Indian-origin girls get top honors at Google Science Fair

Two Indian-origin girls have emerged winners at Google's inaugural Science Fair, impressing thousands at the internet giant's California headquarters with their projects on ways to improve ovarian cancer treatment and bettering air quality for the benefit of asthma patients.

The top three winners out of 15 finalists at the fair were all girls, Shree Bose, Naomi Shah and Lauren Hodge, prompting Google to laud "girl power" at the fair.

"The unifying elements of all three young women were their intellectual curiosity, their tenaciousness and their ambition to use science to find solutions to big problems," Cristin Frodella from Google's Education Team said in a blog post.

The finalists examined complex problems and found simple solutions that can be implemented by the general public--like changing cooking habits or removing toxins from homes, Frodella said.

Bose, who won in the 17-18 age group was also named the 'Grand Prize' winner, taking home a 50,000 dollar scholarship and an internship opportunity at the prestigious Geneva-based CERN institute.

Bose impressed judges, more than 1,000 local attendees as well as Googlers with her project to "improve ovarian cancer treatment for patients when they have built up a resistance to certain chemotherapy drugs".

Apart from the scholarship, Bose also won a trip to the Galapagos Islands with a National Geographic Explorer. Terming Bose's work as "groundbreaking discovery which could have wider implications for cancer research," Google said she came up with complex solutions that can be addressed in labs by doctors and researchers.

Shah won in the 15-16 age group for her "endeavor to prove that making changes to indoor environments that improve indoor air quality can reduce people's reliance on asthma medications".

Shah received 25,000 dollar scholarship and internship at Google and toy company LEGO.

Prarthana Dalal wins International BioGENEius Challenge

Prarthana Dalal, a senior from Shawnee Mission East High School in Leawood, Kansas, has won the International BioGENEius Challenge, a competition for high school students who demonstrate an exemplary understanding of biotechnology through science research projects.

Fourteen students from the U.S., Canada and Western Australia competed in this year’s event. The Indian American student will receive an award of $7,500. Second place winner Nathan Kondamuri from Munster High School in Dyer, Indiana, received a $5,000 award for his project titled, "A Novel Biofuel Cell Based on Direct Electron Transfer- Type Bioelectrocatalysis Incorporating the Efficient System of Photophosphorylation."

Dalal’s project was titled, "Modeling of human non-deletional hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin (HPFH) conditions in ?-globin locus transgenic mouse models: The -175 (T to C) and - 195 (C to G) A-gamma globin gene point mutations." She looked at hemoglobin genetics and how sequence changes can effect fetal hemoglobin production in mouse models, which can be used to understand treatment mechanisms for sickle cell disease.

Indian diamond traders sign a historic pact with Diamond Dealers Club of NY

The Diamond Dealers Club of New York (DDC) and the Indian Diamond and Colorstone Association of New York (IDCA) has entered into an agreement that allows members of each organization to become members of the other. The DDC has been the world’s premier diamond exchange since 1931 and has over 1,800 Members. The IDCA, founded in 1984, represents 200 Indian- American businesses in the gem and jewelry industry. The DDC leadership included Mr. Moshe Mosbacher, President, and Mr. Louis J. Rohde, Director of Member Services.

Sushil Goyal, President and Ash Chalisa, Office Manager, represented the IDCA. "This is our vision for the New DDC," said Mosbacher. "The Indian community has been tremendously successful in our industry. For too long, that has made non-Indian businesses feel challenged. We want to change that. All communities in our industry should cooperate as a single family. Unity will strengthen and improve all our opportunities – and not only for us, but for the generations who follow us.

"We’re very enthusiastic about this new partnership," said Goyal. "Our members have long been asking for the kind of benefits that our two organizations are now putting together. We feel that our collective strength will help us negotiate ever more streamlined costs and better returns for our industry."

Sam Pitroda’s daughter turns author

Technocrat Sam Pitroda’s daughter, Rajal’s first book 'Starstruck' was released by the famous film maker Shekar Kapur at an event in New Delhi. The story revolves around Sapna, the protagonist, who is trapped between Mumbai's cultures of Bollywood and underworld. The book is inspired by Rajal's experience with Bollywood during her film marketing business in Mumbai.

Sapna reveals in her journey that Mumbai is not Bollywood but something beyond that. The book is a combination of both Bollywood masti and mystery. A small book release was also held in Gujarat by Rajal's friends.

Rajal has been one of the key figures in CII's (Confederation of Indian Industry ) efforts to market and push forward India's entertainment industry . In 2006, Rajal moved to Los Angeles and started a company to market and distribute independent feature films and documentaries. This is her first novel.