Annual Report 2010 - Comsats

element have therefore become one of the ICENS’ research areas. Although human
exposure to mercury may occur via a number of pathways, the most significant is by
ingestion–usually of seafood. The potential for methyl mercury to accumulate in tuna
and marlin is well-known. A preliminary survey conducted in early 2010 by ICENS has
established that the mercury levels in the local saltwater fish have risen in various
species and sizes of fish. This demanded extensive market survey of saltwater fish,
which is currently being undertaken by ICENS.
Human Tissues: The high concentration of cadmium in some soils and in many fooditems
seems to be at odds with the world view of cadmium as one of the worst
environmental toxins. This, and the acquisition of an extremely sensitive X-ray
fluorescence spectrometer, inspired the development of a programme to eventually
compare the levels of a variety of trace-elements in human tissues, both for
fundamental background information and to allow comparisons between sick and
healthy persons. A pilot-study done on 100 blood samples confirms the potential
value of the programme and suitability of the chosen analytical method, and also
indicates possible zinc-deficiency in the population.
Publications
Paul R.D. Wright, Robin Rattray and Gerald Lalor (2010). A Regional
Perspective of Medical Geology – Cadmium in Jamaica. Book chapter in
Medical Geology:ARegional Synthesis. Springer Publishers.
Paul R.D. Wright, Robin Rattray, Gerald Lalor and Richard Hanson (2010).
Minimal health impact from exposure to diet-sourced cadmium on a
population in central Jamaica. Environmental Geochemistry and Health Vol.
32, 567-581.
Grant C., Lalor G., Fletcher H., Potter T., Vutchkov M. and Reid M. (2010).
Elements in Human Placentae in Jamaica. West Indian Medical Journal (in
press).
TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Centre (MRC), Turkey
Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Institute
The activities of the Institute remained focused on the following:
Development of Diagnostic Kits for Hepatitis B Infection by
Using Serological and Molecular Techniques;
Identification of Molecular Markers Linked with Yellow Rust Resistance Genes
in Winter Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.);
In vitro Conservation and Preliminary Molecular Identification of Some Turkish
Native DomesticAnimal Genetic Resources-1 (TURKHAYGEN-1);
Production of Industrial Enzymes for Feed Industry (YEM-EN).
Annual Report
2010
Chemistry Institute
The group-wise activity of this Institute is as follows:
Electrochemistry Technologies Project Group: Production of Metallic Sodium: A
project is being undertaken to develop a metallic sodium production process and
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