Micro Liver

Dr. Sangeeta Bhatia: The Indian Origin Scientist Who Developed World’s First Human Micro Liver Won $250,000 Heinz Award 

As a 16-year old Bhatia was taken to the bio-engineering lab at MIT by her father and her encounter with the fascinating scientific experiments stirred her imagination and got her interested in Science. 

Her first intervention happened during her graduation at MIT. Dr. Bhatia was assigned the task of cultivating living liver cells in a petri dish, an endeavor that had been attempted unsuccessfully for many years. After three years of effort, a visit to a microfabrication facility—where students laid circuits out on silicon chips—inspired Dr. Bhatia to experiment with the process to see if it could be used to “print” tiny liver cells on plastic.The result was the first human “micro-liver”, a miniature model organ that makes it possible to test drug reactions efficiently and predictively, and could eventually lead to an artificial human liver.

Micro-livers are now used by dozens of bio-pharmaceutical companies and are being developed as a powerful laboratory tool for testing cures for malaria, specifically the testing of drugs that can eradicate the reservoir of parasites that remain in the liver even after a patient’s symptoms subside.

Owing to this incredible micro-liver discovery, Dr. Sangeeta Bhatia received the Heinz Award in Technology, the Economy and Employment category, for her seminal work in tissue engineering and disease detection, including the cultivation of functional liver cells outside of the human body, and for her passion in promoting the advancement of women in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields.

Dr. Sangeeta Bhatia is currently Director of LMRT at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and the John J. and Dorothy Wilson Professor at MIT’s Institute for Medical Engineering and Science and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS).

Bhatia has also been recognized as one of the “the nation’s most promising young professors in science and engineering” by the Packard Foundation. Forbes named her one of 18 Indian scientists – across all nations – who are “changing the world” and “one of the 100 most creative people in business” by Fast Company. In 2014, Dr. Bhatia was awarded the $ 500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize.

She and her over 150 trainees have contributed to more than 40 issued or pending patents and launched 10 biotechnology companies with 70+ commercial products at the intersection of medicine and miniaturization.

As a biotech engineer and medical researcher at MIT, Dr. Bhatia also works as an inventor, entrepreneur and is also a classical Indian dancer.

Thus, Indians such as Bhatia bring fame to our country no matter where they are!

The Indian Innovator who is on and on

Meet Annasaheb Bhavu Udgavi: The 82-Year Old Who Invented A Water-Powered Clock, A Foldable Charkha And A Farm Equipment.

Annasaheb as an ideator and innovator started when he was in 20s and has just kept going since.

The contribution made by him is immense and in fields as diverse as agriculture and renewable energy. Some of his innovation Milestones are:

Early 60's:

In 1960, he developed a clock which ran on drops of water. The second’s hand of the clock moved forward when a drop of water fell on it from a dispenser, which had been timed properly. In 1962, he made a horizontal charkha that was foldable and could fit into a suitcase. He displayed this at Sabarmati Ashram, which improvised on his design, and increased the number of ‘belanis’ from three to eight in the conventional one, in order to increase the output.

Mid 70's:

In the mid 1970’s, to save his betel vine orchard from acute water scarcity, Annasaheb fitted PVC pipes used in electrical fittings with perforations made on them using nails. By irrigating each day for one hour, he ran the crops for seven years. This was Annasaheb’s very own drip irrigation, when the term ‘drip irrigation’ was unheard of in this part of the World.

The 80's:

To protect his sugarcane crop from aphids and white flies, he created the rotor sprinkler system called ChandraPrabha that could cover a radius of 140 feet. Besides whisking the pests away, the ChandraPrabha rain gun can irrigate 1 acre in 1.5 hours.

The innovative Raingun irrigates more than twice as much area using the same amount of water. Along with irrigation, the sprinkler can be used for application of fertilizers and plant protection chemicals simply by mixing them in the water tank. This can save huge labour costs.

The 90's & Beyond:

Fed up from paucity of labour and exorbitant diesel costs to run the tractor for a single operation while cultivation sugarcane, Annasaheb developed an equipment that could perform three simultaneous operations for producing better quality mulch. The equipment can be attached to a 30-40 hp tractor and can simultaneously perform farm operations like bund forming, seed sowing, manure application and harvesting. He has been using the equipment for many years, and also holds a patent for it.
Age hasn’t slowed him down a bit, but made him more inquisitive and daring. India can surely do with more Annasahebs!!

The longest hunger strike

Meet Irom Chanu Sharmila: The Civil Rights Activist Whose Hunger Strike Against The Controversial AFSPA In Manipur For 500 Weeks Made Her ‘The Iron Lady Of Manipur’ 

Irom Sharmila as a Manpuri Journalist grew up with a strong loyalty to the land. She actively espoused social issues during her college days and participated in rallies to protest against violation of civil rights. 

It was the incident at Malom called as Malom Massacre that made Irom Sharmila to take a drastic step. In November 2000, 10 civilians were killed in a shooting allegedly perpetrated by the Assam Rifles, which is part of the Indian Paramilitary forces. Among the victims were a 62 year old woman and an 18 year old boy. The incident outraged Sharmila to such an extent that she announced a fast unto death, unless the AFSPA was revoked. Having refused food and water for more than 500 weeks, she has been called “the world’s longest hunger striker“.

Just three days after her protest, Sharmila was arrested for “attempt to commit suicide” which is considered an offence under the Indian Penal Code. She was later transferred to judicial custody, where her deteriorating health condition caused the authorities to feed her through a tube attached to her nose.

What is AFSPA?

The armed force special power act was passed in 1958 by the parliament. It comprises of six sections in which it grants special powers to the armed forces in ‘disturbed areas’. The U.N too has questioned the validity and constitutionality of the AFSPA and termed it as “dated and colonial-era law that breach contemporary international human rights standard.” The U.N has urged India to revoke the act.

International Attention and Honours

Her historic protest has not only garnered international attention but has also won Sharmila many awards and honours. Sharmila is also the recipient of Gwangju Prize for Human Rights which includes a $125,000 prize money. She donated this money to the victims of human rights violation in Manipur. In 2010, Sharmila won a lifetime achievement award from the Asian Human Rights Commission. She has refused to accept any award until her demand of repealing AFSPA is fulfilled, which she probably considers to be the best reward for her struggle.

Her struggle may be ongoing, but that does not mean success has been elusive. The mere fact that modification of AFSPA is now being discussed in party meetings and among political leaders is a testament to her achievement. In October 2013, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) ordered the state government to lift restrictions imposed on access to Sharmila.

All these are suggestive of the progress she has made. Sharmila has fought a long and hard battle for the preservation of civil rights and the time to savour victory is not far away.

Indian innovationist

Meet Anup Vijapur: The Rural Innovator Who Built A Road, A Cashew Nut Grading Machine And Wind Turbines For Trains.

Anup Vijapur stands out because of his passion towards social good. Empathy towards the marginalized was something Vijapur always felt and today he is an innovator who is working on some amazing projects that can simplify the lives of many farmers. 

His first milestone…

He was a mechanical Engineer but found his passion in Computer Science. It was during this, Vijapur’s efforts came into limelight when he constructed a road in a nearby village. In 2009, while returning from Hospet to Hubli, he noticed a stretch of road that was totally smudged, covered with mud and bred mosquitoes due to the stagnant dirty water
After raising a sum of Rs. 2,000 from generous funders in two days time, he managed to clear the blocked road and covered it with red soil to make it walk-able. But he was not happy with this. He clicked ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures of the road and presented them to a Municipality officer. A week later, he saw a new tar road under construction

Wind Turbines for Trains

His college project, which was focused on generating power from wind in a moving train, won him many awards. The idea stuck his mind during a train journey.
“I thought that if all the wind energy which is generated by moving trains can be put to use to create power, it would be great. I created one meter wide and two feet long wind turbines and a working prototype which functioned perfectly. I just could not get the permission to actually put it to use on trains due to a lot of legal formalities,” he says.

Cashew Nut grading machine

He joined Nanopix and got an opportunity to work on a cashew nut grading machine.
After some months of research, he came up with a groundbreaking technology that grades cashew nuts in seven different categories while the existing machines in the market can just grade in two or three categories. This is probably the first of its kind in the world that can grade around 70-75 kgs nuts per hour according to their size, colour, defects, etc.

A device to check the drowsiness of drivers.

Vijapur, along with founder of Nanopix, started working on a device that can check the drowsiness level of the driver by tracking his or her facial expressions. If found sleepy, the system will inform the back end and an immediate intervention can be done before it is too late.
In few months, he will also have few patented technologies under his name.

Thus, we congratulate Anup for his staggering innovations and wish him all the best for all his future projects.

Raja Mahendra Singh

Mr Manvendra Singh Gohil: India’s Gay Prince And Gay Activist

Manvendra Singh Gohil is the only known person of royal lineage in modern India to have publicly revealed that he is homosexual. But there is much more to the gay prince of India. Founder of Lakshya Trust, his contribution towards HIV/AIDS prevention among men who have sex with men (MSMs), and towards gay activism in India is praiseworthy.

In a candid interview with the gay prince, Manvendra reveals how the homosexual men are received in India and his own journey of ‘coming out’ He hails from a well-respected royal family in Gujarat and was disowned by his family after the disclosure. Nevertheless, he does not blame his parents; he however blames their ignorance and the education system.

He feels that educational institutions need to be sensitized as they are the future of India. When done in an organized manner, Manvendra is confident that the society’s attitude towards the homosexual men would change. He feels that his disclosure shattered one of the biggest myths that upper class people cannot be gay.

LAKSHYA TRUST

In a bid to work for the health and safety of positive people who are gay, Manvendra founded an organization called Lakshya Trust. Their main focus was HIV awareness. The motivation to start this arose from his role model Mr Ashok Row Kavi who introduced him to the gay world and started Humsafar Trust in India, a male sexual health NGO. It is he who inspired Lakshya, Gujarat’s first organisation by gay men for gay men.

Lakshya was started by a group of four friends to create a platform for the community to come together and discuss common issues and their solutions, whether it was police harassment, discrimination or marriage pressure. After working in this field for quite some time, they were approached by the government to work for HIV/AIDS prevention as a partner to work for gays.

The unique aspect of Lakshya is their involvement with senior gay men. Manvendra felt that old gay men who were unmarried or disowned and required support systems and help with health and medical issues. After working in this field for several years, they are now in the process of developing India’s first old age home for gays. Lakshya has a staff of 150 people – most of them are gay and are reaching out to the female partners of the gay community.

His final words to the community are

“You are gay. Be happy and proud of it – There is nothing wrong with it. It’s normal to be gay. Once people accept the reality, it would make things better for them and for their loved ones too”

We applaud Manvendra Singh for his commendable efforts towards the betterment of homosexual community. 

The Snake man of India

Mr. Vava Suresh: The Man Who Embraces, Loves And Enjoys The Company Of Snakes.

Suresh’s love for the reptiles was born when he was 12 when he captured a baby cobra and kept it hidden in his house to study his behaviour. Suresh is 40 now and has rescued over 30,000 snakes so far.

He quit his schooling to understand and rescue snakes. He not only works to preserve and rescue the species but also spreads awareness among people about snakes and their behaviour, and preserves their collected eggs until the hatching period.

He has dedicated his life towards capturing poisonous snakes from the human populated areas and then releasing them into their natural habitats. Even though he has no professional training in this field, Suresh, purely through his curiosity and love towards the reptiles, has become a “go to” man when it comes to snakes.

He does not use any equipment to capture the snakes, and mostly does it himself with his hands which have suffered various accidents and have survived 266 poisonous snake bites. He has rescued 17 King Cobras which is considered to be one of the most venomous and dangerous snakes in the world.

A dangerous Cobra bite cost him one of his fingers which he had to get surgically removed. His right palm had to be skin grafted after a snake bite in 2012. His body is considered to have developed sufficient antibodies against snake venoms after suffering various snake bites.

“Snakes have been a part of my life ever since childhood. I actually don’t know how I fell in love with them. As a child I had seen people brutally killing snakes. That instilled sympathy for the creature in my mind. At the same time, idols of serpents in temples made me feel that they have some divinity and should be protected,” Suresh says.

He receives around 15-20 calls every day from people to catch snakes in residential areas. Apart from King Cobras he has rescued over 7000 Indian cobras, 1600-1700 vipers and 150 kraits.

The Forest Department, after noticing his extra ordinary skills, offered him a government job in a snake park set up in Kottur forest area near Kattakada in Thiruvananthapuram. But Suresh declined the offer as he believed that he would not be able to help society the way he wanted to if he was employed.

Suresh also met Britain’s Prince Charles after he expressed his desire to meet Vava Suresh when he came to Kerala.

Thus, Suresh is by far the most renowned conservationist who with his penchant for snakes has charmed the world. 

The Man who planted the forests of Kerala

A Man Who Bought 32 Acres Of Land And Planted A Forest – All By Himself

Abdul Kareem of Kasargod in Kerala had a liking to ‘Kavu’, the sacred forests of Kerala, right from his childhood. He would frequently visit his wife’s house in Puliyankulam village and it was during such visits that he noticed the barren hillside land nearby. In 1977, he bought five acres of the land for Rs 3750. The peoplenearby and his family were not able to comprehend this and he became a laughing stock in the locality.
The property had only a single well that remained almost dry throughout the year. Since he had no other option,he would carry water in cans from outside sources on his two-wheeler. This continued for three years, at the end of which, nature started responding to his unrelenting efforts and the trees actually started growing.

The change was now to be seen – birds came in flocks and helped Kareem by bringing seeds of umpteen varieties and started setting their nests in this new haven. Soon other forms of life also appeared. The ecosystem was developing at a good pace. In the meanwhile, Kareem bought another 27 acres of land and planted trees all over the place with the new-found vigour, motivated by the fruits of his efforts.

One notable feature of Kareem’s forest is that Kareem never tried to interfere in its natural development once it started sustaining itself, rather he gamely prevented anything and everything that would interfere with the natural growth of his forest. There is no effort for intervention of any kind.

The forest has brought about amazing changes to the surroundings. The once dry well in the plot is now brimming with pure, fresh water. The underground water table in an area of about 10 kilometers has risen, it is said. The temperature inside the forest is markedly cooler than outside. Kareem has been living inside the forest since 1986, keeping constant vigil. Visitors are allowed inside for a few days, provided they comply with Kareem’s regulations. Plastic is banned inside the forest; so is the use of automobiles. Wild partying, loud noises – all are a strict no-no.

Kareem has resisted various offers to commercialize the forest and to turn it into a theme park. Recognition has come from various corners, including the Sahara Parivar award, Limca Books Person of the year and so on.

Still, one sincerely doubts whether this gem of a man has received the deserving attention from his homeland. However, for those who know him, the man who was once a laughing stock, has now grown colossal in stature, along with his creation – one that generations will cherish.