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Sci-Tech: 3G (3rd Generation Mobile Technology) –Study Note General studies

What is 3G ?

3G is short for third-generation mobile telephony services.

based on an International Telecommunication Union standard called IMT-2000.

3G services were first launched by NTT DoCoMo of Japan in October 2001,

followed by Korea in January 2002.

Difference from 2G

3G phones work in higher bandwidths of 15-20 MHz,

currently available mobile phones are loosely regarded as 2G or 2.5G, and use 30-200 KHz bandwidth.

What is Bandwidth?

measure of the width of a range of frequencies used while transferring data from one point to another, and is measured in hertz.

Advantages / uses

1. facilitates faster, better and simultaneous delivery of audio and non-audio data. 1. 3G networks offer

1. download speeds of 14.4 Mbits/second 2. uploads of 5.8 Mbits/second.

2. with 3G services telecom carriers will be able to provide video broadcast and other value-added services such as

1. tele-medicine, 2. mobile banking, 3. stock transactions, 4. e-learning etc, through wireless communications at a faster pace and with high

quality. 3. Various government services (e-governance) to the masses would be facilitated through

the medium of mobile phone powered by a higher bandwidth of 3G.

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Importance of the topic

1. General Studies G/S : Prelims , Mains (Science & Tech Portion) 2. Essay / Interview.

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2009/06/sci-tech-3g-3rd-generation-mobile.html

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[Notes on] General Studies-Mains 2009‘s Important Topics

Medstream project

(the Infrastructure Corridor) between Turkey and Israel

will lead oil, natural gas and optic fibers/water/electricity

India has shown great interest in the project, and that it wishes to participate as a major investor in the project.

New Constitution of the Maldives

In June 2008,

assembly, called the ―Special Majlis‖, competed a new constitution

It was ratified by the president on 7 August 2008, with proposed elections to be held in October 2008 and March 2009

it states that ―a non-Muslim may not become a citizen of the Maldives‖ and therefore it removed citizenship from around 3,000 Maldivians (0.85% of the population).

B.K.Chaturvedi Committee on Oil And Gas Procing

Recommended

The committee had recommended rise in petrol and diesel prices

imposition of ‗Metro Extra´ tax of Rs 2 per litre on diesel in four installments in large cities where the fuel was being used in expensive cars.

bringing petrol prices in alignment with market rates by march 2009 and diesel by 2010 with an indicative ceiling, which means prices would have to be increased every month

Committee is also against subsidized LPG (Liquefied petroleum gas) supply and says

there should be one time increase of Rs 75 per cylinder and only six refills should be permitted this year.

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all subsidies should have a monetary ceiling and should be restricted to only below poverty line families.

a proposal of smart cards or cash transfers for such families.

completely slashing import duty on petrol and diesel.

South Asian Water Disputes

Indo-Pakistan dispute over the Wular Barrage (The Indus Waters Treaty),

Indo-Bangladesh water dispute over the Farakka Barrage (The Ganges Water Treaty) and

the Indo-Nepal dispute over the Mahakali River Treaty.

‘Project Arrow’

department of posts (DoP) launched ‗Project Arrow‘,

to bring the rural populace in direct communication with the outside world and

bring benefits of development to their doorsteps.

one-stop shop for retail products and

offer a single window facility for banking, money remittances and other financial products and services including social and

civic initiatives such as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and National Old Age Pension Scheme.

Collection Of Stats Bill 2007

To widen the base for data collection to cover individuals and households along with industrial and commercial units.

amend the Collection of Statistics Act, 1953to meet the challenges arising out of liberalisation and globalisation regime manifested, particularly by the WTO Agreement.

Penalties for offences, such as refusal to furnish information or providing incorrect data, would vary from Rs 1000 to Rs 10,000 individuals and industrial and commercial enterprises.

The offences would be tried in a summary way to avoid prolonged litigation.

Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi

Indian vocalist in the Hindustani classical tradition.

A member of the Kirana Gharana (school),

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renowned for the khayal form of singing, as well as for his popular renditions of devotional music (bhajans and abhangs).

In 2008, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India‘s highest civilian honour

Ganga River Basin Authority

for comprehensive management of the basin.

Ganga Basin states of

Uttarakhand,

Uttar Pradesh,

Bihar

Jharkhand.

West Bengal

ministry of environment and forests will issue the notification under the Environment Protection Act,

replace the current piecemeal efforts to clean up the Ganga with an integrated approach that sees the river as an ecological entity.

authority chaired by the prime minister will consist of the chief ministers of the Ganga basin states as members along with related ministers of the central government.

SACOSAN-III

Third South Asian Conference on Sanitation (SACOSAN-III), New Delhi, 16-21 Nov 2008

The Prime Minister said that sanitation has to be located in an integrated framework of public health policy to ensure that sanitation activities are indeed adequately funded.

20 per cent of toilets built in the country are not functional due to lack of adequate maintenance and poor construction?

―Nirmal Gram Puraskar‖ is an incentive based scheme given to gram panchayats for achieving complete sanitation facilities in their villages by the Rural Development Ministry.

BIMSTEC

On 6 June 1997, a sub-regional grouping was formed in Bangkok and given the name BIST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand Economic Cooperation). Myanmar joined the organization as a full member at a Special Ministerial Meeting held in Bangkok on 22 December 1997, upon which the name of the grouping was changed to BIMST-EC.

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BIMSTEC provides a unique link between South Asia and Southeast Asia bringing together 1.3 billion people – 21 percent of the world population, a combined GDP of US$750 billion, and a considerable amount of complementarities. A study shows the potential of US$ 43 to 59 billion trade creation under BIMSTEC FTA.

BIMSTEC covers 13 Priority Sectors lead by member countries in a voluntary manner; namely, Trade & Investment, Technology, Energy, Transport & Communication, Tourism, Fisheries, Agriculture, Cultural Co-operation, Environment and Disaster Management, Public Health, People-to-People Contact, Poverty Alleviation and Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crimes.

Shaurya missile

a canister launched hypersonic

surface-to-surface tactical missile

developed by the Indian

Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO)

for use by the Indian Armed Forces.

range of between 600-700 km

capable of carrying a payload of one-tonne conventional or nuclear warhead

International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009)

is a year-long celebration of astronomy, taking place in 2009

coincide with the 400th anniversary of the first recorded astronomical observations with a telescope by Galileo Galilei

publication of Johannes Kepler‘s Astronomia nova in the 17th century.

The Year was declared by the 62nd General Assembly of the United Nations

Raghurajan Committee on Financial Sector

Recommended

hasten the development of the debt market so that banks don‘t bear all the risk of infrastructure investments.

He also called for setting up small local area banks so that there is faster financial inclusion.

He thinks that renminbi (Chinese currency) will replace $ as internation currency.

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RBI would lose creditability if it monetizes the deficit.

He said one way the RBI can distance itself from the government is by transferring the responsibility of debt management to the government.

debt management office basically manages the issuance and auction of government bonds. This is currently being done by the RBI.

Caribbean Community (CARICOM)

is an organisation of 15 Caribbean nations and dependencies.

CARICOM‘s main purposes are to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, to ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and to coordinate foreign policy

Seat of Secretariat

Georgetown, Guyana

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

7-9 January 2008, Chennai

9 January being the arrival of Mahatama Gandhi in india from South Africa.

event has been organized every year since 2003

sponsored by the

Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs

FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry).

generic drug

is a drug which is produced and distributed without patent protection.

The generic drug may still have a patent on the formulation but not on the active ingredient.

International Year of Natural Fibres

United Nations General Assembly declared 2009 as the International Year of Natural Fibres

objectives of the International Year of Natural Fibres would be:

To raise awareness and stimulate demand for natural fibres;

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To encourage appropriate policy responses from governments to the problems faced by natural fibre industries

To foster an effective and enduring international partnership among the various natural fibres industries;

To promote the efficiency and sustainability of the natural fibres industries.

National Water Grid

by Sir Arthur Cotton, that extraordinary engineer-economist who formulated a comprehensive sub-continental plan for the formation of a national water grid

plan involved navigation and irrigation, storage

took into account irrigation of a vast extent of land and was not restricted to navigation alone.

Andhra Pradesh Government has installed his statue on the Tank Bund in Hyderabad along with the other heroes of Andhra.

He is perhaps the only Englishman whose statue was installed in India after Independence.

UNDP mission on National Water Grid 1971-72 felt that ―India‘s national economy in its development and growth will be confronted with the problem of increasing scarcity of water within the next thirty years. From basic compilation of future water demand and water yields it becomes evident that by the year 2000 or so, the National Water Grid will be a vital necessity‖.

Darfur Peace Agreement,

signed May 5, 2006, by the largest rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Movement, led by Mini Menawi, and the Sudanese Government, is an important achievement for peace in Darfur

Trans-Asian Railway (TAR)

is a project to create an integrated freight railway network across Europe and Asia.

TAR is a project of the United Nations

Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).

has sometimes been called the ―Iron Silk Road‖ in reference to the historical Silk Road trade routes.

Nishant

is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

developed by India‘s ADE (Aeronautical Development Establishment) a branch of DRDO for the Indian Armed Forces.

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primarily tasked with intelligence gathering over enemy territory and also for recce, surveillance, target designation, artillery fire correction, damage assessment,

Stiglitz Commission on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System

In 2009, Stiglitz chaired the Commission of Experts on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System, informally known as the Stiglitz Commission,

convened by the President of the United Nations General Assembly

―to review the workings of the global financial system, including major bodies such as the World Bank and the IMF, and to suggest steps to be taken by Member States to secure a more sustainable and just global economic order‖

Internet telephony

refers to communications services — voice, facsimile, and/or voice-messaging applications — that are transported via the Internet, rather than the public switched telephone network (PSTN). The basic steps involved in originating an Internet telephone call are conversion of the analog voice signal to digital format and compression/translation of the signal into Internet protocol (IP) packets for transmission over the Internet; the process is reversed at the receiving end.

Benefits

Routing phone calls over existing data networks to avoid the need for separate voice and data networks.[25]

Conference calling, IVR, call forwarding, automatic redial, and caller ID features that traditional telecommunication companies (telcos) normally charge extra for are available free of charge from open source VoIP implementations such as Asterisk or FreeSWITCH.

Costs are lower, mainly because of the way Internet access is billed compared to regular telephone calls. While regular telephone calls are billed by the minute or second, VoIP calls are billed per megabyte (MB). In other words, VoIP calls are billed per amount of information (data) sent over the Internet and not according to the time connected to the telephone network. In practice the amount charged for the data transferred in a given period is far less than that charged for the amount of time connected on a regular telephone line.

The ability to transmit more than one telephone call over a single broadband connection.[26] without the need to add extra lines

Secure calls using standardized protocols (such as Secure Real-time Transport Protocol.) Most of the difficulties of creating a secure telephone connection over traditional phone lines, such as digitizing and digital transmission, are already in place with VoIP. It is only necessary to encrypt and authenticate the existing data stream.[27]

Location independence. Only a sufficiently fast and stable Internet connection is needed to get a connection from anywhere to a VoIP provider.

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Integration with other services available over the Internet, including video conversation, message or data file exchange during the conversation, audio conferencing, managing address books, and passing information about whether other people are available to interested parties.

**

Source :google –Wikipedia-Indian Express.

Topic list Courtesy: Arunesh on IO Forum

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2009/09/notes-on-general-studies-mains-2009s.html

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[Notes] Geography – Planets : For Prelim General studies

(ignore the minute details given here. That type of questions are no longer appearing in UPSC)

Terrestrial planet

are smaller in size; rocky in structure; slow rotation on the axis and have lesser satellite. Inner terrestrial planets are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars.

Jovian planets

are huge in size; spin very fast and have higher number of satellites. Outer or Jovian planets are: Jupiters, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.

- Earth is the densest of all the planets; Saturn has the lowest density (less than water 0.5) - Mercury is closest to the sun.

- Uranus and Venus rotates retrograde (i.e., from east to west), other planet rotates in the same way as earth (from west to east). - Venus is the only planet whose period of rotation (243 days) is longer than the period of revolution (225 days) around the sun. - Uranus is tilted at 90°, so it almost rolls around the sun. Mars tilted at 23° in the same way as the earth, so experi¬ences four seasons as earth. - On its sunny side, Mercury can reach a scorching 800 degrees Fahrenheit! (But Mercury is not the hottest planet in the solar system. The hottest planet is Venus.) Ref: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/what-is-planet-mercury-58.html

atmosphere mainly made of C02 (90%). - Mars glows with reddish light because of high iron content; it has thin atmosphere (containing free oxygen at very low-level), also has frozen water at polar region. Due to these factors, Mars is considered as the first planet that will be colonised. - Jupiter‘s internal temperature of Jupiter is very high, close to starting nuclear fusion. Mainly hydrogen is present around the Jupiter. - Saturn is the second largest planet; it looks yellowish light (due to the presence of ammonia). Ring around Saturn is made up of dust particles, frozen ice, and frozen ammonia. -Uranus grows with blue light. - Neptune grows with the greenish blue light due to presence of methane. - Pluto is the coldest, darkest, and the strongest planet. It is smaller in size and does not fall in giant planet category

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/what-is-planet-mercury-58.html

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» Satellite:

» Asteroids:

- Mercury and Venus have no satellite. - Earth has one satellite: moon - Mars has two satellite: Deimos and Phobos. - Jupiter has 19 satellites, one of the satellite known is Europa, containing large number of deep oceans. It contains possibility of extra-terrestrial life. - Saturn has 21 satellites (10 discovered by Voyage 1&2) - Uranus has 17 satellite (12 discovered by Voyage 1&2) - Neptune has 11,-one of this is tital. - Pluto‘s satellite is Charon.

» Comets:

Minor planets of the solar system, small rocky structure, revolving around sun mostly between Mars and Jupiter. These are considered as debris of large planets existing between Mars and Jupiter as is evident from the distance between them. Earth has long history of collision with: (i) comets, and (ii) asteroids. Sedimentary rocks of 65 million years ago have high iridium content which gives evidence of collision of celestial body. - Miss distance: a celestial body coming closer beyond 9,00,000 km, may not strike earth. This is called as miss distance.

»Syzygy:

Member of the solar system, found revolving around the sun beyond the path of Pluto, generally, at outer edges of the solar system. Comets are made of pre-mordial substance from which solar system are made. Since, they are undisturbed due to far location, study of comets may give more information about evolution of earth or other planets. Comets are made up of frozen ammonia, dust par¬ticles and ice crystals and other chemicals. - Halley Comet: appears after a period of 76 years. - Halle Bopp: one of the larg¬est comet with 40 km diameter. - Comet Swift Turtle: calculated to collide on 14 Aug.2126 A.D. in Australia - Comets making journey towards sun develop small head and long tail, due to heat only as it approaches Jupiter. Tail extending millions of kilometers in the outer space. Tail always point away from the sun. Solar wind is responsible for the formation of tails since solar winds goes away from the sun.

It is the alignment of three celestial bodies along a straight line; Viewed from one of these bodies, the other two will either be in conjunction or in opposition. An inferior planet, whose orbit lies inside that of earth, can, in reference to the sun as seen from the earth, be either in inferior conjunction or in superior conjunction; unlike a superior planet, whose orbit lies outside the earth‘s, and unlike the moon, it can never be in opposition to the sun as seen from the earth

http://www.indianofficer.com/forums/geography-wiki/2879-australia.html

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Earth

-Looks bluish white, body due to the presence of ocean and ice-caps. - Earth‘s core is mainly made up of iron and nickle; mantle is mostly solid.Outer core due to its movement gives magnetic field of earth manifested in Van-alien Radiation bell. Van-Allen Radiation belts are two concentric circles. Inner belt is more energetic and situated at 3000 km above the equator. Outer concentric circle is less energetic and found at 16000 km above the earth. Van-Allen radiation belts are formed due to concentration of solar-winds.

Fastest Rotational Period (descending order) -Jupiter > Saturn > Neptune > Uranus > Earth > Mars > Pluto > Mercury > Venus

Density (Highest to Lowest) -Earth > Mercury > Venus > Mars > Neptune > Jupiter > Uranus > Saturn this one is most imp because they generally ask from it –>

- Sequence of planets’ distance from the sun:

Mercury< Venus< Earth< Mars< Jupiter< Saturn< Uranus< Pluto traces elongated elliptical orbit. So, from 1980-1999, the distance of Neptune was more than Pluto.

Size (Biggest to Smallest) -

Jupiter > Saturn > Uranus > Neptune > Earth > Venus > Mars > Mercury > Pluto

Courtesy : Aarthiias

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2009/09/notes-geography-planets-for-prelim.html

http://www.indianofficer.com/forums/geography/7451-geography-quick-glance-sheet-solar-system.html

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[Q] Dilemma over Potato-Microwave question in CSAT sample paper as different answers given by magazines

Vijay asked, i have a doubt about a particular question which came in prelims-2010 as well as in sample CSAT paper by UPSC.

If a potato is placed on a pure paper plate which is white and unprinted and put in a microwave oven, the potato heats up but the paper plate does not.

This is because:

A. Potato is mainly made up of starch whereas paper is mainly made up of cellulose B. Potato transmits microwaves whereas paper reflects microwaves C. Potato contains water whereas paper does not contain water D. Potato is a fresh organic material whereas paper is a dead organic material.

Now, in ‗Competition Wizard‘ & ‗Pratiyogita Darpan‘ issues,the answer to the above question is given as option (c)…But in ‗Competition Success Review‘-February 2011 issue,the answer to the above question is given as option (b)…So could you plz throw some light as to what is the correct answer to the above question..?

Correct answer is

C. Potato contains water whereas paper does not contain water

Quoting from NCERT class-12 Physics Chapter 8, page 281 Basic principle of a microwave oven

It generates microwave radiation of appropriate frequency in the working space of the oven where we keep food.

This way energy is not wasted in heating up the vessel. In the conventional heating method, the vessel on the burner gets heated first, and then the food inside gets heated because of transfer of energy from the vessel.

In the microwave oven, on the other hand, energy is directly delivered to water molecules which is shared by the entire food.

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URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2011/01/q-dilemma-over-potato-microwave.html

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[Science] Physics 4TF

Latest trend of UPSC in General Studies prelim paper, is Give 2 or 4 statements and ask the candidate to identify the true/false statements. I call them 4TF questions (4 Statements: True or False)

So here is something for practice in Physics section. Identify the true and false statements from following list

1. If the Rainbow is in front of you, the Sun must be on your left Side. 2. The order of colors from outside to inside is : VIBGYOR. 3. Mirage occours only on land. 4. Mirage occours only in hot areas. 5. A Matador uses red cape during Bull fight because Bulls (and other bovines) hate red

color. 6. A bat uses Echo to determine location of an object. 7. Ultra Sound imaging and X-ray Machines run on same principle. 8. Diesel-Trucks don‘t have spark-plugs in their engine. 9. In a Vaccum chamber, Helium Ballon and stone will fall at the same velocity. 10. Solar cell produces AC current (Alternative current).

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2012/02/science-physics-4tf.html

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[Science] Tuberculosis and DOTs Therapy

Possible questions

4TF related to DOTs and TB for CSAT, 2 markers for mains: MDR:TB, DOTs etc. Essay/Interview: Healthcare reforms in India. How to eradicate Polio, TB and Malaria

etc?

Crux of DOTs program for TB is this:

If people don‘t take anti-TB drugs regularly, New version of TB bacteria will evolve, New version of TB bacteria= hard to kill. Pharma Cos don‘t have interest in investing for R&D of new TB drugs (because profit

margin is low) So what should Government or W.H.O. do? ans. Make people take drugs regularly. That‘s why you need DOTs program.

Here goes the ‗refined‘ answer:

MDR TB: Multi-drug resistant TB

TB patients have to complete the full six to nine months of antibiotic therapy required to cure the disease.

However Many people stop taking antibiotics when they begin to feel healthier, but successful treatment of TB requires therapy beyond the period of obvious symptoms.

When patients fail to follow the prescribed treatment, they may become actively infectious, spreading the disease to others.

The TB bateria who survive this phase become resistant to the given anti-biotic course and when they reproduce again, it is very hard to kill them.

When a strain (version) of tuberculosis bacteria is resistant to two or more ‗first-line‘ antibiotic drugs it is called multi-drug resistant TB or MDR-TB.

When it is resistant to three or more ‗second-line‘ antibiotics as well, it is classed as extreme drug resistant tuberculosis, or XDR-TB.

Big pharmaceutical companies donot like to invest billions of dollars in research and Development of new TB drugs because of the low profit.

So, This problem of non-compliance (i.e. patient not taking drugs regularly) has led WHO to initiate DOTS program.

http://mrunal.org/2012/02/science-tuberculosis-and-dots-therapy.html/print/#tt456

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What is DOTs therapy for TB?

World Health Organization (WHO) started a program called directly observed treatment, short-course (DOTS).

DOTS requires health workers to monitor patients to make sure that they follow the complete course of treatment.

Important elements of this program:

1. Political commitment to a National Tuberculosis Control Programme 2. Microscopy services to detect sputum. 3. Regular uninterrupted supply of anti-TB drugs. 4. Direct observation of the treatment for at least initial intensive phase. As a part of DOTS

strategy health workers counsel and observe their patients swallowing each dose of powerful combination of medicines.

TB and HIV

Anyone can become infected with TB, but people with HIV are at greater risk of getting sick with TB disease.

Epicenters

Number of TB patients worldwide:

#1 is India (World‘s largest Democracy also has the largest number of TB patients) #2 is China.

Similarly Polio is confined to four nations only: India, Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan.

BCG vaccine

It is a vaccine for TB protection. but the vaccine is now very old and not very effective against new strains (versions) of bacteria.

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2012/02/science-tuberculosis-and-dots-therapy.html

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[Science] Pulse Polio Campaign, India a Polio Free country?

Demo Questions

#1) Identify Correct statement(s) a. Polio virus directly damages the muscle cells and thus causes paralysis of legs. b. Polio vaccine cannot be taken via Injection. c. Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria are the only Polio Endemic nations in the world. d. India achieved complete Polio Free Status in 2012.

Ans

1. Only 1 and 2. 2. Only 1,2,3 3. Only 3 4. All of them

#2) Name of the chemical compound used in Indelible Ink Marker Pens during Elections and Pulse-Polio Campaigns.

1. Lead Acetate 2. Silver Nitrate 3. Chromium Sulphate 4. Zink Bromide

What is this disease?

Polio virus enters the nervous system and infects nerve cells that control muscles. Then in most cases, it causes paralysis of legs.

How does is spread?

Polio-virus spreads in human feces. People become infected with the virus through contaminated food and water, especially in areas where sanitation and hygiene are poor.

Vaccination?

Jonas Salk of USA developed the vaccine to fight Polio in 1950s. He could have made billions of dollars by getting Patent rights for his vaccine but he

didnot patent his discovery.

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Salk‘s vaccine, is known as the inactivated polio-virus vaccine (IPV) World Health Organization (WHO) had launched massive campaign against Polio, they

provided the funds and India started Pulse Polio campaign in 1995. Polio vaccine can be given both orally as well as by injection. But in Pulse Polio

campaigns, oral-vaccine is used, because it is cheap and doesn‘t require skilled medical staff for injections.

Prevalence

Till 2011, Pak, Afghan, India, Nigeria (PAIN) were in the list of Polio endemic countries. In January 2011, last polio case in West Bengal. The traditional polio endemic states of

Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have not reported any cases of polio. So according to WHO protocol, India‘s name is removed from the list of Polio Endemic

countries in 2012 (No new cases of polio for 12 months continuously.) However, India is not yet a complete ‘Polio Free’ country, because According to

protocol, India will have to remain polio-free for the next two years to achieve complete polio free status.

Problem in Vaccination

Sometimes infants get fever, diarrhea after vaccination as side effects, but then some people exaggerate and start spreading rumors that Polio vaccine causes Impotency in Children.

Because of this reason many poor and illiterate parents particularly in the Muslim communities of UP and Maharashtra, didnot allow the health-workers to enter into their areas.

Health workers and district administration did their best in spreading awareness and breaking myths. And hence not much public-resistance to Polio vaccination in those regions, nowadays.

Earlier Tuberculosis and DOTS therapy Answers of Demo Q?: 1. Only 3. 2. Silver Nitrate.

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2012/02/science-pulse-polio-campaign-india.html

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[Science] Animals, Plants, Disease etc GK

Since past four years, UPSC has been asking questions related to disease, plant and animal GK. We might see an increase in such questions under the ‗Biodiversity‘ topic of syllabus. So here goes something

Which of the following statement(s) is/are true?

Crocodile and Alligator (Ghariyal) ?

1. Crocodiles can live in Freshwater habitat only. 2. Alligators (Ghariyal) can live in Saline water habitats. 3.

Crocodiles can regrow teeth for lifetime.

About Cheetah and Tiger

1. Cheetah doesn‘t have retractable claws like cats. 2. Cheetah belongs to Dog family while Leopard belongs to Cat family. 3. Siberian Tiger is the largest and Chinese Tiger is the smallest tiger in size.

Why is only Female Mosquito responsible for spreading Malaria?

1. Male feeds on plant nectar, only female feeds on human blood. 2. Plasmodium parasite cannot survive in Male Mosquito‘s body.

Dengue vs Chikungunya

1. Both Male and Female Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes cause Dengue fever in Human. 2. Dengue is a viral disease while Chikungunya is not a viral disease.

Bamboo vs Coconut

1. Bamboo is a grass, Coconut is a palm 2. Both Bamboo and Coconut are palm 3. Both Bamboo and Coconut are grass.

No need to panic, if you haven‘t gone through such information, because There is no end to the list of diseases, Animal or plant GK as such, but better be prepared about some big and important ones.

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and keep your ‗brain open‘ while reading any book / newspaper item. UPSC won‘t generally ask from some relatively unknown disease or animal but will try to confuse you from well known stuff!

I‘m intentionally not providing the answers within this article, so that you dig up on your own and subsequently come across some more related information.

Recommended Books for ‘such’ questions

Do read all Science and Geography NCERTs [Can be downloaded for Free by clicking me]

Any one General Studies manual. I would recommend GS Manual byTata Macgrawhill Publication. It has got truckload of mock questions and its Science portion is especially good.

The Hindu‘s S&T section. Baaki toh Bhagwaan aur google search maalik hai, because there is no end to this!

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2012/03/science-animals-plants-disease-etc-gk.html

http://www.jobsnresults.com/download-ncert-books-for-class-7-free-cbse-books-class-7th/

http://www.jobsnresults.com/download-ncert-books-for-class-7-free-cbse-books-class-7th/

http://www.flipkart.com/general-studies-civil-services-preliminary-examination-2012-0071332057/p/itmd32swsh2abhzh?pid=9780071332057&affid=mrunalrugm

http://www.flipkart.com/general-studies-civil-services-preliminary-examination-2012-0071332057/p/itmd32swsh2abhzh?pid=9780071332057&affid=mrunalrugm

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[Science] Principle behind famous consumer products: Odomos, Hand Sanitizer etc

In Prelims-2010, UPSC had asked about principle of Sugerfree (Artificial sweetener). So based on that here goes some more; which of the following is true?

What is the Principle behind Mosquito repellent cream? (Odomos)

1. It contains a special volatile chemical that creates burning sensation in mosquito‘s respiratory system and eyes. 2. It contains a chemical that masks the distinctive body odour that human skin emits, making you virtually invisible to mosquitoes.

(Correct answer #2)

How does diabetes glucometer work ? (Waseem Akram’s Accucheck meter ad)

You put blood drop on the strip. Strip contains chemical compounds: chemical reaction, color change. The glucometer measures the color-intensity and gives you the blood-glucose measurement.

Home Test kit for Pregnency (Accutest Cadila)

It detects the amount of HCG ( Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) in woman‘s urine . The levels of this hormone rise after the embryo has been implanted in the womb and the strip changes color after chemical reaction from urine drops.

Anti-perspirants (that John Abraham’s ad)

Basically the aluminum chemical penetrates the armpit cells and makes them swell hence the sweat cannot come out.

Emergency contraceptive pills. (i-pill, Piramal Pharma)

They contain same hormones as in normal contraceptive pills but in heavy concentration and hence prevents fertilization.

Instant Hand sanitizer (Lifebouy, Dettol etc)

They Contain alcohol (not soap). Alcohol destroy the baterial cellmembrane and then evaporates. So you don‘t need water to wash off your hands.

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Mortein Rat kill cakes. (why Chuhe mare baahar jaakar?)

Not very sure but apart from poison, it contains a chemical that makes Rats thirsty hence they run out of house in search of water.

I‘ve given direct answers above, but UPSC is notorious for adding ‗almost genuine and valid sounding‘ false options in the answers, so as I said in the Aukaat, Accuracy and Aim: don‘t push your luck, if you don‘t know the exact answer: just leave it.

Some more products (you dig):

1. Hair Colors with and without Ammonia (Laurel Paris etc.) 2. Goodknight mosquito coils, liquid vaporizers and silvermats.

Let‘s brainstorm, please add products and principles from your side!

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2012/03/science-principle-behind-famous.html

http://mrunal-exam.blogspot.in/2012/02/free-blank-answersheets-for-csat-prelim.html

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[Download] The Hindu Science & Tech Material From Jan.2011 to Apr.2012

Finally, I‘ve consolidated all articles of The Hindu (Science and Technology) published since January 2011 to April 2012. Following Zip file contains the consolidate ‗study-material‘ in MS Word and PDF format. Size only 4.6 MB

Screenshot

Download Links

http://www.mediafire.com/?yiev1vt64j2ctat OR Alternative Link http://www.mediafire.com/file/yiev1vt64j2ctat/The_Hindu_Science_&_Tech_from_Jan_2011_to_Apr_2012.zip

http://www.mediafire.com/?yiev1vt64j2ctat

http://www.mediafire.com/file/yiev1vt64j2ctat/The_Hindu_Science_&_Tech_from_Jan_2011_to_Apr_2012.zip

http://www.mediafire.com/file/yiev1vt64j2ctat/The_Hindu_Science_&_Tech_from_Jan_2011_to_Apr_2012.zip

http://mrunal.org/

http://www.mediafire.com/?yiev1vt64j2ctat

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Background detail

Thank you Mr.Syed Waseem Pasha, for giving the list of The Hindu S&T links I‘ve split 2011′s article, according to alphabetical order: A to F in first file, G to N in

Second File and so on. Otherwise it‘d be 800 articles in single MS word file = very inconvenient for reading.

Few articles and sentences may be missing here and there, because this material is complied using automated programming scripts. I haven‘t manually checked each and every paragraph.

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2012/04/download-hindu-science-tech-material.html

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[Science] "This Week‘s Questions" compilation from The Hindu S&T (Jan 2011 to Mid Apr 2012)

Earlier I had uploaded the compilation of all Science and Tech articles from The Hindu between Jan 2011 to Mid Apr 2012. (Click ME if you haven‘t got it yet) But in that compilation, I didnot include the list of ―This Week‘s Questions‖ So here it goes.

List: Jan 2011 to Mid Apr 2012

How is it that not one drop of honey leaks from the bee hive? When we heat a cup of water in micro-oven why is the upper part hotter than the lower

part ? How does rubber act as an electrical insulator? Why is it hard to pull an empty mug completely immersed upside down in water? Whereas the twinkling of a star is ascribed to the light travelling through varied layers of

different densities of air and hence the refraction angles go on changing and hence the feeling of twinkling, the same is the case of a planet. Then why does the reflected light from a planet appear steady?

Why do we feel hungry very frequently during winter? What material is a bullet-proof vest made of and what happens to a person wearing the

vest when shot by a gun? Why does water conduct electricity while air does not? Over electrified railway tracks, there is only one electric line. How is just one line able to

supply power to the locomotives? Do they not require a minimum of two lines to make a circuit (as in regular power supply). ?

Why do the blades of a rotating ceiling fan gather more dust, than the blades of a stationary fan (logically a rotating fan blade should disperse the dust)?

Why do we not feel the fragrance of our perfume in our body after 10 or 15 minutes of usage, whereas others can smell it for a long time?

In which part of the honey bee is the nectar stored till it is deposited in the bee hive? When we wake up after having a sound sleep we find our face to be swollen(eyes, lips ).

What is the reason for this? Why do we use only red, blue and green colors in 3D glasses? Why do we use oil along with petrol in two stroke engine but not in four stroke engine? Why do we feel the jerk in our body, when we hear the sudden noise like bursting

crackers ? Why do diesel internal combustion engines require no spark plugs to ignite the fuel

unlike petrol engines? At what speed does the electron move around the nucleus? Is there any difference in the atmosphere like temperature, wind pressure etc. between

Arctic and Antarctic regions? How does an accelerator of a motor vehicle work?

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Why does the sound quality from a radio set degrade, when lightning strikes near the radio set?

Why does graphite conduct electricity but diamond doesn't, though both are made of carbon?

Why is it said that eating reheated cooked food and taking left over/preserved food are not good for health?

When at rest why is it that athletes have only 40-60 heart beats per minute compared with non-athletes (70-100 beats per minute)?

How does the severed body of a hen jump and make noise even when the brain command from head is completely cut off?

We are asked to avoid wearing black dress on sunny days but why do we use black umbrellas?

Why do snakes crawl from left to right instead of moving straight? Why does the sky sometimes show different colours during evening such as purple,

violet, orange, yellow, etc. ? How does an electronic weighing balance/machine work? Why do tears come when we are in grief? When we take excess water or proteins our body eliminates them, but when we take in

excess fat it is stored in our body. Why? Why do we have to release the clutch slowly for the first gear while driving vehicles,

whereas for the subsequent gears we can release the clutch with ease? We see the sky in the shades of all the colours of the solar spectrum except green. Why

not green? What happens to the very minute rubber particles worn out from the tyres of

innumerable vehicles that ply our roads? Why does honey not decay for many days? Why do we feel a jerk in our body, when we hear sudden noise like that of bursting

crackers? Why does a tubellight does not glow immediately like CFL bulbs? Why are we asked to switch off our mobile or keep in flight mode when we are travelling

in a flight. Wind blows out fire, at the same time it spreads fire. Why this phenomenon? Why is diesel used as fuel in buses, trucks and ships instead of petrol which has higher

calorific value? Why is the gravity on moon less than that of earth ?Is the hair on human body due to the

incomplete evolution? How is it that not one drop of honey leaks from the bee hive? When we heat a cup of water in micro-oven why is the upper part hotter than the lower

part ? How does rubber act as an electrical insulator? Why is it hard to pull an empty mug completely immersed upside down in water? Whereas the twinkling of a star is ascribed to the light travelling through varied layers of

different densities of air and hence the refraction angles go on changing and hence the feeling of twinkling, the same is the case of a planet. Then why does the reflected light from a planet appear steady?

Why do we feel hungry very frequently during winter? What material is a bullet-proof vest made of and what happens to a person wearing the

vest when shot by a gun? Why does water conduct electricity while air does not?

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Over electrified railway tracks, there is only one electric line. How is just one line able to supply power to the locomotives? Do they not require a minimum of two lines to make a circuit (as in regular power supply). ?

Why do the blades of a rotating ceiling fan gather more dust, than the blades of a stationary fan (logically a rotating fan blade should disperse the dust)?

Why do we not feel the fragrance of our perfume in our body after 10 or 15 minutes of usage, whereas others can smell it for a long time?

In which part of the honey bee is the nectar stored till it is deposited in the bee hive? When we wake up after having a sound sleep we find our face to be swollen(eyes, lips ).

What is the reason for this? Why do we use only red, blue and green colors in 3D glasses? Why do we use oil along with petrol in two stroke engine but not in four stroke engine? Why do we feel the jerk in our body, when we hear the sudden noise like bursting

crackers ? Why do diesel internal combustion engines require no spark plugs to ignite the fuel

unlike petrol engines? At what speed does the electron move around the nucleus? Is there any difference in the atmosphere like temperature, wind pressure etc. between

Arctic and Antarctic regions? How does an accelerator of a motor vehicle work? Why does the sound quality from a radio set degrade, when lightning strikes near the

radio set? Why does graphite conduct electricity but diamond doesn't, though both are made of

carbon? Why is it said that eating reheated cooked food and taking left over/preserved food are

not good for health? When at rest why is it that athletes have only 40-60 heart beats per minute compared

with non-athletes (70-100 beats per minute)? How does the severed body of a hen jump and make noise even when the brain

command from head is completely cut off? We are asked to avoid wearing black dress on sunny days but why do we use black

umbrellas? Why do snakes crawl from left to right instead of moving straight? Why does the sky sometimes show different colours during evening such as purple,

violet, orange, yellow, etc. ? How does an electronic weighing balance/machine work? Why do tears come when we are in grief? When we take excess water or proteins our body eliminates them, but when we take in

excess fat it is stored in our body. Why? Why do we have to release the clutch slowly for the first gear while driving vehicles,

whereas for the subsequent gears we can release the clutch with ease? We see the sky in the shades of all the colours of the solar spectrum except green. Why

not green? What happens to the very minute rubber particles worn out from the tyres of

innumerable vehicles that ply our roads?N. Dharmeshwaran, Why does honey not decay for many days? Why do we feel a jerk in our body, when we hear sudden noise like that of bursting

crackers? Why does a tubellight does not glow immediately like CFL bulbs? Why are we asked to switch off our mobile or keep in flight mode when we are travelling

in a flight.

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Wind blows out fire, at the same time it spreads fire. Why this phenomenon? Why is diesel used as fuel in buses, trucks and ships instead of petrol which has higher

calorific value? Why is the gravity on moon less than that of earth ? How do igloos protect eskimos from the severe cold? Why is it not safe to use a mobile phone while it is being charged? Why is copper used for making electro magnets? why are other substances like silver or

gold not used? How does coconut water form in a coconut? While landing the rear wheel of a plane touches the ground first. Why? Why are liquids transported only in cylindrical containers? Why does the place where one is slapped look red? An unripe fruit turn sweet a few days after plucking. How? How do plants convert solar energy into chemical energy? How are bones opaque to X-rays? A baby which is deaf by birth, may also be dumb. Why? In the rainy season clothes when not dried properly start stinking. Why? Why does water appear white when it falls from a height? Why is coldness not felt when we cover our ears with a cloth? In a railway track at a curve, the inner track is comparatively less in height then the

outer. Why? Biscuits kept in room temperature lose their crispness after some time, more so if the

weather is chill. But the same kept in the much cooler temperature of a fridge remain crisp even after a few weeks. Why?

How does an unripe fruit turn sweet a few days after it is plucked? Why do we experience more static electricity during winters? How does a flying helicopter hover in one place in the sky? Why does the ocean not leak into the earth through the fissures on ocean floor? Why do almost all the aeroplanes take a circular route, via Canada to reach Chicago? Pens do not write on oily paper. Why? Why do birds of same feather flock together? Why is the flame of the candle yellow in colour? How does refrigerating onions prevent them from causing tears in our eyes when

chopped?

Note: This compilation is done using automated programming scripts, so It might have skipped a few questions.

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2012/05/science-this-weeks-questions.html

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[Revision] Science-Tech Highlights from The Hindu 2011 AF

Note:

This is very brief revision note for S&T portion of CSAT GS Paper I. Original source: ―The Hindu S&T 2011_A-F.pdf‖ <– regular readers know what that

means ;-) I‘m running out of time so the content is not properly classified and sentences are

incomplete. More will be published soon, from the remaining pdfs. UPDATE: Part II has been

published, click me to read it Message to those feeling extremely stressed for 20th May : Heroes may not be braver

than anyone else. They’re just brave five minutes longer.

1. Carburettor 2. Biodiversity 3. Muscle 4. Artic vs Antarctic 5. Radioactive food 6. Bats n bees 7. Evaporation 8. Hydrogen fuel 9. Mobile switched off in airplane 10. Probiotics, prebiotics 11. E.Coli 12. Diesel engine 13. Dish TV 14. Euthanasia 15. Burning flame

Carburettor

Carburettor gives air and petrol mixture and fuel injection pump gives a spray form of diesel using a nozzle to the engine input side.

When we press the accelerator, a small plate like opening allows the carburettor to draw more air from atmosphere, and also this action draws more fuel(petrol) from the fuel tank

Venturi action means a fluid or gas flowing through a constricted section of a tube undergoes a decrease in pressure, so due to pressure difference fuel comes from the tank


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When we use the choke option in the vehicle during starting problem, it is qualitatively changing the ratio of air and fuel for easy starting during winter or cold condition of the engine.

Biodiversity

Cactus is getting attention in every continent as vital crop for increasing plant cover, carbon sequestration, livestock feeding, conserving wildlife, medicinal and cosmetic uses

Goa-based National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR).

Muscle

What enables the ants to carry heavier objects is their relatively smaller body size Larger animals like humans need to put most of the muscles in use to carry their own

mass. In other words, larger animals have to carry their own weight, besides the heavier objects; so they are able to carry only slightly heavier objects.

Thus, ants could use more muscles to carry bigger loads than their own mass, which not only applies to ants, but also holds good for most of the insects.

^ this is because of the square – cube law Ants and termites perform the same ecosystem service functions in dryland agriculture

that earthworms perform in cooler and wetter areas and have a significant positive impact on crop yields in dryland agriculture

Artic vs Antarctic

Two regions, the Arctic and the Antarctica, are located around the north and the south poles of the earth, respectively.

Rotation at the (Antarctic) south pole is opposite to that at (Arctic) north pole. This is manifest in the nature of wind circulation and in the water whirlpools. Also, being in the two opposite hemispheres, there exists a complementarity in the seasonal changes.

Winter period at the Arctic happens to be the summer in the Antarctica and vice versa. Arctic is an ocean with frozen ice cover. It is surrounded and partly contributed by the

edges of land masses, while the Antarctica is an ice covered land mass (continent) surrounded by oceans. This leads to differences in the temperature patterns in the two regions.

Much of arctic zone is surrounded by relatively warmer ocean water with minimum temperature above -2 degree Celsius. In the Antarctica the interior regions do not benefit from the moderating influence of the ocean waters.

Radioactive food

Brazil nut is probably the most radioactive food. Scientists have measured 700Bq of radium per kg of Brazil nut.

Roots of the Brazil nut tree pass through acres of land; They have a tendency to concentrate barium; along with barium, the roots collect radium as well. Radium appears in the nuts. Many vegetables like brinjal, carrot etc. Also contain the radioactive isotope

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Bats n bees

Fruit bats use biosonar to =see‘ their surroundings Wet bat needs more energy to fly because damp fur provides less protection than when

dry. Wet fur also affects the bat‘s aerodynamics, which in turn also costs energy Raindrops affected the bat‘s echo-finding capability. India ranks second to China in the global map in vegetable production Average beehive produces as much as 45-50 kg of bee dung a year, neatly deposited

around the beehive as high nitrogenous manure. ?When it rains, this pollen dung gets washed into the soil, breaks down and provides an excellent natural fertilizer.

Hence, to a farmer rearing bees in a field to pollinate the crop, he gets an additional bonus in the form of manure

Bionic eye =A microchip packed with 1,500 light sensors is implanted to the back of the eye.

Sensors convert light to electrical signals, which stimulate nerves in the retina to pass down signals to optic nerve which would gap into the brain to form an image.

Blue Brain Project =Blue here symbolizing supercomputers. Project aims to build brain models.

Evaporation

Evaporation is the physical process by which molecules of a liquid leave the liquid surface into the vapour phase. This takes place at all temperatures

Evaporation rate is proportional to the area of the exposed surface. Hence, in large water bodies like ponds, lakes and oceans, the amount of water transforming into vapour phase is considerably large even at ambient temperatures,

This water vapour which saturates the air just above the water body, gets swept Away by wind which replaces the saturated air by fresh air containing less of water

vapour. And, water vapour is lighter than the air and so, the water vapour floats up. This leads to further evaporation of water from the water body. Accumulation of water vapour forms the cloud mass.

Hydrogen fuel

Hydrogen makes a great fuel because of it can easily be converted to electricity in a fuel cell and because it is carbon free.

Downside of hydrogen is that, because it is a gas, it can only be stored in high Pressure or cryogenic tanks.

Biofortification = effort to increase the amounts of available micronutrients in staple crops such as cassava

NASA‘s Cassini spacecraft – studying Saturn planet.

Mobile switched off in airplane

At high altitudes, the pilots have to largely depend on the avionics and computer-assisted coded signal communications. All the wireless signal trafficking is accomplished by modulated radio and microwave transmissions which type the cell phones also owe their functioning to.

If there are any mobile phones on board in the cabin of the flight in = on‘ mode during takeoff, flight and landing, the microwave transmission between the mobile phone

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towers and the mobile phones might interfere with the communications the flights are busily engaged in (between the cockpit and the control towers).

That‘s why we are asked to switch off our mobile or keep in flight mode when we are travelling in a flight.

Anyway, the cell phones cannot serve as phones on board the flights because the cell phone towers on the ground cannot connect themselves to the phones at such high altitudes and such high flight speeds.

Nanopatch, having 20,000 micro projections per square centimetre, is designed to directly place vaccine into the human skin, which is rich in immune cells. And unlike the needle and syringe, which places vaccine into the muscle — which has very few immune cells

In 2003, China became the third country to send an astronaut into space on its own, four decades after the United States and Russia.

China plans to send a drilling machine on board its fifth lunar probe, Chang‘e-5, in 2017 to drill the moon surface deep and bring back rock samples to the earth

Primary function of the clutch is to disconnect the engine from the remaining parts of the power transmission system at the will of the driver by the use of a suitable lever thereby permitting the engine to run without driving the vehicl

We start the vehicle from a stand-still position, the force that the engine has to overcome to get the vehicle moving is the friction between the tyres and the road surface and it is proportional to the weight of the vehicle and the contact surface area of the tyres.

To get the vehicle moving, the driver engages the clutch and then shifts to the primary gear whose gear ratio is such that when engaged, the final drive moves at a considerably lesser speed when compared to the engine.

Lovejoy =recently discovered Comet. Indian poultry breed, called Kadaknath is native to Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh.

Breed is famous for its black meat known for its quality, texture and flavour. An attempt was therefore made for conservation and promotion of this high value Indian poultry race under National Agriculture Innovation Project (NAIP)

Computed tomography (CT) as the best way to detect cocaine in the body of a =mule.‘

Probiotics, prebiotics

We call these organisms, and/or their molecules, as probiotics and prebiotics. The microbes are called probiotics, and the indigestible (to us) material that they feed on is the prebiotic. Prebiotics are nonliving material such as starch or husk, while probiotics are live organisms. (And biotic means relating to, produced by, or caused by living organisms).

Without them, we cannot make some essential nutrients such as vitamin K, or metabolize bile acids, cholesterol and some short chain fatty acids. They also help us in fighting pathogenic bacteria and viruses — a case of internal colonizers acting as defending soldiers against alien invaders.

E.Coli

Escherichia coli, a bacterium that is found in the gut, spreads easily through faecal contamination of food and water. It is a common cause of urinary infections, and can also produce pneumonia and life-threatening bloodstream infections in hospitalised patients

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Disease-causing strains of E. Coli, K. Pneumoniae and other Gram-negative bacteria have emerged with special genes that produce enzymes and make the bacteria immune to the effects of a wide range of antibiotics. (related: TB resistance and DOTs)

NASA‘s Dawn spacecraft To study the asteroid Vesta.

Diesel engine

Why do diesel internal combustion engines require no spark plug to ignite the fuel unlike petrol engines?

Spark plugs are used in the petrol engines to ignite the air fuel mixture whereas in diesel engines the presence of spark plugs is not necessary.

Technically petrol engines are Called as spark ignition engines ( SI ) and diesel engines are called as compression ignition engines (CI )

In SI engines air and fuel (petrol) get mixed in the carburettor and then it is supplied to the engine through inlet manifold, then the air fuel mixture is compressed inside the cylinder.

At the end of compression the spark is ignited and then combustion takes place The air from the atmosphere is sucked into the cylinder of the engine and then the air is

compressed to high pressure which eventually leads to the increase of temperature, so when the diesel is supplied at end of compression stroke, the temperature developed is more enough to ignite the diesel, this makes the fuel to burn and then expansion of gases takes place from where the power stroke is obtained.

In petrol engines spark plugs will be present but in the case of diesel engines fuel pump will be present.

Dish TV

During rains, the TV programs telecast by dish TV providers are disrupted or blocked. Why?

Loss or weakening of satellite signal during bad weather is called =rain fade‘ or =rain attenuation.‘

Rain fade occurs due to the presence of moisture in the air between the transmitting satellite and the receiver site. Moisture interferes with the satellite signal. The raindrops weaken the transmission by absorbing and scattering the electromagnetic signals.

Earlier satellite television was broadcast in C-band – radio in the 3.4-gigahertz (ghz) to 7-ghz frequency range. Currently, digital satellite TV is transmitted in the Ku frequency range (10 ghz to 14 ghz )

Longer wavelengths of C-band are less susceptible to rain attenuation than the shorter Ku and Ka wavelengths.

Destructive tsunami generated by the March 2011 Japan earthquake was a =merging tsunami‘ that doubled in intensity over rugged ocean ridges, amplifying its destructive power before reaching shore.

Euthanasia

Assisted dying or assisted suicide is not illegal in Switzerland Other countries excluding Switzerland have legalised assisted dying — Belgium,

Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Epigenetic memory enables plants to remember the length of the cold winter period in

order to time flowering so that pollination, seed dispersal and germination can all happen at the appropriate time.

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Radiation typically kills many bone marrow cells, which can lead to a compromised immune system in patients, leaving them vulnerable to infections and other health problems.

Hibernating animals provide good example for utilizing fat reserve as fuel. For instance, polar bears go on hibernation for about seven months and, during this entire period, the energy is derived from the degradation of stored fat.

Fats can also support the body‘s energy needs for long periods of food deprivation.

Burning flame

All fuels get oxidised by burning; but, all oxidation reactions do not constitute burning. Flame is quite an accidental feature. Thus, iron burning in oxygen gives no perceptible

flame. The intense light is due to the incandescent solid. On the other hand, phosphorus, sulphur, wax, etc., burn with a flame because these solids are volatilized at the temperature of combustion.

The colour of the flame depends upon the material undergoing the reaction and the temperature.

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[Revision] Science-Tech Highlight from The Hindu 2011 G to N (Part II)

Click Me if you didnot see Part I. Now continuing from where I had left…

1. Gagan 2. Nasa‘s glory spacecraft 3. Graphene 4. Heartbeats 5. Robot 6. Bee colony 7. Supercomputer 8. Stem cell 9. Earthquakes 10. Power project 11. Microwave 12. CRT monitor flickering 13. Moon ownership 14. Nanotech for water filtering 15. NICRA 16. Ndm-1

Gagan

GPS aided geo augmented navigation‘ (gagan), a joint effort by the indian space research organisation and the airports authority of india.

To help pilots land their aircraft in bad weather and poor visibility, several airports in the country are equipped with ground-based instrument landing systems (ils).

When two strains of bird flu infect the same host, they can readily swap genes, a process known as reassortment. The 2009 h1n1 pandemic virus was itself a triple reassortant, with its genes drawn from bird, human and animal strains.

This mix of genes created a virus that readily infected humans, was easily transmitted from one person to another, and to which most people had no immunity.

Nasa’s glory spacecraft

Data from the glory mission will allow scientists to better understand how the sun and tiny atmospheric particles called aerosols affect earth‘s climate.

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The taurus xl also carries the first of nasa‘s educational launch of nanosatellite missions. This auxiliary payload contains three small satellites called cubesats, which were designed and created by university and college students.

Graphene

The world‘s thinnest and toughest material, could spur the development of next generation computer chips, besides revolutionising materials science.

Its amazing properties open the way to bendable touch screen phones and computers, lighter aircraft, paper thin hd tv sets and lightning-quick net connections, and more.

Graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms, whose discoverers shared the 2010 nobel prize for physics for work on the material.

Why does graphite conduct electricity but diamond doesn‘t, though both are made of carbon?

Whether a substance is an electrical conductor or not is not decided by the type of atoms or the kind of element or compound alone but is by the way the atoms of an element or molecules of a compound are joined together to form a condensed matter (liquids and solids). Such a formation should allow passage of electrons from one end to the other

Haemoglobin a1c (hba1c) test has become the preferred way to diagnose diabetes among the millions of americans who have diabetes but show no symptoms. The simple test measures longer -term blood sugar levels — without requiring patients to fast overnight.

Heartbeats

As a general rule a heart rate between 60 and 100 is considered normal. The heart is a pump. It pumps blood into the system at about 72 times pm. In other words to keep the system adequately supplied with blood, the heart has to work around 72 times a minute.

Heart has two sides, the right and the left. The right side pumps blood to the lungs and the left side to the various parts of the body through the aorta, the largest artery.

The output of the heart per minute is called the cardiac output (co). Co = sv x hr and is about 5 litres per minute in a resting man.

That is, when at rest, about 5 litres of blood is necessary and enough every minute. The demand for blood will naturally rise in an exercising man.

In an exercising man the heart beats at a higher rate, with more force and deals with more blood than in a resting man.

As a result the heart becomes stronger and increased in efficiency. In course of time it learns to pump more blood per beat; that is the stroke volume increases. Such a heart can pump 5 litres of blood in less number of beats.

Thus, in the case of an athlete the heart is able meet the target with less number of beats per minute. What a non-athlete‘s heart achieves with 72 beats an athlete‘s heart can manage with 60 beats.

In comparison to a non-athlete, an athlete‘s heart may beat at a slower rate by virtue of his emotional stability. But as the stroke volume is more, it will not affect the blood supply to the system

Robot

Honda‘s human-shaped robot can now run faster Asimo, first shown in 2000, had been of little practical use so far, proving to be nothing

more than a glorified toy and cute showcase for the honda motor co. Brand

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Asimo‘s technology was used to develop a robotic arm in just six months with the intention of helping with the nuclear crisis in northeastern japan.

The mechanical arm can open and close valves at fukushima dai -ichi nuclear power plant, which went into meltdown after the march tsunami, according to honda.

Bee colony

Have a single queen (fertile female), few hundreds of drones (males) and thousands of worker bees (unfertile female).

Worker bees, three weeks after emergence, visit flowers. During this visit, the entire body of bees gets smeared with pollen.

Apart from pollen, bees collect nectar from flowers and store them in their stomach (crop). Honeybee stomach is technically called crop

Bees, when they return to hive, vomit (regurgitate) the stomach contents into the comb cells meant for that

How best to measure a kilogram At present, this unit is defined by a lump of platinum cast in 1879 and located in a safe at

the office of the international committee on weights and measures in paris. Before 1889, the metre was judged to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the

equator to the north pole. Iceland‘s capital city is reykjavik.

Supercomputer

Fastest supercomputer with a computing speed of 2.7 petaflops is said to be in china. Petaflop is 1,000 trillion sustained floating-point operations per second. One exaflop is 1,000 times faster than a petaflop — performing 1 million trillion

calculations per second. Maitri, india‘s second permanent research station on the antarctica

Stem cell

Usa -in several states, abortion is illegal. Indeed the issue of a woman‘s right to abortion went all the way up to the nation‘s supreme court in the year 1973, and its landmark judgment gave a woman the right to terminate her pregnancy in the first trimester as a constitutional right.

The unborn child is not legally classified as a person; the u.s. Supreme court also noted then that ―if the ―personhood‖ of the preborn is established, then the case for the right to abortion collapses, because the foetus‘s right to life is then guaranteed specifically in the constitution‖.

The debate thus turns to the issue of ―is a foetus a person‖. George w. Bush stopped the u.s. Federal government funding for research involving

human embryonic stem cells, on the ground that since it can give rise to a human, we should not be tinkering with it, since that would be equivalent to man playing god

What then is a person? French thinker rene descartes insisted on thinking or cognition as a must, stating ―je

pense donc je suis‖ (or ―cogito ergo sum‖ in latin, or ―i think, therefore i am‖ in english).

Earthquakes

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New zealand sits on the ‗pacific ring of fire‘, a vast zone of seismic and volcanic activity stretching from chile on one side to japan and indonesia on the other.

Wellington has always been considered much more at risk because it straddles the plate boundary.

A place called l‘aquila in italy, which suffered an earthquake on april 5, 2009, causing large scale damage to property

Astrono mical units (au, the distance from the sun to earth)

Power project

Koodunkulam to add 2000 mwe to grid of the 2000 mwe power to be generated by kudankulam nuclear power project units 1 and 2, the allocation of power to tamil nadu is 925 mwe. State‘s industrialisation plans will be hit if project is reversed

Microwave

When we heat a cup of water in a microwave oven why is the upper part hotter than the lower part?

Substances, with polar molecules such as water, alcohols, oils, etc, absorb microwave radiation to elevate the rotational movements of their molecules. When foodstuffs to be cooked by microwave oven are kept in this kind of kettle, the majori ty of the microwave power reaches the water and tends to hasten the molecular rotations

When we heat a cup of water alone in a microwave oven, the water gets all the microwave energy and becomes hot. But the upper part of the water is hotter than the lo wer part because

Hot water moves to upper regions of the container because its density is less than normal water‘s. Therefore, as and when water is getting heated, the hot water moves upward due to lower density through convection

As the cup of water kept in microwave oven is hardly stirred, the temperature gradient is more obvious.

It is by the combined effect of uneven distribution of microwave energy and differential densities of hot and cold water that the upper part is hotter than the lower part when we heat a cup of water in a microwave oven.

CRT monitor flickering

Why does a crt monitor flicker when shot with a digital camera? Working of crt is based on a principle called scintillation. In simple words, scintillation is

the process by which some atoms emit light when they are excited by ionized or charged particles (typically electrons)

In a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels, there are 1024 x 768 = 7,86,432 electrons involved to display one static flash of image.

When a camera snaps a picture (or covers a video) there may be some particles which do not emit light during the short time gap when the shutter opens and closes (in videos between intervals when light is sampled, called as frame rate). This causes loss of light in those areas or pixels, which we refer to as flickering

Moon ownership

1967 outer space treaty makes it clear that the lunar surface has no owner.

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Nasa is expected to come up with a set of ―recommendations‖ for spacecraft and astronauts visiting the ―u.s. Government property on the moon.‖

Despite the lack of ownership, nasa is hopeful that other countries will respect the u.s. Sentiments. Incidentally, the restriction list contains more than the historical sites. For instance, the list includes studying discarded food and abandoned astronaut faeces.

For example, studying the discarded food will reveal the viability of bacteria on the moon and, if present, how they have mutated and survived after years of exposure to solar radiation.

Nanotech for water filtering

Both water molecules and bugs are so tiny that they are measured by the nanometre, 100,000 times thinner than a human hair.but at the microscopic level, the two actually differ greatly in size. A single water molecule is less than a nanometre wide, while some of the littlest bugs are 200 nanometres.

New nanotechnology is likely to make drinking water a lot more safer and keep infections at bay by filtering out deadly bugs at the source.

Nanomembrane containing pores about 55 nm wide, large enough for water to slip through, but too small for bacteria

NICRA

National initiative on climate resilient agriculture (nicra) project was launched Nicra has been promoted in the xi five year plan by icar This project is being implemented in 100 districts in india The project aims to enhance the resilience of agriculture Manually operated weather station to record daily rainfall, minimum and maximum

temperature, relative humidity and wind speed. Stocking of fish fry in temporary water ponds. Artificial insemination centre for cows and buffaloes. Improved water harvesting

structure

Ndm-1

Gram-negative bacterial strains with ndm-1 (new delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-1) gene, also called the superbug,

The lancet infectious diseases journal. The ndm-1 gene enables gram-negative bacterial strains to become resistant to carbapenem, a powerful antibiotic.

People living in the northern hemisphere have bigger brains than those staying near the equator, says a study

This is because living in low light conditions means the eyes and brain need to work harder in order to process images to a good level of detail, or ―high resolution‖

As you move away from equator, there‘s less light available, so humans have had to evolve bigger and bigger eyes. Their brains also need to be bigger to deal with the extra visual input. Having bigger brains doesn‘t mean that they are smarter, it just means they need bigger brains to see well where they live.

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URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2012/05/revision-science-tech-highlight-from.html


[Revision] Science-Tech Highlight from The Hindu 2011 OtoZ (Part III, The End)

Part I, Part II were released earlier. This part III, is the last part about highlights of The Hindu S&T Jan 2011 to Dec 2011.

1. Emu 2. Plastic bottle 3. China space program 4. 3D glasses 5. Malaria drug resistance 6. India‘s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C18) 7. Empty mug 8. Heat of Earth‘s crust 9. RTIS 10. Food heating 11. Gecko robot 12. Sky color 13. Snake movement 14. ISRO 15. Twinkling stars 16. Vit.D 17. Swollen face 18. Food ripening 19. Tubelight vs CFL 20. Lab meat 21. Wet wood 22. International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO)

Emu

A flightless bird, is also the largest bird in Australia and the second largest in the world after its distant cousin, the ostrich.

Emu oil estimated to be highly medicinal is gaining its popularity in the pharmaceutical industry and is priced around Rs 4,500 per litre. It has zero percent cholesterol. It is

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being farmed in different countries and also in India. Emu farming, or ‗golden farming‘ as it is popularly known in Orissa.

Plastic bottle

In the case of the plastic bottle, when hot water is poured, the molecules of the polymer get sufficient energy to overcome the barriers between the existing structure and more relaxed structure and hence the material of the bottle relaxes to the new more compact structure. Hence

They are seen to contract as a response to application of heat as by pouring hot water on or into them.

China space program

Chinese astronauts remained in space so far was 115.5 hours, or nearly five days, during the mission of Shenzhou VI in 2005.

China will build a space station in 10 years and will probably carry out manned explorations of deep space in the future

3D glasses

Why do we use only red, blue and green colours in 3D glasses? It is possible to produce any colour just by mixing/ controlling the relative intensities of

these three colors. Hence these three colours are called primary colours 3D glasses make use any two of these primary colors ( blue, green and red) one for each

eye as the intensity of the third colour can be inferred from difference between total light and the sum of intensities of these two colours to get the complete information on colour of the object or image to be seen through the 3D glass.

Malaria drug resistance

Artemisin and its derivatives have saved countless lives after the single-celled parasite, Plasmodium falciparum , that causes the most dangerous forms of the disease became resistant to the drug chloroquine.

However, strains that are resistant to even artemisinin have emerged in parts of South-East Asia and could potentially spread, as has happened with earlier antimalarial drugs.

India‘s Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) initiated action earlier this year to stop the production and export of these drugs.

Exposure of malaria parasites to suboptimal doses of artemisinin is a primary cause of the spread of resistance

Although oral artemisinin-based monotherapies could be effective when taken for the full seven-day course, patients often stopped taking them after just a few days when the symptoms generally subsided. Parasites that were sensitive to the drug could get eliminated, allowing drug-resistant strains to proliferate and get transmitted to other people

To prevent that from happening, the global health agency recommends that artemisinin be given in combination with another drug. Such artemisinin-based combination therapy

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(ACT) should, it says, be first-line treatment for uncomplicated malaria caused by P. Falciparum

Oral artemisinin monotherapy is banned in India,‖ according to the ‗Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Malaria in India‘ published in 2010 by the National Institute of Malaria Research in Delhi and the Union Health Ministry‘s National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme.

This year, DCGI wrote to all State Drugs Controllers requesting them to cancel licenses to manufacture oral artemisinin-based monotherapies with immediate effect. The manufacturing of such monotherapies for export should also be stopped.

India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C18)

It put four satellites in orbit, The satellites were: Megha-Tropiques, an Indo-French mission to study the weather and climate in the tropical regions of the world; srmsat, built by students of SRM University, near Chennai; Jugnu, put together by Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur students; and vesselsat from Luxembourg.

Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram

Empty mug

Not only is it hard to pull out any empty mug completely immersed upside down in water but also it is harder to push an empty mug upside down into water.The latter difficulty is mainly due to the buoyancy, the air sac, captured inside the mug

However, when we try to pull out the same empty mug or the mug already drowned, in an upside manner, we experience certain difficulty of pulling it out. This difficulty stems from a different cause and owes to the surface tension phenomenon of liquids

Amount of force required to open apart one unit length of the liquid‘s surface is defined as the surface tension of the liquid. Its value is unique to the liquid and is highly sensitive to the temperature, pressure and purity of the liquid.

Fathers of radiation genetics, Hermann Muller, was awarded the 1946 Nobel Prize in medicine for his discovery that X-rays induce genetic mutations.

This helped him call attention to his long-time concern over the dangers of atomic testing.

Environmental toxicologist Edward Calabrese, whose career research shows that low doses of some chemicals and radiation are benign or even helpful, says he has uncovered evidence that Muller knowingly lied when he claimed in 1946 that there is no safe level of radiation exposure

Heat of Earth’s crust

Radioactive decay of uranium, thorium, and potassium in Earth‘s crust and mantle is a principal source of earth‘s heat — some 44 trillion watts — that continually flows from Earth‘s interior into space

RTIS

Real-time train information system (RTIS) for a dozen important trains through which passengers can access the accurate train running information.

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The facility will not only be available to passengers on these trains but also to the public who are accessing the website www.simran.in, and through SMS from railway enquiry number 139. Passengers will be provided with the information about the location of the train, its running position — on time or late, next stop, nearest approaching/crossed station and the speed.

The Railways intends to provide this facility in all passenger and freight trains by December 2012.

Food heating

Eating reheated cooked food and taking left over/preserved food are not good for health? The raw materials such as rice, pulses, fats etc are in such chemical architecture that we

cannot assimilate. That is why, by cooking process, they are chemically converted into smaller molecules that can further be managed by our digestive system, from mouth to intestines, through a series of enzymatic processes (mostly hydrolysis).

If the cooked food is left out for a while, a host of microorganisms invade the food stuff and work on the molecules in their own physiological ways because the cooked food stuff is now in a bio-manageable molecular status.

These microorganisms leave their own chemical signature on the food stuffs over time. If such a type of food is reheated, not only are the useful remains are warmed or further hydrolyzed but the microorganisms themselves and the chemicals they have excreted are also heated and chemically processed.

These alien chemical and biological entities are likely to generate poisonous molecules upon reheating. Similarly, food stuffs, left for long, are also likely to be contaminated by the invisible microorganisms along with their excreta during their regime on this food. Thus, a leftover/preserved food is also a source of possible poisonous content.

It is not true that all the processed foods undergo infections by pathogenic organisms. It all depends on what type of natural preservatives are added, like tamarind, salt, oil, sugar etc

All foods which are used in our set up, might have been refrigerated, and hence the bacterial growth is inhibited.

We should heat the canned foods above 60-70 degree C, so that the toxins are destroyed.

Gecko robot

The adhesive pads on geckos follow this same principle by utilising a large number of fibres, each with a very small tip. The more fibres a gecko has in contact, the greater attachment force it has on a surface

Wall-climbing robots could be used to clean windows, inspect buildings, crawl up pipes and help in search-and-rescue operations

Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) played a key role in the shift in the global climate that began about 38 million years ago. Early ACC was vital to the formation of modern ocean structure.

Sky color

When the sun‘s rays enter the atmosphere they collide with particles and gases in the atmosphere.

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Shorter wavelengths, like blue and violet, scatter a lot more than long ones when particles are relatively small. Under these conditions, scattered light also tends to disperse equally in all directions, which is why the sky appears so saturated with blue color.

Sky‘s color can change based on dust, pollution and water vapor, which affect the absorption and scattering of sunlight differently.

Reddish tinge of sunsets is due mostly to the fact that the sunlight travels through more atmosphere to reach our eyes.

Snake movement

Unlike mammals which primarily use their legs, snakes and reptiles tend to use their bodies and spine as a major part of locomotion

Snake alternately tightens and relaxes a set of muscles along each side of its body to produce horizontal waves that travel down the body

ISRO

ISRO) is drawing up plans to develop the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota into a centre for assembling satellites and rockets in the near future.

Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) in Hyderabad ISRO and INCOIS were working together in the area of environment and climate

monitoring

Twinkling stars

Why do stars twinkle? Why does light from planets not twinkle? Little pockets of air that have different density, temperature, humidity etc. Than the

surrounding air. The density contrast causes refraction, and as different cells move in and out of your line of sight,

This movement is seen as twinkling by the eyes; if you take a photograph over several minutes, as astronomers often do, then the image becomes blurred.

Why don‘t planets twinkle? This is because, even though they may look point-like to naked eyes, they are actually much bigger than the typical seeing. This means that you observe the combination of light which has passed through different atmospheric cells. Thus, the turbulent effects are averaged out, making the planets look steady.

Vit.D

How does exposure to sun help to produce Vitamin-D in humans? Vitamin D, a fat soluble vitamin Ergocalciferol is designated as vitamin D {-2} and cholecalciferol also as vitamin D {-3}. Humans make 90 per cent of their vitamin D naturally from sunlight exposure to their

skin – specifically, from ultraviolet B exposure to the skin, which naturally initiates the conversion of cholesterol in the skin to vitamin D { -3}.

In contrast, sun exposure to the skin makes thousands of units of vitamin D naturally in a relatively short period of time. Therefore Vitamin D is regarded as Sun Shine Vitamin.

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Swollen face

When we wake up after a sound sleep our face (lips, eyelids) are swollen. Why? During sleep , all these movements are absent, no facial movements , no lip movement,

no blinking etc, hence the so called ―muscle pumps‖ are totally absent. If the sleep time is prolonged beyond certain limit, the venous engorgement due to slow respiration with slow suction, and lack of muscle pumps swell the interstitial space and cells, underneath the skin, resulting in accumulation of fluids, which create a swollen eyes and lips.

Food ripening

A simple technology practiced in households to trigger ripening is to keep un-ripened and ripened fruits together inside an air tight container. Since the already ripened fruits release ethylene, ripening will be faster. Another method is to place the fruits intended for ripening inside an air tight room and induce ripening through smoking inside smoke chambers. Smoking chamber Smoke emanates acetylene gas. Several fruit traders follow this technique to achieve uniform ripening especially in banana and mango

Some farmers dip unripe mature fruits in 0.1 per cent ethrel solution (1 ml of ethrel solution in 1 litre of water) and wipe it dry.

Fruits ripened using calcium carbide are carcinogenic and should not be consumed. Traders use calcium carbide that emits acetylene gas Chikungunya is primarily spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito

Tubelight vs CFL

Why does a tube light not glow immediately on switching on like a CFL bulb? Both the tube lights and the cfls work by the same principle. These lamps consist of a

fluorescent phosphor coated glass tube filled with a mixture of the inert gas argon and mercury vapour.

Gas is excited by the energetic electrons emitted from the cathodes provided at the ends of the tube.

These excited gas atoms interact with the phosphor material coated on the walls and we receive the light from this glowing phosphor material.

Initiation of the gas excitation is accomplished by extracting electrons from a heated cathode, by using an instantaneous high voltage pulse generated by a ballast circuit

These features of the ballast circuit often require more than one attempt for the gaseous excitation. This leads to slower start and start-up flickering of the tube lights.

Lab meat

Churchill‘s chicken-based comment, was in the 1930s: 50 years hence, we shall escape the absurdity of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing, by growing these parts separately under a suitable medium.? Well, Churchill‘s prediction might come true in a few years hence. Researchers are applying the technique of cell and tissue engineering to grow edible meat in the laboratory, or in vitro.

Why would anyone want to grow meat in the lab? Because we need to grow crops to feed livestock, which alone takes up 26 per cent of the available area and equally substantial water. And livestock contributes 18 per cent to global warming. Plus, to paraphrase what Churchill said, animals are not efficient protein factories; much of what we eat as meat is proteins (muscle). Why then not grow meat in the lab and save space, water and reduce global warming?

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Wet wood

More smoke is produced when wet wood burns. Why? There are four stages (sequences) of fire: incipient, smouldering, flame and

heat. Initially, the wood is to be ignited (lit) by an external heat source, say, a match. When the wood reaches a temperature of about 150 degrees C, the cellulosic material starts decomposing ( thermal decomposition and degradation). There is no visible smoke, flame or significant development of heat. However, a large number of combustible particles are produced. This constitutes the incipient stage. As this stage continues, the combustible particles increase until they become visible — a condition called smoke. Smoke is made up of compounds of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. But, no flame or significant heat develops at this stage also.

This is the smouldering stage. As the fire condition develops further, ignition occurs and flame starts at about 500 degrees C. The level of visible smoke decreases and the heat level increases. This is the flame stage. Finally, large amounts of heat, flame, smoke and toxic gases are produced. This constitutes the heat stage

Wood is a hygroscopic material. That is, it tends to absorb moisture from the air. Normally, it contains about eight per cent of water.

In the case of wet wood, a very high proportion of heat is taken away as the latent heat of evaporation. Therefore, there will be a hindrance for reaching even the third stage, let alone the fourth one. However, the second (smouldering) stage continues without any hindrance. Accordingly, more smoke is produced when wet wood burns.

International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO)

Hydrography impinges on every activity at the sea, the most important being provision of nautical charts and publications for worldwide navigational safety with 24 X 7 updating service under the IMO /IHO/UN Conventions.

Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal areas, lakes and rivers. It also seeks to provide prediction of their change over time, for the primary purpose of safety of navigation and in support of all other marine activities

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[Science] Monoclonal Antibodies: Meaning, Uses

The topics such as monoclonal antibodies, nanotechnology, chemotherapy, stem cell therapy etc. are important from GS (Mains) Paper II, point of view.

1. What is Antigen? 2. What is Antibody? 3. Who produces antibodies? 4. What is monoclonal antibody? 5. What is Cancer? 6. How to make monoclonal antibodies? 7. What is the use of monoclonal antibodies? 8. Pregnancy detection kit 9. Cancer detection 10. AIDS detection 11. Limitations

Before going into discussion about Monoclonal antibodies, to get the basics of immune system.

What is Antigen?

Antigen is a foreign substance/bacteria/virus anything that enters into the body. In short antigen is the bad guy.

What is Antibody?

When antigen enters the body, our immune system produces ―y‖ shaped proteins called antibodies.

These antibodies, stick to the antigen (badguy) and either is destroy it or mark it as ‗target‘ for T-cells to come and destroy.In short, Antibody is the good guy.

Who produces antibodies?

In the previous article of ―basics of blood‖, we saw that bone marrow produces white blood cells.

There is one special type of white blood cells, known as B – cell. The B cells produce these antibodies.

What is monoclonal antibody?

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From the discussion so far, you can see that antibodies are good guys and if we could reproduce these antibodies in a lab, it can be used to fight various diseases.

Before going into the applications (uses) of monoclonal antibodies,, let me beat around the bush for a while.

What is Cancer?

When the cells of your body, keep dividing and growing uncontrollably, a big cell mass is developed, this abnormal cell mass is known as tumour. These uncontrolled growth of cells, is known as cancer.

The characteristic of a cancer cell is that it keeps dividing and growing for infinite time.

How to make monoclonal antibodies?

You take one normal healthy b-cell, and combine it with a cancer b-cell. Thus you get a hybrid B-cell, that will keep multiplying for infinite time and keep producing antibodies for you in the clinical lab. Such antibodies are called monoclonal antibodies.

What is the use of monoclonal antibodies?

Pregnancy detection kit

You may have seen TV-ads of pregnancy kits. How do they work? The strip special type of monoclonal antibodies on it. So when urine drops are poured into this kit, if the urine has human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), these monoclonal antibodies will attach to it, and the strip will change its colour. Thus, giving the proof that lady is pregnant.

Cancer detection

you create special type of monoclonal antibodies that artist to cancer cells in the body. Now you sprinkle special radioactive material on these monoclonal antibodies.

Now give it to patient, these monoclonal antibodies will travel through his body can attach to the hidden tumour. Then you check radioactivity on the X-ray machine and you can see the location and severity of the tumor.

AIDS detection

You take out the blood of a person, add monoclonal antibodies in it, along with some drops of deactivated virus, and check chemial reactions. Thus you can detect whether person is HIV positive or not.

Limitations

when it was first discovered, people thought that monoclonal antibodies could be used as magic bullets or panacea for all diseases.

But it didn‘t work out like that, why? Because monoclonal antibodies are prepared from the B cells of a mouse. So when it is introduced in our body, our own B-cell treat it as an ‗antigen‘ (badguy) and a circle around and destroy these monoclonal antibodies.

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[Science] Thalassaemia,Hemophilia,Leukemia & the Basics of Blood

1. What is bone marrow? 2. Why is bone marrow important? 3. What do red blood cells (RBC) do? 4. Why do red blood cells have red colour? 5. What is anemia? 6. What is Thalassaemia? 7. How does a person get thalassaemia? 8. Treatment Of Thalassaemia 9. What is Sickle cell anaemia? 10. What do white blood cells (WBC) do? 11. What is leukemia (blood cancer)? 12. What is platelet? 13. What is Hemophilia?

In CSAT 2011, we saw a (but static) question from blood groups. Although It is not necessary that UPSC will again ask something from blood-topic again,

but a serious player should be well versed in such ―Static/Theory‖ parts of science. Static Question: means, it is given in the books/manuals (or indirectly related). Such

question doesn‘t have current-affairs and can be solved easily if your basic concepts are clear.

What is bone marrow?

it is a soft, pulpy tissue that fills the cavities of bones.

Why is bone marrow important?

Because It produces all of the body‘s blood cells—red blood cells (RBC), white blood cells (WBC), and platelets.

What do red blood cells (RBC) do?

They transfer oxygen from the lungs to the cells.

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(technically correct):

It is not red blood cell, but red blood corples (RBC). because cells have nucleus, RBC doesn‘t have nucleus so it is not a cell and hence they die after 120 days. (or atleast that‘s what the Anatomy professor had told me.). but to keep the matter simple, I shall refer It as RBC/ Red blood cell.

Why do red blood cells have red colour?

Because they contain haemoglobin. Haemoglobin contains iron, that's why red colour.

Photo by Dr. Tony Brain/Science Source/Photo Researchers, Inc.

What is anemia?

When your blood has less hemoglobin (=Hence Less RBC) so, less oxygen is transferred from your lungs to your cells. That's why less energy is produced, and you get tired very easily. That is anemia.

Majority of girls in India, suffer from Anemia because of malnutrition.

What is Thalassaemia?




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When you bone marrow produces defective type of red blood cells, you have thalassaemia.

It means your own blood cannot carry oxygen from lungs to the cells so you need to have a healthy person‘s blood in your body.

And since red blood cells have a lifespan of only 120 days, you require regular blood transfusion from a normal person.

Thalassaemia is a genetic disorder. (=heriditary disease) means it is transferred from one generation to another. Mind it: thalassaemia is not a contagious disease. (means you cannot get it by infection,

like in common cold, swine flu or chickenpox.) It is important to learn the mechanism of thalassaemia for CSAT prelims point of view

(WFST questions). Because it is an example of ―Mendel‘s experiment on peas‖ given in the NCERTs.

Anyways, I‘ll try to simplify by getting “not so technically correct.”

How does a person get thalassaemia?

Suppose a person has recessive (=bad) gene that causes thalassaemia. But he himself doesn't show the symptoms of thalassaemia, he appears totally normal. So we'll call this guy a ―carrier‖.or Thalassaemia Minor. E.g. Amitabh Bacchan and Amisha Patel. About 6% of Indian Juntaa is Thalassaemia Minor.

Now Another lady is completely healthy and doesn't have any bad genes. We call her ―non-carrier‖.

When Carrier marries with non-carrier, the baby thus produced will be either normal or carrier. (50-50% change) but there is 100% guarantee that the baby will not have thalassaemia disease.

But, if two Carriers marry, there is 25% chance that their baby will be suffering from thalassaemia. See the photo for chart, to get the idea.


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Image by Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation.

For this reason, prospective brides and grooms should not only check the ‗kundli‘ (horoscope), but also their blood reports. Just think about future of your baby, the expensive medicines and inconvinient blood transfusion for the rest of his/her life.

Treatment Of Thalassaemia

as we saw, defective bone marrow produces defective red blood cells and so thalassaemia occurs.

So to fix thalassaemia permanently, we have to get fresh and healthy bone-marrow from a donor and transplant it in the patient. = Bone marrow transplant.

Problem: hard to find compatible donors and it is very expensive.

What is Sickle cell anaemia?

Normal and healthy red blood cells look like a round/oval/coin shaped drug tablet, like in this photo.



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But if a person has defective genes, his bone marrow will produce RBC with sickle shape (that agricultural tool) like in this photo.

Because of this abnormal shape, such sickle RBC cannot flow freely in the tiny blood vessels = less oxygen supply.

Sickle cell anaemia, has the same genetic mechanism/Mendel‘s law explained in thalassaemia case.

Interval WFST

which of the following statements are true?

Thalassaemia is a contagious disease. if a person with recessive genes for thalassaemia, marries with normal person, there is

50% chance that the baby will have thalassaemia disease. Sickle cell anemia is not a hereditary disease. In normal Anaemia, healthy diet improves the blood quality but in Thalassaemia/ Sickle

Cell Anaemia, diet will not bring improvement in Blood quality

Enough talk about RBC, let‘s move to second type of blood cells called white blood cells (WBC)

What do white blood cells (WBC) do?


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They are the policemen of our body. They defend our body by attacking virus, bacteria and other antigens. (=badguys): no

FIR, No Chargesheet, No court case, Direct encounter. But here is a problem: during organ transplant (kidney, liver, etc), these WBC also

consider the forieng Kidney as badguy and attack it. so patient is given variety of immunosuppressant drugs.

It is the same reason why doctors insist on organs from siblings and relatives. Because then WBC will not be very angry with them!

What is leukemia (blood cancer)?

WBC / white blood cells are also known as leucocytes. When your blood has abnormally high number of WBC, you have leukemia, also known

as blood cancer.

What is platelet?

When your body gets injured, after some time blood stops flowing from the wound. Because of this platelets, blood gets clotted. So, they are also good guys, otherwise , even in the smallest injury. Your bleeding will not

stop and you will die. Platelets are also known as thrombocytes.

What is Hemophilia?

It is another hereditary blood disease characterized by the inability of blood to clot. means if you get wounded, the bleeding will not stop. Mechanism is similar to Thalassaemia / Mendel‘s law of heredity.




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Interval WFST

In Hemophilia bone marrow produces defective type of red blood cells (RBC). In Thalassemia, blood clotting does not occur. Hemophilia doesn‘t follow Mendel‘s law on heredity. Vitamin E is helps in Blood clotting and is soluble in water

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[EnB] Shale Gas: Advantages and Disadvantages as an Energy source

1. What is Shale Gas? 2. What‘re the Advantages of Gas as a source of Energy? 3. What‘re the problems with Gas as a source of energy?

What is Shale Gas?

Shale gas is natural gas formed from being trapped within shale formations. Shale gas—an ―unconventional‖ source of methane, like coal-bed gas (in coal seams) and

tight gas (trapped in rock formations) It is Colourless, odourless, lighter than air. In Europe shale gas isnot used because of green rules and limited property rights. But In

America, use of Shale Gas has already started and In future, it will give a spur to the domestic manufacture of anything needing large amounts of energy.

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What’re the Advantages of Gas as a source of Energy?

A flexible fuel, capable of heating homes, fuelling industrial boilers and providing feedstock for the petrochemicals industry, where it is turned into plastics, fertiliser and other useful stuff.

It is also making small but significant progress as a fuel for lorries and buses. Biggest advances have been in power generation: because it is cheaper to generate

electricity from gas, and the process releases up to 50% less carbon dioxide than does coal.

Gas power stations are relatively cheap to build, beating nuclear power hands down in terms of capital costs, and in most cases they are also less expensive than renewables.

What’re the problems with Gas as a source of energy?

It is difficult and expensive to transport. Because of those hefty transport costs, gas does not behave like a commodity. Only one-

third of all gas is traded across borders, compared with two-thirds of oil. Gas has no global price. Gas prices in different parts of the world are set by quite different mechanisms, they vary

wildly across the globe. Gas pipelines cost million of dollars a kilometre to build.



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alternative is to ship the gas in liquid form, as LNG. But projects to liquefy gas also require huge investments

GK: Gazprom is Russia‘s huge state-run gas producer and supplier of 25% of Europe‘s gas.

Ref.

http://www.economist.com/node/21558432

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[Science] Higgs Boson Particle, CERN : Meaning, significance

1. What is Standard model? 2. What is Higgs Boson particle? 3. Big Bang and universe Formation 4. What is CERN? 5. How do they find God particle? 6. Why waste money on a stupid experiment? 7. Who is Bose?

What is Standard model?

The standard model is a theory of Particle Physics. It says all the material around us is made up of 12 matter particle (also known as

Fermions). The other 11 particles predicted by the model have been found and only Higgs particle

was not yet found, so the CERN was trying to find it.

What is Higgs Boson particle?

This particle is theoretically responsible for mass, without which there would be no gravity and no universe.

Therefore it is also called the ―God‖ particle. The Higgs particle was proposed in the 1960s by British physicist Peter Higgs as a way of

explaining why other particles have mass. CERN has been attempting to find evidence of its existence.

Big Bang and universe Formation

The Big Bang occurred approximately 13.75 billion years ago, and it is responsible for the creation of the Universe.

But after the Big Bang, the universe was a gigantic soup of particles racing around at the speed of light without any mass to speak of.

It was through their interaction with the Higgs field that they gained mass and eventually formed the universe.

Thus finding the Higgs particle can throw more light on how universe was formed.

What is CERN?

The European Organization for Nuclear Research also known as CERN

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It is the world‘s largest nuclear physics laboratory carrying out various experiments, It is situated at Geneva, along France-Swiss border. It has been operating several particle accelerators the latest one being the Large Hadron

collider.

How do they find God particle?

They use the Large Hadron Collider. It is the world‘s biggest and most powerful particle accelerator Two beams of protons are fired in opposite directions around it before smashing into

each other to create many millions of particle collisions every second in a recreation of the conditions a fraction of a second after the Big Bang, when the Higgs field is believed to have ‗switched on‘ and did the magic.

Why waste money on a stupid experiment?

Yep, some Jholachhap leftist from JNU might say why waste so much money and electricity finding this elusive ―God‖ particle, while millions of people die in poverty and starvation in India and Africa?

Well, It is not hard to show that expenditure on basic science often leads to discoveries of enormous economic and practical importance.

For example, discovery of the nucleus = led to nuclear power stations, that provide clean energy. Only through the discovery of electromagnetic waves = mobile communication became

possible. Only after Faraday gave the laws of induction, we could invent the motors, and one of

them is currently rotating the fan inside your Computer cabinet to cool your CPU. So only God can imagine at this point, what inventions will follow once the ―God‖

particle is thoroughly studied and how it‘ll benefit the mankind.

Who is Bose?

The work done by Bose and Albert Einstein laid the foundation for the discovery of the God particle.

The sub-atomic particle ―boson‖ is named after Bengali physicist Satyendra Nath Bose whose pioneering work in the field in the early 1920s changed the way particle physics has been studied.

He was awarded India‘s second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan in by the Government of India.

What makes totally awesome- he never received a Ph.D, nor was he awarded a Nobel Prize, though the Nobel committee recognised other scientists for research related to concepts he developed.

Archana Sharma

(may be for random 2 markers)

a scientist of Indian origin, working at CERN involved in CMS experiment over there. She has been involved in this since 1987.

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More articles on Science n Technology are archived at mrunal.org/snt

Ref

Inputs from Mr. Manikandan Soundararajan http://m.indianexpress.com/news/god-exists/970403/ http://public.web.cern.ch/public/en/about/BasicScience3-en.html

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2012/08/snt-cern.html


http://m.indianexpress.com/news/god-exists/970403/

http://public.web.cern.ch/public/en/about/BasicScience3-en.html

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[Science] RITSAT, PSLV, Agni V, ICBM and Mars Mission

A guest article by Mr. Manikandan Soundararajan

1. Risat I: 2. PSLV: 3. Advantage of PSLVs 4. Agni V: 5. What is ICBM: 6. Mars Mission:

Risat I:

Radar Imaging Satellite-I first of its kind in India. Launched using PSLV-C19. Microwave Remote sensing satellite with a Synthetic Aperture Radar payload.

Advantages and Applications:

Imaging surface feature during both day and night conditions. All weather monitoring. Microwave remote sensing helps cloud penetration. Applications in paddy monitoring, disaster management during floods, cyclone.

Orbit:

Polar sun synchronous, solar powered. Sun Synchronous satellites are those which follow solar time i.e you can find the satellite

over one country at same local time every day, follows the clock of sun essentially to harness the solar power.

Such satellites are used mainly for remote sensing, spy satellites.

PSLV:

Polar satellite launch vehicle- normally carries a payload of 1600kg. Puts satellites in sun synchronous orbits of 620km above earth‘s surface. Workhorse of Indian satellite programs- Earned the name following 20 continuous

successful missions of its total 21 flights.

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PSLV-XL a variant of PSLV was used to launch Chandrayaan-I.(India only nation to use PSLV for moon missions, normally Geo synchronous launch vehicles(GSLV) are used for such missions).

Advantage of PSLVs

they are economic compared to GSLVs, but payload of PSLVs is around 1600kg, while GSLV has a payload capacity of 2500kg.

Next addition to our launch vehicles GSLV mark III with payload capacity of 5000kg, This will boost India to commercial market launches.

Agni V:

Agni V a surface to surface Inter-continental ballistic missile developed by DRDO of India.

Only 5 other nations of the world have such capability.( US,UK,France,China,Russia) Agni series of India has 5 versions starting from 700Km to 5000Km target distance. Agni 5 capable of traveling 5000+ Kms has capability to attack multiple targets( called MIRV system) on ground, making anti-

missile shields inadequate.

What is ICBM:

ICBM = Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile a range of missiles traveling a distance more than 3500 Km and attacking specified Targets.

Ballistic missiles are those following a parabolic trajectory. They mainly rely on using the gravitational force during their downward flight. Cruise missiles on the other hand are guided throughout their travel path to attack

targets effectively and accurately. But ballistic missiles compact and less expensive.

Mars Mission:

India planning a mars mission similar to Curiosity mission of NASA, to be launched by November 2013.

Official announcement was made in Independence day speech of the PM. Already sanction to the tune of Rs.125 crores has been made. Technical details of this mission are still not revealed. ISRO is in-charge of this mission.

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[Science] Cloud Computing: Meaning, Advantages, Disadvantages

This is a Guest article by Manikandan Soundararajan

1. What is Cloud Computing? 2. Definition of Cloud Computing 3. Pros and Cons of Cloud Computing

What is Cloud Computing?

Situation 1

I am looking for a house. My first constraint, being a middle class man, obviously is money. The House owner here is ready to give his house on rent to me. But demands more than my budget. And this is a house which can accommodate more than 4 persons. Now we both came to a deal:

I shall share the house with 3 other persons. They shall share the rent. Now the deal is both economical and efficient in the usage of the living space.

Situation 2

I want a cycle, I want it to be the latest, the best, but only for a month. Here came the cycle salesman. He gave me a fair deal, a decently modern cycle which I can own for myself just for 1 month after which I have to give him back his cycle with usage charge for his service.

These transactions are pretty common in our daily life. Do you understand these? Then you have understood CLOUD COMPUTING only thing, replace the house and the cycle with hardware and software.

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Definition of Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing provides the infrastructures (both software and hardware) as services on a semi –permanent (rented) basis

you don‘t add physical assets (server computers, Air conditioners, special IT staff to maintain those server rooms etc.)

instead you are provided with great flexibility and choice in your purchase is known as Cloud computing.

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Based on different computing resources, services include

Pros and Cons of Cloud Computing

Pros Cons

No responsibility of creation, maintenance of systems.

Data security. Need for high speed internet connection

Type Purpose Provider(Eg)

Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)

Entire systems (virtual machines) will be provided to the users. Users can access the systems through internetService providers charge based on the resource allocated

Amazon

Platform as a service (PaaS)

In this model entire system along with the operating systems, software is provided.

Google App Engine

Software as a service (SaaS)

This one is more commonSoftware created by service provider.

End users use these services on a subscription basis

Yahoo, Gmail

Storage as a service (STaaS)

Storage is provided getting rid of maintaining separate storage devices.

Windows Skydrive

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Easy implementation and economical.

Flexibility in hardware and software i.e., pay as you use.

Easy up-gradation to match current technology.

Efficient usage of resources. Location independence i.e.,

accessible from anywhere.

(Essentially a big constraint for a country like ours).

Universal standardization required which makes interoperability among providers difficult as of now.

Dependent on service providers even for trivial applications.

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2012/08/sci-cloudcomputing.html


[Science] Genetically Modified Crops, Bt-Brinjal, Cartagena & Nagoya Protocol: Meaning, Issues

A guest article by Manikandan Soundararajan

1. What are DNA and Gene? 2. What do we need here? 3. What is the necessity for GM technology? 4. Current issue: 5. Recommendations of the committee: 6. What is this GEAC: 7. Procedure to accord approval: 8. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 9. Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB) 10. Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS)

What are DNA and Gene?

Always a human gives birth to humans, and a baby is said to inherit his/her parents‘ characters. This is made possible only because of the so called genes. Genes are the books where all your personal, family characters are coded passed on to you from your parents.

DNA is a polymer of nucleic acid specifically deoxyribonucleic acid which is in turn is comprised of sugar component and nitrogenous base.there are 4 type of nitrogenous

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base that is adenine , guanine, cytosine and thiamine. It is the sequence of theses nitogenous bases that determine our genetic charecter. [courtsey- Ritesh's comment]

DNA aids in protein synthesis. Their expression gives you characters.

What do we need here?

Scientists have now mapped, analyzed these genes of various plants and animals. i.e., understood the ABC of gene make up

Here now they are capable of manually rearranging these genes, inserting a part, deleting one changing the way one behaves, like stunted coconut trees giving coconuts at your arms stretch.

Such organisms are called TRANSGENICS, transformed genetic make-up.

What is the necessity for GM technology?

Already a population of 7 billion and growing energetically. 3% increase in agri production needed to ensure food security to this population, while

current growth rate is only 2%. Stress on land resource already huge- use of insecticides, pesticides. 27% of world‘s undernourished people proudly are Indians- Urgent need to feed those

hungry mouths. Else National shame will be the result- as our PM remarked on the HUNGAMA report.

To address above problems GM aids the development of specific traits in crops like:

1. Herbicide resistance 2. Pest resistance 3. Viral resistance 4. slow-ripening 5. Fungal and bacterial resistance 6. Quality improvement (protein and oil) 7. Value addition (Vitamins, micro-and macro-elements)

Ok then let us move quick into this akshayapaatra Hold on, every coin has one more side:

Biosafety first concern Direct health effects (toxicity) The stability of the inserted gene Nutritional effect associated with genetic modification Any unintended effects which could result from the gene Insertion. Autonomy of farmers affected because the seeds of these tech crops are monopolized and

are marketed by big private firms. If he is unable/does not provide us the requisite seeds, we have a problem.

Genetic erosion of our local varieties.

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Bt Brijnal

Current issue:

In India it all started with Bt cotton and Bt Brinjal, regarding control, regulation, marketing production, safety of such crops.

Here the Bt refers to Bacillus thuringenesis soil bacterium from which the genes are introduced in to the native cotton and brinjal varieties.

The gene gave an expression in cotton which produced a protein in the cotton crop that was toxic to the boll worms and stem borers (pests) i.e., pest resistant variety.

Now the issue with us already with many political parties, farmers complaining introduction such GM cotton, Brinjal(stopped after initial intro) as the cause for increasing farmer suicides in Karnataka, Vidharbha region. High input cost of seeds, genetic erosion of local varieties, farmer‘s dependence on private seed cos are said to be the reasons.

In this scenario our parliamentary committee on Agriculture has submitted a report on CULTIVATION OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD CROPS – PROSPECTS AND EFFECTS

Recommendations of the committee:

No GM food trials, till a stronger regulatory system is established. Current regulation by GEAC (Genetic Engineering appraisal committee) flawed, GEAC

under dept. of Biotech which has one of its aims to spread modern biotech. One cannot regulate his own product is the reports‘ view.

Farmers of cotton already under strain, new Bt cotton seeds are expensive, input costs high, yet farmers are left with zero choice.

Strict labeling giving choice for consumers to know what they buy is must. Especially imported foods are now a concern.

What is this GEAC:

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Established under MoEF, GEAC is the apex body to accord approval of activities involving large scale use of

hazardous microorganisms and recombinants in research and industrial production from the environmental angle.

GEAC is also responsible for granting approvals relating to release of genetically engineered organisms and products into the environment including experimental field trials.

The GEAC also has the powers to prohibit, revoke, supervise and take punitive action in case of non-compliance, furnishing of wrong information or in case of any damage to the environment.

Procedure to accord approval:

laboratory and greenhouse experiment,

open field trials for generation of biosafety data,

commercialization and market approval

Large scale production.

International conventions related to this:

The committee report passes references to all these conventions.

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

CBD is a legally binding agreement adopted during Rio Earth Summit in 1992. India signed the CBD and ratified it. USA is not a party to this Convention.

While reaffirming sovereign rights of nations over their natural resources, this Convention establishes three goals: conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components, and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.

India is hosting CoP-11 to the CBD to be held in Hyderabad in October 2012, which is the year of 20th anniversary of Rio Earth Summit is an added information.

Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB)

The CPB, the first international regulatory framework for safe transfer, handling and use of LMOs(living modified organisms) signed on 2000. India has acceded to this Biosafety Protocol.

Difference between LMO and GMO is that GMO is a broader term including LMOs within it, all organisms live, dead whose genes are modified are GMOs but LMO as the name suggests are living organisms which are genetically modified.

The objective of the Protocol is to contribute to ensuring an adequate level of protection in the field of the safe transfer, handling and use of LMOs resulting from modern biotechnology that may have adverse effects on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health, and specifically focusing on trans-boundary movements.

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As a Party to the Protocol, the first and foremost requirement is the setting up of a National Biosafety Regulatory Framework India has introduced the national biosafety rules even before the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was adopted at Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

Even though the text of the Protocol has been adopted, several critical issues such as risk assessment, liability and redress, documentation and identification of LMOS for Food Feed and Processing etc., are still under discussion.

Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS)

The CoP-10 to the CBD held in Nagoya, Japan in October 2010 adopted the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing .India is a megadiverse country rich in biodiversity and associated traditional knowledge. Hence, implementation of the ABS provisions of CBD is of special interest to us.

The objective of Nagoya Protocol is the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from utilization of genetic resources. The Protocol establishes a clear framework on how researchers and companies can obtain access to genetic resources and to associated traditional knowledge, and how benefits arising from the use of such material or knowledge will be shared with locals.

The ABS Protocol is expected to address the concerns of biodiversity rich countries such as India relating to misappropriation of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge.

Reference:

―CULTIVATION OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD CROPS – PROSPECTS AND EFFECTS‖-BASUDEB ACHARIA (chairman)

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[Science] Bio Fertilizers & Green Manure: Meaning, use, advantages, disadvantages

For GS (Mains) Paper II.

1. Biofertilizers 1. Examples of BioFertilizers: 2. Pros and Cons

2. Green Manure 1. Examples of Green Manure 2. Pros and Cons of Green Manure? 3. Advantages 4. Disadvantage

Biofertilizers

a substance which contains living microorganisms when applied to seed, plant surfaces, or soil, it promotes growth by increasing the supply

or availability of primary nutrients (nitrogen, Phosphorous etc.) to the host plant.

Examples of BioFertilizers:

1. Rhizobium, 2. Azotobacter, 3. blue green algae (BGA) 4. Azospirillum

Pros and Cons

Advantages Disadvantages

1. It increases crop yield by 20-30%, 2. replaces chemical nitrogen and

phosphorus by 25%, and stimulates plant growth.

3. It can also provide protection against drought and some soil-borne diseases.

4. Bio-fertilizers are cost-effective relative to chemical fertilizers. They have lower manufacturing costs, especially regarding nitrogen and phosphorus use.

5. environmentally friendly also helps to

1. Their effects are is slower compared to chemical fertilizer.

2. Difficulty to store: they‘re sensitive to temperature and humidity changes.

3. much lower nutrient density — requires large amounts to get enough for most crops

4. requires a different type of machine to apply than chemical fertilizers

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some extent cleanse the plant from precipitated chemical fertilizers.

faraway rural areas

Green Manure

green manure is a type of cover crop grown primarily to add nutrients and organic matter to the soil.

Typically, a green manure crop is grown for a specific period of time, and then ploughed under and incorporated into the soil while it is green or shortly after flowering.

Government of India provides subsidy Subsidy on the purchased of seeds & cost on production of seeds for green manure plants.

Examples of Green Manure plants

Leguminous plants Non-leguminous plants

Example Cowpeas, soybeans sudangrass, millet, sorghum, and buckwheat.

Why are they used? for their nitrogen fixing abilities for weed suppression and addition of biomass to the soil.

Pros and Cons of Green Manure?

Advantages

1. soil improvement and soil protection. 2. provides forage for pollinating insects. 3. Root systems of many green manure crops to efficiently penetrate compact soils thus

increasing the aeration of the soil. 4. The deep rooting properties of many green manure crops make them efficient at

suppressing weeds 5. They fix nitrogen in soil, thus Less chemical fertilizers are required. 6. provide habitat for predatory beneficial insects, they kill and eat the pests / harmful

insects thus less pesticides are required.

Disadvantage

1. Leguminous plants require good amount of irrigation. 2. The ―time‖ factor: you cannot plant the primary marketable crop during green manuring

phase.

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[Science] Mobile Tower Radiation and Steps taken by Government

1. What is Mobile tower radiation 2. Why is it in news? 3. Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on EMF Radiation. 4. Timeline 5. ICNIRP guidelines 6. What is SAR? 7. How and why does Mobile Radiation affect humans? 8. Animals and Mobile Radiation? 9. Steps taken by Environment Ministry

What is Mobile tower radiation

Mobile phone towers hold antennas and other communications equipment. They flood the area for miles around with powerful high frequency radio waves to

support the use of cell phones. This radiation allegedly causes health problem. I‘m using the word ―allegedly‖ because our Government said in parliament that mobile

tower radiation doesn‘t cause health problems.

Why is it in news?

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Because an MP asked in parliament ―whether radiation emitted from base stations are hazardous?‖, the Government replied,

―From all evidence accumulated so far, no adverse short or long term health effects have been shown to occur from the RF signals produced by Mobile tower base stations.‖

But (just to be safe) we‘ll bring down the exposure limit of radio frequency fields (mobile tower base station emissions) to one-tenth of the existing level from September 1, 2012.

Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on EMF Radiation.

EMF=electromagnetic field. Government had setup this Committee in 2011 to study the hazards of Mobile radiation.

The Committee’s findings

1. most of the laboratory studies were unable to find a direct link between exposure to radio frequency radiation from mobile towers and health;

2. scientific studies as yet have not been able to confirm a cause-and-effect relationship between radio frequency radiation and health.

3. The effect of emission from cell phone towers is not known yet with certainty. 4. However, as a precautionary measure, the IMC recommended reduction of mobile tower

base station emissions to one-tenth of the present limit. 5. It suggested stricter SAR limits (1.6 watt per kg) for mobile handsets. 6. Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 should be amended so that only mobile handsets satisfying

radiation standards (SAR) should be permitted for import / manufacture or sold in the country.

Timeline

2008 DoT has decided to adopt the International Commission on Non-Iodizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP)* guidelines in the telcom sector.

2010 Government sets up Interministerial Committee on Electric and Magnetic Field (EMF) radiation and its effects on health.

2011 Committee submits report.

2012 DoT made rules to mandate to all mobile phone manufacturers to comply with the specific and absorption rate (SAR)*.

ICNIRP guidelines

In short, they suggest that based on scientific research, if mobile radiation is below xyz level then there is no harm to humans or animals. So all the Governments across the world should make laws and rules to keep mobile radiation below xyz level.

What is SAR?

specific and absorption rate it is a measure of the amount of radio frequency energy absorbed by the human body

while using a mobile phone) so that radiation does not affect human health. Presently, India‘s SAR limit is 2 watt per kg

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The Inter-ministerial Committee wants SAR to be 1.6 watts per kg. and that all the mobile manufacturers gives specific information about SAR on their product packages.

This new SAR limit would not affect the mobile manufacturer because almost all of them already adhere to the US standard.

However, it‘d increase the production cost for cheap mobile phone manufacturers (Chinese type) because they‘ll have to use better quality material to comply to the new SAR limits.

By the way, if mobile radiation doesn‘t affect health then why is all the hue and cry by activists and PILs in Highcourts etc.? So,

How and why does Mobile Radiation affect humans?

Human body is itself is electromagnetic (very low around 10 hertz frequency). Each of our cell has it‘s own electromagnetic field when we exposed to the cellular tower

frequency which is very high our body‘s EMF (electromagnetic field) disturbed and thus caused very serious types of damages to our cells, brains etc

human body consists of 70% liquid. It is similar to that of cooking in the microwave oven where the water in the food content is heated first.

―Microwave absorption‖ effect is much more significant by the body parts which contain more fluid (water, blood, etc.), like the brain which consists of about 90% water.

Animals and Mobile Radiation?

You have ever seen a bee, sparrow, pigeon, or any bird flying and staying near the cell tower?…. I think No.

The reason is surface area of a bird which is larger than human body, so they absorb more radiation.

Since fluid content is small due to less weight, it gets heated up very fast and also the magnetic field disturbs their navigational skills.

Steps taken by Environment Ministry

The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) :

1. Not to allow new mobile towers to be constructed within a one-kilometer radius of the existing towers.

2. New towers should not be permitted within a radius of one kilometer of the existing towers.

3. Any new towers do not obstruct the flight path of birds, or increase the combined radiation of all towers in the area.

4. Put in GIS mapping to help monitor the population of birds and bees or the welfare of animals in protected wildlife areas.

5. Do not install any towers near zoos or any wildlife protected zones without consulting Forest Dept.

Ref

Inputs from Shobhit Avasthi

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http://www.jtbl.org/index.php/blog/12-indian-government-to-set-new-sar-limits-for-mobile-handsets-and-towers

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2012/08/snt-mobile-rad.html


[Science] Blue Moon : Meaning and Occurrence

1. What is Blue Moon? 2. Why Blue Moon? 3. Why in news?

What is Blue Moon?

Blue moon is the second full moon in appearing in the same month. By the way ―Blue Moon‖ is just a term used to describe the second moon, otherwise, the

date of a full moon, all by itself, doesn't affect the moon's color. So, second moon in the same month, will be pearly-gray, as usual and not of blue color.

Why Blue Moon?

The Moon is not actually blue. However, greenish- and bluish-tinted Moons are sometimes observed just before sunrise

or just after sunset when large quantities of dust or smoke particles are concentrated high in the atmosphere, filtering out the longer wavelengths of colours such as red and yellow.

Smoke from forest fires and volcano eruption can cause blue moons.

Why in news?

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Because In the month of August 2012, The first full moon was seen on 2nd August and second full moon was seen on 30th August 2012.

Next Blue Moon will be sighted in 2015. On average, a blue moon occurs once every 33 months.

Ref

1. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1672923/blue-moon 2. http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2004/07jul_bluemoon/

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2012/08/snt-blue-moon.html


[Science] Bionic Eye

Guest article by Sarath Chandra, For GS (Mains) Paper II

1. BIONIC EYE 2. Examples of Bionic Eye Implants

BIONIC EYE

The implants are said to be capable of completely restoring sight to blind patients, but only if their blindness was caused by a faulty retina, as in macular degeneration (suffered by millions of elderly people), diabetic retinopathy or any other degenerative eye disease.

latest developments in Bionic Eye Implants

Argus II Bio-Retina

roughly four-hour procedure operation only takes about 30 minutes can be done under local anesthesia.

Costing around $115,000 cost of about $60,000

involves the installation of an antenna behind the affected eye that works in with a pair of camera-equipped glasses, which send signals to the antenna.

does not incorporate an external camera but instead utilizes a vision-restoration sensor that is actually placed inside the eye, on top of the

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1672923/blue-moon

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2004/07jul_bluemoon/

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The antenna is wired into the retina which creates display for the brain to interpret.

retina.

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2012/09/snt-bionic-eye.html


[Revision] The Hindu science & Tech (May-Aug 2012) for GS (Mains) 2 Markers

Introduction

This article is for General Studies 2 or 5 markers in UPSC Mains Examination (and some for MCQs in CSAT, SSC, IBPS etc exams)

Earlier I had provided the revision notes for The Hindu Science & Tech (upto April 2012). Click on following links if you haven‘t seen them already:

1. [Revision] Science-Tech Highlight from The Hindu 2011 A to F (Part I) 2. [Revision] Science-Tech Highlight from The Hindu 2011 G to N (Part II) 3. [Revision] Science-Tech Highlight from The Hindu 2011 OtoZ (Part III, The End)

Now moving on, here is the new list, made from The Hindu Science & Tech articles from 1st May to 31st August 2012. (List is not exhastive, I might have missed some topics.)

1. Dhiraj 101 2. Balwan Pyaj 3. Coniophis 4. Spin OLED 5. Nano-crystalline cellulose (NCC) 6. NASA‘s Cassini spacecraft 7. CQD solar Cells 8. Chang‘e 9. Shenzhou-9 10. CO-4 grass 11. Dark circles around eyes 12. Dragon capsule 13. Zero farming 14. Pearlspot farming

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15. green rust 16. Kasalath 17. Telstar 18. OraQuick 19. Truvada 20. Type Ia supernova 21. How mosquitoes fly in rain 22. Can curd and yoghurt be called as probiotics? 23. lactose intolerance 24. Isocyanic acid 25. Jimmy Wales 26. Kinesio tape 27. Naper Bajra grass 28. Chromosphere 29. NuSTAR 30. Probiotics 31. Red tide 32. Refrigerated onions 33. Curiosity 34. Science Express 35. Solar storms 36. tropical enteropathy. 37. Nirmal Rajya 38. Mt Tongariro 39. Food Irradiation

Dhiraj 101

groundnut variety that does not need much water. (UPSC has nasty habit of asking some rice/wheat variety every now and then.)

Balwan Pyaj

Onion variety has a longer shelf life as compared to other commercial varieties.

Coniophis

A transitional snake an intermediate form between lizards and the highly evolved snakes seen today combining a snake-like body with a lizard-like head

Spin OLED

Spin organic light-emitting diode (OLED) U.S. physicists have invented it. It is brighter, cheaper and more eco-friendly LED light than those currently widely used

in electronic devices.

Nano-crystalline cellulose (NCC)


























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anti-oxidant compound in the tree pulp flexible, durable, and also stronger than steel. help improve health and anti-aging products by neutralizing more of the harmful free-

radicals found in the body

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft

For studying Saturn and its moons.

CQD solar Cells

colloidal quantum dot (CQD) Solar cells. They‘re Very cheap compared to regular solar cells.

Chang’e

Name of lunar probe launch of China. first in 2007 Chang‘e 2 in 2010 both named for the Chinese goddess of the moon.

Shenzhou-9

spacecraft became China‘s longest-ever space mission and was notable for including the nation‘s first woman astronaut.

CO-4 grass

variety of grass used to feed the milking animals in South India.

Dark circles around eyes

Why do we develop dark circles around our eyes when we have had insufficient sleep? Skin under the eye lids is very thin and delicate. This makes it prone to show both

dehydration and water-logging in an exaggerated fashion. ‗Sleeping less‘ also usually implies overwork and poor eating. This results in a generalised dehydration causing the thin under eye skin to go into a fine wrinkling pattern which gives the appearance of dark circles under the eye.

On the other hand, it is common to have puffy eyes after a long bout of sleep. This can be explained by the fact that when we lie flat the excess fluid that normally pools in the lower limbs gets distributed all over the body.

Dragon capsule

unmanned space capsule developed by a private U.S. space company, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), It‘ll dock with the International Space Station. In future private companies will try take on the task of transporting humans and cargo to

orbits around Earth.

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Zero farming

Zero farming method requires no ploughing, fertilizers or weeding. It dispels the myth that hybrid seeds, fertilizers, and pest-control techniques alone can

guarantee good yield. Concept revolves around the theory that ‗nature knows best‘ and hence it is better to

leave everything in her care.

Pearlspot farming

fish farming in captivity requires minimum investment and harvesting is easy. Even small scale farmers and

women can grow the fishes in the backyard.

green rust

A rare kind of mineral could be used to scrape toxic metals and radioactive species from the environment,

Kasalath

A rice variety origin in eastern States of India, Growing rice in soil poor in phosphorus possible with this variety.

Telstar

was the first communications satellite, launched in 1962 2012 marks the half centuary of its launch.

OraQuick

Oral kit for HIV Test It detects antibodies developed within 1-3 months after getting infected. It cannot pick

up acute or recent infection. in a stigmatised disease like HIV, getting people to test is the hardest part. This is due to

lack of privacy and loss of confidentiality and fear of visibility in public settings. So people desire private testing options.

The over-the-counter OraQuick test is a historic milestone because it is a step towards destigmatisation of HIV and normalising an HIV diagnosis.

Truvada

oral pill to reduce HIV transmission

Type Ia supernova

important stellar phenomena, used to measure the expansion of the universe.

How mosquitoes fly in rain

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mosquito‘s strong exoskeleton and low mass render it impervious to falling raindrops.

Can curd and yoghurt be called as probiotics?

No. Curd and yoghurt cannot be called as true probiotics. According to the 2001 definition of probiotics by FAO/WHO, it is important that for any

strain/product to be classified as a probiotic it must be or must contain live microorganisms (generally numbering one billion) which are resistant to gastric acid, bile and pancreatic juices and reach the target site (small intestine/large intestine) in numbers sufficient enough to elicit a beneficial effect. It should be scientifically validated through well controlled clinical trials.

Curd is defined as a product obtained by souring boiled or pasteurized milk naturally, by harmless lactic acid bacteria or other bacterial cultures. It may contain a wide variety of bacteria, which are not defined qualitatively/quantitatively. The number and type of bacteria also vary from home to home.

Yoghurt, on the other hand, is obtained by lactic acid fermentation of milk by Lactobacillus delbrueckii subspecies bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophillus, which are not true probiotics as per the definition.

The role of buttermilk in treating diarrhoea has not been scientifically proven. But it is given during diarrhoea to rehydrate, and hence it imparts some benefit.

lactose intolerance

In this disease patients cannot digest lactose since they lack the enzymes that are needed to break down lactose, the milk sugar.

In fermented products like curd and buttermilk, most of the lactose is converted to lactic acid/acetic acid by the enzymes that are found in fermenting bacteria. Hence these products are easier to digest and used by those patients.

Isocyanic acid

Forest fires and emission of air pollutants, which include fumes from vehicles running on diesel and slow burning of coal and charcoal, release toxic isocyanic acid in the troposphere.

Jimmy Wales

Wikipedia founder

Kinesio tape

a strong elasticated tape, was developed more than 30 years ago by a Japanese chiropractor.

Popular among atheltes. Kinesio tape can stretch and contract, inhibiting damaging movements but allowing the

right kind. Runners can continue to train even when they have a problem.

Naper Bajra grass

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also called as NB CO-4 hybrid or Emperor grass. This grass can be grown in most soil types, can supply raw material to run one 10 MW biomass electric power mill, continuously, all

through the year without break

Chromosphere

area of the sun‘s low atmosphere constantly changing magnetic fields

NuSTAR

NASA‘s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array to see the highest energy X-rays in our universe, in future help in the hunt for black

holes.

Probiotics

microorganisms that exhibit beneficial health effects for hosts when a sufficient amount of them are ingested.‖

probiotics can shorten the duration of diarrhoea by half-a-day Probiotics are generally beneficial in treatment and prevention of gastrointestinal

disease.

Red tide

a tiny aquatic organism in harmful algal blooms.When the algae are present in high concentrations, the water appears to be discolored or murky, varying in color from purple to almost pink.

They deplete the dissolved oxygen from water and release toxin substances thus killing the marine and coastal species of fish, birds, marine mammals, and other organisms.

Refrigerated onions

How does refrigerating onions prevent them from causing tears in our eyes when chopped?

When you cut the onion, enzymes start mixing and produce a volatile sulphur compound that starts wafting towards your eyes.

The gas that is emitted reacts with the water of your eyes and forms sulphuric acid. The sulphuric acid thus produced causes burning sensation in your eyes and this in turn leads to the tear glands secreting more tears.

Thus you end up with watery eyes every time you cut onions at home. When you chill an onion, either in the refrigerator or in a bowl of cold water, the

enzymes in the onion slow down at a molecular level. This means that when you cut into a cold onion, the slow-moving enzymes and sulphur

molecules have less momentum when they combine to make the irritating sulphurous molecules.

They also move much more slowly as they escape the onion walls and often will not reach your eyes or nose. This simple tactic can greatly reduce or eliminate an onion‘s ability to make you cry.

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Curiosity

NASA‘s program on Mars exploration Launched in 2011 test the soil samples to see if there are signs of life in the history of Mars. determine Mars‘ geological conditions and changes, and if there are any microorganisms

present on the planet. Curiosity will test the Mars soil only with its own equipment after it lands on the planet

in August 2012 but future missions will bring samples back to Earth for more study, Curiosity will help pave the way for future manned Mars missions Curiosity also will take video images for the first time and send them back to Earth The rover also will be the first to use nuclear power will enable Curiosity to operate for at least a full Mars year (687 Earth days, or 1.9 Earth

years). will travel almost 352 million miles (567 million km) to reach Mars

Science Express

a train for promoting scientific temper began its fifth journey, this time to raise awareness about the country‘s unique

biodiversity The ‗Science Express — Biodiversity Special (SEBS)

Solar storms

Solar storms occur when the sun hurls large clouds of electrically charged particles into space and these strike the earth. The solar cycle takes around 11 years to complete.

can overload electricity networks causing breakdowns, cause satellites to fail, and endanger astronauts and people in aircraft

A solar storm in mid-March 1989 did in fact disrupt power supplies to millions of Canadians for several hours and cut contact with around 1,600 satellites.

Since then many electricity networks have improved their equipment, but preparations need to be made, not only for events similar to those in the past, but also for the extreme events that might arise only once in a thousand years.

the cycle will rise in strength to a peak in 2013.

tropical enteropathy.

This is a condition which affects the intestines (hence entero-) by killing or disabling the villi and microvilli covering the surface of the small intestine, and helping the absorption of the digested food into the blood and lymphatic systems.

It also leads to inflammation and mal-absorption. The benefits of whatever the child eats are not being transferred and utilised in the system for growth and development.

And the cause of tropical enteropathy is infection by the bacteria found in faeces. Children (and adults) living in conditions of poor sanitation are affected in great measure by such faecal bacterial infection leading to enteropathy.

Nirmal Rajya

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Sikkim Is India‘s the first Nirmal Rajya — 100 per cent open defecation-free state. over 626 million Indians do not have access to toilets, Government has initiated the

Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA) or Total Sanitation Campaign, which would attempt to banish open defecation within a decade.

Mt Tongariro

Volcanic Mountain in New Zealand, recently eruptions were felt.

Food Irradiation

useful process employed in preservation of food, control of sprouting of items such as potato and onion and control of food-borne diseases.

Irradiation destroys or inactivates organisms that cause spoilage thereby extending shelf life of certain foods.

One of the reasons for the unpopularity of food irradiation is the mistaken notion that irradiated food is radioactive.

These radiations do not have sufficient energy to make food radioactive. No radioactivity is produced or released during the process.

For the entire Archive of Science and Tech articles, go to this link: mrunal.org/science

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2012/09/snt-hindu-may-aug12.html

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[Science] VitaVallis, Trap Crops, GRAIL, Nexus-7 and E-cigarettes (2 markers for GS Mains)

1. GRAIL 2. Trap Crop 3. VitaVallis 4. E-cigarettes 5. Nexus-7

GRAIL

Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) is an American lunar science mission in

Why? to study the gravity field and geological structure of the Moon and determine its interior structure.

Trap Crop

A trap crop is a plant that attracts agricultural pests, usually insects, away from nearby main crops.

For example, a few Mustard plants are grown near near strawberries to attract bugs and thus protecting the main crop (strawberries).

Similarly, Marigold can be used asa a trap crop in potato farming. It results into more profits for the farmers, due to reduced insecticide use and pest

attack.

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VitaVallis

It is a nano-dressing for applying on wounds. Created by Russian scientists It helps clean up wounds of all known types of toxic bacteria. It does not get stuck to the wound and heals burns, cuts and any septic and infected

wounds two to three times faster than traditional methods do. The dressing stops bleeding, ends inflammation, eliminates swellings and stimulates

skin regeneration. It also helps kill pain and remove foul wound odour. it contains no antibiotics and is therefore effective against drug-resistant bacteria

E-cigarettes

Electronic cigarettes are devices that deliver nicotine through a vapour, rather than smoke. There is no combustion involved but the nicotine in the device is still derived from tobacco.

It used by smokers trying to quit the lethal habit of smoking can actually cause lung damage

Nexus-7

Tablet PC from google. Made in partnership with hardware maker Asus. Contains Jelly Bean‘ version of Google's operating system (OS)

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[Science] Nirbhay, NAG, NAMICA, Helina, LAHAT, Tropex-2012, RISAT, SPOT-6, Project, Glass and Glivec

Some more Important Science and Tech topics for General Studies.

1. Nirbhay 2. NAG 3. NAMICA 4. Helina 5. LAHAT 6. Tropex-2012 7. Shoor Veer 8. National Large Solar Telescope (NLST) 9. RISAT 1 10. ISRO‘s 100th mission 11. Project Glass 12. Glivec

Nirbhay

sub-sonic cruise missile Nirbhay is India‘s equivalent of Tomahawk, a long-range, sub-sonic cruise missile,

developed by the U.S. developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will travel at a sub-sonic speed (less than the speed of sound).

NAG

‗fire and forget‘ anti-tank missile. can destroy enemy tanks four km away

NAMICA

Nag Missile Carrier It is a vehicle to carry and launch NAG missles.

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NAMICA

Helina

the helicopter-fired version of Nag. Helina =Helicopter + Nag

LAHAT

Laser Homing Attack or Laser Homing Anti-Tank missile anti-tank missile, will be used in the upgraded Arjun battle tanks.

Tropex-2012

theatre-level readiness and operational exercise conducted by the Indian Navy To test new platforms, weapons sensors, communication systems and tactics in order to

optimise the network combat power of the fleet. Do you recall JIMEX? If not go to www.mrunal.org/diplomacy

Shoor Veer

Combat exercise in the Thar Desert in 2012 To test Army‘s operational readiness to undertake swift multiple thrusts across the

border. Army and IAF tested new battle fighting concepts with real time pictures of the battle

zone provided to a centralized command using fighter jets, unmanned aerial vehicles and attack helicopters

National Large Solar Telescope (NLST)

world‘s largest solar telescope set up by the Department of Science and Technology, in Ladakh. aims to study the sun‘s microscopic structure

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RISAT 1

RISAT 1 is India‘s first radar imaging satellite It can scan the earth surface during both day and night under all weather condition. It will help in paddy monitoring and management of natural disaster like flood and

cyclone.

ISRO’s 100th mission

Using PSLV-C21 rocket, ISRO launched two foreign satellites SPOT 6: French satellite Proiteres: Japanese micro satellite From Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh

Project Glass

a research and development program by Google. resembles a pair of normal eyeglasses where the

lens is replaced by a heads-up display. Project Glass is a wearable computer that provides

information not through a screen, but rather through your ―eyes.‖

It gives you data about your surroundings without the need to whip out your smartphone and know what to search.

For example, if you go into a bookstore, Google Glass will be able to provide you with an indoor map of the place, and lead you to your desired book.

Glivec

blood cancer drug Novartis is fighting a patent case in India for this drug. Treatment of Glivec costs Rs.1,20,000 per month per patient. But Novartis maintains

they give it free of cost to the needy patients.

For more Science and Tech 2 markers, visit the Archive: mrunal.org/science

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2012/09/science-nag-helina.html

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[Science] Answerkey to Mock Q GS II by Tushar (Science & Tech Portion only)

Few days, I had uploaded the Mock Questions for GS Paper II framed by Tushar. (Click ME) He has provided the answerkeykey to the ―Science & Tech‖ portion of that question paper. Here it goes,

1. Modified Embaraer EMB 145I aircraft. 2. Accelerated Technology Assessment and Commercialization (ATAC) 3. Project Ahaar / BASIX-AAHAR 4. HuGaMMA Report. 5. MCA-21. 6. London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases. (NTD) 7. Sevottam Model. 8. OVR SagarNidhi 9. Mobile Based Crime and incident reporting platform (MCIRP) 10. Low Temperature Thermal Desalination (LTTD) 11. ASTROSAT and its instrumentation. 12. Bio Toilet 13. The Defense Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR) 14. Reservetrol 15. In Vitro meat. 16. Difference between 3G and LTE mobile technology. 17. Difference between the CMOS and CCD image sensors. 18. Tandem Solar Cell and its advantages. 19. Gratzel Solar cell and its characteristics. 20. Nuclear Powered Crops. 21. Hydroponics and its potential advantages. 22. Curiosity rover 23. TARA‘s expedition 24. Saturated Fats 25. Pebble Reactor. 26. Generations of the Nuclear Reactors. 27. Trophy Molecules 28. Leap second and Y2K bug 29. Colony Collapse Disorder and its implications. 30. GHB‘s function in human brain 31. Date rape drug. 32. Foot and Mouth Diseases (FMDs) Vaccine 33. Markhor

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34. Gnathiid isopods and coral bleaching. 35. Transient Elastography 36. Adulterated milk: testing problem 37. NASA‘s Kepler Mission 38. Ballast water management convention (BWM convention). 39. What is Dirty fishing? 40. Environmental side effects of the Deep Sea Trawling. 41. Deep sea Trawl: advantages 42. Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) 43. How nitrous fertilizers contributes to the Global Warming? 44. Uncany Valley in the Robotic Science. 45. Greenpeace Report on Bt-Brinjal. 46. Deep sea challenger. 47. Solar Impulse. 48. Flame and Stuxnet. 49. Karspersky Lab. 50. Sector33- an iOS application from NASA. 51. Voager1 and Voager2 52. A*star institute of technology. 53. Google‘s X Lab 54. Superblooms/North Atlantic Blooms 55. Ug99 56. N-u star telescope. 57. Coral Bleaching. 58. White Nose Syndrome. 59. RightingBot 60. Human Connectome Project 61. North Atlantic Bloom 62. Foundation B612 (Near earth Objects) 63. Lab on Chip 64. SeaFox-underwater drone. 65. Soyuz Rocket 66. IPv6 67. Aerostat Balloon at Florida Naval Air Station. 68. IRVE-3 by NASA 69. Fire Fly Cubesat satellite by NASA. 70. National Year of Mathematics 71. US Antarctic Blue Ribbon Panel. 72. Spin Organic LED 73. High Resolution Coronal imager (Hi-C) telescope. 74. Cluster beans (Guar) Gum and its industrial applications. 75. AirBus A350 76. Radio Tracking of Animals: 3 types

Modified Embaraer EMB 145I aircraft.

It is a result of India‘s long standing quest to have full functional Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEWCS).

Embaraer EMB 145 are the aircrafts provided by Brazil onto which the AEWCS is being fitted.











































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AEWCS has been totally designed by DRDO CABS (Center for Airborne System) facilities at Bangalore.

Its primary missions include airspace management, fighter positioning and intercept control, signals intelligence, and support for maritime, borders, and Exclusive Economic Zones surveillance and security.

With this, very soon India will be in the group of nations which have their own operational AEWCS.

Accelerated Technology Assessment and Commercialization (ATAC)

Under this program, three organizations have came together

1. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), 2. BASIX – a Social Enterprise Group, 3. Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)

to collaborate on long term basis to develop and execute viable and scalable models for commercialization of the technologies developed by DRDO with the specific intent of developing and enhancing livelihoods.

Project Ahaar / BASIX-AAHAR

Recently they (^FCCI_DRDO) have launched a project called ―Aahaar‖. Aahaar is a hygienic, nutritious and convenient meal that tastes fresh yet has longer shelf

life, that is tasty yet quick to serve. Roti has a shelf life of 15 days and the two variants of dal have a shelf life of 12 months.

HuGaMMA Report.

Hunger and Malnutrition Report (Refer Economic Survey 2012)

MCA-21

It is e-governance project of Ministry of Corporate affairs through which all corporate related services are being provided on the online platform with a liberal procedures.

London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases. (NTD)

The main problem associated with the NTDs is, NTDs are mostly confined to the Asian and African countries out of which most of them are least developed. Health burden because of the NTDs is tremendous.

WHO has designed a target to eliminate the most of the NTDs by 2020. London Declaration of 2012 is a mile stone in this endeavor. First time, many big Pharma companies and NGOs have come together and made a

commitment to raise the required resources to eradicate at least 10 deadliest diseases by end of the decade.

Sevottam Model.


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This is the initiative of the government towards the Citizen Centric Adminsitration and providing the quality services to the Citizens.

It includes ISO certification of the service provider, Citizen Charters, E-governance, effective implementation of the RTI to enhance accountability.

OVR SagarNidhi

Sagar Nidhi a state of art ice-class research vessel can accommodate 30 scientists with endurance of 45 days.

This is an Ice-class research vessel adopted with Dynamic Positioning System will keep its position stable, which is required for oceanographic research.

It has a huge deck area for deploying ROV/Manned submersibles/ Tsunami monitoring system

Mobile Based Crime and incident reporting platform (MCIRP)

MCIRP is funded by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) and is exclusive to NIA for tackling crimes and prevent acts of terrorism.

This is a step towards the utilization of mobile technology to curb the criminal activities. This has been launched in July 2012.

Low Temperature Thermal Desalination (LTTD)

Developed by National institute of Ocean Technology. One of the key research area of this institute is the conversion of the sea water into

regular domestic usable water. There are variety of desalination process, one of them is a specific process called LTTD.

The concept of the variation in the ocean water temperature with an increase in depth is

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used in the Low Temperature Thermal Desalination (LTTD) to flash evaporate the warm water at low pressure and condense the resulting vapour with the deep sea cold water. Starting from a small laboratory based 5m3/day capacity scale model, the group has successfully commissioned one 100m3/day capacity land based plant at Kavaratti and one 1000m3/day capacity floating barge based desalination plant off the coast of Chennai.

ASTROSAT and its instrumentation.

ASTROSAT will be a multi-wavelength astronomy mission on an IRS-class satellite in a 650-km, near-equatorial orbit.

It is currently scheduled to be launched by the Indian launch vehicle PSLV from the Sriharikota launch centre in 2012.

The expected operating life time of the satellite will be five years. There were five payloads on the launching vehicle.

Bio Toilet

Designed by DRDO and especially bacteria used. It is invisible to the naked eye and originated in the uninhabitable climes of Antarctica.

This humble bacteria — known as Psychrophile — holds the potential to solve India‘s sanitation problem in the years to come.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is using these bacteria for the bio-digester technology it developed for disposal of human waste in an eco-friendly manner.

DRDO has already tied up with the Indian Railways for bio-toilets on trains.

The Defense Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR)

It aims to invent new varieties of vegetables and fruits that can be grown in high altitudes and in cold deserts such as Ladakh.

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Year 2012 is mile stone in their endeavor. DIHAR has entered the Limca Book of Records for making possible the production of 78 varieties of vegetables at the frigid heights of Ladakh.

Reservetrol

Reservetrol is a natural compound found in many of the food articles like red grapes and red wine. Recent studies have proved that it is very helpful to prevent cancer cell growth, the CVDs and diabetes. It has also proved as life span enhancer for some of the organisms.

In Vitro meat.

It is lab grown meat with the help of tissue. A particular part of the animal is being developed in the lab and then it can be used for

human consumption. This invention holds a key for future food security. Apart from this, during long voyages

in the space as well.

Difference between 3G and LTE mobile technology.

3G and LTE are the mobile network technology characterized by their speed and method of data transfer. As per UN Telecom Union the data transfer rate for 3G is 2Mbps in stationary and 384 kbps in mobility.

Similarly for LTE (4G) is 1Gbps and 100Mbps respectively. However, the stark difference between two is, 3G uses the switching between data and

calling functions whereas LTE/4G is totally based on Data i.e even calling is also performed over data transfer. Therefore mobile handset requirements are totally different for both.

Generation Definition Speed Technologies

1G Analog 14.4 Kbps AMPs, WMT,TACS

2G Digital Cellular 14.4 Kbps TDMA, GSM, CDMA

2.5G Packet data on 2G 20-40 Kbps GPRS

3G Digital Broadband packet data

Max 3.1 Mbps, 500-700 Kbps (avg)

CDMA EVDO, UMTS, EDGE

3.5G High Speed Packet Access

Max 14.4 Mbps, 1.3 Mbps (avg)

HSPA

4G Digital Broadband (All IP)

100-300 Mbps (Max), 3.6 Mbps (Avg)

WiMax, LTE, WiFi

Difference between the CMOS and CCD image sensors.

Both are used in cameras.

CMOS CCD

Complemenary metal oxide semiconductor Charge Couple Devic

compact in size, require less power and find While capturing the image it converts the data

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application in many compact digital cameras and mobile phones. It captures the image in the form of pixels of different colors. Therefore, pixel size is important for image quality

into analog electrical charges therefore the quality of the image is preserved.

Nowadays combination of both the technologies is used in professional cameras.

Tandem Solar Cell and its advantages.

The basic problem with Solar cells is, they have very less energy conversion efficiency (less than 10%). This is because; solar cell responses to a particular band of the wavelength in the Solar radiation.

Tandem solar cell uses a different combination of solar cells to capture all radiation within the solar radiation. As a result it gives higher conversion efficiency.

At present Tandem solar cell has achieved 10.6% of efficiency which has been certified by US dept of National Renewable Energy Laboratory. (I don‘t know the year)

Gratzel Solar cell and its characteristics.

Again the same problem of efficiency has been addressed here. This invention has got Millenium Technology Prize in 2010 for achieving highest

efficiency ever of above 10%. This has been invented by a Chinese scientist MickelGratzel. Speaking of about its

characteristics. It harvests the solar energy by virtue of color.It is called as die sensitized solar cells. The concept was inspired from the wings of the butterfly.

Nuclear Powered Crops.

These are genetically modified crops. The only difference is that the genetic modification is performed by the Particle Accelerometer like CERN. ( I don‘t remember the news that came in somewhere in April/June)

Hydroponics and its potential advantages.

This is modern agricultural practice in which instead of soil, water with all required nutrients is used to grow plants. This can be termed as a clean practice.

The potential advantages can be find in the urban areas where there is scarcity of land. There people can grow fruits and vegetables in the buildings. (There was a big article in

one of the YOJANA)

Curiosity rover

Much touted news of recent time. Everybody knows.

TARA’s expedition

TARA was the group of scientist, an NGO, based in France, later absorbed in UN.

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This group of scientists voyage across all seas around the globe and study about the planktons.

They have enumerated various types of phytoplankton and studied their role in the marine ecology.

(There was a good coverage in National Geo Magazine in March/April. The question in the prelims on plankton was inspired from this.)

Saturated Fats

Saturated fats are of concern because it responsible for Cardiovascular Diseases in Humans. Therefore, the edible oil should have relatively less content of saturated fat. For example. Ground Nut Oil (18%), Safflor Oil (Safola-10%), Coconut Oil (90%), Butter (60%). So butter is ok but don‘t even touch the Coconut oil.

Pebble Reactor.

It is nuclear reactor of the 4th generation in which nuclear fuel is embedded in the metal pebbles of tennis ball size.

And the balls/pebbles are feed in the reactor through funnel shape channel. This methodology has many advantages such as easy loading and replacing of the

pebbles, easy maintenance, easy removal of the all nuclear material which takes time in the reactors where nuclear rods are uses.

Presently the test reactors are operational in Germany, China, S Korea.

Generations of the Nuclear Reactors.

Please refer this image.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/GenIVRoadmap.jpg

Trophy Molecules

It is a big breakthrough in nuclear technology. It is a step towards the design of safer 4th generation nuclear reactors. Trophy molecule is referred to Uranium Nitrate which is used as nuclear fuel as it has

higher fissionable density and it is more stable. The only problem is storage. Previously it required about -250oC to store it. The recent breakthrough by the scientists of Nottingham University has solved the

problem. They have invented a formulation of chemical such that now Uranium Nitrate can be

stored at room temperate.

Leap second and Y2K bug

Leap second is a one second adjustment that occasionally needs to be done to be synchronous with the mean solar time.

The recent adjustment has been done on June 30, 2012. As a result, in many software programs there was an occurrence of the error. The error is called as Year 2000 problem /Y2K Bug in the IT parlance.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/GenIVRoadmap.jpg

https://thesciencebulletin.wordpress.com/2012/07/03/trophy-molecule-breakthrough-may-result-in-cleaner-cooler-nuclear-energy/

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Colony Collapse Disorder and its implications.

In many parts of the Globe it has been observed that the hives of the honey bees are disappears suddenly.

This is called as Colony Collapse Disorder. There is suspicion that the global climate change is responsible for this

disorder. Recently under ministry of the Agriculture, the scientist has proved by field trials that the electromagnetic waves emanating from the mobile towers are responsible for this. It is serious phenomenon because it isdirectly affecting the agricultural production and ultimately the food security in many parts of the world.

GHB’s function in human brain

GHB -full form is complicated-forget it! It is a substance found in Human nervous system, also in beef, wine, and some alcohols

and in small quantities in almost all animals. The salt of this substance is used as illegal steroid. It is almost tasteless and odorless and can be easily mixed in drinks. In many countries it

is illegal. In many cases of Rapes and sexual assaults in US recently, the extensive use of GHB has

been observed. Moreover, when consumed, traces of the GHB cannot be found after few hours.

Therefore it is difficult to detect as well. In common parlance in US, it is called as Date Rape Drug. This is also on the radar of WADA.

Date rape drug.

Refer GHB note given above.

Foot and Mouth Diseases (FMDs) Vaccine

One of the most economically devastating diseases in the world for those who raise cows, sheep, pigs, goats, deer and other cloven-hoofed animals is foot and mouth Disease (FMD).This incredibly contagious and fast-spreading disease causes fever, blisters on the feet and mouth (hence the name), loss of appetite, drooling, and lameness.

There are three problems associated the traditional vaccine on FMD. One- There are many strains of FMD and because of this there is no unique vaccine

applicable. Second- Vaccine itself contains the FMD virus and it cannot be produce everywhere in

the world. Third- even after giving vaccine confusion occurs that weather it is infection or

administered by vaccine.

Markhor

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Markhor is a goat species mainly found in the Central Asia, Palistan, Afghanistan region. It is national animal of Pakistan.

The number of this goat was significantly low during 1990s. There were around only 2500 as reported by IUCN.

It has been labeled as Endangered. Recently the number has increased as a result of the efforts of WCS ( The Wildlife Conservation Society). It includes the creation of the Community based conservation committees.

These committees have worked together to enforce local and global laws which has reduced the illegal hunting. At present there are 53 such committees are working in Pakistan.

Gnathiid isopods and coral bleaching.

There have been reports of continuous deterioration of the health of coral reefs in the many seas around the world.

Because of pollution and climate change, appearance of the coral reefs is changing to complete white and it ultimately reducing their photosynthesis capacity.

This is affecting the ecosystem of the seas. It is called as coral bleaching. The scientist of NSF has found out one of the reasons behind this phenomenon in the

Caribbean Sea. They have found new parasitic species which they have named as ―Gnathid isopods‖.

These are blood sucking species are primarily responsible for the coral bleaching.

Transient Elastography

It is non-invasive method to test the human organs like liver, kidneys. In this method, vibrations are applied to the body directed toward the target organ.

The response of the returning vibration gives the details of the organ such as its stiffness. This can be compared with the healthy response.

Adulterated milk: testing problem

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Technically protein is defined as 60% of nitrogen. Accordingly all milk-tests have been evolved to detect the protein content in the given samples.

However, the protein may be derived from animal or synthetic bases. Example 400 gms water with 600 gms of urea, technically the mixture can be termed as 1 kg of protein.

Therefore there are some manual testing methods are required to detect the adulterated milk.

NASA’s Kepler Mission

Kepler mission is designed to find the earth like objects in the universe which are revolving around the sun like star. Recently Kepler has confirmed earth like object which it has named Kepler 22b.

Ballast water management convention (BWM convention).

Ballast water is the water pumped from the sea in the ship for the balancing purpose. Along with the water many local species pumped into the ship .e.g. small fishes, planktons, shrimps, crabs.

These species are getting introduced to new habitat when such the ballast water is released. In the new habitats such species are evasive and causes the biodiversity loss.

To address this issue IMO (International Maritime Organization) enacted BMW convention in 2004.

According to the convention a ship has to release the Ballast water above 200 miles from the maritime boundary of the destination.

What is Dirty fishing?

Deep sea trawls have been used for mass scale fishing. Along with it many unwanted species come in. Such unwanted species are again thrown

into sea. Sometimes, the scale such species are very high and thrown after long time after catching.

This practice causes the biodiversity loss, therefore it is called as ―Dirty Fishing‖

Environmental side effects of the Deep Sea Trawling.

Deep sea trawls uses a big net which it dropped into deep sea for fish catching. Heavy steel gates attached to such nets.

Each gate weighs about 500kgs. When a ship pulls such heavy nets, it rubs the ground of sea which unearths coral reefs and many deep sea plants which are important for ecology of deep sea.

In this way deep sea fishing is causing environmental hazard.

Deep sea Trawl: advantages

It was developed by the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) As Indian fishing industry is shrimp centered Indian trawls does not need the bottom

trawls. Bottom trawls unearths the coral reefs and causes harm to environment. The trawl developed by CIFT is semi-palagic (confined to upper levels in the sea). This trawl is not causing harm to the coral reefs with lower levels of unwanted catch.

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Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs)

Year 2012 witnessed numerous high intensity CMEs. CMEs are the massive bursts occurring onto the surface of the Sun.

It causes the Magnetic solar winds ejections in the space. It also reached to the earth causes the disturbances in the magnetosphere. It also affects various communication satellites in the orbits of the earth.

How nitrous fertilizers contributes to the Global Warming?

Nitrous oxide is one of the major gases contributing to human-induced climate change; it has a lifetime in the atmosphere of more than 100 years.

In addition, a molecule of nitrous oxide has more than 300 times the heat-trapping effect in the atmosphere as a molecule of carbon dioxide.

Uncany Valley in the Robotic Science.

It is hypothesis which concludes that human acceptance towards the humanoid robots as they becomes more intelligent will drop significantly at particular point when human will become intolerant to the excessive intelligence possess by robots.

Greenpeace Report on Bt-Brinjal.

This news came on 30 April. The question of prelims could have been inspired by this news. It has concluded that spread of the GE Bt gene would have considerable ecological implications, as well as implications for future crop contamination and farmers‘ rights.

Importantly, the spread of the GE Bt gene could result in the brinjal becoming an aggressive and problematic weed.

This may affect the non target organisms and butterflies.

Deep sea challenger.

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Is a 7.3 metres (24 ft) deep-diving submersible designed to reach the bottom of Challenger Deep, the deepest known point on Earth.

On March 26, 2012 (11 kms in Marina trench) , Canadian film director James Cameron piloted the craft to accomplish this goal, becoming the first person to reach Challenger Deep in a one-man craft.

Built in Australia by the research and design company Acheron Project Pty Ltd, the Deepsea Challenger includes scientific sampling equipment and high-definition 3-D cameras, and reached the ocean‘s deepest point after roughly two hours of descent from the surface.

Solar Impulse.

Solar Impulse

Solar powered aircraft designed in Switzerland. On 5th June 2012 it has made a history by completing the first ever successful transcontinental flight from Madrid (Spain) to Rabat (Morocco) through straight of Gibraltar. It was a 19 hrs journey.

Flame and Stuxnet.

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These are male ware programs designed for the cyber espionage purposes which are being detected by the Russian Antivirus Software company (Kaspersky lab). It is believed that the two maleware programs had been developed to spy the data of the centrifuges which are operational in the Nuclear research facilities in Iran.

Karspersky Lab.

Refer Flame and Stuxnet.

Sector33- an iOS application from NASA.

This is an Apple application developed by NASA which is intended to teach aircraft flying skills to students including the signaling and other necessary skills.

Voager1 and Voager2

These are the oldest unmanned space crafts launched by NASA under aegis of Voager Mission in 1970. In 2012 these space craft have moved out of our own galaxy (Milky way) and still communicating with the earth.

A*star institute of technology.

It is the leading institute for electronics research situated in Singapore. Inventions such are AMOLED, SPIN LEDs, hardware related researched had emanated from this institute.

Google’s X Lab

We discussed this project in previous Science-Tech article. Go to mrunal.org/snt

It is a research organization, one of the units run by Google. It is associated with the landmark innovative projects such as Self driving cars technology, augmented reality glasses.

Recently it was in news because of the new successful neural network project. There Google scientists created one of the largest neural networks for machine learning by connecting 16,000 computer processors, which they turned loose on the Internet to learn on its own.

Superblooms/North Atlantic Blooms

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It is also known as North Atlantic Blooms.It is an immense number of phytoplankton burst into existence, first ―greening,‖ then ―whitening‖ the sea as one or more species take the place of others.

There have been various predictions for its triggering. Previously it was concluded that intense sunlight is causing the burst of the bloom. Recently it has been revealed that the whirls of oceans are responsible for its triggering.

Springtime blooms of microscopic plants in the ocean absorb enormous quantities of carbon dioxide.

Therefore the study of the phenomenon has become important to understand global carbon cycle.

Ug99

The stem, black or cereal rusts are caused by the fungus and are a significant disease affecting cereal crops. Crop species which are affected by the disease include bread wheat, durum wheat, barley and triticale

An epidemic of stem rust on wheat caused by race Ug99 is currently spreading across Africa, Asia and the Middle East and is causing major concern due to the large numbers of people dependent on wheat for sustenance.

The strain was named after the country where it was identified (Uganda) and the year of its discovery (1999

Scientists are working on breeding strains of wheat that are resistant to UG99. However, wheat is grown in a broad range of environments.

This means that breeding programs would have extensive work

N-u star telescope.

NuSTAR (the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array) is a space-based X-ray telescope that uses a Wolter telescope to focus high energy X-rays from astrophysical sources, especially for nuclear spectroscopy, and operates in the range of 5 to 80 keV.

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This is the first space-based direct-imaging X-ray telescope at energies beyond those of the Chandra X-ray Observatory and XMM-Newton.

The launch was successfully conducted in June 2012.

Coral Bleaching.

Refer Gnathid isopod.

White Nose Syndrome.

White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a poorly understood disease associated with the deaths of at least 5.7 million to 6.7 million North American bats.

The condition, named for a distinctive fungal growth around the muzzles and on the wings of hibernating bats, was first identified in a cave in Schoharie County, New York, USA, in February 2006.

RightingBot

A lizard-inspired robot, called ‗RightingBot‘, replicates the feat and its motion. If I remember correctly it called as ―Zoobotics‖.

Human Connectome Project

The research effort called the Human Connectome Project is seeking to explore, define, and map the functional connections of the human brain.

The Human Connectome Project seeks to map ―the complete, point-to-point spatial connectivity of neural pathways in the brain.

North Atlantic Bloom

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Refer Superblooms

Foundation B612 (Near earth Objects)

It is a well known fact that there are asteroids in the space which are threat to life onto the earth. NASA itself has identified such 1500 dangerous asteroids which it termed as NEO (Near Earth Object).

Therefore, it has become important to keep eye on such dangerous NEOs. Interestingly, the US based NGO has come up with the mission that it is wanted to launch its own satellite for the same purpose.

The NGO name is Foundation B612.

Lab on Chip

A lab-on-a-chip (LOC) is a device that integrates one or several laboratory functions on a single chip of only millimeters to a few square centimeters in size.

LOCs deal with the handling of extremely small fluid volumes down to less than pico liters. The target is to analyze the blood samples so that quick diagnosis can be done. The target cost of the credit card size analyzer is 1 USD.

SeaFox-underwater drone.

These are the underwater drone designed by the US on the similar lines of Predator Drones. It is believed that it is part of the future possible war strategies against Iran.

Soyuz Rocket

Russian made Soyuz Rocket launched in July 2012 from Kazakhstan which carried three men into the space. This was targeted to dock at International Space Station.

IPv6

This is new Internet Protocol number system which is in the process of the implementation as the present IP numbers available are running short. Present number system is IPv4.

As the number of computers, smartphones and tablets etc are increasing, IPv6 can cater the need. The IP numbers can go up to 340 million million million with IPv6 which are practically impossible to be consumed.

please see this comic to understand more: CLICK ME

Aerostat Balloon at Florida Naval Air Station.

It is a white 117-foot-long surveillance balloon called an aerostat by the military of America. It is specially designed for surveillance in Afghanistan region.

IRVE-3 by NASA

Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE-3) team that is working to develop an inflatable heat shield.

http://c179631.r31.cf0.rackcdn.com/IPv6-infographic-04.jpg

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The technology could be used to protect spacecraft when entering a planet‘s atmosphere or returning here to Earth.

Fire Fly Cubesat satellite by NASA.

It is a small satellite designed by NASA aimed to capture the details of the lightening that happens in deep space.

The satellite is also called as Firefly which will be launched in the year of 2013. Firefly is designed to help solve the mystery of a phenomenon that‘s linked with lightning: terrestrial gamma rays, or TGFs.

Bursts of gamma rays usually occur far out in space, near black holes and other high-energy cosmic phenomena.

Scientists were surprised when, in the mid-1990s, they found powerful gamma-ray flashes happening in the skies over Earth.

National Year of Mathematics

India has declared 2012 as ―National Year of Mathematics‖ as tribute to Srinivasa Ramanujan, an enigmatic maths maverick who despite dying aged just 32 had already achieved enough to still be spoken of alongside Isaac Newton, Euclid and Archemedes.

US Antarctic Blue Ribbon Panel.

The Antarctica Blue Ribbon Panel encourages us to take a hard look at how we support Antarctic science.

Recently it has made numerous recommendations to the US government that will augment the research activities in Antactica.

Spin Organic LED

The new LED, known as spin-polarized organic LED or spin OLED, stores information in the electron‘s spin and the electrical charges.

Apart from it as it is organic based it is eco friendly. In future it will reduce the burden of e-waste.

High Resolution Coronal imager (Hi-C) telescope.

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This is the telescope launched by NASA in June 2012 which will take sharper image of the Sun‘s corona. In recent times, the CMEs have been intensified and scientists are looking forward the detail images of the sun‘s surface for analysis.

The telescope focused on a large active region on the sun with some images revealing the dynamic structure of the solar atmosphere in fine detail. These images were taken in the extreme ultraviolet wavelength.

This higher energy wavelength of light is optimal for viewing the hot solar corona.

Cluster beans (Guar) Gum and its industrial applications.

Recently, the commodity trading of the Guar is being aborted. (July-Aug2012). India is largest producer of the Guar and exported as well.

The powdered Guar is used to create Gels which are useful in Ice-cream making. Another one, the oil of the Cluster bean is useful for bearing lubrication.

It has special characteristics which automatically heals the corrosion in the bearings.

AirBus A350

This is the aircraft designed by the Airbus which has carbon fiber wings. The first test flight was conducted in April 2012 and soon in coming years it will commercially launched.

Radio Tracking of Animals: 3 types

(This one contributed by Shobhit Awasthi)

VHF radio tracking (Very High Frequency Tracking )

Usually Radio transmitter are placed in the collar of animal and then scientists collect information about their health. Conventional VHF tracking system consists of Transmiter, Receiving system and Antenna.

Satellite Tracking

Satellite tracking is similar to VHF radio tracking, but instead of a radio signal being sent to a radio receiver, a signal is sent to a satellite. Scientists track their animal from computer. It is a lot easier than VHF because scientists don‘t have to be near the animal.

Satellite Tracking is far less accurate than either conventional VHF radio tracking or GPS radio-tracking. But Statellite Tracking is more useful over Antarctica and Arctic region since there were no flights.

GPS Tracking

GPS tracking is the newest technology, The radio receiver picks up signals from special satellites. The receiver has a computer that then calculates the location and movement of the animal.

The data gathered by the receiver is then sent to another set of satellites. The second set of satellites then sends the data to the

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scientists.

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2012/10/answerkey-mockgs2-snt-tushar.html


[Science] IPCC- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Meaning and functions

Guest article by Mr.Arpan Gupta

1. What is IPCC? 2. The Structure of IPCC 3. IPCC reports: how are they prepared? 4. Why important?

What is IPCC?

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change H.Q in Geneva The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the leading international

body for the assessment of climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and

the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988. To have a clear view on the present scenario of Climate change and its future impact on

Enviornment, Livelihood, Economics. It does not conduct any research nor does it monitor climate related data or parameters.

It merely assesses the most recent scientific, technical and socio-economic information produced worldwide relevant to the understanding of climate change.

Thousand of scientists contribute to provide info voluntarily. It is open to all member countries of the United Nations (UN) and WMO. Currently 195

countries are members of the IPCC.

The Structure of IPCC

http://mrunal.org/2012/10/science-ipcc.html/print/#2




http://www.ipcc.ch/docs/UNEP_GC-14_decision_IPCC_1987.pdf

http://www.ipcc.ch/docs/WMO_resolution4_on_IPCC_1988.pdf

http://mrunal.org/

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Each group assess the report in their respective proficiency and then a succinct conclusion can be configured out.

IPCC reports: how are they prepared?

Check this flow-chart

http://www.eoearth.org/files/173201_173300/173280/reports_procedures.jpg

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timeline of reports

Assessment Reports Year of Publication

first 1990

Second 1995

Third 2001

Fourth 2007

Why important?

The fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) said that most of the warming that has taken place since the middle of the last century is very likely the result of increase in the concentration of human-induced greenhouse gases. A hot topic.

Fodder material can be mug up through the Yojana – Disaster Management in India, comprising

http://www.eoearth.org/files/173201_173300/173280/reports_procedures.jpg

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Harnessing technology to employ systems which can efficiently predict monsoon, Early Warning System and bla.. bla.

Formulating a National Action Plan. Implementation and regular assessment Ascertaining the post disaster effects which are generally not counted in monetary terms

as well as social terms. Encourage the people to emit less and to plant more and all that. Formulating the new policies like Carbon Trading, whose target is to ultimately bring

down the concentration of GHG irrespective of the nations.

Reference

1. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/shelter-from-the-storm/1010463/1 2. http://www.ipcc.ch/

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2012/10/science-ipcc.html

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/shelter-from-the-storm/1010463/1

http://www.ipcc.ch/

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[Public Health] Japanese Encephalitis Menace in India: Reasons, Prevention and control

1. What is Japanese Encephalitis (JE)? 2. What are the symptoms? 3. Geographical Spread 4. Solution for Japanese Encephalitis (JE)? 5. What is Acute encephalitis syndrome (AES)? 6. Why is Japanese Encephalitis in News? 7. JEEV (2 marker) 8. National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (5 marker) 9. Mock Questions

1. Mains 2. Interview

What is Japanese Encephalitis (JE)?

The suffix -itis means ―inflammation‖. Encephalitis means inflammation of the brain Meningitis inflammation of the meninges (the tissues that surround the brain or

spinal cord)

What are the symptoms?

headache and stiff neck Convulsions Weakness of the arms, legs Pain behind the eyes Raised body temperature between 38 and 41 degrees Celsius. If untreated, it can result in to Coma, paralysis Mental retardation or death. fatality rate

can be as high as 60%

Geographical Spread

Flavivirus reproduces in pigs but doesn‘t infect them. So, Pigs are amplifying hosts. (also water birds)

Mosquitoes belonging to the Culex tritaeniorhynchus and Culex vishnui groups – they usually breed in flooded rice fields.

These Culex mosquitoes are normally zoophilic, i.e. they prefer to take blood meals from animals rather than from humans.

http://mrunal.org/2012/10/public-health-japanese-encephalitis-general-studies.html/print/#1











http://mrunal.org/

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These Mosquitoes usually prefer to drink the blood of such pigs. But when the population of such mosquitoes increases exponentially (during rainy season, around August), human biting rate increases.

And thus Flavivirus gets transferred from pigs to humans and damages our brain= inflation of brain = Japanese Encephilitis.

Man is the dead end host, i.e. JE is not transmitted from one infected person to other.

In short, Japanese Encephalitis requires four things

1. Pigs with flavivirus (Amplifying host). 2. Rice fields (Mosquito breeding ground) 3. Culex mosquitos (carrier) 4. Human (The innocent victim)

Image from www.medindia.net

Therefore, JE is found throughout south east Asia, because Rice cultivation and pig rearing is common.

But because of the critical role of pigs, its presence in Muslim countries is negligible.

Solution for Japanese Encephalitis (JE)?

1. Vaccination 2. Chemical vector control (e.g. spraying chemicals to kill mosquitos)= not good solution,

because the breeding sites (irrigated rice fields) are huge. 3. Keep larvae eating fish, such as guppies, in ponds. 4. Personal protection (using repellents and/or mosquito nets) = good idea. 5. There is no transmission from person to person and therefore patients do not need to be

isolated. 6. If there is large scale outbreak of JE, Government would need to eliminate pig

population = problem of livelihood.

http://www.medindia.net/patients/patientinfo/images/brain-fever.gif

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7. Rice growing farmers should never be encouraged to do pig rearing as a secondary source of income.

8. Firstly, there is no curative treatment for J.E. (i.e. No magic pill, injection etc. that will cure it). J.E. is treated symptomatically by reducing the fever, analgesics for headache, sedatives for seizures and specialized intravenous therapy to reduce cerebral swelling.

Apart from Japanese, there is another type of Encephalitis, known as Acute encephalitis syndrome (AES)

What is Acute encephalitis syndrome (AES)?

This is also inflammation of brain. But it is caused by entero virus. The virus comes in the air or water through open defecation and circulates mainly

through shallow hand pumps in the area.

Why is Japanese Encephalitis in News?

In India alone, the of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES), which have claimed nearly 1,000 lives so far in 2012.

In Oct 2012, Government of India launched a Rs.4000 crore plan to tackle JE problem.

Main Target States : Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Assam

This plan will jointly implemented by following Ministries of

1. Health and Family Welfare, 2. Drinking Water and Sanitation, 3. Social Justice and Empowerment, 4. Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation 5. Women and Child Development.

Plan has following components:

1. Vaccination of Children (1.5 to 15 years age group) 2. provide safe drinking water to the affected persons by replacing shallow tubewells with

deep tubewells (To prevent Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES)) 3. Provide proper sanitation facilities. (Perhaps allotting more money under Total

Sanitation Campaign) 4. Provide alternative means of livelihood for pig-rearing farmers. 5. Set up special schools for mentally challenged children.

JEEV (2 marker)

JEEV is the brandname of India‘s first indigenously developed vaccine for Japanese Encephalitis (JE). There is no other vaccine available to private doctors in India currently. But the company has yet to obtain approval of WHO to export this vaccine to other countries. (important because this happened in Sept.2012)

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National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (5 marker)

It is a comprehensive programme for prevention and control of vector borne diseases namely Malaria,

Filaria, Kala-azar, Japanese Encephalitis (JE), Dengue and Chikungunya. It is covered under the overall umbrella of National Rural Health Mission.

Mock Questions

Please note: you can find truckload of potential MCQs Statements and 2 markers from India Yearbook‘s chapter on Health and Family Welfare.

Multi Choice Question (MCQ)

Which of the following statements are correct?

1. Swine is the amplifying host of the virus responsible for Japanese Encephalitis. 2. Aedes aegypti mosquito is the main carrier of Japanese Encephalitis. 3. Poultry culling is essential during the outbreak of Japanese Encephalitis. 4. Japanese Encephalitis is widely prevalent in Arid and Desert areas of Africa. 5. Japanese Encephalitis can spread by talking or touching a patient. 6. The vectors of Japanese Encephalitis breed in large water bodies such as paddy fields.

Mains

1. To what extend the geography and climate of India are responsible for the menace of Malaria, Dengue, Chikungunya and Jap.Encephalities. Suggest long term mitigation efforts required to uproot these diseases. (25 marks).

2. Suggest measures for prevention and control of ―Japanese Encephalitis‖ in India (12 marks)

3. The JEEV vaccine has been making the headlines in the recent months. Who make the ideal candidates for receiving this vaccine and what are its benefits? (2 marks)

Interview

1. As a district collector what steps would you take in case of an outbreak of Japanese Encephalitis / Dengue / SARS?

Ref

1. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/govt-nod-for-rs-4000cr-plan-to-fight-japanese-encephalitis/1018801/

2. http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/diseases/encephalitis/en/ 3. http://www.baliadvertiser.biz/articles/paradise/2012/japanese.html 4. http://newindianexpress.com/business/news/article606368.ece

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/govt-nod-for-rs-4000cr-plan-to-fight-japanese-encephalitis/1018801/

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/govt-nod-for-rs-4000cr-plan-to-fight-japanese-encephalitis/1018801/

http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/diseases/encephalitis/en/

http://www.baliadvertiser.biz/articles/paradise/2012/japanese.html

http://newindianexpress.com/business/news/article606368.ece

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URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2012/10/public-health-japanese-encephalitis-general-studies.html

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[Science] Stem Cell Research, Controversy, Noble Prize 2012

This is a guest post by Mr.Manikandan Soundararajan

1. Nobel Prize for Physiology/Medicine (2012): 2. What are Stem cells? 3. Where are Stem cells found? 4. What are the application of Stem cells? 5. Organ transplant and stem cells 6. Controversy surrounding stem cells: 7. Stem Cell research in USA 8. Stem Cell : Pro and Anti Arguments 9. Birth to Death- Not only you, your cell also grows: 10. Significance of Gurdon and Yamanaka‘s Discovery 11. Conclusion:

Nobel Prize for Physiology/Medicine (2012):

Given to John B. Gurdon and Shina Yamanaka for their discovery that differentiation of cells is a reversible process (explained below).

What exactly are they talking about?

1. To understand we need some preliminary info regarding human reproduction and development process.

2. Humans reproduce sexually i.e. require two parents (need a sperm and an egg) 3. The sperm fuses with the egg to form a fused product called zygote. This cell divides

itself to develop in to a baby. 4. Now here it is seen that we have only one cell (we know cells similar to brick of a

wall, are bricks of our body) zygote, which develops the entire human having eyes, heart, lungs etc. i.e. one cell capable of producing an organism= totipotency (potential to develop a total organism).

5. There are some other cells which have the capability to produce limited types of tissues, some which can produce only one specific tissue based on which we classify them.. Look into the figure for the classification.

What are Stem cells?

Definition wise a stem cell should be: Able to divide and differentiate itself into specialized cells.

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Importantly should have the capability of self-renewal, i.e. reproduce itself.

Where are Stem cells found?

Usually human embryo is a very good source, where all cells are totipotent. Stem cells are also present in adults called adult stem cells or somatic cells. These

cells are found in bone marrow [a very popular source], blood etc. These cells do the important function of replenishing tissues, to be simple replacing

dead cells.

What are the application of Stem cells?

Stem cells can be potentially used to replace diseased cells, lost cells [malfunctioning heart, trachea etc.].

A cure for Parkinson like diseases [A degenerative disorder caused by cell death in brain] Type I diabetes can also have a cure with stem cells. Cure for blood cancer- leukemia. And another most important application in organ transplants.

Organ transplant and stem cells

We have heard something called antibodies, some antigens, some WBCs(Police force of the body, ring a bell?? 8th class science). In higher classes, we were told, X has a kidney failure, needs kidney transplant to survive, but the kidney has to be from a blood relative else organ rejection will occur!

The actual story here: Our body has its own frontline defense white blood corpuscles, which do not allow any foreign national whatsoever in to its boundaries. So an outsider kidney=alien, rejected entry, so the only way is to get a replacement from relative. In this application stem cells are a sustainable replacement

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Controversy surrounding stem cells:

Stem cells were essentially sourced from human embryos in the beginning, which required embryonic cells. But some people saw this as killing of a child and charged it as murder.

Also religious institutions resented to the use of embryos for research. Use of adult stem cells face the difficulty in extraction.

Stem Cell research in USA

US is one country where issues surrounding stem cells and their therapeutic usage are complex:

State funding in stem cell & embryonic research was common in US Problems started with legalizing abortions in 1973. Now fearing that further state funding would encourage abortions, women

especially poor and vulnerable would be exploited ban was placed on state funding on researches involving human embryos.

As usual private, scientist lobby and great range of possibilities like a cure for parkinson‘s, blood cancer , cardio problems with the loophole of lack of regulation in private sector all forced the government to lift the ban in 2001.

Bush administration was behind this policy framework, which got critics from churches, anti-abortion movements, general public.

Even now US has only partially lifted the ban still a moratorium remains, whereby embryos created solely for research only can get state funding.

Stem Cell : Pro and Anti Arguments

Favor Against

1. Promising cure for various ailments. 2. Private practice unregulated, so no use

closing state practice 3. Conversion ratio of an embryo into

living being very low, the remains are as of now wasted.

4. So better we put them to use

3. Organ donation incases of brain death legal, and to think organ donation can increase murders=foolish

3. Similarly thinking embryo donation=increased abortion is foolish

1. Legally Embryo the day it is formed= Human life, so it enjoys all rights,like Art 21=Right to life[Indian scenario]

2. Embryo sale can start, poor can be exploited easily.

3. Not an Inclusive Plan as such, poor will stay out of reach of benefits.

4. Ill effects of cloning like break of social fabric,

5. misuse in the hands of terrorists etc bound to happen

6. Not a panacea to all ills as it is made out to be. Experimental results as of now are not reliable.

Thus there was a need for pluripotent and totipotent cells for various purposes and that too bypassing all the above ill effects.

It is here the two laureates [Gurdon and Yamanaka] came in with their contributions. Now Let‘s try to understand what they did in simpler terms.

Birth to Death- Not only you, your cell also grows:

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In Life the cells of an organism proceed from initial undifferentiated stage to mature specialized stage through the process of differentiation, like a student in schools, ‗studies science, history, geography, English‘ while during graduation narrows his focus only to his ‗subject of specialization‘, during doctorate further narrowed thought to ‘one area in a subject’!!

Similar to this our cells at birth manage all functions, with maturity they specialize: eye cells for vision, heart cells for purification, pumping etc. And this natural process is irreversible, that is once they mature, cells never exhibit their magical ability to be the jack of all trades. This was the plight in 1950s.

Now in 1960s this person called Gurdon said ―Ordinary cells have only temporarily lost their pluripotency and if necessary changes made can become stem cells‖.

Gurdon proved it in his experiment, he simply took the nuclei (grain of brick, i.e. part of our cells, of course the master of a cell is its nuclei) of a mature cell from a frog replaced it for nuclei in a newly fertilized egg (already told you egg cells=totipotent) and developed it in to a new tadpole. i.e. here the nuclei of a mature cell developed the new tadpole.

But the second person Yamanaka went further proving, ―no need the help of an egg cell to develop a new offspring, just any mature cell, like that of a skin, can be simply made pluripotent‖. His major contribution was he identified the required genes and codes for making a mature cell pluripotent. The result was increased accuracy, efficiency in converting a mature cell to immature cell.[Dedifferentiation]

Significance of Gurdon and Yamanaka’s Discovery

Their discoveries were answers to problems surrounding use of stem cells. Was an easy way to convert ordinary cells to stem cells. A reliable source for pluripotent

cells No destruction of embryos involved. Basis for cloning, the discovery of Gurdon was the basis for cloning. Yet some problems still remain in this technology: Reliability, efficiency of conversion is still low. If put to improper use without sufficient research can lead to uncontrolled, cancerous

growth of cells.

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Conclusion:

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Thus we see that these scientists have furthered a revolution and in here lays the answer to many incurable diseases of today.

Though clinical trials, human experimentation are not into practice yet, some preliminary treatments like bone marrow transplant, cardiovascular treatments with stem cells have been demonstrated elsewhere is a sample for the success of the technology.

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2012/11/science-stem-cell-research-controversy-noble-prize.html

http://mrunal.org/2012/11/science-stem-cell-research-controversy-noble-prize.html

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[Science] PREDICCS, LCROSS, HXMT, Life on Mars (Space related S&T from Hindu Sept-Oct-2012)

1. Life on Mars 2. NASA‘s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) 3. PREDICCS 4. LCROSS 5. Hard x-ray modulation telescope (HXMT) 6. Zero Gravity effect

Life on Mars

Why life is possible on Earth but not on mars: some reasons

1. Our moon is of the right size, able to control the spinning of the earth and its axis of rotation, thus stabilizing our climate and seasons.

2. ozone layer, which shields molecules on earth from being zapped away by cosmic radiation

3. gravitational strength of Earth keeps useful gases from escaping off into space.

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)

Used for acquiring 3-D views of the moon‘s surface.

PREDICCS

web-based tool for predicting and forecasting the radiation environment in near-Earth, lunar and

Martian space. It will provide critical information as preparations are made for potential future manned

missions to the Moon and Mars.

LCROSS

NASA‘s Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing satellite, It has detected presence of water locked inside the soil of moon.

Hard x-ray modulation telescope (HXMT)

China‘s first space telescope.

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Will be used for studying blackholes.

Zero Gravity effect

disembarking astronauts are taller than embarking ones. This growth is due to zero gravity — the vertebrae of the spine spread out.

Ref

Based on Hindu S&T Section in September, October 2012

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2012/11/science-prediccs-lcross-hxmt-mars.html

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[Science] SCOAP3, Electronic Nose, Baxter, Lytro

1. Electronic nose 2. Bio-inspired microbot 3. Nano-tech: Some new applications 4. SCOAP3 5. Baxter 6. Marconi vs Bose: Wireless 7. Lytro

Electronic nose

Prototype electronic instrument. It can detect small quantities of harmful airborne substances. can be used for Batch to batch consistency during production. (perfumes, food) Detection of contamination, spoilage, adulteration

Bio-inspired microbot

Developed by China It is capable of not just walking on water but jumping up and down on the water‘s

surface like the insect.

Nano-tech: Some new applications

1. Manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs): by adding them to soil, we can increase crop yield.

2. radioactive gold nanoparticles= used for prostate cancer treatment in dogs. It has a chance of being used in humans.

SCOAP3

Initiative by CERN. (those God-particle wallas) Sponsoring Consortium for Open Access Publishing in Particle Physics. Under this project, about 7,000 particle-physics papers, published in subscription

journals, will soon become freely accessible to anyone from any part of the world.

Baxter

A humanoid robot with ‗common sense‘, made in USA.

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It is designed to work safely alongside its human co-workers on factory production lines,

Baxter Robo looks like this

Marconi vs Bose: Wireless

Guglielmo Marconi is often credited with inventing radio transmission But the record clearly shows that wireless transmission of electromagnetic waves was

first successfully demonstrated by Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose and that too in Kolkata Bose reported on his experiments at the Royal Institution in London. But soon after Bose‘s talk, Marconi changed the design of his detector and cameup with

his invention.

Lytro

New type of camera that lets users adjust the focus after taking pictures. ―shoot now, focus later.‖

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Lytro Camera

Ref

Based on The Hindu S&T Section, Sept-Oct 2012

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2012/11/science-scoap3-electronic-nose-baxter-lytro-astar.html

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[Public Health] ENCODE, GPCR, LNT, Disease in Dish, RNTCP & other 2/5 markers from The Hindu S&T (Sept-Oct 2012)

1. Antibiotic resistance 2. Super-spreading of Dengue 3. Humanised mice 4. RNTCP (Revised National TB Control Programme) 5. Reproduction 6. Spicy food and Tears 7. G-protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) 8. Pineapple itching 9. Blank Slate Cells / Reprograming Cells / Disease in Dish 10. ENCODE project 11. Single-dose drug cure for malaria 12. HIV drops in India 13. Linear No Threshold (LNT) concept 14. Tobacco law & WTO 15. Mock Questions 16. Mains/Descriptive

Antibiotic resistance

It is the ability of certain microorganisms to withstand attack by antimicrobials drugs Main factor for the rise and spread of resistant microbes= Overuse and misuse of

antimicrobials drugs. The spread of drug resistance is faster in India due to many reasons — lack of infection

control practices in hospitals, absence of antibiotic policy, sanitation issues in the community etc.

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Super-spreading of Dengue

Super spreading means, one infected person passes on a disease to lots of others, This is an important factor driving dengue transmission in places. Since mosquitoes are concentrated in only a couple of homes in each locality, an infected

individual in those houses or in their immediate vicinity was likely to get bitten and pass on the virus to a large number of mosquitoes, who then pass it on to many other humans

mosquito Aedes aegypti carries the virus for Dengue.

Humanised mice

It is engrafted with human liver cells. It‘ll help research liver-to-blood stage infection of Malaria.

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RNTCP (Revised National TB Control Programme)

Meant for 2012-2017 It aims to involve private sector into the fight against Tuberculosis. Nearly one lakh new multidrug resistant (MDR) TB cases are estimated to occur every

year. The only way of reducing mortality and morbidity is by engaging the private sector

Reproduction

Q. Why does the immune system in females not attack sperms (foreign bodies) that enter the female body?

human immune system is that it can differentiate ‗self‘ from ‗others.‘ This allows the body to fight off any foreign cells which it encounters. That is why it is difficult to transplant organs without suppressing the immune system

However, when it comes to reproduction, the human body not only ignores the sperm, but also fails to recognise the foetus (which has half of its material from a ‗foreign‘ donor) as a foreign body

Studies have confirmed the presence of markers on the surface of the human sperm These markers on the sperm are universally recognised by any woman‘s immune system,

and trick the immune system into believing that the sperm is harmless. That is why reproduction can occur between any two people.

Spicy food and Tears

Why are tears produced in our eyes when we eat something which is spicy or spicy over our limits?

When we eat food the sensory nerve endings on our tongue are stimulated. This nerve also serves as the sensory nerve to the surface of the eye and face. When we eat very spicy food the sensory nerve endings on the tongue are irritated and

an overload of noxious stimulus is carried to the eyes as well, hence tears.

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G-protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs)

Human cells have these receptors It enables them to sense chemical substances — hormones, poisons and drugs — in their

environment. 2012 Noble Prize in Chemistry is given for this topic.

Pineapple itching

Why do we get an itching sensation in our mouth when we eat too much of pineapple? Pineapple, botanically, is not a single fruit berry. It is a collection of individual fruits

(each fruit, marked on the surface by the near-hexagonal demarcation) Pineapple contains a proteolytic (protein hydrolyzing) enzyme When we have eaten the pineapple, this enzyme temporarily stays on the tongue and

interiors of the mouth and starts attacking the proteinous muscle parts of the tongue and the mouth while sensitizing the nerve endings there.

These neurological signals, when transmitted to the brain, make us feel the pricking and itching sensation.

Blank Slate Cells / Reprograming Cells / Disease in Dish

Terms associated with stem cell research done by Gurdon and Yamanaka (they got Noble-2012 for it).

Once created, these ―blank slate‖ cells can be used for developing into other cell types. For example, Skin cells can ultimately be transformed into brain cells. This Reprogramming allows scientists to create particular kinds of tissue they want to

study, like lung tissue for studying cystic fibrosis, or brain tissue for Huntington‘s disease.

By reprogramming cells from patients with a particular disease, they can create new tissue with the same genetic background, and study it in the lab. That can give new insights into the roots of the problem.

In addition, that approach allows them to screen drugs in the lab for possible new medicines.

(more discussed in earlier guest article by Mr.Manikandan)

ENCODE project

ENCyclopedia Of DNA Elements, which was started in 2003. The goal is to find all functional elements in the human genome. Until recently, the majority view has been that much of the DNA is ―junk‖—DNA that is

never transcribed and has no biological function and only 1% of the DNA is actually responsible for everything.

But ENCODE project has found that not one per cent but more than 80 per cent of the genome has an active role or function.

Single-dose drug cure for malaria

Scientists claim to have discovered a drug that could cure all strains of malaria with a single oral dose and also block transmission of the deadly parasite from person to person.

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Will be made from synthetic molecule from the aminopyridine class.

HIV drops in India

HIV — which causes AIDS — was detected in India nearly 25 years back. Though more than 2 million people are affected by the virus, India is said to be one of the few countries which has actually made significant reductions in HIV infections.

India had witnessed a sharp decline in the number of new HIV cases — a 56 per cent drop — in the past 10 years, because of the National AIDS control Programme.

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) =Used for HIV treatment.

Linear No Threshold (LNT) concept

means that harmful effects of radiation increase with radiation dose and even small radiation doses can cause some finite harm.

Some scientists challenge the validity of LNT concept. They say, in low dose radiation we would be fine, and would not have any cellular

damage. (then it leads to debate on mobile phone radiation etc. we already saw it in an earlier

article.)

Tobacco law & WTO

Australia enacted world‘s toughest law on cigarette promotion, meaning tobacco companies will be prohibited from displaying their logos on cigarette packs that will instead feature images of cancer—riddled mouths, blinded eyeballs and sickly children.

But Australia faces a potential challenge to its laws through the World Trade Organization,

Three tobacco growing countries Ukraine, Honduras and the Dominican Republic making official requests for consultation on plain packaging.

Consultations are the first stage of the WTO’s dispute resolution process.

Mock Questions

Which of the following statements are correct?

1. Aedes aegypti carries the virus for Dengue. 2. India launched national antibiotic policy in 2007 3. Pineapple is a single fruit berry.

Mains/Descriptive

1. What are the salient features of National Aids Control Programme. Evaluate its success. What steps should be taken in future, to reduce the spread of HIV even further? (25m)

2. Write a note on the Revised National TB Control Programme (10m) 3. Examine the need for a National policy on Antibiotics? 10 marks 4. Examine the ethical issues involved in Stem cell research. What is the policy of

Government of India, regarding Stem cell research?

Ref

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The Hindu, S&T section, September-October 2012

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[Public Health] GeneXpert, Project Axshya, MALDI, Dermoscope, Bariatric Surgery, Neurostimulator

1. What is GeneXpert/ CBNAAT? 2. Project Axshya/ Mr.Sputum 3. Bariatric surgery 4. Neurostimulator 5. MALDI 6. Dermoscope 7. Cataract 8. Femtosecond Cataract Surgery 9. Ex-Vivo Lung Perfusion 10. Mock questions

What is GeneXpert/ CBNAAT?

Problem with MDR-TB= it takes almost 8 weeks, for doctor to diagnose this disease. You already know about multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) , if not click ME Basically the MDR-TB bacteria donot die with the conventional TB-drug. GeneXpert/ CBNAAT is the latest device that can diagnose this MDR-TB in just two

hours.

GeneXpert TB-Detection Device

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http://mrunal.org/2012/11/public-health-genexpert-project-axshya-maldi-dermoscope-bariatric-surgery-neurostimulator.html/print/#Dermoscope-skin-cancer

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Advantages of GeneXpert

Fastest detection of TB. can be installed at any place and can be used by paramedical staff. A health worker just needs to collect sputum of the suspected TB patient and mix it with

a chemical and put it under the Device and get the result. World Health Organisation (WHO) has approved this device and its testing accuracy. Government has decided to install these GeneXpert devices under Revised National

Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) This device costs Rs.10 lakh, but Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), an

international NGO has donated funds to India to install it in various cities.

Project Axshya/ Mr.Sputum

Xshya= Sanskrit word for TB. Axshya=TB free. Project Axshya is a civil society initiative to make India TB-free. Bulgum Bhai (Mr.Sputum) is their mascot. He appears on TV, Radio ads, street plays, to

spread the message, ―If you have been coughing for more than two weeks, better get your sputum tested‖

India has the highest TB burden in the world, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the global incidence.

Union World Conference on Lung Health was held in Kuala Lumpur. This Mr.Sputum project was featured there.

Now, Following terms/current affairs topics based on Cleveland Top 10 Clinical awards.

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Bariatric surgery

Bariatric surgery (weight-loss surgery)= of procedures performed on people who are obese.

Basically it involves surgically reducing the size of the stomach or removal of a portion of the stomach.

also helps lowering blood pressure and cholesterol of the patient. Experts believe it can greatly help with Type 2 diabetes.

Neurostimulator

New therapy for Migraine (type of Headache). Migraine is a chronic disease (long-term disease, unlike Common fever.) Neurostimulator is a device size of an almond. see above image. It is placed in the upper gum of patients mouth, through a small surgical incision. When a patient feels a headache or Migraine coming, the device delivers stimulation to

block the headache pain.

MALDI

It is a new Mass-Spectroscopy technique to detect Bacterial infection in blood, sputum, tissue etc.

MALDI=Matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization. MALDI can accurately identify bacteria in minutes, which allows doctors to more quickly

and appropriately treat infections.

Dermoscope

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Melanoma=Skin cancer. To Detect Melanoma, earlier dermatologists had to put incision (cut) on the skin, take

sample, and observe It under microscope. Dermoscope is a new handheld device for skin-cancer (Melanoma) detection. The device uses imaging technology that, in less than one minute, visualizes the micro-

vessel structure of just below the skin‘s surface. So Cancer can be detected without incision.

Cataract

Lens clouded by Cataract

eye disease in which natural lens of eye gets clouded.(observe above image)

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Cataract is painless. But It causes blindness by obstructing passage of light, although the patient can distinguish light from darkness.

Cataract is a common disease for people over 50 years of age. However, it can happen at young age also, if a person is suffering from Diabetes.

Cataract can be successfully cured using surgery. The present Cataract surgery involves using surgical blade or laser, to cut the the clouded

parts of lens (or removing the lens and planting a new artificial lens)

Femtosecond Cataract Surgery

Femtosecond=one quadrillionth of a second. This is the latest surgical for Cataract, using a computer Laser system, now the the

surgeon can soften and break up the cataract within Femtoseconds. This surgery is more precise and causes less inflammation after surgery.

Ex-Vivo Lung Perfusion

Lung transplant surgery is required in patients with diseases such as Chronic pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis etc. (usually associated with heavy smokers.)

Problem: 80 percent of donated lungs, can‘t be used, either because they‘re too full of fluid, infected with bacteria, or otherwise damaged.

Ex-Vivo lung perfusion =A new way of treating these lungs and make them donor friendly.

In this technique, a special chemical solution is injected into dead-person‘s lungs and then he is kept on a ventilator for 4-6 hours. This can reverse lung injury and dry out excess fluid. Then lungs can be removed and transplanted to the patient.

Mock questions

Q1 Consider these statements:

1. Cataract is an extremely painful inflammation of eye. 2. A diabetes patient is more likely to develop Cataract at young age. 3. Bariatric Surgery is required for Melanoma. 4. Dermoscope is a new device to treat dandruff, hairfall and baldness.

Which of above statements are correct?

a. Only 1 and 4 b. Only 2 and 3 c. Only 2 d. Only 1, 2 and 4.

Q2. Consider these statements

1. Mass Spectroscopy can detect viral infection but not bacterial or fungal infection. 2. Migraine is an acute disease. 3. Gene Expert is the latest AIDS detection test, 2 times faster than ELSA test.

Which of above statements are correct?

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a. Only 1 and 2 b. Only 2 and 3 c. Only 1 and 3. d. None

Descriptive/ Mains GS

1. Project Akshaya (2m) 2. Enumerate the benefits of GeneXpert test. (5 marks) 3. Government initiatives against the menace of Cataract and TB. (10 marks)

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[Science] No Touch Breastscan, Chemin, TLS, CFL vs Tubelight choke etc from The Hindu S&T, Nov 2012

1. No Touch BreastScan (NTBS) 2. CheMin 3. Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS) 4. Gale Crater 5. Volcanic Activity in New Zealand 6. Step-Throat and Salt water gargaling 7. Why no Choke needed in CFL?

No Touch BreastScan (NTBS)

Imaging device, based on thermography, to detect brast cancer. Increased metabolism in cancer cells leads to increase in temperature. The NTBS device looks for temperature hot spots at the surface of breast and detects

breast cancer. However, US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has found no evidence to support

the claim that thermography is a replacement for mammography.

CheMin

Name of device in NASA‘s Curiosity rover. Full name=Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument It is used for soil analysis on Mars. CheMin uses X-ray diffraction, the standard practice for geologists on Earth using much

larger laboratory instruments. This method provides more accurate identifications of minerals than any method

previously used on Mars. CheMin found that minerals on the Red Planet are similar to those found in volcanic

soils in Hawaii.

Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS)

Name of device on Curiosity Rover. The presence of methane is an important sign to indicate that life may have existed in the

planet‘s past. TLS analysed a small sample of Martian air to come to the conclusion, had actually

detected a few parts per billion of methane. However, recognising that the reading was too low to be significant, it sounded a ―No‖.

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Gale Crater

Located on Mars planet. Curiosity rover found signs that water may have flowed in the past through Gale Crater.

Volcanic Activity in New Zealand

New Zealand lies on the ‗Pacific Ring of Fire,‘ where the Earth‘s tectonic plates collide, making it a hotspot for volcanic and earthquake activity.

In the late 1800s, Mount Ruapehu, Mount Tarawera of New Zeland had erupted, caused destruction of life and property.

Recently Mt. Tongariro erupted in New Zealand. This Volcanic mountain was used as a backdrop in famous Hollywood movie ―Lord of the Rings‖

Step-Throat and Salt water gargaling

Why do we feel relief when we gargle with salt in hot water when suffering from throat pain?

Soreness of throat is generally due to the infection of the bacterium called Streptococcus .

So it is called strep throat. A strep throat is usually inflamed due to bacteria making widespread damage on our soft

tissues or mucosa. These inflammations (known as edemas) are usually filled with water. When we gargle with warm salt water that is saltier than our body fluids (hypertonic

solution), through osmosis the salt draws out the edema fluid. Moreover gargling with salt water does not actually help to heal the strep throat like a

medicine would, but it does provide temporary relief. If we do not experience relief as a result of the salt water gargling and if the pain persists

we must consult a doctor to get proper antibiotic treatment.

Why no Choke needed in CFL?

Why is a choke required in a tube light and not in a CFL?

Both tubelights and CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps) are low pressure mercury vapour discharge lamps.

When electrical discharge could strike the column of the tube, lot of invisible UV radiation having is generated.

This UV radiation when strikes the white coating inside the tube made of fluorescent material- phosphors gets converted to visible light through the process of fluorescence. Thus we see the white light.

For a conventional a tubelight, a choke is required, to initiate the electrical discharge process.

But CFLs, being smaller in dimensions offering much lower electrical resistance do not require such bulky chokes.

Instead the discharge in CFLs is initiated by much compact electronic circuits integrated into the CFL holder.

Mock Questions

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Q1. We feel relief when we gargle with salt in hot water when suffering from throat pain, because

a. Hot Salt water kills the bacteria responsible for throat pain b. Hot Salt water works as muscle relaxant c. Hot salt water salt draws out the edema fluid from the throat. d. None of Above

Q2. Find correct statement

1. Tubelight is a low pressure mercury vapour discharge lamp 2. CFL is a high pressure mercury vapor discharge lamp.

a. Only 1 b. Only 2 c. Both d. None

Q3. Which of the following is/are incorrect regarding devices of Curiosity rover?

1. Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS) analysed the soil of Mars 2. CheMin analysed the presence of methane in the atmospere of Mars


Ref

These terms are from The Hindu S&T, Nov-2012. For previous collections, visit www.Mrunal.org/snt

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2012/12/science-no-touch-breastscan-chemin-tls-cfl-vs-tubelight-choke-etc-from-the-hindu.html


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[Science] TheHindu Dec12: Asteroid Mining, GRAIL, MoonKAMs, Liquiglide, Oraquick and more Science-Tech for UPSC CSAT

1. Space related o Asteroid Mining + Space Station o Mercury Messenger o GRAIL o MoonKAMs o Ebb and Flow, Sally Ride

2. Science-Tech o LiquiGlide o Plastic light bulb o Nuke Desalination plant o MakerBot Replicator o Switchblade Drone o Element 113

3. Biology o Biological Plough Redgram o Handheld Dental X-ray o Why skin itching during wound healing? o OraQuick Home o Parkinson‘s disease o Dogs in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve o NHRDF-RED-2

4. Mock Questions

Space related

Asteroid Mining + Space Station

NASA’s plan for Asteroids?

NASA scientists are planning to capture a 500,000 kg asteroid, and transform it into a space station for astronauts to refuel at on their way to Mars.

This technology would also open up the possibility of mining other asteroids for their metals and minerals.

Some asteroids are full of iron which could be used for in the making of new space stations

Others asteroids are made up of water which could be broken down into hydrogen and oxygen to make fuel

NASA plans to accomplish this in next 10-12 years.

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Asteroids Comets

Small rocky or metallic body that orbits the Sun.

Most asteroids are found between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter in a wide region called the asteroid belt.

It is because of their small size and large numbers relative to the major planets that asteroids are also called minor planets.

small icy body in space that sheds gas and dust.

A Comet appears generally as a bright head with a long tail.

The length of the tail grows in size as it approaches the sun. (because Sun‘s heat coverts the ice directly into gas without melting).

The tail of a comet is always directed away from the sun

Halley‘s comet, appears after nearly every 76 years.

Meteors Meteroites

A meteor is usually a small object that Occasionally enters the earth‘s atmosphere.

At that time it has a very high speed. The friction due to the atmosphere heats it up.

It glows and evaporates quickly. Hence known as Shooting stars.

Some meteors are large so that they can reach the Earth before they evaporate completely.

The body that reaches the Earth is called a meteorite

Comet and its tail

Mercury Messenger

Mercury is the innermost planet in the Solar System. NASA‘s MESSENGER spacecraft has reported presence of water-ice on Mercury.

GRAIL

GRAIL (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory) mission.

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It is NASA‘s first planetary mission to carry cameras fully dedicated to education and public outreach.

MoonKAMs

MoonKAM= Moon Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students. The MoonKams captures images of the moon‘s surface and sends them to the students

for study.

Ebb and Flow, Sally Ride

Two NASA spacecraft — Ebb and Flow, equippped with MoonKAMs and orbitting around Moon since 2011 under GRAIL mission.

But they did not have sufficient altitude or fuel to continue science operations. Hence NASA team crash-landed them on Moon in Dec 2012.

The place where they crash landed is named after Sally K. Ride, America‘s first woman astronaut.

Science-Tech

LiquiGlide

Ketchup won‘t stick inside bottle anymore!

A coating material for any type food containers —glass, ceramic, metal and plastic. It is super-slippery and non-toxic hence you can easily pickout last drop of honey,

fruitjam, ketchup or oil from the insides of food containers. No scraping, rinsing of bottles required. And the compound is safe enough to eat.

Other applications

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Keep ice off the wings of an airplane Help easy flow in oil and gas pipelines where insides of pipes sees buildup of organic

compounds that clog supply networks. For cosmetics: can pour last drop of expensive lotions out.

Plastic light bulb

a new kind of light bulb that uses plastic polymers and nano materials to generate light It is more energy-efficient than current fluorescent lights and is easier on the eye. It doesn‘t produce humming sound like those fluorescent tubes.

Nuke Desalination plant

Nuclear Desalination Demonstration Plant (NDDP) located at Kalpakkam, Tamilnadu.

It is the world‘s largest hybrid seawater desalination plant coupled to an existing nuclear power plant.

Principle:

when the pressure drops, the boiling point of seawater also drops. The excess heat generated from nuclear reaction causes seawater to flash evaporate into

pure water vapour. The water vapour is then condensed to produce distilled water.

MakerBot Replicator

Using makerbot, you can ―print‖ your own 3D toys!

desktop-size 3-D printer.

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Instead of using ink, it spreads ultra-thin plastic layers, each melting into the layer below to create a 3D-object.

Switchblade Drone

It‘s a kamikaze (suicide bombing) type drone. The person controlling it uses a real-time video feed from the drone to crash it into a

precise target—say, a sniper and its tiny warhead detonates on impact.

Element 113

Japan has created three atoms of the highly unstable superheavy element 113. This element is yet nameless, but it has an enormous nucleus containing 113 protons and

165 neutrons.

Biology

Biological Plough Redgram

Pigeonpea, commonly known as redgram, arhar or tur, It is leguminous plant. it is capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen and thereby restores nitrogen content in the

soil. Its deep rooting system helps in extracting nutrients and moisture from deeper soil

layers thus making it suitable for rainfed condition. Deeper rooting system of the crop also helps in breaking the tough dry soil and it is also

called as ‗biological plough‘.

Handheld Dental X-ray

Genuine Handheld X-ray sets are very expensive. But now Chinamade Cheaper products are in the market.

But they do not have adequate shielding in the X-ray tube. And leads to accidental leakage radiation. In India, use of such medical X-ray instruments need approval from Atomic Energy

Regulatory Board. (AERB) Use of radiation generating equipment not approved by AERB is a violation of the legal

provisions and will attract action under the appropriate provisions of the Atomic Energy Act 1962

Why skin itching during wound healing?

Histamine =chemical mediator involved in the allergic reactions. Histamine dilates blood vessels to facilitate the entry of immune cells onto the wound

site to ward off infection. But It also acts on the nerve endings causing itching. Itching can also be caused due to allergy for the ointments/ medications applied When new skin that is formed is devoid of the normal oil glands .This dryness also

provokes the nerve endings causing itching.

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OraQuick Home

Oraquick-Detect HIV @Home

It‘s the first Do It Yourself testkit for detecting HIV—the same one that health professionals use but without the trip to a doctor‘s office or the need to wait days for results.

Parkinson’s disease

is caused by loss of the neurons that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine (known as dopaminergic neurons).

Researchers have now derived dopaminergic neurons from bone marrow stem cells in monkeys to cure it.

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Dogs in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve

Mudumalai tiger reserve = Tamilnadu.

Issue: Domestic dogs from surrouding villages are hunting small birds and mammals near forest edges.

Why problem?

1. Lower prey availability for wild carnivores like tigers and leopards 2. These dogs may also be spreading rabies and other diseases to wild animals 3. Mudumalai, also has large populations of the endangered wild dog or dhole. 4. They eat infected carcasses hunted by domestic dogs=spread of disease. 5. Training village dogs to procure wild meat is a criminal offence under the category of

‗poaching‘. But the larger harm that goes unnoticed is that it indirectly threatens the survival of non-target animals.

NHRDF-RED-2

New onion variety for North India. Developed by National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF),

Nashik. This foundation => established by National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing

Federation of India Ltd (NAFED)

Mock Questions

CSAT MCQs

Q1. Find incorrect Match?

NASA missions Location

1. MESSENGER Mercury

2. GRAIL Moon


Q2. find correct Match

Term Associated with

1. Shooting star Asteroid

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2. Minor planet Meteor


Q3. which of the following is not correct about Asteroids?

1. They‘re found in the Asteroid belt between Mercury and Jupiter. 2. Some of them contain metals and minerals.


Q4. Which of the following is correct about the tail of Comet?

1. It grows bigger in size as it moves away from the Sun. 2. It is always directed towards the Sun.


Q5. Correct Match?

Wildlife species Found in

Narcondam Hornbill Nagaland

Dhole Tamilnadu


Q6. (Decision Making Q for CSAT-Paper II) There are reports of domestic dogs hunting small birds and mammals in a wildlife sanctuary and thus posing risk to the foodchain and health of the wild animals. As the Chief Warden of this sanctuary, which of the following step would you take?

a. Promise cash reward to anyone who kills those domestic dogs. b. Set up Electrical fence to prevent those domestic dogs from entering in the Sanctuary. c. Order people of the surrounding villages not to feed or shelter those domestic dogs, else

face punitive actions.

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d. Capture, Vasectomize and release those domestic dogs in area far away from the Wildlife Sanctuary.

General Studies Mains

Write 20 words about following terms

1. Oraquick home 2. GRAIL 3. MOONKams 4. Liquiglide 5. NAFED 6. NASA MESSENGER 7. 3D-printing.

For previous entries related to Science-Tech, visit Mrunal.org/snt want to add your entries, then participate in Current Affairs Marathon (click me)

Ref

1. The Hindu Science Tech (Thursday) editions of Dec 2012 2. TIME magazine‘s best inventions of the year 2012

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2012/12/science-hindu-asteroid-mining-grail-moonkam-liquiglide-oraquick-sci-tech-upsc-csat.html

http://www.mrunal.org/snt

http://mrunal.org/forum/discussion/3/csat-current-affairs-marathon-2012-13

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[Hindu Sci-Tech] Space, IT related: KSLV, Luna Glob, Black Beauty, COMET, SKA, SAGA-220 (Jan, Feb 2013)

1. Telescopes o #1: Square Kilometre Array (SKA) o #2: Solar telescope, Solar winds

2. Space mission related o #1: Luna Glob o #2: KSLV-1 o #3: Pishgam

3. IPK 4. Black Beauty 5. IO: the moon of Jupiter 6. COMET online monitoring system 7. India‘s IT Development: SAGA 220 8. Ubuntu 9. petabytes 10. MillatFacebook (MFB) 11. Direct-to-Home (DTH) movie release

Telescopes

#1: Square Kilometre Array (SKA)

world‘s largest and most sensitive radio telescope will be 50 times more sensitive, and be able to survey the sky 10,000 times faster, than

any imaging radio telescope array previously built. will be completed in 2024 Location: South Africa + Australia. Benefit: developments in many technology areas, including antennas, signal transport,

signal processing, computing, software and data archiving India is actively involved in this project

#2: Solar telescope, Solar winds

Will be built in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir . It‘ll have capability to do both day and night astronomy. Will help in understanding sunspots: process of their creation and decay. Sunspots pose a threat to the communication system on earth as well as space satellites. Increased sunspot activity=> increase in the outflow solar wind.

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Solar wind contains charged particles that can interfere with the operation of satellites by introducing what is called background static.

Solar winds also interact with atoms in the upper part of earth‘s atmosphere, wreaking havoc with the communication systems on ground.

Satellites in low earth orbit face greater risk as during periods of heightened solar activity.

Space mission related

#1: Luna Glob

Russia will launch this robotic lunar mission in 2015.

#2: KSLV-1

Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) South Korea will launch this satellite and gain entry to an elite global space club that

includes Asian powers China, India and Japan. Earlier, South Korea couldn‘t launch satellite program for many years, because its main

military ally the U.S., feared S.Koera‘s arms race with N. Korea.

#3: Pishgam

name of Monkey that was recently sent to space and returned back, under Iranian space mission.

In Farsi, Pishgam = Pioneer.

IPK

original kilogram — known as the International Prototype Kilogram or the IPK. It is made up of platinum-based weight. All other measurements of mass are set against this IPK model. Problem: This kilogram has become heavier as contaminants have built up on its surface.

Black Beauty

It is a 320 gram space rock from Mars. Discovered in Morocco‘s Sahara Desert in 2011 It contains more water than any other Martian meteorite previously found. could unlock vital clues to the evolution of Mars

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Black beauty: Rock from Mars

IO: the moon of Jupiter

IO Moon

Jupiter planet has 5 major moons.IO is the innermost of them.

Earth as only one moon.

Has many active volcanoes. In fact, most volcanically active body in the solar system

No

Smaller than our moon bigger than IO

Jupiter has a few natural satellites orbiting it Doesn‘t have any natural satellites orbiting it.

COMET online monitoring system

Communication Plan for Election (COMET) is made for use of Election Commission. It is a high-tech SMS-based alert system. Officials on the election duty just need to punch in a few letters to send various coded

SMSes. The information is instantly available online and can be used by the Election commission

and poll officials in the state capital and district. It also helps in monitoring events down to a particular polling booth at the click of a

mouse, for example

1. When did the staff reaching the polling station

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2. voting percentages every two hours 3. did the poll party reached safely at the EVMs deposit centre or not?

India’s IT Development

HEC-2M First computer in India (imported from UK) in 1955. Installed @ Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Calcutta.

70s networks such as NICNET and the Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT),

80s Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) was developed by ECIL and Bharat Electronics.

LPG reforms (90s)

Led to rise of private players such as Infosys, Wipro, Satyam.

SAGA-220 Supercomputer built by ISRO @Vikram Sarabhai space centre.

PARAM Supercomputer built by C-DAC, Pune.

Ubuntu

Open source operating system (OS) Linux for computers. Android = Google‘s open source operating system for smartphones and tables. (based on

linux) Now Ubuntu is also coming to tablet platform.

petabytes

a peta is a million billion or 10 raised to power 15

MillatFacebook (MFB)

Pakistan‘s version of Facebook. website was launched after the Lahore High Court banned Facebook after some

members started a `Everybody Draw Mohammad Day‘ competition. objective was to provide a platform for all Muslims and ―nice, decent and sophisticated

people of all religious and faiths‖ to come together and make a network.

Direct-to-Home (DTH) movie release

one of the controversies surrounding Kamal Hasan‘s recent movie. Kamal Haasan wanted to release his movie Viswaroopam on DTH platform as a pay-per-

view screening a day ahead of its intended theatre release. (=you can watch it on your dish tv, tata sky etc.)

But Theatre owners and distributors said DTH is not video piracy-proof and hence, if new movies are immediately shown on DTH= it will drastically cut ticket revenues.

Kamal Haasan‘s argument: It is not impossible to record the contents of a digital set top box. and he was just attempting to explore a legitimate source of revenue. Besides the single pay-per-view show priced at Rs. 1,000 per activation = mostly upper middle/rich class will watch. This will not hurt the business of theatre owners, because their target consumer base belongs to different income group.

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[Hindu Sci-Tech] Public Health, EnB related: Virtopsy, Vomitting Larry, Hydrogel, Mauritia (Jan Feb 2013)

1. Gardasil and Cervarix 2. Vomiting Larry 3. Acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) 4. Virtopsy 5. Health communication 6. COPSS Award 7. Mauritia 8. DNA as a storage device 9. Hydrogel 10. Saliva functions 11. Banana peel 12. Bio-inspired technology 13. Lizard : Adhesives 14. Velcro: Maroolimatthai 15. Porcupin: Surgical Patches

Gardasil and Cervarix

names of the new HPV vaccines made by GlaxoSmithKline. The Health activists say it is not properly tested, they‘ve filled PIL in supreme court. their

arguments

1. Though both vaccines are claimed to prevent cervical cancer, the truth is cervical cancer takes twenty or more years to develop. The vaccines have just not been around that long to prove their efficacy!

2. neither of these vaccines had been studied to determine their potential to cause cancer

Vomiting Larry

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Vomiting Larry

Larry is a ―humanoid simulated vomiting system‖ designed by British scientists. It is being use to how norovirus spreads.

Acute flaccid paralysis (AFP)

Polio is a disease caused by a virus. But AFP can also arise for other reasons, including infection by non-polio pathogens. No child in India has been diagnosed with polio for nearly two years now and all the

indications are that the virus responsible for it is no longer circulating here. However, the country‘s polio surveillance system has indicated a sharp increase during

recent years in the number of non-polio AFP cases. most of the country‘s non-polio AFP cases occur in just two States — Bihar and Uttar

Pradesh. cases of children with non-polio AFP were not being monitored by either the polio

eradication programme or the larger state health care system. As a result, there is no clear picture of what was causing the AFP, the kind of diseases

these children displayed, or how many of them were seriously affected

Virtopsy

Autopsy=examination and dissection of a dead body to determine cause of death. Previously, doctors would use scalpel, cut the chest open and examine tissues. Often, relatives of the dead donot agree for autopsies because of the disfigurement

caused by such cutting and incisions. Now scientists have come up with a non-invasive technique for conducting autopsy. This

is called ―Virtopsy‖(=virtual autopsy). Here, doctor examines the corpse in 3-D via computer screens.

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Virtopsy

Virtopsy combine the images from high-powered magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) and surface scans of dead bodies.

Combined, the devices are referred to as a ―virtobot‖. The technique allows the detection of injuries such as lesions and blows often

undetectable during a traditional autopsy, as well as air pockets, heart attacks and even cancer.

The method has already allowed the discovery of haemorrhages and fractures that were not picked up during conventional autopsies.

Health communication

It means generating awareness among population regarding a particular disease. In India, two most successful examples of Health communication =polio + HIV

#1: Polio

Polio messaging for example was built on simple idea — two drops that could save your child‘s life. This message was everywhere — from print, TV and radio from the more urban and semi-urban audiences and on roadsides, on the back of buses and lorries and in small village fairs.

A host of agencies worked together to develop this multi-pronged strategy It was led by communication professionals. (and not doctors) This helped in creating multiple strategies to engage diverse audiences.

#2: HIV

HIV was perhaps India‘s most complex disease communication exercise Because our Indian society has deep-rooted double standards, limited women‘s rights

and a complete lack of conversation on sexuality and sexual diversity. So talking about

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HIV may have been impossible. But Government took help of external agencies, communication professionals.

thus HIV campaign used every possible medium and celebrities to transmit messages on prevention, on treatment and on stigma.

Conclusion

Finally, public health authorities need to take up public health communications as a priority. (because prevention better than cure.)

Health communication needs to be managed by communication professionals and not doctors.

Public health communication must be multi-pronged, regionally suitable and easy to absorb.

COPSS Award

In USA, this award is given to young statisticians below 40 years. Dr. Nilanjan Chatterjee won the COPSS for his overall contribution to the field of

genetics and biostatistics. He found that Smoking causes lung cancer, but smoking alone does not determine who

will develop lung cancer. A person may have some good genes that reduce the risk of lung cancer. So what might

be important to know is what kind of genetic background a person may have to know if he is prone to lung cancer.

Mauritia

It is a submerged continent in the Indian Ocean, recently found. lies under Mauritius and extends more than 1,000 km northwards till Seychelles. First scientists found crystals called zircons on Mauritian beaches. Zircons are resistant to erosion or chemical change and some of the ones they found

were almost two billion years old, much older than any of the regular soil or sand samples found on nearby islands.

Scientists thought such old crystals could only belong to a submerged continent. they consulted satellite data which can help detect submerged land masses. this continent Mauritia may have existed as an archipelago, a cluster of islands squeezed

in between Madagascar and the Indian subcontinent. Study of this continent can help us in better exploration of oil and gas in the oceans.

DNA as a storage device

Scientists are working to use DNA as a storage device. (like how computer can store information in form of 0 and 1). Similarly DNA could also save information using its 4 bases ACTG

Advantages Problems

DNA is a long-lived, stable and easily synthesized storage hard drive. While the current electronic storage devices require active and continued aintenance

Data reading, writing speed is slow and expensive at the moment.

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and regular transferring between storage media

DNA based storage needs no active maintenance. Just store in a cool, dark and dry place!

Hydrogel

myocardial infarction= when heart tissue is destroyed, it blocks the oxygen supply to heart muscles.

When cells of heart do not receive oxygen= they get permanently damaged. Such damaged heart cells cannot regenerate, thus a thick scar develops in heart. This is where Hydrogel can help. Hydrogel is derived from a pig‘s heart. The basic function of the gel is to provide a scaffold (platform) for new heart cells to

form. Thus hydrogel can the damaged heart recover and function like a healthy one.

Saliva functions

The function of saliva (watering in mouth) is to

1. destroy pathogenic bacteria, 2. help in swallowing the food 3. serve as a solvent for the molecules that stimulate taste buds

aid speech by facilitating movements of lips and tongue. It also helps to neutralize gastric acid when there is regurgitation (reflex act of ejecting

the contents of the stomach through the mouth) reduces heart burn In humans, the sight, smell and even thought of food causes salivationThis is because the

salivary secretion is conditioned. Ivan Pavlov‘s classical experiments of conditioned reflex: A bell was rung just before the meat was placed in the dog‘s mouth, and this was repeated a number of times until the animal would salivate when the bell was rung even though no meat was placed in its mouth.

Salivation by humans on the sight, smell or thought of the tasty food is, therefore, a conditioned reflex.

Banana peel

Banana peel stays yellow for a much longer time when it is covering the fruit, but when we remove it, peel turns black in a few minutes. Why?

Blackening of the banana peel is due to the presence of an enzyme, which is oxygen dependent.

As soon as we peel the banana the inner portion, the inner skin, gets exposed to atmospheric oxygen much more than when it is still covering the fruit.

Inner skin is thin compared to outer layer. While peeling, inner-skin cells get damaged and liberate chemicals known as amines. This leaked out amines come into contact with enzymes present closely in the inner skin.

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This results in immediate oxidation in the presence of atmospheric oxygen = peel turns black.

But this enzymatic reaction needs a little warmer conditions. That is why in summer and hot conditions even the outer skin turns brown, black faster compared to that in cooler environment.

Not only banana, fruits like apples, grapes and vegetables like potato, raw banana also turn brown, black on peeling due to the presence of that enzyme

Since bananas are tropical fruits the cells get damaged due to chill injury when we refrigerate them – unlike apples which are temperate fruits which can be stored in the fridge safely.

Bio-inspired technology

It is new branch of science and technology. It learns from the properties and behaviour of plants and animals, particularly their

modes of defence and offence Then it attempts to produce new technological products, inspired by these properties.

For example

Lizard : Adhesives

A household lizard can run effortlessly on the ceiling, defying gravity and without dropping off to the floor.

Because the palms of lizard, contains millions of tiny hairs. These hairs attach to the surface through very weak attractive forces called the van der

Waals interaction. The force of each hair is negligible, but put together thousand and millions of them, and

that adds up to considerable strength. If you shave of these hairlets, lizard will become not be able to climb walls.

After understanding this phenomenon, scientists have been able to make tape-based adhesives (like ‗Post It‘).

Velcro: Maroolimatthai

Cocklebur flowers plant is found in Madurai region of Tamilnadu. Locally known as Maroolimatthai.

This plant has a number of small ball-like flowers Each of them has lots of short pin-like hairs all around, which stick to your socks and

clothes. A swiss scientist studied this structure designed Velcro, the hook-and-loop fastener.

Porcupin: Surgical Patches

Porcupin is a large rodent. It carries as many as over 30,000 quills on the back surface of its body.

The quill has an unique structure, it allows for easy penetration into the skin and beneath, but extremely painful during its removal or extraction.

The tip of quill is very sharp hence enables easy penetration. But when it has to be removed by pulling it out, each of the barbs resists by opening up

(a bit like an umbrella), adhering to the skin, damaging it.

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Now scientists are creating synthetic quills using polymers. Such a biomimetic or bio-inspired polymer patch would be useful for the development of

mechanically interlocking tissue adhesives or needles, trocars and surgical staples.

For more articles on science-tech, visit Mrunal.org/snt

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- Mrunal - http://mrunal.org -

[Defense] Current Affairs compilation 2012-13: missiles, joint exercises, operations, organizations

1. Intro 2. Defense exercises 3. Missiles, weapons and vehicles

o Agni o Aircraft destroyer o Cruise o Navy / Submarine o Anti-Tank o Tanks and artillery o Rifles/ uniforms o Indian Radars and Sonars o Aircrafts o Helicopters o UAV/Drones o Submarines o Navy Ship o Coast guard ships o Coast guard vs Navy

4. Navy: New bases 5. Blue water navy 6. Defense PSUs 7. FDi limit 8. Exhibitions 9. Paramilitary forces? 10. Important organizations 11. Mock questions

Intro

Agni, Prithvi, Trishul……whenever you‘re preparing for UPSC, State PSC, IBPS, SSC or LIC you‘ve to prepare these things over and over again. Sometimes it feels as if Indian Government tests these missiles not only to annoy China and Pakistan but also to annoy the competitive exam aspirants. Anyways, earlier I gave the compilation for persons in news 2012-13. click me if you haven‘t read it already. Now here a new article dealing with defense related current affairs (2012-13) and basic stuff.

If you feel any important term is missing, do mention it in the comments below.

Defense exercises

Kinda one of the most important topics for CSAT paper I. It‘s not that UPSC asks defense exercises every year but just because it was asked once or twice then it becomes important forever, especially when it has a catchy name hahaha.

Name Country force

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Bold Kurukshetra

India, Singapore in UP Army (Tanks)

Cormorant Strike Iii

India, Srilanka, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and

Maldives. (held in Sri Lanka) All 3

Garud Shakti India, Indonesia Army

Indiaex-2012 India, US Navy

Indra India, Russia, bi annual Navy

Iron Fist Only India. In Rajasthan Air Force

Jimex India, Japan Navy

Konkan India, UK Navy

Malabar India, US Navy

Milan India and 14 other countries: Australia, Bangladesh etc. Navy

Passex India, Japan Navy

Pralay India only, in North East Airforce+Army

Red Flag India, US in Nevada Airforce

Shakti India, France in Uttarakhand Army

Shatrujeet India, US in California Army (Infantry)

Shoor Veer Only India, Rajasthan border Army

Simbex India, Singapore Navy

Tropex TROPEX=Theatre Level Operational Readiness

Exercise.India only Navy

Vajra Prahar India, US in Uttarakhand Army (Special

Forces)

Varuna India, France Navy

Yudh Abhyas India, US in Rajasthan Army (Tanks)

^this is one of the uses of pib.nic.in

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Missiles, weapons and vehicles

Agni

Surface to surface missile by DRDO. Range increases as version increases.

Agni-

5

>5000kms. It is India‘s first Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). India is the 7th country to have ICBM. Other 6 are= US, Russia, China, UK, France

and Israel. North Korea is also developing an ICBM named Taepodong-2.

Agni-

4 4000kms

Agni-

3 3000kms

Agni-

2 2000kms. Pakistan‘s HATF-5 (Ghauri) has range of about 1300 kms.

Agni-1 700kms (some books/magazines say 800 but India 2013 Yearbook says 700 so I keep it

700).

Prithivi

Surface to surface. Short range (150-350) Range increases as number increases: Prithvi I=150, II=250 and III=350kms Its naval version is known as Dhanush. Dhanush can be launched from Navy ships.

Aircraft destroyer

Akash

Surface to air (SAM) It can destroy many targets at once, using Rajendra radar system. Its range is higher than trishul.

Astra Air to air missile to destroy enemy aircrafts.

Trishul

Surface to air (SAM) Destroy low level flying objects. E.g. from a ship against low flying attacking

enemy missiles.

Cruise

Brahmos 290 km range. Only Supersonic cruise missile in the world. (speed close to 3 Mach)

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Named after two rivers: Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia. can be used against ship and land targets. Can be installed on ships, submarines & aircraft and ground vehicles Can receive navigation signals from both GPS (USA) and GLONASS(Russia).

Nirbhay

sub-sonic cruise missile Nirbhay is India‘s equivalent of Tomahawk, a long-range, sub-sonic cruise

missile, developed by the U.S. developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will travel at a sub-sonic speed (less than the speed of sound).

Navy / Submarine

Dhanush

It is the naval version of Prithvi II missile. Nuke capable. 350kms

K-15 Sagarika Can be launched from submarines. Range abt 700kms. Will be used from nuclear powered submarines (like Arihant).

Varunastra Anti-submarine torpedo

Anti-Tank

HELINA The helicopter-fired version of Nag (anti-tank missile). Helina =Helicopter + Nag

LAHAT Laser Homing Attack or Laser Homing Anti-Tank missile will be used in the upgraded Arjun battle tanks.

NAG

‗fire and forget‘ anti-tank missile. can destroy enemy tanks four km away NAMICA=carrier of NAG missile. Both of them did not perform well during field trials in Rajasthan.

NAMIKA It is a vehicle to carry and launch NAG missles.

Invar Anti-tank Missiles that can be launched from Arjun T-90 tanks. India will buy these

from Russia

Adrushya Anti-tank mine. By DRDO

Tanks and artillery

Arjun Main battle tank. (T90)Kanchan=name of the armour used on this tank.

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Ajeya T-72 tank

SARVATRA Mobile bridge laying system. So army‘s tanks and vehicles can cross rivers.

DAKSH It is a robotic vehicle for disabling IED (explosives).

Pinaka Multibarrel rocket system (it looks like a truck with lot of rockets on its shoulder).

BHIM 155mm artillery gun. (these type of guns are known as ―howitzer‖) Bofors is also a

howitzer.

BMP-2 Infantry combat vehicle. To transport soldiers in the battlefield.

Rifles/ uniforms

INSAS

it is a self loading rifle (SLR) by DRDO. INSAS=Indian small arms system. Before INSAS, we had ISHAPORE SLR.

Sujav Compact communication and electronic warfare suit

Baby viper An equipment for clearing land mines. By DRDO

Indian Radars and Sonars

First understand the difference.

Radar Sonar

RAdio Detection and

Ranging SOund Navigation And Ranging

Uses radio waves Uses sound waves

Mostly used above water

(air) Underwater.

Faster response Slower (because speed of sound is slower than radio waves and

depends on medium through which it travels)

1. aerial and naval navigation

2. air defense 3. checking weather

patterns

1. Locate submarines and mines in the sea 2. underwater surveillance and communication 3. mapping underwater terrains

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Now let‘s check the DRDO projects related to Radars and Sonars

RADAR Sonar

Revati (3d radar for navy) HUMSA (shipborne)

Rohini (3d radar for airforce) MIHIR (airborne)

Indra Panchendriya, USUSH (Submarine)

Rajendra Tadpole

Darpan

3D Car 3D Central Acquisition Radar

^most of these are given in India Yearbook, that‘s why important for MCQs.

Aircrafts

(list is definitely not exhaustive)

SU30-

MKI Fighter jets, India will buy them from Russia.

Dornier-

228 Transport aircraft

Saras Transport aircraft

LCA NP-1

Light combat aircraft, Naval prototype 1.India‘s first indigenous naval fighter jet (that

can be used from aircraft carrier ships such as INS Vikramaditya).

It has STOBAR capability. STOBAR= Ski Takeoff but arrested recovery.

Tejas

Light combat aircraft. (LCA)Kaveri=name of Tejas‘s engine. It is India‘s first

indigenous gas turbine engine.

It single seat, single engine, supersonic, light-weight, all-weather, multi-role aircraft.

Darin-III It is upgraded version of Jaguar fighter. Developed by Hindustan Aeronautics ltd.

AEWC

Airborne Early warning and control system. it is a really huge airplane , with high tech radar system. It can detect enemy aircraft, ships and vehicles at long ranges.

Mirage Fighter aircraft, From france

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MiG-21 Russia

By the way, fifth generation air-craft were separately discussed in another article long time back. Click me

Helicopters

Mi-17 v5

Attack helicopter, India will buy them from Russia.Can carry out operation

in any weather, any terrain, day n night + disaster, Search-rescue

operations.

Rudra Attack helicopter.

Dhruv, Cheetal,

Chetak Utility helicopter= transporting very few men, material etc.

AgustaWestland Transport helicopter. From Italy but deal is stuck due to scam.

UAV/Drones

NISHANT,

Rustom-I,

Lakshya-I

These are UAV= Unmanned Aerial vehicles. Developed by DRDO

NETRA

Mini-UAV. CRPF will use it to fight naxals. BSF in counter-insurgency.It looks

like that helicopter Mr.Lobo was building in 3-idiots (and then

heconveniently committed suicide so that Amir Khan could fix it and dance on

a song.)

Harpy, Heron,

Harop These UAV are bought from Israel.

Submarines

INS Chakra Nuclear submarine. We rented this from Russia.Only US, UK, Russia, France

and China had such nuke submarines. (we are the sixth one)

INS Arihant Nuclear submarine. Currently undergoing trial.

INS

Sindhurakshak Submarine, bought from Russia

Navy Ship

INS Sahyadri Stealth frigate.Project 17= Indian navy is building stealth frigates under this

http://mrunal.org/2012/11/diplomacy-fifth-generation-aircrafts-shenyang-j-31-meaning-implications.html

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project.

Teg, Tarkash,

Trikand

These are also stealth frigates. India bought these from Russia.These will be

used for anti-piracy operations.

Sudarshini Indian navy ship. It is on sailing expedition to ASEAN nations.

INS Vikramaditya Aircraft carrier ship. Originally known as Admiral Gorshkov. India bought

this from Russia.

Coast guard ships

Again list not exhaustive, but following names were in news

Samudra

Paheredar Pollution control

Rani Abbakka Patrolling. By the way Rani Abbakka ruled over coastal parts of Karnataka, had

fought against Portugese in late 16th centuary.

Dahanu patrolling (mainly Maharashtra coast)

Rajkamal Patrolling

Coast guard vs Navy

Navy Coast guard

Admiral Director general

Overall Maritime-security Coastal security in Territorial waters

Anti-piracy Anti-smuggling

Reports to Defense ministry Same

Help fishermen in distressSearch and rescue

Marine pollution, environment protection

Navy: New bases

Dweep Rakshak Indian Navy‘s new base in Laskhweep islands.

Baaz Indian Navy‘s new base in Andaman Islands.

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Blue water navy

It is a really powerful navy, can operate across the deep waters in open oceans. E.g US Navy.

Indian navy also wishes to be a Blue water navy. The purchase/induction of Vikramaditya, nuclear submarines, fifth generation air crafts etc. are part of that strategy.

Defense PSUs

To run army, navy, airforce, coast guards or any other force you need weapons, vehicles, uniforms etc. so who provides these materials?= 1) via import from Russia, US, Israel, etc.+ 2) domestic production via DRDO, defense factories and PSUs.

Often, we import stuff from other countries, then our PSUs will refit them to suit Indian terrain and requirements.

Now let‘s take a look at the organizations related with domestic production The main ―boss‖ is Dept of Defense production –>Defence ministry Under this Department of defense production, you‘ve two type of organizations

Defense factories Make ammunition, explosives, weapons, uniforms etc.

Defense undertaking (or PSUs) HAL, BEL, other shipyards.

DRDO is a separate R&D organization that directly reports to Defense ministry. DRDO does the research –Development stuff. Once that is complete, mass production starts with the help of factories / PSUs.

Tagline of DRDO = Balasya Mulam Vigyanam = the source of strength is science. (lolz but first you need money to finance the scientific research, so then what is the source of strength?)

Defense Undertaking (PSUs)

(list not exhaustive)

HAL

Hindustan Aeronautics ltd. HAWK jet trainer SU-30 MKI LCA Dornier (transport aircraft) Dhruv (light helicopter) Cheetal/Chetak (Helicopters)

BEL

Bharat Electronics Sonar, communication devices, electronic systems for tanks, aircrafts. Also develops solar cells, EVM (electronic voting machine) etc.

Shipyards Garden Reach, Kolkata

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Mazagon, Mumbai (and not Goa)

MIDHANI

MIshra-DHatu NIgam ltd. Provides high quality metals, alloys, materials required for air-craft, tank,

weapons production.

NIRDESH

National institute for Research and Development in Defense Shipbuilding. For self-reliance in defense production related to navy. Near Kozhikode, Kerala It is not a PSU but a society.

Private sector

Before 2001, private sector wasn‘t allowed in defense production. But now 26% FDI is allowed in Defense sector. Issue: 26% is very low. It doesn‘t encourage foreign players transfer their defense

technologies in India, therefore Commerce ministry wants this FDI limit to be increased to 74%. for more, click me to read the news article

Exhibitions

AERO india: air force related. 2013‘s show held in Bengaluru. Defexpo India: weapons, machines related to Land, Naval and Internal Security. 2012‘s

show held in New Delhi.

Paramilitary forces?

Different books give different definitions of what is meant by ―Paramilitary forces‖. For example, some would say Paramilitary = those fall under Home ministry and not

under Defense ministry. E.g. CRPF, BSF, ITBP etc. Others will counter it saying forces like IB and CBI also fall under Home ministry but by no means they‘re paramilitary.

In 2011, Government of India made the formal definition: Paramilitary force =headed by Military officer (and not an IPS officer).

CRPF, BSF, ITPB etc are all headed by ―Director Generals‖ but these director generals are actually IPS officers (and not military officers.) Hence going by that definition, we are left with only three ―real‖ paramilitary forces

1. Assam Rifles 2. Special Frontier Force 3. Coast Guard

Ok then

1. what are CRPF, BSF, ITBP, CISF and SSB? =these are ―Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF).‖

2. Then what are RAW and IB = they are intelligence gathering agencies (internal and external)

3. Then what are CBI and NIA= they are law enforcement agencies.

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Organizations

Establishment Years are not important but the chronology is.

1835 Assam Rifles

originally Catchar Levy. Also known as ―Sentinels of North East‖ and ―Friends of the hill people‖

(kinda too clichéd, hence unlikely for MCQs). Falls under Home ministry (and not Defense ministry). However, its DG is an army officer, hence it is a ―true/real‖ paramilitary

force.(and the oldest one) It also protects the Indo-Myanmar border. (SSB looks after Nepal,

Bhutan border)

1861 RPF

Railway protection force. Its evolution can be traced to Indian police Act made in 1861. Under that Act, part of the British police manpower was deployed for protection of railways.

1920 TA

Territorial army. Falls under Defense Ministry. This is like a part time job. A member can continue his routine job /

business as a civilian and every year he has to render service in Territorial army for a few months.

Similar force in USA = known as National Guards.

1939 CRPF

CRPF (originally Crown representative‘s police). Sardar Patel renamed it to Central Reserve Police force. Falls under Home ministry. This is the main fighting force against naxal

and internal disturbances.

1941 CBI

Under special police establishment Act. Later turned into CBI. (1963) On TV channels, you often hear Congies giving argument that CBI is

―independent‖ because doesn‘t fall under Home ministry so ―we‖ are not controlling CBI.

It is a bogus argument because CBI reports to Department of personnel and training, and personnel ministry falls under Prime Minister. Although for corruption cases, CBI reports to CVC.

Similar force in USA=FBI.

1946 Home Guards

Home guards. (Army has similar force known as Territorial army). These are ―Voluntary‖ forces (part time job). Work: bandobast during election, rioting, traffic, disasters etc.

Home ministry frames the policies, functions, training for home guards. The cost of force is shared between centre +states.

1948 NCC National cadet Corps. Motto: Unity and Discipline (Ekta aur anushasan.)

1962 ITBP Indo Tibetan border police. Setup in the wake of Chinese aggression. It was also responsible for KASAB’s security in Mumbai jail. Then they

asked crores of rupees and Maharashtra Government refused to pay.

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Falls under Home Ministry.

1962 SFF

Special Frontier Force. For carrying guerilla operations behind Chinese lines.

Falls under Defense ministry.

1963 SSB Originally Special service bureau, now Sashastra Seema Bal. It protects Nepal and Bhutan border.

1965 BSF

Border security force. During war time, BSF will do the policing work in any enemy territories

captured by Indian Army + taking care of refugees and prisoner of war (PoW).

1968 RAW

Research and Analysis wing (RAW) Doesn‘t fall under Home / Defense / Foreign ministry. This

organization directly reports to PM. Similar force in USA=CIA, Russia=FSB (earlier KGB), Israel= Mossad,

China=MSS. RAW looks into External intelligence gathering. IB (Intelligence bureau) under Home ministry looks into Internal

intelligence gathering. Before RAW was created (1968), this IB used to do both internal and external intelligence gathering.

1969 CISF

Central Industrial security force. Protection of airports, PSUs, nuke labs and powerplants.

CISF is a cost-reimbursement force meaning its cost is borne by the client and not the taxpayer. E.g. if airport is getting CISF cover, then air port has to pay them (so ultimately air-passengers have to pay.)

Infosys is the first private company to get CISF protection.

1985 SPG Special protection group. Setup after Indira‘s assassination. Provides

security to PM, and his family.

1990 RR Rashtriya Rifles. Counter insurgency in Kashmir. It is part of Army

(hence defense ministry).

1992 RAF

Rapid Action force Made from CRPF It was setup mainly for controlling riots. But nowadays also used in

disaster Management, anti-naxal ops, UN peace keeping ops. Vajra= riot control vehicle of RAF. Falls under Home ministry.

2008 COBRA

Combat battalion for resolution action. Made from CRPF. To fight naxals.

Similar force of Andhra police Is known as ―Grey-hounds‖.

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2009 NIA National investigation agency. After 26/11 attacks. Just like CBI, this one

also reports to Personnel Ministry.

Let‘s try to consolidate some important stuff from above table

Defense ministry vs Home ministry

Defense ministry Home

1. Army: Rashtriya Rifles, Territorial army

2. Navy 3. Airforce 4. Coast guard 5. For special ops: Marcos (Navy),

Garuda (Airforce), Ghatak (Army), Special Frontier Force.

6. NCC

1. Internal security=CRPF, RAF, COBRA, Assam Rifles(NE), CISF (PSUs, Airports etc.)

2. Border security=SSB (Nepal Bhutan), BSF (Pak, Bangla), ITBP (Tibet), Assam Rifles (Myanmar)

3. Law Enforcement=CBI, NIA: but they don‘t report to home ministry.

4. Intelligence=IB (internal) + RAW (external) but RAW falls directly under PM.

5. For special operations=NSG

Special forces across world

For Surgical operations like airplane hijack, terrorist/hostage situation.

NSG India

SAS UK

Delta Force US

GSG-9 Germany

GIGN France

Shar-et-matkal Israel

Mock questions

1. Which of the following is not a UAV? a. Nishant b. Rustom c. Netra d. Dhruv

2. Which of the following has highest range in kms? a. Prithvi

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b. Brahmos c. Dhanush d. Agni-V

3. Which of the following country doesn‘t have ICBM missiles? a. India b. China c. USA d. South Korea.

4. Which of the following is not a Surface to surface missile a. Agni b. Prithvi c. Trishul d. None of above.

5. What is the FDI limit in Defense sector in India? a. 0 b. 26 c. 49 d. 74

6. What is NIRDESH? a. State of the art electronic communication system for Navy b. An organization for making India self-reliant in defense technology c. Joint naval exercise between India and USA d. None of above

7. Correct statement a. Garden Reach shipbuilders= Andhra b. Mazagon dock= Goa c. Both A and B d. None

8. In terms of range, find correct order: from lower to higher? a. Agni V, Sagarika, Dhanush, Brahmos b. Sagarika, Dhanush, Brahmos, Agni V c. Brahmos, Dhanush, Sagarika, Agni V d. None of above.

9. Find the odd term a. Helina b. Nirbhay c. Sagarika d. Nirdesh

10. Find the odd sequence a. Indra, Rajendra, Mihir, Revati b. Mihir, Panchendriya, USUSH, Rajendra c. Indra, Rajendra, Rohini, Revati d. None of above.

11. incorrect Match a. Mirage=Russia b. J31=Japan c. SU30-MKI=S.Korea d. All of above.

12. Kaveri is an engine Developed for a. INS Arihant b. Light combat aircraft

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c. T90 Arjun tank d. none of above

13. Which of the following ship can be used during oil spills? a. Sahyadri b. Arihant c. Chakra d. Samudra Paheredar

14. Correct Match a. Dweep Rakshak:Indian Navy‘s new base in Andaman b. Baaz: Indian Navy‘s new base in Maldives. c. Both A and B d. None

15. First private sector company to get CISF cover was a. TCS b. WIPRO c. Satyam d. infosys

16. Which of the following is not a central armed police force? a. BSF b. CRPF c. CISF d. Rashtriya Rifles

17. Which of the following is not a central paramilitary force? a. Assam Rifles b. Special Frontier Force c. Coast Guard d. NSG

18. Which of the following doesn‘t report to home ministry a. RAF b. CRPF c. SSB d. RAW

–Main article stop here. Now just some filler material.

Operations

this is too cliched for the MCQs.

Operation Why Force year

Blossom Evacuate Indians from Libya navy 2011

Black Tornado Kill terrorists responbile for 26/11 NSG 2008

Sukoon Evacuate Indians during Israel-Lebanon conflict. Navy 2006

Madath, Sea Waves, Castor,

Gambhir, Rainbow, Rahat Relief after 2004 tsunami Navy 2004

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Enduring Freedom It was US operation in Afghanistan but India navy

escored American ships through straight of Malacca Navy 2001

Talwar

Kargil war

Navy 1999

Vijay(99) Army 1999

Safed sagar Airforce 1999

Cactus To prevent coup in Maldives All 3 1988

Pawan Peace keeping in Sri Lanka Army 1987

Meghdoot Capturing Siachen glacier Army 1984

Triden, Python Attacking Karachi port Navy 1971

Vijay (61) Capture of Goa, Daman and Diu and Anjidiv Islands Army 1961

Polo Hyderabad freedom Army 1948

Now Some more misc. GK that is not much important for MCQs.

Field formation, in terms of no. soldiers= corps > division > brigade > battalion > company > platoon > section.

In gallantry awards: Param Vir > Maharvir > Vir. Ashok chakra = equivalent of Param Vir charka, given for bravery in peacetime. (e.g.

given to police officers who martyred during 26/11). Medal of Honor = American equivalent of Param Vir Chakra. Highest rank in Indian Army is not General but Field marshal. So far only two field

marshals: Cariappa and Manekshaw. In American system, these two are ―five star generals‖ and rest (e.g. V.K.Singh, Bikram Singh, ) are ―four star‖ generals.

India= RAW (external intelligence) , IB (internal) Similarly UK = MI5 (internal intelligence) and MI6 (external intelligence).

Finally some time pass questions/ food for thought

1. If India has CBI and US has FBI then what does UK have? 2. Every country would need a RAW but not a CBI why? 3. USA has FBI + US Marshalls. FBI looks after federal investigation and US Marshalls‘ do

the transporting of federal prisoners, serving warrants and securing federal courts. On that logic, While India has CBI, but why doesn‘t India have Indian marshals?

Answers for time pass questions

1. Nothing. Because UK is not a federal country. Although UK does have special police forces to fight organized crime and narcotics. But in terms of jurisdiction and functions, they‘re not equivalent to CBI/FBI.

2. Hint given in answer 1.

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3. because most of the ―federal‖ prisoners in India are either out on bail or doing Aiyaashi in the jail so separate police to transport prisoners=not needed.

Article printed from Mrunal: http://mrunal.org

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2013/03/defense-current-affairs-compilation-2012-13-missiles-joint-exercises-operations-organizations.html

Click here to print.

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[Policy] Science Technology & Innovation (STI) Policy 2013: Salient features, highlights, criticism

1. Timeline 2. SRISHTI 3. Key features of the STI policy 2013

o #1: Cash power o #2: Manpower o #3: Business o #4: Climate change o #5: PPP o #6: IPR o #7: Participation o #8: Public awareness

4. Criticism o #1: private sector =no social good o #2: Indian private sector is lazy in research o #3: no lesson from past o #4: No structural / fundamental reforms o #5: Conflicting Goals And Policies

Timeline

1958 India‘s first Scientific Policy Resolution.

1983 New policy. focused on the need to attain technological competence and self

reliance.

2003

This new policy wanted to

1. Bring science and technology together 2. Bring higher investment into R&D to address national problems.

2013 Yet another science-tech policy. (made by Department of Science and

Technology).

2010-

20 India has declared this as ―decade of innovation‖

SRISHTI

Goal of new Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STI) policy = SRISHTI. SRISHTI= Science, Research and innovation system for High technology led path for

India. (that is not SRISHTI….that is SRISHTLPFI, but these Government officials will forcibly turn any scheme into a catchy phrase to harass the UPSC aspirants.)

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STI 2013 policy

1. Released in the Indian Science Congress at Kolkata. 2. use STI for faster, sustainable and more inclusive growth 3. focus on both STI for people and people for STI. 4. We will position India among the top five global scientific powers by 2020 5. We‘ll release more research papers. 6. We‘ll Encourage private sector to invest in Research and Development (R&D) 7. We‘ll Achieve gender parity in S&T. (meaning bring more female scientists) 8. Global cooperation, science diplomacy.

Key features of the STI policy 2013

#1: Cash power

Average globle investment in Sci-tech-innovation = >1 trillion dollar (2009) While India barely spends around 1% of its GDP in research, Development, innovation. Therefore, Policy says, we‘ll increase the spending in sci-tech-innovation to 2% in next

five years. HOW?= via private sector participation, PPP. To increase the private sector investment in R&D, we‘ll create a conductive environment

(meaning we‘ll increase FDI, we‘ll give private cos tax reliefs, we‘ll reform the IPR regulations and so on).

#2: Manpower

We‘ll promote the spread of scientific temper amongst all sections of society. We‘ll try to attract talented and bright minds towards careers in science, research and

innovation. We‘ll increase the number of R&D personnel by 66% in next five years. We‘ll create environment for women to enter in R&D field. we‘ll setup inter university centers= bringing together different disciplines of humanities

and science together.

#3: Business

We‘ll identify 10 sectors of high potential and put more resources into it for S&T. India‘s share in high tech products is around 8% globally. We want to double this. We‘ll increase R&D intentsity in Service sector, small and medium scale enterprises. The investment in S&T is risky. So, We (Government) will share the risk with private

sector, this will increase their confidence. We‘ll provide new financing mechanisms for entrepreneurs (=loans at cheaper interest

rate) so they can venture in R&D without the fear of failure. We‘ll create a public procurement policy that favors indigenous innovations. (for

example, if new type of pencil is developed by Indians and S.Koreans, then Government departments will buy Indian pencils rather than Korean pencils)

We‘ll achieve synergy between R&D policy for agriculture vs. STI policy.

#4: Climate change

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We already Development National Action plan for Climate Change (NAPCC). The STI policy will play active role in this.

#5: PPP

We‘ll setup a National science, Technology and innovation foundation. This will help investing in S&T projects via PPP.

We‘ll setup large scale R&D facilities via PPP mode. When it comes to giving public funds, we‘ll treat private sector R&D institutions at par

with public sector institutions.

#6: IPR

We‘ll modify the Intellectual property rights(IPR) for social goods, IPR generated under PPP.

We‘ll launch Technology business incubators (TBIs) and science-led entrepreneurship. We‘ll provide incentives for green manufacturing. For sharing IPRs between Investors and inventors, we‘ll setup regulatory and legal

framework.

#7: Participation

Inclusion

We‘ll increase accessibility, availability and affordability of innovations, especially for women, differently-abled and disadvantaged sections of society.

NGOs

We‘ll give NGOs pivotal role for delivery science-tech-innovation outputs especially related with rural / grassroot level.

Lot of new grassroot innovations are taking place, but they donot transform into commercial applications, we‘ll try to bridge this gap.

Various ministries associated with socio-economic sectors, are already running schemes for R&D in their sector. Under new STI policy, we‘ll try to leverage and coordinate these spending.

State Governments

State Governments are important stakeholders, so we‘ll setup state specific plans under new STI policy and we‘ll also strengthen the Sci-Tech councils / boards in the States.

Centrally developed plans for investments are rigid. We‘ll provide flexible approach, to fine-tune Five year plan schemes in response to rapid changes in S&T.

International

We‘ll forge strategic partnerships and alliances with other nations through both bilateral and multilateral cooperation in science, technology and innovation.

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Modern science requires truckload of resources. So we‘ll setup some international consortia with other countries to create high cost global infrastructure.

Science diplomacy, technology synergy with other countries.

#8: Public awareness

People must be made aware of the implications of particular science-tech-R&D initiatives- be it ethical, social or economic. (so that Jholachhap NGOs funded by ―Videshi Taaqat‖(foreign powers), cannot use them as cannon fodder during protests against BT brijnal, Nuke powers etc.)

We will release white papers on new science projects to generate awareness.

Criticism

#1: private sector =no social good

1. On one hand, STI policy wants inclusive Development and social goods. But on the other hand, it says the investment in R&D sector is very low and we‘ll bring more investment from private sector.

2. Here comes the problem: When private sector invests in R&D, their aim is always profitability.

3. They‘re not much interested in delivery of social goods. 4. For example a drug company would rather prefer to do research on new diabetes related

drug / supplement rather than some new product to combat malnutrition. Same way, iphone6 vs. clean energy / water recycling.

In this policy, Government says additional R&D investment will come from private sector = indirectly they‘re hinting that we (the State) are not interested in R&D investment because we want to control fiscal deficit. But history tells us that no country, has developed without massive State investment in R&D.

#2: Indian private sector is lazy in research

Government is already giving many tax reliefs to Indian corporates so they can invest more in research, buying / import necessary machinery without hassle etc. yet they donot invest that much in R&D compared to their American counterparts.

We take pride in our IT sector. But our IT sector is mostly involved in the back-office tasks and software coding for international giants like Google, Microsoft and Apple. We don‘t have an Indian brand of our own, that can compete with them.

Research – Development has long gestation period. Indian businessmen are more concerned with short term gains. Therefore, Government is over-confident when it expects that Indian private sector to invest lot of money in R&D.

#3: no lesson from past

The new STI policy doesn‘t provide any analysis / reason why the last three policies failed. And what precautions will they take to make sure this new policy won‘t be another #EPICFAIL.

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For example, It says India is not investing much in R&D sector, …there is need to attract more manpower towards science-research field….all these things have been repeated thousands of times in previous speeches of Presidents and prime ministers and policies.

#4: No structural / fundamental reforms

To break the stalemate in research – development, Government needs to fundamentally reform the higher education, the funding and autonomy of universities, IITs, IIMs etc.

No amount of private sector investment can compensate the loss through brain drain. (and the Nobel prizes lost because of it). But the STI policy is not much concerned with this angle.

#5: Conflicting Goals And Policies

Policy document repeatedly emphasizes that both economic growth and social good will be pursued through STI. But there are two sets of problems here,

1. Can private sector funded R&D directly deliver social goods? 2. Can science really tackle the social sector problems (gender parity, inclusiveness) on its

own, without the necessary political will?

Mock Questions

Mains

1. Write a note on the New Science Tech Innovation Policy of 2013. (12/15 marks)

Essay

1. Gender Parity 2. Green Economy 3. Role of Science technology and innovation in social empowerment.

Decision Making question for CSAT paper II

Ok this is a non-serious question:

You are a Joint Secretary in Department of Science and Technology. And you have designed a really great scheme for nuclear research / climate change / sustainable Development or whatever. But your proposed scheme doesn‘t have a catchy name / phrase / abbreviation. Your boss says he‘ll not forward your file to cabinet approval unless you come up with a catchy name. What will you do?

a. Ask your colleagues, facebook friends, wife, children, neighbors and relatives to help you get a catchy name.

b. Name the scheme after Nehru Gandhi family and directly forward the file to minister, bypassing your boss.

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c. Start from scratch. Throw away the file. Then First think of a catchy name and then design a scheme that fits into that name.

d. Forget about the scheme, go home and watch TV.

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2013/03/policy-science-technology-innovation-policy-2013-salient-features-highlights-criticism.html

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[Space Tech] Current Affairs Compilation 2012-13 for SSC CGL, UPSC CSAT

1. Prologue 2. The Basics

1. Basic: What does ISRO do? 2. Basics: ISS 3. Basics: Tiangong and Shenzhou 4. Basics: Atlantis Space shuttle 5. Basics: Soyuz spacecraft 6. Basics: spacewalking 7. Basics: Dragon capsule 8. Basics: Anti-satellite missiles

3. Space programs: India 1. India‘s Launch Vehicles: PSLV vs GSLV 2. India‘s Satellites: IRS vs INSAT 3. ISRO‘s 100th mission 4. India‘s own GPS: IRNSS 5. GAGAN 6. Space Vision India 2025 7. Cryogenic Engine 8. Chandrayaan-1 9. Mars Mission

4. Space programs: USA (NASA) 1. USA: MARS related 2. Curiosity 3. Gale Crater 4. Black Beauty 5. NASA: Moon related 6. Ebb and Flow, Sally Ride 7. GRAIL 8. LCROSS 9. MoonKAMs 10. NASA: Misc. Missions

5. Space Programs: Russia 6. Space Programs: China

1. Beidou 2. HXMT 3. Shenzhous-10 4. Shenzhous-9

7. Space Programs: Other countries 8. Telescopes

1. Ground telescopes 2. Square Kilometre Array (SKA) 3. Solar telescope 4. Space telescopes 5. Herschel 6. HXMT 7. Kepler 8. NuSTAR

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9. PIN: Persons in News (Space) 10. Mock Questions

Prologue

Previous I released two Current Affairs compilations (2012-13)

1. Persons in news, books, sports, Misc.GK = click me 2. Defense, missiles etc= click me.

Now moving to the third article on the series: Space tech.

For competitive exams, the Space tech is further divided into two parts:

Part What? Source

1. Theory / static Basic info on planets, stars, supernova,

big bang theory, blackholes etc.

NCERT science textbooks/ GS

Manual / GK books.

2. Current affairs Various space programs, satellites

telescopes, astronauts in news. Newspaper, magazine, internet.

When it comes to MCQs (space tech):

Both theory and current affairs are important for For SSC CGL (Tier 1), UPSC CSAT, CDS, NDA, CAPF, State PSC prelims exams.

However, for IBPS, SBI, LIC type exams, they usually dont go into theory. If they want to ask space related questions, they generally ask it from the current affairs portion.

When it comes to Descriptive paper (Mains) of UPSC / State PSC

For space tech related questions, only current affairs is important (mostly 2 marker, 5 marker questions.) The theory portion doesn‘t come into picture, in the descriptive papers.

The best way to prepare ^this (for mains)= maintain notes out of newspapers and magazines throughout the year, and revise it often.

Mainly there are two types of players in competitive exam (based on their approach for Space-Tech):

1. Those who donot prepare space tech at all, thinking “Thik hai…for 2-3 marks, why bother at all!?”

2. Those who prepare too much space tech e.g. On April 18, 2001, at 04.22PM, GSLV-1 was launched. Its weight was 1540 kg and height was 49m….

Either approach is dangerous. Keep the middle path.

The Basics



http://mrunal.org/2013/02/misc-gk-persons-in-news-2012-13-sports-books-awards-for-ssc-cgl-sbi-po-upsc-csat.html

http://mrunal.org/2013/03/defense-current-affairs-compilation-2012-13-missiles-joint-exercises-operations-organizations.html

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before dwelling into ready revision of Space-Tech current affairs, I‘m going to write about a few basic concepts.

Please note: following ‗basics‘ are not necessarily technically correct. They‘re just meant to help you visualize and remember things.

Basic: What does ISRO do?

1. When something is sent to space, it can be Manned (with astronauts) or Unmanned (without astronauts).

2. The unmanned missions have two things:

Examples

One Launch Vehicle PSLV, GSLV

One or More Satellite(s) INSAT, RISAT, CARTOSAT.

sometimes, instead of satellites, it can be rovers, space telescopes.

The Launch Vehicle (e.g. PSLV, GSLV) sends the satellite(s) into the space. After covering a particular distance, the satellite (e.g. INSAT, GISAT) gets detached from

the Launch Vehicle. Then Satellite opens up its wings like a butterfly from cocoon. Those wings have solar

panels, they provide electricity to the satellite. Satellite rotates around the earth and sends signals to and fro- thus it helps in

telecommunication, TV signal broadcasting, disaster/weather monitoring, sea navigation etc.

If we put the satellite @35800 km in the equatorial plane, it‘ll appear ―fixed‖ from any point on earth, and we‘ll call it a Geostationary satellite.

And the Launch vehicle then returns back to Earth, usually falling in the ocean or uninhibited land. The scientists collect the launch vehicle and re-use its parts for next mission.

Basics: ISS

ISS= International space station. ISS is like a hostel in the space. Astronauts go there, stay for some weeks/ months do

some observation, research, repairwork and come back home. US, Japan, Russia, Canada and many other countries have invested in this ISS space

station. But China is not a partner in ISS project. China wants to build its own Space station.

That‘s were Shenzhous-9 and Tiangong-1 come into picture.

Basics: Tiangong and Shenzhou

Tiangong-1= means ―heavenly palace‖. This is China‘s experimental space station. So this is the ―hostel‖ for Chinese astronauts

in space.

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Ok but how will you send Chinese astronauts to this ―heavenly palace‖? Ans. Via Shenzhou spacecraft.

Shenzhou means ―Divine vessel.‖ In 2012, China used this ―divine vessel‖ (Shenzhou 9) to send its first female astronaut

Liu Yang to that ―Heavenly palace‖ (Tiangong-1) In 2013, China will send more astronauts to that Heavenly palace (Tiangong-1), using

Shenzhou 10.

Basics: Atlantis Space shuttle

Ok recap again, to send satellites in the space, you need a launch vehicle (e.g. PSLV, GSLV).

Similarly to send people into space, you need a space craft / rocket e.g. China‘s Shenzhou. America‘s Atlantis and Russia‘s Soyuz also do the same thing.

The Atlantis is a space shuttle of NASA. It looks like an airplane. Atlantis can be used for launching space telescopes, satellites as well as people in to the

space, as per the mission requirements. And Atlantis can come back and land on earth like a regular airplane (except that during

the landing, Atlantis will open parachute to reduce its speed). It had carried 33 missions from 1985 to 2011 Atlantis was retired in 2012. Columbia is another example of NASA‘s Space Shuttle. But in 2003, it crashed during re-

entering into Earth‘s atmosphere. India born female astronaut Kalpana Chawla died in this accident. We named our

Weather satellite after her (KALPANA-1).

Basics: Soyuz spacecraft

Just like China uses ―divine vessel‖ (Shenzhou) to send people into space, similarly Russia uses Soyuz to send people into space.

In 2012, three astronauts (including Sunita Williams) were sent to International space station (ISS) using Soyuz.

Basics: spacewalking

There are two types of missions/probes: Manned and unmanned. Manned = sending people into space. But what do people do in the space?

o They go to moon, hoist the flag of their nations, E.g. Neil Armstrong. o They spend a few months on the international space station (ISS) or Heavenly

Palace (Tiangong) or similar ―hostel‖ (space station. E.g. India‘s first astronaut Rakesh Sharma spent 8 days in a Russian space station.

But often the outside body a spacecraft/hostel (space station) requires some repairing, maintenance or upgrades.

So, when astronaut goes out of the spacecraft, wearing that white suit and ballon shaped helmet and does some walking/repairing work, that is known as ―spacewalk‖.

Currently Sunita Williams holds the longest spacewalk record for females. (50+ hours). For males, it is Anatoly Solovyev (77+ hours).

By the way, Sunita Williams also holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman. (195 days).

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Basics: Dragon capsule

Ok so far we know there are ―hostels‖ in the space (e.g. ISS, Tiangong). People go there, spend a few weeks / months. But if it is a hostel, it‘d require food and supplies.

A private company (Space X) has designed the ―Dragon capsule‖ to deliver the food and supplies to space stations.

It successfully delivered cargo to ISS space station in 2012.

Basics: Anti-satellite missiles

We have learned the importance of launch vehicles, satellites and space stations. But if an enemy shoots down our satellites then our banking and sharemarket system

will collapse, Our army, navy and airforce will not be able to attack back effectively, and more importantly juntaa will not be able to watch IPL matches and saas-bahu serials or log into facebook and orkut.

Back in 2007, Chinese military used an Anti-Satellite missile to destroy its own weather satellite. This made Americans (and Indians) very nervous.

But we have Agni-V missile. It has range of 5000kms. If we make some modifications in it, we can also use it to destroy enemy satellites. So now China is also nervous.

Basics part is over. now let‘s get to business: Space Tech related current affairs (2012-13) for rapid revision. First we‘ll look at the space programs of India, US, Russia, China and other countries. Then we‘ll look at telescopes and Persons in News (Space)

Space programs: India

Carried out by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman=Dr. K. Radhakrishnan. He had replaced G Madhavan Nair. (First Chairman of

ISRO was Vikram Sarabhai.)

HQ Banglore

Satish Dhawan Space

centre

Shriharikota, Andhra. We usually launch satellites from here. (or from

French Guiana in S.America).

Physics research lab Ahmedabad

Antrix Banglore

India‘s Launch Vehicles: PSLV vs GSLV

PSLV GSLV

Polar satellite launch vehicle Geosynchronous satellite launch

vehicle

Can carry upto 1600 kg satellite 2500kg

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Used for launching Indian remote sensing satellites

(IRS) such as CARTOSAT, RISAT, OCEANSAT,

RESOURCESAT

For launching Indian National

satellites (INSAT) such as INSAT 2E,

3A…., GSAT-2,8,12.

Latest version is PSLV-XL. Can carry upto 1750 kg. It

was used to launch Chandrayaan, RISAT. And in future,

it‘ll be used for Mars mission as well.

Next version is GSLV MK-III, can

carry upto 4000kg

India‘s Satellites: IRS vs INSAT

IRS INSAT

Indian remote sensing satellites Indian National satellites (INSAT)

Monitoring natural resources, crops,

minerals, forest cover etc.

Telecom, TV broadcast, DTH, weather forecasting,

telemedicine, tele-education, search and rescue etc.

Launched using PSLV. Using GSLV.

Examples of IRS = CARTOSAT, RISAT,

OCEANSAT, RESOURCESAT

Examples of INSAT= INSAT-2E, 3A,…. And GSAT-

2,8,12.

Now let‘s take a look at the satellites that have been in news recently (or mentioned in Yearbook)

Aditya-1 For studying Solar Coronas.

Astrosate-1 For astronomy.

CARTOSAT-3

ISRO is building this remote sensing satellite. It can take images of earth with resolution of 0.25 meters. It‘ll be used for cartography and high resolution mapping.

GISAT

Geo Imaging Satellite. It‘ll be positioned 36,000 kms above the earth. It‘ll be used for disaster management, border security.

GSAT-10

This is India‘s heaviest satellite so far. It was ISRO‘s 101st mission. It was launched French Guiana. It also carried second payload of GAGAN. (First payload of GAGAN was

sent via GSAT-8).

GSAT-7 It‘ll increase India‘s telecommunication signals. Indian Navy will also use it for communication.

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INSAT-2E after serving for 13 years, this satellite completed its mission life in 2012.

INSAT-3D

Weather satellite (meteorology), search and rescue operations. At present India‘s meterological observation is done by two satellites

Kalpana-1 and INSET 3A. This INSAT 3D is more powerful and advanced.

RISAT-1

RISAT-1 is India‘s first radar imaging satellite It can scan the earth surface during both day and night, even in cloudy

conditions. So it is an all weather satellite. Use= paddy monitoring and management of natural disaster like flood and

cyclone. It was launched using PSLV-XL launch vehicle.

SARAL

Indo-French satellite SARAL= Satellite with ARgos and ALtiKa. It was launched From Sriharikota, Andhra. It‘ll be used for marine meteorology, oceanography climate monitoring etc.

ISRO‘s first mission was to send aryabhatta Satellite into space. But at that time we did not have our own launch vehicle, so we used a Russian launch vehicle.

Today ISRO has both Satellite + Launch vehicle. And we not only send our own satellites, we also help other countries send their satellites into space, using our launch vehicles. (ofcourse after taking cash for providing the ―Taxi/courier‖ service.)

For these type of commercial activities, ISRO takes help of Antarix. Antarix is a Government owned company, it works as the marketing and commercial

arm of ISRO.

ISRO‘s 100th mission

ISRO‘s 100th mission was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriarikota, Andhra Pradesh.

Here, ISRO launched two foreign satellites using PSLV launch vehicle. The name of satellites are:

1. SPOT 6: French satellite 2. Proiteres: Japanese micro satellite

By the way, recall that ISRO‘s 101st mission was GSAT 10. And GSAT 10 is the heaviest satellite ISRO has launched so far. (because 100th mission is extremely clichéd and blown out of proportion, so if UPSC wants to apply its BackbreakingTM move, it‘d rather ask about 99th or 101st mission hahaha).

India‘s own GPS: IRNSS

At present only three countries have their own global navigation systems

USA GPS

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Russia GLONASS. More discussed in earlier article click me

China Beidou

To deploy a global navigation system, you need to setup lots of satellites hovering around the world, so they can scan and sent pinpoint location of anywhere to anywhere.

During the Iraq war, the Americans sent wrong GPS navigation signals to the Iraqi jets and missiles, therefore Iraqis could not attack Americans forces in accurate manner.

Moral of the story = Don‘t rely on other people‘s navigation system. For the short term, We (India) are designing our missiles and fighter jets in such way

that they can use both GPS (American) and GLONASS (Russian) signals for navigation. (so if we want to attack America or its ally, we can rely on GLONASS and vice versa.)

But for long term, we will need our own GPS like system. Therefore, ISRO is developing IRNSS.

IRNSS= Indian regional navigational satellite system. Now if you connect the dots: we need our own GPS (IRNSS) so we can accurately attack

enemies. And we will need our own Anti-satellite missile, to shoot down satellites of enemies so their GPS cannot work accurately.

GAGAN

GPS aided geo augmented navigation‘ (gagan) It is a joint effort by the ISRO and the Airports Authority Of India (AAI). It‘s main use is to help Air traffic control and helps pilots fly / land aircrafts in bad

weather. But as the name suggests ―GPS aided …‖ meaning it is not a separate independent

navigation system. It depends on GPS (American navigation system). Therefore we need IRNSS.

Space Vision India 2025

This is what ISRO plans to for future:

1. Use satellites for rural connectivity, security and mobile services 2. Increase imaging capability for natural resource management, weather and climate

change studies 3. Get better understanding of solar system and universe 4. explore planets. 5. Develop Heavy lift launcher 6. Develop Reusable Launch Vehicles. 7. Send Humans to space.

Cryogenic Engine

Cryogenic engines work at very low temperature. ISRO is developing cryogenic engines

1. for GSLV launch vehicles. 2. for Chandrayaan-2 moon mission

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earlier ISRO had tried this in 2010 but it was an #EPICFAIL.

Chandrayaan-1

It was India‘s first unmanned moon mission. It found evidence of water on Moon. It also did the surved the topography, craters, polar

regions and environment of Moon. This happened in 2008 hence too old and too clichéd to be asked for MCQs. ISRO is now working on Chandrayaan-2 joint programme with the Russian Federal

Space Agency, But Russians suffered a setback due to their Phobos grunt mission.

Mars Mission

India planning a Mars mission similar to Curiosity mission of NASA. (probably in October/November 2013.)

Mohan made official announcement about this during Independence day speech. Mars mission will be launched using PSLV-XL. PSLV-XL is the most powerful version of PSLV launch vehicle. Earlier it was used for

Chandrayaan Mission, RISAT and GSAT-12.

This leads to Essay / group discussion / interview topic that when millions of Indians are suffering from poverty and malnutrition, what‘s point of spending crores of rupees on Moon and Mars mission? But this article is written for MCQs, so let‘s not dwell into that for the moment.

Space programs: USA (NASA)

NASA=National Aeronautics and Space Administration. There is no end to NASA missions either, but from the current affairs point of view, I

would classify them into three: 1) Mars related 2) Moon related 3) Misc.

USA: MARS related

Curiosity

This is Maha clichéd topic for MCQs but anyways… Name of the mission is MSL: Mars Science laboratory. Under this MSL mission, NASA launched Curiosity rover to Mars in 2011. In 2012, Curiosity rover successfully landed on Mars surface. This mission has following aims

1. Did life ever exist on Mars? 2. Find presence of water, and other life supporting elements. 3. Collect data related to geology, radiation levels etc. for planning next manned mission to

Mars.

Device on

Curiosity Function

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CHEMIN

Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument It is used for soil analysis on Mars. CheMin found that minerals on the Red Planet are similar to those

found in volcanic soils in Hawaii

TLS

Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS)

Presence of methane in a planet‘s atmosphere indicates that life may have existed in the past.

TLS analysed a small sample of Martian air and detected very small amount of methane.

Gale Crater

Located on Mars planet. Curiosity rover landed here and found signs that water may have flowed in the past

through this Gale Crater.

Black Beauty

It is a 320 gram space rock from Mars. Discovered in Morocco‘s Sahara Desert in 2011 It contains more water than any other Martian meteorite previously found. could unlock vital clues to the evolution of Mars.

NASA: Moon related

Ebb and Flow, Sally Ride

Two NASA spacecraft — Ebb and Flow, equipped with MoonKAMs. They were orbiting around Moon since 2011 under GRAIL mission. But they did not have sufficient altitude or fuel to continue science

operations. Hence NASA team crash-landed them on Moon in Dec 2012. The place where they crash landed is named after Sally K. Ride,

America‘s first woman astronaut.

GRAIL Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) To study the gravity field and geological structure of the Moon.

LCROSS NASA‘s Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing satellite, It has detected presence of water locked inside the soil of moon.

MoonKAMs

MoonKAM= Moon Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students. The MoonKams captures images of the moon‘s surface and sends

them to the students for study.

NASA: Misc. Missions

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Cassini It found evidence of water on Titan. Titan is the largest moon of Saturn planet.

Dragon Space X

Dragon capsule was designed by a private company ―space X‖. (and not by NASA)

It delivered food, supplies and cargo to International space station. It was launched using Flacon 9 rocket.

Fire Fly Cubesat

It is a small satellite designed by NASA aimed to capture the details of the lightening that happens in deep space.

This will help solving the mystery of terrestrial gamma rays, or TGFs.

Kepler telescope

It is a space observatory of NASA. It is used for discovering earth like plants.

Mercury Messenger

Mercury is the innermost planet in the Solar System. NASA‘s MESSENGER spacecraft has reported presence of water-ice on

Mercury.

NuSTAR

NuSTAR (the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array) It is a space-based X-ray telescope. NASA launched this under Pegasus mission. NuSTAR telescope will use high power X-rays to locate black holes,

collapsed stars and supernova remnants.

PREDICCS

web-based tool for predicting and forecasting the radiation environment in near-Earth, lunar and Martian space.

It will provide critical information as preparations are made for potential future manned missions to the Moon and Mars.

Space Programs: Russia

Luna Glob Robotic Lunar Mission in 2015.

Mars500 Joint experiments conducted by EU, Russia, China for sending human missions on

Mars.

Phobos Grunt

Mars has two moons. Phobos is the largest of them.Russian sent Phobos grunt

mission to study it. But the spacecraft failed and crashed into Pacific ocean.

Rus Name of the two seater spaceship developed by Russia

Soyuz rocket

Launched from Kazakhstan, carried three astronauts to International space station

(ISS), including Sunita Williams in 2012.

Space Programs: China

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Beidou

Before Beidou, only two countries had Navigation systems: USA= GPS and Russia= GLONASS.

Beidou is China‘s own version of global navigation system. Project will be fully operational by 2020.

HXMT

Hard x-ray modulation telescope China‘s first space telescope. for studying blackholes. (recall that America‘s NuSTAR is also meant for

studying blackholes).

Shenzhous-10

China‘s next manned space mission. It will also carry Chinese astronauts to Tiangong-1.

Shenzhous-9

It means ―divine Vessel‖. Manned space mission of China. It carried China‘s first woman astronaut Liu Yang to an orbiting module

Tiangong-1. Tiangong-1 means ―Heavenly palace‖- it is China‘s prototype for future

space station similar to ISS.

Yaogan For crop assessment and disaster management.

Chinasat It is china‘s new military communication satellite.

Space Programs: Other countries

Korea

Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) South Korea will launch this satellite and gain entry to an elite global space club

that includes Asian powers China, India and Japan. Earlier USA did not let S.Korea developed launch vehicles for the fear of arms race

between North and South Korea.

Iran Pishgam =name of Monkey that was recently sent to space and returned back,

under Iranian space mission. In Farsi, Pishgam = Pioneer.

Telescopes

There are two types of telescopes:

1. Those on the ground (e.g. SKA, Solar telescope in Ladakh) and 2. Those in the space. (Kepler, NuSTAR, HXMT and Herschel.)

^this list is not exhaustive, but these telescopes were in news recently.

Ground telescopes

Square Kilometre world‘s largest and most sensitive radio telescope

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Array (SKA) will be completed in 2024 Will be setup in South Africa and Australia. Applications: signal transport, signal processing, computing,

software and data archiving India is actively involved in this project

Solar telescope

Also known as National Large Solar Telescope (NLST) Will be built in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir by Dept

of Science and Technology. This will be world‘s largest solar telescope. Can work in both day and night. Will help in understanding sunspots: process of their creation and

decay. Sunspots and solar winds pose a threat to the communication

system on earth as well as space satellites.

Space telescopes

Herschel

largest space telescope ever launched (2009) It is named after Sir William Herschel who had discovered Uranus

planet. This telescope is in news, because soon its onboard liquid helium

supply will be exhausted and it‘ll stop working. Helium is required to cool the instruments on Herschele space

telescope.

EU+US

HXMT

Hard x-ray modulation telescope

China‘s first space telescope. for studying blackholes. (recall that America‘s NuSTAR is also meant

for studying blackholes).

China

Kepler

Launched in 2009. To discover earth like planets. Kepler was a German astronomer who gave laws to describe the motion

of planets around the Sun.

US

NuSTAR

NuSTAR (the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array) It is a space-based X-ray telescope. NASA launched this under Pegasus mission. NuSTAR telescope will use high power X-rays to locate black holes,

collapsed stars and supernova remnants.

US

PIN: Persons in News (Space)

Liu Yang first Chinese woman astro.

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Neil Armstrong Apollo 11. 1969. First man to land on moon. Dead.

Sally Ride First American woman astro. Dead. A Moon crate named after her.

Sunita Williams Longest space walk (female).Took command of international space station

in Sep 12.

Dr. K.

Radhakrishnan ISRO Chairman.

Finally two topics:

1. CERN, God particle= http://mrunal.org/2012/08/snt-cern.html 2. Blue Moon= http://mrunal.org/2012/08/snt-blue-moon.html

Ok so these were the notable Space tech related events/ terms happened during Jan 2012 to March 2013. If you feel any important thing was missed, or if there is any correction, do write it in the comments below.

Mock Questions

1. Which of the following country is not associated with International space station? a. Canada b. Russia c. Japan d. China

2. Correct Statements a. Tiangong-1 is the experimental space telescope of China. b. Shenzhou-9 is the name of Chinese space station c. Both d. None

3. Longest spacewalk record for Female Astronauts is held by a. Kalpana Chawla b. Sally James c. Liu Yang d. Sunita Williams

4. Which of the following is not a telescope? a. Hubble b. Kepler c. NuStar d. Beidou

5. Incorrect Statement a. Antrix is a privately owned company of Airtel. b. Antrix is the commerical and Marketing arm of ISRO c. Both d. None

6. Find Incorrect Match a. French Guiana=in North Africa b. Satish Dhawan Space centre=Banglore

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c. Physics Research lab= Pune d. All of above

7. Correct Statements about Dragon Capsule a. It was designed by Nasa b. It was used for delivering cargo to International space station. c. Both d. None

8. Incorrect Statements a. Indian Remote Sensing satellites are launched using GSLV. b. Indian National satellites are launched using PSLV. c. Both d. None

9. Correct Statements about PSLV-XL a. It is a launch vehicle, used in Chandrayaan. b. It‘ll be used in India‘s Mars Mission. c. Both d. None

10. Incorrect statements about Indian remote sensing satellites a. They are used for monitering natural resources. b. They‘re launched using GSLV. c. CARTOSAT and RISAT are examples of Remote sensing satellites. d. None of Above.

11. Incorrect Match a. Aditya: Solar Coronas b. Cartosat-3: high resolution mapping c. GSAT-10: India‘s heaviest satellite so far d. SARAL: Indo-Japanese Tsunami prediction satellite.

12. Correct Match a. Spot-6: Japan b. Proiteres: France c. Beidou: Japan d. None of above

13. Find the Odd sequence a. GLONASS, Beidou, IRNSS b. NuSTAR, HXMT, Herschel c. GAGAN, PISHGAM, SARAL d. None of Above

14. which of the following country doesn‘t have its own Global Navigation system? a. Russia b. China c. Japan d. None of Above

15. which of the following is not the main aim of ISRO‘s Space vision 2025? a. Develop reusable launch vehicles b. Develop India‘s own space station. c. Send humans to space d. Use satellites for rural connectivity, security and mobile services.

16. Name of the mission under which Nasa sent a rover to Mars in 2011? a. MSL b. Curiosity c. Pegasus

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d. None of Above 17. Gale Crater is located in

a. Mercury b. Saturn c. Mars d. Moon

18. Black Beauty is a space rock from a. Moon b. Mars c. Saturn d. Mercury

19. Who/ What is Sally Ride? a. First female astronaut of USA b. A Place on Moon where two NASA spacecrafts crash-landed. c. Both of above d. None of Above

20. What is the purpose of GRAIL mission? a. Study the gravity field of Moon b. Study the gravity field of Mars c. Study the gravity field of Mercury d. Study the gravity field of Venus

21. Correct Statement a. Titan is one of the moon of Mars b. Phobos is one of the moon of Saturn c. Both d. None

22. What is/ are common between NuSTAR and HXMT a. Both will are space telescopes used for finding black holes. b. Both are launched by NASA under Pegasus mission. c. Both A and B d. Neither A or B

23. Beidou is the a. Space station of China b. Mars mission of China c. Global navigation system of China d. None of above

24. World‘s Largest radio telescope: a. Herschel b. HXMT c. Hubbles d. Square Kilometer Array

25. In 2012, Sunita Williams went to ISS using which of the following spacecraft? a. Atlantis b. Discovery c. Soyuz d. None of Above

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