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Subject: Science and Technology

  • What is Computer Tomography?

    The first computed tomography image – a CT scan – of the human brain was made 50 years ago, on Oct. 1, 1971.

    A few months back, almost all of us have heard about the High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scan being conducted on our relatives for diagnosing the damage of lungs caused due to the Wuhan Virus.

    About Computer Tomography (CT)

    • A CT scan is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to get detailed images of the body noninvasively for diagnostic purposes.
    • The multiple X-ray measurements taken from different angles are then processed on a computer using reconstruction algorithms to produce tomographic (cross-sectional) images (virtual “slices”) of a body.

    How does it work?

    • They use a narrow X-ray beam that circles around one part of your body. This provides a series of images from many different angles.
    • A computer uses this information to create a cross-sectional picture. Like one piece in a loaf of bread, this two-dimensional (2D) scan shows a “slice” of the inside of your body.
    • This process is repeated to produce a number of slices.
    • The computer stacks these scans one on top of the other to create a detailed image of your organs, bones, or blood vessels.
    • For example, a surgeon may use this type of scan to look at all sides of a tumor to prepare for an operation.

    Its development

    • Since its development in the 1970s, CT has proven to be a versatile imaging technique.
    • While CT is most prominently used in diagnostic medicine, it also may be used to form images of non-living objects.
    • The 1979 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded jointly to South African-American physicist Allan M. Cormack and British electrical engineer Godfrey N. Hounsfield “for the development of computer-assisted tomography”.

    Threats

    • CT scans use X-rays, which produce ionizing radiation.
    • Such radiation may damage your DNA and lead to cancer.
    • The risk increases with every CT scan we get.
    • Ionizing radiation may be more harmful in children.

     

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  • What is Meningitis?

    The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched the first-ever global strategy to defeat meningitis, a debilitating disease that kills hundreds of thousands of people each year.

    What is Meningitis?

    • Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord.
    • People of any age can get meningitis.

    What Causes Meningitis?

    • Most cases are caused by bacteria or viruses, but some can be due to certain medicines or illnesses.
    • Meningitis is usually caused by a viral infection but can also be bacterial or fungal.
    • Both kinds of meningitis spread like most other common infections do — someone who’s infected touches, kisses, or coughs or sneezes on someone who isn’t infected.
    • Bacterial meningitis is rare, but is usually serious and can be life-threatening if not treated right away.
    • Viral meningitis (also called aseptic meningitis) is more common than bacterial meningitis and usually less serious.
    • Many of the viruses that cause meningitis are common, such as those that cause colds, diarrhea, cold sores, and the flu.

    What Are the Signs & Symptoms of Meningitis?

    • Meningitis symptoms vary, depending on the person’s age and the cause of the infection.
    • The first symptoms can come on quickly or start several days after someone has had a cold, diarrhea, vomiting, or other signs of an infection.

    Common symptoms include:

    • fever
    • lack of energy
    • irritability
    • headache
    • sensitivity to light
    • stiff neck
    • skin rash

    Treatment

    • Several vaccines protect against meningitis, including meningococcal, Haemophilus influenzae type b and pneumococcal vaccines.
    • If dealt with quickly, meningitis can be treated successfully.

     

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  • What is Dark Energy?

    Last week, an international team of researchers has made the first direct detection of dark energy.

    About the Project

    • The XENON1T experiment is the world’s most sensitive dark matter experiment and was operated deep underground at the INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Italy.
    • The finding also suggests that experiments like XENON1T, which are designed to detect dark matter, could also be used to detect dark energy.

    What is Dark Energy?

    • Dark energy is an unknown form of energy that affects the universe on the largest scales.
    • The first observational evidence for its existence came from measurements of supernovae, which showed that the universe does not expand at a constant rate; rather, the expansion of the universe is accelerating.
    • Prior to these observations, it was thought that all forms of matter and energy in the universe would only cause the expansion to slow down over time.
    • Measurements of the cosmic microwave background suggest the universe began in a hot Big Bang, from which general relativity explains its evolution and the subsequent large-scale motion.
    • Without introducing a new form of energy, there was no way to explain how an accelerating universe could be measured.

    Does it exist?

    • Since the 1990s, dark energy has been the most accepted premise to account for the accelerated expansion.
    • As of 2021, there are active areas of cosmology research aimed at understanding the fundamental nature of dark energy.

    Dark energy Vs Dark matter

    • Everything we see – the planets, moons, massive galaxies, you, me, this website – makes up less than 5% of the universe.
    • About 27% is dark matter and 68% is dark energy.
    • While dark matter attracts and holds galaxies together, dark energy repels and causes the expansion of our universe.

     

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  • IIT-B develops One-time Programmable Memory

    IIT Bombay researchers have developed a “memory technology” that can, in principle, revolutionise Indian industry and the many applications that need semiconductor chips, such as in the defence sector, automobiles and future aspirations in cell phone manufacturing.

    One-time Programmable Memory

    • Hard disks, flash memory, etc, are examples of memory technology.
    • There is also another form of memory called the one-time programmable memory (OTP) where the memory is written once, stored for a lifetime, and retrieved and used many times.
    • This finds varied uses, one of which is in correcting faulty chips that have been mass produced for specific applications.

    Its utility

    • For instance, think of a chip that helps read off the temperature.
    • Due to a manufacturing defect, the chip may read 100 degree Celsius as 101 degree Celsius.
    • This “offset” of 1 degree may be corrected by storing the error correction parameter in the OTP memory.
    • This is done uniquely for each chip and once stored, the memory corrects the chip’s output for its lifetime.
    • OTP memories are also used for other purposes, mainly three: chip identity, secure information storage and chip calibration for error correction.

    How does it work?

    • To store the correction value, the researchers used eight memory cells, each of which would store one “bit” (that is a value of zero or one).
    • Each of the memory cells consist of an ultrathin silicon dioxide layer which is 10-15 atomic layers thick.
    • This is deposited uniformly over a dinner plate–sized eight-inch silicon wafer to form millions of nanoscale capacitors.
    • The pristine silicon dioxide layer is insulating, passing a very low current [which in digital electronics is read as a “0”].
    • A nanoscale lightning is generated of 3.3 volts to blow the capacitor, leading to a short circuit that produced high current [this is a “1”].
    • Thus, the OTP memory remembers either the “0” state or “1” state through its lifetime.

    Benefits offered

    • The group has successfully demonstrated CMOS 180-nanometre–based, production-ready, eight-bit memory technology.
    • These include successful operation between minus 40 degrees C to 125 degrees C and reliability to ensure excess of 95% yield on eight-bit memories.

    Significance

    • A large fraction of manufactured chips may need to be discarded for faults that can be corrected using this technology.
    • This technology is the first indigenous semiconductor memory technology adoption to manufacturing at 180-nanometre node.
    • Thus, this is a major national milestone for semiconductor innovation.

     

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  • Chang’e-5 Lunar Mission

    The Europlanet Society has released details from the samples brought back by China’s Chang’e-5 Lunar Mission in December 2020.

    Chang’e-5 Lunar Mission

    • The Chang’e-5 lunar mission delivered to Earth nearly 2 kg of rocky fragments and dust from the Moon.
    • It had landed on an area of the Moon (the ‘far side’) not sampled by the American or Soviet missions nearly 50 years ago.
    • It thus retrieved fragments of the youngest lunar rocks ever brought back for analysis in laboratories on Earth.
    • The rocks are also different from those returned decades ago.

    Key findings

    • 90% of the materials collected by Chang’e-5 likely derive from the landing site and its immediate surroundings, which are of a type termed ‘mare basalts’.
    • These volcanic rocks are visible to us as the darker grey areas that spilled over much of the nearside of the Moon as ancient eruptions of lava.
    • Yet 10% percent of the fragments have distinctly different, ‘exotic’ chemical compositions.

    What are the exotic compositions?

    • The distinct 10% fragments may preserve records of other parts of the lunar surface as well as hints of the types of space rocks that have impacted the Moon’s surface.
    • Researchers have looked at the potential sources of beads of rapidly cooled glassy material.
    • They have traced these glassy droplets to extinct volcanic vents known as ‘Rima Mairan’ and ‘Rima Sharp’.
    • These fragments could give insights into past episodes of energetic, fountain-like volcanic activity on the Moon.

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  • Centre announces uniform norms for Fortified Rice

    Days after the Prime Minister’s announcement of a rice fortification plan, the Centre has issued “uniform” parameters for fortified rice kernels (FRK) for grade ‘A’ and common rice.

    Plan for fortified rice

    • The fortified rice is to be distributed under various government schemes, including the public distribution system (PDS) and midday meals in schools, by 2024.
    • The specifications for such rice have been issued by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
    • Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) under Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution for the first time issued uniform specifications for Fortified Rice Kernels (FRK).

    What are the norms announced?

    • Common Rice have in case of procurement of Fortified Rice Stocks, of which 1% of FRK (w/w) should be blended with normal rice stock.
    • These specifications as per standard practice have been issued in respect of Paddy, Rice and other coarse grains namely Jowar, Bajra, Maize, Ragi.

    What is Fortification?

    • FSSAI defines fortification as “deliberately increasing the content of essential micronutrients in a food so as to improve the nutritional quality of food and to provide public health benefit with minimal risk to health”.

    What is Fortified Rice?

    • Rice can be fortified by adding a micronutrient powder to the rice that adheres to the grains or spraying the surface of ordinary rice grains with a vitamin and mineral mix to form a protective coating.
    • Rice can also be extruded and shaped into partially precooked grain-like structures resembling rice grains, which can then be blended with natural polished rice.
    • Rice kernels can be fortified with several micronutrients, such as iron, folic acid, and other B-complex vitamins, vitamin A and zinc.
    • These fortified kernels are then mixed with normal rice in a 1:100 ratio, and distributed for consumption.

    Note: Biofortification is the process by which the nutritional quality of food crops is improved through agronomic practices, conventional plant breeding, or modern biotechnology. It differs from conventional fortification in that Biofortification aims to increase nutrient levels in crops during plant growth rather than through manual means during the processing of the crops.

    What is the plan announced by the PM?

    • Malnutrition and lack of essential nutrients in poor women and poor children pose major obstacles in their development.
    • In view of this, it has been decided that the government will fortify the rice given to the poor under its various schemes.
    • Be it the rice available at ration shops or the rice provided to children in their mid-day meals, the rice available through every scheme will be fortified by the year 2024.

    Why such a move?

    • The announcement is significant as the country has high levels of malnutrition among women and children.
    • According to the Food Ministry, every second woman in the country is anemic and every third child is stunted.
    • India ranks 94 out of 107 countries and is in the ‘serious hunger’ category on the Global Hunger Index (GHI).
    • Fortification of rice is a cost-effective and complementary strategy to increase vitamin and mineral content in diets.
    • According to the Food Ministry, seven countries have mandated rice fortification – the USA, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, and the Solomon Islands.

    Advantages offered

    • Health: Fortified staple foods will contain natural or near-natural levels of micro-nutrients, which may not necessarily be the case with supplements.
    • Taste: It provides nutrition without any change in the characteristics of food or the course of our meals.
    • Nutrition: If consumed on a regular and frequent basis, fortified foods will maintain body stores of nutrients more efficiently and more effectively than will intermittently supplement.
    • Economy: The overall costs of fortification are extremely low; the price increase is approximately 1 to 2 percent of the total food value.
    • Society: It upholds everyone’s right to have access to safe and nutritious food, consistent with the right to adequate food and the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger

    Issues with fortified food

    • Against nature: Fortification and enrichment upset nature’s packaging. Our body does not absorb individual nutrients added to processed foods as efficiently compared to nutrients naturally occurring.
    • Bioavailability: Supplements added to foods are less bioavailable. Bioavailability refers to the proportion of a nutrient your body is able to absorb and use.
    • Immunity issues: They lack immune-boosting substances.
    • Over-nutrition: Fortified foods and supplements can pose specific risks for people who are taking prescription medications, including decreased absorption of other micro-nutrients, treatment failure, and increased mortality risk.

    Adhering to FSSAI standard

    The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) sets standards for food items in the country.

    • According to FSSAI norms, 1 kg fortified rice will contain iron (28 mg-42.5 mg), folic acid (75-125 microgram), and Vitamin B-12 (0.75-1.25 microgram).
    • In addition, rice may also be fortified with micronutrients, singly or in combination, with zinc(10 mg-15 mg), Vitamin A (500-750 microgram RE), Vitamin B1 (1 mg-1.5 mg), Vitamin B2 (1.25 mg-1.75 mg), Vitamin B3 (12.5 mg-20 mg) and Vitamin B6 (1.5 mg-2.5 mg) per kg.

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  • India scores 46th rank in the Global Innovation Index 2021

    India has climbed 2 spots and has been ranked 46th by the World Intellectual Property Organization in the Global Innovation Index 2021 rankings.

    Global Innovation Index

    • The Global Innovation Index (GII) is an annual ranking of countries by their capacity for, and success in, innovation.
    • It is published by Cornell University, INSEAD, and the World Intellectual Property Organization, in partnership with other organizations and institutions.
    • It is based on both subjective and objective data derived from several sources, including the International Telecommunication Union, the World Bank and the World Economic Forum.
    • The index was started in 2007 by INSEAD and World Business, a British magazine. It was created by Prof. Soumitra Dutta.

    Components of GII

    • The GII is computed by taking a simple average of the scores in two sub-indices, the Innovation Input Index and Innovation Output Index, which are composed of five and two pillars respectively.

    India’s performance

    • India has been on a rising trajectory, over the past several years in the Global Innovation Index (GII), from a rank of 81 in 2015 to 46 in 2021.
    • India attributed its improved performance due to the pivotal role played by the Department of Atomic Energy, the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Biotechnology and the Department of Space.

    Global scenario

    • Switzerland topped the league table, followed by Sweden, the US and the UK.
    • Among Asian economies, South Korea jumped to the fifth position, up from 10 last year.
    • China was in the 12th position.

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  • IISc finds alternative for single-use plastics

    Researchers from the Department of Material Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru (IISc) have found a way to make a substitute for single-use plastic that can, in principle help mitigate the problem of accumulating plastic waste in the environment.

    What is the new material?

    • IISc has developed polymers using non-edible oil and cellulose extracted from agricultural stubble.
    • These polymers can be moulded into sheets having properties suitable for making bags, cutlery or containers.
    • The material so made is bio-degradable, leak-proof and non-toxic.

    Key features

    • In order to obtain sheets with properties like flexibility suitable for making different articles, the researchers played with the proportions of cellulose to non-edible oil.
    • The more cellulose they added, and less non-edible oil, the stiffer was the material, so that it was more suitable to making tumblers and cutlery.
    • The greater the proportion of oil, the more flexible was the material and it could be moulded into sheets for making bags.

    Why needed?

    Ans. Plastic waste menace in India

    • According to a report by Central Pollution Control Board of India, for the year 2018-2019, 3.3 million metric tonnes of plastic waste are generated by Indians.
    • The bad news is that this may well be an under-estimation of the problem.
    • Another alarming statistic is that of all the plastic waste produced in the world, 79% enters the environment.
    • Only 9% of all plastic waste is recycled.
    • Accumulation of plastic waste is detrimental to the environment and when this waste finds its way into the sea, there can be major harm to aquatic ecosystems, too.

    Agricultural stubble

    • While plastic waste causes one type of pollution, agricultural stubble burning is responsible for air pollution in several States.
    • In Delhi, for example, the air quality index dips to indicate “severe” or “hazardous” level of pollution every winter, and this is due in part to the burning of agricultural stubble in the surrounding regions.

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2020:

    Which of the following statements are correct regarding the general difference between plant and animal cells?

    1. Plant cells have cellulose cell walls whilst animal cells do not.
    2. Plant cells do not have plasma membranes unlike animal cells which do.
    3. Mature plant cell has one large vacuole whilst animal cell has many small vacuoles.

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”yl9mtpfmnq” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

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  • What is Planet Nine?

    A new study’s “treasure map” suggests that a planet several times more massive than Earth could be hiding in our solar system, camouflaged by the bright strip of stars that make up the Milky Way.

    Do not wonder. This too was a PYQ:

    Q.Which planet was downgraded to dwarf planet status?

    (a) Pluto

    (b) Mars

    (c) Earth

    (d) Venus

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”j8ws1stgve” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here![/wpdiscuz-feedback]

    Planet 9

    • Planet Nine is a hypothetical planet in the outer region of the Solar System.
    • Its gravitational effects could explain the unlikely clustering of orbits for a group of extreme trans-Neptunian objects (ETNOs), bodies beyond Neptune that orbit the Sun at distances averaging more than 250 times that of the Earth.
    • Based on earlier considerations, this hypothetical super-Earth-sized planet would have had a predicted mass of five to ten times that of the Earth, and an elongated orbit 400 to 800 times as far from the Sun as the Earth.

    Curiosity for the ninth Planet

    • In August 2006, the International Astronomical Union broke several hearts when it announced that it had reclassified Pluto as a dwarf planet. ‘
    • The decision was based on Pluto’s size and the fact that it resides within a zone of other similarly-sized objects.

    Is everyone convinced that Planet Nine exists?

    • Researchers from across the globe have carried out several studies on Planet Nine and there are several theories about it, including one that stated Planet Nine could in fact be a black hole.
    • Another research has argued that the unknown object causing anomalous orbits of the trans-Neptunian objects could be a primordial black hole.
    • Yet another study noted that a trans-Neptunian object called 2015 BP519 had an unusual trajectory because it was affected by Planet Nine’s strong gravity.

    Back2Basics: Dwarf Planet

    • A dwarf planet is a small planetary-mass object that is in direct orbit of the Sun – something smaller than any of the eight classical planets, but still a world in its own right.
    • As of today, there are officially five dwarf planets in our Solar System.
    • The most famous is Pluto, downgraded from the status of a planet in 2006.
    • The other four, in order of size, are Eris, Makemake, Haumea and Ceres. The sixth claimant for a dwarf planet is Hygiea, which so far has been taken to be an asteroid.
    • These four criteria are – that the body orbits around the Sun, it is not a moon, has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit, and has enough mass for its gravity to pull it into a roughly spherical shape.

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  • What is Serotype 2 Dengue?

    The Union Health Ministry has flagged the emerging challenge in 11 States across India of serotype 2 dengue, which it said is associated with “more cases and more complications” than other forms of the disease.

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2015:

    Q. Consider the following statements:

    1. In tropical regions, Zika virus disease is transmitted by the same mosquito that transmits dengue.
    2. Sexual transmission of Zika virus disease is possible.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) Both 1 and 2

    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”f66l7r4swb” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here![/wpdiscuz-feedback]

    What is Dengue?

    • Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection, found in tropical and sub-tropical climates worldwide, mostly in urban and semi-urban areas.
    • It is transmitted by female mosquitoes mainly of the species Aedes aegypti and, to a lesser extent, Ae. albopictus.
    • These mosquitoes are also vectors of chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika viruses.
    • Dengue is widespread throughout the tropics, with local variations in risk influenced by rainfall, temperature, relative humidity and unplanned rapid urbanization.

    Its transmission

    • The virus is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female mosquitoes, primarily the Aedes aegypti
    • Other species within the Aedes genus can also act as vectors, but their contribution is secondary to Aedes aegypti.
    • Mosquitoes can become infected from people who are viremic with dengue.

    Various serotypes

    • Dengue is caused by a virus of the Flaviviridae family and there are four distinct, but closely related, serotypes of the virus that cause dengue (DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3 and DENV-4).
    • Recovery from infection is believed to provide lifelong immunity against that serotype.
    • However, cross-immunity to the other serotypes after recovery is only partial and temporary.
    • Subsequent infections (secondary infection) by other serotypes increase the risk of developing severe dengue.

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