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Biomedical subjects

M S Swaminathan

Publications and source records attributed to M S Swaminathan.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Managing extreme natural disasters in coastal areas.

Extreme natural hazards, particularly the hydro-meteorological disasters, are emerging as a cause of major concern in the coastal regions of India and a few other developing countries. These have become more frequent in the recent past, and are taking a heavy toll of life and livelihoods. Low level of technology development in the rural areas together with social, economic and gender inequities enhance the vulnerability of the largely illiterate, unskilled, and resource-poor fishing, farming and landless labour communities. Their resilience to bounce back to pre-disaster level of normality is highly limited. For the planet Earth at crossroads, the imminent threat, however, is from a vicious spiral among environmental degradation, poverty and climate change-related natural disasters interacting in a mutually reinforcing manner. These, in turn, retard sustainable development, and also wipe out any small gains made thereof. To counter this unacceptable trend, the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation has developed a biovillage paradigm and rural knowledge centres for ecotechnological and knowledge empowerment of the coastal communities at risk. Frontier science and technologies blended with traditional knowledge and ecological prudence result in ecotechnologies with pro-nature, pro-poor and pro-women orientation. The rural communities are given training and helped to develop capacity to adopt ecotechnologies for market-driven eco-enterprises. The modern information and communication-based rural knowledge centres largely operated by trained semi-literate young women provide time- and locale-specific information on weather, crop and animal husbandry, market trends and prices for local communities, healthcare, transport, education, etc. to the local communities. The ecotechnologies and time- and locale-specific information content development are need-based and chosen in a 'bottom-up' manner. The use of recombinant DNA technology for genetic shielding of agricultural crops for coastal regions against abiotic stress (induced by the water- and weather-related natural disasters), strengthens the foundations of sustainable agriculture undertaken by the resource-poor small farm families.

Disaster Planning↗
PubMed2004

Allele mining for stress tolerance genes in Oryza species and related germplasm.

Allele mining exploits the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequence of one genotype to isolate useful alleles from related genotypes. The international project to sequence the genome of Oryza sativa L cv. Nipponbare will make allele mining possible for all genes of rice and possibly related cereals. We used a rice calmodulin gene, a rice gene encoding a late embryogenesis-associated protein, and salt-inducible rice gene to optimize the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for allele mining of stress tolerance genes on identified accessions of rice and related germplasm. Two sets of PCR primers were designed for each gene. Primers based on the 5' and 3' untranslated region of genes were found to be sufficiently conserved so as to be effective over the entire range of germplasm in rice for which the concept of allelism is applicable. However, the primers based on the adjacent amino (N) and carboxy (C) termini amplify additional loci.

3' Untranslated Regions↗
PubMed2003

Bio-diversity: an effective safety net against environmental pollution.

Biodiversity is the feedstock for the biotechnology industry. Hence, the conservation, enhancement and sustainable and equitable use of biodiversity should be accorded high priority in all national environment protection programmes. Lichens serve as useful indicators of environmental health. Similarly, several blue green algae help to sequester salt from water. There is need for the more widespread use of such biomonitoring and bioremediation agents. Bioprospecting research designed to identify novel metabolites must be rooted in the principle of equity in sharing benefits with the holders of traditional knowledge. There is need for greater vigil against alien invasive species, since with growing world trade in food grains and other agricultural commodities, there is an increasing possibility of introducing new pests, weeds and harmful micro-organisms. Finally, biological scientists should place emphasis on their ethical responsibility for the consequences of their research, since otherwise bioterrorism could become a major threat to human security.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Ecology and equity: key determinants of sustainable water security.

Trends in water consumption indicate that demand for water for household and industrial uses in developing countries could double as a proportion of total water demand in the next 25 years. Scope for expansion of water supply will, at the same time, be limited because development of irrigation and urban water supplies is becoming increasingly expensive, and often involves high costs in terms of environmental degradation and human resettlement. Without fundamental reform of water management, the rapid growth in urban water demand will require large transfers of water from irrigated agriculture, thereby threatening food security. Hence, water supply and demand should be managed in an integrated fashion, simultaneously considering all uses and sources. This will call for the establishment of community centred food and water security systems and national water trusts. Once such systems and Trusts are established there could be a legally binding Global Water Convention on the model of the Global Convention on Climate and Biodiversity. The details of such a Global Water Conventions can be finalized at one of the future Stockholm Water Symposia. There are uncommon opportunities today for a water-secure world through synergy between technology, public policy and peoples' participation.

Conservation of Natural Resources↗
PubMed2000

An evergreen revolution.

The term 'Green Revolution' was coined in 1968 to indicate revolutionary improvements in crop yield in several Asian countries. Many of these improvements came at the cost of adverse environmental effects in areas subjected to intensive farming. However, where population pressure is high, there is no option except to produce more food. Productivity must increase, but in ways which are environmentally safe, economically viable and socially sustainable. This has been christened an 'Evergreen Revolution'.

Agriculture↗
PubMed1993

Perspectives for crop protection in sustainable agriculture.

The challenge facing agriculture, particularly in developing countries, is to increase productivity without causing ecological damage. An important aspect of sustainable agriculture is the substitution of chemicals and capital with locally grown biological inputs and knowledge. Production of food grains in India has risen steadily since the 1960s, partly through the introduction of high-yielding varieties of rice and wheat together with appropriate agronomic and plant protection practices. Plant breeding programmes have improved cultivated rice by the transfer, from wild species, of genes conferring resistance to viral diseases. Diversification of resistance is sought, to render the hybrids less vulnerable to sudden outbreaks of diseases and insect pests. For wheat, resistance to rusts involves the additive interaction of several gene-encoded traits. Linkage of resistance genes with morphological markers enables the inheritance of the former to be followed easily. It is important that recent advances in molecular genetics are incorporated into integrated pest management programmes. This will require appropriate social organization. Research centres that develop and exploit genetic sources of resistance and varietal diversification should be established.

Agriculture↗