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Type: Prelims Only

  • Zoonotic Diseases: Medical Sciences Involved & Preventive Measures

    Indigenous antibody test: COVID Kavach ELISA

    Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Achievements Of Indians In S&T,Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: ELISA Test, Antigen, Antibodies

    Mains level: Not Much

    Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Virology (NIV) at Pune has developed and validated the indigenous IgG ELISA test “COVID KAVACH ELISA” for antibody detection for COVID-19.

    Our thumb rule suggests that the ELISA test is being used only for the diagnosis of HIV infection. Right?

    But the ELISA test is a broader term to diagnose antibody-antigen interaction after certain virus infection to a person.  UPSC can test your basic knowledge of core biology with a question based on this concept.

    What is ELISA test?

    • ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) is a plate-based assay technique designed for detecting and quantifying substances such as peptides, proteins, antibodies and hormones.
    • Other names, such as enzyme immunoassay (EIA), are also used to describe the same technology.
    • In an ELISA, an antigen must be immobilized on a solid surface and then complexed with an antibody that is linked to an enzyme.
    • Detection is accomplished by assessing the conjugated enzyme activity via incubation with a substrate to produce a measurable product.
    • The most crucial element of the detection strategy is a highly specific antibody-antigen interaction.

    What are antibodies?

    • An antibody is a large, Y-shaped protein produced mainly by plasma cells that are used by the immune system to neutralize pathogens such as pathogenic bacteria and viruses.
    • There are five immunoglobulin classes (isotypes) of antibody molecules found in serum: IgG, IgM, IgA, IgE and IgD.
    • They are distinguished by the type of heavy chain they contain.

    Application of ELISA

    • Presence of antigen or the presence of antibody in a sample can be evaluated
    • Determination of serum antibody concentrations in a virus test
    • Used in the food industry when detecting potential food allergens
    • Applied in disease outbreaks- tracking the spread of disease e.g. HIV, bird flu, common, colds, cholera, STD etc

    Significance

    • Robust antibody tests are critical for surveillance to understand the proportion of the population exposed to infection.
    • The test will have the advantage of testing 90 samples together in a single run of 2.5 hours.
    • Moreover, ELISA based testing is easily possible even at the district level as the ELISA kit has an inactivated virus.
    • There are also minimal bio-safety and bio-security requirements as compared to the real-time RT-PCR test.
    • The test has the advantage of having much higher sensitivity and specificity as compared to the several rapid test kits which have recently flooded the Indian market.

    Limitations

    • Since the ELISA test is based on the detection of antibodies, it can only help in knowing if the person has been previously infected by a coronavirus.
    • It takes one-three weeks for the antibodies to develop in response to infection.
    • So, if a person who has been recently infected by the virus is tested during the window period (the time taken to develop antibodies) the result will turn out to be negative.
    • But a repeat test after a couple of weeks will indicate the true infection status.

    How it is different from the PCR test?

    • While the RT-PCR, which detects the RNA of the coronavirus, enables detection of current infection, it will not be useful if the testing is carried out days after the infection clears as the virus will no longer be present.
    • However, antibodies developed in response to the coronavirus infection will be present in the blood for a longer duration and hence the ELISA test can help detect past infection.
    • The maximum time the antibodies will be present in the body is not known for coronavirus.

    Back2Basics: Reverse Transcriptase – Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Test

    • It uses a technique that creates copies of a segment of DNA. ‘Polymerase’ refers to the enzymes that make the copies of DNA.
    • Kary Mullis, the American biochemist who invented the PCR technique, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1993.
    • The ‘chain reaction’ is how the DNA fragments are copied, exponentially — one is copied into two, the two are copied into four, and so on.
    • However, SARS-COV-2 is a virus made of RNA, which needs to be converted into DNA. For this, the technique includes a process called reverse transcription.
    • A ‘reverse transcriptase’ enzyme converts the RNA into DNA. Copies of the DNA are then made and amplified.
    • A fluorescent DNA binding dye called the “probe” shows the presence of the virus. The test also distinguishes SARS-COV-2 from other viruses.

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    Florence Nightingale and her legacy

    Prelims Only | | Mains Paper 1:

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Florence Nightingale

    Mains level: Not Much

    The 200th birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, founder of modern nursing, falls tomorrow on May 12.

    Personality based questions sometimes find their way in the Prelims. For example:

    Q) A recent movie titled The Man Who Knew Infinity is based on the biography of – (CSP 2016)

    (a) S. Ramanujan

    (b) S. Chandrasekhar

    (c) S. N. Bose

    (d) C. V. Raman

    Who was Florence Nightingale?

    • Nightingale (1820-1910), who had considerable mathematical skills, is credited with being the first healthcare professional to use data to show that infection control improves health outcomes.
    • Through her career, she stressed a practice that is relevant as ever today — handwashing.

    Nurse and mathematician

    • Her signature effort came during the Crimean War (1854-56), when she answered a government call for nurses and took a posting in Turkey.
    • This is where she earned the name ‘Lady with the Lamp’, for walking around patients’ beds at night, holding a lamp. Here she did her pioneering work with statistics.
    • When she arrived, diseases such as cholera and typhus were rife in the hospitals.
    • Nightingale collected data, calculated the mortality rate, and showed that an improvement of sanitary methods would reduce the number of deaths.
    • The mortality rate dropped from 60% to 42.7% by February 1855, and to 2.2% by the spring.

    • She used her data to create graphics, the most famous of which is a polar area diagram (pictured) that used areas to represent variations in death rate.
    • The blue wedges from the center of the circle represent area for the deaths from Preventable or Mitigable diseases, the red wedges measured from the center is deaths from wounds, & the black wedges measured from the center is the deaths from all other causes.
    • The blue wedges, representing death by sickness, are far bigger than those representing wounds.

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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-Pacific Island Nations

    Mapping: Islands in the Pacific

    Prelims Only | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: India & Its Neighborhood – Relations

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Mapping: Islands in the Pacific

    Mains level: Not Much

    Approximately four months after COVID-19 was first detected, the South Pacific Islands have not yet reported any cases of the infectious disease.

    Closely observe the map. Note important islands. UPSC may shift its traditional focus from middle east/central asia to this region. These days, Pacific and Indo-Pacific region carry a decent importance.

    We can expect MCQs asking to arrange these islands in north-south / east-west direction.

    Which South Pacific islands have recorded cases of COVID-19?

    • Fiji recorded its first case of COVID-19 on March 19.
    • Guam, a territory of the US in the South Pacific, witnessed an outbreak among the staff of the US navy.
    • New Caledonia also recorded its first COVID-19 cases in mid-March, with links to overseas travel.
    • The Solomon Islands, the Cook Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, the Marshall Islands, Palau and Nauru have no recorded cases of COVID-19.

    What impact will COVID-19 have on Pacific island nations?

    • A widespread outbreak of COVID-19 will have a disastrous impact on these island nations.
    • Although these islands are popular with tourists, the outer islands and rural villages are home to indigenous populations.
    • Most of these areas have a very basic infrastructure for healthcare, with larger hospitals and medical centres located in bigger towns.
    • Even in everyday circumstances, these small medical centres struggle due to the lack of medical supplies.
    • The socio-cultural factors, like the prevalence of large families in this region, also make the individuals susceptible to community transmission.
    • There is also a lack of access to running water, making sanitation difficult.
    • Environmental factors like the seasonal tropical cyclone that swept through the region in April, led to the displacement of hundreds of people in the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu and Tonga.

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  • Wildlife Conservation Efforts

    Species in news: Sal Forest Tortoise

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Sal Forest Tortoise

    Mains level: NA

    A recent study by ecologists in the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, has found that the area designated as a protected area network has only a small overlap with the actual habitat of Sal forest tortoise. Over 90% of the potential distribution of the species falls outside the current protected area’s network.

    What you should focus on?

    On map, identify areas where Sal forest tortoise are found.

    Revise the map of various Forest system of India and their characteristics as well.

    Also…..Is tortoise a mammal or an amphibian?…..or something else??

    Sal Forest/ Elongated Tortoise

    • Also known as the elongated tortoise (Indotestudo elongata), the sal forest tortoise, recently assessed as Critically Endangered, is heavily hunted for food.
    • It is collected both for local use, such as decorative masks, and international wildlife trade.
    • The Sal forest tortoise is widely distributed over eastern and northern India and Southeast Asia.
    • It is one of the only four land tortoises found in India. It is legally protected under Schedule IV of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 as amended up to 2006.
    • According to the IUCN, the population of the species may have fallen by about 80% in the last three generations (90 years).

    About Sal Forest

    • It is a forest type dominated by a single plant species, commonly known as Sal tree (Shorea robusta).
    • It belongs to the category ‘Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest’.
    • The distribution of Sal forests is controlled by the conditions of topography, geology, and soil.
    • Sal forests are mainly distributed in the South and Southeast Asia, occurring along the base of Tropical Himalayas from Assam to Punjab, in the eastern districts of Central India, and on the Western Bengal Hills.

    Also read the complete series on-

    Natural Vegetation and Wildlife- Part 1 | An Overview of Natural Vegetation Types Found in India

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  • Wildlife Conservation Efforts

    Mass Hatching of Olive Ridley Turtles begins

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Arribadas, Olive Ridley Turtles

    Mains level: Not Much

    Mass hatching of Olive Ridley turtles began at Odisha’s Rushikulya rookery, a major nesting site of these marine turtles.

    Mass hatching of Olive Ridley turtles is a very celebrated news every year. Also make sure to look at the Rivers system in the region from the map above.

    Olive Ridley Turtles

    • The Olive Ridley Sea Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), also known as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, is a medium-sized species of sea turtle found in warm and tropical waters, primarily in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
    • In the Indian Ocean, the majority of olive ridleys nest in two or three large groups at Rushikulya rookery near Gahirmatha in Odisha.
    • The coast of Odisha in India is the largest mass nesting site for the olive ridley, followed by the coasts of Mexico and Costa Rica.
    • The species is listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List, Appendix 1 in CITES, and Schedule 1 in Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

    Special feature: Mass nesting

    • They are best known for their behaviour of synchronized nesting in mass numbers, termed Arribadas.
    • Interestingly, females return to the very same beach from where they first hatched, to lay their eggs.
    • They lay their eggs in conical nests about one and a half feet deep which they laboriously dig with their hind flippers.
    • They hatch in 45 to 60 days, depending on the temperature of the sand and atmosphere during the incubation period.

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  • Wildlife Conservation Efforts

    Rare Black Panther spotted in Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary

    Mains level: Not Much

    A rare Black Panther was spotted in the Netravali WLS in South Goa.

    There are many WLS and National Park in the tiny state of Goa. Unlike others, they rarely find any mention in news. Here a quick revision for you.

    Make sure to locate them on map.

    • Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary,

    • Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary,

    • Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary,

    • Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary,

    • Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary,

    • Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary,

    • Anshi National Park.

    Black Panther

    • Black Panther or Black Leopard is a color variant of spotted Indian leopards, reported from densely forested areas of south India, mostly from the state of Karnataka.
    • A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of any Panthera, particularly of the leopard (P. pardus) in Asia and Africa, and the jaguar (P. onca) in the Americas.
    • They are also known as the ghost of the forest.

    About Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary

    • Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary is located in South-Eastern Goa, India.
    • It constitutes one of the vital corridors of the Western Ghats and covers an area of about 211 sq.km.
    • Netravali or Neturli is an important tributary of River Zuari, which originates in the sanctuary.
    • Forests mostly consist of moist deciduous vegetation interspersed with evergreen and semi-evergreen habitat; there are also two all-season waterfalls in the sanctuary.
    • The Gaur or Indian Bison, Malabar giant squirrel, four-horned antelope or chousingha, leopard, black sloth bear along with a host of other predators and herbivores find home in the sanctuary.

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  • Animal Husbandry, Dairy & Fisheries Sector – Pashudhan Sanjivani, E- Pashudhan Haat, etc

    What is African Swine Fever (ASF)?

    Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: S&T – Applications In Everyday Life

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: African Swine Fever

    Mains level: Not Much

    • 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.

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  • International Space Agencies – Missions and Discoveries

    Luhman 16A: A binary brown-dwarf system

    Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Luhman 16A, Binary star system

    Mains level: Not Much

    A group of international astrophysicists have identified cloud bands on the surface of Luhman 16A, one of a pair of binary brown dwarfs in the Vela constellation.

    Space terminology has gained importance in prelims. The Luhman 16A coupled with few more examples of space concepts like binary star and dwarf star are discussed in this newscard.

    Luhman 16A

    • Luhman 16 is a binary star system, the third closest system to the Sun after Alpha Centauri and Barnard’s star.
    • At a distance of about 6.5 light-years from the Sun, this pair of brown dwarfs referred to as Luhman 16A and Luhman 16B orbit each other, casting a dim light.
    • Brown dwarfs are also called failed stars because their masses are intermediate to the largest planets and the smallest main sequence stars.
    • Their masses being too small, they are unable to sustain fusion of their hydrogen to produce energy.
    • It is believed that some of the more massive brown dwarfs fuse deuterium or lithium and glow faintly.

    The cloud band over Luhman

    • The group, by using the Very Large Telescope at European Southern Observatory, Chile, found that Luhman 16A had band-like clouds in its atmosphere, whereas the same was not true of Luhman 16B.
    • Many astronomers detected polarization of brown dwarfs.
    • But what is special in the newest study of Luhman 16 is that the researchers have found the actual structure of the clouds — that they form bands over one of the pair.
    • Understanding the cloud system over a brown dwarf can shed light on the pressure, temperature and climate on the surface of the celestial body.

    Why it has made into a headline?

    • The researchers have used an idea put forth nearly two decades ago by Indian astrophysicist Sujan Sengupta, who works at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru.
    • Sengupta had propounded the light emitted by a cloudy brown dwarf, or reflected off an extrasolar planet, will be polarized.
    • He then suggested that a polarimetric technique could serve as a potential tool to probe the environment of these objects.

    Back2Basics: Binary Star System

    • A binary star is a star system consisting of two stars orbiting around their common barycenter.
    • Systems of two or more stars are called multiple star systems.
    • These systems, especially when more distant, often appear to the unaided eye as a single point of light, and are then revealed as multiple by other means.
    • Binary star systems are very important in astrophysics because calculations of their orbits allow the masses of their component stars to be directly determined.

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  • Civil Aviation Sector – CA Policy 2016, UDAN, Open Skies, etc.

    GARUD portal for fast-track approval to COVID-19 related drone operations

    Prelims Only | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways Etc.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: GARUD Portal

    Mains level: Not Much

    Civil Aviation Ministry and DGCA have launched the GARUD (portal for providing fast track conditional exemptions to government agencies for COVID-19 related drone operations.

    Possible prelim question:

    The Garud Portal which sometimes finds mention in the news is related to-

    a) Air travel of defence personnel

    b) Airlifting of the stranded Indian citizens

    c) Registration of Remotely-piloted aircraft system (RPAS)

    d) None of these

    GARUD portal

    • GARUD is an acronym for ‘Government Authorisation for Relief Using Drones’.
    • The objective of the portal is to assist governmental entities in seeking exemption for COVID-19 related Remotely-piloted aircraft system (RPAS) operations.
    • The Civil Aviation Ministry has clarified that any violation of provisions will make the conditional exemption null and void and will lead to penal action.

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  • Wildlife Conservation Efforts

    [pib] Study of flowering plant endemism of Northern Western Ghats

    PIBPrelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Abutilon ranadei

    Mains level: NA

    Scientists at the Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), Pune have come up with plant data of the Northern Western Ghats which indicates that plateaus, in addition to the forests, should be prioritized for the conservation of the Northern Western Ghats.

    Last year one  species from our newscard : Species in news: Hump-backed Mahseer made it into the CSP 2019.  The ‘Abutilon ranadei’ flower in the newscard creates such a vibe yet again.

    A stand-alone species being mentioned in the news for the first time often find their way into the prelims. Make a special note here.

    Why conserve Plateaus?

    • The Western Ghats of India is one of the global biodiversity hotspots owing to the endemism that is sheltered by a chain of mountains.
    • The northern part of this along with the Konkan region is considerably different from its southern and central counterparts on account of lesser precipitation and extended dry season.
    • It is the plateaus and the cliffs that harbour most of the endemic species.

    What did the study find?

    • The study found that the Northern Western Ghats has 181 local endemic plant species, including four monospecific genera.
    • They have found that a majority of the endemic species are therophytes, which complete their life cycle in a short period during monsoon.
    • A notable geographical feature of the Northern Western Ghats is the presence of plateaus and cliffs that display maximum endemic species, unlike forests.
    • It is the region of rapid diversification of specific herbaceous endemic genera like Ceropegia, Glyphochloa, Dipcadi, and Eriocaulon.

    One such specie is-

    Abutilon ranadei

    • Abutilon ranadei is a shrub, measuring 2.5-3.5 m high and bears star-shaped hairs.
    • It is a Critically Endangered endemic species from the northern Western Ghats.

    Bonus:

    Consider the following pairs:

    Wildlife Naturally found in
    1. Blue-finned Mahseer Cauvery River
    2. Irrawaddy Dolphin Chambal River
    3. Rusty-spotted Cat Eastern Ghats

    Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    b) 2 and 3 only

    c) 1 and 3 only

    d) 1, 2 and 3

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