Top News of Last Week with ANA

Azad News Agency (ANA) published a number of scientific and technological news during the past week whose top ones are as follows:

Iranian Scientists Produce Bleaching Gel for Dentistry

Iranian researchers at the incubator center of Islamic Azad University’s Najafabad branch succeeded in producing a special tooth bleaching gel.

“A knowledge-based company stationed at the university's incubator center produced a distinctive and innovative product in the field of dentistry called bleaching gel,” Mohammad Shahqoli, the director of incubator center of the Islamic Azad University’s Najafabad branch, told ANA.

“The tooth bleaching gel has a special formulation that performs the whitening process with high effectiveness without damaging the tooth enamel,” he added.

“With its chemical action, the product targets the pigments in the tooth structure, which can be of internal or external origin, and causes them to break down and be removed. The most important advantage of this gel is that it has no negative effect on the tooth structure and completely preserves the health of its enamel,” Shahqoli added.

Iran-Made Nano-Based Kit Able to Detect Stomach Infection, Ulcers

Iranian researchers at a technological company developed a special kit to diagnose stomach infection with Helicobacter pylori bacteria which can be used to quickly identify this bacterium.

Rapid detection kits for Helicobacter pylori antigen can qualitatively identify Helicobacter pylori surface antigens in stool samples by using anti-Helicobacter pylori antibodies with high sensitivity.

Due to its high sensitivity, low cost, and non-invasiveness, this method is used as a common and suitable method for diagnosis, follow-up treatment, or screening of individuals in the community.

Medical diagnostic laboratories, hospital laboratories, pharmacies, medical clinics, and ordinary people at home can use this nano kit. This kit is available in several medical centers in Iran.

Iranian Company Produces Resistant Seeds to Cope with Drought

Iranian researchers at a knowledge-based company took an important step towards confronting the challenges of climate change and drought by producing coated seeds of drought-resistant medicinal plants.

“After extensive research, our company succeeded in receiving a knowledge-based license to produce coated seeds of drought-resistant medicinal plants,” said Mehdi Bavar, the chairman of the board of directors of the knowledge-based company.

“Given the capacities available in North Khorassan province (in Northeastern Iran), we seek to transform this province into one of the hubs for cultivating and supplying seeds and medicinal plants in the country and the region,” he added.

Bavar underlined that the greatest achievement of the company is the production of coated seeds, which, with their nutritional composition and moisture absorption, have faster initial growth and greater resistance to pests, diseases, and drought.

Iranian Firm Produces Coated Cotton Seeds for Saline Lands

A knowledge-based company in Iran has managed to produce coated cotton seeds for cultivation in saline lands that are available to farmers at one-third of the price of imported products.

“Our company has succeeded in producing coated cotton seeds that are available to the farmers at one-third of the price of similar imported products. This will eliminate the need for the country to import cotton seeds,” said Mohsen Fathi, the managing director of the knowledge-based company.

“Seed coating is one of the most important economic methods to improve seed performance. In the seed coating process, materials like fungicides, insecticides, immunostimulants, growth hormones, low-consumption elements, and other compounds are directly applied to the seed,” he added.

Fathi explained that the direct use of fungicides and insecticides directly on the seeds reduces the consumption of these substances at the beginning of the growing season and reduces their environmental risks.

“Also, seed coating causes uniformity in seed size and facilitates mechanical planting of seeds. This causes uniform and better green fields, and as a result, the yield and income of farmers increase,” he added.

Iran’s Exports to Afghanistan Increase 84% in 2024

Iran’s exports to Afghanistan has experienced an eye-catching growth of 84% in 2024, officials said.

Iranian trade attaché in Kabul Hossein Roustayee announced that Iran’s exports to Afghanistan had risen $3.143 billion last year, which shows over 83% increase compared to 2023.

Data from Afghanistan’s customs office put 2024 imports from Iran at $3.197 billion, up 84% from the year before.

Afghanistan has been one of the five largest buyers of Iranian exports since the country came under the control of a new Taliban administration in 2021, according to annual figures published by the Iranian customs office.

Roustayee also said that the value of Afghanistan's exports to Iran increased to $54 million in 2024, up from $29 million in 2023, showing an increase of nearly 116% in value.

The official had also in June said that increasing the number of trade and business delegations, facilitating the activities at border crossings, increasing working hours at the customs offices, holding joint economic commission meetings between the two countries in Tehran, holding business conferences in Kabul, Herat, Tehran, and Mashhad, and holding an exhibition of the export potentials of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Herat were among the most important factors in the rise in the export of non-oil goods from Iran to Afghanistan.

Iran Chooses Mode S Radar as Best Home-Made Project of Year

Head of Iran Airports Company (IAC) Reza Nakhjavani announced that a Mode S radar system, designed and built by the Iran Airports and Air Navigation Company, has been chosen as the best indigenized project of the year.

Nakhjavani noted that the design and construction of this monopulse secondary radar system is a big technological achievement for Iran’s aviation industry.

He said that the project has received a trophy for excellence from the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology.

The Iranian Airports and Air Navigation Company launched the project in 2019 in cooperation with Isfahan University of Technology, Nakhjavani said, adding that the radar system is currently in the installation phase at Abadan Airport.

Iranian Scientists Perform 1st Fetal Cerebral Aneurysm Surgery

Iranian specialists at Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran succeeded in performing the first fetal aneurysm surgery in the country.

“During a control ultrasound scan of a pregnant woman with a 34-week-old fetus, an obstetrician and gynecologist noticed a lesion in the middle of the fetus's brain. This lesion is a sign of an abnormality in a series of cerebral vessels,” Hossein Qena’ati, a radiologist and cerebral aneurysm surgeon, told ANA.

“Therefore, after the necessary examinations, the medical team tried to reduce blood flow by filling these abnormal cerebral vessels using ultrasound, a treatment method,” he added, noting that the actual causes of aneurysms are unknown, but some factors, like a family history of cerebral aneurysms, increase the risk of this condition.

“If children with this disease are not treated, they will most likely suffer strokes after birth due to high blood flow to the brain,” Qena’ati explained.

“The unborn baby has a chance to repair much of the damage caused by the surgery. The surgery can also prevent severe heart failure in the future and increase the chances of survival after birth,” he added.

Iranian Firm Uses Plastic Injection Method to Produce Delicate Parts for Toy Industry

A creative company in Iran has developed plastic injection molds to produce delicate parts for toy industry at a low cost.

“One of our research areas is the application of plastic and composite injection industry in the toy industry. In this field, we have come up with three new plastic injection methods from a combination of composite injection and plastic injection, two of which do not require a plastic injection machine and the process has been developed in our company,” said Reza Khosravi, a researcher at the company.

“In the third method, we design and manufacture molds for plastic injection for the machine,” he added.

“The molds that we developed for the plastic injection are of higher quality than the existing molds, while the greatest delicacy can be created in the molds at the lowest cost. Its low price compared to existing molds is another competitive advantage of this product,” Khosravi said.

Iran’s Exports of Farmed Caviar Up 112 Percent in 9 Months

Iran’s exports of farmed caviar increased 112 percent during the first nine months of the current Persian calendar year (started on March 20, 2024) compared with the total exports of the past year, an official said.

Nasser Karami Raad, the director-general of the Office for the Restoration and Conservation of Genetic Aquatic Resources at Iran's Fisheries Organization (IFO), said that 5,346 kilograms of farmed caviar, valued at $3.2 million, were exported through Iranian customs during the 9-month period.

He attributed the rise in exports primarily to the high quality of Iran's farmed caviar and its prominent demand in the international markets.

Last year, Iran produced 21,612 kilograms of farmed caviar, and this year’s total production figures will be finalized soon, Karami Raad added.

He said that Iran’s caviar has reached 28 countries this year, with the UAE, Qatar, and Belgium as the top three destinations.

Iranian Firm Produces Modified Wheat, Barley Seeds to Improve Cultivation in Tropical Areas

A knowledge-based company in Iran started producing modified seeds, which have increased crop productivity due to their better adaptation to the climate of tropical regions.

“Our seeds, which are better adapted to the climate of tropical regions, have increased the productivity of products, both in terms of quality and quantity, with the resulting profits going directly to the farmers,” said Rahmatollah Karimizadeh, the managing director of the knowledge-based company.

"These products have also led farmers to turn to agricultural work; people who had perhaps given up this work in previous years due to the low productivity of agriculture and the lack of investment, which has created jobs for people in less-developed areas,” he added.

“So far, our seeds have been sent to villages in Golestan, Khorassan, Kohgilouyeh and Boyer Ahmad, Fars, and Khuzestan provinces, which are often considered as less fertile areas,” Karimzadeh said.

Gas Production Increases at Phase 13 of South Pars Field in Southern Iran

Deputy Head of Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC) for the development projects Hamidreza Massoudi said that gas production capacity at the phase 13 of the South Pars field has increased by 1.7 million cubic meters per day.

Massoudi underlined the important role of the South Pars joint field in meeting a large portion of the country’s energy demand.

He noted that comprehensive and coordinated plans, involving complex mechanisms, are underway to sustain and increase gas production capacity from the South Pars field.

Massoudi emphasized the necessity of accelerating the development of this joint field to achieve the goals set by the Ministry of Oil and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC).

He noted that completing the remaining offshore and onshore projects, finalizing 35-month plans, and implementing strategic projects like drilling 35 in-field wells and pressure boosting initiatives will help maintain and increase gas production capacity.

Iranian Scientists Present New Method for Muscle Tissue Regeneration

Iranian scientists at the faculty of chemical engineering of the University of Tehran in a new research took an important step in the regeneration and repair of damaged muscle tissues.

The research was conducted by Parmida Harirchi, a master's student in chemical engineering, under the supervision of Payam Zahedi, an associate professor at the faculty of chemical engineering of the University of Tehran.

"This scaffold is based on liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) and provides a suitable substrate for the growth and organization of muscle cells," said Zahedi

Noting that liquid crystal elastomers are suitable materials for biological scaffolds due to their unique physical and mechanical properties, he said, "These materials enjoy the capability to change shape under stimuli such as temperature and light, and for this reason they are suitable for application as soft robotics, artificial muscles, and tissue engineering. The use of these materials in the design of tissue engineering scaffolds can allow for precise adjustment of surface and mechanical properties, thereby influencing the growth and organization of cells.”

“In this study, the chemical reaction of thiol-acrylate polymerization was used to synthesize LCE films. The samples produced after ultraviolet irradiation were evaluated and properties like crosslink density, thermal and surface changes were investigated. The results showed that ultraviolet irradiation leads to increased cell adhesion and organization. These changes were applied to modify the surface properties of the scaffold and increase its biocompatibility,” Zahedi said.

“In a bid to examine the performance of the scaffolds, C2C12 muscle cells, which are precursor cells of mouse skeletal muscles, were cultured on these substrates. The results showed that the cells grew and differentiated better in ultraviolet-irradiated media and transformed into a structure of regular muscle fibrils, which closely resembles natural muscle tissue,” he added.

Iran Allocates 2 Credit Lines to Develop AI

The Iranian deputy minister of science and technology announced that two credit lines of 1.2 billion Tomans and $100 million have been allocated for investment in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).

“A memorandum of understanding has been signed with the Vice-Presidency for Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy, Barakat Foundation, and the National Development Fund, according to which a thousand projects will be financed in the country's science and technology parks,” said Mohammad Nabi Shahiki.

“Two credit lines of 1.2 billion Tomans and $100 million have also been allocated for investment in the field of artificial intelligence. This budget is to be made available to the knowledge-based companies through the science and technology parks,” he added.

Iranian Scientists Develop Water Desalination Technology with Energy Generation Capability

Iranian researchers at Sharif University of Technology succeeded in designing an innovative system that has a dual function of desalination of water and generation of energy.

In this technology, water purification is carried out simultaneously with the generation of electrical energy. Sodium chloride salt, the most abundant salt among the water salinity factors, is selectively removed from the water and simultaneously the energy required to light various LEDs is produced during the system recovery. This process is carried out by using nanomaterials.

The capacitive deionization method is called desalination of water by removing various salts and pollutants from it in the form of ions with the help of an electrochemical process.

Iranian scientists at the faculty of chemistry of Sharif University of Technology succeeded in designing an innovative system with an extraordinary dual function in purifying water from sodium chloride salt, the most abundant salt among the water salinity factors, selectively combined with the generation of the energy required to light various LEDs during the system recovery.

The special nanomaterials synthesized in this research, along with the unique design for producing energy from salted water, the low cost and environment-friendly nature of this technology, are the advantages of this research.

4155/v