Nobel Laureate, scientists share ideas at conclave

An organism's vital functions are managed by large, complex protein molecules produced in cells ribosomes and their genetic information from 'messenger RNA' is translated into chains of amino acids that then build proteins, said Israeli Scientist and Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Ada E Yonath.

She was delivering a talk on 'The Fruits of Curiosity' during the fourth day of Sahyadri Conclave organised by Sahyadri College and Engineering and Management at Adyar in Mangaluru on Wednesday.

Mentioning about 20 types of Amino Acids, Ada E Yonath explained the functions of proteins in the lives of all organisms. Stress induces periodical packing of ribosome particles, she said.

Stating that she was inspired by Madam Marie Sklodowska Curie, she added that curiosity and passion brought her to the position where she is now.

During the second plenary session, UPSC former chairman Dr D P Agrawal spoke on waste disposal and stressed upon the role of technology in managing the daily waste in home appliances. Industrial waste, building and agriculture waste should be treated scientifically.

Centre of Excellence in Aerospace and Defence (CEAD) former chairman and Aeronautical Development Agency former Director C D Balaji delivered a talk on 'Aerospace environment and ecosystem'. He spoke about various environmental challenges in aeronautics which included air quality and particulate emissions, aircraft noise, water pollution from airline services and radiation exposure generally seen in the field of aeronautics. He also highlighted various methods adopted in the current era to mitigate these issues. In a nutshell, he also spoke about light combat aircraft design and multiple threat scenarios involved in the design.

A panel discussion was held on the theme 'Environment', in which IISc, Bangalore, Aerospace Engineering professor Jagadeesh Gopalan, Central University of Karnataka vice chancellor Prof S S Murthy and Alliance University, Bengaluru vice chancellor Dr B K Ravindra took part.

S-VYASA University advisor Prahlad Rama Rao was the moderator. Concerns about the environment, likely solutions, sustainability and prevention of the same were addressed in the panel discussion.