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Subject: Science and Technology

  • What is Interplanetary Contamination?

    As ambitious space missions are proliferating, along with advances in commercial space flight, astrobiologists have expressed concerns about possible ‘interplanetary contamination’.

    A statements based question can be expected from the two types of interplanetary contamination.

    What is Interplanetary Contamination?

    • Interplanetary contamination refers to biological contamination of a planetary body by a space probe or spacecraft, either deliberate or unintentional.
    • There are two types of interplanetary contamination:
    1. Forward contamination is the transfer of life and other forms of contamination from Earth to another celestial body.
    2. Back contamination is the introduction of extraterrestrial organisms and other forms of contamination into Earth’s biosphere. It also covers infection of humans and human habitats in space and on other celestial bodies by extraterrestrial organisms, if such habitats exist.
    • The main focus is on microbial life and on potentially invasive species.
    • Non-biological forms of contamination have also been considered, including contamination of sensitive deposits (such as lunar polar ice deposits) of scientific interest.

    Are there any mechanisms to prevent such contaminations?

    • Current space missions are governed by the Outer Space Treaty and the COSPAR (Committee on Space Research) guidelines for planetary protection.
    • Forward contamination is prevented primarily by sterilizing the spacecraft.
    • According to NASA, the guidelines have had far-reaching implications on human spacecraft design, operational procedures, and overall mission structure.

  • Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA)

    India has ranked third among the top 10 countries that have gained in forest areas in the last decade a/c to the latest Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA).

    Possible prelim question:

    Q.The Global Forest Resources Assessment Report recently seen in news is published by-

    a) UN-FAO

    b) UN Forum on Forests

    c) International Union of Forest Research Organizations

    d) None of these

    India gains in forest cover

    • The top 10 countries that have recorded the maximum average annual net gains in a forest area during 2010-2020 are China, Australia, India, Chile, Vietnam, Turkey, the US, France, Italy and Romania.
    • India accounts for two per cent of total global forest area.
    • Globally, 12.5 million people were employed in the forestry sector. Out of this, India accounted for 6.23 million, or nearly 50 per cent.

    Global prospects

    • The Asian continent reported the highest net gain in a forest area in 2010-2020, according to the report.
    • It recorded a 1.17 million hectares (ha) per year net increase in forests in the last decade.
    • However, the South Asia sub-region reported net forest losses during 1990-2020.
    • But, this decline would have been much higher without the net gain in India’s forest during this period, according to FRA 2020.

    How did India gain?

    • The FRA 2020 has credited the government’s Joint Forest Management programme for the significant increase in community-managed forest areas in the Asian continent.
    • The forest area managed by local, tribal and indigenous communities in India increased from zero in 1990 to about 25 million ha in 2015, the assessment said.
    • India has been taking up massive afforestation and plantation schemes.

    About Global Forest Resources Assessment

    • The Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) reports on the status and trends of the world’s forest resources.
    • It is led by the Forestry Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN.
    • It reports the extent of the world’s forest area as well as other variables, including land tenure and access rights, sustainable forest management (SFM), forest conservation, and sustainable use.

    Back2Basics: Defining forests as per FRA

    • The definition excludes tree stands in agricultural production systems, such as fruit tree plantations, oil palm plantations, olive orchards, and agroforestry systems when crops are grown under tree cover.

    The FAO definition of a forest includes:

    • land spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of more than 10 per cent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ
    • does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use

  • [pib] Knowledge Resource Centre Network (KRCNet)

    The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has planned to develop a World-Class Knowledge Resource Centre Network (KRCNet).

    Note the salient features of the KRCNet. UPSC may puzzle you asking which of these is/are not a feature of KRCNet.

    KRCNet Portal

    • KRCs will be connected with each other and integrated into the KRCNet portal.
    • It will be a single point entry to the intellectual world of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).
    • The resources and services of the MoES system will be accessible 24X7 through a one-point dynamic, updated and integrated on this portal.

    Salient features of the KRCNet:

    • Establish a Total Quality Management (TQM) system by securing ISO certification for documenting MoES knowledge resources, its maintenance, easy retrieval and dissemination.
    • Collect, collate, analyze, index, store and disseminate the intellectual resources, products and project outputs available in MoES headquarter and its institutes.
    • Develop and maintain an up-to-date meta-data of the print & digital resources available in MoES headquarter and MoES institutes, including MoES services.
    • Provide 24X7 accesses to the subscribed knowledge contents through the KRCNet portal.
    • Application of information-analytical tools & techniques like bibliometrics, scientometrics, big-data analytics, social media analytics etc., for policy formulation, report preparation and information dissemination.
    • Periodically organize training workshops to popularize the usage of electronic journals, databases, digital products, data analytics etc.

  • Need for open protocols and networks in the realm of internet

    We are familiar with the dominance of some platforms on the internet. That dominance start to create problems. This article discusses the issues with dominance and suggests the solution drawing on the success of UPI.

    Platforms on the internet

    • Platforms are technology layers that leverage the internet to bring together producers, resellers and consumers.
    • Platforms reduce transaction costs by cutting out intermediaries.
    • Amazon started by selling books but became a profitable giant by creating the e-commerce platform called Amazon Marketplace.
    • The most valuable companies today are platforms for search, social interaction, advertising, insurance, travel, real estate, etc.

    Issues with the platforms

    • 1)The promise of the internet was disintermediation, but the process has hit a speed breaker with major platforms taking on the role of mediation. 
    • 2) There may be multiple platforms in the game to start with, but due to network effects and the non-portability/lock-in, only a few monopolies space.
    • 3) Big platforms have tried to create a sort of  cartel in which to trap the customers while fencing off the rest of the internet.
    • 4) The platforms amass data about users which is used to influence user behaviour, which is not limited to guiding the buying decisions.

    So, what is the solution?

    Let’s look at the success story of  the UPI

    • Unified Payment Interface (UPI) is a set of protocols that standardises the language of money transfer.
    • It is an interface: a simple and structured protocol for instructions and a clearinghouse that relays well-formed requests to concerned parties for execution.
    • Once the language is there, a user may choose any app to link their bank account to a UPI ID and make a pay or collect request involving any other bank account.
    • UPI handled 1.3 billion transactions in June 2020, overtaking the aggregate number of transactions of all legacy “platforms”.
    • UPI succeeded because it treated all players, big or small, equally.
    • This allowed third-party innovators to drive adoption by creating solutions that addressed the need of the people.

    Solution: Adopting of open protocols

    • Application Programming Interfaces (or API) are protocols that define the meaning of data exchanged between two computers.
    • Universally accepted API definitions could allow a cabbie to be discovered by any cab aggregator app the rider may choose.
    • In healthcare, it could facilitate finding a doctor, booking an ambulance, taking out insurance, filing a claim, sharing a medical report or purchasing medicines from a pharmacy.

    Advantages of open protocols

    • Open protocols create ecosystems that are non-rivalrous and non-excludable by design.
    • Even smallest of application developers or start-ups can offer low-cost, locally relevant solutions using the protocol.
    • We can address the needs of the diverse business community and achieve much greater penetration for e-commerce than the 10 per cent of today.
    • Open systems have the potential to transform education, food delivery, by enabling entrepreneurs to compete on their quality and reputation alone.
    • Portability from one application to another, privacy and data empowerment will be some of the issues taken care of.
    • We can reduce our dependence on foreign platforms.

    Consider the question “What are APIs? Examine the issues created by the dominant internet platforms and how the adoption of open protocols for API could address the problem?”

    Conclusion

    With such a huge potential in APIs open protocols, the government must bring out the policy for the creation of open protocols and realise the untapped potential it offers.

  • Rosalind Franklin: the unsung heroine of DNA

    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.

  • Tribe in news: Siddi Community

    The Siddi community gets its first lawmaker in Karnataka. They are included as the Scheduled Tribes in Karnataka.

    Try this question from CSP 2019:

    Q.Consider the following statements about Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in India:

    1. PVTGs reside in 18 States and one Union Territory.
    2. A stagnant or declining population is one of the criteria for determining PVTG status.
    3. There are 95 PVTGs officially notified in the country so far.
    4. Irular and Konda Reddi tribes are included in the list of PVTGs.

    Which of the statements given above are correct?

    (a) 1, 2 and 3

    (b) 2, 3 and 4

    (c) 1, 2 and 4

    (d) 1, 3 and 4

    Siddi Tribe

    • The Siddi also known as Sidi, Siddhi, Sheedi or Habshi, are an ethnic group inhabiting India and Pakistan.
    • They are sometimes referred to as Afro-Indians. They are descended from the Bantu peoples of the East African region.
    • Similarly, another term for Siddis, habshi, is held to be derived from the common name for the captains of the Abyssinian ships that also first delivered Siddi slaves to the subcontinent.
    • They are primarily Muslims, although some are Hindus and others belong to the Catholic Church.

    How they came to India?

    • The first Siddis are thought to have arrived in India in 628 AD at the Bharuch port. Several others followed with the first Arab conquest of the subcontinent in 712 AD.
    • The latter groups are believed to have been soldiers with Muhammad bin Qasim’s Arab army and were called Zanjis.
    • In the Delhi Sultanate period prior to the rise of the Mughals in India, Jamal-ud-Din Yaqut was a prominent Siddi slave-turned-nobleman who was a close confidant of Razia Sultana.
    • Siddis were also brought as slaves by the Deccan Sultanates. They also served in the Navy of Shivaji Maharaj.
    • Several former slaves rose to high ranks in the military and administration, the most prominent of which was Malik Ambar.
    • Later the Siddi population was added to via Bantu peoples from Southeast Africa that had been brought to the Indian subcontinent as slaves by the Portuguese.

  • [pib] Kakrapar Atomic Power Project (KAPP-3) in Gujarat

    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.

  • In news: Madhubani/Mithila Paintings

    An artist known as the ‘mask man’ of Bihar dispatches masks with hand-painted Madhubani motifs all over India.

    Also read:

    [Prelims Spotlight] Indian Paintings and Handicrafts

    Madhubani Paintings

    • Madhubani art (or Mithila painting) is a style of Indian painting, practised in the Mithila region of Bihar.
    • This painting is done with a variety of tools, including fingers, twigs, brushes, nib-pens, and matchsticks and using natural dyes and pigments.
    • It is characterized by its eye-catching geometrical patterns.
    • It was traditionally created by the women of various communities in the Mithila region of the Indian subcontinent.
    • This painting as a form of wall art was practised widely throughout the region; the more recent development of painting on paper and canvas mainly originated among the villages around Madhubani.
    • It is these latter developments that led to the term “Madhubani art” being used alongside “Mithila Painting.”

    Its features

    • It uses two-dimensional imagery, and the colours used are derived from plants. Ochre, Lampblack and Red are used for reddish-brown and black, respectively.
    • It mostly depicts people and their association with nature and scenes and deities from the ancient epics.
    • Natural objects like the sun, the moon, and religious plants like tulsi are also widely painted, along with scenes from the royal court and social events like weddings.
    • Generally, no space is left empty; the gaps are filled by paintings of flowers, animals, birds, and even geometric designs.
    • Madhubani art has five distinctive styles: Bharni, Kachni, Tantrik, Godna and Kohbar.
    • This painting has also received a GI (Geographical Indication) status.

  • Key stakeholders in data regulation

    The article examines the structures and role of key stakeholders in regulation of Non-Personal Data as per the report submitted by the committee headed by Kris Gopalakrishnan.

    Context

    • There is a realisation that data should be unlocked in public interest beyond the use by a few large companies
    • Data, in many cases, are not just a subject of individual decision-making but that of communities, such as in the case of ecological information.
    • Therefore, it is critical that communities are empowered to exercise some control over how the data are used.
    • Recently the Non-Personal Data committee released a governance framework, which raises many concerns.

    Following are the key stakeholder as defined in the report

    1)Data principals

    • As per the report, the first keyholders are data principals, who/ which can be individuals, companies or communities.
    • The idea of communities as data principals is introduced ambiguously by the report.
    • The report does not address the translation of offline inequalities and power structures to data rights.

    2) Data custodians

    • Data custodian is the one who undertake collection, storage, processing, and use of data in a manner that is in the best interest of the data principal.
    • The details in this section are unclear.
    • It is not specified if the data custodian can be the government or private companies only.
    • It is also not clear what best interest is, especially when several already vague and possibly conflicting principal communities are involved.
    • It is also not clear how communities engage with the custodian.
    • Suggestion that data custodians can monetise the data they hold is especially problematic as this presents a conflict of interest with those of the data principal communities.

    3) Data trustees

    • The report talks about data trustees as a way for communities to exercise data rights.
    • Trustees can be governments, citizen groups, or universities.
    • There is no clarity on how “trust” is extended and fructified with the community, and how trustees are empowered to act on behalf of the community.
    • The principles of a legal trust and the fiduciary responsibility that come with role of trustees are critical.
    • Trustees, by definition, are bound by a duty of care and loyalty towards the principal and thus work in their best interests.
    • Trustee has to negotiate on behalf of Data Principals’ data rights with technology companies and regulators.
    • This thinking is not reflected in the report.
    •  Also, the relationship between the data principal communities and the trustees is not clear.

    How will the ‘Trust’ function?

    • The report explains data trusts comprising specific rules and protocols for containing and sharing a given set of data.
    • Trusts can hold data from multiple custodians and will be managed by public authority.
    • But the power, composition and functions of the trust are not established.
    • One possible way to simplify the ecosystem would be to consider data trusts as a type of custodian.
    •  So that trustees can represent the community and act on behalf of the data principals.

    Consider the question “What do you understand by Non-Personal Data. Examine its utility and need to treat as a public good.”

    Conclusion

    The committee should organise broader consultations to ensure that the objective of unlocking data in public interest and through collective consent does not end up creating structures that exacerbate the problems of the data economy and are susceptible to regulatory capture.

  • What is a Serological Survey?

    A Serological Survey was recently conducted in New Delhi to determine the exposure of the novel coronavirus among the population.

    Try this question from CSP 2019:

    Which one of the following statements is not correct?

    (a) Hepatitis B virus is transmitted much like HIV.
    (b) Hepatitis B, unlike Hepatitis C, does not have a vaccine.
    (c) Globally, the number of people infected with Hepatitis B and C viruses is several times more than those infected with HIV.
    (d) Some of those infected with Hepatitis Band C viruses do not show the symptoms for many years.

    Serological Survey

    • A serological survey seeks to assess the prevalence of the disease in a population by detecting the presence of specific antibodies against the virus.
    • A serological test is performed to diagnose infections and autoimmune illnesses. It can also be conducted to check if a person has developed immunity to certain diseases.
    • The survey included the IgG Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) test which estimates the proportion of the population exposed to SARS-CoV-2 infection.
    • The IgG test is not useful for detecting acute infections, but it indicates episodes of infections that may have occurred in the past.
    • The test has been approved by ICMR for its high sensitivity and specificity.

    Highlights of the Survey

    • The study found the presence of antibodies in 22.86 percent of the people surveyed.
    • It indicated that a large number of infected persons remain asymptomatic.

    Why needed such survey?

    • Since it is not possible to test everyone in the population, serological studies are used as a tool to make an estimate of the extent of disease spread in the community.

    Conclusions from the survey

    • Results show that a significant proportion of the population is still vulnerable to contracting the novel coronavirus infection.
    • Containment measures need to continue with the same rigour.
    • Non-pharmacological interventions such as physical distancing, use of face mask/cover, hand hygiene, cough etiquette and avoidance of crowded places etc. must be followed strictly.