Subject: Science and Technology

The famous British scientist and virologist Rosalind Franklin is remembered across the world on her birth centenary who worked to construct the double-helix structure of DNA.

Try this PYQ from CSP 2019:

DNA/RNA has been an all-time favourite of UPSC!

Q.‘RNA interference (RNAi)’ technology has gained popularity in the last few years. Why?

1. It is used in developing gene-silencing therapies.
2. It can be used in developing therapies for the treatment of cancer.
3. It can be used to develop hormone replacement therapies.
4. It can be used to produce crop plants that are resistant to viral pathogens.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1, 2 and 4

(b) 2 and 3

(c) 1 and 3

(d) 1 and 4 only

Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958)

• She was an English chemist and X-ray crystallographer whose work was central to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), RNA (ribonucleic acid), viruses, coal, and graphite.
• Although her works on coal and viruses were appreciated in her lifetime, her contributions to the discovery of the structure of DNA were largely recognised posthumously.

DNA breakthrough

• In 1952, Raymond Gosling, a graduate student at King’s College London, took a historic X-ray photograph under Franklin’s supervision.
• Photo 51, as it is called, demonstrates the now-familiar, double-helix structure of DNA.

Why is she remembered now?

• The world is currently gripped in a pandemic, and her pioneering research in virology provided a crucial early step in the search for cures, vaccinations and tests.
• During the Second World War, Franklin carried out research into coal and graphite that proved important for gas-masks, the PPE of that time.
• It is because of Franklin, her collaborators and successors, that today’s researchers are able to use tools such as DNA sequencing and X-ray crystallography to investigate viruses such as COVID-10.

Back2Basics: DNA/RNA 

• Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and Ribonucleic acid (RNA) are perhaps the most important molecules in cell biology, responsible for the storage and reading of genetic information that underpins all life.
• They are both linear polymers, consisting of sugars, phosphates and bases, but there are some key differences which separate the two.
• These distinctions enable the two molecules to work together and fulfil their essential roles.
• DNA encodes all genetic information and is the blueprint from which all biological life is created. And that’s only in the short-term.
• In the long-term, DNA is a storage device, a biological flash drive that allows the blueprint of life to be passed between generations.
• RNA functions as the reader that decodes this flash drive. This reading process is multi-step and there are specialized RNAs for each of these steps.

Three types of RNA

• Messenger RNA (mRNA) copies portions of genetic code; a process called transcription and transports these copies to ribosomes, which are the cellular factories that facilitate the production of proteins from this code.
• Transfer RNA (tRNA) is responsible for bringing amino acids, basic protein building blocks, to these protein factories, in response to the coded instructions introduced by the mRNA. This protein-building process is called translation.
• Finally, Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) is a component of the ribosome factory itself without which protein production would not occur.

The indigenously designed 700 MWe reactor at the Kakrapar Atomic Power Project has achieved Criticality.

Try this PYQ from CSP 2013:

Q. The known forces of nature can be divided into four classes, viz, gravity, electromagnetism, weak nuclear force and strong nuclear force. With reference to them, which one of the following statements is not correct?

(a) Gravity is the strongest of the four

(b) Electromagnetism act only on particles with an electric charge

(c) Weak nuclear force causes radioactivity

(d) Strong nuclear force holds protons and neutrons inside the nuclear of an atom.

What is ‘Criticality’ in Atomic/Nuclear Power Plants?

• Reactors are the heart of an atomic power plant, where a controlled nuclear fission reaction takes place that produces heat, which is used to generate steam that then spins a turbine to create electricity.
• Fission is a process in which the nucleus of an atom splits into two or smaller nuclei, and usually some by-product particles.
• When the nucleus splits, the kinetic energy of the fission fragments is transferred to other atoms in the fuel as heat energy, which is eventually used to produce steam to drive the turbines.
• For every fission event, if at least one of the emitted neutrons on average causes fission, a self-sustaining chain reaction will take place.
• A nuclear reactor achieves criticality when each fission event releases a sufficient number of neutrons to sustain an ongoing series of reactions.

Controlling Criticality

• When a reactor is starting up, the number of neutrons is increased slowly in a controlled manner. Neutron-absorbing control rods in the reactor core are used to calibrate neutron production.
• The control rods are made from neutron-absorbing elements such as cadmium, boron, or hafnium.
• The deeper the rods are lowered into the reactor core, the more neutrons the rods absorb and the less fission occurs.
• Technicians pull up or lower down the control rods into the reactor core depending on whether more or less fission, neutron production, and power are desired.
• If a malfunction occurs, technicians can remotely plunge control rods into the reactor core to quickly soak up neutrons and shut down the nuclear reaction.

Why is this achievement significant?

• It is the biggest indigenously developed variant of the Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR).
• The PHWRs, which use natural uranium as fuel and heavy water as moderator, is the mainstay of India’s nuclear reactor fleet.
• Until now, the biggest reactor size of the indigenous design was the 540 MWe PHWR, two of which have been deployed in Tarapur, Maharashtra.
• India works to ramp up its existing nuclear power capacity of 6,780 MWe to 22,480 MWe by 2031.
• The 700MWe capacity constitutes the biggest component of the expansion plan.

Back2Basics: India’s PHWR technology

• PHWR technology started in India in the late 1960s with the construction of the first 220 MWe reactor, Rajasthan Atomic Power Station, RAPS-1 under the joint Indo-Canadian nuclear co-operation.
• Canada supplied all the main equipment for this first unit, while India retained responsibility for construction, installation, and commissioning.
• For the second unit (RAPS-2), import content was reduced considerably, and indigenization was undertaken for major equipment.
• Following the withdrawal of Canadian support in 1974 after Pokhran-1, Indian nuclear engineers completed the construction, and the plant was made operational with a majority of components being made in India.

There have been considerable discussions in scientific circles on the importance of vitamin D in these days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Try this question from CSP 2017:

Q.Regular intake of fresh fruits and vegetables is recommended in the diet since they are a good source of antioxidants. How do antioxidants help a person maintain health and promote longevity?

(a) They activate the enzymes necessary for vitamin synthesis in the body and help prevent vitamin deficiency.

(b) They prevent excessive oxidation of carbohydrates, fats and proteins in the body and help avoid unnecessary wastage of energy.

(c) They neutralize the free radicals produced in the body during metabolism.

(d) They activate certain genes in the cells of the body and help delay the ageing process.

Vitamin D and its prevalence

• It is produced when sunlight (or artificial light, particularly in the ultraviolet region of 190-400 nm wavelength) falls on the skin.
• Light triggers a chemical reaction to a cholesterol-based molecule and converts it into calcidiol in the liver and into calcitriol in the kidney.
• It is these two molecules that are physiologically active.
• Since sunlight is important for the generation of vitamin D, tropical countries have an advantage over the northern countries.
• India, being a tropical country, one would expect naturally derived vitamin D levels to be good.

Why Vitamin D is important?

• Vitamin D deficiency can affect COVID-19 high-risk patients, particularly those who are diabetic, have heart conditions, pneumonia, obesity and those who smoke.
• It is also associated with infections in the respiratory tract and lung injury.
• Besides, vitamin D is known to help in having the right amount of calcium in the bones, catalyse the process of protecting cell membranes from damage, preventing the inflammation of tissues.
• Moreover, it helps stop tissues from forming fibres and weakening bones from becoming brittle, leading to osteoporosis.