💥Join UPSC 2027,2028 Mentorship (August Batch) + XFactor Notes & Microthemes PDF
Talk to Mentor

Civilsdaily

Login

Subject: Science and Technology

  • Sukapha: The founder of Ahom kingdom

    Recently, Assam CM ordered the arrest of a political commentator who had described Chaolung Sukapha as a “Chinese invader”.

    Practice question for mains:

    Q. Who are the Ahoms? Describe the role of Ahom Kingdom in cultural assimilation of modern-day Assam.

    Who was Chaolung Sukapha?

    • Sukapha was a 13th-century ruler who founded the Ahom kingdom that ruled Assam for six centuries. Contemporary scholars trace his roots to Burma.
    • He reached Brahmaputra valley in Assam from upper Burma in the 13th century with around 9,000 followers.
    • Sukapha is said to have left a place called Maulung ( in Yunnan, China ) in AD 1215 with eight nobles and 9,000 men, women and children — mostly men.
    • In 1235, Sukapha and his people settled in Charaideo in upper Assam after wandering about for years, defeating those who protested his advance and temporarily staying at different locations.
    • It was in Charaideo (in Assam) that Sukapha established his first small principality, sowing the seeds of further expansion of the Ahom kingdom.

    Who are the Ahoms today?

    • The founders of the Ahom kingdom had their own language and followed their own religion.
    • Over the centuries, the Ahoms accepted the Hindu religion and the Assamese language, scholars say.
    • The Ahoms embraced the language, religion and rituals of the communities living here — they did not impose theirs on those living here.
    • Today, the Ahom community is estimated to number between 4 million and 5 million.

    Why is Sukapha important in Assamese culture?

    • Sukapha’s significance — especially in today’s Assam — lies in his successful efforts towards the assimilation of different communities and tribes.
    • He developed very amicable relationships with the tribal communities living here — especially the Sutias, the Morans and the Kacharis.
    • Intermarriage also increased assimilation processes. He is widely referred to as the architect of “Bor Asom” or “greater Assam”.

  • Detection of Fluorine in hot Extreme Helium (EHe) Stars

    A study by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) has detected the presence of singly ionized fluorine for the first time in the atmospheres of hot Extreme Helium Stars.

    UPSC may ask a simple statement-based question considering the following points:

    If there is the presence of hydrogen, their abundance in universe and how it is different from neutron stars etc.

    What are EHe stars?

    • An extreme helium star or EHe is a low-mass supergiant that is almost devoid of hydrogen, the most common chemical element of the universe.
    • There are 21 of them detected so far in our galaxy.
    • The origin and evolution of these Hydrogen deficient objects have been shrouded in mystery.
    • Their severe chemical peculiarities challenge the theory of well-accepted stellar evolution as the observed chemical composition of these stars do not match with that predicted for low mass evolved stars.

    Why is the study significant?

    • Clues to the evolution of extreme helium stars require accurate determinations of their chemical composition, and the peculiarities, if any, become very important.
    • Fluorine plays a very crucial role in this regard to determine the actual evolutionary sequence of these hydrogen deficient objects.
    • The scientists explored the relationship of hot EHes with the cooler EHes, based on their fluorine abundance and spotted it in the former, thus establishing an evolutionary connection across a wide range of effective temperature.
    • This makes a strong case that the main form of these objects involves a merger of a carbon-oxygen (CO) and a Helium (He) white dwarf.
    • The detection of enhanced fluorine abundances in the atmospheres of hot EHes solves a decade-old mystery about their formation.

  • Kodumanal Megalithic Burial Site

    The Kodumanal excavation in Erode Dist. of Tamil Nadu has threw light on burial rituals and the concept of afterlife in megalithic culture.

    Must read:

    Chapter 1 | Stone Age – Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic

    About these sites

    • The researchers have identified 250 cairn-circles at the village in Erode district.
    • Earlier excavations revealed that the site served as a trade-cum-industrial centre from 5th century BCE to 1st century BCE.
    • The rectangular chambered cists, each two metres long and six metres wide, are made of stone slabs, and the entire grave is surrounded by boulders that form a circle.
    • The grave could be of a village head or the head of the community as the size of two boulders, each facing east and west, are bigger than other boulders.
    • Believing that the deceased person will get a new life after death, pots and bowls filled with grains were placed outside the chambers.

    What are Megaliths?

    • Megaliths are the earliest surviving man-made monuments we know of—derived from the Latin mega (large) and lith (stone).
    • Megaliths were constructed either as burial sites or commemorative (non-sepulchral) memorials.
    • The former are sites with actual burial remains, such as dolmenoid cists (box-shaped stone burial chambers), cairn circles (stone circles with defined peripheries) and capstones (distinctive mushroom-shaped burial chambers found mainly in Kerala).
    • The urn or the sarcophagus containing the mortal remains was usually made of terracotta.
    • Non-sepulchral megaliths include memorial sites such as menhirs. (The line separating the two is a bit blurry, since remains have been discovered underneath otherwise non-sepulchral sites, and vice versa.)
    • In India, archaeologists trace the majority of the megaliths to the Iron Age (1500 BC to 500 BC), though some sites precede the Iron Age, extending up to 2000 BC.

    Megaliths in India

    • Megaliths are spread across the Indian subcontinent, though the bulk of them are found in peninsular India, concentrated in the states of Maharashtra (mainly in Vidarbha), Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
    • According to archaeologists around 2,200 megalithic sites can be found in peninsular India itself, most of them unexcavated.
    • Even today, a living megalithic culture endures among some tribes such as the Gonds of central India and the Khasis of Meghalaya.

    Literary sources

    • Megalithic culture finds several references in ancient Tamil Sangam literature. For instance, menhirs are referred to as nadukal.
    • Ancient Sangam texts lay out, in detail, a step-by-step procedure for laying a memorial stone or nadukal in honour of a fallen hero.
    • Manimekalai (5th century AD), the famous Sangam epic, refers to the various kinds of burials namely cremation (cuṭuvōr), post excarnation burial (iṭuvōr), burying the deceased in a pit (toṭukuḻip paṭuvōr), rock chamber or cist burial (tāḻvāyiṉ aṭaippōr), urn burial encapped with lid (tāḻiyiṟ kavippōr).
    • Even in the Sangam age (when kingship and a well-ordained society had emerged) the above modes of burials survived.

  • What is Axone?

    A movie named Axone — also spelt akhuni —soya bean dish of Nagaland has been recently released.

    The traditional ‘Axone’ dish is very unique in itself. However, one must note that it does NOT carry any GI tag. Still, there is a possibility of it being asked in match the pair type questions.

    What is Axone?

    • Axone — also spelt akhuni — is a fermented soya bean of Nagaland, known for its distinctive flavour and smell.
    • As much an ingredient as it is a condiment, Axone used to make pickles and chutneys, or curries of pork, fish, chicken, beef etc.
    • While it is called ‘axone’ in parts of Nagaland, fermented soya bean is cooked with, eaten and known by different names in different parts of Northeast India, including Meghalaya and Mizoram, Sikkim, Manipur as well in other South, Southeast and East Asian countries.
    • Axone is prepared and eaten across Nagaland but is particularly popular among the Sumi (also Sema) tribe. They use it in every meal.

  • Traditional art of Talamaddale

    The traditional art of ‘Talamaddale’, a variant of Yakshagana theatre, has gone virtual in times of COVID-19.

    Try this question from CSP 2017:

    Q.With reference to Manipuri Sankirtana, consider the following statements:

    1. It is a song and dance performance.
    2. Cymbals are the only musical instruments used in the performance.
    3. It is performed to narrate the life and deeds of Lord Krishna.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1, 2 and 3.

    (b) 1 and 3 only

    (c) 2 and 3 only

    (d) 1 only

    Talamaddale theatre

    • Tala-Maddale is an ancient form of performance dialogue or debate performance in Southern India in the Karavali and Malnad regions of Karnataka and Kerala.
    • The plot and content of the conversation is drawn from popular mythology but the performance mainly consists of an impromptu debate between characters involving sarcasm, puns, philosophy positions and humour.
    • The main plot is sung from the same oral texts used for the Yakshgana form of dance- drama.
    • Performers claim that this was a more intellectual rendition of the dance during the monsoon season.

    How it is different from Yakshagana?

    • Unlike the Yakshagana performance, in the conventional ‘talamaddale,’ the artists sit across in a place without any costumes and engage in testing their oratory skills based on the episode chosen.
    • If music is common for both Yakshagana performance and ‘talamaddale’, the latter has only spoken word without any dance or costumes.
    • Hence it is an art form minus dance, costumes and stage conventions.
    • It has an ‘arthadhari’ who is an orator, a ‘bhagavatha’ (singer-cum-director), and a ‘maddale’ player.

    Back2Basics: Yakshagana

    • It is the oldest theatre form popular in Karnataka.
    • It emerged in the Vijayanagara Empire and was performed by Jakkula Varu
    • It is a descriptive dance drama.
    • It is presented from dusk to dawn.
    • The stories are drawn from Ramayana, Mahabharata and other epics from both Hindu and Jain tradition.

  • What are Biosimilars?

    Recently an Indian pharma company has been granted a USFDA approval for Insulin Glargine, a biosimilar. This article briefly introduces us to this term, complexities involved in its manufacturing and also explains why the USFDA approval create hype.

    The story of simple molecules and some difficult diseases

    • Ever since modern medicine started to emerge post the Industrial Revolution, simple molecules have been used to treat most diseases.
    • While these formulations are highly effective against some illnesses, they aren’t particularly effective against more complex diseases like cancer.
    • Our immune system has evolved over millions of years to specifically defend against outside intruders.
    • But cancer isn’t like most diseases.
    • It’s not caused by an invasion of a foreign pathogen.
    • Instead, it’s a byproduct of rogue cells that destroy our bodies from within.
    • To this end, using simple molecules to defend against a barrage of mutating versions of our own cells is an exercise in futility.

    What is biologic?

    • A biologic is manufactured in a living system such as a microorganism, or plant or animal cells. Most biologics are very large, complex molecules or mixtures of molecules. Many biologics are produced using recombinant DNA technology.
    • What we probably need is a biologic or a complex protein isolated from natural sources that can mimic our immune cells.
    • Maybe this would help us in fighting cancer.

    So, Biosimilars are..

    • A biosimilar is a biological product that is developed to be similar to an already FDA-approved biologic, known as the reference product. It can be tempting to think of a biosimilar as a “generic” version of the reference product.
    • But biosimilar is not an exact duplicate of another biologic. There is a degree of natural variability in all biological products; it is not possible to generate a precise copy of a product that comes from living cells. All biologics—including reference products—show some batch-to-batch variation.

    Utility of patents in the pharmaceutical industry

    • Success in this market is deeply intertwined with the research and development process that characterizes the pharmaceutical industry.
    • It might take 5 years for you to develop a new drug and you might still need another 10 years to clinically test the product and get the necessary approvals from the regulatory agencies.
    • This is a capital intensive process and the only way to remunerate the pharma company’s contribution is to protect their investment through patent laws.
    • This way the companies can be incentivised to invest more in research and we can ensure a steady supply of new drugs that could cure the greatest maladies of modern time.

    What happens when the patent expires?

    • Once the patent expires, other companies can market their own version of the drug (copycats) if they can figure out how to synthesize it.
    • Consider — Aspirin. It’s a simple molecule drug and it’s quite easy to replicate the manufacturing process.

    Why biologics would be difficult to replicate after the patent expires

    • Biologics are harvested from living cells and are often produced using complicated manufacturing processes.
    • Most modern biologics are assembled inside vats — or bioreactors — that house genetically engineered microbes or cell cultures and can often take a whole decade of research to perfect.
    • So replicating the process isn’t exactly a cakewalk.
    • Meaning if you want to market your own version of a “biologic” once all the patents expire, you need some expertise and India’s Biocon is at the forefront of this revolution.
    • For the past few years, they’ve been building a “biosimilar pipeline” — copycats of famous biologics and they’ve been using it to fight cancer, diabetes, and arthritis.
    • And it’s not all that easy for most pharma companies to enter this market.

    Why marketing a drug in the US gather headline?

    • Because the US provides an opportunity like no other.
    • Buying drugs here is expensive and pharmaceutical companies make a killing in the process.
    • It might not necessarily bode well for consumers.
    • But it does provide a lucrative market for potential Indian manufacturers who are looking to sell their products elsewhere.

    Consider the question “What is biosimilar technology? How is it different from generic medicine? Discuss its application.”

    Conclusion

    Growing expertise of Indian pharmaceutical companies in the complex research area bodes well for the Indian pharma sector which is known otherwise for the manufacturing of generic medicines.

     

    Reference Source: https://finshots.in/archive/biocon-and-the-world-of-biosimilars/

  • Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI)

    India joins Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) as a founding member to support the responsible and human-centric development and use of AI.

    Practice question for mains:

    Q. Discuss India’s National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (AI) unveiled by the NITI Aayog.

    About GPAI

    • GPAI is an international and multi-stakeholder initiative to guide the responsible development and use of AI, grounded in human rights, inclusion, diversity, innovation, and economic growth.
    • It is the league of leading economies including India, USA, UK, EU, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, and Singapore.
    • GPAI will be supported by a Secretariat, to be hosted by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, as well as by two Centers of Expertise- one each in Montreal and Paris.
    • This is also the first initiative of its type for evolving better understanding of the challenges and opportunities around AI using the experience and diversity of participating countries.
    • In order to achieve this goal, the initiative will look to bridge the gap between theory and practice on AI by supporting cutting-edge research and applied activities on AI-related priorities.

    Aims and Objectives

    • In collaboration with partners and international organizations, GPAI will bring together leading experts from industry, civil society, governments, and academia to collaborate to promote responsible evolution of AI.
    • It will also help evolve methodologies to show how AI can be leveraged to better respond to the present global crisis around COVID-19.

    India and AI

    • It is pertinent to note that India has recently launched the National AI Strategy and National AI Portal.
    • It has also started leveraging AI across various sectors such as education, agriculture, healthcare, e-commerce, finance, telecommunications, etc. with inclusion and empowerment of human being approach by supplementing growth and development.
    • By joining GPAI as a founding member, India will actively participate in the global development of Artificial Intelligence, leveraging upon its experience around the use of digital technologies for inclusive growth.

    Also read:

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/op-ed-snap-india-takes-the-first-step-to-building-an-ai-vision/

  • NASA’s Gateway Lunar Orbiting Outpost

    NASA recently finalised the contract for the initial crew module of the agency’s Gateway lunar orbiting outpost.

    Note the following things about the Lunar Gateway:

    1. Parent Agency and other agencies involved

    2. Missions and celestial bodies to be studied

    3. Difference between Gateway and ISS

    What is NASA’s Gateway Lunar Orbit Outpost?

    • Essentially, the Gateway is a small spaceship that will orbit the Moon, meant for astronaut missions to the Moon and later, for expeditions to Mars.
    • While the project is led by NASA, the Gateway is meant to be developed, serviced, and utilized in collaboration with commercial and international partners: Canada (CSA), Europe (ESA), and Japan (JAXA).
    • The spaceship will have living quarters, laboratories for science and research and docking ports for visiting spacecraft.
    • Once docked to the Gateway, astronauts will be able to stay there for three months at a time, conduct science experiments and take trips to the surface of the Moon.

    Features of the Gateway

    • One of the most unique features of the Gateway is that it can be moved to other orbits around the Moon to conduct more research.
    • The Gateway will act as an airport, where spacecraft bound for the lunar surface of Mars can refuel or replace parts and resupply things like food and oxygen, allowing astronauts to take multiple trips to the Lunar surface and exploration of new locations across the Moon.

    How is it different from ISS?

    • Astronauts will use the Gateway at least once per year and not stay around the year as they do on the International Space Station (ISS).
    • Compared to the ISS, the Gateway is much smaller (the size of a studio apartment), while the ISS is about the size of a six-bedroom house.

  • What is the Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC)?

    Scientists have observed the fifth state of matter in space for the first time, offering unprecedented insight that could help solve some of the quantum universe’s most intractable conundrums.

    Try this question from CSP 2018

    Q. Consider the following phenomena:

    1. Light is affected by gravity.
    2. The Universe is constantly expanding.
    3. Matter warps its surrounding space-time.

    Which of the above is/are the prediction/predictions of Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, often discussed in media?

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 3 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

    Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs)

    • Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) — the existence of which was predicted by Albert Einstein and Indian mathematician Satyendra Nath Bose almost a century ago — are formed when atoms of certain elements are cooled to near absolute zero (0 Kelvin, minus 273.15 Celsius).
    • At this point, the atoms become a single entity with quantum properties, wherein each particle also functions as a wave of matter.
    • BECs straddle the line between the macroscopic world governed by forces such as gravity and the microscopic plane, ruled by quantum mechanics.

    Why are BECs important?

    • Scientists believe BECs contain vital clues to mysterious phenomena such as dark energy — the unknown energy thought to be behind the Universe’s accelerating expansion.
    • But BECs are extremely fragile. The slightest interaction with the external world is enough to warm them past their condensation threshold.
    • This makes them nearly impossible for scientists to study on Earth, where gravity interferes with the magnetic fields required to hold them in place for observation.

    Studying BECs

    • NASA scientists unveiled the first results from BEC experiments aboard the International Space Station (ISS), where particles can be manipulated free from Earthly constraints.
    • The microgravity onboard the ISS allowed them to create BECs from rubidium — a soft metal similar to potassium — on a far shallower trap than on Earth.
    • Microgravity at ISS allows confining atoms with much weaker forces. Microgravity also allowed the atoms to be manipulated by weaker magnetic fields, speeding their cooling and allowing clearer imaging.
    • Creating the fifth state of matter, especially within the physical confines of a space station, is no mean feat for NASA.

  • In news: Raja Parba Festival

    The Prime Minister has extended his greetings to the people of Odisha for the unique Raja Parba festival.

    Match the pair based question can be asked from festivals as such with pairs of name and celebrating state. Recently, the following festivals were also in the news: Ambubachi Mela, Thrisoor Puram, Meru Jatara, Nagoba Jatara etc.

    Also, note the similarities between the Raja Parba and Ambubachi Mela …

     About Raja Parba Festival

    • Raja Parba is Odisha’s three-day unique festival celebrating the onset of monsoon and the earth’s womanhood.
    • As a mark of respect towards the earth during her menstruation days, all agricultural works, like ploughing, sowing is suspended for the three days.
    • Raja Sankranti is the first day of the Ashara month.
    • It is celebrated on the day prior to the Sankranti, (Pahili Raja), the day of Sankranti, and the day after, known as Bhu Daha or ‘Basi Raja.
    • The festival is essentially the celebration of the earth’s womanhood.
    • It is believed that during this time the Mother Earth or Bhudevi undergoes menstruation.
    • The fourth day is the day of the ‘purification bath’.
    • As it is a celebration of womanhood, a lot of the focus is on young women, who wear new clothes, apply ‘Alata’ on their feet and enjoy folk songs while swinging on decorated rope swings.