PNA - PEPTIC NUCLEIC ACID TECHNOLOGY

     PNA (Peptide Nucleic Acid) an artificially created DNA analogue was invented by Drs. Nielsen, Egholm, Berg, and Buchardt in 1991. The phosphate ribose ring of DNA was replaced with the polyamide backbone in PNA. Despite a radical structural change, PNA is capable of sequence-specific binding in a helix form to its complementary DNA or RNA sequence. 

      Due to its superior binding affinity and chemical/biological stability, PNA has been widely applied in the field of biology.

COMPARATIVE STRUCTURES OF PNA AND DNA

 

Main features of PNA are as follows.

High binding affinity to its complementary DNA or RNA Differentiation of sing-base mismatch by high destabilizing effect High chemical stability to temperature and pH High biological stability to nuclease and protease Salt independence during hybridization with DNA sequence Triplex formation with continuous homopurine DNA

MANUFACTURING METHODS OF SWINE FLUE VACCINE

    The influenza vaccines that have been developed to protect against the pandemic H1N1/09 virus. These vaccines either contain inactivated (killed) influenza virus, or weakened live virus that cannot cause influenza. The killed vaccine is injected, while the live vaccine is given as a nasal spray. Both these types of vaccine are usually produced by growing the virus in chicken eggs. Around three billion doses will be produced annually, with delivery from November 2009.

INFLUENZA

TYPES OF VACCINES

There are types of influenza vaccines available:

• TIV (flu shot (injection) of trivalent (three strains; usually A/H1N1, A/H3N2, and B) inactivated (killed) vaccine) or
• LAIV (nasal spray (mist) of live attenuated influenza vaccine.)

TIV works by putting into the bloodstream those parts of three strains of flu virus that the body uses to create antibodies; while LAIV works by inoculating the body with those same three strains, but in a modified form that cannot cause illness.
LAIV is not recommended for individuals under age 2 or over age 49, but might be comparatively more effective among children over age two.



BARAK OBAMA RECEIVING SWINE FLUE VACCINE


^{MANUFACTURING METHODS}

For the inactivated vaccines, the virus is grown by injecting it, along with some antibiotics, into fertilized chicken eggs. About one to two eggs are needed to make each dose of vaccine. The virus replicates within the allantois of the embryo, which is the equivalent of the placenta in mammals. The fluid in this structure is removed and the virus purified from this fluid by methods such as filtration or centrifugation. The purified viruses are then inactivated ("killed") with a small amount of a disinfectant. The inactivated virus is treated with detergent to break up the virus into particles, and the broken capsule segments and released proteins are concentrated by centrifugation. The final preparation is suspended in sterile phosphate buffered saline ready for injection.  This vaccine mainly contains the killed virus but might also contain tiny amounts of egg protein and the antibiotics, disinfectant and detergent used in the manufacturing process. In multi-dose versions of the vaccine, the preservative thimerosal is added to prevent growth of bacteria. In some versions of the vaccine used in Europe and Canada, such as Arepanrix and Fluad, an adjuvant is also added, this contains a fish oil called squalene, vitamin E and an emulsifier called polysorbate.
For the live vaccine, the virus is first adapted to grow at 25 °C (77 °F) and then grown at this temperature until it loses the ability to cause illness in humans, which would require the virus to grow at our normal body temperature of 37 °C (99 °F). Multiple mutations are needed for the virus to grow at cold temperatures, so this process is effectively irreversible and once the virus has lost virulence (become "attenuated"), it will not regain the ability to infect people.  To make the vaccine, the attenuated virus is grown in chicken eggs as before. The virus-containing fluid is harvested and the virus purified by filtration; this step also removes any contaminating bacteria. The filtered preparation is then diluted into a solution that stabilizes the virus. This solution contains monosodium glutamate, potassium phosphate, gelatin, the antibiotic gentamicin, and sugar.
A new method of producing influenza virus is used to produce the Novartis vaccine Optaflu. In this vaccine the virus is grown in cell culture instead of in eggs.  This method is faster than the classic egg-based system and produces a purer final product. Importantly, there are no traces of egg proteins in the final product, so the vaccine is safe for people with egg allergies.


PREVENTIONS RECOMMENDED BY CENTRE FOR DISEASE CONTROL, AMERICA

The American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued the following recommendations on who should be vaccinated (order is not in priority):

• Pregnant women, because they are at higher risk of complications and can potentially provide protection to infants who cannot be vaccinated;
• Household contacts and caregivers for children younger than 6 months of age, because younger infants are at higher risk of influenza-related complications and cannot be vaccinated. Vaccination of those in close contact with infants younger than 6 months old might help protect infants by "cocooning" them from the virus;
• Healthcare and emergency medical services personnel, because infections among healthcare workers have been reported and this can be a potential source of infection for vulnerable patients. Also, increased absenteeism in this population could reduce healthcare system capacity;
• All people from 6 months through 24 years of age:
  • Children from 6 months through 18 years of age, because cases of 2009 H1N1 influenza have been seen in children who are in close contact with each other in school and day care settings, which increases the likelihood of disease spread, and
  • Young adults 19 through 24 years of age, because many cases of 2009 H1N1 influenza have been seen in these healthy young adults and they often live, work, and study in close proximity, and they are a frequently mobile population; and,
• Persons aged 25 through 64 years who have health conditions associated with higher risk of medical complications from influenza.
• Once the demand for these groups has been met at a local level, everyone from the ages of 25 through 64 years should be vaccinated too.

In addition, the CDC recommends:

Children through 9 years of age should get two doses of vaccine, about a month apart. Older children and adults need only one dose.

FOOD PROCESSING

     Food processing dates back to the prehistoric ages when crude processing incorporated slaughtering, fermenting, sun drying, preserving with salt, and various types of cooking (such as roasting, smoking, steaming, and oven baking). Salt-preservation was especially common for foods that constituted warrior and sailors' diets, up until the introduction of canning methods. This holds true except for lettuce. Evidence for the existence of these methods can be found in the writings of the ancient Greek , Chaldean, Egyptian and Roman civilizations as well as archaeological evidence from Europe, North and South America and Asia. These tried and tested processing techniques remained essentially the same until the advent of the industrial revolution. Examples of ready-meals also exist from preindustrial revolution times such as the Cornish pasty and Haggis. During ancient times and today these are considered processing foods.

Modern food processing technology in the 19th and 20th century was largely developed to serve military needs. In 1809 Nicolas Appert invented a vacuum bottling technique that would supply food for French troops, and this contributed to the development of tinning and then canning by Peter Durand in 1810. Although initially expensive and somewhat hazardous due to the lead used in cans, canned goods would later become a staple around the world. Pasteurization, discovered by Louis Pasteur in 1862, was a significant advance in ensuring the micro-biological safety of food.

In the 20th century, World War II, the space race and the rising consumer society in developed countries (including the United States) contributed to the growth of food processing with such advances as spray drying, juice concentrates, freeze drying and the introduction of artificial sweeteners, colouring agents, and preservatives such as sodium benzoate. In the late 20th century products such as dried instant soups, reconstituted fruits and juices, and self cooking meals such as MRE food ration were developed.

In western Europe and North America, the second half of the 20th century witnessed a rise in the pursuit of convenience. Food processing companies marketed their products especially towards middle-class working wives and mothers. Frozen foods (often credited to Clarence Birdseye) found their success in sales of juice concentrates and "TV dinners". Processors utilised the perceived value of time to appeal to the postwar population, and this same appeal contributes to the success of convenience foods today.

BENEFITS

Benefits of food processing include toxin removal, preservation, easing marketing and distribution tasks, and increasing food consistency. In addition, it increases seasonal availability of many foods, enables transportation of delicate perishable foods across long distances and makes many kinds of foods safe to eat by de-activating spoilage and pathogenic micro-organisms. Modern supermarkets would not be feasible without modern food processing techniques, long voyages would not be possible and military campaigns would be significantly more difficult and costly to execute.

Processed foods are usually less susceptible to early spoilage than fresh foods and are better suited for long distance transportation from the source to the consumer. When they were first introduced, some processed foods helped to alleviate food shortages and improved the overall nutrition of populations as it made many new foods available to the masses.

Processing can also reduce the incidence of food borne disease. Fresh materials, such as fresh produce and raw meats, are more likely to harbour pathogenic micro-organisms (e.g. Salmonella) capable of causing serious illnesses.

The extremely varied modern diet is only truly possible on a wide scale because of food processing. Transportation of more exotic foods, as well as the elimination of much hard labour gives the modern eater easy access to a wide variety of food unimaginable to their ancestors.

The act of processing can often improve the taste of food significantly.

Mass production of food is much cheaper overall than individual production of meals from raw ingredients. Therefore, a large profit potential exists for the manufacturers and suppliers of processed food products. Individuals may see a benefit in convenience, but rarely see any direct financial cost benefit in using processed food as compared to home preparation.

Processed food freed people from the large amount of time involved in preparing and cooking "natural" unprocessed foods.  The increase in free time allows people much more choice in life style than previously allowed. In many families the adults are working away from home and therefore there is little time for the preparation of food based on fresh ingredients. The food industry offers products that fulfill many different needs: From peeled potatoes that only have to be boiled at home to fully prepared ready meals that can be heated up in the microwave oven within a few minutes.

Modern food processing also improves the quality of life for people with allergies, diabetics, and other people who cannot consume some common food elements. Food processing can also add extra nutrients such as vitamins.

PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS FOR FOOD PROCESSING

When designing processes for the food industry the following performance parameters may be taken into account:

• Hygiene, e.g. measured by number of micro-organisms per ml of finished product
• Energy efficiency measured e.g. by “ton of steam per ton of sugar produced”
• Minimization of waste, measured e.g. by “percentage of peeling loss during the peeling of potatoes'
• Labour used, measured e.g. by ”number of working hours per ton of finished product”
• Minimization of cleaning stops measured e.g. by “number of hours between cleaning stops”

TRENDS IN MODERN FOOD PROCESSING

Cost reduction

• Profit Incentive drives most of the factors behind any industry; the food industry not least of all. Health concerns are generally subservient to profit potential, leading the food processing industry to often ignore major health concerns raised by the use of industrially-produced ingredients (partially-hydrogenated vegetable oils, for example, a well-known and well-researched cause of heart disease, that is still commonly used in processed food to increase profit margin.)   Consumer pressure has led to a reduction in the use of industrially-produced ingredients in processed food, but the (often slight) potential for increased profits has barred widespread acceptance by the industry of recognized health problems caused by over-consumption of processed foods.
• Often farmers take most of the burden in cost reduction because they're usually submitted to a monopsony by food processing industries.

Health

• Reduction of fat content in final product e.g. by using baking instead of deep-frying in the production of potato chips, another processed food
• Maintaining the natural taste of the product e.g. by using less artificial sweetener than they used before.

Hygiene

The rigorous application of industry and government endorsed standards to minimise possible risk and hazards. The international standard adopted is HACCP.

Efficiency

• Rising energy costs lead to increasing usage of energy-saving technologies, e.g. frequency converters on electrical drives, heat insulation of factory buildings and heated vessels, energy recovery systems, keeping a single fish frozen all the way from China to Switzerland.
• Factory automation systems (often Distributed control systems) reduce personnel costs and may lead to more stable production results.

 

 

LASER TECHNOLOGY

     A laser is a device that emits light (electromagnetic radiation) through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. The emitted laser light is notable for its high degree of spatial and temporal coherence, unattainable using other technologies.

     Spatial coherence typically is expressed through the output being a narrow beam which is diffraction-limited, often a so-called "pencil beam." Laser beams can be focused to very tiny spots, achieving a very high irradiance. Or they can be launched into a beam of very low divergence in order to concentrate their power at a large distance.

Temporal (or longitudinal) coherence implies a polarized wave at a single frequency whose phase is correlated over a relatively large distance (the coherence length) along the beam.  A beam produced by a thermal or other incoherent light source has an instantaneous amplitude and phase which vary randomly with respect to time and position, and thus a very short coherence length.

     Most so-called "single wavelength" lasers actually produce radiation in several modes having slightly different frequencies (wavelengths), often not in a single polarization. And although temporal coherence implies monochromaticity, there are even lasers that emit a broad spectrum of light, or emit different wavelengths of light simultaneously. There are some lasers which are not single spatial mode and consequently their light beams diverge more than required by the diffraction limit. However all such devices are classified as "lasers" based on their method of producing that light: stimulated emission. Lasers are employed in applications where light of the required spatial or temporal coherence could not be produced using simpler technologies.

TYPES OF LASERS

GAS LASERS

     Following the invention of the HeNe gas laser, many other gas discharges have been found to amplify light coherently. Gas lasers using many different gases have been built and used for many purposes. The helium-neon laser (HeNe) is able to operate at a number of different wavelengths, however the vast majority are engineered to lase at 633 nm; these relatively low cost but highly coherent lasers are extremely common in optical research and educational laboratories. Commercial carbon dioxide (CO₂) lasers can emit many hundreds of watts in a single spatial mode which can be concentrated into a tiny spot. This emission is in the thermal infrared at 10.6 µm; such lasers are regularly used in industry for cutting and welding. The efficiency of a CO₂ laser is unusually high: over 10%. Argon-ion lasers can operate at a number of lasing transitions between 351 and 528.7 nm. Depending on the optical design one or more of these transitions can be lasing simultaneously; the most commonly used lines are 458 nm, 488 nm and 514.5 nm. A nitrogen transverse electrical discharge in gas at atmospheric pressure (TEA) laser is an inexpensive gas laser, often home-built by hobbyists, which produces rather incoherent UV light at 337.1 nm. Metal ion lasers are gas lasers that generate deep ultraviolet wavelengths. Helium-silver (HeAg) 224 nm and neon-copper (NeCu) 248 nm are two examples. Like all low-pressure gas lasers, the gain media of these lasers have quite narrow oscillation linewidths, less than 3 GHz (0.5 picometers), making them candidates for use in fluorescence suppressed Raman spectroscopy.

CHEMICAL LASERS

      These are powered by a chemical reaction permitting a large amount of energy to be released quickly. Such very high power lasers are especially of interest to the military, however continuous wave chemical lasers at very high power levels, fed by streams of gasses, have been developed and have some industrial applications. As examples, in the Hydrogen fluoride laser (2700-2900 nm) and the Deuterium fluoride laser (3800 nm) the reaction is the combination of hydrogen or deuterium gas with combustion products of ethylene in nitrogen trifluoride.

EXCIMER LASERS

      These are a special sort of gas laser powered by an electric discharge in which the lasing medium is an excimer, or more precisely an exciplex in existing designs. These are molecules which can only exist with one atom in an excited electronic state. Once the molecule transfers its excitation energy to a photon, therefore, its atoms are no longer bound to each other and the molecule disintegrates. This drastically reduces the population of the lower energy state thus greatly facilitating a population inversion. Excimers currently used are all noble gas compounds; noble gasses are chemically inert and can only form compounds while in an excited state. Excimer lasers typically operate at ultraviolet wavelengths with major applicatons including semiconductor photolithography and LASIK eye surgery. Commonly used excimer molecules include ArF (emission at 193 nm), KrCl (222 nm), KrF (248 nm), XeCl (308 nm), and XeF (351 nm). The molecular fluorine laser, emitting at 157 nm in the vacuum ultraviolet is sometimes referred to as an excimer laser, however this appears to be a misnomer inasmuch as F₂ is a stable compound.

SOLID STATE LASERS

      use a crystalline or glass rod which is "doped" with ions that provide the required energy states. For example, the first working laser was a ruby laser, made from ruby (chromium-doped corundum). The population inversion is actually maintained in the "dopant", such as chromium or neodymium. These materials are pumped optically using a shorter wavelength than the lasing wavelength, often from a flashtube or from another laser.

It should be noted that "solid-state" in this sense refers to a crystal or glass, but this usage is distinct from the designation of "solid-state electronics" in referring to semiconductors. Semiconductor lasers (laser diodes) are pumped electrically and are thus not referred to as solid-state lasers. The class of solid-state lasers would, however, properly include fiber lasers in which dopants in the glass lase under optical pumping. But in practice these are simply referred to as "fiber lasers" with "solid-state" reserved for lasers using a solid rod of such a material.

Neodymium is a common "dopant" in various solid-state laser crystals, including yttrium orthovanadate (Nd:YVO₄), yttrium lithium fluoride (Nd:YLF) and yttrium aluminium garnet (Nd:YAG). All these lasers can produce high powers in the infrared spectrum at 1064 nm. They are used for cutting, welding and marking of metals and other materials, and also in spectroscopy and for pumping dye lasers.

     These lasers are also commonly frequency doubled, tripled or quadrupled, in so-called "diode pumped solid state" or DPSS lasers. Under second, third, or fourth harmonic generation these produce 532 nm (green, visible), 355 nm and 266 nm (Ultraviolet|UV]]) beams. This is the technology behind the bright laser pointers particularly at green (532 nm) and other short visible wavelengths.

     

     Ytterbium, holmium, thulium, and erbium are other common "dopants" in solid-state lasers. Ytterbium is used in crystals such as Yb:YAG, Yb:KGW, Yb:KYW, Yb:SYS, Yb:BOYS, Yb:CaF2, typically operating around 1020-1050 nm. They are potentially very efficient and high powered due to a small quantum defect. Extremely high powers in ultrashort pulses can be achieved with Yb:YAG. Holmium-doped YAG crystals emit at 2097 nm and form an efficient laser operating at infrared wavelengths strongly absorbed by water-bearing tissues. The Ho-YAG is usually operated in a pulsed mode, and passed through optical fiber surgical devices to resurface joints, remove rot from teeth, vaporize cancers, and pulverize kidney and gall stones.

Titanium-doped sapphire (Ti:sapphire) produces a highly tunable infrared laser, commonly used for spectroscopy. It is also notable for use as a mode-locked laser producing ultrashort pulses of extremely high peak power.

     Thermal limitations in solid-state lasers arise from unconverted pump power that manifests itself as heat. This heat, when coupled with a high thermo-optic coefficient (dn/dT) can give rise to thermal lensing as well as reduced quantum efficiency. These types of issues can be overcome by another novel diode-pumped solid-state laser, the diode-pumped thin disk laser. The thermal limitations in this laser type are mitigated by using a laser medium geometry in which the thickness is much smaller than the diameter of the pump beam. This allows for a more even thermal gradient in the material. Thin disk lasers have been shown to produce up to kilowatt levels of power.

^{FIBRE LASERS}

     Solid-state lasers or laser amplifiers where the light is guided due to the total internal reflection in a single mode optical fiber are instead called fiber lasers. Guiding of light allows extremely long gain regions providing good cooling conditions; fibers have high surface area to volume ratio which allows efficient cooling. In addition, the fiber's waveguiding properties tend to reduce thermal distortion of the beam. Erbium and ytterbium ions are common active species in such lasers.

     Quite often, the fiber laser is designed as a double-clad fiber. This type of fiber consists of a fiber core, an inner cladding and an outer cladding. The index of the three concentric layers is chosen so that the fiber core acts as a single-mode fiber for the laser emission while the outer cladding acts as a highly multimode core for the pump laser. This lets the pump propagate a large amount of power into and through the active inner core region, while still having a high numerical aperture (NA) to have easy launching conditions.

     Pump light can be used more efficiently by creating a fiber disk laser, or a stack of such lasers.Fiber lasers have a fundamental limit in that the intensity of the light in the fiber cannot be so high that optical nonlinearities induced by the local electric field strength can become dominant and prevent laser operation and/or lead to the material destruction of the fiber. This effect is called photodarkening. In bulk laser materials, the cooling is not so efficient, and it is difficult to separate the effects of photodarkening from the thermal effects, but the experiments in fibers show that the photodarkening can be attributed to the formation of long-living color centers.

Dye lasers

     Dye lasers use an organic dye as the gain medium. The wide gain spectrum of available dyes, or mixtures of dyes, allows these lasers to be highly tunable, or to produce very short-duration pulses (on the order of a few femtoseconds). Although these tunable lasers are mainly known in their liquid form, researchers have also demonstrated narrow-linewidth tunable emission in dispersive oscillator configurations incorporating solid-state dye gain media.  In their most prevalent form these solid state dye lasers use dye-doped polymers as laser media.

Free electron lasers

     Free electron lasers, or FELs, generate coherent, high power radiation, that is widely tunable, currently ranging in wavelength from microwaves, through terahertz radiation and infrared, to the visible spectrum, to soft X-rays. They have the widest frequency range of any laser type. While FEL beams share the same optical traits as other lasers, such as coherent radiation, FEL operation is quite different. Unlike gas, liquid, or solid-state lasers, which rely on bound atomic or molecular states, FELs use a relativistic electron beam as the lasing medium, hence the term free electron.

Exotic laser media

     In September 2007, the BBC News reported that there was speculation about the possibility of using positronium annihilation to drive a very powerful gamma ray laser.   Dr. David Cassidy of the University of California, Riverside proposed that a single such laser could be used to ignite a nuclear fusion reaction, replacing the banks of hundreds of lasers currently employed in inertial confinement fusion experiments.

Space-based X-ray lasers pumped by a nuclear explosion have also been proposed as antimissile weapons.     Such devices would be one-shot weapons.

USES

When lasers were invented in 1960, they were called "a solution looking for a problem".   Since then, they have become ubiquitous, finding utility in thousands of highly varied applications in every section of modern society, including consumer electronics, information technology, science, medicine, industry, law enforcement, entertainment, and the military.

The first use of lasers in the daily lives of the general population was the supermarket barcode scanner, introduced in 1974. The laserdisc player, introduced in 1978, was the first successful consumer product to include a laser but the compact disc player was the first laser-equipped device to become common, beginning in 1982 followed shortly by laser printers.

Some other uses are:

• Medicine: Bloodless surgery, laser healing, surgical treatment, kidney stone treatment, eye treatment, dentistry
• Industry: Cutting, welding, material heat treatment, marking parts, non-contact measurement of parts
• Military: Marking targets, guiding munitions, missile defence, electro-optical countermeasures (EOCM), alternative to radar, blinding troops.
• Law enforcement: used for latent fingerprint detection in the forensic identification field
• Research: Spectroscopy, laser ablation, laser annealing, laser scattering, laser interferometry, LIDAR, laser capture microdissection, fluorescence microscopy
• Product development/commercial: laser printers, optical discs (e.g. CDs and the like), barcode scanners, thermometers, laser pointers, holograms, bubblegrams.
• Laser lighting displays: Laser light shows
• Cosmetic skin treatments: acne treatment, cellulite and striae reduction, and hair removal.

In 2004, excluding diode lasers, approximately 131,000 lasers were sold with a value of US$2.19 billion.  In the same year, approximately 733 million diode lasers, valued at $3.20 billion, were sold.

BREEDING METHODS IN CROP PLANTS

Classification of crop plants based on mode of pollination and mode of reproduction

Mode of pollination and reproduction

Examples of crop plants

Self Pollinated Crops Cross Pollinated Crops Often Cross Pollinated Crops

Rice,  Wheat, Barley, Oats, Chickpea, Pea, Cowpea, Lentil, Green gram, Black gram, Soybean, Common bean, Moth bean, Linseed, Sesame, Khesari, Sunhemp, Chillies, Brinjal, Tomato, Okra, Peanut, Potato, etc. Corn, Pearlmillet, Rye, Alfalfa, Radish, Cabbage, Sunflower, Sugarbeet, Castor, Red clover, White clover, Safflower, Spinach, Onion, Garlic, Turnip, Squash, Muskmelon, Watermelon, Cucumber, Pumpkin, Kenaf, Oilpalm, Carrot, Coconut, Papaya, Sugarcane, Coffee, Cocoa, Tea, Apple, Pears, Peaches, Cherries, grapes, Almond Strawberries, Pine apple, Banana, Cashew, Irish, Cassava, Taro, Rubber, etc. Sorghum, Cotton, Triticale,  Pigeonpea, Tobacco.

BREEDING METHODS IN CROP PLANTS

SELF POLLINATED CROPS

Mass selection

     In mass selection, seeds are collected from (usually a few dozen to a few hundred) desirable appearing individuals in a population, and the next generation is sown from the stock of mixed seed. This procedure, sometimes referred to as phenotypic selection, is based on how each individual looks. Mass selection has been used widely to improve old “land” varieties, varieties that have been passed down from one generation of farmers to the next over long periods.

An alternative approach that has no doubt been practiced for thousands of years is simply to eliminate undesirable types by destroying them in the field. The results are similar whether superior plants are saved or inferior plants are eliminated: seeds of the better plants become the planting stock for the next season.

  

      A modern refinement of mass selection is to harvest the best plants separately and to grow and compare their progenies. The poorer progenies are destroyed and the seeds of the remainder are harvested. It should be noted that selection is now based not solely on the appearance of the parent plants but also on the appearance and performance of their progeny. Progeny selection is usually more effective than phenotypic selection when dealing with quantitative characters of low heritability. It should be noted, however, that progeny testing requires an extra generation; hence gain per cycle of selection must be double that of simple phenotypic selection to achieve the same rate of gain per unit time.

      Mass selection, with or without progeny test, is perhaps the simplest and least expensive of plant-breeding procedures. It finds wide use in the breeding of certain forage species, which are not important enough economically to justify more detailed attention.

Pure-line selection

     Pure-line selection generally involves three more or less distinct steps: (1) numerous superior appearing plants are selected from a genetically variable population; (2) progenies of the individual plant selections are grown and evaluated by simple observation, frequently over a period of several years; and (3) when selection can no longer be made on the basis of observation alone, extensive trials are undertaken, involving careful measurements to determine whether the remaining selections are superior in yielding ability and other aspects of performance.

      Any progeny superior to an existing variety is then released as a new “pure-line” variety. Much of the success of this method during the early 1900s depended on the existence of genetically variable land varieties that were waiting to be exploited. They provided a rich source of superior pure-line varieties, some of which are still represented among commercial varieties. In recent years the pure-line method as outlined above has decreased in importance in the breeding of major cultivated species; however, the method is still widely used with the less important species that have not yet been heavily selected.

A variation of the pure-line selection method that dates back centuries is the selection of single-chance variants, mutations or “sports” in the original variety. A very large number of varieties that differ from the original strain in characteristics such as colour, lack of thorns or barbs, dwarfness, and disease resistance have originated in this fashion.

Hybridization

     During the 20th century planned hybridization between carefully selected parents has become dominant in the breeding of self-pollinated species. The object of hybridization is to combine desirable genes found in two or more different varieties and to produce pure-breeding progeny superior in many respects to the parental types. 

      Genes, however, are always in the company of other genes in a collection called a genotype. The plant breeder’s problem is largely one of efficiently managing the enormous numbers of genotypes that occur in the generations following hybridization. As an example of the power of hybridization in creating variability, a cross between hypothetical wheat varieties differing by only 21 genes is capable of producing more than 10,000,000,000 different genotypes in the second generation. At spacing normally used by farmers, more than 50,000,000 acres would be required to grow a population large enough to permit every genotype to occur in its expected frequency. While the great majority of these second generation genotypes are hybrid (heterozygous) for one or more traits, it is statistically possible that 2,097,152 different pure-breeding (homozygous) genotypes can occur, each potentially a new pure-line variety. These numbers illustrate the importance of efficient techniques in managing hybrid populations, for which purpose the pedigree procedure is most widely used.

    Pedigree breeding starts with the crossing of two genotypes, each of which have one or more desirable characters lacked by the other. If the two original parents do not provide all of the desired characters, a third parent can be included by crossing it to one of the hybrid progeny of the first generation (F1). In the pedigree method superior types are selected in successive generations, and a record is maintained of parent–progeny relationships. 

      The F2 generation (progeny of the crossing of two F1 individuals) affords the first opportunity for selection in pedigree programs. In this generation the emphasis is on the elimination of individuals carrying undesirable major genes. In the succeeding generations the hybrid condition gives way to pure breeding as a result of natural self-pollination, and families derived from different F2 plants begin to display their unique character. Usually one or two superior plants are selected within each superior family in these generations. By the F5 generation the pure-breeding condition (homozygosity) is extensive, and emphasis shifts almost entirely to selection between families. The pedigree record is useful in making these eliminations. At this stage each selected family is usually harvested in mass to obtain the larger amounts of seed needed to evaluate families for quantitative characters. This evaluation is usually carried out in plots grown under conditions that simulate commercial planting practice as closely as possible. When the number of families has been reduced to manageable proportions by visual selection, usually by the F7 or F8 generation, precise evaluation for performance and quality begins. The final evaluation of promising strains involves (1) observation, usually in a number of years and locations, to detect weaknesses that may not have appeared previously; (2) precise yield testing; and (3) quality testing. Many plant breeders test for five years at five representative locations before releasing a new variety for commercial production.

     The bulk-population method of breeding differs from the pedigree method primarily in the handling of generations following hybridization. The F2 generation is sown at normal commercial planting rates in a large plot. At maturity the crop is harvested in mass, and the seeds are used to establish the next generation in a similar plot. No record of ancestry is kept. During the period of bulk propagation natural selection tends to eliminate plants having poor survival value. Two types of artificial selection also are often applied: (1) destruction of plants that carry undesirable major genes and (2) mass techniques such as harvesting when only part of the seeds are mature to select for early maturing plants or the use of screens to select for increased seed size. Single plant selections are then made and evaluated in the same way as in the pedigree method of breeding. The chief advantage of the bulk population method is that it allows the breeder to handle very large numbers of individuals inexpensively.

     Often an outstanding variety can be improved by transferring to it some specific desirable character that it lacks. This can be accomplished by first crossing a plant of the superior variety to a plant of the donor variety, which carries the trait in question, and then mating the progeny back to a plant having the genotype of the superior parent. This process is called backcrossing. After five or six backcrosses the progeny will be hybrid for the character being transferred but like the superior parent for all other genes. Selfing the last backcross generation, coupled with selection, will give some progeny pure breeding for the genes being transferred. The advantages of the backcross method are its rapidity, the small number of plants required, and the predictability of the outcome. A serious disadvantage is that the procedure diminishes the occurrence of chance combinations of genes, which sometimes leads to striking improvements in performance.

 Hybrid varieties

     The development of hybrid varieties differs from hybridization. The F1 hybrid of crosses between different genotypes is often much more vigorous than its parents. This hybrid vigour, or heterosis, can be manifested in many ways, including increased rate of growth, greater uniformity, earlier flowering, and increased yield, the last being of greatest importance in agriculture. 

CROSS POLLINATED CROPS

     The most important methods of breeding cross-pollinated species are (1) mass selection; (2) development of hybrid varieties; and (3) development of synthetic varieties. Since cross-pollinated species are naturally hybrid (heterozygous) for many traits and lose vigour as they become purebred (homozygous), a goal of each of these breeding methods is to preserve or restore heterozygosity.

Mass selection

Mass selection in cross-pollinated species takes the same form as in self-pollinated species; i.e., a large number of superior appearing plants are selected and harvested in bulk and the seed used to produce the next generation. Mass selection has proved to be very effective in improving qualitative characters, and, applied over many generations, it is also capable of improving quantitative characters, including yield, despite the low heritability of such characters. Mass selection has long been a major method of breeding cross-pollinated species, especially in the economically less important species.

Hybrid varieties

     The outstanding example of the exploitation of hybrid vigour through the use of F1 hybrid varieties has been with corn (maize). The production of a hybrid corn variety involves three steps: (1) the selection of superior plants; (2) selfing for several generations to produce a series of inbred lines, which although different from each other are each pure-breeding and highly uniform; and (3) crossing selected inbred lines. During the inbreeding process the vigour of the lines decreases drastically, usually to less than half that of field-pollinated varieties. Vigour is restored, however, when any two unrelated inbred lines are crossed, and in some cases the F1 hybrids between inbred lines are much superior to open-pollinated varieties. An important consequence of the homozygosity of the inbred lines is that the hybrid between any two inbreds will always be the same. Once the inbreds that give the best hybrids have been identified, any desired amount of hybrid seed can be produced. 

      Pollination in corn (maize) is by wind, which blows pollen from the tassels to the styles (silks) that protrude from the tops of the ears. Thus controlled cross-pollination on a field scale can be accomplished economically by interplanting two or three rows of the seed parent inbred with one row of the pollinator inbred and detasselling the former before it sheds pollen. In practice most hybrid corn is produced from “double crosses,” in which four inbred lines are first crossed in pairs (A × B and C × D) and then the two F1 hybrids are crossed again (A × B) × (C × D). The double-cross procedure has the advantage that the commercial F1 seed is produced on the highly productive single cross A × B rather than on a poor-yielding inbred, thus reducing seed costs. In recent years cytoplasmic male sterility, described earlier, has been used to eliminate detasselling of the seed parent, thus providing further economies in producing hybrid seed.

Much of the hybrid vigour exhibited by F1 hybrid varieties is lost in the next generation. Consequently, seed from hybrid varieties is not used for planting stock but the farmer purchases new seed each year from seed companies. 

Perhaps no other development in the biological sciences has had greater impact on increasing the quantity of food supplies available to the world’s population than has the development of hybrid corn (maize). Hybrid varieties in other crops, made possible through the use of male sterility, have also been dramatically successful and it seems likely that use of hybrid varieties will continue to expand in the future.

Synthetic varieties

     A synthetic variety is developed by intercrossing a number of genotypes of known superior combining ability—i.e., genotypes that are known to give superior hybrid performance when crossed in all combinations. (By contrast, a variety developed by mass selection is made up of genotypes bulked together without having undergone preliminary testing to determine their performance in hybrid combination.) Synthetic varieties are known for their hybrid vigour and for their ability to produce usable seed for succeeding seasons. Because of these advantages, synthetic varieties have become increasingly favoured in the growing of many species, such as the forage crops, in which expense prohibits the development or use of hybrid varieties.

Source:http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/463294/plant-breeding/

MUTATION BREEDING

Physical Mutagens

     Physical mutagens include various types of radiation, viz X-rays, gamma rays, alpha particles, beta particles, fast and thermal (slow) neutrons and ultra violet rays.  A brief description of these mutagens is presented below:

Commonly used physical mutagens (radiations), their properties and mode of action.

Type of Radiation	Main properties
X – rays	S.I., penetrating and non-particulate
Gamma rays	S.I., very penetrating and Non-particulate
Alpha Particles	D.I., particulate, less penetrating and positively charged.
Beta Rays Particles	S.I., particulate, more penetrating than alpha particles and negatively charged.
Fast and Thermal Neutrons	D.I., particulate, neutral particles, highly penetrating.
6. Ultra Violet Rays	Non-ionizing, low penetrating

Note: particulate refers to particle emitting property DI = Densely ionizing, SI = Sparsely ionizing.

 X-rays

X-rays were first discovered by Roentgen in 1895.  The wavelengths of X-rays vary from 10-11 to 10-7. They are sparsely ionizing and highly penetrating.  They are generated in X-rays machines.  X-rays can break chromosomes and produce all types of mutations in nucleotides, viz. addition, deletion, inversion, transposition, transitions and transversions.   X-rays were first used by Muller in 1927 for induction of mutations in Drosophila.  In plants, Stadler in 1928 first used X-rays for induction of mutations in barley. 

Gamma rays

Gamma rays have shorter wave length than X-rays and are more penetrating than gamma rays.  They are generated from radioactive decay of some elements like 14C, 60Co, radium etc.  Of these, cobalt 60 is commonly used for the production of Gamma rays.  Gamma rays cause chromosomal and gene mutations like X-rays.

CHEMICAL MUTAGENS

Procedure for chemical mutagenesis

            The chemical mutagens can be divided into four groups, viz. 1) alkylating agents, 2) base analogues, 3) acridine dyes, and 4) others.  A brief description of some commonly used chemicals of these groups is presented below.

Some commonly used chemical mutagens and their mode of action

Group of mutagen	Name of chemical	Mode of action
Alkylating Agents Base Analogues Acridine Dyes Others	Ethyl methane Sulphonate Methyl Methane Sulphonate Ethyl Ethane Sulphonate Ethylene Imines 5 Bromo Uracil 2 Amino purine Acriflavin, Proflavin Nitrous Acid Hydroxylamine Sodium Azide	AT          GC Transitions Transitions GC          AT Transitions Transitions AT          GC Transitions AT          GC Transitions Deletion, addition and frame shifts. AT          GC Transitions GC          AT Transitions Transitions

            

      The  speed of hydrolysis of the chemical mutagens is usually measured by the half life of the chemicals.  Half life is the time required for disappearance of the half of the initial amount of active reaction agent.  The following table gives the half life in hours at different temperatures.

Chemicals	Temperature
	20OC	30OC	37OC
MMS (hours) EMS DES NMU NEU	68 93 3.3 - -	20 26 1 35 84	9.1 10.4 - - -

     In the case of DES the mutagenic solution should be changed at every half an hour to get good results.  Half life is the function of temperature and pH for a particular compound. 

One should be extremely careful in handling alkylating agents since most of them are carcinogenic.  Especially for ethylene imine, it should be handled under aerated conditions.  EMS though not dangerous, it should not be pipetted out by mouth.  Besides the alkylating agents, we are also having chemical mutagens like, Base analogues, Acridine dyes, Antibiotics and other miscellaneous chemicals.

Treatment of seeds with mutagenic chemicals:

Materials required:- conical flask, beaker, pipette, glass rods, measuring cylinder, stop watch, distilled water and phosphate buffer.

Method: -  Mutagenic chemical is diluted to the required concentration by using distilled water.  To prepare the molar concentration of DES, the method is

Molecular weight       x           a.i. (purity percentage)
Specific gravity                             (active ingredient)

                        154                  100
Eg. DES =       ----       x          -----      = 131 CC.

1. 18 .................99

131 CC dissolved in one litre will give 1 molar solution.

Seeds have to be soaked in the distilled water for different hours depending upon the seeds, to initiate biochemical reactions.  The chemical action is found to be affected by the frequency and spectrum of mutagen depending upon the stage of cell division, during the process of germination.  If the chemical treatment is synchronized with DNA synthesis stage (G1, S and G2) then we can get better results.

            The presoaked seeds are taken in a flask and chemical is added.  Usually the quantity of the chemical is ten times the volume of seeds.  Intermittent shaking should be given to ensure uniform exposure of the chemicals.  The chemical should be drained after the treatment time is over.  The seeds should be washed thoroughly in running tap water, immediately for not less than 30 minutes.  After washing, the seeds should be dried in between the filter paper folds.  Seeds are to be arranged in germination tray with equal spacing.  Trays are kept in a controlled environment of temperature and humity.  Periodical observation on germination upto 10-15 days is needed.  From the germination percentage, we can assess the LD50 dose.

INDIAN SPACE TECHNOLOGY - PRESIDENT Dr. APJ ABDUL KALAM 'SPEECH

     The following is the text of the speech of the President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in the Space Summit of 90^th Session of the Indian Science Congress:

     I am indeed delighted to participate in the Space Summit of 90^th Session of the Indian Science Congress. As a scientist who has spent major portion of life in building India’s first satellite and placing it in orbit, I am glad to see myself among the galaxy of expert scientists from various premier space agencies. Surely, the progress world-over in Space science and technology is amazing and beautiful – a true miracle for all mankind. In this connection I would like to congratulate China for their recent successful launch of SHENZHOV-IV orbiting a recoverable space craft around the earth, moving a step nearer to manned space missions. India have plans for moon mission and reusable launch vehicles.

    I was asking myself what thoughts I can share with such important space community. As the First Citizen of India, however, I know the dream of my people. I am also aware about their pain and sorrow. We are one sixth of the world’s population and at least two thirds of the global population is perhaps going through the same type of crisis and turmoil. How are we going to remove the pain? I have a suggestion to this Space Summit to evolve a vision for a prosperous, happy and secure planet earth. Hence I have selected the topic - Vision For The Global Space Community: Prosperous, Happy And Secure Planet Earth. Particularly I would like to highlight the relevance of space technology in providing solutions to the global concerns like energy crisis, water scarcity and mineral exploitation leading to man-planet conflict.

Growth of technologies and human impact

     The last century has seen an amazing impact of science and technology on human life and quality of living. From a hunter and gatherer, man has evolved himself through science and technology. People’s life will be enriched with knowledge products of information and communication technology, bio-technology and info-space technology.

Society and economic growth

     During the last century the world has undergone a change from agriculture society, where manual labour was the critical factor, to industrial society where the management of technology, capital and labour provided the competitive advantage. Then the information era was born, last decade, where connectivity and software products are driving the economy of a few nations. In the 21st century, a new society is emerging where knowledge is the primary production resource instead of capital and labour. Efficient utilisation of this existing knowledge can create comprehensive wealth and also improve the quality of life - in the form of better health, education, infrastructure and other social indicators. Ability to create and maintain the knowledge infrastructure, develop knowledge workers and enhance their productivity through creation, growth and exploitation of new knowledge will be the key factors in deciding the prosperity of this Knowledge Society. As we progress from one society to another, we have been doing value addition to the processes followed in the previous societies. Info-space technology can do tremendous value addition in the way we have been doing agriculture, industry, education, health care etc.,

Knowledge Society

     In the 21st century, a new society is emerging where knowledge is the primary production resource instead of capital and labour. Efficient utilisation of this existing knowledge can create comprehensive wealth for the nation in the form of better health, education, infrastructure and other social indicators. Such a knowledge society has two very important components driven by societal transformation and wealth generation. The societal transformation has to be through large-scale development in education, healthcare, agriculture and governance. These in turn will lead to employment generation, high productivity and rural prosperity. Core areas that will spearhead our march towards knowledge society are: Space technology integrated with Information & Communication Technologies which includes generation of conventional & non-conventional energy, environment & ecology protection, mining of new resources from planets, tele-medicine & tele-education, Infotainment. 

      As society transforms itself through education, health-care, agriculture and good governance, it has now to focus on resolving impending major crisis in the areas of energy, environment, ecology, water and mineral resources. While opportunities exists for markets up to 80 billion dollars by 2010 for knowledge-based products, it is only Space technology that has the capability and capacity to resolve the serious Man-Planet conflict created by severe pollution arising from a fossil fuel based industrial era. The effects of environmental pollution are as dangerous to mankind as the fact that even these resources of oil, gas and coal are not infinite. Fossil fuels will soon be depleted and India with 20% of the world’s population and 0.4% of world’s oil and gas reserves will have to bear the brunt of the impending crisis. Hence it is in our nation’s vital interest, and indeed the interest of all nations that this Space Summit throws light to show the path to liberate the world of the Man-Planet conflict which is now moving from a moderate stage of conflict to a severe stage. Let us not wait for the crisis stage to emerge, when accommodation may not be possible. 

Prosperous, happy and secure societies

    Every human being on planet earth yearns for prosperity, happiness and security. Technology development through wealth generation, and innovative knowledge intensive products and services are creating a massive societal transformation world-over. This will surely lead the mankind to universal harmony and prosperity. Can Space technology be a main tool for such an evolution.

Dynamics of terrorism and violence

     World over, poverty, illiteracy and un- employment are driving forward the forces of anger and violence. These forces link themselves to historical enmity, tyranny and injustice, ethnic issues and religious fundamentalism flowing into an outburst of terrorism worldwide. Those who claim to love the Creator but hate His creation are indeed living in self deception. But, society which includes you and me, have to address ourselves to the root causes of such phenomena which are poverty, illiteracy and unemployment. 

Energy for future generations

    The era of wood and bio-mass is almost neared its end. So to the age of oil and natural gas would soon be over even within the next few decades. Massive burning of the remaining reserves of coal would surely lead the world in ecological disaster. Nuclear power especially a breakthrough in nuclear fusion may be a path. But sustainable economic development and perennial sources of clean energy which would then heal the wounded planet earth’s environment and ecology is the only massive use of the solar energy. 

Water for future generations

     More than 70% of earth surface is having water; but only one percent is available as fresh water fro drinking purposes. Currently, more than half of the world’s six billion population is without access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Twenty thousand children are dying every day due to polluted drinking water more than the total mortality due to cancer, aids, wars and accidents. By the year 2025 when the world population touches eight billion, as many as seven billion will be living under conditions moderate, high and extreme water scarcity. There is a four-fold path towards safe, fresh drinking water. The first is to re-distribute water supply; the second is to seek new sources; the third is to save and reduce demand for water; and the fourth is to recycle used water supplies.

River Networking

     Space science and technology can surely find sustainable regional solutions for abundant and perennial supply of fresh drinking water. In our country, redistribution of water supply through networking of rivers is now being taken up as a critical mission. Remote sensing to survey and evolve optimum water routes, environmental mapping and afforestation requirements, and continuous monitoring of the networked water flow through all seasons and at all times may require a dedicated satellite constellation for our networked river systems.

 

Space technologies for new sources of fresh water

     Seeking new water supply sources may also be yet another thrust area for space science and technologies. Reverse osmosis technologies for sea water desalination in new energy efficient manner is rapidly evolving. Space based solar power stations have six to fifteen times greater capital utilization than equivalent sized ground solar stations. Linking Space solar power to reverse osmosis technology for large-scale drinking water supplies to coastal cities is thus yet another major contribution which could be made by space technologies for sustainable economic development through regional solutions for the impending drinking water crisis.

Potentially Dangerous Asteroids

     Space community has to keep monitoring the dynamics of all potentially dangerous asteroids. Asteroid 1950DA’s rendezvous with earth is predicted to be on Mar 16, 2880. Presently it is about 7.8 millions kilometers away. The impact probability calculations indicate a serious condition of 1 in 300. In such a crucial condition, we should aim to deflect or destroy this asteroid with technology available with mankind. Definitely this problem belongs to space technology community. It needs political support and international cop-operation to destroy such asteroids.

Societal transformation

     Can Space technology provide solutions to these fundamental problems of man and society? Surely, it has already begun to do so. The social values added and enhanced social productivity is largely due to satellite imagery for land and water management. It is also due to satellite based e-education and connectivity to community activities for sustainable economic development. But, this is just a beginning and the tip of the iceberg.

Space technology – missions

    

     It is only international cooperation that can yield shared benefits beyond expendable launch vehicles and spacecraft for information missions in the areas of tele-communications and imagery. Solutions to the Man-Planet conflict for energy, water and mineral resources may be discovered in a new 21^st century Space era of low cost access to space with re-usable launch vehicles.

Commercialisation of Space

      The global space industry has had a forty year period of unprecedented growth and prosperity. But as would be seen from the trends, global space markets are declining. The market is rapid shrinking for information satellites. The geo-stationary orbit is nearly full, and new earth orbits need study and exploration, especially use of small satellites in equatorial low earth orbit. Currently, global space industry has a capacity to launch over 200 tonnes of satellites every year. However, the forecast demand will consume less than half of this established capacity. A bitter price war is on to capture this limited market. New space missions for the benefit of all mankind are yet to be formulated. Space launch vehicles which are now in use are just an out-cropping of ballistic missiles proliferated by geo-political rivalry. The cost of access to space forbids further expansion of space activities. No exit strategy is possible for such a vast and prestigious industry. Hence, the global space industry is in a state of disequilibrium being unable to move either forward or exit from the market. 

Cost of access to Space

     This state of disequilibrium is only a temporary stage. Further expansion of man’s activities in Space can and must take place only in a global cooperative manner that will integrate all nations’ Space capabilities to reduce Man-Planet conflict patterns. This calls for reduction of cost of access to space by several orders of magnitude to enable the global space community move out of the era of information missions into an era of mass missions and find solutions for energy, water and mineral crises which is soon to engulf mankind. 

Cost reduction strategies

     It may be interesting to this space community to know that you are in Bangalore just 200 kms away from Srirangapatana, the birthplace of world's first war rocket. In 1792, Tippu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore State, in the war against the British, used war rockets against the cavalries and defeated the British force. He was the first in the world to introduce rocket forte in the Army. Though India was a latecomer in the modern space activities, it is one of the five nations today placed its own satellite using indigenous GSLV. 

     In the past, countries which participated in the industrial revolution became developed countries due to economic strength and took the lead in space activities also. But today, having crossed the industrial age, we are in the knowledge age. India is a country, which has tremendous capabilities to be one a leading country in information technology. Space technology combined with information and communication technologies will provide greater opportunities for India to be one among the lead countries for future space activities. The Indian concept of hyper-plane, a fully re-useable system is an innovation in rocketry providing a payload fraction of 15%, drastically reducing the launch cost to 1/50 of the current cost elsewhere. Therefore, it is an opportune moment for. countries to join together with India and launch major universal missions to share the benefit of space to the whole mankind, rather than commercial competition. This will enable narrowing the difference between developing and developed nations. The key to new opportunities for the global space community lies in the creation of new markets arising from mankind’s determination to reduce the Man-Planet conflict and embark on solutions for facing the impending crises for energy, water and mineral resources. Typically, solutions for energy and water for India have been briefly presented.

      Formulating of such new missions would thus lead to better capacity utilization, and the creation of low cost space transportation. India is already working to evolve innovative design concepts for both small as well as large payloads into space. Both single and two-stage to orbit RLV concepts are being examined. The goal here is to reduce the cost of access to Space by one and two orders of magnitude. Even a small scientific breakthrough, for example, in air breathing propulsion systems may lead to a Space transportation revolution. The world Space community has a huge stake in such breakthrough research in advanced inter-disciplinary and inter-institutional collaboration. A global effort is thus needed to quickly demonstrate at least on a small scale the technology for low cost access to Space. 

Aerospace system applications – a perspective

     The Space Summit may therefore, have a long-term 50-year perspective from small scale technology demonstrations of re-usable launch vehicles through small solar power satellite demonstrations and small satellite constellations to heavy lift RLVs for large scale solar power satellites, space manufacturing and ultimately to space colonization and extra terrestrial mining. 

Space technology and integrated strength

     India, with its large population and depleting natural resources of energy, water and minerals may collaborate with the world Space community to win the battle, and move forward to resolve the Man-Planet conflict. In the global Space community, there are over one million scientists, engineers and technicians; huge investments in infrastructure and a strong mission management culture which can lay the foundation for long-term partnership and international cooperation including the commercialization of Space and targeting to move towards a 100 billion dollar space industry business in the coming years. India has established core competence with talented manpower and can build reusable launch vehicles in a cost effective manner. India is thus a strong contender for the consortia of space agencies for future mission. India also has considerable infrastructure and experience in the use of space for sustainable economic development. This experience can be used by other nations for their socio economic development under common global missions.

Space technology and socio-economic development

     It would thus be seen that space technology is central to and enjoys special links with major aspects socio-economic development. This includes information technology, infrastructure including electric power, education and health-care, agriculture and agro food processing, strategic industries and geo-strategic initiatives. All this is bound to lead to rapid economic growth and a high level social security.

Conclusion

      In conclusion, the Space Summit thus needs to address itself as to how we may initiate a movement towards a Common Minimum Global Space Mission, to address the impending human crises for energy, water and minerals. Such a mission needs to have a 50-year perspective for international cooperation, but more importantly the Summit may identify an immediate strategy for change and an action plan to move forward. 

      Above all, we must recognize the necessity for the world’s Space community to avoid terrestrial geo-political conflict to be drawn into outer space, thus threatening the space assets belonging to all mankind. This leads on to the need for an International Space Force made up of all nations willing to participate and contribute to protect world space assets in a manner which will enable peaceful use of space on a global cooperative basis without the looming threat of conflict on earth. I am sure, India would contribute its best to the creation and sustenance of such an International Space Force.

      The advantage of space science and technology today is its highly inter-disciplinary nature, cutting across institutional boundaries. My suggestion to the global space community is: "if you have knowledge, let others light their candles at it…." And thus share the goodness of life and mind across all mankind.

Thank you.