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A Dialogue in the Dark
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Mr. Khandekar Jishan Bari*
Email: jishanbari@gmail.com
We, The Chary Lab (A: Please confirm if this is the proper name of the, lab) Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Hyderabad, are working towards offering mechanistic insights into cataract formation in children, the major cause of childhood blindness worldwide. We combine high- resolution structural clues employing solution NMR spectroscopy with a judicious mix of supporting biophysical tools to arrive at a wholesome picture of the system in hand.
A significant impact on science and technology in the last few decades has been the complete sequencing of multiple genomes (complete set of genes) that spurred various genome projects. The immediate challenge in the post-genomic era today is, therefore,
to translate this sequence information into useful biochemistry and to decipher structural, functional and evolutionary clues encoded in these genome sequences. Particularly inspired by the huge success in the human genome project, world’s largest collaborative science project, research groups across the world undertook structural investigations of various proteins and nucleic acids, their roles in human diseases and interactions within themselves, which led to the birth of what is known as ‘Structural Biology’.
Like a necklace is engineered from a string of pearls, a protein is constructed from a sequence of amino acids. Proteins constitute the primary components of various metabolic pathways in our body. However, our eye lens and the proteins inside it are special. Smaller
* Mr. Khandekar Jishan Bari, PhD Scholar from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Telangana, is pursuing his research on “Biomolecular NMR Studies on G57W Mutant of Human γS-Crystallin and its Role in Dominant Congenital Cataract”. His popular science story entitled “A Dialogue in the Dark” has been selected for AWSAR Award.