INDIGENOUS AIR UNIQUE-QUALITY MONITORING (AUM)
Focus: GS-III Science and Technology Why in news? Air Unique-quality Monitoring (AUM) The AUM system (patent pending) is an innovative application of the principles of laser backscattering, statistical mechanics, optoelectronics, artificial intelligence, machine/deep learning, and Internet of Things. It can identify, classify, and quantify various pollutants simultaneously (of orders of less than one part per […]
WHAT IS THE PERSEIDS METEOR SHOWER?
Focus: Prelims, GS-III Science and Technology Introduction The Perseids meteor shower is going to be active in August 2020, and the annual celestial event is considered the best meteor shower. What are meteor showers? Meteors are bits of rock and ice that are ejected from comets as they manoeuvre around their orbits around the sun. […]
MORE THAN A VACCINE, IT IS ABOUT VACCINATION
Focus: GS-II Science and Technology Introduction Globally, innumerable vaccine trials are progressing; in India, two candidates have advanced considerably. Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, created COVAX — a funding facility to ensure up-scaling vaccine production and its access to low income countries as soon as regulatory approvals emerge. India’s Universal Immunisation Programme is a vaccine-delivery […]
RUSSIA REGISTERS CORONAVIRUS VACCINE
Focus: GS-III Science and Technology Why in news? Russia became the first country to officially register a coronavirus vaccine and declare it ready for use, despite international skepticism. President Vladimir Putin said that one of his daughters has already been inoculated. Details Scientists in Russia and abroad have been sounding the alarm that the rush […]
STUDYING P. VIVAX MALARIA
Focus: GS-III Science and Technology Why in news? The parasite Plasmodium vivax, responsible for 7.5 million malaria cases worldwide, remains understudied. An international team has developed a system to breed these parasites in the lab and then infect cultured human liver cells with it. How does vivax parasite work? Mosquitoes inject the sporozoite (spore-like) stage […]
CORONAL MAGNETIC FIELD MEASURED FOR THE FIRST TIME
Focus: GS-III Science and Technology Introduction The Sun is our closest star and we have been studying it for a long time, yet, it has many associated puzzles that are unexplained. A significant advancement has been made by an international team of solar physicists who have measured the global magnetic field of the Sun’s […]
NASA SPACEX CREW RETURN
Focus: GS-III Science and Technology Why in news? The SpaceX Dragon Capsule came down in the Gulf of Mexico with the crew, successfully completing its journey back to Earth from the International Space Station. Details It was the first splashdown by U.S. astronauts in 45 years, with the first commercially built and operated spacecraft to […]
NOVEL CORONAVIRUS CIRCULATED UNNOTICED IN BATS
Focus: GS-III Science and Technology Why in news? The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has been circulating unnoticed in bats for decades. Bats have been the “primary reservoirs” for novel coronavirus. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is likely to have diverged from closely related bat viruses called the sarbecovirus, 40-70 years ago, according to a recent study. Details […]
GENE VARIANTS AND SUSCEPTIBILITY TO SCHIZOPHRENIA
Focus: GS-III Science and Technology Why in news? Recently, a pilot study on a south Indian group of people with schizophrenia was carried out by Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF) and Jeevan Stem Cell Foundation. The paper shows an association between Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) variations and schizophrenia. Details Earlier studies indicate that different variants of […]
eVIN: ELECTRONIC VACCINE INTELLIGENCE NETWORK
Focus: GS-III Science and Technology Why in news? The Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN) is being implemented to ensure essential immunization services during the COVID pandemic. eVIN- Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network eVIN is an innovative technological solution aimed at strengthening immunization supply chain systems across the country. It is being implemented under National Health Mission […]