Dhaka, July 20, ‘2010.  The Department of Microbiology. Dhaka University, Bangladesh is arranging  an international Conference to be held December, 26 through 28, 2010. The theme of the Conference is "Microbiology of food, health and environment: problems and prospects in developing countries". A good number of participants from Japan, Korea, India and Pakistan along with a large number  of local scientists are expected to brainstorm the meet over the three days. GNOBB take this opportunity to wish the International Meet an all round success and the delegates a very pleasant stay in Dhaka. For details please visit the concerned website :
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Four-day Workshop on Food Biosafety by SABP in the BRAC-Inn from 16^th July
Dhaka, the 15^th July, ’10. Arranged by South Asia Biosafety Program (SABP)  in collaboration  with the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Department of Environment, Government of Bangladesh a 4-day hands-on training workshop program is being held  in the city at the BRAC-Inn in Dhaka from the 16th to the 20th of July. The Theme of the workshop is, “Safety Assessment of Foods Derived from Genetically Engineered Crops”. The faculty  from India, the Philippines and North America are running the course. They will use their experience to guide participants through GE food safety assessment consistent with the Codex 2003 Plant Guideline. The goal of the workshop is to provide the participants with some practical experience in reviewing a product dossier and how the information and data provided therein can be used to reach a scientific opinion on the safety of a product.
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Sixth PTC&B International Conference at the End of the year in Dhaka

14th July, '10. GNOBB are pleased to inform its members that the Sixth International Plant Tissue Culture and Biotechnology Conference will be held third through fifth December 2010. The theme of the conference is, “Role of Biotechnology in Food Security and Climate Change.” The last date of registration is 30^th September, ’10 by which time the registration form along with $75 for SAARC countries along with their abstract/(s) must reach the conference secretariat. For local members, the registration fee is Tk. 1000/ and non-Bangladeshis is $150. For details pl. contact Professor M. Imdad Hoque, Phone 880-2-967-3387. mobile 01711-224-350

Professor Ahmed Azad's Latest DS article on Biotechnology,"A Catalyst for Technological Development"

Meeting of Swapnojaatra team with Honorable Prime Minister

Dhaka, 25th June, 2010 Swaapnojaatra the team that decoded the genome sequence of Jute met honorable prime minister Sheikh Hasina at Ganabhaban on 24th June. Researchers from Dhaka University, Bangladesh Jute Research Institute and a Software Company DataSoft in collaboration with Centre for Chemical Biology, University of Science, Malaysia and University of Hawaii, USA have decoded the genome. The prime minister assured that total support to the Jute Genome Project until final results of the studies are completed.Among others, the Agriculture

 Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury, the team leader of  genome sequencing Professor Maqsudul Alam, the Director of the Joint Genome Institute, DOE  Dr. Chris Detter and the Chairman of the Board, University Sains Malaysia Professor Emeritus Dr. Mohammad Zawari Ismail were in the delegation. Among others, the Deputy Leader of the House Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, theFood Minister Dr. Abdur Razzak, the State Minister for Science and ICT Architect Yeafez Osman, the Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University Prof. A A M S Arefin Siddique, the former DU VC Prof. S M A Faiz, the renowned Computer Scientist Prof. Jafar Iqbal, Prof, Haseena Khan and Dr Kamal Uddin were present on the occasion (The photo was taken at the Sonargaon Heotel in a dinner reception arranged privately by the Swapna Jaatra group and not at the Gonobhavan.  Most of the guests who attended the reception at the GonoBhavan were present at the dinner.)

Warmest Congratulation to Dr. Hemayet Ullah

Dhaka, 20th June Heartiest congratulations to GNOBB member, Associate Professor of  Biology at Howard University, Dr. Hemayet Ullah for his winning the election  as the Secretary of the Mid-Atlantic section of  the American Society of Plant Biologists (MAS_ASPB). GNOBB members are very proud of Dr. Hemayet on this well deserved honor. 

Warmest Congratulations to Dr Abdur Razzaque for the Meritorious financial Grant by the American Heart Association

Dhaka, the 21st June, 2010. GNOBB clngratulate heartily  Dr Abdur Razzaque for the Research Grant  of $88,000 awarded to him  by the American Heart Association to work on "Cardiomyopathic Mechanisms in Pediatric Congenital Disease." Please click  here to read more.

Responses from Bangladeshi Biotechnologists regarding the Jute Genome decoding

Dhaka, 18th June, 2010 The epoch making event for Bangladeshi biotech scientists making headlines in the Genomic world for decoding jute genome has elicited a flood of comments from the scientific community of Bangladesh. We will publish these comments in the GNOBB Home page. Pl send your comments including what the jute scientists in collaboration with their counterparts should do to utilize this knowledge to further improve the Golden fiber for the greater glory of the country and raising the status of Bangladesh among middle group income countries. Behind each successful story lies many background activities who have tirelessly worked towards the success of this seemingly impossible task. We congratulate each one of them for their part of contribution. Please follow some of the responses by Dr. Azad, Dr. Faruqe..

BANGLADESH DECODES THE JUTE GENOME

Dhaka, 16th June, 2010.  Bangladeshi researchers have successfully decoded the genome of Jute plant. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made the announcement of the Bangladesh's scientific adherence in the parliament on Wednesday amidst cheers and thumping desks by lawmakers.Researchers from Dhaka University, Bangladesh Jute Research Institute and software company DataSoft in collaboration with Centre for Chemical Biology, University of Science Malaysia and University of Hawaii, USA have decoded the genome.With the successful sequencing of jute genome, Bangladesh becomes a second country after Malaysia among the developing nations to achieve such a feat.Experts said this gene sequencing would help improve the length and quality of fibre, including colours and strength; and develop high yielding and saline and pests tolerant jute varieties through genetic engineering.

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Heartiest Congratulations to Nurul M. Islam for his recent joint online publication

Dhaka, 15th May, 2010, GNOBB feel happy to announce that Dr. Nurul M. Islam, one of its members at the Department of Botany, Dhaka University during his short time of study leave at the Dept of Cell and Mol. Biol. Uppsala University published online the following joint paper, "Growth, cell division and sporulation in mycobacteria in the Journal Antonie van Leeuwenhoek. The abstract is reproduced below:

Two recent publications by GNOBB member of Dr Monoj Saha

Dhaka, the 2^nd of May, ’12. GNOBB feel proud to announce that as lead author  our member Dr. Monoj  Saha has two more recent publications as detailed below. Including Dr. MN Saha we have 16 members working in multitude of fields of cancer.  Dr. Saha’s field of specialization is  p53-mediated apoptosis induced by small molecule inhibitors.

 MDM2 antagonist nutlin plus proteasome inhibitor velcade combination displays a synergistic anti-myeloma activity. Saha MN, Jiang H, Jayakar J, Reece D, Branch DR, Chang H. Cancer Biol Ther. 2010 Jun 27;9(11).

 Pharmacological activation of the p53 pathway in haematological malignancies. Saha MN, Micallef J, Qiu L, Chang H. J Clin Pathol. 2010 Mar;63(3):204-9.
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Shuvo-BanglaNoboBorsho1417
Dhaka, April 13, 2010. Today is Chaitra Sonkranti - the last day of Bangla Year 1416 witnessing the last Sunset of this eventful year. We will remember the year as it has rekindled our hope - the hope of the Bangladeshi biotechnologists to occupy the forefront of this fascinating science. The passage of the NIB Bill by the Parliament allowing this Institution  to turn into into autonomous body ensures its uninterrupted growth and development, paving the way towards realization of our dream of a prosperous Bangladesh where hunger will be banished for ever.
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Flowering genes played vital role in plant domestication
Dhaka. April 14, 2010. Flowering genes play an important role in the transformation of plant meristem from vegetative to reproductive state. One of the members of this gene family, FLOWERING LOCUS T-like (FT-like) genes show lineage specific duplication in different plants. FTs are known to play a crucial and widely conserved role in regulation of flowering time by environmental cues. In a study reported in Current Biology  April 13, 2010 issue (20, 629–635), Blackman et a. carried out analysis of FT genes in the domesticated sunflower Helianthus annuus. Their analysis reveals that changes affecting the expression, sequence, and gene interactions of HaFT paralogs have played key roles during sunflower domestication by altering flowering time through transcriptional regulation. The study also revealed how gene duplication may foster evolutionary change by creating an opportunity for new gene-gene interactions within gene families to evolve and produce natural variation. - Summarized by Mahdi Moosa, GEB, DU.
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It may be noted here note that Swarna-Sub1 is another submergence tolerant variety developed at IRRI and released through IRRI-BRRI collaboration. The other variety is BRRI Hybrid Dhan4 that is a three line hybrid released for irrigated ecosystem (Boro season) of Bangladesh.

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National Biotechnology Policy Guidelines on Crops 2010

Dhaka, the 24^th March, ’10. GNOBB has much pleasure in posting the above important document provided by the NIB Director General. This is a great opportunity for GNOBB members to give their valued opinion. Please leave it to GNOBB to edit your composition. That will save your precious time. Click here to read the much awaited document just released.
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heartiest Congratulations to GNOBB member for his recent publications
Dhaka April 9, 2010.

Warmest Congatulations to both GNOBB members for their recent publications
Dhaka April 9, 2010. The two online publications   by  GNOBB members  Nazmul Hussain Nazir and Jayonta Bhattacharjee can be viewed online in Archives of Microbiology and Placenta, respectively. The necessary details are as follows:  

1. K. H. M. Nazmul Hussain Nazir, Hirofumi Ichinose and Hiroyuki Wariishi (2010) Molecular characterization and isolation of cytochrome P450 genes from the filamentous fungus Aspergillus oryzae.

2.   J. Bhattacharjee, F. Ietta, E. Giacomello, N. Bechi, R. Romagnoli, A. Fava and L. Paulesu (2010) Expression and localization of ATP binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) in first trimester and term human placenta.
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Heartiest Congratulations to Dr and Begum Alam on  their New Posts at Houston
Dhaka, 6th April,'10. GNOBB offer their heartiest Congratulations to both Dr. Alam and Dr. Khurshida Begum at their new post at Houston, Texas.  While Dr. Jahangir Alam has joined  Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) as its Technical Director in the Microbiology section, Begum Khurshida  is working as a Research Associate in the Rheumatology & Clinical Immunogenetics  section at the Health Science Center, UT at Houston. Their Profiles can be viewed at http://myprofile.cos.com/alammj and   http://www.begumk.freewebspace.com, respectively.
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Heartiest Congratulations to GNOBB member, S.M. Minhaz Ud-Dean
Dhaka the 28th March, '10.GNOBB offer their heartiest congratulations to the GNOBB member, S.M. Minhaz Ud-Dean for publication of his paper entitled, “Structural explanation  for the effect of humidity on persistence of airborne virus: Seasonality of influenza" published under his sole authorship  in the Journal of Theoretical Biology. The article can be viewed online. Based on theoretical analysis, the author shows that "the structure of the viral envelope determines its persistence and transmission in various environmental conditions. Furthermore, physico-chemical properties of the virus particles and their interaction with atmospheric processes along with the availability and susceptibility of hosts generates the conspicuous seasonality prevalent in the temperate zones and the apparent lack of it in the tropics." Pl. read the abstract by clicking here.
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Oxytocin – Possibly a New Drug for Treatment of Mental Disorder
Dhaka, the 18^th Feb., ’10. Oxytocin - a hormone also known as the "trust hormone"  has been found recently to improve the conditions of some autistic people. A recent article entitled, “Promoting social behavior with oxytocin in high-functioning autism spectrum disorders” by Elissar Andari et al. published online in PNAS February 16, 2010 reported that when some autistic patients  inhale oxytocin  they begin looking at people in the eye and take an interest in a computer game – an improvement not associated with the control.  The results are preliminary but it may open up the possibility of the discovery of new drugs for the treatment of social disorders such as  autism and schizophrenia and  unaccountable anxiety among humans. It may be of interest to know in this connection that mammals such as mice and monkeys release this hormone while they prepare themselves for mating.  It may soon be established  that autism and oxytocin are linked with each other because those suffering from autism show less oxytocin circulating in their blood than their normal counterpart. This fact provides a clue that possibly  the administration of this hormone in a suitable dose into autistic patients may render them more socially fit.
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A glowing tribute to Late Professor H. K Yusuf by Dr. Ashraf Ahmed

Dhaka 6th Jan, '10. Dr. Ashraf has written an excellent short scientific write up about Late Harun. The article has appeared in the 5th January issue of the Daily Star. The article begins as follows:

"Our failure to recall a memory of the past may be related to a Japanese demonstration of brain's newborn cell function, reported on last November 13. Incidentally two days earlier, Bangladesh lost one of her best scientists, Professor Harun Kader Mohammad Yusuf, an internationally recognized authority of human brain's biochemistry. It is therefore worth recalling his contributions before discussing the new findings. Harun bhai worked out the detailed bio-molecular composition of our brain, and effect of malnutrition on its development. Until his untimely death, he was Chairman of the Bangladesh National Nutritional Council." Please read the whole story by clicking here.

Comments by Tanveer Tazib
Harun Sir is no more. He was not a traditional academic salesman in a degree selling institution; he was a complete and true GURU with a progressive and secular epistemological background. "Salute to Harun Sir"
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BD Society for Biochemistry & Mol. Biol. Holds Intl. Symposium on cancer Dev.

The Three Plenary Session Speakers

Prof.   Naka- gawara

Prof. T.-C    Wu

Prof. H. Tanaka

Dhaka, 26^th Jan. ’10. The Bangladesh Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BSBMB) is organizing a three day international symposium on: “Cancer and Developmental Biology: Latest Biochemical Advances” to be held at the University of Dhaka from January 29-31, 2010.  The symposium will focus on the ‘neural networks of our brain formed by cell-cell interactions considered of vital importance as well as normal neural developmental patterning in the embryo and the adult to establish the key principles of regenerative medicine in an attempt to use them as a clue to development of powerful therapeutic strategies. Another important area that will be covered in the symposium is identification of the mechanism responsible for invasive malignant tumor growth in order to discover therapeutic interventions such as use of stem cells that will prevent the spread of cancerous cells. A number of prominent scientists from India and Bangladesh are http://www.cellbiolint.org/cbi/current.htm expected to enrich the deliberations with their valuable inputs. Three distinguished Professors, Dr. Akira Nakagawara, Director, Chiba  Cancer Center, Chiba University,  Dr Hideaki Tanaka at Kumamoto University  and Dr. T.-C Wu at John Hopkins University will deliver  a Plenary Lecture each on, "Development and Carcinogenesis", "Correct Wiring of the Nervous System during Development" and "Perspectives in the Development of Vaccines against Human Papillomavirus for cervical cancer", respectively. GNOBB wish the conference an all round success.

Day One Symposium: Cancer and Developmental Biology: Latest Biochemical Adv.
Dhaka the 29th Jan.,'10. The Inauguration of the above Symposium was held in the Senate Bhavan today the 29th January. at 3:30 p.m. Dr. Moddaser Ali, Advisor, to the PM graced the occasion as the Chief Guest while Prof. ASMS Arefin Siddique, VC Dhaka University and Prof. MA Bashar, Dean of the Faculty of Biol. Sciences were the Special Guest and the Guest of Honor at the colorful function. The Ceremony also witnessed the presence of three distinguished plenary session speakers, Prof. A. Nakagawara, Prof. T.-C Wu and Prof. H. Tanaka,  many distinguished scientists from home and abroad including the members of Staff,  Research Associates  and students of the Department of Biochemistry and Mol. Biol. The Hall and the stage were colorfully decorated. A souvenir containing the messages of Prof. M. Futai, the President FAOBMB, Prof. A. Azzi, the President International Union of Biochemistry was brought out to mark the occasion.
Accompanied by many nice ppt slides some of which were animated  the first plenary lecture on "Translational Oncogenomics and Molecular Carcinogenesis of Neuroblastoma by Prof. Akira Nakagawara, President Chiba Cancer Centre captivated the audience. The audience were spellbound for nearly an hour. A lively discussion followed including the one where the discussant wanted to know the relationship between food habit and the incidence of Neuroblastoma. "
3oth January.

Day Two Symposium: Cancer and Developmental Biology:
Jan. 30th '10.  As announced earlier, Plenary Lecture 2  was delivered at  9:30 A.M.  by Prof. T.-C. Wu of John Hopkins Medical Institute. The title of his talk was on:  '"Perspectives in the Development of Vaccines against Human Papillomavirus for cervical cancer." All the members in the audience listened to him with rapt attention and admired the Professor profusely for both contents and mode of delivery. Three invited papers were presented after tea break  and four among the remaining participants after luncheon. The titles of all these talks  are shown in the program of the conference.
Another attraction of today's Symposium was the evaluation of the posters . The first three prizes have been awarded to poster 1 (Influence of Y Chromosome  Abnormality in the Development of Cancer), poster 11 (Arsenic-mediated induction of hyperplasia in mice is accompanied by changes in various blood parameters) and 2 (Dopamine-B-hydroxylase (DBH), its cofactors and Other biochemical parameters in the serum of neurological patients in Bangladesh). The recipients were in the descending order:  First - Eunus Ali, Ahmad Ferdous and Prof. Sharif Akhteruzzaman;  second - Rim Sabrina Jahan Sarker, Nazmul Ahsan and Anwarul Azam Akhand and third - M. Khalilur Rahman, Farhana Rahman, Tania Rahman and Takeshi Kato.
Symposium Dedicated to the Memory of Professor Harun Kader Yusuf  Concludes on the Third Day
 Jan. 31st '10. In the third and last Plenary Lecture, Prof. Dr. Hideaki Tanaka, Graduate School of Medical Sciences at Kumamoto University, Japan spoke on, “Correct Wiring of the Nervous System during Development”. The interesting talk drew a good deal of applause from the audience.  After discussion on the plenary lecture, the remaining presentations were delivered. 
The 3-day Symposium concluded with the giving away of prizes to the three winners of the posters on a note of great satisfaction. GNOBB thank most sincerely the organizers, particularly Prof. Haseena Khan, Prof. Zeba Seraj, Prof. S. Saleheen Qadri President BSBMB, Prof. Ishtiaq Mahmud, Convener of the Smposium, Dr. Yearul Kabir, the young teachers and students of the Department for a great job done. From every point of view, the Symposium was truly international in character and the Senate Bhavan provided an excellent atmosphere with all facilities par excellence including individual microphones for all participants.
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Sequencing of the model grass Brachypodium distachyon
Dhaka 17^th  Feb., ’10. In its 11^th February edition of Nature (Nature 463, 763-768), scientists from 46 institutes/research Centers  constituting The International Brachypodium Initiative have reported for the first time the genome sequence of the wild grass Brachypodium distachyon. Although this grass grows wild, its genomic relationship with rice and sorghum genomes will reveal  ‘a precise history of genome evolution across a broad diversity of the grasses’ and pave the way for analysis of large genomes of wheat and rice. This species has several characteristics such as ease of transformation, small size and rapid life cycle making it an ideal species for use as a tool for developing new energy and food crops which is the urgent need of the day. It may be mentioned here that  three subfamilies of grasses, namely, the Ehrhartoideae, Panicoideae and Pooideae, provide the bulk of human nutrition being the major sources of renewable energy.
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GNOBB membership now  stands at 376
Dhaka March,  23, 10. We welcome two more recent members, Dr. Mohammad  Hoque, Assistant Professor Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His basic degree is in Dental surgery (BDs and DDS ). His  current research interest lies in the area of Molecular Biology, Cancer Biomarker, Human Genetics and Fahmida  Rahman Scientific officer, Environmental Biotechnology Division, National Institute of Biotechnology (NIB), Savar. Her basic M.Sc. degree is in Botany.

Ealier five more members joined the Forum bringing the total of membership to 374. The new members are: Md. Ferdhos khan  Liton, Rashel  Kabir, Annajiat  Rasel, Md.  Arifuzzaman and Mst.  Rokshanara Khatun. Mr. Khan, a Rajshahi University student is now a Ph.D. student in the Department of Biotechnology, University of Turku, Finland. Earlier he did his Masters in Biomedicine, University of Skovde, Sweden. Mr. Rashed Kabir, an M.Sc. in Medical Biotechnology is currently a researcher in the area of Neurodegenerative diseases. Mr. Rasel is an M.Sc student in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) at BUET. Mr. Zaman and Ms Khatun are both M.Sc. in Biotechnology. While Mst Khatun holds a job in the Animal Div. at the the National Institute of Biotechnology, Arifuzzaman is the Manager in a private firm called Diamed, Purana Polton. Dhaka. We welcome them all and wish them Godspeed in the respective field of their pursuit.
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Congratulations to GNOBB Member Dr. Ezaz  Mamun for his recent publication
Dhaka 27th Jan., '10. GNOBB convey their heartiest congratulations to Dr.  Ezaz  Mamun for a recent publication in Cell Biology International. He is the lead author of an article entitled, "Mechanism of low temperature-induced pollen failure in rice." Dr. Mamun is currently the Policy Advisor  at The Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
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Abed Choudhury at SUST this Afternoon Speaking at a Seminar on, 'Genome'
26th Jan.,10. The Prestigious and dedicated NRB scientist Dr. Abed Chaudhury, who became a world figure by isolating the FIS (fertilization independent seed) genes will be the guest speaker at a seminar to be held this afternoon, the 26^th January at 3 p.m. The seminar is  being organized by the Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology at Shahjalal University, Sylhet.  The title of his presentation is, “Science of Genome and Science of Life.”  The importance of the FIS gene was  realized  upon revelation  that its recessive allele, fis  can produce partial seed without fertilization. It will revolutionize the seed industry when hybrid vigor of staple crops may be retained in full through the technique Dr Abed has been developing.  GNOBB wish all success of this seminar which will spark the imagination of all young scientists and help them attain fame in this exciting area of genetics.
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December Issue of BAPTC&B journal is out both Online and in Print
Dhaka Jan. 9, '10. GNOBB members will be pleased to know that the December issue of the above journal has appeared both online and in Print. The number of articles and the pages in this latest issue have increased (119-288), surpassing all previous records with a greater ratio of biotech-related articles. In fact, still a larger number of articles are awaiting publication according to a reliable source. GNOBB members are requested to contribute articles to this widely circulated journal of this kind in this region.  Outstanding articles may be published online as soon as the Editorial Board give their opinion in its favor. Click here to see the contents.
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Annual report of DUMAA (DU Microbiologist Alumni Association)

Dhaka Jan. 7, '10. GNOBB has the pleasure of posting  the Annual Report of the Dhaka University Microbiologists Alumni Association as published  in the form of an interesting article entitled,
"Building Bangladesh from Micro level: DUMAA as a Model." We wish the move an all round success remembering the immortal saying,  'An ocean is formed by  drops of water.' I personally knew late Professor Anwar-ul-Azam whose steadfast devotion and relentless effort has made his dream a reality not only in the form of a full fledged Department of Microbiology at Dhaka University but its illustrious and brilliant products now spread all over the globe in general and the USA in particular of which the present DUMAA is one eloquent testimony. Click here to read the whole report.

Remarks by Dr. Abul K. Azad, Executive VP, DUMAA about GNOBB following the posting of the above news in the GNOBB website, "On behalf of DUMAA EC, I render my heart-felt gratitude and sincere thanks to you and to your organization which is doing an outstanding job for worldwide networking of Bangladeshi biotechnologists on a fast communication platform." Such appreciation builds cementing bond between organizations with similar objectives, namely, serving the  biotech community.
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Wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

		Dhaka,  Dec. 29, -09. On behalf of GNOBB and on my own behalf we wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year. May the coming year 2010 bring more and more laurels to your eventful career and fulfill all your cherished desire. To old and new members, we wish to tell  how much we depend on them for the all round success of this web based  organization, GNOBB. We don’t believe in the old adage that everybody’s business in nobody’s business.
If you have an independent lab of your own, pl tell us all about it citing the web address so that all other members  have an opportunity to browse them and establish a fruitful linkage with those labs working in the same area of  biotechnology.  Just to cite a few examples, we have Dr. Enamul Huq’s lab in the University of Texas, Austin and Dr. Hemayet Ullah’s lab in Howard University, Washington D.C.,  Prof. Haseena Khan’s and Prof. Zeba’s labs in Dhaka University, supported by attractive websites. Pl remember GNOBB is you site and any improvement to the site is our combined credit and  NOT any individual’s. We need to make the website more user-friendly and attractive and for this we need your cooperation and payment of your optional membership fee. We know that payment of yearly $10 is jot a big deal and you need us to remind you. So here is the kind reminder. Again we convey to you all Godspeed and all the best for the coming New Year.

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Enzymes βCA1 and βCA4 could be utilized to Bioengineer more drought tolerant Crops

 Dhaka the 28^th December, ’09. Professor Julian Schroeder and colleagues at the University of California in San Diego reported that in Arabidopsis  that the two genes called βCA1 and βCA4  control the synthesis of carbonic anhydrases, that split CO2 into bicarbonate and protons.  They further showed that Arabidopsis mutants lacking the above two carbonic anhydrase genes fail to utilize the atmospheric CO2 efficiently. On the other hand, over-expression of these two genes increases water use efficiency. They have further shown that the   plants that  overexpress these genes show increased water use efficiency and that these two genes can be turned on while taking in CO2 for photosynthesis. The discovery of these two genes opens up the possibility of bioengineering crops that would be more drought tolerant by regulating the stomatal pores which allow water vapor escape excessively making plants more vulnerable to any water shortage. The results were published in Nature Cell Biology online in its 13^th December issue.
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2 Genes ILI1 and IBH1 act  antagonistic  to control growth of diverse TAXA
Dhaka, the 24^th Dec.’09. In a recent article published in the 15^th December issue of "The Plant Cell"  Zhi-Yong Wang at Carnegie’s Department of Plant Biology  and coauthored by his colleague at the same Institute have reported that a steroid hormone brassinosteroid  (BR) is under the control of two genes, one causing increased leaf inclination (ILI 1)  and IBH1   which actions are antagonistic to each other. One gene suppresses the other ensuring normal growth of the leaf.  When the gene ILI 1 is turned on there is production of BR causing leaf bending.  On the other hand, the overproduction of BR makes the plant shaggy - an undesirable agronomic character for rice. Interestingly, the two genes act in the same way on a distantly related taxa, namely, rice and Arabidopsis thaliana, providing an insight that will be helpful  in manipulating crop growth and yield.

"In plants, steroid levels reflect environmental and internal signals and control many processes. Steroid hormones called C start their action on the surface of the cell and, through a molecular relay, send signals into the cell's nucleus to turn on or off specific genes, particularly those that are critical to regulating plant growth and development."
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Thanks to Begum Matia Choudhary for her Support to Proven GM Crops  

Dhaka the 15^th Dec. ’09. The remarks  by  Begum Matia Choudhary,  Minister for  Agriculture, GoB will be welcome by the proponents of GM  Crops. She declared at the 24^th Foundation Day of SAARC held recently that  the Government would support  research and development activities on GM   crops if any of the crops  developed using this modern technique proves to enhance crop production and alleviate chronic food crisis in Bangladesh. Countering the opposition by GM activists she said the Government is open minded in the use of suitable GM crops provided they benefit the farmers and pass all the safety tests to human health hazards. She said that it is high time that concerned scientists and the Institutes to strengthen their  research  efforts to develop disease, salinity and drought tolerant crops for farmers' use. The Minister outlined her Government's oncoming 5-year plan that will facilitate sustainable agricultural development.
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 An urgent appeal to members of GNOBB and its well wishers

Dhaka, 6th of December '09, We are renewing our appeal to all GNOBB members and its well wishers to spare a few precious moments from their busy schedule to write their comments about the National Biotechnology Policy at their earliest convenience. Once the enactment of NIB policy is finalized by the Parliament it will be difficult to change any clause(s) because of the long procedure. We will be glad to edit comments of any author  if he/she so desires because of  time constraint. To see previous comments.
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A Good News for the J. BAPTC&B ever since the Introduction of Online Submission of Articles

Dhaka, 6th December '09. There is a piece of good news for the J. BAPTC&B ever since they introduced a new feature, namely, Online Submission of Articles.  They have received more than 60 articles in addition to three that have been published online ahead of print. There are more or more articles on molecular biology indicating among BAPTC&B members their ever increasing interest in different facets of biotechnology. GNOBB Coordinator takes the opportunity of inviting GNOBB members to take this opportunity of writing research/review articles covering their research areas.  Using this forum a similar appeal was made to GNOBB members but hardly with any effect.
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Eid Greetings to all the GNOBB members and well-wishers

Dhaka, 26th Nov. ’09. On behalf of GNOBB and on behalf of the coordinator, we offer our heartfelt Greetings to all the members  and well-wishers of this organization on this holy occasion of Eid. By the Grace of Allah this organization  is gaining strength with  the passage of time. From the initial membership of 30 in 2005, it is now over 330 members strong.

This Eid brings to the Members  a very important message - the message of sacrifice which we can all offer by a giving a little bit of our time if not every week, at least a month through your suggestions or through your write-ups to enrich GNOBB homepage. We have come a long way in promoting the cause of biotechnology in our country. The biotechnology policy act is no longer sitting in the desk of an officer in the Ministry but has received the blessings of the cabinet and before long it will be an act of the Parliament. Now is the time when you can write letters to the Ministry giving your suggestions as to the future course of action which the Ministry and NIB should follow in order to fulfill our cherished dream. GNOBB will be pleased to publish your suggestions and forward them to the SM, MoSICT and pursue them.                                                                                                                                                                      ________________________________________________________________________

 New Facilities at the Centre of Excellence at DU and the Scope of Joint Supervision between any Faculty and COE

The following new facilities for DNA sequencing have been added at the Centre of Excellence, University of Dhaka. Charges are nominal which include cost of consumables, overhead charges. The new facilities available are:

• Autosomal STR analysis using 15AmpFlSTR Identifiler Capable of paternity/Maternity/immigration test

• DNA sequencing with high resolutions of electrophoregrams [Note the PCR product needs to be supplied by the researcher(s) along with the primers of interest for cycle sequencing reaction.]

• mtDNA sequencing for information on maternal lineage as well as for work relating to diversity/evolution.

• Detection of SNPs of MtDNA in early breast cancer diagnosis.

• Detection of Thalassemia mutations

In addition any faculty and/or research institution may approach COE for joint undertaking of research on condition that in any future publication assistance of COE scientist member is acknowledged with authorship where applicable

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Professor Harun K. M. Yusuf has passed away

Dhaka the 12th Nov., '09. With a profound sense of sorrow, shock and grief, GNOBB announce the passing away of Dr. H.K.M. Yusuf very early this morning at the Square Hospital, Dhaka. He was only 63 and had many more productive years ahead of him. He has been survived by his wife, a married daughter living abroad and a newly married son. His namaze janaza will be held  this afternoon in the University mosque following 'Zohor' prayer.

We know no words how to console his bereaved family. Only a few months back he was in good health. Who knew at that time that the death angel will snatch him away from his loved ones, endearing colleagues, friends, admirers and a host of students. He was held in high esteem and respect in the University circle - by those surrounding and away from him depriving them from his scholarly disposition, scholarly and helpful advice. Prof. Yusuf has been a top student and a very successful brilliant teacher and a dedicated research worker. All his students past and present love him and hold him in high respect for his dedication to teaching and utmost devotion to his noble profession. Pls click here to read more. For a long long time we all will remember him as a loving colleague, dedicated teacher and devoted to his profession. May his soul rest in eternal peace.

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Horse genome sequence reveals mechanism of centromeric evolution

8th Nov, '09 Horse (Equus caballus) played an important role throughout the history of human existence. Belonging to the order Perissodactyla (i.e.,odd-toed animals with hooves), the genus Equus radiated into 8 or 9 species around three million years ago. In the 6th November 2009 issue of Science, Wade et al. report the complete horse genome sequence (6.8 fold coverage). The genome sequence reveals several hitherto
unknown interesting facts about this domestic man-friendly animal as well as throws light on vertebrate evolution. Horse genome is relatively repetitive but has little segmental duplication.  The predominant repeat classes include long interspersed nuclear elements, dominated by L1 and L2 types (19% of bases), and short interspersed nuclear elements, including the recent ERE1 and ERE2 and the ancestral
main immunogenic regions (7% of bases). A comparison of horse and human chromosomes reveals strong conserved synteny between these seemingly different taxa. One of the most interesting findings of this study is that the Equine chromosome 11 is shown to have an evolutionary new centromere devoid of centromeric satellite DNA, suggesting that centromeric function may arise before satellite repeat accumulation.  Summarized by Mahdi Moosa, GEB, DU.

Professor H.K.M. Yusuf is grievously ill

7th Nov, '09 With a deep sense of concern for Professor H.K.M. Yusuf at the news of his recent illness, we all join in fervent prayer to the merciful Allah to grant him complete recovery from his present condition. It may be mentioned that Prof. Harun has been a brilliant student and a very successful research worker and a very brilliant teacher. All his students past and present love him and hold him in a high respect for his dedication to his noble profession.

Postdotoral- and Ph.D. fellowships offered by EMBO (European Molecular Biology Organization

6th Nov, '09 Potential candidates for postdoctoral and doctoral fellowships in cancer research [Information provided by Dr. Md Nurul Islam Botany Dept., DU The CNIO (Caja Navarra International Postdoctoral Programme) offers excellent training and research opportunities in cutting edge basic and applied cancer research. The programmes are open to outstanding young graduates from all over the world who want to pursue ambitious research projects.
The CNIO International Postdoctoral Programme offers up to 6 two-year postdoc positions to outstanding junior scientists. Applications are considered at regular intervals, this call closes on December 31st, 2009. The CNIO International Ph.D. Programme each year supports 10 candidates for a 4-year Ph.D.  Candidates are selected once a year. The deadline for applications is March 15th, 2010.
The webpage provides further information on both programmes and the application procedure: Postdoc Programme: www.cnio.es/postdoc Ph.D. Programme: www.cnio.es/phd

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Agric. Minister Takes a Keen Interest in DU Biotech Research Work on Rice and Jute

4th Nov, '09 The Hon’ble Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury was the Chief  Guest at a presentation ceremony on stress tolerant rice and jute cultivars by two eminent scholars at Dhaka University, Professor Haseena Khan and Professor Zeba Seraj held at the auditorium of the Centre of Excellence, Dhaka University. The Hall was packed to capacity including those from electronic media listening to the professors who are well known for their work both inside and outside Bangladesh. Pls click here to read more.

While expressing satisfaction at the quality of research work at DU, the Minister advised the scientists not to be self-complacent but extend the horizon of their research activity covering other crops such as stress tolerant maize, drought tolerant rice, more salt tolerant rice cultivars so that rice seedlings can grow in a cup of salts. The Minister assured the scientists that she would be looking into the difficulties faced by scientists to carry out their research work and redress their grievances. She also assured the audience that she would contact eminent NRB sicentists such as Professor Maqsud Alam of a Hawaiian University seeking his cooperation in jute genome project.                                                                                   ______________________________________________________________

Comments by GNOBB Members and its Well-Wishers:

GNOBB welcome your valuable comments on the approval of NIB act by the Cabinet. Please click here to view the comments of  (1) the GNOBB Coordinator.

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The NIB Act with Autonomy Approved by the Cabinet
2nd Nov., ’09. The long awaited NIB Act has been approved in today’s Cabinet Meeting of Ministers presided over by the Prime Minister. It may be mentioned here that the feasibility paper recommended by a committee of experts under the leadership of Dr. Desh Pal Verma, Professor of Molecular Genetics at the Ohio State University, USA, was submitted to the Ministry of S&T in 1993. It took 16 years for the act to be approved. The Parliament is yet to pass the bill which is now a mere formality.

This is indeed a good news for the biotechnology community which has been struggling for over two years to get the NIB Act approved.. Grateful thanks to all those especially to Profesor Haseena Khan, Prof. Zeba Seraj at the Department of Biochemistry and Mol. Biol., DU, Dr. Saidul Islam, DG, NIB and young BB members whose relentless efforts went a long way to transform our dream into reality. Special thanks are due to Professor Ahmed Azad and the ST State Minister Yeafesh Osman whose joint endeavor catapulted the whole process. Following the transfer of NIB to the Revenue Budget, GNOBB sincerely hope that all the vacant posts including those of Heads of the Divisions will be soon filled up and the research work relating to economic development of the country will be launched in full swing before long. The autonomous status of the institute will enable it to offer higher salary to the NRB’s in commensurate with their qualifications and experience under the umbrella of public-private-partnership program.

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Congratulation to Dr. Asadulghani for his outstanding publication

Dhaka, 24th Oct '09 Bacteriophages or phages, which are bacterial viruses, function as key elements in promoting horizontal gene transfer (HGT) between bacteria. The HGT is a major mechanism involved in bacterial evolution. In the post genome era, scientists have identified multiple prophages, carrying wide range of virulence genes in sequenced bacterial genome.The functional significance of these prophage sequences was unknown and widely regarded as merely genetic vestiges.In a breakthrough article, published in PLoS PATHOGENS , Dr. Md Asadulghani of Miyazaki University (Currently at ICDDR,B) and colleagues show that many of the defective O157

prophages are inducible and released from the O157 cells as particulate DNA and  can be transferred to other E.coli strains. Their results also suggested that these prophages have high potential to disseminate virulence determinants. Through this study, authors formulate a novel concept of inter-prophage interactions in defective prophage communities. For interested readers, here is the link of the article

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Congratulation for participation in rice genetics Symposium

Prof Zeba Seraj	Mr. Sazzadur Rahman	Ms. Sharmin Jahan	Ms. Sabrina M. Elias

Dhaka, 23^rd Oct, ’09, GNOBB heartily congratulate the three young researchers Mr. Sazzadur Rahman, Ms. Sharmin Jahan and Ms. Sabrina Moriom Elias from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, DU on their being nominated to attend the forthcoming 6^th International Rice Genetics Symposium (RG6) and 7^th International Symposium on Rice Functional Genomics, and present  their posters therein. Mr Sazzad is PhD student and Sharmin and Sabrina are research associates at the Plant Biotechnology Lab  of  Prof. Zeba I. Seraj whom the young scientists are accompanying to the above International Meet. Their abstracts are based on marker assisted breeding of salt tolerant rice taxa, transformation techniques for conferring salt tolerance and evolutionary genomics in Bangladeshi rice landraces. The Symposium will be held at Manila Hotel, the Philippines from 16^th to 19^th November, 2009. The four-day event will cover the rapid advances in rice genomics and its potential benefits to food security and the international rice industry as well as will showcase the latest developments in the field, including research on breeding, mapping of genes and quantitative trait loci, identification and cloning of candidate genes for biotic and abiotic stresses, gene expression, and genomic databases and mutant induction for functional genomics. GNOBB wish them Godspeed.

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Seminar on "Bioinformatics: Opportunities for Bangladesh"

Dhaka the 16th of Oct., ’09, The Bangladesh Society for Bioinformatics invites papers and posters for presentation at a one-day Seminar on "Bioinformatics: Opportunities for Bangladesh" to be held on 21 November 2009 at the Dhaka University Centre for Advanced Research in Physical, Chemical, Biological & Pharmaceutical Sciences at 10:00 a.m. Abstracts should be sent electronically by 31 October 2009 to the following email address: secretary@bsbbd.org Furthermore, the secretary informs that the annual general meeting of the society will be held on the same day at 3 pm. Pls click here for details.                                                                      __________________________________________________

Telomeres of the same sequence are of universal occurrence

Dhaka the 9th of Oct., ’09. The current year’s Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded to three USA Professors, Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak for their outstanding discovery  on "how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase".  The telomeres are like the caps on the chromosome ends for their protection.

It’s known since mid-80's of the last century that telomerase, an enzyme is involved in telomere repair. Cell biologists also observed that cancer chromosomes are immortal, while normal ones are not. The causes were soon known that there is no wear and tear in fast replicating cancer chromosomes while the
telomeric ends of a normal chromosome are worn out.

When studying the chromosomes of Tetrahymena, a unicellular ciliate organism, Elizabeth Blackburn identified in it a RNA sequence that was repeated several times together with a specific protein at the ends of each chromosome.  What was astonishing  that the same telomeric  DNA sequence of Tetrahymena, namely,the CCCCAA sequence were found to  protect chromosomes of yeast which is phylogenetically completely  unrelated, thereby  showing the existence of a previously unrecognized fundamental mechanism. Read More                                                                                           ____________________________________________

Current status of the Pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh.

Dhaka the 5^th of Oct., ’09. Within a span of a few days Professor Ahmed Azad has written another important article captioned, “Current status of the Pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh."  He describes about immense potentialities for a research-oriented pharmaceuticals industry in Bangladesh. The article points out and rightly so, that Pharmaceutical Industry and new generation vaccines such as those manufactured by Incepta are likely to capture the world market.  He further points out that “the global market for  biopharmaceuticals,  currently valued at US $48 billion, has been growing at an annual compound growth rate of 19% since 2004 ” and  by 2020 the world revenue from this industry may garner a total of US $100 billion.

Prof Azad points out that there are certain advantages of Bangladesh over other LDCs in that the country may be able to reap such as incurring low cost for drug testing on patients utilizing the facilities available at  the ICDDR, B and BIRDEM.  He also cautions that there must be rigorous control of the quality to stop once and for all the recurrence of sale of toxic drugs under the generic name of paracetamol. He makes a clarion call to the Government to play a catalytic role to bring under one umbrella - academia, pharmaceutical industries, the private sector so that there is a better cooperation  and coordination between them. He points out that some of the regions in BD such as the Chittagng Hill Tracts and the Sunderbans are still unexplored and may contain valuable plants yielding drugs of far reaching consequences. Once infrastructure is further developed it will pave the way of rapid drug development in the country thereby contributing to one of the major exporting items. Read the article                                                                                ___________________________________________________________________________

"Modernizing Food Production" - Another interesting article in the Daily Star by Prof. A. Azad

Dhaka 4th Oct., 2009. The prolific writer helping to promote Biotechnology in BD has recently published another article entitled
"Modernizing Food Production" in DS. Professor Azad has emphasized on the urgent need  for  the formation of  "a parliamentary committee for food, health, energy and environmental security that could oversee the activities of a new department" which he calls, the Department of  "Advanced Studies, Research Applications and Technology Transfer." Stating the function and activity of  this New Department, Prof. Azad says it "could provide administrative support to the NIB (National Institute of Biotechnology) and other national institutes for ICT, energy and climate change, and university research centers involved in research on food security and other areas of national priority." GNOBB urge that members  who serve as our  'think tanks'
make their comments on this vital issue of food security which we may be able to include in our discussion  with the State Minister, MoSICT and the Chairman Parliamentary Standing Committee  SI&CT due to take place shortly within this week. Read the whole article.

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 GNOBB has entered the 5th Year since its Launching in October, 2005

GNOBB has entered the Fifth Year since its Launching in 2005
2nd Oct. 2009. It has been over Four Years since the launching of the web-based organization, GNOBB. Now we are running 5th year. From merely a few members the number has risen over 360, an impressive progress indeed from the point of view of membership strength.
But now most of us feel that the Website needs a thorough change in its outlook and user friendliness with a number of dynamic features which characterize any modern attractive website. We consider that the reason why the website is under-utilized is because it has been so far unable to live up to the challenge what the modern CT has to offer.
Some of the features we would like to introduce subject to your approval are: a) to set apart a space next to postings where members can enter their comments if they so desire; b) they can update their CV; c)  provide the facility for online payment both from outside and inside Bangladesh. May we crave the indulgence of your suggestions to improve the website and make it more user-friendly?
With this end in view a number of professional web designers have been approached. The minimum charges to face uplift the site with dynamic features will cost  somewhere between Tk. 10-15 K.
On behalf of this popular web-based organization, may we appeal to the members particularly to those who have been with us for quite sometime to pay their yearly dues of $10 each per year? We know $10 is a small sum of money and unless repeatedly reminded members tend to forget to clear their dues. Now that we urgently require funds, it will be all right if you can pay for the current year and the remaining sum when you can make it.
Looking forward to hearing from you favorably.
GNOBB Coordinator

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 Bijoya Greetings

Dhaka the 27^th Sept.’09.  On the festive occasion of Durga Puja GNOBB offer their heartiest greetings to the members and hope that the whole year brings peace and prosperity to you and your family.

 RV 144 AIDS Vaccine proved 31% effective against HIV infection

Dhaka the 27^th Sept.’09. A breakthrough in two decades has been achieved in the development of AIDS vaccine. A joint project by the Ministry of Health, Thailand and US Army launched six years ago on the development of vaccine against HIV part has yielded results of far-reaching consequence.  Among 16,000 volunteers half was given the vaccine and half served as placebo.  The vaccine proved effective against 31% patients. The WHO called the results of the trial a significant advance in preventing the occurrence of this scourge which takes a toll of some 2 million people annually in the planet. What is most interesting of this trial is none of the previously tried vaccines, ALVAC from France and AIDSVAX by itself is effective but when combined and administered in two dosages – first ALVAC followed by AIDSVAX as a “booster” they prevent the attack of HIV to 31% of the volunteers tested on a large scale trial ever conducted. It is heartening to note that some Asian countries are in forefront of medical research,

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Parental memories shape seeds by Abed Chaudhury and Associate

Dhaka the 27^th Sept., 09.  The September issue of Trends in Plant Science publishes a review article entitled Parental memories shape seeds jointly by Fred Berger at the Dept of Biol. Sciences at the National University of Singapore and GNOBB member, Dr. Abed Chaudhury now at VitaGrain, Singapore.  Arabidopsis is the first example of genetic imprinting reported toward the end of twentieth century. Chromosomal imprints constitute a phenomenon that may be seen both in somatic and reproductive cells.

Mendelian ratio does not apply in the determination of inheritance pattern. The alteration can be imposed   through the modification of chromosomal proteins or by the modification of chromosomal DNA,

As many as sixteen imprinted genes resident in the endosperm that provide nutrition to the developing embryo have since been discovered in maize and Arabidopsis. In the imprinting process there is mainly histone methylation  resulting in the silencing of  transcription.

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Heartiest Eid Greetings to All GNOBB Members, Well wishers Dhaka 17th September, '09. Tonight is the Holy Shabe-Qad'r night depending on the sighting of the moon there are 3 or 4 more days left for the celebration of the great festival of the Muslim World - Eid-ul-Fitr. GNOBB take this opportunity to convey their heartiest greetings to all members and Well wishers who have been always beside their side to support the cause of this web-based Forum started in 2005  GNOBB sincerely hope that in the future

their support  will come unreservedly for the promotion and development of this emerging science whose advancement is galloping faster than we can think of.
Let us all pledge on this happy occasion that we all - local and NRB's join hands in our endeavor to make this science internationally competitive. One of our goals is to make this website more user-friendly and versatile - a task which urgently requires both academic and financial support.
Quite a number of members have not updated their personal page including their most recent email addresses. Pl favor us with the updated information of yourself and personal subscription which is only $10 or an equivalent amount in Bangladesh currency. Eid Mubarak.
GNBB Coordinator

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Borlaug's Help is gratefully acknowledged by Bangladesh in the country's attaining food Safety

Dhaka, the 15th Sept., 09. Further to the news published recently on the passing away of Nobel Prize Winner Norman E. Borlaug, GNOBB and the community of scientists feel honored to have been associated with the late great soul on several occasions. Borlaug was the first foreign Honorary Fellow of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences (BAS) that conferred on him Fellowship for his outstanding contribution towards peace by banishing hunger from the famine affected areas of developing countries.
In 2005 Professor Zeba I. Seraj at the Department of Biochemistry and Mol. Biol.DU received Borlaug Fellowship in a simple ceremony held in Washington D.C. Being invited as an invited guest, GNOBB Coordinator, Prof. A. S. Islam called on him in early 1990s at CIMMYT, Mexico. Late Sufi Mohiuddin at BARI, to whom the credit goes of introducing a number of HYV wheat varieties in BD. was a close associate of Borlaug and worked under him for a number of years at CIMMYT and was his favorite student and colleague
Till his last days Borlaug was active in his research work on wheat and guiding others in various facets of wheat breeding.

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Nobel Prize Winner in Peace Norman Borlaug Passes away

Dhaka, 13th Sept., 09. The great Plant Breeder Nobel Prize winner in Peace and the world renowned Agricultural scientist passed away in Texas at the age of 95. He is regarded as the father of green revolution which increased the yield of bread wheat to an unprecedented level. He joined CIMMYT (the International Wheat and Maize Research Institute) in Mexico as its first DG – a prestigious appointment offered to him by CGIAR (Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research). During his tenure, Mexico turned into from a wheat deficit country to a wheat exporting one.
Wheat Plant breeders were looking for a gene that will allow yield increase by application of heavy dosage of fertilizers without concomitant increase in plant height. In other words, Borlaug and his associates developed lodge resistant wheat varieties by dwarfing the plant height through introduction of Rht (reduced height) genes from the Japanese wheat variety Norin 10 (source of Rht1 and Rht2 genes). Many Asian countries such as India and Pakistan were immensely benefited by his research. The hungry populations in these countries were saved from starvation. The International Rice Research Institute at Los Banos in the Philippines adopted this principle, namely introduction of dwarf gene in rice varieties evolving HYVs. Borlaug helped more people than anyone else in Human history and will be remembered by the hungry people of the world. May his soul rest in peace.

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Three appointments in  GEB, Dhaka University

Dhaka Sep. 9, 2009. GNOBB have the pleasure in announcing that recently there have been appointments of three lecturers in the Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Dhaka University. They are: Mustak Ibn Ayub, SM Mahbubur Rashid and Salim Ahmed, brilliant students of the department having obtained first class throughout their career. We congratulate them heartily and wish that they continue to serve the department and they take leave of absence when they go abroad for higher degrees. With the cooperation of all and academic contributions, this department can turn into one of the best in the subcontinent and help the University restore its past glory when this institution used to be called Oxford of the East. While appealing to the students not to leave their alma mater, we also appeal to the university authority to create conditions both academically and financially so that the young teachers feel comfortable in their respective positions without the urge to leave the country for financial reasons. One of the newly appointed teachers, Mr. Mustak is a prolific writer and has already three genetics books written beautifully in our mother tongue. Their continued service in the university will enrich the Bengali language in as much as genetics will be more and more popular among students at all levels. GNOBB wish them all Godspeed and good luck.
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An important article  to GNOBB Readers interested in the Development of Biotech in BD 

Dhaka, Sep. 9, 2009. GNOBB readers are familiar with the relentless endeavors Professor Ahmed Azad has been making to develop Biotech to an international level excellence. Toward achieving that end he has been writing a series of articles in the Daily Star and has been the prime driving force behind organizing one international  conference and another transcontinental symposium in Dhaka. 

In the preparations of the  recommendations of the two international Meet, it is he who contributed most. So read the article published in the DS available in the Link  that follows. http://www.thedailystar.net/ forum/2009/september/study.htm

We know that scientists both at home and abroad remain extremely busy with their daily agenda and do not find time to write their views even though in their heart of hearts, they like to espouse the cause by their rich viewpoints. While fully realizing their difficulties to spare time, GNOBB feel that the request of the biotech community will fall flat in the ears of the authority unless backed by a number of GNOBB members in the form of supporting documents of endorsement.
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An Extremely User-friendly website launched by the Nature Magazine
Dhaka 31 Jan, '09. GNOBB member Mahdi Moosa has brought to our attention about a very powerful website recently launched by Nature Publishing Group. The site called Scitable  provides a free science library and personal learning tool. It currently concentrates on genetics, evolution, variation and the rich complexity of living organisms.  It’s not only user friendly but explains diverse themes related to genetics, biotechnology and related topics. Undergraduate-, graduate students and researchers fresh to the field will find the website extremely helpful

As years pass by the information technology is at the door step of anyone seeking knowledge regardless of the country of the Internet browser. Gone are the days when people from developing countries would have no access of recent information without buying expensive latest text books and scientific journals. Now there are a number of open access journals and  almost all journals provide abstracts of their contents. To equip oneself with  the latest information on scientific and technological advancements does not pose a formidable knowledge. This website is only a click away from you
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An Extremely Useful Site for Active Research Worker
Dhaka 21 Jan, '09.GNOBB member, Dr. Ariful Haque a postdoctoral fellow in ICGEB, Trieste whose specialization is in CERES elements that take part in the splicing regulation process of CFTR exon 9 and exon 12, provides information about an extremely useful website maintained by the Oxford University Journals. This site summarizes the services provided by INASP, HINARI:, AGORA, OARE:, TEERAL: and eIFL as follows: INASP: The International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications collaborates with publishers in the developed world to facilitate access to research within developing and countries. More. …

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 Nine Years Ago, this Poem was presented before the BAPTC&B Intl. Conference.
Dhaka 5th Sept.,'08. The Poem, captioned, "Some Thoughts to Ponder Over as We Cross to the 21st Century" was presented before the Third Intl Conference in Tissue Culture and Biotechnology nine years ago. The situation stands now exactly as it was in December 1999.Pl read the Poem.
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What is a Gene? History and Updated Definition.
Austin, March 15, '08. An open access article is available under the title, “What is a gene, post-ENCODE? History and updated definition,” published  in Genome Res. 17: 669-681 (2007), written by ten experts, eight belonging to different departments at Yale University, one of the ten at  Stockholm  University and the other at European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Germany. Describing the gene as conceived in pre- and post-Mendelian era until the discovery of the Structure and Function of a DNA molecule, the article elucidates the changing definition of a gene pointing out that the classical  concept that genotype determines phenotype still hold good and  has not changed over time and that at the molecular level one DNA sequence still codes for one protein or RNA: which means that DNA sequences determine the sequences of functional molecules..  A part of the concluding paragraph quoted from Falk is reproduced here:  ‘‘. . . the gene is neither discrete  nor continuous, nor does it have a constant location, nor a clear cut function, not even constant sequences nor definite borderlines.” And now the ENCODE project has increased the complexity still further. In the most general case, genes can be defined “consisting of sequence modules that combine in multiple ways to generate products. By focusing on the functional products of the genome, this definition sets a concrete standard in enumerating unambiguously the number of genes it contains.” Click here to read the whole article.

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Forum Members  are requested to Air their Views
GNOBB readers and well-wishers of the Forum are invited to air their views, particularly on the first article.  The first article has been written keeping  in view that a lot remains to be done to fine tune  our ethics to be acceptable in the world scientific community.

1. Codes of Conduct in Science and Technology

2. What Individual Scientists can do to Influence the Attitude of their Governments toward Science

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BioAsia 2007 – The Global Bio-Business Forum
 (See archive: GM Crops: Latest Development))

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(SEE ARCHIVE  below for  viewing your or  your friends' earlier publications.)
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Condolence Messages and  Important News including donor list on Late Md. Shahabuddin.
(See archive below in this page)
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Watch an Awe-Inspiring Video on Cell Functioning 
Austin Oct 2, '06. We have enjoyed this animated video describing the intricate highly complex processes that  go on inside a cell. The animation is awesome and soul inspiring. We wish that the video had an audio description to make it more vivid to the viewers. Click the title.
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Air Your Views before the Next Meeting of the NECB
(See archives below in this page)
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Viet Nam's Progress  to Establish Millennium Institute in their Country
Austin Sept. 12. The PPT presentation on MSI establishment in Viet Nam should be an eye opener to us. A well-planned and well thought-out  proposal was submitted last year.  Please view the presentation and air your views as to what should be our modus operandi in the establishment of such an institute in Bangladesh.
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An Article of Interest to GNOBB Readers and well-wishers
Austin July 4, 2006. Right from the launch of GNOBB, its members have been expressing a keen interest about  promoting and further strengthening molecular biology  activity related both basic and applied sides in the country. Although not directly related, attached is an article on this issue. Please click here or the Title to retrieve it. If you endorse the idea, pl write about it in any dailies of your choice, English or Bengali.
Pl click here to read the comments of Professor Ahmed Azad on the creation of the NRB Ministry. His comments appeared on the 18th July edition of the Daily Star.
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"DNA and the Brain" - Nobel Laureate James Watson speaks at Google Rally
Austin June 26, 2006. GNOBB readers may be interested to see a video entitled, “DNA and the Brain”  where one of the two discoverers of DNA, Nobel Laureate James Watson, Chancellor of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory  speaks at a Google rally on April 20.  The video has been provided by the CSHL Net-Letter June 2006 Edition. The latter half of the talk is devoted to autism and the prospect of a cure in the near future,   as more and more information are unraveled on characterizing genes and their base sequence located in chromosome 15  (segment 15q11-13 ) and possibly 7. It takes quite sometime to download the video. So pl. do not give up until the video starts playing for you. You will enjoy the talk punctuated by a lot of witty remarks such as he couldn’t get admission into the university of his first choice.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8220394453782681101&q=watson
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Would You Like to Join the Forum? It is Easy!
You can  view your profile on the GNOBB website immediately after it's moderated.  Click  here  to view the Form. We have great pleasure in informing existing  members that you can update your profile by adding new information including replacing your latest publication with one of the earlier ones. [We only allow a maximum of five of your publications.]  However, you cannot leave any column blank.  Whatever information was provided earlier should also be furnished. Since there would be only ONE entry  for each Forum member, the moderator will delete the old one. That is the reason why your new profile page will remain incomplete, if  you keep some columns empty. What is time-saving of the new arrangement is that as soon as one clicks the submit button, it is automatically uploaded and the name is listed in an alphabetical order in the section, "Member's profile" after the moderator okays it.  One could retrieve important information also immediately about the new participant using  the box marked "search scientist"  on the top right hand side of the home page.
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GNOBB Membership strength now Stands at 370

Dhaka Feb. 03, ’10. The  last six months saw 9 more members in  the GNOBB forum bringing the total of membership to 370. They are: Annajiat  Rasel, MD. Kaiissar  Mannoor, Shaikh  Mizan, Salim  Ahmed, Monir Uddin  Ahmed, Ezaz  Mamun, Arif Hasan Khan  Robin, Ahmad Humayan  Kabir and Shafiul  Alam. Of the nine members, Drs.  Manoor, Mizan and Ezaz are Ph.D.'s. While Dr. Manoor is currently a postdoctoral Fellow in immunology in the University of Maryland, Dr. Mizan, interested in vaccine development is now employed in a local private Medical College and  Dr. Ezaz is the Policy Development Adviser in the Department of Agric., Fisheries and Forestry with the Australian Government. To know the details of the remaining five pl. press the hyperlink of individual names. GNOBB wish them well and expect them to contribute to the promotion and growth of this SIX-YEAR OLD web-based organization. We are indeed grateful to Dr Ezaz Mamun for his generous monetary contribution of Tk. 4,000 to the organization. The previous two months witnessed six members. They were    Dr. M. M.  Hamiduzzaman, (mailto:"mmdhamid@yahoo.com"), Researcher at the University of Guelph, Canada Website, He is an Environmental Biologist; Dr.Md. Asadulghani (mailto:"asadu@med.miyazaki-u.ac.jp",he is now the Assistant Professor, Division of Bioenvironmental Sciences, in the University of Miyazaki, Japan; Mazharul  Aziz, Asaduzzaman Prodhan, Md. Mahmud  Hasan at NIB, Narayan Chandra  Paul   a Ph. D student at CNU Republic of Korea, Dr. Imtiaz  Khan Research, (mailto:"wpciak@cf.ac.uk"), a Ph.D. from Cardiff University is  Fellow in bioinformatics in the same department ;  Ms. Shamima  Nasrin, We welcome all the eight members and fervently request them to contribute to the success of this forum by contributing popular articles in their subject of specialization . We welcomed earlier 10 new members. They were: Dr. Mohammad  Al-Mamun, Mst.  Khaton, Md.  Shaik, Md Nazmul  Bhuiyan, sabina  yesmin, Ahmad Humayan  Kabir, M A Yousuf  Akhond, Ferdous  Seraj. 

The immediate earlier period witnessed the participation of Dr. Sharif  Akhteruzzaman, Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, DU, Md. Abdul  Karim, Assistant Professor, Ehime University, Japan, Md. Golam  Sharoar, Md Mahmudur  Rahman and Md.Shahidul  Islam.

During the end part of the last year 16 members joined GNOBB. The members are Partha Pratim Dhar, Dr. Md Badrul Hasan, Mohammad Nurul Islam, Muhammad Hoque, Md. Maruf Hassan, S.M.Minhaz Ud-Dean,  Md. Montasir  Elahi, Md. Riajul  Hossain, Firoz  Anwar, Md. Rafiqul  Islam, Fardous Mohammad Safiul  Azam and nazneen  Rahman Those who joined earlier were: Abu Ashfaqur  Sajib, Manujendra, Narayan  Saha, S. M. Nashir  Udden, Sumaiya Farah  Khan, Dibyendu  Biswas, Subroto  Das, Ehsan  Uddin and Muhammad  Islam. Of them seven are M.S working in the BD Universities and Dr Saha is a Ph.D from Dept. of Virology and Preventive Medicine, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Gunma, Japan and now working as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, at the Dept. of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Click the individual link to know more about the new members.

 

What a profound joy to discover that talented young scientists  of our country are either pursuing  higher studies in prestigious institutes  or working there as postdoctorals or research associates all over the world. One such new member is Dr. Md. Taufiq-ur-Rahman. An M.Pharm  from DU,  M.S in  Molecular Pharmacology from University of Manchester, UK, he did his  Ph.D. in Natural sciences from University of Cambridge, UK. After his postdoctoral in Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, UK he is now employed as a Research Associate in the same department. The other is Ms Munia Amin. Ms Amin is doing MRes in Life science in the College of Medicine & Veterinary medicine studentship in the University of Edinburgh. Her plan is to do Ph.D. in cancer genetics. The other recent members are Mr. SM Kaisar Shikder, Mr. Ahmad Humayan Kabir, Mr. M. Nazrul Islam  and  Dr. MWhile Mr. Kaisar, an MS in Entomology is  an Assistant Information Officer (crop production, Mr. Humayan is a Masters Student in Molecular Biology at the University of Skövde and Stockholm University, Sweden, Mr, Nazrul Islam, an M.Sc. in Microbiology is a senior Research Officer in ICDDR,B.

To view the rest of recently archived  members  please. click here
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 Archive Contents
Austin Nov. 11, '05. In order for the members to look for previous postings, they have been archived under different headings.  For making the archived news items more user-friendly, any suggestions are most welcome.  Click the section/s to find out the news item you are interested in.
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For the past  issues of SABP and December  issue of ABSPII Newsletters  (See Newsletter section under Archive Contents)

*Are GM Crops more dangerous than planting mutanized varieties or growing exotic horticulture plants or population of wide crosses?
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*** View an Animated Tour through the Process of RNA Interference
RNA Interference is the talk of the day in the world of molecular Biology. However, many of us do not have an in depth conception about what it is. For GNOBB viewers  RNA Interference Quick Time Movie is presented through the courtesy of Nature  (www.nature.com). The animation was specially created for Nature Reviews by Arkitek Studios. Enjoy the Movie by clicking the Title.  Pl. click the word in blue font to download the Quicktime to view the movie.
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Objectives of GNOBB
A little more than a year ago many of us working in the multitude of fields of biotechnology felt that it was high time that we have had our own website giving  consolidated formation regarding our activity on the following lines: a) where we are working; b). in which area of biotechnology; c) major findings listing a maximum of 5 most significant publications;  d) current and future program of the scholar e) email, website (if any) and postal addresses  with  a passport size photograph (in JPEG).
We thought we would all benefit from such information in as much we would be in a position to establish contact/liaison with fellow brothers/sisters working in the same area. We also thought that it might be possible for us to  use this medium as a forum to express our views on important issues such as GM crops, vaccine biotechnology, transgenic animals, poultry and diagnostic kits and may be able to advise the Government in important matters regarding various facets of biotechnology. We feel extremely happy to report to the community that the forum which we have named, "Global Network of Bangladeshi Biotechnologists" which is in short GNOBB (www.gnobb.org), is  marching forward toward achieving the goal which it set at the time of launching the forum. beginning October last week 2004.  
"Prothom Alo", one of the leading Bengali Dailies (http://www.prothom-alo.com)  published from Dhaka has  congratulated GNOBB on the occasion of its first anniversary. Click here to read the English translation of the featured article.
Future Prospect of GNOBB: The Biotechnology community do not have the overall picture  as to how many Bangladeshi are working overseas in biotechnology related areas and what contribution they have been making in these fields.   So a well planned website, giving relevant information on the line suggested above will go a long way towards the utilization of expertise of Bangladeshi expatriates towards launching any united effort to bring important issues to the attention to of the Government of Bangladesh and public.  Expatriates will also benefit by knowing their counterparts by exchanging views with them.
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Scope for advanced studies overseas leading to higher degrees: One of the aims of this website will be to post from time to time such important pieces of information so that more and more students from Bangladesh can avail of the opportunities that are offered by various overseas universities. (Click Fellowship section.)
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