Biosafety level 4 labs are built so that researchers can safely work with the most dangerous pathogens– ones that can cause serious disease and have no vaccines.
Gain of function research focuses on growing generations of microorganisms under conditions that cause mutations. For years, there has been an ethical debate around it.
Coronaviruses and bats are locked in an evolutionary race in which the viruses are constantly evolving to evade their immune system and bats are evolving to withstand infections.
For an industry globally classified as hazardous, protections such as health insurance and a provident fund for workers are necessities. In Sivakasi, they remain elusive.
The industry forecasts exports are set to grow 16% in 2025-26, boosted by surplus domestic production and a drive to push into 26 underserved global markets with strong potential.
Indigenisation level will progressively increase up to 60 percent with key sub-assemblies, electronics and mechanical parts being manufactured locally.
It is a brilliant, reasonably priced, and mostly homemade aircraft with a stellar safety record; only two crashes in 24 years since its first flight. But its crash is a moment of introspection.
COMMENTS