Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Mekedatu Project
Mains level: Inter-state river disputes
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are again at the crossroads against the Mekedatu dam project in the Cauvery River Basin.
What is the Mekedatu Project?
- Mekedatu, meaning goat’s leap, is a deep gorge situated at the confluence of the rivers Cauvery and Arkavathi, about 100 km from Bengaluru, at the Kanakapura taluk in Karnataka’s Ramanagara district.
- In 2013, then Karnataka announced the construction of a multi-purpose balancing reservoir project.
- The project aimed to alleviate the drinking water problems of the Bengaluru and Ramanagara districts.
- It was also expected to generate hydroelectricity to meet the power needs of the state.
Issues with the project
- Soon after the project was announced TN has objected over granting of permission or environmental clearance.
- Explaining the potential for damage to the lower riparian state of TN, it said that the project was in violation of the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.
- It stated that the project will affect the natural flow of the river Cauvery considerably and will severely affect the irrigation in TN.
What do the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal and the Supreme Court say?
- The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, in its final order on February 2007, made allocations to all the riparian States — Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, apart from the Union Territory of Puducherry.
- It also stipulated “tentative monthly deliveries during a normal year” to be made available by Karnataka to Tamil Nadu.
- Aggrieved over the final order for different reasons, the States had appealed to the Supreme Court.
- In February 2018, the court, in its judgment, revised the water allocation and increased the share of Karnataka by 14.75 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft) at the cost of Tamil Nadu.
- The enhanced quantum comprised 4.75 tmc ft for meeting drinking water and domestic requirements of Bengaluru and surrounding areas.
What is Karnataka planning?
- Encouraged by the Supreme Court verdict, Karnataka, which sees the order as an endorsement of its stand, has set out to pursue the Mekedatu project.
- Originally proposed as a hydropower project, the revised Mekedatu dam project has more than one purpose to serve.
- A hydropower plant of nearly 400 MW has also been proposed.
- The Karnataka government has argued that the proposed reservoir will regulate the flow to Tamil Nadu on a monthly basis, as stipulated by the Tribunal and the Supreme Court.
- This is why Karnataka has contended that the project will not affect the interests of Tamil Nadu farmers.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Next-generation DNA sequencing
Mains level: Not Much
The 2020 Millennium Technology Prize has been awarded to Shankar Balasubramanian and David Klenerman, for their development of revolutionary Next-generation DNA sequencing techniques.
About Millennium Technology Prize
- The Millennium Technology Prize is one of the world’s largest technology prizes.
- It is awarded once every two years by Technology Academy Finland, an independent fund established by Finnish industry and the Finnish state in partnership.
What is next-generation DNA sequencing?
- Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is a massively parallel sequencing technology that offers ultra-high throughput, scalability, and speed.
- The technology is used to determine the order of nucleotides in entire genomes or targeted regions of DNA or RNA.
- These technologies allow for sequencing of DNA and RNA much more quickly and cheaply than the previously used sequencing.
- NGS has revolutionized the biological sciences, allowing labs to perform a wide variety of applications and study biological systems at a level never before possible.
- More than a million base pairs can be sequenced, which translates to hundreds of genes or even the whole genome of an organism.
- This is made possible by simultaneously sequencing hundreds of pieces of DNA at the same time.
What is sequencing, btw?
- DNA (or RNA, in some viruses), the genetic material of life forms, is made of four bases (A, T, G and C; with U replacing T in the case of RNA).
- A chromosome is the duplex of a long linear chain of these – and in the DNA sequence is information – the blueprint of life.
- Life famously can replicate, and DNA replicates when an enzyme, DNA polymerase, synthesises a complementary strand using an existing DNA strand as the template.
- The breakthrough idea of Balasubramanian and Klenerman was to sequence DNA (or RNA) using this process of strand synthesis.
- They cleverly modified their ATGC bases so that each shone with a different colour.
- When copied, the “coloured” copy of DNA could be deciphered from the colours alone, using miniature optical and electronic devices.
What about the cost of all this sequencing?
- When the Human Genome Project delivered the first, near-complete sequence of our genome, the cost was estimated to have been 3 billion dollars.
- As all our chromosomes together have 3 billion base pairs, it becomes an easy calculation – One dollar per sequenced base.
- By the year 2020, NGS technologies has pushed the price for sequencing to a few thousands of rupees.
Back2Basics:
What is the Human Genome Project?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Flora of Sikkim
Mains level: NA
Sikkim, the smallest State with less than 1% of India’s landmass, is home to 27% of all flowering plants found in the country, reveals a recent publication by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI).
Flora of Sikkim
- Flora of Sikkim – A Pictorial Guide lists 4,912 naturally occurring flowering plants in the tiny Himalayan State.
- The total number of naturally occurring flowering plants in the country is about 18,004 species, and with 4,912 species, the diversity of flowering plants in Sikkim, spread over an area of 7,096 sq. km. is very unique.
Why is Sikkim a host to such large biodiversity?
- Sikkim is a part of the Kanchenjunga biosphere landscape, has different altitudinal ecosystems, which provide opportunities for herbs and trees to grow and thrive.
- The State also borders China, Bhutan and Nepal, and the Darjeeling Hills of West Bengal.
- From subalpine vegetation to the temperate to the tropical, the State has different kinds of vegetation, and that is the reason for such a diversity of flora.
- The elevation also varies between 300 to 8,598 metres above mean sea level, the apex being the top of Mt. Kanchenjunga (8,586 metres).
Contribution by the Public
- The people of Sikkim have a unique bond with nature and trees.
- As per the Sikkim Forest Tree (Amity & Reverence) Rules, 2017 the State government allows any person to associate with trees standing on his or her private land or on any public land by entering into a Mith/Mit or Mitini relationship.
- The notification encouraged people to adopt a tree “as if it was his or her own child in which case the tree shall be called an adopted tree”.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.Which one of the following National Parks lies completely in the temperate alpine zone?
(a) Manas National Park
(b) Namdapha National Park
(c) Neora Valley National Park
(d) Valley of Flowers National Park
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)
Mains level: Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)
Fearing any surge in coronavirus cases in the national capital, which is witnessing a decline in cases of infection, the Delhi government has chalked out the ‘Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).’
Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)
- In 2014, when a study by the WHO found that Delhi was the most polluted city in the world, panic spread in the Centre and the state government.
- Approved by the Supreme Court in 2016, the plan was formulated after several meetings that the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) held with state government and experts.
- The result was a plan that institutionalized measures to be taken when air quality deteriorates.
- GRAP also works as an emergency measure.
- It includes strict measures such as a ban on the entry of heavy vehicles, the odd-even road rationing restrictions, and a halt of construction work – each of which is likely to be impractical at a time when the pandemic has exacted heavy economic costs and public transport has been seen as an infection risk.
For covid purposes
- This time, it was decided to notify the GRAP that will “objectively and transparently” ensure an “institutional and automatic” response with regards to enforcement measures, lockdowns and unlock activities.
- The plan was prepared in comparison with ascent data of the four waves at specific positivity rates of 0.5%, 1%, 2% and 5% and also considered on the basis of the earlier four waves.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Methanogens on saturn's moon
Mains level: Hunt for extra-terrestrial life
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has detected an unusually high concentration of methane, along with carbon dioxide and dihydrogen, in the moons of Saturn by flying through their plumes.
What is the new observation?
- The spacecraft has found that Titan has methane in its atmosphere and Enceladus has a liquid ocean with erupting plumes of gas and water.
Are there methane-producing organisms on Earth?
- Most of the methane on Earth has a biological origin.
- Microorganisms called methanogens are capable of generating methane as a metabolic byproduct.
- They do not require oxygen to live and are widely distributed in nature.
- They are found in swamps, dead organic matter, and even in the human gut.
- They are known to survive in high temperatures and simulation studies have shown that they can live in Martian conditions.
- Methanogens have been widely studied to understand if they can be a contributor to global warming.
Could there be methanogens on Enceladus?
- We cannot conclude that life exists in the Enceladus ocean.
- It is the probability that Enceladus’ hydrothermal vents could be habitable to Earth-like microorganisms.
- There can be life hypotheses.
What other processes could have produced the methane?
- Methane could be formed by the chemical breakdown of organic matter present in Enceladus’ core.
- Hydrothermal processes could help the formation of carbon dioxide and methane.
- On Earth, hydrothermal vents on seafloors are known to release methane, but this happens at a very slow rate.
- This hypothesis is plausible but only if Enceladus was formed through the accretion of organic-rich material from comets.
- The results suggest that methane production from hydrothermal vents is not sufficient to explain the high methane concentration detected by Cassini in the plumes.
- An additional amount of methane produced via biological methanogenesis could match Cassini’s observations.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Aurora, Hope Mission
Mains level: Study of Mars
The UAE’s Hope spacecraft, which is orbiting Mars since February this year, has captured images of glowing atmospheric lights in the Red Planet’s night sky, known as discrete auroras.
What causes an Aurora on Earth?
- Auroras are caused when charged particles ejected from the Sun’s surface — called the solar wind — enter the Earth’s atmosphere.
- These particles are harmful, and our planet is protected by the geomagnetic field, which preserves life by shielding us from the solar wind.
- However, at the north and south poles, some of these solar wind particles are able to continuously stream down, and interact with different gases in the atmosphere to cause a display of light in the night sky.
- This display, known as an aurora, is seen from the Earth’s high latitude regions (called the auroral oval), and is active all year round.
Where are they observed on Earth?
- In the northern part of our globe, the polar lights are called aurora borealis or Northern Lights and are seen from the US (Alaska), Canada, Iceland, Greenland, Norway, Sweden and Finland.
- In the south, they are called aurora australis or southern lights and are visible from high latitudes in Antarctica, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand and Australia.
So, how are Martian auroras different?
- Unlike auroras on Earth, which are seen only near the north and south poles, discrete auroras on Mars are seen all around the planet at night time.
- Unlike Earth, which has a strong magnetic field, the Martian magnetic field has largely died out.
- This is because the molten iron at the interior of the planet– which produces magnetism– has cooled.
- However, the Martian crust, which hardened billions of years ago when the magnetic field still existed, retains some magnetism.
- So, in contrast with Earth, which acts like one single bar magnet, magnetism on Mars is unevenly distributed, with fields strewn across the planet and differing in direction and strength.
- These disjointed fields channel the solar wind to different parts of the Martian atmosphere, creating “discrete” auroras over the entire surface of the planet as charged particles interact with atoms and molecules in the sky– as they do on Earth.
Why is it important to study them?
- Studying Martian auroras is important for scientists, for it can offer clues as to why the Red Planet lost its magnetic field and thick atmosphere– among the essential requirements for sustaining life.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.Which region of Mars has a densely packed river deposit indicating this planet had water 3.5 billion years ago?
(a) Aeolis Dorsa
(b) Tharsis
(c) Olympus Mons
(d) Hellas
Back2Basics:
Hope Orbiter
- The Hope Probe, the Arab world’s first mission to Mars, took off from Earth in July last year, and has been orbiting the Red Planet since February.
- The primary objective of the mission is to study Martian weather dynamics.
- By correlating the lower atmosphere and upper atmosphere conditions, the probe will look into how weather changes the escape of hydrogen and oxygen into space.
- By measuring how much hydrogen and oxygen is spilling into space, scientists will be able to look into why Mars lost so much of its early atmosphere and liquid water.
- It is expected to create the first complete portrait of the planet’s atmosphere.
- With the information gathered during the mission, scientists will have a better understanding of the climate dynamics of different layers of Mars’ atmosphere.
Mars
- Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, being larger than only Mercury.
- In English, Mars carries the name of the Roman god of war and is often referred to as the “Red Planet”.
- The latter refers to the effect of the iron oxide prevalent on Mars’s surface, which gives it a reddish appearance distinctive among the astronomical bodies visible to the naked eye.
- Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, with surface features reminiscent of the impact craters of the Moon and the valleys, deserts and polar ice caps of Earth.
- The days and seasons are comparable to those of Earth, because the rotational period, as well as the tilt of the rotational axis relative to the ecliptic plane, is similar.
- Mars is the site of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano and highest known mountain on any planet in the Solar System, and of Valles Marineris, one of the largest canyons in the Solar System.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Pegasus
Mains level: Whatsapp snooping
An online database about the use of the spyware Pegasus was recently launched by the Forensic Architecture, Amnesty International and the Citizen Lab to document attacks against human rights defenders.
What is Pegasus?
- Last year, one of the biggest stories that broke into cyberspace was WhatsApp’s reports that 1,400 of its users were hacked by Pegasus, a spyware tool from Israeli firm NSO Group.
- All spyware do what the name suggests — they spy on people through their phones.
- Pegasus works by sending an exploit link, and if the target user clicks on the link, the malware or the code that allows the surveillance is installed on the user’s phone.
- A presumably newer version of the malware does not even require a target user to click a link.
- Once Pegasus is installed, the attacker has complete access to the target user’s phone.
Why is Pegasus dangerous?
- What makes Pegasus really dangerous is that it spares no aspect of a person’s identity. It makes older techniques of spying seem relatively harmless.
- It can intercept every call and SMS, read every email and monitor each messaging app.
- Pegasus can also control the phone’s camera and microphone and has access to the device’s location data.
- The app advertises that it can carry out “file retrieval”, which means it could access any document that a target might have stored on their phone.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Creation of new ministry
Mains level: Cooperatives in India
The Union Government has created a new Ministry of Cooperation with an aim to strengthen the cooperative movement in the country.
With the creation of the Ministry of Cooperation, there will now be a total of 41 central government ministries. Several of these ministries also have separate departments and organizations under them.
What defines a Cooperative?
- A cooperative is “an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned enterprise”.
- Cooperatives are democratically owned by their members, with each member having one vote in electing the board of directors.
Ministry of Cooperation
- The ministry has been created for realizing the vision of ‘sahkar se samriddhi’ (through cooperation to prosperity).
- The NGO Sahakar Bharati, whose founder member Satish Kashinath Marathe is a part-time director on the RBI board, says it was the first to pitch for the creation of a separate ministry for the cooperative sector.
- It will provide a separate administrative, legal and policy framework for strengthening the cooperative movement in the country.
- It will help deepen cooperatives as a true people-based movement reaching up to the grassroots.
- The ministry will work to streamline processes for ‘ease of doing business’ for cooperatives and enable the development of multi-state cooperatives (MSCS).
Why need such Ministry?
- In our country, a Co-operative based economic development model is very relevant where each member works with a spirit of responsibility.
- This creation has signalled its deep commitment to community-based developmental partnerships.
Second new ministry created so far
- The Ministry of Cooperation is the second ministry to be created since 2019 after the Modi government came to power for the second time.
- Soon after taking charge, the government had created the Jal Shakti ministry.
- However, it was not altogether new as the Ministry of Cooperation.
- It was created by integrating two existing ministries dealing with water — Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, and Drinking Water & Sanitation ministry.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair
Mains level: Not Much
A noted filmmaker has recently announced his decision to produce the biopic of Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair, an acclaimed lawyer and judge in the Madras High Court and one of the early builders of the Indian National Congress.
Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair
- Nair was born in the year 1857 in Mankara village of Malabar’s Palakkad district.
- He belonged to an aristocratic family and his great grandfather was employed by the East India Company to enforce peace in the Malabar region.
- His grandfather was employed as the chief officer under the Civilian Divisional Officer.
His legal career
- Nair was drawn towards Law while he was completing his graduation from Presidency College in Madras.
- After completing his degree in Law, he was hired by Sir Horatio Shepherd who later became the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court.
- Since his early days as a lawyer, Nair was known for his defiant attitude.
- He went against a resolution passed by Indian vakils (advocates) of Madras stating that no Indian vakil would work as a junior to an English barrister.
- His stance on the issue made him so unpopular that he was boycotted by the other vakils, but he refused to let that bother him.
Legacy
- Nair was known for being a passionate advocate for social reforms and a firm believer in the self-determination of India.
- But what really stood out in his long glorious career is a courtroom battle he fought against the Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab, Michael O’Dwyer.
- Nair had accused O’Dwyer in his book, ‘Gandhi and anarchy’ for being responsible for the atrocities at the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
- Consequently, he was fighting against an Englishman, in an English court that was presided over by an English jury.
- In all senses, the case was bound to make history.
- When the 1908 Montague-Chelmsford reforms were being discussed, he wrote an article in the Contemporary Review criticizing the English jury for being partial towards Englishmen.
- This infuriated the Anglo-Indian community who petitioned the Viceroy and the Secretary of State for India objecting to his appointment as high court judge the first time.
- He was once described by Edwin Montague, the secretary of state for India as an ‘impossible person’.
Key positions held
- In 1897 he became the youngest president of the INC in the history of the party till then, and the only Malayali to hold the post ever.
- By 1908 he was appointed as a permanent judge in the Madras High Court. In 1902 Lord Curzon appointed him a member of the Raleigh University Commission.
- In 1904 he was appointed as Companion of the Indian Empire by the King-Emperor and in 1912 he was knighted.
- In 1915 he became part of the Viceroy’s Council, put in charge of the education portfolio.
Career as judge
- As a Madras High Court judge, his best-known judgments clearly indicate his commitment to social reforms.
- In Budasna v Fatima (1914), he passed a radical judgement when he ruled that those who converted to Hinduism cannot be treated as outcasts.
- In a few other cases, he upheld inter-caste and inter-religious marriages.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Last Ice Area
Mains level: Climate Change
A part of the Arctic’s ice called the “Last Ice Area”, located north of Greenland, has melted before expected. Scientists had believed this area was strong enough to withstand global warming.
What is the Last Ice Area?
- In an article published in 2015, National Geographic noted that climate projections forecast the total disappearance of summer ice in the Arctic by the year 2040.
- However, the only place that would be able to withstand a warming climate would be this area of ice called the “Last Ice Area”.
- But while this piece of ice above northern Canada and Greenland was expected to last the longest time, it is now showing signs of melting.
- WWF claims that WWF-Canada was the first to call this area the‘ Last Ice Area’.
Why is the area important?
- The area is important because it was thought to be able to help ice-dependent species as ice in the surrounding areas melted away.
- The area is used by polar bears to hunt for seals who use ice to build dens for their offspring.
- Walruses too, use the surface of the ice for food search.
When did the area start changing?
- The first sign of change in LIA was observed in 2018.
- Further, in August last year, sea ice showed its “vulnerability” to the long-term effects of climate change.
- The ice in LIA has been thinning gradually over the years much like other parts of the Arctic Ocean.
What are the reasons that explain the change?
- About 80 per cent of thinning can be attributed to weather-related factors such as winds that break up and move the ice around.
- The remaining 20 per cent can be attributed to the longer-term thinning of the ice due to global warming.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: World History: India's contribution in two World Wars
During his four-day visit to the UK and Italy, the Indian Army Chief will inaugurate the Indian Army Memorial at Cassino in Italy, about 140 km away from Rome.
What is the memorial about?
- The memorial commemorates over 3,100 Commonwealth servicemen who took part in the effort to liberate Italy in World War II.
- Apart from this, 900 Indian soldiers were also commemorated on this memorial.
What was happening in Italy in WWII?
- Under Benito Mussolini, Italy had joined Nazi Germany in 1936 and in 1940 it entered WWII (1939-1945) against the Allies.
- But in 1943, Mussolini was overthrown and instead, Italy declared war on Germany.
- The invasion of Italy by the Allies coincided with an armistice that was made with the Italians.
- Even so, the UK’s National Army Museum notes that for two years during WWII, Italy became one of the war’s most “exhausting campaigns” because they were facing a skilled and resolute enemy.
What was India’s involvement in World War II?
- In the first half of the 1940s, India was still under British rule and the Indian Army fought in both the world wars.
- It comprised both Indian and European soldiers.
- Apart from this, there was the East India Company Army that also recruited both Indian and European soldiers and the British Army, which was also present in India.
India the largest volunteer
- Indian Army was the largest volunteer force during WWII, with over 2.5 million (more than 20 lakh) Indians participating.
- These troops fought the Axis powers (Germany, Italy and Japan) as part of the Allies.
- By 1945, the Allies had won, Italy had been liberated, Adolf Hitler was dead and India was barely a couple of years short of independence.
- However, while millions of Indians participated, their efforts are not always recognized.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Neutron star, Black Holes
Mains level: Gravitational waves observation
In an entirely strange phenomenon, astronomers have spotted two neutron stars being swallowed by different black holes.
What are Black Holes?
- A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing—no particles or even electromagnetic radiation such as light—can escape from it.
- Neutron stars and black holes are among the most extreme objects in the universe. They are the fossil relics of massive dead stars.
- When a star that is more than eight times as massive as the Sun runs out of fuel, it undergoes a spectacular explosion called a supernova.
- What remains can be a neutron star or a black hole.
There is no upper limit to how massive a black hole can be, but all black holes have two things in common: a point of no return at their surface called an “event horizon”, from which not even light can escape and a point at their centre called a “singularity”, at which the laws of physics as we understand them break down.
What about Neutron stars?
- Neutron stars are typically between 1.5 and two times as massive as the Sun but are so dense that all their mass is packed into an object the size of a city.
- At this density, atoms can no longer sustain their structure and dissolve into a stream of free quarks and gluons: the building blocks of protons and neutrons.
What is the news observation?
- Gravitational waves are produced when celestial objects collide and the ensuing energy creates ripples in the fabric of space-time which carry all the way to detectors on Earth.
- The reverberations from the two celestial objects were picked up using a global network of gravitational wave detectors.
What makes this strange phenomenon?
- This is the first time scientists have seen gravitational waves from a neutron star and a black hole.
- Previous gravitational wave detections have spotted black holes colliding, and neutron stars merging but not one of each.
Why study this?
- Neutron star-black hole systems allow us to piece together the evolutionary history of stars.
- Gravitational-wave astronomers are like stellar fossil-hunters, using the relics of exploded stars to understand how massive stars form, live and die.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.“Event Horizon” is related to (CSP 2018):
(a) Telescope
(b) Black hole
(c) Solar glares
(d) None of the above
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Fukuoka Prize
Mains level: Not Much
Noted journalist P. Sainath has been selected as one of the three recipients of the Fukuoka Prize for 2021.
Fukuoka Prize
- The Fukuoka Prize is given annually to distinguished people to foster and increase awareness of Asian cultures, and to create a broad framework of exchange and mutual learning among the Asian people.
- The Prize was established in 1990 by the city of Fukuoka in Japan and the Fukuoka City International Foundation.
- The Grand Prize has earlier been awarded to Muhammad Yunus from Bangladesh, historian Romila Thapar, and sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan. Eleven Indians have received the Fukuoka Prize so far.
- 115 people from 28 countries and areas have received the Prize in the past 30 years.
Citation for the award
- In a statement issued Mr. Sainath was described as a “very deserving recipient of the Grand Prize of Fukuoka Prize”.
- The Secretariat noted his work for creating a new form of knowledge through his writings and commentaries on rural India and for “promoting civil cooperation”.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Stone age man and his evolution
Mains level: Not Much
Scientists have announced that a skull discovered in northeast China represents a newly discovered human species they have named Homo longi, or “Dragon Man”.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.The word ‘Denisovan’ is sometimes mentioned in media in reference to (CSP 2019):
(a) fossils of a kind of dinosaurs
(b) an early human species
(c) a cave system found in North-East India.
(d) a geological period in the history of Indian subcontinent
Who is the “Dragon Man”, the latest Chinese discovery?
- The cranium found in China has been dubbed the “Dragaon Man” or Homo longi, a name that has been derived from the Long Jiang or Dragon River in the Heilongjiang province of China where the city of Harbin is located.
- The skull was reportedly discovered back in 1933, when a bridge was built over the Songhua River.
- For thousands of years, the skull remained buried in sediments.
- Because of the distinctive shape of the skull, which was found almost complete, some members of the team have suggested that it be declared a part of a new species of the genus Homo.
- Significantly, the size of the skull, which has a considerable brain capacity, is comparable to that of modern humans and Neanderthals.
Why is this discovery being considered significant?
- For one, it brings new knowledge about the evolution of Homo sapiens.
- It might help to bridge the gaps between our ancient ancestors called Homo erectus and us.
- This knowledge is important because there is very little consensus in the scientific community about how different human species are related, and which species are our immediate ancestors.
- Smithsonian for instance notes that some palaeontologists believe Homo heidelbergensis to be our immediate ancestors.
- This species was discovered in 1908, and lived about 700,000 to 200,000 years ago in Europe and possibly China and some parts of Africa.
Back2Basics: Species of Humans
- Modern humans are the only human species that exist in the world today.
- While the exact number of human species is a matter of debate, most scientists believe that there are at least 21 of them.
As per the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, there are over 21 human species. Major among these are:
(1) Sahelanthropus tchadensis
- Sahelanthropus tchadensis is believed to be the oldest member of the human family tree.
- It lived about 7-6 million years ago somewhere around present-day Chad in Africa.
- It had both ape-like and human-like features and was bipedalled, an ability that may have increased its chances of survival.
(2) Homo erectus
- Homo erectus lived about 1.89 million-110,000 years ago, in Northern, Eastern, and Southern Africa and Western and East Asia.
- ‘Turkana Boy’ is the most complete fossil belonging to this species and is dated to be around 1.6 million years old.
(3) Modern man
- Homo neanderthalensis lived about 400,000-40,000 years ago and co-existed with Homo sapiens for a few thousand years.
- They lived in Europe and in southwestern and central Asia.
- Homo sapiens evolved about 300,000 years ago, and are found worldwide.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Full Ship Shock Trial (FSST)
Mains level: Not Much
The US Navy Friday carried out a ‘full ship shock trial’ on its newest and most advanced nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to ensure its hardness was capable of withstanding battle conditions.
What is a Full Ship Shock Trial (FSST)?
- During World War II, American warships suffered severe damage from enemy mines and torpedoes that had actually missed their target, but exploded underwater in close proximity.
- The US Navy has since worked to improve the shockproofing of their ship systems to minimize damage from such “near miss” explosions.
- In FSSTs, an underwater explosive charge is set off near an operational ship, and system and component failures are documented.
- The FSST probes whether the components survive shock in their environment on the ship; it probes the possibilities of system failures, and large components that could not be otherwise tested.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: First-ever genetically modified rubber planted in Assam
Mains level: Hazards of using GMO crops
A Rubber Board research farm on the outskirts of Guwahati now sports the world’s first genetically modified (GM) rubber plant tailored for the climatic conditions in the Northeast.
GM rubber
- The GM rubber has additional copies of the gene MnSOD, or manganese-containing superoxide dismutase, inserted in the plant.
- The plant was developed at the Kerala-based Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII).
- It is expected to tide over the severe cold conditions during winter — a major factor affecting the growth of young rubber plants in the region.
Why need GM rubber?
- Natural rubber is a native of warm humid Amazon forests and is not naturally suited for the colder conditions in the Northeast, which is one of the largest producers of rubber in India.
- Growth of young rubber plants remains suspended during the winter months, which are also characterized by progressive drying of the soil.
- This is the reason for the long immaturity period of this crop in the region.
What does MnSOD gene offer?
- The MnSOD gene has the ability to protect plants from the adverse effects of severe environmental stresses such as cold and drought.
- Laboratory studies conducted at the RRII showed the GM rubber plants overexpressed the MnSOD gene as expected, offering protection to the cells.
- The plant is thus expected to establish well and grow fast in the region.
- There was no risk of genes flowing from the GM rubber into any other native species, a concern often raised by environmental groups against GM plants in general.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Indian monsoon
Mains level: Monsoon and climate change
Rainfall during retreating monsoon, which parts of South India experience every year, is not a local anomaly and is global in nature and scale, according to a recent study by the University of Sydney.
What is Retreating Monsoon?
- In India, retreating monsoon is the withdrawal of south-west monsoon winds from North India.
- The withdrawal is gradual and takes about three months.
- With the retreat of the monsoons, the clouds disappear and the sky becomes clear. The day temperature starts falling steeply.
- Monsoon rains weaken all over India except few southeastern states.
- It is helpful in Rabi crop cultivation.
What has the research found?
- The research has identified regions in the northern hemisphere that receive the bulk of the rainfall during September, October and November and southern hemisphere that receive most of the rainfall from March to August.
- The discovery that these are part of a global pattern and not one-off occurrences means they can be systematically studied, which will help understand how these communities could be affected by climate change.
- Peninsular India and parts of South-East Asia are among the eight regions examined in the study.
Factors affecting the retreat
- The eight global regions identified by the study that receive most of their rainfall after summer, have several things in common.
- They lie on the eastern fringes of landmasses and are in close proximity to mountain ranges with modest heights.
Two predominant factors cause the phenomenon:
- First, the low mountain range in each region runs from north to south, shielding it from west-bound winds that trigger summer monsoon.
- After summer, the range aids in the ‘orographic lift’ or rising of east-bound air mass from a lower to higher elevation, forming clouds and resulting in rain.
- The second factor is atmospheric convection or vertical movement of air.
- As the earth is heated by the sun, different surfaces absorb different amounts of energy and convection may occur where the surface heats up very rapidly.
- As the surface warms, it heats the overlying air, which gradually becomes less dense than the surrounding air and begins to rise.
- This condition is more favorable from September to February because of the role played by sea surface temperature or water temperature.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.The seasonal reversal of winds is the typical characteristic of:
(a) Equatorial climate
(b) Mediterranean climate
(c) Monsoon climate
(d) All of the above climates
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Rotation and Revolution of Earth
Mains level: NA
The summer solstice will happen today around 9:02 am on Monday (Indian Standard Time).
What is Summer Solstice?
- Solstice means “sun stands still” in Latin.
- The longest day of 2021 for those living north of the Equator is June 21.
- This day is characterized by a greater amount of energy received from the sun.
- In technical terms, this day is referred to as the summer solstice, the longest day of the summer season. It occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer, or more specifically right over 23.5-degree north latitude.
The Southern Hemisphere receives most sunlight on December 21, 22 or 23 when the northern hemisphere has its longest nights– or the winter solstice.
Why do we have summer solstice?
- Since Earth rotates on its axis, the Northern Hemisphere gets more direct sunlight between March and September over the course of a day.
- This also means people living in the Northern Hemisphere experience summer during this time.
- The rest of the year, the Southern Hemisphere gets more sunlight.
- During the solstice, the Earth’s axis — around which the planet spins, completing one turn each day — is tilted in a way that the North Pole is tipped towards the sun and the South Pole is away from it.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.On 21st June, the Sun (CSP 2019):
(a) Does not set below the horizon at the Arctic Circle
(b) Does not set below the horizon at Antarctic Circle
(c) Shines vertically overhead at noon on the Equator
(d) Shines vertically overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn
Some other facts
- Summer solstice does not mean the earliest sunrise or latest sunset.
- Although June 21 will be the longest day in 2021, it does not necessarily mean that it brings the earliest sunrise or latest sunset.
- It depends on the latitudinal location of the country.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: National Maritime Heritage Complex, Lothal
Mains level: Not Much
In order to showcase the maritime heritage and history of India, a National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) will be developed in the Lothal region of Gujarat.
National Maritime Heritage Complex
- It is to note that the National Maritime Heritage Complex will be made within the ASI site of Lothal that is located 80 km away from Ahmedabad in Gujarat.
- The project, once completed, will be made an international tourist destination in India where people from across the countries can take a look at the maritime heritage of India from ancient to modern times.
- The government is aiming to showcase this via an edutainment approach where the latest technology would be adopted to spread awareness.
- The development will be done in an area expanding 400 acres.
- The complex will have many offerings including National Maritime Heritage Museum, Heritage Theme Park, and Light House Museum.
About Lothal
- Lothal was one of the southernmost cities of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization located in Gujarat.
- Construction of the city began around 2200 BCE.
- According to the ASI, Lothal had the world’s earliest known dock, which connected the city to an ancient course of the Sabarmati river on the trade route between Harappan cities in Sindh and the peninsula of Saurashtra.
- Lothal was a vital and thriving trade Centre in ancient times, with its trade of beads, gems, and valuable ornaments reaching the far corners of West Asia and Africa.
- The techniques and tools they pioneered for bead-making and in metallurgy have stood the test of time for over 4000 years.
- The Lothal site has been nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its application is pending on the tentative list of UNESCO.
Answer this question from CSP 2019 in the comment box:
Q. Which one of the following is not a Harappan site?
(a) Chanhudaro
(b) Kot Diji
(c) Sohgaura
(d) Desalpur
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Neutrinos
Mains level: NA
Indian scientists have shown that the geometry of space-time can cause neutrinos to oscillate.
What are Neutrinos?
- A neutrino is a subatomic particle that is very similar to an electron but has no electrical charge and a very small mass, which might even be zero.
- Since neutrinos are electrically neutral, they are not affected by the electromagnetic forces which act on electrons. Hence, they are also called Ghost Particles.
- Neutrinos are affected only by a “weak” sub-atomic force of a much shorter range than electromagnetism and are therefore able to pass through great distances in matter without being affected by it.
- They are also one of the most abundant particles in the universe. As they have very little interaction with matter, however, they are incredibly difficult to detect.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
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
Finding of the new research
- Neutrinos are mysterious particles, produced copiously in nuclear reactions in the Sun, stars, and elsewhere.
- They “oscillate”- meaning that different types of neutrinos change into one another – as has been found in many experiments.
- Probing of oscillations of neutrinos and their relations with mass are crucial in studying the origin of the universe.
- Neutrinos interact very weakly with everything else – trillions of them pass through every human being every second without anyone noticing.
- A neutrino’s spin always points in the opposite direction of its motion, and until a few years ago, neutrinos were believed to be massless.
What makes this possible?
- The geometry of space-time can cause neutrino oscillations through quantum effects even if neutrinos are massless.
- Einstein’s theory of general relativity says that gravitation is the manifestation of space-time curvature.
- Neutrinos, electrons, protons and other particles which are in the category of fermions show a certain peculiarity when they move in presence of gravity.
- Space-time induces a quantum force in addition to gravity between every two fermions.
- This force can depend on the spin of the particles and causes massless neutrinos to appear massive when they pass through matter, like the Sun’s corona or the Earth’s atmosphere.
- Something similar happens for electroweak interactions, and together with the geometrically induced mass, it is enough to cause oscillation of neutrinos.
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