Current Science

M. Vijayan ¹

Affiliations
1 Molecular Biophysics Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, IN

Abstract

No Abstract.

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M. Vijayan ¹

Affiliations
1 Molecular Biophysics Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, IN

Abstract

No Abstract.

Full Text

   

M. Vijayan ¹

Affiliations
1 Molecular Biophysics Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, IN

Abstract

No Abstract.

Full Text

   

M. Vijayan ¹

Affiliations
1 Molecular Biophysics Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, IN

Abstract

G. N. Ramachandran is among the founding fathers of structural molecular biology. He made pioneering contributions in computational biology, modelling and what we now call bioinformatics. The triple helical coiled coil structure of collagen proposed by him forms the basis of much of collagen research at the molecular level. The Ramachandran map remains the simplest descriptor and tool for validation of protein structures. He has left his imprint on almost all aspects of biomolecular conformation. His contributions in the area of theoretical crystallography have been outstanding. His legacy has provided inspiration for the further development of structural biology in India. After a pause, computational biology and bioinformatics are in a resurgent phase. One of the two schools established by Ramachandran pioneered the development of macromolecular crystallography, which has now grown into an important component of modern biological research in India. Macromolecular NMR studies in the country are presently gathering momentum. Structural biology in India is now poised to again approach heights of the kind that Ramachandran conquered more than a generation ago.

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M. Vijayan ¹

Affiliations
1 Molecular Biophysics Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012, IN

Abstract

The Guest Editorial on 'Rare diseases need our attention' by Katoch et al. struck a sympathetic chord with me, as I have been physically disabled during the last couple of years on account of a rare progressive neuro-degenerative disorder. I have received kindness and support in abundant measure from doctors who have treated me, colleagues, students and, of course, family. That has enabled me to continue with my scientific and related academic activities, although at a slower pace. In spite of the strong protective ring around me, the physical and emotional stress resulting from the disability has been substantial. The stress would be much worse for those disabled persons who are not fortunate to have a protective ring like I have.

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M. Vijayan ¹

Affiliations
1 Molecular Biophysics Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, IN

Abstract

I read the article by Arunachalam et al. on 'Chemistry research in India: making progress, but not rapidly' with interest. The comment 'making progress, but not rapidly' perhaps applies to Indian science as a whole. It is also appropriate to compare the Indian performance with that of the Chinese. In the 1980s, I recall an internationally acclaimed science journalist describing India as the superpower of Third World science. That is no longer true. China has progressed by leaps and bounds, and has left us far behind. I would like to submit that one reason, probably the primary reason, for this disparity is the difference in the level of support for science in the two countries. Around 1990, the R&D expenditure in China and India was at a comparable level.

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M. Vijayan ¹

Affiliations
1 Molecular Biophysics Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, IN

Abstract

For decades, the Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has been the most important source for competitive research grants in India. The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) which recently replaced SERC, has turned out to be less effective than SERC. An impression has gained ground that the Department of Biotechnology is shifting its emphasis from competitive research grants to organizations and institutions. The famed extramural programme of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research appears to be in jeopardy. Except in a few islands of opulence, most of the scientific research in the country in the non-strategic sector is being carried out using competitive grants. The present crisis in the system for support of such grants bodes ill for Indian science. It needs to be seriously addressed and overcome.

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M. Vijayan ¹

Affiliations
1 Molecular Biophysics Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, IN

Abstract

The book under review is somewhat unusual in that it contains the memoirs of a scientist (G. Padmanaban) during a period spanning two decades after formal retirement, that too on activities carried out in the institution in which he began his career as a student and rose to become the Director. In India, it is rare that someone is enabled to carry out active research after retirement. Many of those who managed to remain active after formal retirement, have done so by establishing their own institutions. It is a tribute to the personality of Padmanaban and also to the liberal attitude of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) that he could do so much for so long after retirement, with the Institute as the base.

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M. Vijayan ¹

Affiliations
1 Molecular Biophysics Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, IN

Abstract

The National Institutional Ranking Framework of the Ministry of Human Resource Development shows that institutions funded by the Central Government occupy the pride of place in the higher education sector in India, followed by state universities and then by private universities. Autonomy, internal democracy, emphasis on merit in appointments and admissions, flexibility in administration, ability of faculty to attract research grants, etc. are pre-requisites for eminence. These attributes, which are worth fighting for, exist to different extents in centrally funded institutions. It is unfair to treat public and private institutions as two separate categories of equal importance for identifying Institutions of Eminence. Private universities need to be encouraged, but not at the expense of publically funded institutions which have done the nation proud and are acclaimed in India and abroad.

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M. Vijayan ¹

Affiliations
1 Molecular Biophysics Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, IN

Abstract

The Molecular Biophysics Unit (MBU) of the Indian Institute of Science was established by G. N. Ramachandran in 1971. He assembled a well-balanced team of faculty members in the first half of the 1970s. After Ramachandran and a couple of others left, MBU continued its journey with six comparatively undecorated and young faculty members as the core group in 1979. Subsequently, and with the addition of more faculty members, it grew into a vibrant, coherent team and came to be considered as an outstanding department. This journey, outlined here, perhaps holds some lessons to the scientific community.

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M. Vijayan ¹

Affiliations
1 Molecular Biophysics Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, IN

Abstract

Books reviewed in Current Science are usually authored or edited by scientists. The book presently under review is written by Rajan Gurukkal, an eminent historian, thinker and educationist. The book is, however, rich in scientific content. Gurukkal is no stranger to the Indian scientific community. He has been involved with the Indian Journal of History of Science published by the Indian National Science Academy. Furthermore, he has been a Visiting Professor at the Centre for Contemporary Studies at the Indian Institute of Science, in between his assignments as Vice-Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam and the Chairman of the Kerala Higher Education Council. Much of the book was written when Gurukkal was working in the Indian Institute of Science. Central to the narrative in the book is the history of production of scientific knowledge. Of course, the book contains much else. The book has been written with intimidating thoroughness and contains material well beyond my immediate area of competence. Therefore, it was with some trepidation that I undertook the review of the book. However, I strongly felt that this splendid book should be brought to the attention of the Indian scientific community. That is the main motivation for the present attempt.

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M. Vijayan ¹

Affiliations
1 Molecular Biophysics Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, IN

Abstract

Science and the associated technology have come to the centre stage of national discourse on account of Covid. The time is now appropriate for an appraisal of the structure of Indian science. We need a support system which is an elaboration of the support provided by Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar to G. N. Ramachandran who has been arguably the greatest scientist of Indian origin to have worked in the post-independence era.

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