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GS Paper: GS3-17.Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nano-technology, Bio-technology and issues relating to Intellectual Property Rights.

  • [pib] Alternative Dwarfing Genes in Wheat

    Scientists at Pune based Agharkar Research Institute (ARI) an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology has mapped two dwarfing genes Rht14 and Rht18 in wheat that can reduce stubble volume.

    Note: One may wonder why the name of research institution has not been skipped here!

    Q. With reference to the Genetically Modified mustard (GM mustard) developed in India, consider the following statements:

    1. GM mustard has the genes of a soil bacterium that give the plant the property of pest-resistance to a wide variety of pests.
    2. GM mustard has the genes that allow the plant cross-pollination and hybridization.
    3. GM mustard has been developed jointly by the IARI and Punjab Agricultural University.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (CSP 2018)

    (a) 1 and 3 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) 2 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

    Rht14 and Rht18

    • The researchers have mapped the dwarfing genes on chromosome 6A in durum wheat, and DNA-based markers were developed for a better selection of these genes in wheat breeding lines.
    • These genes are associated with better seedling vigour and longer coleoptiles (sheath protecting the young shoot tip).
    • These DNA based markers are being used at ARI for marker-assisted transfer of these genes in Indian wheat varieties, so as to make them suitable for sowing under rice stubble-retained conditions and dry environments.
    • Wheat lines with these alternative dwarfing genes, apart from reducing crop residue burning, can allow deeper sowing of wheat seeds to avail advantage of residual moisture in the soil under dry environments.
    • Wheat lines with these alternative dwarfing genes, apart from reducing crop residue burning, can allow deeper sowing of wheat seeds to avail advantage of residual moisture in the soil under dry environments.

    Significance

    • In India, close to twenty-three million tonnes of leftover rice residues are annually burnt by farmers to get rid of the straw and prepare their fields for sowing wheat, which is the next crop, resulting in air pollution.
    • Burning of leftover rice crop residue has serious implications for the environment, soil, and human health.
    • Therefore, there is a need to include alternative dwarfing genes in wheat improvement programs.
    • The dwarfing genes Rht14 and Rht18 in wheat conferred a plant height reduction comparable to the Rht1 alleles while retaining early vigour in wheat seedlings, but do not affect coleoptile length and seedling shoot length.
    • These can, therefore, be utilized as an alternative dwarfing gene to Rht1 for deep sowing conditions or in fields with retained stubble.
    • The improved wheat lines which are being developed at ARI will help reducing stubble burning incidences under the rice-wheat cropping system.
    • These lines will also allow deeper sowing of wheat seeds to avail advantage of residual moisture in the soil, therefore, saving valuable water resources and reduce the cost of cultivation to farmers.

  • ‘Agappe Chitra Magna’ kit for COVID diagnosis

    Agappe Chitra Magna, a magnetic nanoparticles-based RNA extraction kit has been commercially launched.

    The peculiarity of the name ‘Agappe Chitra Magna’ creates a possibility of a prelims question. One may confuse it with any sort of Artform.

    Agappe Chitra Magna (ACM) Kit

    • The ACM kit is developed by the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) and manufactured by Kochi-based Agappe Diagnostics Ltd.,
    • It uses innovative technology for isolating RNA using magnetic nanoparticles to capture the RNA from the patient sample.
    • The magnetic nanoparticles beads bind to the viral RNA and, when exposed to a magnetic field, give a highly purified and concentrated RNA.
    • As the sensitivity of the detection method is dependent on getting an adequate quantity of viral RNA, this innovation enhances the chances of identifying positive cases.
    • The commercial launch of the kit is a major step to make India self-reliant in detecting COVID-19 and can help increase the rate of testing and bring down its costs, a crucial step for combating the pandemic.

    Significance of the kit

    • The commercial launch of the kit is a major step to make India self-reliant in detecting COVID-19 and can help increase the rate of testing and bring down its costs, a crucial step for combating the pandemic.
    • The RNA isolation kit will reduce the dependence on imported kits and make COVID testing more cost-effective.

  • What is Solar Minimum?

    The sun is said to have gone into a state called the ‘solar minimum’ and is about to enter the deepest period of ‘sunshine recession’ as sunspots are virtually not visibly at all.

    Practice question for Mains:

    Q. What are Solar minima and maxima? Discuss its impact on space weather and the Earth.

    What is a solar minimum and why is it happening now?

    • Sun has a cycle that lasts on average 11 years, and right now we are at the peak of that cycle.
    • Every 11 years or so, sunspots fade away, bringing a period of relative calm.
    • This is called the solar minimum. And it’s a regular part of the sunspot cycle.
    • While intense activity such as sunspots and solar flares subside during solar minimum, that doesn’t mean the sun becomes dull. Solar activity simply changes form.

    What about Solar Maximum?

    • Solar minima and maxima are the two extremes of the Sun’s 11-year and 400-year activity cycle.
    • At a maximum, the Sun is peppered with sunspots, solar flares erupt, and the Sun hurls billion-ton clouds of electrified gas into space.
    • Sky watchers may see more auroras, and space agencies must monitor radiation storms for astronaut protection.
    • Power outages, satellite malfunctions, communication disruptions, and GPS receiver malfunctions are just a few of the things that can happen during a solar maximum.

    What are its effects on Earth?

    a) On space weather

    • The Solar wind from coronal holes will temporarily create disturbances in the Earth’s magnetosphere, called geomagnetic storms, auroras, and disruptions to communications and navigation systems.
    • The space weather during solar minimum will also affect Earth’s upper atmosphere on satellites in low Earth orbit changes.
    • This means that the Earth’s upper atmosphere will cool down which is generally heated and puffed up by ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
    • However, the heat at the upper atmosphere of our planet helps Earth to drag debris and keep the low Earth orbit clear of manmade space junk.
    • Apart from this, the solar minimum will change the space weather significantly which will lead to an increase in the number of galactic cosmic rays that reach Earth’s upper atmosphere.
    • These Galactic cosmic rays are high energy particles which are a result of distant supernova explosions and other violent events in the galaxy.

    b) On astronauts

    • According to NASA the sun’s magnetic field weakens and provides less shielding from these cosmic rays during a solar minimum which will directly increase the threat to astronauts travelling through space.
    • This may cause health risks to astronauts travelling through space as the sun’s magnetic field weakens and provides less shielding from these cosmic rays.

  • [pib] Iron-Manganese based Biodegradable Alloy

    Indian scientists have jointly developed new generation Iron-Manganese based alloys for biodegradable metal implants for use in humans.

    Do you remember the Johnson and Johnson’s faulty hip implants case?? The alloy mentioned in the newscard can prove to be a gamechanger in the field of medical implants.

    Iron-Manganese based Biodegradable Alloy

    • Biodegradable materials (Fe, Mg, Zn, and polymer) can participate in the healing process and then degrade gradually by maintaining mechanical integrity without leaving any implant residues in the human body.
    • They are better alternatives to currently used metallic implants which remain permanently in the human body and can cause long-term side effects like systemic toxicity, chronic inflammation, and thrombosis.
    • The ARCI team employed both conventional melting and powder metallurgy techniques in the manufacturing of the new Fe-Mn based biodegradable alloys.
    • The alloy Fe-Mn (having Mn composition of more than 29% by weight) is a promising biodegradable metallic implant which exhibits a single austenitic phase (a non-magnetic form of iron) with MRI compatibility.

    Easy degradation

    • The alloy also showed a degradation rate in the range of 0.14-0.026 mm per year in the simulated body fluid.
    • It means that the Fe-Mn alloy exhibits mechanical integrity for 3-6 months and completely, disappears from the body in 12-24 months.
    • During the degradation process, calcium phosphate deposits on the implant due to local alkalization and saturation of calcium and phosphate, allow cells to adhere onto the surface to form tissues.

    Benefits

    • The Fe-Mn alloy produced at ARCI exhibited 99% density with impressive mechanical properties and behaved as a nonmagnetic material even under a strong magnetic field.
    • These properties are comparable to presently used permanent Titanium (Ti) and stainless-steel metallic implants (which is very costly).

  • Species in news: Quinine Nongladew

    Quinine, the most primitive antimalarial avatar of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), has made a village in Meghalaya latch on to its past for a curative future.

    Relate Quinine Nongladew with the following question. Such peculiar names are very important.

    Q. Recently, there was a growing awareness in our country about the importance of Himalayan nettle (Girardinia diversifolia) because it is found to be a sustainable source of (CSP 2019)

    (a) anti-malarial drug

    (b) bio-diesel

    (c) pulp for paper industry

    (d) textile fibre

    Quinine Nongladew

    • The herb Quinine Nongladew is the alkaloid quinine extracted from the bark of cinchona, a plant belonging to the Rubiaceae family and classified as either a large shrub or a small tree
    • The tree is named after a village about 70 km south of Guwahati, on the highway to Meghalaya capital Shillong.
    • The cinchona nursery was raised in the 19th century, probably around 1874, when Shillong became the British administrative headquarters for Assam Province.
    • Large swathes of Meghalaya used to be, and still are, malaria-prone.
    • The British had the foresight to start the plantation to combat malaria and other diseases caused by mosquitoes.

    Back2Basics: Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ)

    • HCQ is an oral tablet used as an anti-malarial drug. It is used to treat malaria, lupus erythematosus, and rheumatoid arthritis.
    • It may be used as part of a combination therapy where it is taken with other drugs.

  • [pib] BiPAP Non-Invasive Ventilator “SwasthVayu”

    National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) Bangalore, a constituent of the lab of CSIR has developed a Non-Invasive BiPAP Ventilator ‘SwasthVayu ’in a record time of 36 days to treat COVID-19 patients.

    The name ‘SwasthVayu’ can be tricky to guess, specially after some days. In prelims, UPSC may throw some options related to air pollution.

    SwasthVayu

    • A ventilator is a machine that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathing insufficiently.
    • BiPAP (Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure) Non-Invasive ventilator is a microcontroller-based precise closed-loop adaptive control system.
    • It is a built-in biocompatible “3D printed manifold & coupler” with HEPA filter (Highly Efficient Particulate Air Filter).

    Benefits of SwasthVayu

    • The major advantage of this machine is that it is simple to use without any specialized nursing, cost-effective, compact and configured with the majority of indigenous components.
    • This is ideal for treating COVID -19 patients in Wards, Makeshift Hospitals, dispensaries and home in current Indian COVID 19 scenario.

  • Indigenous antibody test: COVID Kavach ELISA

    Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Virology (NIV) at Pune has developed and validated the indigenous IgG ELISA test “COVID KAVACH ELISA” for antibody detection for COVID-19.

    Our thumb rule suggests that the ELISA test is being used only for the diagnosis of HIV infection. Right?

    But the ELISA test is a broader term to diagnose antibody-antigen interaction after certain virus infection to a person.  UPSC can test your basic knowledge of core biology with a question based on this concept.

    What is ELISA test?

    • ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) is a plate-based assay technique designed for detecting and quantifying substances such as peptides, proteins, antibodies and hormones.
    • Other names, such as enzyme immunoassay (EIA), are also used to describe the same technology.
    • In an ELISA, an antigen must be immobilized on a solid surface and then complexed with an antibody that is linked to an enzyme.
    • Detection is accomplished by assessing the conjugated enzyme activity via incubation with a substrate to produce a measurable product.
    • The most crucial element of the detection strategy is a highly specific antibody-antigen interaction.

    What are antibodies?

    • An antibody is a large, Y-shaped protein produced mainly by plasma cells that are used by the immune system to neutralize pathogens such as pathogenic bacteria and viruses.
    • There are five immunoglobulin classes (isotypes) of antibody molecules found in serum: IgG, IgM, IgA, IgE and IgD.
    • They are distinguished by the type of heavy chain they contain.

    Application of ELISA

    • Presence of antigen or the presence of antibody in a sample can be evaluated
    • Determination of serum antibody concentrations in a virus test
    • Used in the food industry when detecting potential food allergens
    • Applied in disease outbreaks- tracking the spread of disease e.g. HIV, bird flu, common, colds, cholera, STD etc

    Significance

    • Robust antibody tests are critical for surveillance to understand the proportion of the population exposed to infection.
    • The test will have the advantage of testing 90 samples together in a single run of 2.5 hours.
    • Moreover, ELISA based testing is easily possible even at the district level as the ELISA kit has an inactivated virus.
    • There are also minimal bio-safety and bio-security requirements as compared to the real-time RT-PCR test.
    • The test has the advantage of having much higher sensitivity and specificity as compared to the several rapid test kits which have recently flooded the Indian market.

    Limitations

    • Since the ELISA test is based on the detection of antibodies, it can only help in knowing if the person has been previously infected by a coronavirus.
    • It takes one-three weeks for the antibodies to develop in response to infection.
    • So, if a person who has been recently infected by the virus is tested during the window period (the time taken to develop antibodies) the result will turn out to be negative.
    • But a repeat test after a couple of weeks will indicate the true infection status.

    How it is different from the PCR test?

    • While the RT-PCR, which detects the RNA of the coronavirus, enables detection of current infection, it will not be useful if the testing is carried out days after the infection clears as the virus will no longer be present.
    • However, antibodies developed in response to the coronavirus infection will be present in the blood for a longer duration and hence the ELISA test can help detect past infection.
    • The maximum time the antibodies will be present in the body is not known for coronavirus.

    Back2Basics: Reverse Transcriptase – Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Test

    • It uses a technique that creates copies of a segment of DNA. ‘Polymerase’ refers to the enzymes that make the copies of DNA.
    • Kary Mullis, the American biochemist who invented the PCR technique, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1993.
    • The ‘chain reaction’ is how the DNA fragments are copied, exponentially — one is copied into two, the two are copied into four, and so on.
    • However, SARS-COV-2 is a virus made of RNA, which needs to be converted into DNA. For this, the technique includes a process called reverse transcription.
    • A ‘reverse transcriptase’ enzyme converts the RNA into DNA. Copies of the DNA are then made and amplified.
    • A fluorescent DNA binding dye called the “probe” shows the presence of the virus. The test also distinguishes SARS-COV-2 from other viruses.

  • Luhman 16A: A binary brown-dwarf system

    A group of international astrophysicists have identified cloud bands on the surface of Luhman 16A, one of a pair of binary brown dwarfs in the Vela constellation.

    Space terminology has gained importance in prelims. The Luhman 16A coupled with few more examples of space concepts like binary star and dwarf star are discussed in this newscard.

    Luhman 16A

    • Luhman 16 is a binary star system, the third closest system to the Sun after Alpha Centauri and Barnard’s star.
    • At a distance of about 6.5 light-years from the Sun, this pair of brown dwarfs referred to as Luhman 16A and Luhman 16B orbit each other, casting a dim light.
    • Brown dwarfs are also called failed stars because their masses are intermediate to the largest planets and the smallest main sequence stars.
    • Their masses being too small, they are unable to sustain fusion of their hydrogen to produce energy.
    • It is believed that some of the more massive brown dwarfs fuse deuterium or lithium and glow faintly.

    The cloud band over Luhman

    • The group, by using the Very Large Telescope at European Southern Observatory, Chile, found that Luhman 16A had band-like clouds in its atmosphere, whereas the same was not true of Luhman 16B.
    • Many astronomers detected polarization of brown dwarfs.
    • But what is special in the newest study of Luhman 16 is that the researchers have found the actual structure of the clouds — that they form bands over one of the pair.
    • Understanding the cloud system over a brown dwarf can shed light on the pressure, temperature and climate on the surface of the celestial body.

    Why it has made into a headline?

    • The researchers have used an idea put forth nearly two decades ago by Indian astrophysicist Sujan Sengupta, who works at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru.
    • Sengupta had propounded the light emitted by a cloudy brown dwarf, or reflected off an extrasolar planet, will be polarized.
    • He then suggested that a polarimetric technique could serve as a potential tool to probe the environment of these objects.

    Back2Basics: Binary Star System

    • A binary star is a star system consisting of two stars orbiting around their common barycenter.
    • Systems of two or more stars are called multiple star systems.
    • These systems, especially when more distant, often appear to the unaided eye as a single point of light, and are then revealed as multiple by other means.
    • Binary star systems are very important in astrophysics because calculations of their orbits allow the masses of their component stars to be directly determined.

  • ‘The Long March 5B’ rocket

    China has successfully launched a new rocket and prototype spacecraft in a major test of the country’s ambitions to operate a permanent space station and send astronauts to the Moon.

    Can you recall the historical link between the name “The Long March” and China’s History.

    The Long March 5B

    • Long March 5 or Chang Zheng 5 is a Chinese heavy-lift launch system developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT).
    • It is the first Chinese launch vehicle designed from the ground up to focus on non-hypergolic liquid rocket propellants.
    • The maximum payload capacities of the base variant are ~25,000 kilograms to Low Earth Orbit and ~14,000 kilograms to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit.
    • The spaceship is expected to transport astronauts to a space station that China plans to complete by 2022 — and eventually to the Moon. It will have a capacity for a crew of six.

    Back2Basics: Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit

     

    • About 35,786 kilometers above the Earth’s surface, satellites are in geostationary orbit. From the center of the Earth, this is approximately 42,164 kilometers. This distance puts it in the high Earth orbit category.
    • At any inclination, a geosynchronous orbit synchronizes with the rotation of the Earth.
    • While geosynchronous satellites can have any inclination, the key difference to geostationary orbit is the fact that they lie on the same plane as the equator.
    • GTO is a an elliptical orbit used to transfer between two circular orbits of different radiuses in the same plane—used to reach geosynchronous or  geostationary orbit using high-thrust chemical engines.

  • How Remdesivir tricks coronavirus?

    A new research has found how Remdesivir treats coronavirus and described the exact mechanism of interaction between the virus and the drug.   Remdesivir is an experimental antiviral made by American pharmaceutical firm Gilead Sciences that was first developed to treat Ebola.

    DNA/RNA related terminologies, Genes and Genomes, etc. always find their way in UPSC Prelims.  Most recent one was-

    With reference to the recent developments in science, which one of the following statements is not correct? (CSP 2019)

    (a) Functional chromosomes can be created by joining segments of DNA taken from cells of different species.

    (b) Pieces of artificial functional DNA can be created in Iaboratories.

    (c) A piece of DNA taken out from an animal cell can be made to replicate outside a living cell in a laboratory.

    (d) Cells taken out from plants and animals can be made to undergo cell division in laboratory petri dishes.

    How Remdesivir kills coronavirus?

    • Remdesivir is designed to obstruct the stage of replication, when the virus creates copies of itself, followed endlessly by the copies creating copies of themselves.

    How does replication take place?

    • Once the virus enters the human cell, it releases its genetic material, which is then copied using the body’s existing mechanism.
    • At every stage of infection, various human proteins, virus proteins, and their interactions come into play.
    • At the replication stage, the key viral protein at play is an enzyme called RdRp (an enzyme is a kind of protein that speeds up chemical reactions within a cell).
    • It is RdRp that makes the copies, by processing components of the RNA of the virus.
    • University of Alberta researchers called it the “engine” of the virus in a paper last week, in which they described the action of Remdesivir against this “engine”.
    • In scientific literature, such an enzyme is called a polymerase (the p is RdRp stands for polymerase) or a replica.
    • In any case, this is the enzyme that is targeted by Remdesivir.

    And how exactly does Remdesivir target this enzyme?

    • In order to replicate, the virus processes raw material from the virus RNA, broken down by another enzyme with that specific function.
    • When a patient is given Remdesivir — the inhibitor — it mimics some of this material and gets incorporated in the replication site.
    • With Remdesivir replacing the material it needs, the virus fails to replicate further.
    • These coronavirus polymerases are sloppy and they get fooled, so the inhibitor gets incorporated many times and the virus can no longer replicate.