanded opening of old routes rather than new ones along with having banking facilities and full body scanners for the trucks to be sure of what is coming into this country and going out. 

Impartial observers believe BJP leaders in J&K misinterpreted Mehbooba’s reference to Article 35A of the Constitution pertained to the fallout from any dilution of the provision which did not alter the only Muslim majority state’s demographic composition. Article 35A defines J&K’s permanent residents and their special rights and privileges. 

She said the matter was before the Supreme Court and believed if Article 35A was tinkered with then there might be nobody in the Valley carrying the national flag. She took exception to demands for scrapping Article 35A while insisting that talks with all the stakeholders in the state has to be within the framework of the Constitution. 

Therefore, Mehbooba’s poser assumes importance with regard to how much of Kashmir can be accommodated on the basis on which India is founded. At the same time she was in favour of resuming the political initiative within the rules of engagement as enshrined in the Constitution. 

The PDP believes it is being increasingly pushed to a corner by the BJP with the arrest of separatists and others in money laundering cases. The agenda of the PDP-BJP alliance pledges talks with the separatists for resolving the Kashmir dispute but there has not been any progress on that so far.  

The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday said it would hear afresh the appeals filed by Rajesh and Nupur Talwar challenging their conviction in the murder of their daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj, seven months after reserving its judgement in the matter.

A division bench comprising Justices Bala Krishna Narayana and Arvind Kumar Mishra said it would hear the matter again due to “contradictions” in some submissions made by the CBI in the sensational murder case and fixed August 31 for resuming the hearing.

THE AARUSHI-HEMRAJ MURDER TRIAL

Following is the timeline of the case that shook the conscience of the nation and remained in headlines for a long time. 

•   Aarushi Talwar – age 13 – a class 9th student of D.P.S. Noida, was found brutally murdered, in her bedroom, on 16.05.2008, at about 6 am. 

•   As the domestic help Hemraj was not found in the flat, the initial suspicion was obviously on him. However, on 17.05.2008, the body of Hemraj was found on the terrace of the building in which the Talwars lived.

•   The case went through many twists and turns, with Dr. Rajesh Talwar being arrested by the Noida Police, on 23.05.2008, and the Inspector General of Police, Meerut Range, Gurdarshan Singh publicly issuing derogatory and defamatory statements against the deceased minor, Aarushi, her father, Dr. Rajesh Talwar and the deceased domestic help, Hemraj. 

•   The CBI took over the investigation of the case under Joint Director Arun Kumar, on 01.06.2008.

•   In June 2008, the CBI arrested Krishna Thadarai, Rajkumar & Vijay Mandal (all of whom resided in the neighbourhood), after determining that they were involved in the double murder of Aarushi Talwar & Hemraj.

•   On 11.07.2008, the CBI filed a report before the Special Metropolitan Magistrate, Ghaziabad, asking for the release of Dr. Rajesh Talwar, on grounds that the evidence, including the scientific forensic evidence, did not in any manner, connect him with the crime.

•    The application itself clearly stated that no bloodstained footprint or palm print, seen at the crime scene, matched with Dr. Rajesh Talwar.

•  Dr. Talwar was released from custody by the Special Metropolitan Magistrate (CBI), on the basis of the application moved by the agency.

•    Inexplicably, the first team of the CBI was removed although it is widely believed that the first team had concluded its investigation and was very close to filing a charge sheet against the three domestic helps and some high ranking UP police officials.  

•   A fresh investigative team, based in Dehradun and Lucknow, was set up to further investigate the case in September 2009. It is believed that the second team had a “brief” to uphold the “findings” and “theories” of the Noida police.

•   Within 15 days of the second team taking over the case, critical shifts in the prosecution’s story began to surface, including shifts in the post- mortem evidence, introduction of new weapons of offence & theories of cleaning up the crime scene.

•   On  29.12.2010,  the  CBI  filed  a  Closure  Report,  where,  it  concluded, “…the circumstantial evidence collected during investigation has critical and substantial gaps… There is absence of clear cut motive and an incomplete understanding of sequence of events…”

•   The shocked parents of slain Aarushi refused to accept the closure of the case and filed a detailed 90 page Protest Petition challenging each and every investigative finding of the CBI before the Court, on 25.01.2011. 

•   Dr. Rajesh Talwar, through his Protest Petition, asked for the case not to be closed, and prayed for further investigation in the case, to help determine the identity of the actual criminals.

•   The court disallowed the Closure Report and the Protest Petition, took cognizance of the offence, and summoned both Dr. Rajesh Talwar and Dr. Nupur Talwar to face trial in the case (Dr. Nupur Talwar was never an accused during investigation as there was no material against her).

The shifts in the post mortem findings have caused a serious miscarriage of justice and have defamed the reputation of two people who are no longer alive to speak for themselves. 

The Talwars have found themselves at the receiving end. The so-called “factual reporting” by the media often appeared to be one-sided, and based on leaks from a hostile prosecuting agency.  In such a charged atmosphere, truth is often a casualty.

NEW DELHI : A scheme of booking e-ticket online and making payment after 15 days through ‘ePaylater’ powered by M/s Arthashastra Fintech Pvt. Ltd., as a pilot project, has been introduced by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd. (IRCTC). Under this scheme, a customer has the option to pay after 15 days of booking an e-ticket through IRCTC website.

The service charge levied on using ‘ePaylater’ scheme is 3.50% of transaction amount and applicable taxes.

Online ticketing through IRCTC website is gaining popularity and its share vis-à-vis counter tickets is increasing. Further, online ticket booking is also being promoted as a cashless mode of transaction.

ePaylater as a payment option is displayed at the payment page of IRCTC website to make people aware about the availability of this payment method. Details about its service charge and ‘Terms & Conditions’ of the scheme are also provided at the payment option page.

Indian geologists have unlocked mystery surrounding the 1950 Assam-Tibet earthquake – the biggest to rock the Himalayas so far with a magnitude of 8.6 on the Richter scale. 

For the first time, scientists have found evidence that it was not a ‘blind earthquake’ and that there was a rupture on the surface. The earthquake helped release energy – either fully or partially – accumulated in the region due to constant collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. “The fact that the energy would have released fully or partially suggests that there was no possibility of another such big earthquake in the area in the near future,” scientists have concluded.  

Till now geologists did not have a clear picture of the quake as it had occurred in a highly inaccessible part of the Himalayas and there was no sign of any rupture on the surface. It was postulated that the fault responsible for the quake was deep inside the ground and thus it may be considered a ‘blind earthquake.’ 

The new study was conducted at Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh by digging a trench and performing a multi-radiometric analysis. Researchers used Cesium137 – a radioactive isotope released in the environment after bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 and probably transported by wind from there – as a ‘chronomarker’ for the study of sediments.

“It is for the first time evidence has been found for the transportation of radioactive material from Hiroshima and Nagasaki into the Indian subcontinent. Our wind analysis of 1948 suggest that radioactive clouds were transported by strong easterly winds to the north-eastern India, where fallout on the sediments occurred by a process of dry deposition of aerosol,” explained Dr. R Jayangondaperumal, a member of the research team from Dehradun-based Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology. The study results have been published in journal Scientific Reports.

The tectonic activity in the Himalayan region due to collision of Indian and Eurasian plates results in accumulation of huge amounts of energy which gets released off and on in the form of big and small earthquakes along the 2,500 km long boundary between the two plates. “Geologists try to understand history of earthquakes in the Himalayas with a view to have a better understanding of seismology of the region so as to come up with some idea on what future holds. The results from the present study could help unravel more geological mysteries in future,” Jayangondaperumal said. 

He noted that “this study further indicated that ocean like subduction is taking place in the Himalayas also and that the Assam-Tibet earthquake, which occurred in the Himalayan Frontal Thrust, could be related to other earthquakes in the region.  Normally, big earthquakes with a magnitude of above 8 on Richter scale occur in the Greater Himalayan region and these affect the rocks of the Himalayan frontal thrust area too.”

Researchers from Geological Survey of India, Physical Research Laboratory, Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, Kumaun University and Pondicherry University also participated in the project. The team included Priyanka Singh Rao, Arjun Pandey, Rajeeb Lochan Mishra, Ishwar Singh, Ravi Bhushan, S. Ramachandran, Chinmay Shah, Sumita Kedia, Arun Kumar Sharma and Gulam Rasool Bhat. (India Science Wire)

It was like a dream come true. One year ago, scientists at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in New Delhi demonstrated that it was possible to generate electricity from water – at room temperature and without the need for any external energy. The innovation is now ready for next stage of development.

“We are waiting for the government and the industry to take the initiative. A pilot plant can be set up within one and a half years,” said Dr Ravinder Kumar Kotnala in an interview. Dr Kotnala, along with his associate, Jyoti Shah, has developed the hydroelectric cell using a novel approach.  

Dr Kotnala, Chief Scientist at NPL, was fascinated by the potential of humidity-sensing nature of porous magnesium ferrite nanomaterial at room temperature. The material showed a change in electrical potential in the presence of humidity in the atmosphere. This set them thinking: can we exploit the same difference in potential energy to generate electricity? 

One thing led to another and soon enough they found that a small piece of magnesium ferrite measuring three square inch can generate about 250 milli ampere (mA) of power. A slightly bigger prototype measuring four square inch was made and it was also found effective. It was clear that the cell could be scaled up. 

Explaining his work, Dr Kotnala said the cell was fundamentally a type of galvanic cell that derives electrical energy from spontaneous oxidation-reduction (redox) reactions of an electrolyte with a cathode and an anode. In a school laboratory, for instance, a galvanic cell is made by inserting a piece of zinc metal and a piece of copper wire into a lemon fruit. When the two metal pieces are connected to a bulb, it glows. It happens because of a redox reaction of the lemon juice with two dissimilar metal pieces.  

In the hydroelectric cell, Dr Kotnala and his team used a pellet of lithium substituted magnesium ferrite which had a zinc plate electrode stuck on one side and a silver comb electrode on the other. When the system was sprinkled with water at room temperature, it generated a stable flow of electricity. 

“Magnesium has high affinity for hydroxide ion (OH), and it pulls a hydroxide ion from the normal H₂O (water) when it comes in contact. The remaining hydrogen combines with another H₂O molecule to form hydronium (H₃O). Normally, within a matter of seconds, hydronium and hydroxide ions will recombine to produce once again two molecules of water. But in our cell, hydronium ions get trapped inside the nanopores of lithium-substituted magnesium ferrite and generate an electric field. The electric field helps in further dissociation of water. This cascades and continuous electricity is produced,” explained Dr Kotnala. 

Oxidation reaction of hydroxide ions at Zinc electrode releases two electrons which are collected on silver electrode. A net current flow results in the cell due to a potential difference developed between the electrodes.

Scientists across the globe have been trying to produce electricity from water for over 70 years now. Chemical dissociation of water molecules by surfaces of oxides such as Silicon dioxide, Titanium dioxide, Magnesium Oxide and Ferric Oxide had been theoretically calculated and even experimentally observed. But, all the efforts to develop a practical hydroelectric cell had failed till now. In this context, the work of Dr Kotnala using lithium substituted magnesium ferrite could be a game changer.

A small hydroelectric cell made with a magnesium ferrite pellet measuring three sq in has generated about 250 mA of power. A prototype made with a pellet measuring four square inch material has also been found effective. This implies that the scaling up of the cell is possible. It is expected that when connected in a series, the cells would be able to produce enough electricity to drive a small electric motor or energise a LED bulb.  

“There are many advantages of hydroelectric cell compared to electrochemical cells. For instance, they would be portable. Also, in other cells, anode and cathode gets eroded after a period of time. But in hydroelectric cells Zinc can be reused or recycled and silver extracted out,” says Dr Kotnala. The cell releases hydrogen gas and zinc hydroxide, neither of which pollute environment in the manner that fossil fuels do. Hydroelectric cells are no burden on the environment. It is the world’s first acid and alkali-free cell. 

Dr Kotnala heads the Environmental Sciences and Biomedical Metrology division at NPL. He completed his doctorate in silicon solar cell from IIT Delhi. He has expertise in a wide range of subjects including Spintronics, electronic materials, Spin Hall Effect, humidity sensor, solar cell and hydroelectric cell. A recipient of many national and international awards and recognition, he has also published more than 360 research papers in international journals. He has nine patents in his name.  (India Science Wire)