Category: Inventions, Innovations

INTERNATIONAL / NATIONAL / KARNATAKA: TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OF MEDICAL RESEARCH: Sepsis Treatment SUR-101 Developed by Researchers in Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar licensed to Dutch Biotech firm SurvivX

The development of the treatment was announced by C-CAMP director Dr Taslimarif Saiyed at an event with Netherlands PM Mark Rutte last month.

A novel sepsis treatment, called SUR-101, developed collaboratively by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), Bengaluru, and the Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar, was licensed to Dutch biotech firm SurvivX in the presence of Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Thursday.

The development of the technology, presently at the preclinical stage, was announced by Dr Taslimarif Saiyed, director-CEO of C-CAMP, at an event with Rutte on the latter’s visit to Bengaluru on the sidelines of the G20 summit last month.

Sepsis is a life-threatening medical emergency. It happens when an infection that a patient already has triggers a chain reaction throughout the body. According to C-CAMP, existing interventions for sepsis are found to be effective only at the very early onset of sepsis. By modulating the immune response, the current technology allows a longer time window for administering targeted interventions for sepsis.

“Sepsis is a worldwide challenge, with approximately 50 million cases and 11 million sepsis-related deaths worldwide, accounting for 20 per cent of all global deaths. The new compound, called SUR-101, is an immune-stimulating therapeutic in sepsis patients with signs of immune suppression. It could be the first step towards personalization and precision in sepsis medicine that has thus far been treated as a drug discovery problem. The technology presently at the preclinical stage is a discovery by a team of scientists led by Prof Ravindran Balachandran from ILS. It has been translated and co-developed by the translational research group of Dr Saiyed at C-CAMP,” said a media release from the Bengaluru centre, which is an initiative of the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science, Technology and Earth Sciences.

Speaking on the licensing effort, the Dutch ambassador to India, Marisa Gerards, said, “Life sciences & health remains a priority sector for the bilateral cooperation between the Netherlands and India. We have successfully been working in this field for many years, and this new partnership is a great example of what India and the Netherlands can do together. Sepsis is an important global societal challenge, and it is in need of innovative solutions.”

“This is one of the first global technology transfers by C-CAMP of an academic invention developed exclusively in India. We are excited about the partnership with SurvivX, a biotech company in the Netherlands, in the antimicrobial resistance domain. This agreement will be a model in innovation-focused bilateral partnerships that addresses global issues together,” Dr Saiyed said.

SurvivX CEO Remko van Leeuwen said, “Our technology is based on a specific protein excreted by a tropical parasite: the filarial roundworm. The team in India made the remarkable observation that people infected by this parasite typically do not end up at an ICU unit when they develop sepsis. They started studies to find the cause of this protective effect that an infection with this worm seems to have.”

According to Leeuwen, the researchers discovered that a specific protein secreted by the worm was responsible for the effect. “We have already shown that the protein leads to a much better survival of mice with sepsis, confirming the protective effect seen in filaria patients. But mice are not human, Thus, SurvivX needs to show the safety and activity of the protein in humans before it can be tested as a novel therapeutic approach,” he added.

source/content: indianexpress.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY: RESEARCH / NANOENZYMES: Scientists of Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Develop Enzyme Mimetic with potential applications in Wastewater Treatment, Healthcare

The nanozyme can degrade pollutants in wastewater by oxidising them in the presence of sunlight, thereby reducing the toxicity of wastewater.

Scientists at the Materials Research Centre (MRC), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), have developed a new type of enzyme mimetic that can degrade toxic chemicals in industrial wastewater effectively in the presence of sunlight. 

Enzymes are proteins that catalyse a majority of biological reactions in living systems. However, the practical use of natural enzymes is hindered by inherent limitations such as sensitivity to denaturation (breakdown/damage), complex production procedures, high costs, and difficulties in recycling, says Subinoy Rana, Assistant Professor at MRC and corresponding author of the paper published in Nanoscale. 

Mass producing these enzymes is an expensive and time-consuming process. Another problem is storage – most of the natural enzymes are temperature-sensitive and require storage at cooler temperatures, often as low as -20°C. 

Nano-sized enzyme mimetics or “nanozymes” manufactured in the lab can mimic such natural enzymes and overcome these practical challenges.  

In the current study, the IISc team synthesised a platinum-containing nanozyme called NanoPtA, which can be converted into powder form for industrial use. 

When the NanoPtA comes in contact with wastewater, the benzene rings and long alkyl chains present in the molecule form multiple non-covalent interactions. Individual NanoPtA molecules connect together to form tape-like structures that start emitting light, which is the origin of its oxidising capacity. The nanozyme can then degrade pollutants present in wastewater by oxidising them in the presence of sunlight, thereby reducing the toxicity of wastewater. 

The team found that the nanozyme could degrade even small (micromolar) quantities of common effluents like phenols and dyes within ten minutes when placed under sunlight. The researchers also found that the NanoPtA complex was quite stable, lasting for up to 75 days at room temperature.  

The team believes that the nanozyme can also have applications in healthcare and could be a potentially useful diagnostic tool for neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. 

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA : GREEN ENERGY: Bengaluru start-up offers a ‘ZEN’ Solution to Fire Risks and Low Life of EV Batteries

EMO Energy has developed a platform which combines software, hardware, cloud, and intelligence to improve safety and life of batteries which can be used across high energy and high-power applications.

The adoption of electric vehicles has been on the rise in India. As per data from the Ministry of Heavy Industries, more than 27 lakh electric vehicles have been registered in the country as of July 2023 with Karnataka seeing the third highest number of registrations.

However, incidents of electric vehicles and battery swapping stations catching fire have been a cause of concern to consumers and potential users.

“Over the last year, more than 200 vehicles caught fire in India, primarily due to overcharging and overheating or short circuits. Batteries are not designed to withstand the abuse, and in the scenario where a cell bursts, the whole vehicle catches fire due to improper mitigation,” says Mohammed Shoeb Ali, co-founder and managing partner at Transition VC, an energy transition-focused venture capital fund.

Bengaluru-based startup EMO Energy may have a solution for it. Founded by Sheetanshu Tyagi and Rahul Patel, EMO Energy has developed a platform that combines software, hardware, cloud, and intelligence to improve the safety and life of batteries. Called ZEN, the platform targets battery usage in high-energy and high-power applications from electric two wheelers to agriculture to mining and construction.

Safety and life

“We realised that all these applications have the same kind of issues. One is safety,” says Mr. Tyagi.

“You are operating in high temperature, and you want batteries that charge fast, pull more power and are smaller in size. And then there’s the concern of life. While vehicles have a life of seven to eight years, every two to three years you are losing a battery,” he adds.

The team put together their heads to understand how they could enhance the performance of batteries and solve the existing problems around it.

“Initially we thought we would build a software system and take it to different original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and battery companies who could use it to improve the life and safety of their batteries,” remembers Mr. Tyagi.

But then they realized the existing hardware in the country wasn’t strong enough for it. Most systems where Chinese derivatives that were basic and poor in technology.

“China spends time in developing batteries for small scooters. India just scaled that to big scooters,” Tyagi says.

According to Mr Ali from Transition VC who is also an investor at EMO Energy there is a massive demand-supply gap between the battery pack manufacturers and OEMs. He notes that the industry lacks companies that give warranties for the pack as many of them import them from China.

“Customers face range anxiety, battery degradation and warranty issues due to lack of quality battery packs, and this becomes even worse in temperatures greater than 40 degrees Celsius,” he says.

Intelligent battery system

The team understood that to ensure the performance safety and battery life at a cost people expected, they have to build everything around the battery system from scratch. The startup, therefore, bought specific cells and built a mechanical system around it.

EMO Energy developed a fluid in which the cells would be immersed. The fluid transmits heat more efficiently, absorbs energy in case of a cell blast and prevents electricity transmission.

Mr. Tyagi notes just leaving the cells in the fluid does not serve the purpose. The fluid has to keep circulating in a very specific manner. It also needs to be ensured that the fluid rejects heat to the system and in case of a cell blasting open, it has to absorb the energy quickly and prevent it from reaching other cells. So, taking it one step further the company built a layer of intelligence around the fluid.

“We have sensors that monitor every single temperature and voltage across the system. That allows us to put more power, remove more heat and maintain temperature even if you are operating at higher temperature, all at an affordable cost. You can use the software to understand what is happening at a cell level, improve performance, predict safety issues and diagnose and fix them. All of these except the cells have been developed in-house,” Mr. Tyagi explains.

According to him, there are three layers to the software. One is the several sensors inside the battery. They communicate to a Battery Management System and through the cloud some of it gets transmitted to an app which the user can see.

“There is also another layer we offer to the fleet operators where they can see all drivers in a very detailed a map. The driver’s driving patterns and habits and the way they charge can drastically change a vehicle’s range. Our technology would allow to rank performances based on battery health,” he explains.

The system can be connected to a standardized three pin socket which would give 80 odd kilometres after 30 minutes of charging.

According to the company, about 300 systems have been sold so far. It claims to have orders to the tune of 40,000. “We are scaling up to 10,000 now, we are still in the process of becoming bigger,” Mr. Tyagi says.

Net zero goals

Depending on the quality of batteries, Lithium-ion batteries cost between ₹12,000 to above ₹20,000 per kWh in India today. EMO systems comes to around ₹17,000 per kWh.

“The objective for us is to maintain the performance-to-cost ratio. If somebody is looking at scale in the ₹15,000+ segment, we offer the highest lifecycle there. We provide more than 2,000 cycles for any kind of cell chemistry,” Mr. Tyagi notes.

With its direct thermal management system and in-house battery management system coupled with artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities, Mr. Ali believes EMO Energy can not only offer customers the best product features at optimal prices but also help significantly reduce battery pack imports from China.

“EMO’s modular design approach enables them to scale them across multiple mobility applications such as two-wheeler, three-wheeler, and four-wheeler passenger and commercial vehicles and also across sectors such as energy storage for residential and commercial applications,” he notes.

The start-up claims to have done business of more than ₹5 crores now with a turnover of more than ₹40 lakhs every month. The company currently works with 10 clients and holds 16 patents.

Mr. Tyagi notes that the company aligns its plans with a net zero goal.

“We think in terms of building a battery system, using our software to improve its health, maximise its usage in vehicles, at the end of it put it in secondary storage in home applications, maximise the use there, then recycle it, take the cell material, work with cell companies to put that in their cells, then put that back in the battery,” he explains.

“That’s a very long chain and we are at step-1 today.”

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: ENGINEERING: SPORTS: Unveiling of ‘KX 23’ – Go Kart: A Triumph of Dedication and Innovation at Manipal Insititute of Technology (MIT), Manipal

In a momentous event held at the Innovation Center of Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT), the student project ‘KX 23’ – Go Kart, crafted by the ingenious minds of ‘Team Carting Manipal’, was unveiled today. The project, affectionately dubbed ‘light year’ by the students, represents a remarkable blend of dedication, innovation, and technical prowess.

The unveiling ceremony was graced by the presence of Gen (Dr) M D Venkatesh, vice chancellor of Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), who expressed immense pride in unveiling this exceptional student project. He stated, “This Go Kart will exude excellence on every track it conquers and is destined for numerous accolades. At MAHE and MIT, student projects hold the utmost priority. The commitment to provide a track facility for such projects reflects the institution’s dedication to nurturing student-led innovations.” He applauded the students’ dedication, sincerity, and technical proficiency, urging them to carry forward the legacy of their predecessors and strive for continuous improvement.

Commander (Dr) Anil Rana, director of Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal, also congratulated the team and highlighted the determination and hard work that students invest in completing innovative projects. He emphasized that success is inevitable when goals are set, and hard work is relentless. Student projects, such as ‘KX 23’, are a testament to teamwork, commitment, leadership skills, effective task management, and the ability to meet deadlines, and MIT consistently excels in achieving these goals.

The journey of ‘KX 23’ – Go Kart began on September 22, 2022, under the leadership of a dedicated team comprising 25 students. This innovative endeavour, with a cost ranging from 7 to 10 lakhs, was spearheaded by Shaun and team manager Mayank.The ‘KX 23’ – Go Kart project represents the epitome of student-led innovation and the unwavering commitment of MIT and MAHE to foster excellence in education. It is expected that this extraordinary creation will leave a lasting mark on the racing circuit, earning accolades and recognition for both the university and the talented students behind it.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: AGRICULTURE : INVENTIONS: Farmer in Bantwal Invents ‘pipe gun’ to protect crop from birds

 A farming family in the taluk is protecting its crop from the birds through a simple of pipe.

This year due to scarcity of rain, farmers had to struggle to water their paddy crop. Once the crop has grown to a good height, the birds come and devour them. A farmer in the taluk has come up with a novel idea of using a pipe bend and crackers to scare away the birds.

Nelson keeps a small cracker on one end of the iron pipe of half inch diameter and lights it. It makes a huge sound which passes through the other open end of the pipe and scares animals and birds.

It was a challenge to Nelson and his family to save the crops that had reached harvest stage to protect it from monkeys and birds. Now this simple technique has given the family a big relief. The iron pipe costs Rs 50 and the cracker to be kept on the other end costs just Rs one.

Nelson always keeps the small bent pipe with him when he strolls through his fields. He is expecting high yield this year, though the rain was scarce. His invention is not only saved his crop but has also enlightened the farmers of the taluk to use the technique and protect their crops.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL & KARNATAKA: CONSTRUCTION TECHOLOGY BREAK-THROUGH: Indian Institute of Science(IISc) cracks Code to Build Low-Carbon Construction

The multilateral project is funded jointly by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under the trans-national platform of Accelerating Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage Technologies.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have pioneered breakthrough materials and processes that could bring down the building industry’s carbon emissions and supplement sustainable construction practices.

The Centre for Sustainable Technologies in IISc has utilised 3D-printable material formulations with industrial by-products, including construction and demolition wastes (CDW), blast furnace slag, and fly ash, for carbon sequestration.

Carbon sequestration is the process where atmospheric carbon dioxide is captured and stored. The method aims at reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

The multilateral project is funded jointly by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under the trans-national platform of Accelerating Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage Technologies.

The 3D printable material formulations have the potential to be used in fabricating walls, slabs, and various other building components, a DST statement said.

“The developed material, utilising an optimised process of accelerated carbonation curing, can store 35-40 per cent of carbon dioxide by mass of cement,” DST said. Small crystals of carbonate minerals formed during the sequestration can also enhance the engineering performance of the material.

The innovation could replace up to 75 per cent of natural sand in cement-based construction materials. The research has been published in the journal — Construction and Building Materials.

source/content: deccanherald.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL / NATIONAL & KARNATAKA: GLOBAL HEALTH & PHARMAEUTICALS: Biocon Chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw Appointed Member of Court of Regents at Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh

Biocon Ltd and Biocon Biologics Ltd Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has been appointed as Regent of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSed), a Biocon release said on Thursday.

On her appointment as the latest member to the College’s Court of Regents, Mazumdar-Shaw said: “I am humbled and deeply honoured to be appointed Regent of the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh. As the oldest surgical college in the world with just under 30,000 members in 100 countries, the RCSed has been championing the highest standards of surgical and dental practice by providing high quality medical education. I look forward to contributing to the College’s mission and advancing the frontiers of surgical excellence.”

The Court of Regents comprises a group of distinguished and accomplished individuals in their field who provide the college with advice and expertise.

The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is a prestigious Scottish medical association which was founded in 1505 by Royal Charter granted from King James IV. It is the oldest surgical colleges in the world with nearly 30,000 members in 100 countries, and about half of them are from overseas, touching every stage of the career path from medical students to consultants.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: FIRST : Bengaluru’s First Underground Electric Transformer inaugurated at Malleshwaram

The idea behind the underground electric transformer is to ensure the safety of people and to maintain the aesthetics of India’s garden city.

Bengaluru’s first underground electric transformer was inaugurated at Malleshwaram on Tuesday by the city’s civic body and electricity board together. The idea behind the underground electric transformer is to ensure the safety of people and to maintain the aesthetics of India’s garden city.

Karnataka energy minister KJ George said that the government is planning to install more such underground electric transformers in the city, which are usually seen on the footpath or on the side of a road. He said, “#Bescom will eventually convert all the HT overhead lines to underground cables in Bengaluru city. This will also convert the complete system which includes distribution transformers, ring main units, feeder pillar boxes, etc into an underground system.”

The minister also said that this will help the BBMP and BESCOM to provide better service, as they do not need to dig the road or block the traffic during any maintenance works. “This adds to the overall safety of the environment, encouraging the citizens to use footpaths without any hassles since they’d be free from interruption during maintenance works of overhead cables and related equipment. This would also keep the electrical equipment insulated from drastic climatic changes such as cold, heat and rains,” the minister added.

The minister also reiterated that there is a need to avoid the visual clutter in Bengaluru, which is visited by the people from all over the globe. He also said, “More than anything else, smart underground distribution infrastructure is not only innovative, it also removes a significant amount of visual clutter and improves the looks of the urban area.”

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited)

KARNATATA: SPACE & TECHNOLOGY: Bengaluru-based Space Startup ‘GalaxEye Space’ Unveils First Drone-based SAR System

Started in 2021, GalaxEye is the brainchild of entrepreneurs Singh, Denil Chawda, Kishan Thakkar, Pranit Mehta and Rakshit Bhatt.

A Bengaluru-based space-tech startup and the first Indian Earth observation satellite company, GalaxEye Space, inaugurated a high-resolution aerial drone based Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) system that can perform exceptionally detailed and high resolution all-weather imaging, even amid rainy or cloudy conditions. 

“The in-house developed data fusion technology will deliver unprecedented insights and data from space, empowering satellite constellations to conduct all-weather imaging without succumbing to atmospheric hindrances that plague current single-sensor satellites,” said co-founder & CEO, GalaxEye Space, Suyash Singh. He added that technology opens doors for generating highly detailed images through a compact satellite constellation.

“Upon achieving full operational capacity, this constellation will achieve global coverage within a 12-hour time frame. The capability of constant all-weather, all-time imaging, combined with precise object geometry analysis, holds immense value across diverse sectors such as insurance, precision agriculture, accurate property tax assessment, and the monitoring of utilities like transmission lines, to name a few,” said Singh.

“India is budding with young space startups. Among them, GalaxEye has been able to prove its capabilities in a short period, that too with difficult technologies like SAR,” stated Dr Sudheer Kumar, director, Capacity Building Office, ISRO. “We are keen to see young space talent shaping the future of the Indian space economy,” he added.

“Space technology is currently a very active area having several young entrepreneurs. GalaxEye Space, spun out of IIT Madras, has grown by leaps and bounds since they were incorporated. We are proud of their achievements and look forward to more such ‘Make In India’ initiatives. We shall continue to nurture and support budding entrepreneurs in several ways,” said Dr V Kamakoti, director, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras.

Started in 2021, GalaxEye is the brainchild of entrepreneurs Singh, Denil Chawda, Kishan Thakkar, Pranit Mehta and Rakshit Bhatt. The startup, spun out of IIT Madras, has inked strategic partnerships and commercial contracts with leading organizations, including US-based space software provider Antaris Inc, XDLINX Labs, Ananth Technologies, and Dassault Systemes. The company is committed to further expanding its partnerships and customer base in the upcoming months, and has submitted a proposal to IN-SPACe seeking support from ISRO to take its endeavours forward.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL & KARNATAKA: SPACE TECHNOLOGY: Udupi Ramachandra Rao (U.R. Rao) – The Man who Built a Satellite in a Shed

Let us shift our attention away from the lander to Chandrayaan-3, the satellite that carried it there, and to the story of India’s satellite dream, which began in 1972 in six rough industrial sheds outside Bengaluru.

Last week, as the Vikram lander descended into a graceful, precise, soft landing on the dark side of the moon, Indian hearts exploded in pride. This week, let us shift our attention away from the lander to Chandrayaan-3, the satellite that carried it there, and to the story of India’s satellite dream, which began in 1972 in six rough industrial sheds outside Bengaluru.

The problem with space technology is that countries guard their knowhow fiercely – there’s very little, and very sketchy, information available in the public domain. In 1966, therefore, Vikram Sarabhai, then director of the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) invited one of his former PhD students at Physical Research Laboratories (PRL) Ahmedabad, who had been researching solar cosmic-ray phenomena while working with Pioneer space probes and Explorer satellites at MIT, to return and head the satellite engineering team he was putting together. The brilliant young man who bought into the dream and would later be hailed as India’s Satellite Man was 34-year-old Udupi Ramachandra Rao.

When UR Rao took over the satellite program, he was the only one on the team to have ever seen a satellite. At that time, the satellite engineering team was divided between the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) near Trivandrum, and PRL in Ahmedabad. The untimely death of Sarabhai in 1971 brought Satish Dhawan to the helm of ISRO (INCOSPAR became ISRO in 1969). Unwilling to give up his job as Director of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Dhawan negotiated for ISRO to move to Bengaluru, providing the perfect opportunity for Rao, who had spent his boyhood in Ballari and the little village of Adamaru in Udupi, to decide to move the satellite centre here as well.

It wasn’t easy. The unionized labour force at TERLS went on the warpath, refusing to allow any equipment to be moved out. In Bengaluru itself, premises had to be found. At first, the IISc gymkhana was co-opted; later, the Karnataka government offered Rao a few sheds at the brand-new (read: entirely lacking facilities) Peenya Industrial Area outside town. In a dazzling feat of jugaad, involving thermocol, vinyl, and, presumably, duct tape, one of those dusty, asbestos-roofed sheds was converted into the ‘clean room’ required for satellite activity.

In those sheds, between 1972 and 1975, a young and inexperienced but passionate team of scientists and engineers – average age: 26 – put together, under Rao’s dynamic, inspiring. impatient leadership, India’s very first satellite, Aryabhata. It was a magnificent feat – no other country had built a satellite in under three years. The famous picture of Aryabhata being transported on a bullock cart was scoffed at in the American press, which questioned a poor country’s need for a space program. Rao explained it years later as another brilliant example of jugaad. The spacecraft had to be tested for electromagnetic capability and interference in an open area, but metal trucks threw off reflections that interfered with the satellite’s antenna. Someone came up with the brilliant idea of using a wooden bullock cart to transport it instead – et voila!

In 2017, at the age of 85, after overseeing the design of 18 more satellites, accelerating the development of satellite launch vehicles like the ASLVs and PSLVs during his decade-long tenure as Chairman of ISRO, and becoming the first Indian to be inducted into the International Astronautical Federation’s ‘Hall of Fame’, the much-decorated UR Rao died with his boots on. Since then, the ISRO Satellite Centre in Bengaluru, which he so capably raised on the wings of a dream and a prayer, and where all the Chandrayaan satellites were built, has carried his name, and now goes by UR Rao Satellite Centre.

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited)