Current Affairs - Science - Discussion

Indian researchers have developed a gel when applied on the skin, can inhibit some pesticides from getting absorbed into the body, and would help preventing serious adverse effects and even death. The gel was developed by a team led by Dr. Praveen Kumar Vemula from the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Bengaluru. Organophosphate-based pesticides, commonly used by farmers in India, penetrate through the skin and affect the nervous system and heart, and cause cognitive dysfunction. Active ingredients of the gel are attached to chitosan (a substance found in the hard outer shells of crab and shrimp) so the gel does not penetrate the skin.