<p>The Max Planck-National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) Centre on lipid research was opened at the beginning of the 15-month celebration that kick started here on Friday.<br />The centre was inaugurated by visiting German minister Cornelia Pieper in the presence of M K Bhan, secretary in the department of biotechnology, and K Vijay Raghavan, NCBS director. <br /><br />The inauguration was preceded by a meeting in Bangalore on September 22 to draft the functioning of the centre.<br /><br />During the centre’s start-up phase, which will extend over five years, two research groups will be set up in Dresden and Berlin in which biochemical and biophysical analysis of biological membranes and the genetic analysis of lipid metabolic processes in various animal model systems will be studied. An established research group in Bangalore has been included in the work, whereas a fourth group will be set up for lipid research, the NCBS said in a statement.<br /><br />The research will focus on “lipidomics”, which could develop soon into a key area in cell and developmental biology, molecular medicine and nutritional science. “We would like to analyse the complete inventory of lipids in various cells and organisms in order to be able to develop tools that can use lipidomics for biological systems analysis and for investigating and treating diseases,” said Marino Zerial, director of the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG).<br /><br />Running the Bangalore centre will involve a total expenditure of € 20 million per year (about Rs 134 crore), which will be shared by both nations. In terms of cash flow India will be spending about € 2 million per year and Germany about €10 million. The rest of Indian contribution will be in terms of infrastructure and other expenses towards running the centre.</p>
<p>The Max Planck-National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) Centre on lipid research was opened at the beginning of the 15-month celebration that kick started here on Friday.<br />The centre was inaugurated by visiting German minister Cornelia Pieper in the presence of M K Bhan, secretary in the department of biotechnology, and K Vijay Raghavan, NCBS director. <br /><br />The inauguration was preceded by a meeting in Bangalore on September 22 to draft the functioning of the centre.<br /><br />During the centre’s start-up phase, which will extend over five years, two research groups will be set up in Dresden and Berlin in which biochemical and biophysical analysis of biological membranes and the genetic analysis of lipid metabolic processes in various animal model systems will be studied. An established research group in Bangalore has been included in the work, whereas a fourth group will be set up for lipid research, the NCBS said in a statement.<br /><br />The research will focus on “lipidomics”, which could develop soon into a key area in cell and developmental biology, molecular medicine and nutritional science. “We would like to analyse the complete inventory of lipids in various cells and organisms in order to be able to develop tools that can use lipidomics for biological systems analysis and for investigating and treating diseases,” said Marino Zerial, director of the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG).<br /><br />Running the Bangalore centre will involve a total expenditure of € 20 million per year (about Rs 134 crore), which will be shared by both nations. In terms of cash flow India will be spending about € 2 million per year and Germany about €10 million. The rest of Indian contribution will be in terms of infrastructure and other expenses towards running the centre.</p>
