indian biologist dayana cyrus

Jagadish Chandra Bose Sir J.C. Bose did his original scientific work in the area of Microwaves. He made his own equipment by employing an illiterate tin-smith whom he trained up to do the job for him. He produced extremely short waves and done considerable improvement upon Hertz's detector of electric waves. He produced a compact appratus for generating electromagnetic waves of wavelengths 25 to 5 mm and studying their quasioptical properties, such as refraction, polarization and double refraction. These could be demonstrated by his compact apparatus mounted on an ordinary spectrometer table. The most satisfactory polarizers and analyzers were made out of pressed jute fibres or books with laminated pages. He could even produce rotation of plane of polarization by transmission of electric rays through bundle of twisted jute fibres. The originality and simplicity of his apparatus were its remarkable features. Bose's research on response in living and non-living led to some significant findings: in some animal tissues like muscles, stimulation produces change in form as well as electrical excitation, while in other tissues (nerves or retina), stimulation by light produces electric changes only but no change of form. He showed that not only animal but vegetable tissues under different kinds of stimuli-mechanical, application of heat, electric shock, chemicals, drugs- produce similar electric responses. M.S.Swaminathan A plant geneticist by training, Prof. Swaminathan's contributions to the agricultural renaissance of India have earned him widespread recognition as the scientific leader of the green revolution movement, and he has been described by the United Nations Environment Programme as “the Father of Economic Ecology”. His advocacy of sustainable agriculture leading to an ever-green revolution makes him an acknowledged world leader in the field of sustainable food security. Dr.Hargobind Khorana In the 1960s Khorana confirmed Nirenberg’s findings that the way the four different types of nucleotides are arranged on the spiral “staircase” of the DNA molecule determines the chemical composition and function of a new cell. The 64 possible combinations of the nucleotides are read off along a strand of DNA as required to produce the desired amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins. Khorana added details about which serial combinations of nucleotides form which specific amino acids. He also proved that the nucleotide code is always transmitted to the cell in groups of three, called codons. Khorana also determined that some of the codons prompt the cell to start or stop the manufacture of proteins. Khorana made another contribution to genetics in 1970, when he and his research team were able to synthesize the first artificial copy of a yeast gene. Panchanan Maheshwari P. Maheshwari who served as Professor and Head of the Department of Botany, University of Delhi from 1950 to 1966 built a flourishing school of embryology which became internationally recognized. His colleagues and students have contributed significantly to all areas of embryology through integrative approaches. In memory of his birth centenary year, we have prepared this article that summarizes the work done by his students and traces the phenomenal advances made in some areas in the post-Maheshwari era. Professor Dr.Lalji Singh Dr. Lalji Singh and his colleagues developed a probe called Bkm-derived probe for DNA fingerprinting which brought CCMB to limelight. Since then this probe is being extensively used for forensic investigation, paternity determination and seed stock verification. For the first time in the annals of Indian history DNA fingerprinting evidence was presented in the court of law. The Kerala High Court upheld the verdict and since then this indigenous technique has been used in more than 300 cases including sensational cases such as assassination of the Late Prime Minister of India Shri. Rajiv Gandhi etc. This fetched him and his group CSIR Technology Award for the year 1992 for biological sciences. This unique work of Lalji, prompted Government of India's Department of Biotechnology (DBT) to form autonomous institution "Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD)" in 1995. Currently housed at CCMB, Lalji shouldered the responsibility of setting up of this new national facility. As its Officer-on-Special-Duty (OSD), Lalji worked towards development, acquisition and standardization of protocols for carrier detection, prenatal diagnosis and genetic counseling for all the genetic disorders prevalent within India.