Category: Science & Technology

** Pricol partners with US-based company

utomotive technology major Pricol has announced a strategic technology partnership with Sibros Technologies, a California-based company that provides Over-the-Air (OTA) connected vehicle software systems for OEMs worldwide.

A press release from Pricol said the partnership is to deliver deep connected vehicle solutions in Indian and ASEAN markets.

The connected, all-in-one platform of Sibros will complement Pricol’s suite of products on Driver Information Systems (DIS) and telematics. 

Vikram Mohan, Managing Director of Pricol said, “Connectivity and innovative mobility services are critical components of our strategy to enable software-powered products and solutions for our customers. We believe that the next generation of connected vehicles will be software and data-intensive, and will require a comprehensive suite of cloud and in-vehicle software to introduce new features and keep them updated to maximise performance, efficiency, safety and security. In Sibros, we have found an ideal partner who brings the best of Connected Vehicle suite of solutions with a global perspective.”

Pricol is a very strong player in the Indian market, and we intend to bring together complementary products, strong domain expertise, cutting edge technologies and qualified teams to create deep connected vehicle solutions,” said Hemant Sikaria, CEO and Co-Founder of Sibros Technologies, in the press release

Tamil Naduj / US

** Biological E’s Covid-19 vaccine ‘Corbevax’ receives emergency use approval for 12-18 age group

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Monday granted final approval to Biological E’s COVID-19 vaccine Corbevax, for children between 12-18 years of age in India.

Till now India has been administering Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin to teens between 15 and 18 years old since January 3.

The EUA, short for emergency use authorisation, for Corbevax’s restricted use in emergency among adults was cleared by the regulator Drugs Controller General of India in December 2019.

** First-of-its-kind patent for flywheel-based tech granted to Telangana couple

The first such in the world, claims patentee

For the first time in the country, probably in the world, a patent has been issued to flywheel-based power generation, the first-of-its-kind fuel-less power generation technology. 

The Kinetics Associated Mass Mechanical Applications (KAMMA) — heat, work and internal energy transfers from one object to another — are applied to KAMMA gear flywheel power generation method. The patent office said the date of filing of the patent (patent application number 201941039749 and patent number 382243) was October 1, 2019, and it was granted on November 22, 2021. 

The patent was issued to Chaganti Srinivas Bhasker and Chaganti Bala, a couple who had worked on the subject for the past three decades. “It is hereby certified that a patent has been granted to the patentee for an invention entitled ‘Kamma Gear Flywheel Power Generation and Multiplication and Storage’ as disclosed in the above mentioned application for the term of 20 years from the 1 st day of October 2019 in accordance with the Patents Act 1970,” reads the certificate. 

** KGMU surgeon wins global acclaim

A discovery which led to a new surgical technique for a rare and extremely serious birth defect in urinary system has found a place in an international multi-volume textbook of plastic reconstructive and aesthetic surgery.

The team of doctors led by head of pediatric surgery department of KGMU, Prof SN Kureel, and comprising Dr Archika Gupta and Dr Sunil Kanoujia is credited with the discovery.

The achievement in the field of exstrophy-epispadias has been included in ‘Thieme Medical Publisher’ —an American German medical and science publisher.

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

** Indigo tests sustainable aviation fuel

The plane – which took off from Toulouse in France and landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport – had a blend of 10% SAF and 90% normal fuel

IndiGo on Friday tested a flight with 10% blend of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Its brand new A320 Neo flew from Toulouse in France on Thursday and landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Friday powered by a blend of SAF.

Meet Anna Menon, crew member of SpaceX mission and wife of Kerala-origin astronaut candidate

One of the crew members of SpaceX is Anna Menon, wife of Malayali medical expert Dr Anil Menon.

Dr Anil Menon who is based in Minnesota in the US, is an expert who is set to be part of future US space missions organised by NASA.

Kerala / USA

** DUK partners with British High Commission to aid tech start-ups

Commercialisation support, access to investment opportunities on offer

Digital University Kerala and electronic hardware incubator Maker Village that functions under the university have partnered with the British High Commission for a business acceleration programme for technology start-ups.

According to an official release, the programme, UK India Tech Startup, also involves collaboration with Cambridge Cleantech, a UK-based network of organisations that support the growth of sustainable and clean technology companies, and UK-based business consultant Triple Chasm.

Kerala

** Apollo signs MoU with Marafon Group for setting up hospital in Uzbekistan

In phase I, the hospital at Fergana region will have 100 beds with scope for expansion in future

Apollo Hospitals entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Marafon Group for setting up a tertiary care hospital in Uzbekistan. 

Dinesh Madhavan, president of Group Oncology and International, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd., said there was a huge gap in healthcare in Uzbekistan due to the lack of a tertiary care hospital and numerous patients travelled to India for treatmen

** Maharashtra’s first satellite tagged Olive Ridley turtle journeys 75 km south of the state coastline

Researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun and the Mangrove Foundation, an autonomous body under the state government, tagged two female adult Olive Ridley turtles with a satellite device to monitor their path on January 25.

** Kottayam MCH conducts its first liver transplant surgery

Surgical process lasts nearly 18 hours

In yet another milestone in organ transplantation at the government sector in Kerala, the Government Medical College, Kottayam, conducted its first liver transplant surgery on Monday.

In a surgical process lasting nearly 18 hours, a team of doctors at the hospital transplanted a part of the liver to 40-year-old Suneesh, a native of Velur in Thrissur. The organ was donated by Pravija, his wife. Hospital sources said both the donor and the receiver were recuperating after the surgery and the success of the transplant would be known on completion of the highest risk period.