IMMUNOLOGY

  Mauritius is a island nation in the Indian Ocean about 2,000 kilometres off the south-east coast of the African continent. It is a biodiversity hotspot with a high concentration of plants and animals unique to the region. The Mauritian marine environment is home to 1,700 species including around 800 types of fish, 17 kinds of marine mammals and two species of turtles, according to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.  Coral reefs, seagrasses and mangroves make Mauritian waters extraordinarily rich in biodiversity. The MV Wakashio oil spill occurred offshore of Pointe d'Esny, south of Mauritius, after the Japanese bulk carrier Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef on 25 July 2020 .On 7 August, nearly two weeks after the shipwreck, the Mauritian government declared the incident a national emergency. According to Maritime traffic voyage information, M V Wakashio was a cargo ship, which departed from Lianyungang port, China on 4 July, stopped in Singapore and was scheduled ...

  WESTERN BLOTTING   AIM : To learn the technique of western blotting for the detection of a specific protein.   INTRODUCTION : Western blotting or protein immunoblotting is a very sensitive and analytical method that involves detection of specific protein in a complex mixture. Protein samples are first separated using SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) followed by the immobilization of protein or nitrocellulose or PVDF membranes. The transfer of proteins from the gel to the membrane is done electrophoretically. The transferred protein is detected using specific primary antibody and secondary enzyme labelled antibody and substrate. This method utilizes the principle of antigen-antibody interaction for identification of specific antigens by monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies.   PRINCIPLE :  Western blotting or immunoblotting is a method used for identifying a specific protein in a complex mixture along with the determination of the molec...