Wednesday, April 11, 2007

"The HT write up"


I was asked to write a piece about this experiment that we did (I had a hand-okay,just a finger-in it too) in our school's biotechnology lab. I have better, as in more colourful versions, of the same but this one is closest to what my biotechnology teacher wanted it to be like. (something of a hybrid of a feature and a news report)

I hope Anil sir (My journalism teacher..) could read it. He would finally be happy, with me having learnt to keep a tab on what I write...according to him, I always overdo it in the excitement(of writing!) and then end-up writing one, long enough for two! "Sakshi, its beautiful, but useless." argh..i'll never ever forget his words. But had it not been for these few words (or something that meant it), you would be seeing a lot more trash on this page. uhh...read the article for now, gotta run for dinner!



“Impossible is Nothing.” The words have given heart to millions of people since time immemorial but they never apparently sounded as true and practical as they sound now. What seemed to be a dream and far fetched fantasy sometime back, is now a reality. Not long back we would “dream” of emulating birds, now, we “plan” to live on moon. The transition from “dreaming” to “planning” was not overnight. It took a lot of time and toiling on the part of scientists and researchers who worked round the clock for a seemingly impossible thing and were laughed at for that.

Today, we know and realize that everything is possible and thus, the way we look at this world has changed drastically. Today, we are moving fast and the world is moving faster. All that is required for now is to keep up the pace of advancement and cultivate a healthy breed of scientists who can keep the momentum going. The schools play a major role in this and realizing the same, the CBSE has introduced subjects like information technology and biotechnology in the curriculum. The schools on their part also realize the importance of these technical subjects in shaping up the career of a student and do off-leak things in an attempt to come up with something new that would lay a better base for the pupil’s future.

Recently the biotechnology department of MGD Girls’ School has achieved this incredible feat of developing a healthy marigold plant from a 0.5cm long piece of the apical stem. The technique of plant tissue culture or micro propagation is not new but the procedure requires the experimentation to take place in a contamination free environment. Meeting the standards of such a technical experiment (it is prescribed in the Rajasthan University syllabus) in a school laboratory is ab achievement in itself and a first for any public school of Rajasthan.

In the experiment performed in the biotech laboratory of MGD Girls’ School, the plant was developed over the span of a month from the callus. A special media was used, that provided nutrients required for the growth of the plant. The plantlet was transferred from one container to the other over the course of the experiment in sterile conditions and the appurtenances used in the experiment were decontaminated using the autoclave. The plantlet was kept in controlled environmental conditions in a B.O.D. (Biological Oxygen Demand) and the amount of light reaching the plant and the temperature were carefully regulated. The plantlet, when strong enough was transferred to a pot and exposed to normal temperature and light.

Micro propagation is seen as one of the revolutions in biotechnology and offers exciting prospects in the field of sciences. It can be used to conserve rare or endangered plant species-which is the need of the hour. The agriculture industry has high hopes pinned up on this technique as it can be used to cross-pollinate distantly related species in order to develop a hybrid and to produce clean plant material from virus infected stock. It provides protection to the plant against diseases and the plant can be grown and made to flower even in off season. It can be used as a method of propagation of plants, which produce less or no seeds as this technique grows the plant without involving any seeds. With all this and more, tissue culture promises to bring a wave of transition and what better than the young riding the wave. Let us hope its not just a storm in the cup and does materializes into something worth the efforts.



P.S.--Did i mention that one of my classmates thought it was like written by a "journalist"...i know its an exaggeration. But felt good. hmmmm...she unknowingly encouraged me at a time when i needed it more than ever before. Okay now I can go on writing about what all I felt about this but will shut up, for I know I'll never be able to put it across to you people even if I use up all my resources..."May be you will never know, for I'll never show"...sounds familiar (I guess its some song..)
And just thought of adding this--one of these people i know, a journalist, read this, and thought it was crap.Wont go as anything.Does not fit in any of the criterias. Coming from me, useless just as ever..hehee

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