Researchers in Hyderabad have isolated an enzyme from a bacterium found in slaughterhouses that can convert chicken feather into a feed additive or manure. “Chicken feather is full of nutrients but is not easily degradable,” says Lakshmi Narasu Mangamoori of the Centre for Biotechnology at the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU), who is also the principal author of study. The enzyme — a protease, extracted and purified by a team that included scientists from the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, also in the city — exhibits optimal activity in a highly alkaline environment at temperatures closer to 45 degrees Celsius. It is also highly stable in the presence of detergents and other solvents and is hence suitable for use in the leather industry as well. The findings are reported in the April 2008 issue of the journal Bioresource Technology.

Morphine cure for tuberculosis

A shot of morphine — an active agent in opium — can cure tuberculosis, at least in animals, say scientists at the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research in Chandigarh. When morphine was injected into mice that were artificially infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the researchers found that it suppressed the infection and at times even completely eliminated it from the lungs and spleen of the animals. The optimum dosage for suppressing the infection was found to be 5 mg per kilogram weight of the animal. Morphine works by boosting the immune response of the animals, the researchers write in the January issue of Life Sciences. The scientists also found that naloxone — a drug used to counter morphine overdose — nullied the protective effect of morphine, indicating that morphine does play a role in curing TB in mice.The findings will be useful in developing new treatment strategies against the disease, they feel.