New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) has announced the recipients of the 2024 Klerman and Freedman Prizes, recognising outstanding clinical and basic research in mental illness. These prestigious awards honour the work of scientists supported by the Foundation’s Young Investigator Grants Program.

The 2024 Klerman and Freedman prize winners are being recognised for their significant findings related to suicide prevention, PTSD, substance-use disorders, autism, brain biology, and therapeutic drug development,” said Dr Jeffrey Borenstein, President and CEO of the BBRF. He highlighted that their work advances diagnostic tools, identifies effective treatments, and aids in the prevention of mental illness.

The prize winners were selected by the BBRF Scientific Council, comprising 192 leading mental health researchers. Since 1987, the Foundation has awarded over $450 million to more than 5,400 scientists globally. The awards are named after Gerald Klerman, MD, and Daniel Freedman, MD — legendary figures in neuropsychiatry.

Juliet Beni Edgcomb, MD, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles, has been selected for the 2024 Klerman Prize for Exceptional Clinical Research.

Dr Edgcomb is developing methodologies to identify children and adolescents with suicide-related symptoms from electronic health record (EHR) data. Her research aims to establish predictive variables to better recognise suicide-related phenotypes, potentially improving early intervention strategies.

Christina K. Kim, PhD, University of California, is the recipient of the 2024 Freedman Prize for Exceptional Basic Research.

Dr Kim’s work focuses on new methods to record and alter neuronal activity, specifically targeting neurons and molecular biomarkers affected by therapeutic drugs for depression and anxiety. This research could lead to the development of more specific and effective treatments with fewer side effects.

Elizabeth V. Goldfarb, PhD, Yale University, has been chosen for the 2024 Klerman Prize Honorable Mention.

Dr Goldfarb’s lab explores how stress influences memory and subsequent behaviours. Her research integrates cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging to identify memory markers that could inform therapeutic interventions.

Erin Gibson, PhD, Stanford University, has been selected for the 2024 Freedman Prize Honorable Mention.

Dr Gibson studies the circadian system’s role in neuroendocrine and immune regulation, focusing on the impact of glial cells on neural circuits and their connection to disorders such as autism and Alzheimer’s disease.

Hugo A. Tejeda, PhD, National Institute of Mental Health, is the recipient of the 2024 Freedman Prize Honorable Mention.

Dr Tejeda investigates neuromodulation in limbic neural circuits, examining the role of neuropeptides and dopamine in threat appraisal and motivation, with implications for understanding psychiatric disorders.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) Aerospace industry leaders Thales and Garuda Aerospace on Tuesday announced a collaboration to promote the development of the drone ecosystem in India.

As part of the agreement, Thales will provide expertise in the field of unmanned traffic management (UTM) solutions, UAV detection and system integration, while Garuda will bring its skills in the manufacture and use of UAVs, as well as its expertise in the Indian market.

Established in 2015, Garuda Aerospace has a vast fleet of over 2,500 drones and 4,000 pilots across 400 districts.

This collaboration, said the companies, aims to foster innovation and advance the development of technological solutions that can enable safe and secure drone operations and help the growth of drone-based applications in the country.

The government is providing a robust foundation for the drone ecosystem, fostering opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and growth.

“This collaboration aligns well with the Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) vision, and seeks to support the country in realising its ambition to become a major global hub for drones by 2030,” said Ashish Saraf, VP and Country Director, Thales in India.

Thales has built end-to-end solutions for drone integration and the development of advanced UTM systems.

The company works closely with civil aviation authorities and air navigation service providers to deliver strategic UTM capabilities, including registration, authorisation and geo-awareness.

Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Founder and CEO, Garuda Aerospace, said that ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 100 Garuda drones in 100 villages, they cemented market dominance in the precision agri-drone segment, where 50 per cent of agri drones are from Garuda.

“Equipped with the largest fleet in India coupled with Thales’ UTM technology and their worldwide experience, Garuda Aerospace will aim to revolutionise the drone sector and play a key role in the transformation of India into a global drone powerhouse,” said Jayaprakash.

Present in India since 1953, Thales has over 2,200 employees in the country.

Founded in 2015 with a team of five, Garuda has scaled to a more than 200-member team. It manufactures 30 types of drones and offers 50 types of services.

–IANS

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Bengaluru, July 30 (IANS) India’s spacetech sector witnessed record-breaking funding of $126 million in 2023 — a 7 per cent increase from the $118 million raised in 2022 and a whopping 235 per cent increase from $37.6 million in 2021, a report showed on Tuesday.

In 2024, the year-to-date funding for the sector stands at $10.8 million.

Despite a global slowdown in funding, the spacetech sector has been experiencing an upward trend, driven by substantial government support and significant innovations, according to data provided by market intelligence firm Tracxn.

There are more than 100 spacetech startups, the majority of them being founded in the last five years. The Union Budget’s funding of Rs 1,000 crore is expected to boost the industry significantly, attracting more entrepreneurship and investment in the coming months.

Currently, the country boasts 55 active space assets, including communication, meteorological, and earth observation satellites.

“The significant funding and strategic investments we’re seeing now are setting the stage for India to become a major player in the global space industry,” said Neha Singh, Co-founder of Tracxn.

The combination of solid early-stage funding and supportive government policies will be key to driving this growth and establishing India as a leading centre for space exploration and technology, Singh noted.

In 2023, early-stage rounds attracted $120 million of the total $126 million raised, reflecting a notable growth from $114 million in 2022, which represents a 5 per cent increase.

In 2024, early-stage funding has reached $8.5 million to date.

Seed-stage funding has also seen a significant rise, growing from $4.3 million in 2022 to $5.3 million in 2023, marking a 24 per cent increase.

However, despite this growth in early-stage and seed-stage funding, the nascent ecosystem for private sector participation in Indian Space Tech startups has not yet experienced any late-stage funding, the report said.

Skyroot Aerospace leads as the highest-funded active space tech startup in India, with overall funding of $99.8 million, followed by Pixxel at $71.7 million and Agnikul at $61.5 million.

No other startup in this segment has raised funds above $50 million.

Despite the vibrant funding landscape, no acquisitions have been observed in 2024.

The only acquisition to date is the 2022 purchase of Prakshep, a satellite imagery provider for the agricultural industry, by Arya.

Bengaluru leads the list of top-funded cities in India’s spacetech sector, followed by Hyderabad and Chennai.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) Signalling the growing importance of India for the South Korean giant, Jong-Hee (JH) Han, Vice Chairman, CEO and Head of the Device eXperience (DX) Division at Samsung Electronics, said on Tuesday that the country is one of the biggest and fastest-growing markets globally and offers a huge opportunity for the company.

Han also visited the company’s Noida factory where Samsung manufactures smartphones, tablets and refrigerators, said they are among the first companies to invest in India.

“I am happy that the Noida factory has emerged as one of our biggest facilities, manufacturing not only for India, but for the world,” Han noted.

Han said that India has a large population of tech-savvy young consumers that inspire us to innovate.

“I am proud that many young, enterprising engineers who are playing an important role in the development of AI are working at our R&D centres in India,” he added.

Samsung unveiled its “AI for All” vision — which aims to improve the lives of consumers by bringing artificial intelligence and hyper-connectivity through open collaboration — at the start of the year.

This year, Samsung’s Galaxy AI-powered premium smartphones and Bespoke AI home appliances — such as refrigerators, ACs and washing machines — have together created a unique connected devices ecosystem.

While Samsung is deeply dedicated to its commitment to “Make in India” through its two state-of-the-art manufacturing plants at Noida and Sriperumbudur, it is equally invested in a design centre in Noida and three R&D facilities.

Of the three R&D facilities, which drive innovation for both local and global products, two are located in Noida and one in Bengaluru.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) Over the past 500-plus million years, the interactions between the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, and life have created favourable conditions for early organisms.

An interdisciplinary team of scientists has explored this co-evolutionary history in a perspective article published in the National Science Review.

The team from Syracuse University, Oxford University, and Stanford University focussed on the Phanerozoic Eon, which began around 540 million years ago.

At that time, high carbon dioxide and low oxygen levels in the atmosphere posed challenges for life.

However, ocean algae played a crucial role in transforming these conditions by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen through photosynthesis.

“One of our tasks was to summarise the most important discoveries about carbon dioxide and oxygen in the atmosphere and ocean over the past 500 million years,” said Zunli Lu, a Syracuse University geochemistry professor and the paper’s lead author.

“We reviewed how those physical changes affected the evolution of life in the ocean. But it’s a two-way street. The evolution of life also impacted the chemical environment.”

The study highlighted how these changes influenced animal life in the ocean.

“The ability of animals to live in an ocean environment was affected by oxygen levels,” noted Jonathan Payne, a co-author and professor of Earth and planetary sciences at Stanford University.

Payne examined ancient animals’ metabolic requirements and their survival patterns in the fossil record.

As photosynthetic algae adapted to changing environmental conditions, they developed more efficient ways to perform photosynthesis, creating internal compartments to control the chemistry.

“For algae, it is changes in the environmental ratio of O2/CO2 that seems to be key to driving improved photosynthetic efficiency,” explained co-author Rosalind Rickaby, a professor of geology at Oxford University.

The study emphasises the need for future research to map spatial patterns of ocean oxygen, biomarkers for photosynthesis, and metabolic tolerance in the fossil record to understand the interplay between life and the environment.

–IANS

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