PRIYANKA PULLA: 2014

My article in Forbes on two recent papers from IISc and JNCASR on using Raman spectroscopy for screening hidden objects (such as explosives in luggage) and in early stage drug discovery

http://forbesindia.com/article/real-issue/how-raman-effect-can-help-detect-bombs/38521/1

Indian doctors call for ban on prophylactic antibiotics in poultry

In BMJ http://www.bmj.com.britischmedicaljournal.handatabanken.inholland.nl/content/349/bmj.g5052

Saturday, 19 July 2014

India sets target of building 5.2 million toilets by end of August

My article in British Medical Journal, where the director of the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan said the 5.2 million target was an enhanced one, because they had added an buffer for any shortfall.

Wednesday, 9 July 2014

To prescribe or not to prescribe

India's drug regulator, the Central Drug Standards Control Organization, operates with a skeletal staff and laxer regulations than the American Food and Drug Administration. This could explain why so many Indian generics makers are facing restrictions on exporting to the USA, but continue to manufacture drugs with no bar in India.

This does not necessarily mean all Indian drugs are unsafe. What it does mean is that the risk of adulteration and poor quality is higher, but will often go undetected.

Click here to read my article on the subject in Forbes India: http://forbesindia.com/article/real-issue/doctors-dilemma-to-prescribe-or-not-to-prescribe/38132/1

Friday, 4 July 2014

Can obesity be healthy? And can we tell when it's harmful?

A new study published in Cell Journal has identified an enzyme called heme-oxygenase-1 (it degrades heme, a component of hemoglobin in the body), which may be a significant cause of obesity-related metabolic disease.

All of us know people who are obese, and yet healthy. They may be small in number, but they have none of the signs of metabolic disease (high blood sugar, cholesterol or BP) which affect overweight people so often.

What protects this people? Is there some factor, in addition to obesity, that leads to metabolic disease. The authors of the Cell Study believe this factor could be HO-1.

To know more, read my article in Science Magazine.
http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2014/07/can-you-be-obese-and-still-be-healthy?rss=1

Sunday, 29 June 2014

Car exhaust keeps moths from smelling the roses

A study in the journal Science found that the smell of car exhaust and other urban emissions makes it harder for moths to find flowers. It turns out that moths are not really confusing one for the other. Instead, one smell is altering the representation of the other smell in the moth's brain. Why does this happen? What is common between fuel emissions and flower fragrances? The answer is that several of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in fuel emissions are derivatives of benzene, as are VOCs in the smell of flowers. For example, benzaldehyde, a compound in the plume of the Sacred Datura flower, is formed by substituting a formyl group compound for a hydrogen atom in a benzene ring. Toluene, found in fuel fumes, comes from substituting a hydrogen item with CH3. The author of the Science study, Jeff Riffell, told me in an email that this could be why these two compounds, which come from such disparate sources, elicit similar responses in the brains of moth. Click below for the link to my short piece on the study:

http://news.sciencemag.org/plants-animals/2014/06/car-exhaust-keeps-moths-smelling-roses

Thursday, 19 June 2014

6000-year-old flatworm egg is the oldest confirmed case of schistosomiasis

Paleopathologists found a 6000-year-old schistosome egg, (which causes the dreaded disease schistosomiasis or bilharzia in developing countries today) in a child's remains in ancient Mesopotamia. They believe the find points to the major role agricultural technologies played in the spread of infectious diseases among humans.

http://news.sciencemag.org/archaeology/2014/06/modern-parasite-discovered-ancient-graveyard

Andhra's large-scale organic farming experiment

Agricultural scientists from universities aren't very convinced about the methods followed at the 30-lakh-acre pesticide-free farming experiment in Andhra.
http://forbesindia.com/article/real-issue/andhras-pesticidefree-farming-an-inconclusive-experiment/38018/1

Monday, 28 April 2014

On the chances of Sun turning around Ranbaxy

A short piece on Sun's chances with reviving Ranbaxy. Most analysts I spoke to thought the valuation was too high for a company with so many regulatory problems. http://forbesindia.com/article/big-bet/sun-has-a-better-shot-than-most-at-ranbaxy-turnaround/37664/1

Wednesday, 9 April 2014

Fund crunch follows talent crunch at OSDD

This month, Forbes India published my article on how a talent crunch is hampering progress for India's open source drug discovery program. Yet, this program is very valuable in the training and exposure it provides to pharmaceutical researchers and the expertise it will create for the drug development industry, going forward. Sadly, soon after my article was published, there were news reports on OSDD running out of funds, because the cabinet did not sanction the earmarked funds in time. Now, OSDD has to wait till the elections are over for the funding cycle to start again. See Business World's report here: http://www.businessworld.in/news/economy/funds-crunch-hits-india-s-drug-development-project/1319301/page-1.html . A pathetic state of affairs.

My article here: http://forbesindia.com/article/big-bet/the-collateral-benefits-of-indias-open-source-drug-discovery-programme/37514/1

Tuesday, 11 February 2014

School for Politicians

A civic leadership incubator program attempts to train political aspirants. My story in Open.
http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/nation/school-for-politicians

Remembering Paul Erdos

My story for The Caravan where I spoke to Indian mathematicians with an Erdos number of 1
http://caravanmagazine.in/lede/numbers