24 May 2008

We arrived in Bangalore in the morning where we repacked and moved out to Mangalore. This was the first day the new Domestic Airport was open in Bangalore, and it took some waiting, but we made it eventually. We stopped at a fisheries college where we learned about various aquaculture diseases. Whitespot is a hughe problem for shellfish here, and the college developed a quick test to diagnose it, which is cheaper and more specific than the PCR alternative. An oral biofilm vaccine for EUS seems to be developed here as well. The college actually had some really great research papers out and I was quite impressed with the material they tackled here, especially in the areas of molecular biology and antibody diagnostics. The area of the country is beautiful in Mangalore with great hills, and forest lining the ocean. Our hotel also turned out to be a surprise as it was also a water park! We rode water slides, swam around, and rode a giant Ferris wheel. We then were treated to a very nice dinner by one of Dr. Nadeems associates. We then went back to the hotel where we failed to have a dance party due to lack of music and energy. While I was restless I took some time to see what pictures of the night sky I could get with some exciting results.