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GS Paper: GS3-15.Science and Technology- Developments and their Applications and Effects in Everyday Life.

  • Explaining Lithium increase in the Universe

    In a study recently published in Nature Astronomy scientists from Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) along with their international collaborators have provided a robust observational evidence for the first time that Li production is common among low mass Sun-like stars during their He-core burning phase.

    Importance of lithium in our life

    • Light inflammable, metal lithium (Li) has brought about transformation in modern communication devices and transportation.
    • A great deal of today’s technology is powered by lithium in its various shades [remember Li-ion battery!].
    • But where does the element come from?
    • The origin of much of the Li can be traced to a single event, the Big-Bang that happened about 13.7 Billion years ago, from which the present-day Universe was also born.

    Why lithium was thought to be different?

    • Li content in the physical Universe has increased by about a factor of four over the life of the Universe.
    • However, the rest of the elements carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, iron, nickel and so on which grew about a million times over the lifetime of the Universe.
    • Li, however, understood to be an exemption!
    • Current understanding is that lithium in stars like our Sun only gets destroyed over their lifetime.
    • As a matter of fact, the composition of all the elements in the Sun and the Earth is similar.
    • But, the measured content of Li in the Sun is a factor of 100 lower than that of the Earth, though both are known to have formed together.

    So, what the new finding suggests?

    • This discovery challenges the long-held idea that stars only destroy lithium during their lifetime.
    • It implies that the Sun itself will manufacture lithium in the future.
    • This is not predicted by models, indicating that there is some physical process missing in stellar theory.
    • Further, the authors identified “He flash”.
    • “He flash” is an on-set of He-ignition at the star’s core via violent eruption at the end of the star’s core hydrogen-burning phase, as the source of Li production.
    • Our Sun will reach this phase in about 6-7 billion years.

  • ‘Accelerate Vigyan’ Scheme

    To provide a single platform for research internships, capacity building programs and workshops across the country, the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) has launched a new scheme called ‘Accelerate Vigyan’ (AV).

    Note the following things about the ‘Accelerate Vigyan’ Scheme:

    1) Implementing agency/ Nodal Ministry

    2) Primary objective

    3) Target beneficiaries

    4) Its components

    ‘Accelerate Vigyan’ Scheme

    • Accelerate Vigyan (AV) strives to provide a big push to high-end scientific research and prepare scientific manpower which can venture into research careers and knowledge-based economy.
    • The primary objective of this scheme is to give more thrust on encouraging high-end scientific research and preparing scientific manpower, which can lead to research careers and knowledge-based economy.
    • AV will initiate and strengthen mechanisms of identifying research potential, mentoring, training and hands-on workshop on a national scale.
    • The aim is to expand the research base in the country, with three broad goals – consolidation / aggregation of all scientific training programs, initiating High-end Orientation Workshops and creating opportunities for Research Internships.

    Components of AV

    1) ABHYAAS

    • It is an attempt to boost research and development in the country by enabling and grooming potential PG/PhD students by means of developing their research skills in selected areas across different disciplines or fields.
    • It has two components: High-End Workshops (‘KARYASHALA’) and Research Internships (‘VRITIKA’).
    • This is especially important for those researchers who have limited opportunities to access such learning capacities/facilities/infrastructure.

    2) SAMOOHAN

    • Mission ‘SAMOOHAN’ marks the beginning of Accelerate Vigyan.
    • It aims to encourage, aggregate and consolidate all scientific interactions in the country under one common roof.
    • It has been sub-divided into ‘SAYONJIKA’ and ‘SANGOSHTI’.
    • SAYONJIKA is an open-ended program to catalogue the capacity building activities in science and technology supported by all government funding agencies in the country.
    • SANGOSHTI is a pre-existing program of SERB.

  • Rare-earth based Magnetocaloric materials for cancer treatment

    Indian scientists have developed a rare-earth-based magnetocaloric material that can be effectively used for cancer treatment.

    Magnetocaloric Effect does have other applications like in the field of medical implants but for use in energy field, it is still in nascent stage.

    From exam perspective, do understand what principles lies behind this effect.

    What is Magnetocaloric Effect?

    • Magnetocaloric effect (MCE) is a phenomenon where the application and removal of a magnetic field cause certain materials to get warmer and cooler, respectively.
    • This effect normally occurs near its Curie temperature where the application of the field makes the material to warm up and cools up when the field is removed.

    Issue of hyperthermia in cancer treatment

    • Advancements in magnetic materials led to the development of magnetic hyperthermia to try to address the issues of side effects of cancer treatment like chemotherapy.
    • In magnetic hyperthermia, magnetic nanoparticles are subjected to alternating magnetic fields of few Gauss, which produce heat due to magnetic relaxation losses.
    • Usually, the temperature required to kill the tumour cells is between 40 and 45°C.
    • However, the drawback in magnetic hyperthermia is the lack of control of temperature, which may damage the healthy cells in the body and also have side effects like increased BP, hair losses etc.

    Here comes in, Magnetocaloric materials

    • This hypothermia can be avoided by using magnetocaloric materials, as it can provide controlled heating.
    • The advantage of magnetocaloric materials which heat up or cool down with the application and removal of the magnetic field, respectively is that as soon as the magnetic field is removed, the cooling effect is generated.
    • The team at ARCI chose rare-earth-based alloy for studies as some of the rare earth materials are human body compatible.
    • The heating capacity would increase with the increase in the magnetic field.

  • Serotonin Hormone causes Locust to form Swarms

    Scientists have attempted to answer an important scientific question of how and why locusts collect together by the thousands in order to make a swarm.

    Quite often, Oxytocin hormone is seen in the news for its commercial uses and associated ethical concerns. Kindly go through Oxytocin and issues over its commercial use

    What causes Locusts to form huge swarms?

    • When lone locusts happen to come near each other (looking for food) and happen to touch each other, this tactile stimulation, even just in a little area of the back limbs, causes their behaviour to change.
    • This mechanical stimulation affects a couple of nerves in the animal’s body, their behaviour changes, leading to their coming together.
    • The central nervous system of the locust, the most important among them being serotonin which regulates mood and social behaviour is the mystery behind swarms.
    • Their coming together triggers a mechanical (touch) and neurochemical (serotonin) stimulations to make crowding occur.

    What is Serotonin?

    • It is a monoamine neurotransmitter.
    • It has a popular image as a contributor to feelings of well-being and happiness.
    • Its actual biological function is complex and multifaceted, modulating cognition, reward, learning, memory, and numerous physiological processes such as vomiting and vasoconstriction.

  • Electrolytic splitting of Water

    Scientists from The Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), have found out a low cost and efficient way to generate hydrogen from water using Molybdenum dioxide as a catalyst.

    Practice question for mains:

    Q. Hydrogen is the future of clean and sustainable energy. Discuss.

    Electrolytic splitting of water

    • Electrolysis of water is the decomposition of water into oxygen and hydrogen gas due to the passage of an electric current.
    • This technique can be used to make hydrogen gas, the main component of hydrogen fuel, and breathable oxygen gas, or can mix the two into oxyhydrogen, which is also usable as fuel, though more volatile and dangerous.
    • It is a promising method to generate hydrogen but requires energy input that can be brought down in the presence of a catalyst.

    Using Molybdenum Catalyst

    • The scientists have shown that Molybdenum dioxide (MoO2) nanomaterials annealed in hydrogen atmosphere can act as efficient catalysts to reduce the energy input to bring about water splitting into Hydrogen.
    • Molybdenum dioxide has the potential to replace the currently employed catalyst platinum, which is expensive and has limited resources.
    • MoO2 is a conducting metal oxide that is one of the low-cost catalysts with good efficiency and stability for hydrogen evolution.
    • The catalyst is highly stable for a longer duration of reaction with sustained hydrogen evolution from water.
    • About 80 % efficient conversion of electrical energy into hydrogen has been achieved using this catalyst.

    Significance

    • Hydrogen is considered as the future of clean and sustainable energy as it can be generated from water and produces water on energy generation without any carbon footprint.
    • Hydrogen can be directly used as a fuel similar to natural gas or as input for fuel cells to generate electricity.
    • It is the future energy for a clean environment and an alternative to fossil fuels, underlining the necessity of low-cost catalysts for its production.

  • CoAST India (Collaboration/Covid Action Support Group) Platform

    India Observatory has come up with a GIS-enabled dashboard called CoAST India to monitor migrants in India.

    Here, UPSC may create an illusion on:

    India Observatory – open-source database (misleading name): It may be asked in relation to some ISRO project.

    CoAST India – COVID related info (again misleading): UPSC may ask it in context to Cyclone Warning Systems.

    CoAST India

    • The platform is a map reflecting the movement of migrants in real-time on their long journeys, often on foot, along with facilities and relief organisations on their routes.
    • It is a collaboration with Anand-based Forest Ecological Security (FES) as its main nodal point.
    • It draws information from 55 organisations on the ground, mostly in villages, and aims to make such data available so that it would enable governments and small local civil society groups to be of assistance.
    • The map matches time and spatial data, on administrative facilities in the area, transportation and healthcare facilities of an area and summaries, on the fly, in real-time of people passing by.

    Features of the portal

    Four elements are sought to be brought together in this portal:

    • Location of migrants and vulnerable people, their specific needs,
    • Location of key infrastructure on the way which can double up as a rest-centre, or
    • Quarantine space and location of relief and
    • Rehabilitation providing NGOs and civil society organisations

    About India Observatory

    • The Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), an NGO working on conserving natural resources at the grassroots, has brought together a unique ecosystem of tools – open data platform India Observatory – to help understand the status of local-level resources and facilitate the action plans for conserving them.
    • The data made available on India Observatory platform has been pooled from various sources and dates as far back as the 1960s.
    • India Observatory was set up in December 2019, with FES focused on ecological issues about forests, water bodies, conservation, etc. that needed “a bird’s eye view or a satellite’s vision”.
    • It is a research unit at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

  • International Day of Light and its significance

    The UN marks the International Day of Light (IDL) — an annual initiative held globally to raise awareness on the critical role played by light-based technologies in everyday life.

    The IDL as mentioned in the news creates no scope for a possible prelim question, but the purpose behind its celebration does.  i.e. LASER technology. LIDAR is the latest development in the LASER technology. UPSC may puzzle you here by asking the working principle of LIDAR.

    International Day of Light (IDL)

    • The IDL is administered from the International Basic Science Programme (IBSP) of UNESCO, and its Secretariat is located at the Abdus Salam International Centre of Theoretical Physics (ICTP) at Trieste, Italy.
    • The IDL highlights the contribution of such technologies in various avenues such as science, technology, art, and culture, thus helping achieve the UNESCO goals of education, equality, and peace.
    • The day selected, May 16, marks the anniversary of the first successful operation of the LASER in 1960 by physicist and engineer Theodore Maiman.
    • The LASER is a perfect example of how a scientific discovery can yield revolutionary benefits to society in communications, healthcare and many other fields.

    Why is the IDL celebrated?

    • In 2015, to raise global awareness of the achievements of light science and its applications, the UN observed the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies 2015 (IYL 2015).
    • The event helped establish links and collaborations between decision-makers, industry leaders, scientists, artists, social businesses, NGOs, and the public at large.
    • Following the success of IYL 2015, Ghana, Mexico, New Zealand and Russia placed a resolution before the UNESCO Executive Board supporting the idea of an International Day of Light.
    • It was adopted on September 19, 2016, at the Board’s 200th session at the UNESCO HQ in Paris, France.
    • The Board decision was endorsed by the UNESCO General Conference at its 39th session on November 7, 2017, and the first IDL was held on May 16, 2018.

    Back2Basics: LASER

    • A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation.
    • It is an acronym for “light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation.
    • The laser stimulates atoms or molecules to emit light at particular wavelengths and amplifies that light, typically producing a very narrow beam of radiation.
    • The emission generally covers an extremely limited range of visible, infrared, or ultraviolet wavelengths.
    • Many different types of lasers have been developed, with highly varied characteristics.
    • A laser is widely used in industrial cutting, surgical removal of tissues etc.
    • LIDAR is the most famous application of LASERs.

    LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging)

    • It is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges (variable distances) to the Earth.
    • It bounces pulsed laser light off the ground, revealing contours hidden by dense foliage.
    • These light pulses—combined with other data recorded by the airborne system— generate precise, three-dimensional information about the shape of the Earth and its surface characteristics.
    • LIDAR systems allow scientists and mapping professionals to examine both natural and manmade environments with accuracy, precision, and flexibility.
    • A LIDAR instrument principally consists of a laser, a scanner, and a specialized GPS receiver.
    • Airplanes and helicopters are the most commonly used platforms for acquiring LIDAR data over broad areas.

  • What is ‘Direct Seeding of Rice’ (DSR)?

    Farmers are now being encouraged to adopt ‘direct seeding of rice’ (DSR) in place of conventional transplanting due to lack of labourers, who are stranded due to lockdown.

    Recall the classification of cropping seasons on India based on onset and retreat of Monsoon.

    The kharif crops include rice, maize, sorghum, pearl millet/bajra, finger millet/ragi (cereals), arhar (pulses), soyabean, groundnut (oilseeds), cotton etc. The rabi crops include wheat, barley, oats (cereals), chickpea/gram (pulses), linseed, mustard (oilseeds) etc.  Kindly make a note of this.

    What is ‘Direct Seeding of Rice’ (DSR)?

    • In transplanting, farmers prepare nurseries where the paddy seeds are first sown and raised into young plants.
    • These seedlings are then uprooted and replanted 25-35 days later in the main field.
    • Paddy seedlings are transplanted on fields that are “puddled” or tilled in standing water using tractor-drawn disc harrows.
    • In DSR, there is no nursery preparation or transplantation. The seeds are instead directly drilled into the field by a tractor-powered machine.

    How is the question of herbicides addressed in DSR?

    • Paddy being very much water-intensive is compromised by weeds that compete for nutrition, sunlight and water.
    • Water prevents the growth of weeds by denying them oxygen in the submerged stage, whereas the soft ‘aerenchyma tissues’ in paddy plants allow air to penetrate through their roots.
    • Water, thus, acts as a herbicide for paddy. The threat from weeds recedes once tillering is over; so does the need to flood the fields.
    • In DSR, water is replaced by real chemical herbicides. Farmers have to only level their land and give one pre-sowing irrigation or rauni.
    • Once the field has good soil moisture, they need to do two rounds of ploughing and planking (smoothening of soil surface), which is followed by the sowing of the seeds and spraying of herbicides.

    What are these herbicides?

    • There are two kinds. The first is called pre-emergent, i.e. applied before germination. In this case, the pre-emergent herbicide used is Pendimethalin.
    • The second set of herbicides is post-emergent, sprayed 20-25 days after sowing, depending upon the type of weeds appearing.
    • They include Bispyribac-sodium (Rs 600-700 at 100 ml/acre) and Fenoxaprop-p-ethyl (Rs 700-800 at 400 ml/acre).

    What is the main advantage of DSR?

    • The most obvious one is water savings. The first irrigation (apart from the pre-sowing rauni) under DSR is necessary only 21 days after sowing.
    • This is unlike in transplanted paddy, where watering has to be done practically daily to ensure submerged/flooded conditions in the first three weeks.
    • The second savings, relevant in the present context, is that of labour. About three labourers are required to transplant one acre of paddy at almost Rs 2,400 per acre.
    • As against this, the cost of herbicides under DSR will not exceed Rs 2,000 per acre.

    Limitations of DSR

    • The main issue is the availability of herbicides.
    • The seed requirement for DSR is also higher, at 8-10 kg/acre, compared to 4-5 kg in transplanting.
    • Further, laser land levelling, which costs Rs 1,000/acre, is compulsory in DSR. This is not so in transplanting.
    • The yields are as good as from normal transplanting, but one need to sow by the first fortnight of June. The plants have to come out properly before the monsoon rains arrive.
    • There is no such problem in transplanting, where the saplings have already been raised in the nursery.

  • What is African Swine Fever (ASF)?

    • Amid the coronavirus pandemic, another disease outbreak is affecting thousands of animals in Assam.
    • Since February, over 2,900 pigs have died in the state due to African Swine Fever (ASF), which does not affect humans but can be catastrophic for pigs.
    • This is the first time that an ASF outbreak has been reported in India.

    As Flu is nowadays a lot in news, keep a tab on them for prelims. Be it the Swine Flue, African Swine Fever or even H5N1.

    African Swine Fever (ASF)

    • ASF is a severe viral disease that affects wild and domestic pigs typically resulting in an acute hemorrhagic fever.
    • The disease has a case fatality rate (CFR) of about 100 per cent.
    • Its routes of transmission include direct contact with an infected or wild pig (alive or dead), indirect contact through ingestion of contaminated material such as food waste, feed or garbage or through biological vectors such as ticks.
    • The disease is characterized by the sudden deaths of pigs.
    • Other manifestations of the disease include high fever, depression, anorexia, loss of appetite, hemorrhages in the skin, vomiting and diarrhoea among others.

    How did the current outbreak start?

    • As per the latest update issued by FAO, the current outbreak of ASF has affected China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Republic of Korea and Indonesia among others.
    • In China, the first ASF outbreak was confirmed in August 2018 and since then more than 1 million pigs have been culled in the country.
    • ASF came into India through Tibet into Arunachal Pradesh and then into Assam, the state with the highest population of pigs in the country.

    How is ASF different from swine flu?

    • Swine influenza or swine flu is a respiratory disease of pigs, which is caused by type A influenza virus that regularly causes outbreaks of influenza in pig populations.
    • While the swine flu causing virus leads to a high number of infections in pig herds, the disease is not as fatal and causes few deaths. Specific swine influenza vaccines are available for pigs.
    • The swine flu viruses are spread among pigs through close contact and through contaminated objects moving between infected and uninfected pigs.
    • Symptoms include fever, depression, coughing, discharge from the nose and eyes, eye redness or inflammation.

    Vaccines availability

    • As of now, there is no approved vaccine, which is also a reason why animals are culled to prevent the spread of infection.
    • It is important that determination of ASF is made through laboratory testing and it is differentiated from Classical Swine Fever (CSF), whose signs may be similar to ASF, but is caused by a different virus for which a vaccine exists.
    • Even so, while ASF is lethal, it is less infectious than other animal diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease.

    What is the impact ASF will have on pig farmers?

    • Pig farmers in Assam describe the outbreak as a “double whammy” since the COVID-19 lockdown was already impacting sales negatively.
    • The outbreak has ruined the prospect of the Northeastern states as a hub for the export of pork products.

  • [pib] Energy-efficient Photodetector for Security Application

    Indian scientists have fabricated an economical and energy-efficient wafer-scale photodetector using gold – silicon interface, for security applications.

    A basic question on the working principle of Photodetectors can be asked in the Prelims.

    What are Photodetectors?

    • Photodetectors, also called photosensors, are sensors of light or other electromagnetic radiation.
    • A photodetector has a p–n (positive-negative) junction that converts light photons into the current.
    • The absorbed photons make electron-hole pairs in the depletion region.
    • Photodiodes and phototransistors are a few examples of photodetectors. Solar cells convert some of the light energy absorbed into electrical energy.
    • The material cost and the intricate fabrication processes involved in realizing high-performance detectors make them unaffordable for day to day applications.

    Applications

    • Photodetectors are the heart of any optoelectronic circuit that can detect light.
    • They are employed for a wide variety of applications ranging from controlling automatic lighting in supermarkets to detecting radiation from the outer galaxy as well as security-related applications.
    • They range from simple devices that automatically open supermarket doors, to receivers on the TV remote controls.

    What did Indian researchers achieve?

    • The scientists have fabricated gold (Au) – silicon (Si) interface, which showed high sensitivity towards light demonstrating the photodetection action.
    • The Au–Si interface was brought about by galvanic deposition, a technique for electroplating of metals, wherein water-based solutions (electrolytes) are used, which contain the metals to be deposited as ions.
    • In addition, a nanostructured Au film also was deposited on top of p-type silicide (having an excess of positive charges), which acts as a charge collector.

    Benefits

    • Being a solution-based technique, the method is highly economical and enabled large-area fabrication without compromising the detector response.
    • The process is quick, taking only minutes to fabricate a detector of any arbitrary area and exhibited a rapid response of 40 microseconds.
    • This photodetector displayed long-term environmental stability.
    • The Indian invention provides a simple and cost-effective solution-based fabrication method for high-performance photodetector.
    • It could help detect weak scattered light as an indication of unwanted activity.