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 […]
PM CALLS FOR SAARC STRATEGY, MASKS AND SANITIZERS NOW ESSENTIAL COMMODITIES, CORONAVIRUS STRAIN ISOLATED
Focus: GS-II International Relations, GS-III Science and Technology, Disaster Management, Prelims Why in news? Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 14th March 2020 called for a videoconference summit of leaders of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to discuss a common strategy to tackle COVID-19. Masks and hand sanitisers have been declared as essential […]
COVID-19 DECLARED PANDEMIC BY WHO, STATES TO BE ASKED TO INVOKE EPIDEMIC DISEASE ACT
Focus: GS-III Disaster Management, Science and Technology, Prelims Why in news? The World Health Organisation (WHO) on March 11 said that according to its assessment, COVID-19 “can be characterised as a PANDEMIC.” WHO has been assessing this outbreak round-the-clock and we are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by […]