Britain Butress: "Three parent "IVF Babies"

United Kingdom has announced draft regulations to go ahead with the highly contentious “three parent IVF technique” thus becoming the first country to support a ground- breaking technique of preventing life-threatening genetic disorders. The name three parent babies itself sounds unethical and just for the similar reason, debates are fomenting in US about legalising this new trend of having designer babies involving three parents.

The basic aim of this pioneering technique developed by Prof Doug Turnball of the New Castle University was to prevent the transfer of the maternal defective mitochondrial DNA to the offspring. A fertilised egg has nuclear DNA containing a copy of genes from each of the parents and the mitochondrial DNA is outside the nucleus transferred directly from the mother to offspring as the mitochondria of the sperm are usually destroyed by the egg after fertilisation. Mitochondria are the popularly known as the power houses of cells. They contain tiny amount of DNA and codes for 37 genes. Any defect or mutation in the mitochondrial DNA would result in diseases usually affecting the organs which utilise more energy like the muscles, cerebrum or nerves. These include Type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, atherosclerotic heart diseases, stroke and cancer.

The new pronuclear transfer technique would confer the women with the diseased mitochondria with an opportunity to have children free of mitochondrial myopathies (diseases). The procedure involves the conventional IVF (Invitro Fertilisation) following which the pronuclei are removed from the fertilised egg and are transferred into egg of donor woman with healthy mitochondria whose nucleus has been removed. Thus the defective DNA of the parent mitochondria can be eliminated. It was found that 1 in 6500 babies inherit mitochondrial diseases. This number stands at 1 in 5000 in US. Another technique maternal spindle transfer is also in vogue. In this method the genetic material between the mother’s egg and donor’s egg are swapped before fertilisation.

This technique would result in a baby having nuclear genetic material (DNA) from both the parents and a tiny amount of mitochondrial DNA from the female donor. This roughly translates into 1.05 mts of DNA in nucleus and 0.0054mm of mitochondrial DNA. Some scientists of the New Castle University viewed that is it akin to changing the battery of a laptop. The hard-disc of the computer refers to the nuclear DNA obtained from the parent remains unchanged but the power source stands replaced. This technique has been backed by several animal researchers who believe that this technique is potentially safe. While some people severely condemn the new procedure as it involves tampering of a natural process. The Government of Britain has decided to extend its support to the technique which enables the parents to have a healthy baby from this treatment within two years. Some view that U.K have intentions of extending its hegemony in the field of genetics and IVF stretching. UK is revered for its two illustrious contributions to life sciences. They are unravelling the structure of DNA in 1953 and for producing first test tube baby Louise Brown in 1978.

Following Britain’s lead, a series of public debates and discussions of the scientific community are catching up in US. Even the Food and Drug Administration started focussing on this technique. In US similar technique was excelled by Shoukhrat Mitalipov, a researcher at Oregan Health and Science University. He successfully produced five healthy monkeys and had proposals for using it on humans. But there was a massive outcry from scientists, religious groups and ethicists who vociferously rejected the idea of extending this treatment to humans. As they believed that it might result in the resurgence of designer babies where parents would start selecting for intelligence, physical features and other characteristics. Further, they opined that a radical experimentation on future children and a decision on idea of this magnitude should be open for a larger public debate.

The advisory committee of the FDA is still not convinced with the propitious outcomes of the new technique and hence averse to the idea extending this technique to humans. Whereas the scientific panel in Britain could garner greater support for this revolutionary technique which could end the misery of parents and enable them to have healthy babies. The practise of technique comes with a precondition that if approved all the events should be very closely monitored and regulated. Draft regulations are expected to be placed before Parliament this year where they would be debated and voted.

More than 40 countries world over have signed treaties or imposed tough regulations on experiments related to human genome modifications that could be inherited. With Britain taking a call to adopt the cutting edge technology other countries are expected to soften their stand. There are several caveats still. The technique hasn’t passed the safety tests and so it would be premature to go ahead with the legislation. Moreover even the social consequences of any such experimentation haven’t been debated adequately. Though the technique seems to be ground-breaking but societal concerns would stand out to be a major hiccup.

 

 

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Palliative Care, a Reality: Easing Curbs on Morphine

The 15^th Lok Sabha will go down the legislative history for the unusually painful experiences, blackouts, pepper spray attacks, disruptive business proceedings and for its corruption riddled legislators. But on the penultimate day post-Telangana bill, two bills Whistle blowers bill and amendments to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) 1985 were approved by Rajya Sabha on 21^st Feb following the recommendations of the lower house. The new NDPS (Amendment) Bill 2011 is hailed by the human right activists as it will provide relief to millions of terminally-ill patients suffering from acute to chronic pain as the accessibility of morphine based drugs would increase. As per the amendments, the restrictions on the use of the narcotic drugs like Morphine used for medical purposes especially in pain management and relief is eased. The India Association for Palliative Care (IAPC) have been pushing for passage of the amendment in parliament. Earlier, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies are required to obtain multiple clearances of varying validity periods from different government agencies for the purchase and storage of Morphine or other opioids. The amendments will prescribe forms and conditions of licence or permits for manufacture, possession, transport, interstate import and export, sale, purchase, and consumption or use of essential narcotic drugs. Earlier the law even mandated a severe punishment of 10 years imprisonment if a person was found to possess 250 gm of morphine without adequate licence.

Opioids are world’s oldest drugs known for their promising analgesic (pain relieving) properties. They are derivatives of Opium and similar synthetic substances like Morphine. They are found to be invaluable in palliative care to alleviate severe, chronic and disabling pain of terminal conditions like cancer, muscular dystrophy, dementia, and rheumatoid arthritis. They are notoriously popular for their contradictive properties of being not only addictive but also for causing euphoria in users. Hence their use had been so stringently monitored by government agencies. These inexpensive drugs can be now accessible to the terminally ill patients. India has 24 lakh cancer patients of them 15 lakh patients in the advanced stage experience excruciating pain further 1 million HIV/AIDS patients also suffer from mild to severe pain. This bill would ensure the availability of the Opioids for the medical use of all the patients. The new changes would offer great succour to the millions of the patients and their families suffering from severe pain. Because of strict vigilance regarding the sale, purchase and availability of morphine based drugs; they were highly inaccessible to the patients till now.

Morphine based pain killers are classified as controlled medicines, essential for pain treatment by World Health Organisation (WHO). These are medicines which have therapeutic use but they can be subject to abuse through non-medical uses. According to WHO study by 2003 six developing countries accounted to 79% of total global morphine consumption, while developing countries with 80% population amounted to just 6%. Hence it called on all countries to integrate palliative care, a service which aims at improving the quality of life for patients suffering with life-limiting diseases with the health systems. This implied, among other changes countries should review drug policy so that the pain relieving drugs are more accessible to the terminally–ill patients. In 2011, Medical Council of India recognised palliative care as specialisation of medicine paving way for improved training of health workers. In 2012, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has approved a national palliative care strategy.

 To spare millions from needless suffering, doctors engaged in palliative care of cancer patients have been vociferously advocating use of the morphine based drugs as the cheapest and the most effective relief available from the painful effects of chemotherapy and radiation. They believe that pain relief is human right and any law depriving the access of pain-relievers is a violation of that right. Sadly almost 90% of patients are deprived of pain relief.

Turkey, India, Australia, France, Spain and Hungary are major legal cultivators of opium poppy in the World. India is the largest producer of Opium but exports most of it foreign countries. Licensed farmers are allowed to grow poppy and government procures from them strictly under the vigilance of the Central Narcotics Bureau. They are then shipped to two processing plants in Neemuch (M.P) and Ghazipur (U.P). Poppy cultivation and domestic use are highly regulated. India produces 250 kg as against the estimated requirement of 30,000 to 40,000 kg per year.

 A report by the Global Opioid Policy initiative indicates that nearly half of the world population lives in countries where regulations aimed at containing the misuse of drugs have left several cancer patients devoid of the drugs containing the opioids for palliative cure. Kerala and Maharashtra are the two states which use more morphine for cancer patients than rest of the country. In seven years following the enactment of NDPS act in 1985 morphine use in India has plummeted by 97%. Human rights watch estimated that the amount of morphine used in India in 2008 was just sufficient for 4% of patients in advanced stage of cancer.

New amendments would enable central government with the authority to regulate the narcotic drugs. A single licence can now be obtained from one government agency, State Food and Drug Administration and the power to regulate and frame rules will be vested with the Drug Controller General of India. Government is now contemplating on allowing the participation of private pharmaceutical companies to extract the alkaloids morphine and codeine. There are still glitches to the newly amended bill as certain aspects of the bill are still not salubrious for the entry of private players into the trade. Till now government has been exporting the opium gum, the precursor for all active ingredients as we don’t have the capacity. Even if industry is privatised immediately, it will take at least 5-7 years to develop the technology for indigenous manufacture of opioids. Though the government had made a humble beginning, pain relief would elude cancer patients for few more years.

 

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International Mother Language Day

 Nelson Mandela in one of his talks says,“If you talk to a man in a language he understands that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his languages that goes to his heart”,  such is the impact of the mother language or the native language. Language is the essentially the medium through which people belonging to same race, culture, descent and often place communicate with each other. It is the greatest binding factor which brings people together. February 21^st is celebrated as the International mother language day by the member countries of UN to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. The decision to celebrate such day was announced by UNESCO on November 17^th 1999.  UNESCO has adopted a resolution to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by the people of the world. Further, UN General Assembly has proclaimed the year 2008 as the International Year of Languages to promote unity in diversity and international understanding through multiculturalism and multilingualism.

Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. In this modern era conservation of the cultural and traditional identity has been under serious threat. Conscious effort has to be made preserve the   mother languages as they are marks of cultural identity too.  Apart from being the cultural identity of a community, mother language plays a crucial role in learning and understanding the concepts of science better. Since it is the language, in which individual can speak and express his ideas/ thoughts easily states are encouraged to promote education and instruction in the mother language for better results. Scientific research has shown that children who are taught in the native language are found to have better reading, writing and arithmetic skills. Results also indicate a positive impact on learning and learning outcomes.

Unity in Diversity in short defines India. Our country is known for its genetic, linguistic, sartorial and culinary diversity. Perhaps, it has the richest treasure of linguistic diversity than any other country. As many as 1,652 languages have been listed to be spoken in India as per 1962 census. But sadly now only 122 languages are spoken by more than 10,000 people. There are six languages- Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu which are spoken by more than 50 million people in India. Indian languages belong to four of the world’s major language groups: Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Austro-Asiatic and Tibeto-Burman. This year Odia language which belongs to the Indo-Aryan group has been declared as a classical language. It is one the oldest languages of India bearing no resemblance to Hindi, Telugu, Bengali and Sanskrit. It is the sixth language to be declared as a classical language after Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.

In India as a part of promotion of native languages, the expert committee of Sahitya Academy recommends Ministry of Culture to confer ‘classical language status’. Four criteria are considered for the same. They are high antiquity of its early/ ancient texts of recorded history of over 1500 to 2000 years; originality of the literary tradition and assurance that language has not been borrowed from another speech community; considered as a valuable heritage by generations of speakers and classical language and literature should be distinct from the modern and there may be discontinuity between the classical language and its modern offshoots. After being conferred the special status they get the financial status to establish centre for excellence for the study of language. It also provides two major awards for scholars of eminence. Further, UGC would permit creation of professional chairs for scholars of eminence in Central Universities.

Language plays a very vital role in process of integration into all aspects of the public life and in particular education. It strengthens co-operation and contributes to attaining quality education, building inclusive knowledge societies and preserving cultural heritage, mobilizing political will to apply the benefits of science and technology for sustainable development. Languages are the most precious but also the most fragile treasures of mankind. Hence concerted efforts are needed to sustain the linguistic diversity and handover the traditional heritage to the future generations.

 

 

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An Impending Danger: Racial Discrimination

 

More than a fortnight after death of the 19 year old Nido Taniam of Arunachal Pradesh in the capital, the voices of the enraged North-East community refuses to die. The initial approach of indifference by the Delhi police has became a matter of severe indignation in this case. The High Court had intervened, rightly so, due to the inordinate delay of the police and pulled them up to fast-tracking the case. Subsequently, the post-mortem reports have indicated that he was beaten to death by locals with whom he had an altercation. A reason as trivial as a funky hair style, a cultural element, sparked taunts, leading to an altercation between Nido and local people. This event was followed by reports of discrimination which included a sexual-assault on two minors from the North-East and another rape episode in south Delhi. Just this week, to add more fuel to the fire vicious tweets are making rounds in Delhi, which cited that the local panchayat of Munirka village, in South Delhi, has decided to issue notices to people from North- East to vacate their accommodations with immediate effect. With increasing reports of attacks on North-East people is India at the verge of turning into a veritable hell stinking of racism?

People from North- Eastern states migrate to Delhi, mostly as students, in search of better opportunities which their respective states fail to offer.  Ever since his death there have been demonstrations and athletes from these states have teamed with the North- East associations demanding for a strong anti-racism legislation. Though certain sections of people quickly dismiss the seriousness of the issue by making it as a misunderstood case of cultural difference, it is an obvious fact that migrants from other Indian states too experience similar kind of discrimination in one form or the other. This is not an isolated case of racial discrimination in the capital alone two years ago, Loitam Richard of Manipur was found dead in a hostel in Bangalore. Due to the apathy of police and media the case has been largely been hushed up but informal sources revealed that Richard died due to beating by fellow students. If Indians fail to accept the Indian-ness of the North-East, are we not at the risk of losing out the smaller boundary states like Arunachal Pradesh to the belligerent China which refuses to issue VISA to residents of the state? Are we becoming a nation of racial crooks unable to stand the fellow Indians of different state, region and ethnic origin? Have our tolerance levels stooped down to subzero levels?

India has been revered world over for its unity in diversity. Nearly every province in India has its distinct culture, tradition, style and identity. Even their dance, music, art, literary forms are different. Harmony amidst these cultural differences has been the crowning glory of this nation. A spurt in episodes of racism across the nation is ominous to the basic foundations of our nation. People from North-East are subjected to alienation for their Mongoloid features, as still the orthodox lot assume this as Un-Indian. Moreover, branding them as cultural invaders by the public in general & law-enforcers in specific is unacceptable to the law of the land and its ethos. 

Cases of racial discrimination towards any particular ethnicity are not new in India. Uttarbharatiyas (people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar) have been subjected to attacks in Maharashtra as they are perceived to antagonise local population. Similarly, many migrants from Bihar have been targeted multiple times in states like Assam, Nagaland and Manipur by the militant groups resulting in deaths and displacement of thousands of people, especially several Hindi-speaking people were attacked in 2007 in Assam after which they fled the region.  It is only pertinent to say that these attacks are outcomes of misconceived notions of culture, habits and language along with the attitude of the natives to outsiders. It is queer but true that people of any ethnicity experiences some kind of discrimination when they migrates to a new place within India. Irrespective of the state of domicile when a south Indian moves to North, they are referred to as ‘madrasis’ and eventually become butt of crude jokes for their accented language. Discrimination becomes evident in various forms as migrants begin to experience in the way they are treated in everyday life.

Recent vigilante activism of the former Delhi Law Minister drew the loudest disgruntlement from the African population in Delhi for disdainful racism practiced in India. These kind of irresponsible attitudes are threat to the national integrity and can endanger the unity.  Thus, the list of our prejudices seems to be unending. India’s long history of cultural assimilation seems to be crumbling and acclaiming the reputation of a notorious listlessness.

The Right to Equality under Article 14 has been enshrined in the Constitution dictates that State shall not deny to any person equality before law or equal protection of the laws within the territory of India. However, the recent spate of incidents indicates that this right has strayed away from its scripture. The numerous racial attacks India under the various discriminatory grounds of race, creed, language etc, vindicates even the basic tenets of fundamental rights bestowed by constitution under the Article 15(1). If the machinery that is institutionalised to ensure safety and protection begins to function selectively on the basis of religious, caste, region and racial lines, prejudicial mind set would be bolstered.  Two years ago, a calculated hate-SMS against North-Eastern people triggered enmasse movement of people from Bangalore to their homelands.

As a nation we vehemently condemn and get incensed by the racial discrimination faced by our citizens abroad. While being completely unapologetic for similar incidents at home.  We perpetually recall the trails indignation suffered under colonial bigotry but are blissfully averse to worse treatment meted out to people of North-East. It is our bounden duty to denounce racial bias of any kind within India too.

A school of thought opines that years of subjugation, deep-seated inferiority and resentment might have resulted in emerging trend of guarding the self –turf. The present day disconnected Urbanite has become so overprotective about his/her own existence, survival that he/she perceives any new entrant into his biome as an intruder. Flustered current generation with their inability to assimilate new ethnicities seems to be the unfounded culprit.

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Book Review: Tupaki Mona Pai Vennela

Most of us must have read travelogues that invariably describe the scenic beauty, historical significance in the brief history of time and its picturesque location. This travelogue is quaint, as it deftly amalgamates the marvellous grandeur of the places visited with her experiences and close interactions with people she had during her brief trips. Hence the reader would have an all-encompassing view about the place.

The author of the book “Tupaki mona pai vennela”, Kondaveeti Satyavati is a social activist, feminist and a famous telugu writer. The book is a travelogue containing vivid descriptions of several places in India from Far East of India to Porbander in Gujarat and spanning from Kashmir, Leh in the North to Trivandrum and Andaman Nicobar Islands in the South. It is a complete a journey to almost all corners of our vast country. She is an ardent nature lover and her writings too mirror the psychedelic beauty of nature. Her inexplicable love for nature, ability to tune to the intricacies of the nature and her passionate appeal for conservation of nature are clearly expounded in her writing which leaves a deep impression on the mind.

Throughout the book descriptions of the places are interspersed by inspiring stories, themes about collective social responsibility, anecdotal thoughts and powerful messages which are thought provoking. Especially her trip to Manipur as a part of Women writers meeting is very moving.  The life in this eastern part of India is much different as women take very strong roles in the existing patriarchal society. They participate actively in all the protests and are known for their courage. They successfully run businesses too. Indeed Imphal has the largest women market with shops solely run and managed by women. The writer narrates the troubles faced by the people due to the high handedness of the Armed Forces which impose strict curfew regimes inadvertently. Her visit along with other women writers coincided with the release of the Irom Sharmila, the Iron Lady of Manipur who has been on an indefinite fast for more than a decade fighting relentlessly for the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Protection Act (AFSPA). The draconian law shields the armed forced from prosecution from crimes committed. The author’s visit to the place coincided with the day Irom has been released temporarily under the charges of attempted suicide. Though she couldn’t interact with her, she says the mere sight of the fragile body of the iron-willed lady would bleed a stony heart in pain. A flurry of the high voltage emotional stirring is generated as the reader flips through the stories of indisputable courage of Maira Piabi Manipuri women group which supports the protests. The firm commitment and the tenacious will power of the fragile lady would convulse the reader.

The writer has travelled extensively and her travel tips to people travelling to Amarnath, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Leh and Chardham yatra would be very useful. Her uninterrupted and complete narration makes reading a lively experience. The writer has a knack to transport us into the new worlds she has travelled and the reader would enjoy the exhilaration of exploring the intricate beauties of the nature. Her walks through wild, untamed jungles on full moon days and explorations to water streams in forests with a group of friends are lovely treats to nature lovers.

Having played a very prominent role in bettering lives of many women, she had coherent suggestions for women volunteers working for the harassed and the destitute women to remain motivated, focussed and the need to de-stress. The book embodies visits to interior tribal hamlets of Bhalluguda where innocent women have been sexually harassed by police; to Vakapalli in the Eastern Ghats where the displaced women and fishermen have been protesting against the Gangavaram dam; to public hearing at Polepalli where villagers are opposing the SEZ’s. This heart rendering tales of the vulnerable and hapless people would definitely awaken the inner conscience of the reader. The book apart from being a good travel guide would also enlighten us about the various problems faced by the people living therein.

 

 

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Winter Olympics @ Sochi- A Perspective

Unlike the summer Olympics which takes the world by its exuberance and the galore of entertainment, winter Olympics is a subdued event. Even the sporting events are three times less than the summer Olympics. But this doesn’t take away the sheen from these sporting events which have tremendous support and viewership across the world. The ongoing winter Olympics at Sochi is the twenty second edition of games. These are conducted at a span of four years in alternating even-numbered years so that it doesn’t clash with the summer Olympics.

Winter Olympics 2014 are held for the first time in Russia after the breakup of USSR. Moscow was the venue for the summer games in 1980. Sochi Olympics have hit the headlines for various reasons- ranging from the surplus budgetary costs of $51 billion far exceeding the estimated $12 billion surpassing the Beijing Olympics of 2008 which is the most expensive with total cost of $44 billion so far.  It is also mired with excess cost over run, safety concerns over the LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) athletes due to Russia’s anti-LGBT policies; protests by the ethnic Circassian activists as some of the Olympic facilities were built over the graves of the Circassians who were killed during genocide by the Russian military in 1860; protests by the environmentalists regarding the displacement and rehabilitation of the people displaced for making way for the venues, over exploitation of the construction workers and illegal dumping of the construction waste threatening the health of the residents and the habitats of the migratory birds.  Even a suicidal bomb attack before a train station in Russia 40 days before the games also have raised the concerns about the safe conduct of games. Just few days before the opening ceremony, countries were very sceptical about sending their employees to the games fearing cyber spying and theft of intellectual property. Travel advisory has been issued to sports enthusiasts, business men, tourists against use of public internet connection/ airport wi-fi as they are the hot spots for the internet hawkers.

Amidst of raging controversies, Winter Olympics were declared open in a glistening ceremony. The over arching demonstrations failed to dampen the spirit of the sportsmanship and fanfare of the sport enthusiasts. Sochi winter games hosts 98 events in 7 different sports and participants from 88 countries have represented their country in this sporting fest. Winter sports are amazingly different wherein athletes and organisers constantly strive to bring in new sophistications into the game to make it more challenging and endearing.

Winter Olympics are unique as they test not only the extensive athletic training but also the underlying scientific technology that improve their performance and speed. Some of the records created are astounding as they defy the laws of nature. Many well trained athletes delivered brilliant performance by donning scientifically designed equipment. Hence engineering and athletic training go hand in hand for exceptional maneurving in winter games. A careful analysis of each of the sporting events would point out to scientific implications of the laws of physics that contribute to the dazzling performance.  For example- high speeds skating across the sides of the half pipe coupled with change of direction resulted in developing the centripetal acceleration which gives the athlete more air time to execute double flips and rotation. Further advances in engineering were employed to optimise the dimensions of the half pipe to enhance the performance of the athlete. Apart from the super training, immense talent and laws of physics nearly every sporting event have relied on the latest technological advancements for pushing athletic skills to the maximum.

The biological superiority of certain people coupled with lower weight of athletes seems to have bearing on the final execution of their skills. Events like cross country skiing are conducted on manicured slopes located a relatively higher elevation. But as the altitude increases, atmospheric oxygen levels fall hence athletes participating in this event should have an enormous capacity to transport oxygen to muscles. Medal winners in this event are found to harbour a genetic mutation which stimulates the manufacture red blood cells. More the number of red blood cells, higher will be oxygen supply to the muscles hence better the performance. Similarly in ski-jumping women who are lighter outperform men as being 1 kg lighter add to 2m to 4m jump distance. Thus being lighter would turn out to be greatest advantage for women. Scandinavian people were found be more genetically suitable for these kind of sporting events. Norway with a very scant population has the distinction of having most Olympic medals in Winter games.

A study revealed that overall injury rate for both summer and winter Olympics stood at 11% but injuries are most acute and severe in winter Olympics. Hence special emphasis has been laid on scientifically developing safety equipment to mitigate the extent of damage. Of all the events, skeleton racing is most dangerous. Person simply lodges onto the bobsled with head first and races at a speed of 80 mph. Losing control can lead to death or severe injuries. Hence engineers are now designing sleds with built-in adjustable frame and helmets that absorb more gravitational pull to minimise the impact of injury. Safety has become issue of major concern ever since Michael Schumacher and German Vice Chancellor Angela Merkel got injured during skiing.

Organisers of winter Olympics have the huge task of maintaining a good coverage of snow on the slopes for skiing events. Last edition of winter games at Vancouver had a poor show in these events a uniform snow cover was absent on the slopes. To avoid such embarrassing situation a Finnish firm Snow Secure was hired to have snow cover on higher altitudes. Artificial snow was generated by blasting atomised water into the air when it is coldest. 

Further special suits are designed for skating and skiing which not only keeps the athletes warm but also reduces the drag. Since Sochi is nearer to Black Sea, athletes have to lung past air which is heavier, thicker and humid.  Suits which are textured as the shark skin were developed by researchers in US which also reduced the drag by 17%. Zippers and seams are positioned in a calculated way to minimise the drag. In US customised wind tunnels are built for training ski-jumping in US. In various skating events like ice hockey, long distance skating, short distance speed skating, figure skating etc, interesting variations in the skate blades and shoes are made to maximise the speed, agility, gliding and chasing to give an edge to the athlete. The culmination of advances in engineering, diligence, scientific designing and intensive training of athlete would result in carving an ideal winter Olympian.

While London won accolades for it sustainability efforts, Russia have been under fire from environmentalists for tweaking the conservation laws for games related construction. Recent episodes of the climatic aberration- Arctic Vortexing experienced by the US at the beginning of the year and massive floods in UK are fall out of global warming. Further depleting snow cover in several parts of the Northern Hemisphere raises serious doubts about the future of the winter games. It is predicted that only 6 out of the 19 cities that hosted winter games will remain cold enough in 2100 to do so again.

 

 

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Clinical Trials: A Debate On Rights Vs Research

 

Recently Union Minister of health Ghulam Nabi Azad during the inauguration of the Baxter Global Research Centre located in the Biocon’s subsidiary Syngene’s facility announced that government is seriously contemplating on relaxing norms for clinical trials. The appeasement by government is significant since it comes in just a year of introduction of tougher laws on clinical trials. Clinical trials have become matter of serious contention as they contributed to 2664 death between 2005 and 2012. Of which 89 deaths have been scientifically attributed to clinical trials and mere 45 were compensated. The NGO Swasthya Adhikar Manch has filed a PIL in Supreme Court over the deaths following which the apex court slammed the government for failing to regulate the clinical trials and reprimanded drug companies over the use of Indian subjects as guinea pigs.  Supreme Court has ordered for streamlining the clinical trials through stringent legislation following which Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) and Ministry of health and family welfare has tightened the norms and approval mechanism.

Clinical trials involve the investigation of human subjects and are carried out by the pharmaceutical experts in order to verify the clinical and pharmacological effects of medicinal product or the chemical entities discovered.  This is essential to ascertain the safety and efficacy of the new products or medical procedures or surgical instruments before allowing them for popular use. These trials are governed by guidelines and directives at the International level like EU regulations and directives, ICH Good Clinical Practices (GCP), recommendations of World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki, Guidelines for Good pharmacoepidemological practices and ICMR regulations. These are regarded as soft-law but are not legally binding. Most of the multi-national companies voluntarily comply with all these regulations. In India, Central Drug Standards control organisation (CDSCO) headed by Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) is the primary authority while Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 is the principal legislation for conducting drug trials. Schedule Y, Drugs and Cosmetics Rules 1945 provides the detailed compliances and conditions relating to clinical trials in India. Clinical trials not only contribute to scientific research and development but also ensure better patient care which on long run eventually helps in development of new generic drugs and medicines which will be a boon for the society. Hence India can hardly afford to ban these trials.

On January 30^th 2013 Government of India made new amendments following Supreme Court’s intervention to the Schedule Y of Drugs and Cosmetics Rules 1945. Three major amendments have been made. First, Rule 122 DAB that talks about Serious Adverse Event (SAE) Reporting and Compensation. It mandates obtaining Informed Consent Documents (ICD) from trial subjects and providing them or their legal representatives’ compensation in case of trial related death or injury. The sponsor of clinical trial has to bear ultimate and complete liability of reimbursing any cost incurred for treatment of the subjects participating in the clinical trials. If the sponsor fail to provide the medical treatment or financial compensation as per orders of the licensing authority then the authority might cancel or suspend the license of the sponsor and might even debar them from carrying out further trials in India. As per amended rules, investigators are under an obligation to report the SAE of drug within 24 hrs of occurrence and sponsor has the responsibility of sending the report to the licensing authority within 10 days of occurrence of adverse effects. These new features are not practically feasible in most of the cases as the effects are not always physical or visible and it can be reported once the investigators are convinced that the incident has been the consequence of the drug trial. The authority of determination of cause of death or injury and the quantum of the compensation lies with the licensing authority who will communicate the compensation amount within three months of receiving the report and the sponsor has to pay the amount within 30 days of receipt of order from the authority.

 Second, Rule 122 DAC deals with obtaining permission to conduct clinical trials and compliance. This underlines the need for Good Clinical Practices (GCP) even. Licensing authority reserves the right to inspect sponsors, their employees and other subsidiaries in this regard. Third, Rule 122 DD discusses about Ethics committee (EC) registration and functioning. It mandates setting up of independent ethics committee under medical institutes to monitor on going drug trials. Committees must register with DCGI prior to drug trials. In the older system drug companies were allowed to constitute their own committee with their own investigators who would even report SAE.

While the new changes were hailed by the NGO’s and human right activists’, pharmaceutical companies, sponsors of clinical trials and clinical research organisations took a critical note of the amendments. The number of clinical trials has come down drastically due to the unpredictable nature of regulatory timelines for clinical trial approval and unreasonable demands of authorities for protocol amendments and site selection etc raising the uncertainty about the timelines associated with regulatory approvals.

Drug companies rued that this framework would be too onerous for them to conduct trials for serious diseases. They fear that stringent regulations might hamper innovation, ability to develop cheaper and high quality drugs for patients around the world.  Most of the MNC’s are looking out for greener pastures like China, South Korea and Russia which provide comparatively less strict regulatory atmosphere and flexibility. India’s clinical research market currently pegged at $500 million is projected to double by 2016 due to the access to large amount of population with lower rates of compensation than in developed world. To dispel the anxieties of the pharmaceutical industry Government reiterated that while it has no intention of imposing unrealistic barrier for the drug trials, they don’t want to take the risk and compromise with the safety of the subjects of clinical trials.

Legislation is a powerful tool and it would be in the best of interest if government aims at regulating instead of restricting. Regulation is a tight rope walk as it encompasses several issues-laws, ethics, scientific development, social good and human rights. Instead of aiming for a massive revamp of the system, small changes can be incorporated in existing law.   Lacuna should be identified to ensure smooth conduct of the clinical trials. A way forward can be- more transparency in approval mechanism which is time bound. Instead of dismissing or delaying approval process, the loopholes in the regulatory mechanism has to be fixed and existing laws should be effectively implemented so that clinical trials are conducted with transparency and diligence. In India, initiating drug trials typically runs from 6 to 8 months as against 28 days in Canada and Europe. Special care should be taken while approving the clinical trials for drugs with serious side effects and the approval should sparingly extended based on the utility. Instead of having a fixed formula for compensation, each case reported to have suffered SAE during clinical trials has to be investigated individually and compensated accordingly.

The repercussions of the new amendments hence forth shouldn’t be viewed completely in black and white. Instead a proper balance has to be struck between innovation/ scientific development on one hand and the need for well chalked out regulations and rules for drug trials so that human rights are not compromised or undermined.

 

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First Anniversary

Today is the first anniversary of my blog and truly overwhelmed as I never thought that I would be able to sustain my writing spree. I was really sceptical about my consistency.  Book reading has been my hobby since childhood and I had an immense curiosity to know about anything under the sky. This unquenchable thirst has been the real reason for my immense love for books. I am a scientist by profession but have a great fascination towards intellectual writing. The depth of understanding and the veracity of knowledge exuded by some of the scholarly writers always motivate me.

Knowledge is an ocean and boundless. My professional training has never restrained me to any specific subject and hence my interests too spanned over a wide variety of topics.  I can never profess myself as a writer as I haven’t ever attempted creative writing. My blog posts are mostly dedicated to themes which have fascinated me.

Writing reminds of the popular adage, “Pen is mightier than sword”. Nearly all the greatest revolutions that changed the course of history have been brain-child of revolutionary thinkers who spear headed and awakened the masses by their powerful writings.  New thoughts, ideas can be effectively communicated to people only through effective writings. In the digital age, writing may have lost its impact, but over the centuries new changes/ renaissance were successful chartered into the society by espousing creative thoughts.

Writing, I believe is the most effective and reliable form of exchange of new thoughts and ideas.  I have great respect for writers for their exceptional skills, especially their art of creativity which compels us to visualise and travel through the virtual world they have created. While some messages emboldens our vision towards a bright and beautiful life. Some books leave a deep impression on mind and leave us highly motivated and inspired.  My tryst with writing began when I read the biography of the greatest music legend Annapurna Devi, whose musical prowess was unknown to common man. She is hardly referred in the annals of the Indian Music for the exceptional music talent she possess. I was deeply moved by her life story and wanted to pen down the continuous flow of emotions stirring my mind. This marked the beginning of my journey of writing book reviews which finally meandered into writing scientific articles, sports columns and many more.  

Hope the joy of completing one year as a blogger would continue to motivate me further into more thoughtful writing......

 

 

 

Academic Curriculum of India Too Ambitious

The government spin masters have introduced two canonical phrases “knowledge economy” and “demographic dividend” reassuring of propitious omens of progress. But the making of the knowledge economy seems to be whimsical as the UNESCO’s 11^th Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report released last week revealed bitter facts about the spate of the present education system in India. Even the Annual State of Education Report (ASER) by the NGO Pratham has a similar story of the educational sector. Though government has heavily lobbied around the idea of galloping the economy by improving the educational base of the country by projecting precocious enrolment rates for the primary education and reducing the school-drop outs, the EFA report had brought into light serious learning crisis among children. According to the report around 250 million children of primary school age are not learning basics in reading whether they are in school or not. There is a severe parity in the learning outcomes and the disparities are prominent in rural India between rich and poor children. The performance of poor girls in rural India is at a much lower level and the overall performance in mathematics was worst.

Data collected from different states of varying income levels have clearly exhibited a wider difference in learning. For example among the wealthier states of India, 44% of grade five children in Maharashtra and 53% children of Tamilnadu could perform a two digit subtraction. Among the rich rural children, girls performed better than boys. The poor girls of wealthier state like Maharashtra are slightly better than their counterparts in poor states like Madhya Pradesh. Wide spread poverty in states like Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh hardly allowed children to reach till grade five. In Uttar Pradesh only 70% children could make it to fifth grade while nearly all rich children could do so. In Madhya Pradesh 85% of poor reached grade five against 96% of rich. While in schools poor girls have lower chances of learning basics of reading. These glaring disparities point out to the failure of the target support to reach those who need it most.  It was observed that children who learn less are likely to leave the school early. Children who achieved lower score in mathematics are twice more likely to drop out by the age of 15 than who performed better. In India while the richest young women have already achieved universal literacy the poorest are projected to reach the same level by 2080.

The data suggests that in India after completing four years of schooling nearly 90% of children emerge as illiterates and after 5-6 years of schooling 30% emerge as illiterates. Young people from poorer households are likely to read and the situation even worse for poor young women. Though youth literacy is improving it is not fast enough for the disadvantaged groups.

Education for all is a global movement led by UNESCO aiming to meet the global education requirement of all children, youth and adults by 2015. Universal Primary Education and gender equality in education constitute two important goals among the eight targets of Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Education for All movement was launched in the year 1990 when representatives from 155 countries met at a world conference in Thailand and agreed to universalise primary education and vowed to massively reduced illiteracy by the end of the decade by formulating six goals. A decade later, the World Education Forum (WEF) met at Dakar, Senegal to take stock of the progress made. It was noted that many countries were lagging far below the targets. They formulated the Dakar Framework of action and reaffirmed their commitment of reaching the education for all by 2015 and entrusted UNESCO to lead the movement.

Dakar Framework for Action (post 2015) mandates all countries to set aside 6% of GDP or 20 % of total government expenditure for education. While South and West Asia spends about 3.7% of GDP and 15% Government’s expenditure on education, some of the countries are spending less than 3% GDP education. Around the world countries are still grappling with the ways to reallocate their educational budgets to children who need it most. Hence it is proposed to increase the tax base so that the additional amount of revenue generated by the tax exemptions can be diverted to educational needs. India’s wealthier state Kerala spends $685 on education on a single child as compared to $100 in Bihar. In some cases though the amount spend was same, the grant is not utilised for the activities aimed at improving the quality of education or learning. Hence an increase in fund allocation should take into account the current cost of education so that benefits could reach the poorest.

The EFA report suggests that the answer for the learning crisis lies in having quality teaching or making quality teaching a national priority. It is estimated that between 2011 and 2015 South and West Asia need to recruit 1 million teachers to achieve ideal student teacher ratio of a teacher per 32 children in the lower secondary education. A four pronged strategy has also been suggested for providing best teachers. These include -attracting the best teachers; improving teacher education through training programmes; getting teachers where they are needed most as inequality in deployment leads to few teachers being deployed at fewer areas and finally providing incentives to retain best teachers. Further, curriculum should be more inclusive for children to connect themselves to the subject. Computer-assisted learning has improved learning perceptibly. It is found that ambitious curriculum drawn out for children in India seems to be one of the reasons for learning crisis.

India has the largest number of adult illiterates in the world with 287 million. Though the literacy rates increased from 48% in 1991 to 63% in 2006 the population growth has cancelled out the gains. While India has comparable rate of pre-primary school enrolment of 70% and 95% of primary school on par with other developed nations, when it comes to quality education it is placed in the list of 21 countries facing extensive learning crisis. India has reduced its spending on education from 13% of government budget in 1999 to 10% in 2010. Report reinforced that the cost of 250 million children not learning basics would translate into loss of $129 billion or 10% of global spending on primary education. At least 37 countries are losing half the amounts of money spend on education as children are not learning. Quality learning can generate huge economic rewards by increasing the GDP per capita by 23% in 40 years.

Through concerted efforts India has achieved the distinction of consistently higher levels of enrolment in primary schools. It shouldn’t fritter away the gains of huge demographic advantage by poor learning outcomes and by wider disparities in learning. With renewed energy, India should urgently focus on producing successful teachers to end the learning crisis. Else the unacceptable levels of inequality in access and learning would cripple the very foundation of the concept of “knowledge economy”.

 

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