The Hindu : National : Researcher gets U.S. patent

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Friday, Jan 23, 2009
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Researcher gets U.S. patent

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Balwinder Singh Aulakh could not have asked for more. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted him a patent for his invention after a wait of nearly eight years.

Apart from offering him one of the world’s best recognitions for his almost two-decade-long research, what makes the patent all the more sweet for Dr. Aulakh is that it could finally make his dream of making India’s rural economy more vibrant come true.

“I had always wanted to do my bit to improve the livelihood of the people living in our villages. With the U.S. patent office giving its seal of approval for my invention, I can now help bring about a revolutionary change in our rural economy through a dramatic, improvement in our dairy production,” he says.

The invention is a technique for cows and buffalos to selectively beget female calves. The technique involves administering a drug based on acetic acid, the basic ingredient of vinegar, to female bovines just before or after insemination.

A pharmacy graduate from Bangalore University, Dr. Aulakh worked at Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, before setting up a research institute named after the father of modern genetics, Gregor Mendel, to pursue his new technique.

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