Patna: The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) of govt of India has awarded a research grant of Rs64 lakh to Central University of South Bihar (CUSB) faculty member Saptarshi Ghosh for carrying out a study on the development of therapeutic strategies against genetic diseases.Ghosh, an assistant professor of chemistry department, will complete his study in a period of three years in collaboration with the scientists of biotechnology and life sciences departments of CUSB.Giving details of his proposed research work on “Structural alteration of nucleic acids using chemical modulators”, Ghosh said genetic diseases like cancer and other neurodegenerative are mainly caused by the structural change in our DNA and RNA. The project aims to control disease-related structural changes in nucleic acids using chemical modulators such as small molecules and ligands.He said altering the structure of nucleic acids using chemical modulators helps mitigate cancer by correcting abnormal epigenetic marks (like DNA methylation), interfering with cancer cell proliferation, blocking the translation of oncogenic proteins, and making tumours more vulnerable to the immune system. Cancer relies on the overproduction of specific proteins that promote tumour growth. Chemical modulators structurally modify or mimic functional nucleic acids to prevent this, he said.The proposed research work is likely to generate an indigenous knowledge base and the findings of the study will be protected as patents, which will provide CUSB a global status in the area of biophysical and nucleic acid research, Ghosh added.Patna: The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) of government of India has awarded a major research grant of Rs 64 lakh to Central University of South Bihar (CUSB) faculty member Saptarshi Ghosh for carrying out a study on the development of therapeutic strategies against genetic diseases.Ghosh, an assistant professor of chemistry department, will complete his study in a period of three years in collaboration with the scientists of biotechnology and life sciences departments o CUSB.Giving details of his proposed research work on ‘structural alteration of nucleic acids using chemical modulators’, Ghosh said that genetic diseases like cancer and other neurodegenerative is eased are mainly caused by the structural change in our DNA and RNA. The project aims to control disease-related structural changes in nucleic acids using chemicalmodulators such as small molecules and ligands.He said altering the structure of nucleic acids using chemical modulators helps mitigate cancer by correcting abnormal epigenetic marks (like DNA methylation), interfering with cancer cell proliferation, blocking the translation of oncogenic proteins, and making tumors more vulnerable to the immune system. Cancer relies on the overproduction of specific proteins that promote tumor growth. Chemical modulators structurally modify or mimic functional nucleic acids to prevent this, he said.The proposed research work is likely to generate an indigenous knowledge base and the findings of the study will be protected as patents, which will provide CUSB a global status in the area of biophysical and nucleic acid research, Ghosh added.—
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