PANDEMIC COULD MAKE ANOTHER 25 MILLION JOBLESS
Focus: GS-III Indian Economy, Science and Technology, Prelims Why in news? The COVID-19 pandemic will significantly increase global unemployment, leaving up to 25 million more people out of work, and will dramatically slash workers’ incomes, the United Nations said on 18th March 2020. Views of The International Labour Organization The economic and labour crisis sparked […]
FDA URGES VIRTUAL PATIENT VISITS
Focus: GS-III Science and Technology, To be used as example in Science and Technology Mains Paper Why in news? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on March 18 2020, recommended switching to virtual patient visits instead of in-person monitoring for clinical studies, as signs emerge that the rapid spread of the coronavirus outbreak is disrupting […]
THE IMPORTANCE OF ‘CONTACT TRACING’ – CONTROLLING COVID-19 SPREAD -‘ONCE-IN-100-YEAR’ VIRULENCE
Focus: GS-III Disaster Management, Science and Technology, Prelims Why in news? Reported spreading of infection by Coronavirus infected people, to a large number of other people that they came into contact with, makes the issue of tracing contacts very crucial. Beginning from the second phase of the epidemic — local transmission — which Indian Council […]
INDIA STILL IN SECOND TRANSMISSION STAGE
Focus: GS-III Disaster Management, Science and Technology Why in news? Senior scientists and health officials have said that India currently is showing no evidence of any community transmission and that enough tests were being done to pick up any early indication of third stage transmission. So far there is no evidence for the need to […]
PRIME MINISTER MODI CALLS FOR COVID-19 EMERGENCY FUND FOR SAARC
Focus: GS-II International Relations, GS-III Science and Technology, Disaster Management, Prelims Why in news? The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) should create a fund to fight the threat of COVID-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on 15th March 2020 – Addressing the first ever video conference among the heads of governments of the […]
THE TIME IS RIGHT FOR ONE HEALTH SCIENCE
Focus: GS-III Science and Technology, Disaster Managament, Prelims Why in news? As India goes into emergency mode to tackle the potentially catastrophic impacts of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the ‘Kerala model’ is being widely cited as an example to emulate. Kerala Model In 2018, Kerala reacted quickly and efficiently to tackle the Nipah virus outbreak […]
TRIAL SHOWS SUCCESS IN TREATING DRUG-RESISTANT TB
Focus: GS-III Science and Technology Why in news? A small trial (Nix-TB) undertaken at three sites in South Africa to test the safety and efficacy of three oral drugs — bedaquiline, pretomanid and linezolid — in 109 patients (57 males and 56 females were HIV positive) with extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) and multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) […]
SUPERHYDROPHOBIC COATING TO SAVE METALLIC SURFACES
Focus: GS-III Science and Technology Why in news? Fascinated by the beauty of water rolling off a lotus leaf, a team of chemical engineers has now created a similar superhydrophobic coating that can be used to save steel from rusting. The team from the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad, and Ohio […]
IRON RAIN ON EXOPLANET
Focus: GS-III Science and Technology Why in news? The exoplanet, named WASP-76B, is said to have been witnessing iron rain when the metal vapour condenses into clouds. Exoplanet An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917, but was not recognized […]
TIFR STUDY REVEALS ROLE OF GLUCOSE IN REGULATING LIVER FUNCTIONS, AGEING
Focus: GS-III Science and Technology, Prelims Why in news? An enzyme that goes by the name SIRT1 is known to be associated with regulation of metabolic activities and also ageing and hence has become a target of therapeutics. A study by researchers from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai (TIFR) shows that glucose controls the […]