Student to take part in European Congress

KOCHI: Elizabeth V Mathew, a final year MSc student of Sacred Heart College, Thevara has been invited to present a research paper in the 26th European Congress of Arachnology being held at the Ben-Gurion University in Israel from September 3 to 9.She will present the results of her work on ultra-structure of silk weaving organs (spinnerets) of spiders from the bio-diversity hotspot of Western Ghats using an electron microscope.The study was carried out under the guidance of P A Sebastian, an eminent arachnologist and head of the Arachnology Division at SH College.“This is a pioneering effort on such an aspect of spider research in India. The finding that spiders can be categorised based on spinnerets is expected to pave way for a new branch of spider research in the country,” said Sebastian.Daughter of Mathew and Mary George of Ravipuram, Elizabeth had received financial assistance from the Kerala State Council of Science, Technology and Environment.