SCIENTIA October 2014 Vol. 3 No.1

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PresidentPresidentPresidentPresidentPresidentProf.Dr.Oommen V. Oommen [oommenvo@gmail.com]VVVVVice presidentsice presidentsice presidentsice presidentsice presidentsDr.Radha Das [radharamdas40@yahoo.co.in]Dr.R.Prakashkumar [rprak62@gmail.com]General SecretaryGeneral SecretaryGeneral SecretaryGeneral SecretaryGeneral SecretaryDr.K.G.Ajit Kumar [ajitanchal@gmail.com]Joint SecretaryJoint SecretaryJoint SecretaryJoint SecretaryJoint SecretaryDr.J.D.Sudha [sudhajd2001@yahoo.co.in]TTTTTreasurerreasurerreasurerreasurerreasurerProf.Dr.K.N.Rajasekharan [rajkn_1951@yahoo.com]

MembersMembersMembersMembersMembersDr.C.Gouri [gouri_c@yahoo.com]Mr.M.Shaneeth [shaneeth@yahoo.com]Dr.Jayasree Nair G.R [nairjaya12@yahoo.in]Mr.N.Raveendran Pillai[jayresh_nrpillai@yahoo.co.in]Dr.K.P.Rajesh [kprajesh.botany@gmail.com]Dr.L.Divya [divyaal@gmail.com]Dr.K.Vijayakumar [vijay.kscste@gmail.com]Dr.K.P.Laladhas [laladhas@gmail.com]Dr.Fazil Marikar [fazilmarickar@hotmail.com]Dr.A.Sabu [drsabu@gmail.com]

Executive Council

Kerala Academy of Sciences is a premier professional body of scientistsand academicians, instituted in 1989, primarily for the promotion of teachingand research in various branches of science, for conducting seminars andworkshops and creating multidisciplinary integrated approach towardspopularization of science in the state of Kerala. The Academy derives itsmemberships from the cream of science professionals, technologists,physicians and academicians in the State. The Academy has conferredHonorary Fellowship on Dr.P.K.Iyengar, Dr.K.Kasturirangan, Dr.M.S.Swaminathan, Prof.Dr.M.S.Valiathan, Dr.Varghese Kurien, Dr.G.Madhavan Nair, Dr.K.Radhakrishnan, Prof.Dr.M.Vijayan, Prof.Dr.V.N.Rajasekharan Pillai and Prof. Dr. A. Ajayaghosh and it has in its rolls, fiftynine fellows (FAS) and four hundred and six life members.

Kerala Academy of Scienceswww.keralaacademyofsciences.net

DrDrDrDrDr. Oommen V. Oommen V. Oommen V. Oommen V. Oommen V. Oommen. Oommen. Oommen. Oommen. OommenChairman,Kerala State Biodiversity Board,L-14, Jainagar, Medical College P.O.,Thiruvananthapuram-695011.Email oommenvo@gmail.comPhone 9447728940

DrDrDrDrDr. K.G.Ajit Kumar. K.G.Ajit Kumar. K.G.Ajit Kumar. K.G.Ajit Kumar. K.G.Ajit KumarSecretary,Associate Professor and Head,Dept. of PG Studies & Research in Botany,Mahathma Gandhi College,Thiruvananthapuram, India.Email ajitanchal@gmail.comPhone 9447558047CO

NTA

CTS

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On the morning of September 24,2014, a jubilant Prime MinisterNarendra Modi said, “Mom koMangal mila ; Mangal ko Mommila” (Mom got Mars ; Mars gotMom). MOM stands for MarsOrbiter Mission, the Indian Marsmission that achieved asubstantial part of its goal in thatSeptember morning. The PrimeMinister richly complimented theISRO scientists and engineers ofISRO for achieving “the near-impossible”. Sitting in the MissionControl Centre, Bangalore, hewitnessed the exciting sequenceof events that culminated in the

OUR MOMIndian spacecraft, Mangalyaan,smoothly settling into an orbitaround Mars. Most remarkably,MOM was transformed from anidea to reality in less than twoyears on a shoe-string budget ofRs. 450 crores. There have beenover 50 Mars missions undertakenby the former Soviet Union and theUSA from the 1960s, and muchlater by Europe, Japan and China.The overall success rate is a paltry35 % ! Our creditable achievementcan claim the distinction that weare the first to succeed in themaiden attempt.

Mangalyaan had a reception

committee waiting for its arrival.There was the MAVEN (USA) thatreached there only three daysearlier. Besides, there were theMars Reconnaissance Orbiter andMars Odyssey (both of USA) andMars Express (Europe). While thesewere orbiting around Mars, on thesurface of the planet, there weretwo functioning US rovers,Opportunity and Curiosity. By theway, in the mid-1970s, Viking -1and 2 spacecraft of US had landedon Mars. Clearly, mankind has aspecial interest in our earth-likenext-door neighbor, Mars, alsoknown as the ‘Red Planet’, for its

P. Radhakrishnan, Former Deputy Director, LPSC, VSSC

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red tint caused by Iron Oxide. Forthe ancient Greeks, Mars wastheir Warrior God.

Mars is nearly 52 % fartheraway from the sun than us and,therefore, colder than us. Thetemperature is as low as -50p Ceven at noon during the peak ofsummer. Gravity on Mars is 38 %that on the earth. It has anatmosphere with 95 % CarbonDioxide exerts a pressure about0.7 % of earth’s atmosphericpressure. It has no magnetic fieldthough one may have existed inthe long past. The thin atmosphereand absence of magnetic fieldresult in the continuousbombardment of the Martiansurface by the ‘solar wind’composed of high energy protonsand electrons coming from thesun. On the earth, our atmosphereand magnetic field have beenprotecting life from the lethalsolar wind capable of destroyingbiological molecules.

Should we ever wish to set upa human colony on Mars, the firstthing in its favor is its rockysurface like the earth. Secondly,it is the nearest planet reachablein months with the currentlyavailable breed of rockets.Conceivably, Mars can be renderedhabitable by terraforming or“earth-shaping”. This is a process,if theoretical, of “planetengineering”, which aims atmodifying the atmosphere,temperature, surface topographyor ecology of a planet or moon forit to resemble the biosphere ofthe earth, fit for earth-like life.We cannot send a probe or travelto Mars (or any other planet) atany time we choose. Our foremost

consideration in a space journey,particularly a long one to anotherplanet, is to accomplish withminimum energy (fuel) consumption.Such a minimum energy trajectory(path) is afforded by what isknown as the Hohmann TransferEllipse. Since earth and theplanets are all in motion aroundthe sun, we must start our journey,say, to Mars, at an appropriatetime so that our spacecraft andMars will simultaneously be at acertain position in futurefacilitating a rendezvous. Theopportune time for journey toMars occurs only once in about26 months when earth, sun andMars are in certain relativepositions. (In more precise terms,the geometrical pattern is suchthat Mars, in its orbit, is ahead ofearth by about 44p with respectto the sun-earth line). India didnot want to miss the opportunity(‘launch window’) that lasted forabout 20 days in November 2013.This explains the timing of MOM.

PSLV (Polar Satellite LaunchVehicle), our workhorse, took offfrom SDSC (Satish Dhawan SpaceCentre) at Sriharikota at 02:38 PMon November 5, 2013. Within 42minutes, Mangalyaan was injectedinto elliptical orbit around earthwith perigee of 264 km andapogee of 23900 km. Later theLAM (Liquid Apogee Motor) – aliquid rocket – was fired at theperigee on five occasions duringNovember 2013, eventually raisingthe orbit of Mangalyaan to about193000 km. The sixth and finalpush was given by LAM onDecember 1, 2013 that brokeMangalyaan free from theclutches of earth’s gravity, ending

the first phase of the mission.During the second phase lastingfor about 300 days, the spacecraftwas travelling under the sun’sgravity, and its trajectory wascorrected a few times by firingsmall liquid rocket thrusters. Inthe third phase of the mission, asMangalyaan approached Mars,its velocity had to be reduced toless than the escape velocity ofMars in order that it is capturedby Mars into an orbit. If thevelocity (speed and direction) isnot correct, Mangalyaan wouldmiss the goal and fly-by Mars todrift away in space. This operationneeded LAM to be fired after 300days of hibernation ! On September22, 2014, LAM was test-fired forfour seconds to confirm that itworks correctly after the longperiod of inactivity. This testsuccessfully carried out, thestage was set for orbit insertion.Thus on the morning of September24, 2014, Mangalyaan did a turn-about and fired LAM so that itproduced a thrust in a directionopposite (retro) to the motion for24 minutes. The resulting brakingeffect would appropriately reducethe velocity for settling into anorbit. The necessary commandshad already been uploaded onboard Mangalyaan in advancealong with instructions to releasethem at the appointed times. Soonafter LAM was fired, Mangalyaanwent behind Mars, disappearingfrom our view and resulting in a‘communication black-out’. Noradio communication was possibleuntil it came out from behindMars many minutes later. Finally,the message that orbit insertionhas taken place reached us 12

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Kerala AcademyOf Sciences

Crystallography is the sciencethat deals with the arrangementof atoms or molecules in a solid.Before the advent of X-raycrystallography the study of crystalwas based on their geometry. Thisinvolves determining the anglesof crystal faces relative toreference axes and establishingthe symmetry of the crystals. Thebasic unit is considered as a unitcell. The crystal structure can thenbe considered as an infinitelyrepeating array of these unit cells.

The discovery of X-rays in 1895by Roentgen changed the level ofcrystallography. Roentgen tookthe photograph of the hand of hiswife. This has led to the use ofX-rays for structure determinationin solids. X-rays can pass throughvarious solids and they undergodiffraction at the atoms inmolecules and solids. Roentgengot first Nobel prize for Physics

in 1901 for his discovery. Therehave been different theories forX-rays, but von Laue determinedthat X-rays undergo diffraction aslight waves when these passthrough crystals. He got the Nobelprize in 1914. Many discoveries inX-ray crystallography followedLaue’s work. William Henry Braggand his son William LawrenceBragg constructed an X-rayspectrometer and carried outstudies in X-ray crystallography.Lawrence Bragg formulated

Prof. V. Unnikrishnan NayarSchool of Physics, IISER, Thiruvananthapuram

Bragg’s law of X-ray diffractionfor studies of the structure ofcrystals, 2dsinθ=nλ. Here d is thespacing between diffractingplanes, θ is the incident angle, nis any integer, and λ is thewavelength of the beam. BothBraggs shared Nobel prize for

these studies in X-ray crystallographyin 1915. By measuring the anglesand intensities of these diffractedbeams, a crystallographer canproduce a three-dimensionalpicture of the density of electronswithin the crystal. From thiselectron density, the mean

minutes later because ofthe distance (about 22 crorekm) between Mangalyaanand earth at that time.Now in its 420 km x 77,000 kmorbit, Mangalyaan goesround Mars once in 73 hours.‘Mars Color Camera’, thefirst payload to be switchedon, has started sendingpictures of Mars. The other fourscientific payloads, namely,Methane Sensor, Thermal InfraredImaging Spectrometer, Lyman

Alpha Photometer and ExosphericNeutral Composition Analyzer willbe turned on in due course.

ISRO has proved its mastery in

Celebrating 100 Years ofX - Ray Crystallography

designing, planning andexecuting an interplanetarymission. With the successfulMOM behind us, otherspace agencies of theworld will readily comeforward to collaborate withus in future space projects.MOM is essentially a‘Technology Demonstrator’

rather than a scientific mission.Data obtained from the scientificpayloads in the days to comewould only be a bonus !

Roentgen

Bragg diffraction pattern

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positions of the atoms in thecrystal can be determined, as wellas their chemical bonds, theirdisorder and various otherinformation. The earliest structureswere generally simple and markedby one-dimensional symmetry.However, as computational andexperimental methods improvedover the next decades, it becamefeasible to deduce reliable atomicpositions for more complicatedtwo and three-dimensionalarrangements of atoms in theunit-cell. In 1914, the distributionof electrons in the table-saltstructure showed that crystals arenot necessarily composed ofcovalently bonded molecules, andproved the existence of ioniccompounds. This was the firststructure to be identified. Thestructure of diamond wasdetermined in the same year. X-raycrystallography was followed bythe use of electrons and neutronsfor diffraction studies of materials.They also gave complementaryinformation on structure of materials.Nearly 28 Nobel prizes in Physicsand Chemistry were given forcrystallography studies. Consideringthe importance of crystallography,United Nations decided to observe2014 as the Year of Crystallography.

Crystals assume differentgeometrical shapes dependingon the ordering of their atomicstructure and physical andchemical conditions underwhich they grow. They can beclassified into seven crystallattice systems on the basis ofthe symmetry of the atomicarrangement i.e., Cubic,Tetragonal, Orthorhombic,Rhombohedral,Hexagonal,

Monoclinic and Triclinic. Goniometersare used in X-ray crystallographyto measure angles between crystalfaces. They rotate the samplesenabling the determination of thecrystal structure correctly. In thepresent experimental arrangementtechniques have been employedto get high resolution. Advent ofcomputers helps in the determinationof crystal structures. Varioussoftwares are now available toidentify the structure of moleculesand crystals from X-ray diffractionspectra.

An important application ofX-ray diffraction is in Biologyto study the molecular structureof macromolecules, particularlyprotein and nucleic acids such asDNA and RNA. Several researchershave carried out studies on thestructure of biological moleculesincluding G. N. Ramachandran ofMadras University. Ramachandranand Gopinath Kartha were thefirst to suggest a triple helical

structure for collagen. But therewas a delay in the publication oftheir paper. In the meantime thepaper by James Watson and FrancisCrick was published proposingdouble helix structure for DNA(1953). They got the Nobel prize forthis study. This led Ramachandranto an intense study of the coreissue in the structure, the minimumpossible distance between twonon-bonded atoms. This investigationeventually resulted in the celebratedRamachandran map, proposed in1963 by Ramachandran, Ramakrishnanand Sasisekharan.

The map sets the limits imposedon polypeptide chain conformationby the need for non-bonded atomsto keep out of each other’s way.Today it provides the simplestcomplete description of proteinconformation. It is also the mostimportant tool for the validationof protein structure and, in a way,has immortalized Ramachandran.

More studies are continuing incrystallography in differentlaboratories across the world. Evenin 2012 Nobel prize in chemistryhas been awarded for studies inG-protein-coupled structures.

G. N. Ramachandran

James Watson and Francis Crick

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Malabar Botanical Garden _ A paradise for plant loversDr. R. Prakashkumar, Director, Malabar Botanical Garden,

Guruvayurappan College P.O., Kozhikode.The serene beauty of nature hasalways been a bounty for reliefand solace for the disturbed mindfrom the hectic competitivemodern life. The Malabar BotanicalGarden situates in the suburbanarea adjacent to the busy metrolife of Kozhikode city is a greenland of soothing solitude sprawlingin 45 acre area of lush greenvegetation with immense diversitywill be a pleasant experience forthe lovers of nature and thestudents of biodiversity studies,a boon for future generations,conserved, perpetuated and wellmaintained.

The Malabar Botanical Gardenwas established in 1996 by theMalabar Botanical Garden Societyunder the Culture Department ofthe Government of Kerala with anobjective of understanding of thebiodiversity and its conservationin the erstwhile Malabar regionof Kerala, especially of theWestern Ghats region of thisarea. 15 acre area of the gardenis wetland which forms atransient shallow lake duringmonsoon attracting numerous localand migrating birds like Ibis, AsianOpenbill Stork,etc. PresentlyMalabar Botanical Garden is agrant in aid institution of theKerala State Council for Science,

Technology & Environment.Malabar Botanical Garden is a

member of BGCI (Botanical GardenConservation International) whichis an International union forconservation of plants. MalabarBotanical Garden is a ResearchCentre in Botany of the CalicutUniversity and several studentshave already started theirresearch work for their Ph.D.Degree of the Calicut University,mainly on biodiversity (Taxonomy)studies, Conservation strategiesand Molecular Systematics.Aquagene and SarovarNot many Botanicals Gardens inIndia and elsewhere undertakethe conservation of aquatic plantsprobably owing to the difficultiesin maintenance since theseplants are easily prone to severepestilence by aquatic snails andalso due to several other factors.

Considering this rarity, theMalabar Botanical Garden hasinitiated the construction of

aquatic wetlandplants in theoriginal wetlandarea of the Garden. Generallyaquatic plants occur in threeforms: free-floating, submergedand emergent. Almost allwetland/aquatic plants of Keralaincluding these under RETcategory like Limnopoa meeboldii,

Nymphoides krishnakesara etc.,are conserved here. More than400 species of wetland plants aremaintained in the conservatory ofaquatic plants called ‘Aquagene’in large pots filled with marshland soil. All the 14 species ofwater lilies reported from Indiaare well demonstrated here. TheMoEF (Government of India) hasrecognized Malabar BotanicalGarden as a LEAD Garden of India

for conservation of aquatic/wetland plants of the country.

In addition to the display ofaquatic plants in small scale (fewlive specimens of each species incement pots in the Aquagene), theaquatic plants are also cultivated

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envisaged in the 15 acre land ofthe Garden. A master plan isprepared and approved by MoEFfor Aquatic Bio park with a circularisland encircled by a ring-likepond with diverse aquatic plantsin the 15-acre wetland area of thegarden which when fullydeveloped will be the foremostaquatic bio park of our countrywith the largest live collection ofaquatic plants.

A Treasure of Medicinal PlantsThe State Medicinal Plants Board(SMPB) has recognized MalabarBotanical Garden as the centre forthe Medicinal Plant DemonstrationGarden for Kozhikode District. The

Demonstration Garden has alreadydeveloped with more than 300 livemedicinal plants in the exhibitionof ‘Vaidyamadom’ and 50 speciesof medicinal trees in the‘Sanjeevani’. Almost all plantsused in the indigenous systemsof medicine, such as Ayurveda,Sidha, Unani and traditionalknowledge, etc. are maintained inthe medicinal plant section. Allmedicinal plant groups such asDasamoolam, Nalpamaram,Triphala, Trigadu and Panchavalka are

exhibited here, explaining theirname, families and medicinaluses. In the ‘Sanjeevani’ themedicinal trees are provided withplatform at the base and large

boards explaining the uses ofsuch plants. In addition, the NMPB(National Medicinal Plants Board,AYUSH) has selected MalabarBotanical Garden as a Centre for‘Herbal Garden Project’ for theconservation and propagation ofRET medicinal plants. Five RETmedicinal plants viz., Acoruscalamus (Sweet Flag), Celastruspaniculatus (Jyothirmathi) ,Symplocos cochinchinensis(Paachothi) , Baliospermummontanum (Nagadandhi) andPseudarthria viscida (Moovila) arepropagated here each in half areafor distribution among thefarmers in future in order to breakthe endangered category throughpropagation and dispersal.Star Forest and Plants ofMythologyAccording to Hindu Ephemeris,each birth star has a specific treeand those who nurture these treeswill prosper in their life. So, for27 birth stars, and 27 trees areattributed and such trees with thestar names are demonstrated inMalabar Botanical Garden. Forbelievers, it will be a pleasure towatch the specific tree speciesbelonging to their respective birthstars in such a way the Garden

evokes interest among people forthe conservation of plants in allpossible ways.

In addition, the plants of epicssuch as the ‘Simsipa tree’(Amhersia nobilis- Csalpiniaceae)under which the Sita devi ofRamayana is believed to be sit inLanka in the Ashoka forest. Asoka(Saraca asoca) is another importanttree mentioned in Ramayanagrowing aplenty in the garden.When Rama and Lakshmana wentto the forest they were wearing‘maravuri’ the soft bark of a tree-Antiaris sp. This tree is growingwell in the garden, ‘Rudraksha’(Eleocarpus sp.) is another tree,the tuberculated hard seeds ofwhich are considered to be sacredand a chain of this is usually wornby the ‘poojaris’ and saints.Apushpi- The Warehouse ofprimitive plantsThe Malabar Botanical Garden isunique in the conservation ofprimitive nonflowering plants suchas bryophytes and pteridophytes.This is the only conservatory ofbryophytes which are usually

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considered less than threecategories; liverworts, mossesand hornworts. These are smalldelicate plants susceptible todesiccation and require highhumidity for their existence. Theyare commonly called ‘amphibiansof the plant world’ owing to thishydrophilic nature. Most of thebryophytes of Kerala are collectedand conserved at the MalabarBotanical Garden.

Pteridophytes are the mostprimitive vascular plants originatedsome 350 million years ago withprimitive vasculature andpropagate through spores insteadof seeds. Kerala is rich inpteridophyte diversity and mostof pteridophytes of Kerala arewell exhibited in the Apushpi ofMalabar Botanical Garden.JanakiaThis is an excellent collection ofplants of RET category in theKerala region. Over 60 species ofRET plants including aquatic andmedicinal plants listed in the RETcategory by IUCN are exhibitedlive in this section. The IUCN

category of each plant is given withother details. The endemic plantof Kerala Bentickia coddappanawhich is found only in theSabarimala and Agasthiamalaregion of Kerala is well maintainedhere. Rare plants like Cosciniumfenestratum (maramanjal- criticallyendangered) and Ixora polyantha(Kolinji- rare), etc. are the attraction

of this collection. This section isnamed after Dr. E.K. Janaki Ammal, apioneer Botanist of Kerala.OrchidsOver 50 wild orchids of Kerala,especially from the WesternGhats region are conserved in theOrchidarium of Malabar BotanicalGarden. In addition, many hybridsand exotic orchids such asDendrobium spp., Aranda, Archnis,Paphiopedillum, Phelenopsis, etc.are conserved here. The giantDendrobium commonly called‘Anjooran’ is a great attraction with2m long branched inflorescencein Malabar Botanical Garden.Bamboos and Reeds

A section of the garden is markedfor the conservation of bamboosand reeds. Over 30 species ofBamboos from Kerala and North

Eastern area are maintainedhere. This includes the localbamboos (Bambusa sp.), Yellowbamboo (Bambusa striata),walking bamboos (Melocana sp.)and ‘Lathimula’ (Oxytenantherasp.)Panathottam-The Palm GroveOver 50 species of palms(Araceae) are conserved herewhich include the Rattan(Calamus sp.), Triangle palm(Dypsis), Umbrella palm(Corypha), Champagne palm, etc.Climber pagodaOver 40 species of climbingplants including woody climbersof Kerala are well maintained in apagoda style at Malabar BotanicalGarden. This is a unique collectionof climbing plants. The visitorshave a unique opportunity to seealmost all the climbing plants ofKerala together.Inflorescence GardenPlants with various forms ofinflorescences such as raceme,corymbs, thyrsus, head, etc. areexhibited here for educating theschool children.Systematic Garden

This is an upcoming project forthe sake of inculcating interest inPlant Taxonomy in the youngerstudent generation. Taxonomy isgenerally considered as a narrowsubject owing to its cumbersometechnicalities and vastness.Hence the live plants are displayedaccording to their taxonomic

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The very existence of life on earthis under constant threat byemerging diseases since ancienttimes. Highly contagious diseasesare implicated as one among themany reasons for extinction ofseveral animal species. Thehistory of mankind was shaped byinfectious disease scourges suchas small pox, pandemic influenza,plague and cholera. The emergenceof novel infectious diseases are

initiated many a time by humanencroachment and colonization ofwild-life habitats, tribal rituals,game hunting and exotic foodhabits including bush meat eating.The increased urbanization andglobal travel assist the successfulestablishment and rapid spread ofthese infections in the jet age.Some of the recent infections thathave spread globally include theavian influenza, swine influenza,

In the shadows of EbolaDr. E. Sreekumar,Scientist E1, Molecular Virology Laboratory,Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology,Thycaud P.O. ,Thiruvananthapuram 695 014, Kerala

position based on Benthem andHooker’s (1862-1893) Classificationwhich is generally adopted byIndian angiosperm taxonomists.Each family is illustrated with anexample species, the Division,Order and family characters aredisplayed against each section.The plants are kept under twogeneral categories, in two separategreen houses such as Dicots andMonocots.

The Dicot families are nowrepresented and the monocothouse is still under construction.Once this Systematic house iscompleted this will be a uniquefacility for the promotion of PlantTaxonomy and Systematics amongthe students of Botany.The Hortus Valley‘Hortus Malabaricus’ (12 vols.)1678-1712 is a monumental workon medicinal plants by VanRheede published in Latin. 742species of this area are describedand illustrated. Almost all the

plants discussed in ‘Hortusmalabaricus’ 300 years ago aremaintained in the MalabarBotanical Garden with original

illustration from this classic book.This book has been translated toEnglish and Malayalam by Prof.K.S. Manilal when he was workingas an Emeritus Professor in theMalabar Botanical Garden.

During the last few yearstremendous developmentalactivities have been successfully

implemented, including morethan ten research projects fundedby various state and nationalagencies such as KSCSTE, MoEF,NMPB, State Planning Board,DoECC. Research fellows areregistered for Ph.D in the CalicutUniversity. National workshopsand seminars were organized.Thousands of visitors, mainlystudents of life sciences fromKerala and nearby states visit thegarden every year. A ‘LichenGarden’ is in the process ofdevelopment.

Presently the Government ofKerala is actively considering theup gradation of Malabar BotanicalGarden into Malabar botanicalgarden and Institute for PlantSciences, a research institutionunder KSCSTE. It is expected thatthis institution will emerge into aprestigious research institution inbotany education and Taxonomypromotion of our country in theimmediate future.

chikungunya, dengue, SARScorona virus and MERS coronavirus. The latest in the list isEbola, a deadly viral disease thathas gripped many parts of Africa,and spreading to different partsof the world by the return of thedisease-affected travelers orhealth-care workers to their homecountries.

Ebola is much more deadlythan most of us think. It kills one

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in two people that it infects, andin some instances, leaves only10% of the affected population tosurvive. And the death due toEbola is most horrific among theones caused by hemorrhagicfevers. From its first detection in1976, about 22 out-breaks ofEbola have been documented. Inthe ongoing outbreak in WestAfrica, one of the largest in thehistory, 4461 laboratory-confirmedcases and 3865 (86.6%) deaths(almost 9 out of 10 persons infected)are documented as of October,2014.

Let us now look a little deeperinto Ebola disease. Among thefour subtypes of the Ebola virusthat cause disease in human, theZaire Ebola virus, responsible forthe current outbreak is notoriousfor causation of extreme highmortality. All these viruses looklike filaments under an electronmicroscope and grouped underthe Filoviridae family as per thevirus classification. It would beinteresting to know how Ebolavirus, confined originally in thecave-dwelling fruit bats in deepdark jungles of Africa, wasexposed to the outside world. Thehuman explorations into theseunwieldy habitats could beimplicated as the starting point.It reminds us the story of thehuman immunodeficiency virus(HIV), another plague of themodern era, originating from itsrelatives in the primates andspreading to mankind throughhuman explorations. Entering thebat caves for trapping the fruitbats and getting in contact withtheir urine and droppings, andeating the uncooked bat meat by

tribal people could have spawnedthe first human case of Ebola.Forest fruits contaminated by thebat saliva can also act as a sourceof infection. Recent epidemiologicalstudies on the prevalence of anti-Ebola antibodies and its exclusivedetection in fruit bats and not inother animals or primates have re-confirmed the bat origin of thevirus. Interestingly, the virussurvives in bats without causingdisease or death in the host,making them the ideal reservoirs.

Once the virus is in man, it isextremely contagious. It takesabout 2-21 days to establish aninfection and produce thesymptoms. The virus is shed onlyfrom a person showing thedisease symptoms and spreadsfrom one person to anotherthrough the direct contact withbody fluids. In the virus exposedindividual, the disease starts withhigh fever, head ache, musclepain, stomach pain, vomiting anddiarrhea. In the early stages, itwould be very difficult todifferentiate these symptomsfrom many common viral fevers.In due course the patients exhibitsevere bleeding and coagulationabnormalities, including gastrointestinal bleeding and body rash.

Virus infects microvascularendothelial cells and disruptsvascular integrity; and subsequently

severe liver damage combinedwith massive viremia result indisseminated intra vascularcoagulation. The patient succumbsdue to hypovolemic shock anddiffuse bleeding. Death mayoccur in two to three weeks.

Initial diagnosis of Ebola inoutbreak settings may be achievedsymptomatically but in non-endemic areas, the non-specificity ofthe symptoms poses a genuinechallenge. A travel history toendemic areas coupled with thedisease symptoms may beindicative but a confirmatorydiagnosis demands resorting toany of the specific tests such asantigen-capture enzyme-linkedimmunosorbent assay (ELISA),IgM ELISA, polymerase chainreaction or virus isolation. Thesetests are to be carried out only incentrally designated laboratorieswith extreme precautions forhandling infected samples, andnot in primary care settings. Beinga highly contagious and lethalvirus, virus isolation strictlydemands a high-security laboratorywith extreme containment of bio-safety level 4 handling. In India,National Institute Virology, Pune,with its state-of-the-art BSL4facility, is an identified centre forEbola diagnosis.

Treatment of infected patientsis the most challenging part ofEbola disease. With no specificand effective antivirals discoveredso far, it demands aggressivesupportive care of the patient inan intensive care facility. Accessto such facilities is unimaginablein Ebola-endemic regions whichare located in some of theeconomically poorest parts of the

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Mars is perhaps the only planetwhich has captured our imaginationprofoundly in the entire solarsystem. Ancestors believed thatthe red planet might be coveredwith leafy vegetation andinhabited by people, sometimesmore intelligent than us. It wasthe God of war, Ares, for the Greekand Rudra, in Hindu mythology.For ancient Romans, Mars appearedas the God of agriculture, which infact symbolizes its dark and browntexture. Today, we are certain thatit is a planet almost like ours,having no animals or plants aliveon it. May be it is recollecting itsglorified past in deep tranquillity.No wailing sound of wind, chirping

of birds, roaring of wild animals,could be heard in the valleys. It isa frozen desert with toweringvolcanoes and deep canyons. The19th century Italian astronomerGiovanni Schiaparelli was the firstto observe straight line likefeatures on the surface of Mars,which he called Canali. The termCanali was translated into Englishas channel, which aroused greatsuspicion that it was an artificialconstruction made by theintelligent inhabitants. They mighthave irrigated the Martian soil forbetter cultivation and these in facttriggered the imagination ofwriters and philosophers. Thecanal controversy ended when

powerful telescopes came intooperation, during the early part of20th century. The space age,blossomed in the second half oftwentieth century, transfigured allour earlier notions about theplanet. Mars is now looked in adifferent angle with a prolongedhope to make it into a lifesupporting place outside Earth.

Mars is the fourth planet fromSun and the seventh largest insolar system. It keeps revolvinground Sun in an elliptical orbit andcomplete the path in every 687days. The planet is almost sphericalin appearance, and has a mean

Mangalyan and Indian saga of successGeorge Varghese,Director, Kerala State Council for Science technology and Environment

world. It also demands theservices of dedicated andaltruistic healthcare givers willingto put their own life in peril bynursing the sick patients. Theircomposure and emotional strengthamong the war-like scenes ofmounting deaths; and untiringefforts in sanitation andsystematic disposal of the deadand the contaminated materialswill be the back bone of Ebolaoutbreak management. A patientunder very good clinical supportivecare and with a robust innateimmune response has a betterchance to survive. In people whoare fortunate to survive an Ebolainfection, antiviral antibodiesdevelop that may last at least for10 years. These observationshave prompted the developmentof preventive vaccines employing

various strategies including DNA-based immunization. However,like anti-virals, no successfulvaccines are available currently.

With this general overview ofEbola, we need to ponder a littleon our perception of the importof disease into India. As of today,India is free of Ebola. However,we can not expect a completeimmunity to an Ebola invasionwith the presence of around40,000 Indians in the Ebolaendemic regions and also theincreased tourist arrivals in India.The pandemic of H1N1 influenzadid not take much time to invadethe globe and the Chikungunyavirus, which was confined to thecontinents of Africa and Asia tillthree months ago, has now spreadto the Americas. Chikungunya, amosquito-borne disease, took a

little more time than Influenza, anair-borne disease, to spreadglobally. Ebola, with no air-bornetransmission documented so farand its need for direct contactwith a person with clinical diseaseor reservoir animals, may take amuch longer time, if at all, toreach India. This window periodis a boon for us to enhance ourpreparedness. Let us empowerourselves with more knowledgeon the disease as well asencourage our authorities to keepa vigil on international commuterswho have visited endemiccountries or had an accidentalcontact with an Ebola suspectedpatient. Let us hope to remain inthe shadows, not out in the open,to confront the deadly germ ofEbola.

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diameter 6792 km, which is roughlytwice that of Earth. The planet hasan axial tilt of 25.20, causingseasonal changes in climate.Solar radiations falling on itssurface are relatively weaker thanon Earth, since it is located fartheraway; this is 1½ times than Earth-Sun distance. Due to the largedistance from Sun, extreme coldconditions prevail, in Mars, withmercury level shoots only up to170C even during the sunniestdays. Though the constituents ofMars and Earth are almost same,the matter density of Mars is just3.9g/c.cm, whereas the same forEarth is 5.9 g/c.cm.

Mars has a very thin atmosphere,comprising mostly of carbondioxide (~96%), plus a bit ofnitrogen, traces of oxygen andwater. Another greenhouse gas,methane, is also detected inMartian atmosphere, causing seriousdoubts about its biochemicalorigin. Mars has a highly variedand interesting terrain. Its surfacehas large number of small and largecraters formed predominately dueto the impact of asteroids andother such heavy objects fromouter space. Rift valleys, ridges,hills and plains, volcanoes are thecommon features found on thesurface of Mars.It is believed thatMars has the tallest mountain inthe Solar System, called OlympusMons, which rise up to 24km fromthe nearby plain. Huge bulging aswell as deep canyons are otherpeculiar Martian features. Thereason for this varied and widespread dichotomy are stillunknown.

The detection of methane gasin Martian atmosphere raised many

doubts about the history of Mars.Methane is a carbon containingmolecule, which has a chemicallife time of 300-600 years. Themolecule that is observed today,cannot have produced 4.5 billionyears ago, along with the formationof the planet. So it implies apossibility that the methane onMars is biotic. Obviously, there arefew possibilities left out for itsorigin. Some long-extinct microbialorganisms might have caused theproduction of this gas. It remainedin frozen condition in the upperatmosphere and temperaturevariations caused due to climaticchanges, have produced the gasfrom solid methane. A secondoption hints a very recent processof methane production by microbes.Another theory excludes thepossibility of the presences ofmicrobes in Martian soil. Methanemay be produced by geochemicalprocesses, called serpentinisation,which is a low temperaturemetamorphic process involvingheat, water and changes inpressure. But this leads to theconclusion that subsurfacehydrothermal activity waspredominant in Mars. Whether itis biotic or abiotic, the presenceof methane indicates that Marshas water in it and it is still a veryactive planet. An active planetcan sustain life and it is always apromising place for explorationsand research.

Exploring Mars with multipronged strategy and by usingflyby spacecraft and by robotcontrolled rovers was started in1960. The former Soviet Unionwas the first country to send aspace mission to Mars. On 10

October 1960, they sent theirspace craft, named Marsnik-I ona specially designed rocket, 8K78.The first mission was a failure,due to some technical snag inrocket engine. Journey to Mars isvery difficult in many respects.Launching a rocket headingtowards Mars any time during theyear is difficult. Once in every 780days, Mars, Earth and Sun appearin specific locations. If a launchis made during this period, therocket would reach easily in thered planet. The duration of thislaunch window is roughly 20 daysand one has to be very particularin sending rocket during this time.The Soviet people never turnedback; instead they tried one afterthe other, to reach Mars.Unfortunately all of them gone toastray, until they got a partialsuccess in 1962. The NationalAeronautics and Space Administrationsof US had begun its Marsexploration in 1964 with a flybymission. The first attempt of NASAwas indeed failure due to somemalfunction in rocket system.However, their second spacecraft, Mariner–4, launched duringthe same launch window, fewdays after the first, reached safein the pre-designated ellipticalorbit around Mars. This was thefirst successful mission to Mars.Mariner took close-up images ofMars and sent to the Earth Station.The Soviet scientists repeatedtheir missions but they could notdefeat NASA as their further trialsalso failed in succession. Thetriumphant NASA after theirAppolo Moon Mission started aprogramme to send a space craftwhich would ultimately land on

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Mars. The mission was namedViking and they sent two spacecrafts Viking 1 and Viking 2, fromtheir launch station at CapeCanaveral on 20th August 1975and 9th September 1975. Exactlyafter 11 months, on 20th July 1976.Viking 1, landed on the surfaceof Mars. Both the missions weretotal success. After Viking, theysent many space crafts withimproved technology and enabledwith sophisticated scientificpayloads. Meanwhile, Japan madean attempt by sending a spacecraft in 1998, using their owntechnology and instruments. Theirmaiden attempt also failed toreach Mars. In 2003 Europeanspace agency, using a Russianlaunch vehicle from Baikonurcosmodrome sent a space craftBeagle – 2 to Mars. Beagle reachedMars, but during landing it lostcontrol from the Earth station!China entered into the arena is2011, by sending an indigenouslydeveloped space craft, Yinghuo -1 using a Russian rocket. Therocket which carried Yinghuo -1could not escape from Earth’sattractive field. NASA continuedtheir missions by sending, flyby,landing, and rover missions toMars. Mars Path finder, Odyssey,Spirit, Phoenix, Curiosity are themajor successful missions sent byNASA. Some of them are stillperforming well, even beyondtheir targeted durations, on Mars.

The Indian Mars Orbiter MissionMangalyan was indeed a successstory in many respects. First andforemost thing is that it had createda history in space expeditions bybeing totally successful missionin the very first attempt. The

second great thing is with respectto the total cost of the project. Byall international standards, it wasthe cheapest mission, withoutcompromising mission objectivesor quality of on-board instruments.Thirdly, the Mangalyan missionwas planned and executed inshortest time period. Afteraccomplishing all these greatgoals, India had entered into thearena of deep space missions,with proven technology. Thespacecraft and its scientificcomponents were developed inISRO laboratories, proving ourcapabilities for advanced scientificresearch. The spacecraft wastransported to outer Earth orbit bya PSLV rocket, which was usedearlier by ISRO to lift off manymassive satellites. It was PSLV’s25th flight. From ISRO – launchingpad at Sriharikotta, PSLV–25 tookoff on 3rd November 2013, carryingMangalyan intact in its 4th stage.

The journey from Sriharikotta toMars orbit was long and tediousthat it took nearly 300 days tocomplete the trip. The wholejourney was controlled andtracked by the ISTRAK – facility ofISRO, located near Bangalore. ThePSLV 25 put Mangalyan into anEarth bound orbit first within fewminutes after lift-off. It was anelliptic orbit, similar to the Moonorbit around Earth. From there,the space craft was pushed slowly

by igniting its apogee motorsfitted on it, and its path aroundearth was slowly stretched untilit became hyperbolic in shape.The spacecraft after reaching awider orbit with largest distance192874 km above earth, a bigpush was given to it to producesufficient speed to escape fromthe attraction of Earth. OnNovember 30th, 2013, ISRO scientistsuccessfully ignited the 440Newton powerful Liquid ApogeeMotor for 23 minutes to providethe necessary thrust to pushMangalyan into deep spaceforever. After this, the space craftcontinued its journey in a specifiedtrajectory heading towards Mars,but under the attraction of Sun.The geocentric phase of themission was thus completed andheliocentric phase started.During the lengthiest voyage indeep space the space craftneeded no additional pull;therefore the rocket engine wasshut off. But it may sometimeshappen that the space craft willdeviate from the designatedpath. Under such circumstancessmall rockets, will be ignited toperform the track correctionoperation. ISRO has planned foursuch correction operations duringflight time, but they did it onlythrice. It was a perfect journeyindeed. After 300 days, Mangalyanreached close to Mars. Thespacecraft experienced thegravitational force of Mars at adistance 573473 km from theplanet. Proper tracking, corrections,manoeuvring etc., were necessaryto guide the spacecraft into a safepath. On 24th September 2014,scientists had given final commands

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to ignite the LAM engine (LiquidApogee Motor) again, in order tospeed down it and to turn it intohyperbolic orbit, after closing theHelios-centric orbit. Two daysbefore, they test fired the engineand found that it was perfect.Early in the morning the rocketstarted firing. The space craftapproached close to Mars andwent behind the planet, making itdifficult to communicate withEarth station. The distance fromEarth was more than 650 millionkm and, radio signals take nearly12 minutes to reach Earth fromspacecraft. Commands weretherefore pre-loaded and thecomputers on-board had givenautonomy to perform operationsindependently. Mangalyan did itwell. Rocket engine fired well andMangalyan completed half theround trip around Mars at first,and exactly at 8 AM in the morningit appeared again in the telemetryreceivers on Earth. The signal wasreceived at Canbera station from

there it was fled to Bangalore.The space craft is in its last phase,called Martian phase, of the mission.This hyperbolic orbit was furthershortened to park the space craftinto a much closer elliptical patharound Mars. Everything went onsmooth and the first spacecraftbuilt and controlled from Indiawas now in Mars’ orbit.

Mangalyan carries five scientificinstruments on-board, whichincludes Mars Colour Camera foroptical imaging, Thermal InfraredImaging Spectrometer, to map itssurface composition and mineralogy,Methane Sensor, Mars ExosphericNeutral Composition Analyser forthe study of the constituents inMartian atmosphere and a LymanAlpha Photometer for the study ofthe process of water evaporationfrom Martian soil. All theseinstruments are small whencompared to the large scaleanalytical laboratory instruments,which is currently active on Martiansurface or in flyby missions, operated

by NASA. However, they aresufficient enough for the initialstudies to understand Mars and itsstructure. ISRO is switching all thescientific instruments and gettingready for collecting data usingthese probes.

The Mars Orbiter Mission hadplaced India into a strategicallyimportant position in the world.Space is an area for internationalco-operation, and for providingtechnological developments. Thewhole nation is in great jubilationby the incredible achievement.The Mangalyan mission is a sagaof commitment, collective decisionand efficient management. It is astimulus for the younger generation,who sometimes keep a negativeimpression about scientific researchin the country and always eagerlywaiting for an opportunity to jumpinto in Western laboratories to carryout scientific research. It hadproved that Indian laboratoriescan be further engaged to makemore success stories.

Prof. A. Abraham

Professor A. Abraham, the FounderDirector of JNTBGRI was born on25 May 1914. He had his schoolingat Chengannur, his native placein Central Kerala. He acquired hisBSc Botany and MA Botany degreesin 1st Rank from Madras University.He first served as EconomicBotanist of Travancore Universityat University College, Trivandrumin 1940. He married Ms GraceGeorge, daughter of the thenTravancore Chief Secretary, theLate Shri. K. George on January 15,

1945. They have 3 daughters,Nalini, Malini, Ranjini and a son,Suresh. They are all well settledin life by the grace of God.

There was a revival of botanicallearning at University Collegeafter Professor took charge. Hewas a very distinguished teacherand his students even nowremember his lectures word byword. He instilled into them asense of admiration and wonderat the botanical mysteries thatunfurled before them under his

tutelage.Professor moved on to Cornell

University, New York in 1945 as aGovernment of India foreignresearch scholar. He acquired hisPhD degree in 1948 from CornellUniversity and did postdoctoralresearch at Cambridge. He travelled

_ Distinguished scientist, educationist and architect of JNTBGRI

Dr. P.G. Latha,Director, TBGRI

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far and wide visiting the mostimportant agricultural researchcentres of the world. In 1962, hemoved over to Kerala Universityas Professor and Head of theDepartment of Botany and RockfellerFellow. He was a great researcher,a teacher par excellence, a voraciousreader, an aggressive administratorand above all, a wonderful humanbeing. For more than half a centuryProfessor strived for attaining newinsights in higher education inBotany. His multifaceted personalityleaves an indelible impression inthe minds of those who have methim.

Prof. Abraham had a lot offriends in Punjab and Kolkatadoing research in plant sciences.He was always a winner, beatinghis counterparts. Consequently,he established a strong school ofcytology in the Botany Departmentof Kerala University. He alwaysmaintained running correspondencewith well known personalities inEurope and the US. He later onestablished several institutions inKerala and elsewhere therebyhelping students of plant science,genetics, plant breeding andhorticulture, the last one beingthe Jawaharlal Nehru TropicalBotanic Garden and ResearchInstitute. The Central Tuber CropsResearch Institute, Sreekariyam isanother testimonial to his art ofinstitution building.

He was a very far sighted andmagnetic personality with a greatvision. People with great visionwere a breed apart and theyalways contributed immensely tothe development of society.Though the Indian concept ofVasudhaiva Kudumbakam treats

the entire world and its myriad lifeforms as members of a family, theburgeoning population andconsequent pressure on resourcesdefinitely resulted in the rarity oreven extinction of many a speciesfrom the face of Mother Earth.This human centric approachwherever created always wreakedhavoc on other species of theglobe to which we are only oneof the many species. Plants havebeen the greatest casualtyanytime and anywhere. And ourcountry is no exception. Of the17,000 species of floweringplants that we have in India, manyare on the verge of extinction dueto a variety of reasons such asover exploitation, neglect andalteration of habitats and the like.

Prof. Abraham thought ofsaving such species whosepotential, the human race willunderstand later at a Gardenwhere a series of related studiescan also be attempted. He wasalso instrumental in bringing inmany plants into domesticationthat later proved very beneficiallike the tasty variety of Tapioca

called Malayan 4 and a host ofothers.

Prof. Abraham was not simplya teacher. He was very much anacclaimed cytogeneticist, an ableadministrator, and a horticulturist.He also understood that ourcountry needed more usefulplants from other regions. Thiscan be equated with the work ofmany botanical gardens andpioneer explorers like NikolaiVavilov. We freely gave manyplants to the world in the past likeblack pepper, cardamom, ginger,teak, etc. We were also benefitedfrom other countries. IndianBotanical Garden at Kolkata wasinstrumental in bringing therubber plant to India and the restof Asia. It changed our economyby supporting the industry. Thisonly shows that botanical gardenscan play a pivotal role ininfluencing the economy of acountry.

Botanical gardens existed inhuman history dating back tothousands of years in the westmostly looking at pleasure andrecreation. As centuries passedby the focus and concept of thegarden changed dramatically.Thepresent concept is to make itbeneficial to mankind by improvinghis economy. Driven by theseideas, Professor conceived JNTBGRIas a garden meant for theconservation of the biodiversityof the country and also itssustainable utilization. The idea ofestablishing Jawaharlal NehruTropical Botanic Garden andResearch Institute was conceivedsoon after the first United NationsConference on Human Environmentheld in Stockholm in 1972 by

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Professor. It became a commitmentto him to conserve the waningtropical plant species of India ingeneral and of Kerala in particular.It was a daunting and uphill taskfor him to convince the successiveChief Ministers of the then politicallyvolatile state of the need to havea Conservatory Botanic Garden.Since the state as a whole wasconsidered as a botanic garden,the political leadership did notsubscribe to the idea of establishinga garden within a garden. The airgot cleared and the Departmentof Planning and Economic Affairsof the State Government announcedthe establishment of JNTBGRI inthe year 1979 under the aegis ofthe State Science Technology andEnvironment Committee. Thiswas followed by the lease of 300acres of forest land for the gardendevelopment in 1982. A visionarythat the professor was, hisaggressive presentation of garden

and research systems as twosides of the same coin exclusivelyfocused on conservation of rareand endangered plant taxa wasbeyond comprehension and infact, raised the eyebrows of manyin the field at that time. However,he practised what he preachedand conservation of orchids andmedicinal plants soon became areality in the garden site atPalode. As an ardent lover oforchids, Professor Abraham wasalso instrumental in launching thePlant Biotechnology Programmein the Institute in early 1984 forthe first time in the state,particularly for the purpose oforchid breeding and multiplicationleading to floriculture development.He served as the Director ofJNTBGRI from 1979- 1983 and asChairman of the ExecutiveCommittee of JNTBGRI from 1983-1986. Even after he relinquished hisoffice at JNTBGRI in 1983, he

continued his visits to theInstitute frequently and duringthose occassions he interactedwith the scientists and gave hissuggestions and ideas onimproving the live collections atthe Institute. Incidentally, the firstbatch of scientists of JNTBGRIappointed in 1983 had the goodfortune of being groomed by thisgreat personality. He served asthe brand ambassador of JNTBGRItill his sad demise on 20th May1994, succumbing to a cardiacarrest.

JNTBGRI celebrated his birthcentenary during 2013-14 byorganizing 12 memorial lecturesby eminent scientists and statesmenof the country during the period25th May 2013-24th May 2014.

The Institute cherishes thefond memories of this greatpersonality and offers humblepranams at his feet.

WE LOVE YOU, PROFESSOR

Damodaran, A. D.Harsh K. GuptaSreenivasan Unnithan,T. K.Kalyanaraman, K.Augusti, K. T.Vaidyan, V. K.Ramachandra Panicker, K.Namboothiripad, K. S. S.Fazil Marickar, Y. M.Sudhakaran, P.R.Ramachandran Nair, C. G.Rajendran Nair, P. K.Pillai, R. N.Kaleysa Raj, R.Nair, P. S.Ninan, K. N.Balagangadharan, V. P.Rajasekharan, K. N.Krishnan, K.Krishnan Nair, M.

Namboothiri, A. N.Vijay Nair, G.Pushpangadan, P.Abraham. T. K.Das, M. R.Nair, K. M.Oommen V. OommenIyer, C. S. P.Unnikrishnan Nayar, V.Prabhakaran Nayar, S. R.Prasannakumar, V.Mohanadasan Nair, G.Gouri, C.Benny K. GeorgeVishnu Potti, P.Satyanarayana, K. G.Sudha, J. D.Raveendran Pillai, N.Jayasree Nair, G. RSoniya, E.V.

Baba, M.Radhika RamachandranAravamuthan, S.Shaneeth, M.Anil BhardwajRadha DasReghunathan Nair, C. P.Prakashkumar, R.David D. KumarAjit Kumar, K. G.Jayaprakash, C. A.Jacob PhilipLaladhas, K. P.Ramachandran, K. K.Omkumar, R. V.George Thomas, K.Achuthsankar S. NairLatha, P. G.Mohandas, K

List of fellows of Kerala Academy of Sciences

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Kerala Academy of Sciences

Infosys Science Foundation Lecture

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Condolence meeting for the demise of Dr.C.S. Padmanabha Iyer, former president of KASand Prof. Dr. S. S. Bhagavan, life member of the Academy.

EDITORIAL BOARD

Chief Editor:K.N. Rajasekharan,

Dept.of Chemistry, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram.Design and Layout:

Vinod A.G.Printed and Published by:

Dr. K.G.Ajit Kumar,Gen.Secretary, KAS,

Dept.of Botany, M.G.College, Thiruvananthapuram.PIN _ 695004, India. Phone: +91 9447728940.

For circulation among members only.Copyright with publisher. Not to be reproduced without permission.