Kerala Snake Boat Rowing in London Olympics 2012

Kerala is all set to showcase its hallmark sport ‘snake boat rowing’ in the London Olympics 2012. A team of nearly 120 men, including rowers, oarsmen and singers, will put up an elegant display in the River Thames, London on July 8, 2012 as part of a rehearsal for the inaugural ceremony of Olympics. Chundan Vallam, known to the world as Kerala snake boat, is indigenous to Kerala. Vallamkali or snake boat race is enjoyed by natives and tourists alike.

The Nehru Trophy Vallamkali held annually in Punnamada Lake near Alappuzha is the most celebrated boat race in Kerala. Keraleeyam, a cultural organisation based in Kerala, that took the initiative to organise the event in London, believes that the event will attract more tourists to this enchanting state in India.

How solar power is harnessed

Solar power is harnessed through solar photovoltaic (PV) cells. A PV cell is an electronic device that receives the sun’s light and converts it into electricity. The sun’s light frees the electrons in the PV cell; these electrons carry an electric charge as they move around in the cell. This electric charge is then passed to a battery.

Solar arrays or panels contain a series of PV cells. These panels can then be installed on the roof of a house or wherever you have a high chance of collecting sunlight. The PV cells together absorb a considerable amount of sunlight that is converted into and stored as electricity that can be used for lighting, cooking and many such household activities. The best thing about solar power is that there is no by-product that harms the environment.

India in London Olympics 2012

• India will participate in 13 sports and 55 events.
   
• The 13 sports are archery, athletics, badminton, boxing, field hockey, judo, rowing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling.
   
• India will send 60 male athletes and 21 female athletes to the Games.
   
• The most famous ones include Deepika Kumari (archery), Saina Nehwal (badminton), Vijender Singh (middleweight boxing), Abhinav Bindra (shooting), Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati (tennis) and Sushil Kumar (wrestling).

Top 10 BioSuppliers 2012 India Best BioSupplier Companies

Top 10 BioSupplier Companies 2012

The following list is the top 10 BioSupplier Companies in 2012

• Thermo Fisher Scientific
• Waters India
• Agilent Technologies
• HiMedia Laboratories
• Becton Dickenson
• Invitrogen Bioservices India
• RFCL (Avantor Performance Materials)
• Shimadzu Analytical India
• Sartorius India
• Imperial Life Sciences

Personal (desktop) NGS market

Personal (desktop) Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) market

There have been more interesting developments from the established NGS technologies such as the launch of personal benchtop NGS instruments like the new MiSeq from Illumina, which generates 2-7GB of data and is a direct challenge to Ion Torrent (10MB-1GB), as well as the Roche 454 Jr (35-40MB).

These desktop sequencers require less financial commitment and usually require only one grant to fund. In contrast, the big boxes require a massive financial commitment to purchase and operate.The best analogy would be the personal computer (PC) revolution largely replacing the need for mainframes.

Bioprocess Market growth in India

Growth in the Bioprocess Market in India

Bioreactors market is about $15-20 million. Investments, along with outsourcing activities and exports, are key drivers for growth in the bioprocess market.

Indian bioprocess sector is one of the fastest growing knowledgebased sector and is expected to play a vital role in shaping India’s rapidly developing economy. With numerous comparative advantages in terms of research and development (R&D) facilities, knowledge, skills, and cost effectiveness, the biotechnology industry in India has immense potential to emerge as a global key player.

The Indian biotech industry grew threefold in five years to report revenues of $4 billion during 2011-12, a rise of 18 percent over the previous year, according to the tenth annual survey conducted by BioSpectrum and the Association of Biotechnology-Led Enterprises (ABLE). Of this, nearly three-fifth of the total industry’s revenues is contributed by biopharma sector alone. The industry is expected to reach $10 billion mark by 2015.