Killing the AIDS virus

Pulling a fast one is very common today but how about doing the same on a virus and that too for a disease which is today the most dreaded in the world.

This disease has been the scourge of the world and it is feared and despised in equal measure. As of now, it has no cure but researchers and doctors recommend a series of measures to lessen its impact and decrease its potency of causing harm.

Though it was initially diagnosed in 1986, it spread so quickly that it is more of a pandemic than an epidemic and it is widely prevalent in Africa, Asia and of course the United States.

Millions have died due to it and million more are suffering from it. Yet, no organisation or country has won the race for a cure though almost all countries and major pharmaceutical companies have funded research into it.

India too is a major victim of this dreaded disease and it was at one point of time thought to be so virulent that doctors and hospitals feared that millions would die. Thankfully that has not happened due to a variety of reasons and the diseases has been showing a decreasing trend.

Yet, India is also staggering affected by it and it is funding Ayurvedic research into it. It also has established an exclusive institute for research into the disease.

This is HIV/AIDS.

The disease is in the news now as researchers in the United States have come up with a synthetic molecule that can be injected into human beings. What is so great?, you may ask.

The molecule will dupe infected cells with AIDS virus in human beings and pull a fast one on them to kill themselves.      

The synthetic is DAVEI and it was developed by researchers at Philadelphia’s Drexel University, which also included an Indian.

DAVEI causes the deadly pathogen to eject its contents before it can infect other human cells.
How dos DAVEI do this?

The AIDS virus which is already present in a human cell uses protein spikes on its surface to fuse itself to healthy and uninfected cells.  Once attached, the microbe inserts its genetic material into the new cells and transforming them into a factory assembly line that throws out copies of  infected HIV cells.

Here is where DAVEI come in. It gets into the cell, hijacks the virus, mimics its interaction with immune system cells, binds itself to the pathogen's outer coat and triggers a firing mechanism that breaches the wall of the AIDS virus. This leads the infected cell to die without infecting other cells.

This is what researchers at the United States’ Drexel University achieved.

The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Drexel’s College of Medicine was conducting research on HIV/AIDS and it came up with this study .
DAVEI ensures that the virus in the infected cells go out, believing that they are infecting other cells. Once they leak out, they die a natural death as they shrink and they have no new cell to multiply.
DAVEI was first designed by Cameron Abrams, a professor of Engineering at Drexel. He initially envisioned it as a synthetic agent in a microbicide, a cream or gel that women could use vaginally to protect themselves from contracting the disease from their HIV-infected partners.
 Now, the researchers say DAVEI can also possibly be used in the future as a treatment for those who are HIV positive by destroying infected cells.

However, this new discovery is just a beginning. Much more needs to be done before actual anti-HIV therapies could be developed.  An article on the synthetic or manmade molecule-DAVAI- was published in the October edition of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.

DAVEI means Dual Action Virolytic Entry Inhibitor and this is the latest in a new generation of  treatments that specifically destroy the AIDS virus without harming healthy and uninfected cells

DAVEI can be called as a microbicide that can trick HIV into killing itself without disturbing healthy cells.
True, DAVEI is not the only molecule which has been discovered,. There are many others but DAVEI has high potency and it is more specific than others, claim the researchers who include Dr. Cameron Abrams, Dr Irwin Chaiken  and R.V Kalyan Sundaram.

They developed this chimeric recombinantly engineered protein -a molecule assembled from pieces of other molecules and engineered for a specific purpose- to fight HIV.
The researchers designed DAVEI from two main ingredients. One piece, called the Membrane Proximal External Region (MPER), is itself a small piece of the fusion machinery and it interacts strongly with viral membranes.
The other piece, called cyanovirin, binds itself to the sugar coating of the protein spike. Working in tandem, the MPER and cyanovirin in DAVEI tweak the fusion machinery so that it mimics the forces it feels when attached to a cell. Thus, the HIV is tricked into popping itself into oblivion. 
DAVEI is now programmed to pull a fast one on HIV. The initial tests and research was conducted after being invested and tested by scientists from Drexel’s College of Engineering; School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems; and College of Medicine.

The research team was co-led by Abrams and Dr. Irwin Chaiken in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in Drexel’s College of Medicine, and included Dr. Mark Contarino and doctoral students Arangassery Rosemary Bastian and R. V. Kalyana Sundaram.

Nalanda of the South

A few days ago, one of  the contributors to the blog Samyuktha Harshitha, waxed eloquent about Taxila and said he would be writing about the world’s first University.

The contributor went on and on about Taxila and he regretted that the south did not have any institution to match Taxila or even lesser known institutions. He also regretted that all the well-known universities of yore-Nalanda, Taxila were in the north and that the South did not have any such institution of higher learning.

Well, when he began showering superlatives, I felt enough was enough and decided to bring him down to earth with a thud. While acknowledging the role of Nalanda and Taxila, I pointed to him that Karnataka too had an excellent and well-known institution of higher learning and that for several centuries it was considered to be a hallowed place of learning and excellence.

While the contributor looked askance, I gently reminded him that Karnataka has a glorious past and that it was the seat of some of the most outstanding kingdoms and personalities not only in the country but also the world.

Coming back to the topic, I reminded the contributor that he had either forgotten or had not heard of the university of excellence in north Karnataka.

This university was patronized by the Chalukyas of Kalyan and it attained such dizzing heights that people from all over south India made a beeline to the institution.

This was the Nagayi Ghatikasthana of  Chittapur which is situated just three kilometers south-east of Chittapur in Gulbarga district. The Nagayi Ghatikasthana was a residential university and it attained the pinnacle of its fame during the reign of Vikramaditya VI of Kalyan Chalukyas.

The institution not only imparted education, but it had one of the best stocked libraries ever. More importantly, the library was managed by a professional and it had scores of books on almost all topics, including Vedas, Shastras, Upanishats, Puranas, Ganitha, Vyakarna and Tarka.

Nagayi was an agrahara during the period of the Sathavahanas who ruled over a vast empire, including parts of Gulbarga district, during the second and third centuries. The number of Brahmins and scholars settling down in Nagayi increased and slowly schools to teach sprang up. Over time, it became an educational hub and during the times of the Kalyan Chalukyas, it transformed formally into a hub of teaching and centre of education.

Five inscriptions have been discovered here and they all belong to the Kalyan Chalukyas. The oldest inscription is the one on a pillar, in the compound of the Aravattu kambada gudi or temple of temple of 60 pillars.

According to this inscription, Dandanayaka Madhuvapparasa constructed the temple in 1058 AD as tripurusha sale.

Another inscription and this one is dated to 1086 AD also gives information relating to grades of education.
The university at Nagayi Ghatika taught students all the important branches of ancient Indian higher education and they included the vedas, Puranas, Samhitas, vyakarana, vedanga, sastra, poetry, drama, music and fine art.

The university had among its students scholars, members of royal families, diplomats and students from other prestigious sections of society.

The university had limited the intake of students to 250. Of them,  200 were for the Vedic branch and 50 for the Shastric branch. Students and teachers lived in the residential campus which offered  free boarding and lodging facilities. There were different grades of scholars such as Ekadandi, Tridandi, Snataka, Brahmachari, Hamsa, Paramahamsa and Anushthani. The members of all these grades resided in designated quarters.

The university had set up exclusive maths to teach students and scholars Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, Atharvanaveda and Vedanga.
The Ghatika had a systematic staff pattern. There were six teachers for 250 students. While three teachers taught Bhattadarshan, Nyasa and Prabhakar Commentary, the other three taught the vedas. It had one Saraswati Bhandari  or a librarian.

The Ghatika was constructed adjoining the Rama Teertha, a fairly large tank of perennial streams that never went dry.

Apart from Nagayi, the district of Gulbarga was home to more than 30 Agraharas and almost all of them were centres of learning.

The place today is full of temples, inscriptions, ancient statues of various gods, water tanks, and wells. In recent years, treasure hunters have started ravaging the area.
The famed Yellamma temple here is visited by pilgrims from all over the district and the State. The Yellamma of Nagayi was the family deity of the Rashtrakuta dynasty. Marriages are often celebrated in this temple.

Chittapur is well connected by bus and private transport from Gulbarga and other places in north Karnataka. Neither the Tourism Department nor the Archaeological Survey of India have taken care to preserve, protect and popularise the Nalanda of the South.

The Bangalore I know

Bangalore is known by many names and some of them such as Pensioners Paradise and Garden City are history. Today, Bangalore is better known as Silicon city, IT and BT City and what not.

The city is also slowly gaining recognition as the metropolis of malls and shopping complexes.

Here is a small compilation of Namma Bangalore and its distinction. Just write in if you have more such facts. They will be included in the post.

Bangalore is actually a hill station. It is the biggest hill station in the world.  

Bangalore till recently had the distinction of being the only city in the world to have a traffic crossing with manual signaling right in the middle of a flyover-the Richmond Circle flyover.

Once known as a City of lakes, Bangalore is today labeled as the  city of forsaken lakes.
Bangalore has recorded the highest growth within a span of 20 years.

Bangalore has the highest number of  two-wheelers in the world.

It also has the distinction of  reporting the highest number of two-wheeler thefts in India.

Bangalore courts-the lower courts-have reported the highest number of filing of cheque bounce cases or cases registered under NI act.

The city has the highest traffic density in the world.

Bangalore is also known as the suicide capital. Its suicide rate are the highest.  

Bangalore has the highest number of pubs in the world-hence its new nomenclature-Pub City.

Bangalore has the highest number of breweries in the world.

Bangalore has the highest number of cinemas in the world.

The city also has the highest number of  public sectors and government organisations in India.

Bangalore was the first city to receive electricity and this was when the Wodeyars ruled Mysore State which included Bangalore.  

Bangalore is considered the fashion capital of the East comparable to Paris.

Bangalore consumes the maximum power in Karnataka but at the same time it generates the maximum revenues for Karnataka.

Bangalore roughly needs 2500 MW of power every day as against the State supply of 6000 MW every day.

Bangalore has the least number of Internet users when compared to Delhi, Hyderabad and four other cities. This is sharp contrast to its name as India’s silicon valley.

Bangalore has the highest number of Anglo-Indians in India.

Bangalore University is among the biggest in India. It generates the highest number of theses doctors (Phd) every year.

Bangalore University once had 57 engineering colleges affiliated to it, which is highest in the world. The colleges were later affiliated to VTU. Bangalore today has among the highest number of engineering colleges in the world.     

Bangalore is one of the few cities with two amazing botanical garden-Lalbagh and the botanical garden of UAS in Hebbal.

Bangalore has an ant species named after it called Diblocondyla bangalorica.

Bangalore has one of the oldest Government history museums in India. The museum building itself is a work of art.

Lalbagh is among the oldest botanical garden in the world. It is one of the largest repositories of plants and shrubs in the world.

The oldest rock formation in the world and the second oldest are in Bangalore, The first is in Lalbagh and the second is the Bugle rock.

Bangalore has pone of the few temples dedicated to Yudhistera-the Dharmaraya temple in old Bangalore.

Bangalore has the distinction of having the first rocket laboratorties and testing fields at Taramangalapet near City Market. They were set up by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan.

The Bangalore torpedo-an explosive device, was invented in Bangalore.

Bangalore has the largest number of leather puppets in the world. They are exhibited at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat in Kumarakrupa.

The Chitra Santhe is one of the largest open art and painting events held outdoors every year in Bangalore.  

Bangalore has the maximum number of temples, mosques, churches and gurdwaras or places of worship.

Bangalore has produced the highest number of IT professionals and science graduates over time.

The first US information technology firm to set up shop in Bangalore was Texas Instruments.

The Ramanavami music celebrations are the largest diverse carnatic music festival anywhere. There are more than three dozen well-known venues such as Fort High School, Seshadripuram School, Shankarapuram, Jayarama Seva Mandali, Indiranagar and Malleswaram.

Bangalore is the third city after Calcutta and Delhi to get a metro.

The Advocates Association of Bangalore is the largest such body in India. It has the maximum number of members or rather advocates.

The High Court once housed 18 different departments of the State and hence the name Attara Kutcheri. It is the only building in India to house all the three wings of governance-Legislature, Executive and judiciary.

The High Court heard its first PIL against its own demolition. The then Bench headed by Justice Venkatachalaiah dismissed the PIL. Later, public pressure forced the Ramakrishna Hedge Government to retain the heritage building.

The GPO building on Ambedkar Veedhi is classified as the best post office building in the world.     

Seemebadanakai or Bangalore brinjal or Chow Chow was first introduced in Bangalore by James Cameron, the Superintendent of Lalbagh in the 19^th century.

The electronic voting machines were first manufactured in Bangalore by Bharat Electronics. They were first used in the Kerala Assembly elections in 1982. Today, they are used in all format of elections.

The first communal disturbance in Bangalore was in June 1928 and Sir M Visvesvaraiah headed the committee to look into the issue.

Basavanagudi and Malleswaram localities came up as an aftermath of the bubonic plague epidemic in 1898.

Domlur is named after mosquitoes. The first settlers in the area were Telugu speaking people who looked on with horror at the rather large size of the mosquitoes and called them Domulu-the Telugu word for mosquito.