Editorial Father of DNA Fingerprinting in India Passes Away Widely regarded as the “Father of DNA fi ngerprinting in India”, Dr. Lalji Singh passed away in the last month of the year 2017. He died of a massive heart attack at the BHU Trauma Centre on 10th December. The 25th Vice Chancellor of the , the fourth Director of the Hyderabad-based CSIR-Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB), and a Padma Shri recipient, Dr. Lalji Singh was a simple human being with great original ideas and DIRECTOR a greater commitment to the cause of science. DR. MANOJ KUMAR PATAIRIYA Son of a farmer in Jaunpur, , Dr. Singh completed his BSc, MSc and PhD degrees from BHU – a university he went EDITOR back to lead as the Vice Chancellor. He pioneered the use of the HASAN JAWAID KHAN DNA Fingerprinting technique in forensic investigation of crime and civil ASSISTANT EDITOR disputes. In an effort to convince the government to set up a dedicated SONALI NAGAR centre for DNA Fingerprinting, he set up a DNA testing infrastructure at the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB), Hyderabad which he was later to head as Director for 11 years. LAYOUT & DESIGN Dr. Lalji Singh volunteered to help law enforcement agencies in NEERU SHARMA ABHINAV RAJ investigating cases using DNA fi ngerprinting techniques. He was a frequent MANENDER SINGH visitor to courtrooms appearing as witness and expert and even educating investigators, lawyers and judges. © Nature Research His fi rst success was a paternity dispute and his fi rst major assignment was the assassination of PRODUCTION the former Prime Minister Shri in 1991. He pieced together the body parts and identifi ed PANKAJ GUPTA it as the body of the former PM using DNA tests. This was followed by many other high-profi le cases ASHWANI KUMAR BRAHMI including the Beant Singh assassination case, the Naina Sahni murder case and the Priyadarshini Mattoo rape and murder case. Eventually, the Department of set up the Centre for SALES & MARKETING DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) in Hyderabad in 1995. Dr. Lalji Singh’s persistence LOKESH KUMAR CHOPRA and painstaking efforts had fi nally paid off. The DNA Fingerprinting technique has found utility in innumerable cases since then. Even as Director of CSIR-CCMB, Dr. Lalji Singh set up the Laboratory for the Conservation of JanuaryJaJ nuara y 2202018018 ` 30/-30/- A CSCSIRIR PPublicationublicationn Endangered Species (LaCONES) for conservation of endangered wildlife in India. LaCONES notched up several successes including development of universal DNA based marker for identifi cation of wild animals from parts and remains, rehabilitation of smuggled star tortoises, detection of certain parasitic, bacterial and viral diseases in endangered animals from different zoological parks and wildlife sanctuaries in India using DNA-based methods, DNA banking of more than 250 species of mammals, birds and reptiles in India, and cryopreservation of gonads from endangered species and their effective revival for production of functional gametes. The facility also produced for the fi rst time in India ‘Spotty’ a spotted deer fawn and ‘Blacky’ a black buck calf using artifi cial insemination. S&T HIGHLIGHTS In 2004, he fl oated the not-for-profi t Genome Foundation for diagnosis and treatment of genetic OF 2017 disorders especially those affecting underprivileged, rural people. His aim was to establish a pan-India PlusPlus DrawingDrawing SkSkillsills How Much Water Do You EaEat?at? network of centers to deliver diagnostic services at affordable costs to the masses. Incredible Spiders Stem Cells  Puzzles & Quizzes Dr. Lalji Singh also did pioneering research on Indian population genomics and showed that the tribes in were some of the fi rst human beings to migrate out of Africa. His 2009 COVER DESIGN work reconstructing Indian population history even made it to the cover of Nature. MANENDER SINGH The pioneering contributions of this great scientist and humanist will always be remembered by the country. Hasan Jawaid Khan

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