A 17-year-old Indian-American student has found a natural solution to fight pseudomonas, a family of strong, opportunistic bacteria, a discovery which could help save lives in many areas.
What could be a life-saving breakthrough in the fight against cystic fibrosis, cancer and AIDS has been achieved by a 17-year-old Indian-American student at the Mississippi Institute of Mathematics and Science. Madhavi Gavini is one of the quieter students at this prestigious boarding school. “She doesn’t stand up and raise her hand and answer questions,” science teacher Gil Katzenstein observes. “She actually likes to ask questions; questions about things she doesn’t know. She’s a student in the best sense: someone who’s interested in learning and doing.”
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Pseudomonas bacteria — in addition to killing people with cystic fibrosis — can cause deadly secondary infections in people with immune-suppressing conditions such as AIDS, cancer and severe burns. This opportunistic pathogen forms a thick, protective layer around itself, making it nearly impossible for antibiotics to penetrate and destroy it.
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Pseudomonas bacteria — in addition to killing people with cystic fibrosis — can cause deadly secondary infections in people with immune-suppressing conditions such as AIDS, cancer and severe burns. This opportunistic pathogen forms a thick, protective layer around itself, making it nearly impossible for antibiotics to penetrate and destroy it.
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While Madhavi could become a millionaire by patenting her work, she has something else in mind: making it openly available. She points out, “If I were going to patent this, the rights would have to be sold to a pharmaceutical company, and that would greatly increase the cost of the drug once it’s developed. So to prevent that from happening, by publishing it, the information becomes readily available and any company that wants to manufacture it, would be able to. So the price would be much lower due to competition and the people who need it most will have access to it.”
Oh yeah, you definitely want to keep them immigrants out. Via Technocrat.