STUDY TOUR: Students visiting the CCMB lab in Hyderabad on Monday. Photo: K. Ramesh Babu

HYDERABAD: More than 9,000 students visited the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) on its "Open Day" on Monday. CCMB scientists, Ph.D scholars and administrative staff took them on a guided tour through the various lab facilities and the projects undertaken in the centre.

September 26 is observed as the foundation day of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in its constituent national laboratories.

"We use this as an opportunity to motivate young people to take up science as a career," said director of CCMB, Dr. Lalji Singh.

"It is also a challenge for Ph.D scholars to explain their complex scientific findings in simple words. They worked through the year to exhibit their work on this day," said Dr. Singh.

Struggle to simplify

Sure enough, they had a hard task simplifying concepts like DNA fingerprinting, the world of RNA, mouse as a human disease model, embryonic stem cells, cloning, cell membranes, chromosome defects etc.

Students from colleges like Avanti, Aurora, CBIT, Bhavan's, Narayana, St. Francis Junior and Degree colleges, and VV College eagerly asked questions on the exhibits. Oakridge School, Shirdi Satya Sai Baba School, St. Pious High School were some of the schools that sent students.

Lab facilities like automated DNA sequencing, micro-array DNA sequencing, green house growth and electron microscopy were explained to them.

"Even though I did not grasp all the details of DNA fingerprinting, I have a good idea now," said a student of Oakridge School.

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