Budding Biotechnologist

Coronavirus! Immunity! Oh wait, how about having honey as a natural immunity booster? Well then, here's a shock to you.  A recent study has  exposed the adulteration of packaged honey sold in Indian markets. The study claims that 13 of the biggest brands have failed a key test which is considered the gold standard for testing the quality of honey. Environment watchdog Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), on Wednesday, claimed that honey sold by 13 major brands in India including Dabur and Patanjali has been found adulterated with sugar syrup. Researchers at CSE selected honey samples from leading brands such as Dabur, Patanjali, Baidyanath, Zandu, Hitkari and Apis Himalaya  and some smaller brands that sell processed and raw honey in India to check their purity, most of which  failed in the  NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) test .  The samples were first tested at the Centre for Analysis and Learning in Livestock and Food (CALF) at the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB)

Experiencing nature and its power at- KESHAV SRUSHTI, BHAYANDER F riday,6 th December 2019 :  The educational tour fulfilling the curriculum requirement for TYBSc (Biotechnology) for Agribiotechnology was arranged to Keshav Srushti, Bhayander with Ms.Sadhana Purkait as the Professor Incharge. We reached the destination around 9.00am and were guided by Mr. Abdullah Shaikh to explore the Biodiversity of this 200 acres area, which is also self-sufficient in terms of water, electricity, food and energy requirements.  Amongst the various areas covered,at the very beginnning we were explained about Bee-Keeping, and the details the types of honey-bees,the pattern of their communication and what exactly it takes for the bees to make honey.  Following were the medicinal plants observed and discussed-  The   नीम (Neem),which is used as a remedy for various skin-related diseases and as a mosquito-repellent, young stems of which are also used as tooth-

EDUCATIONAL VISIT REPORT AMUL DAIRY, TOKHARE VILLAGE,VIRAR(EAST) 16 th Jan. 2020,Amul Dairy,Virar:  The visit to Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) as per the curriculum requirement for TYBSc Biotechnology was fulfilled and the students of both SY and TYBSc Biotechnology of Vartak College, Vasai got an oppurtunity to simultaneously experience the Industry and ETP of Amul Dairy,Tokhare Village,Virar (E). On arriving at the venue at 12.00 pm, we were first lead to the Discussion Room were we saw the entire journey of how AMUL (Anand Milk Union Limited) was formed,the White Revolution in India to the complete processing of milk to various delicious and high-standard range of products AMUL processes, the tetrapacks, distribution, marketing and public reviews through a short documentary. Next,we were lead to various processing and testing departments in the plant. The first introduced   were the RMST (Raw Milk Storage Tanks) and PMST (Pasteurized Milk Storage Tanks). Th

FIELD VISIT REPORT Friday, 29th Nov.2019:The One-day Educational Visit as a part of curriculum of TYBSc(Biotechnology)to ACTREC,Kharghar was planned and successfully executed.The selected 15 students of Vartak College,Vasai alongwith Prof.Mrs.Kanika Bhargava were the part of ACTREC’s 17th Open Day.The session began at 10:00 am by an introductory presentation on History of Tata Memorial Centres for Cancer and about cancer progression in brief by Dr.Pradnya Kowtal.Poster Display highlighting cancer research,diagnosis,treatment and prevention were also a part of this session.Ms.Megha Malhotra,a PhD student was the appointed volunteer for the complete tour.The first visit was to Microbiology Lab P-115 where the students were introduced to BacT/Alert 3D,a equipment employing BH infusion media and pH change indicators to detect presence of micro-organisms in given blood sample with couple of hours! Further,the next demo was of Serum Protein Electrophoresis,Lab PS-117, involoving HY

HELLO! Welcome to BUDDING BIOTECHNOLOGIST! As a student myself and seeing many of my juniors confused after opting BSc in Biotechnology after their 12th,I felt the need to blog on this topic and try my best to clear the doubts of both my mind n all biotechnology students. Okay,to begin- THE MEANING BIOTECHNOLOGY involves the exploitation of biological processes for industrial and other purposes, especially the genetic manipulation of microorganisms for the production of antibiotics, hormones, etc. IN SIMPLE WORDS, it is a biological science concerned with micro-organisms,their genomes and its application in production of useful products,particularly medicinal products. BIOTECH- is an interdisciplinary field including- BIOTECHNOLOGY,GENETICS,PLANT AND ANIMAL TISSUE CULTURE,IMMUNOLOGY,BIOINFOMATICS,BIOCHEMISTRY,MOLECULAR BIOLOGY,EMBRYOLOGY,MICROBIOLOGY etc most of which,are covered as topics in our BSc syllabus prescribed by the Mumbai University. STUDIES- After y