Current Affairs

US President Donald Trump threatened to freeze US funding to the World Health Organization (WHO), saying the international group had failed on the coronavirus pandemic. Background Trump suggested that the WHO had gone along with Beijing’s efforts months ago to under-represent the severity of the outbreak.   Details WHO Ø The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. It is part of the U.N. Sustainable Development Group. Ø It is headquartered in  Geneva , Switzerland, with six semi-autonomous regional offices and 150 field offices worldwide. Ø The WHO's broad mandate includes advocating for universal healthcare, monitoring public health risks, coordinating responses to health emergencies, and promoting human health and well being. Ø It provides technical assistance to countries, sets international health standards...

Using computational algorithms, scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have made the material manifestation of the SARS-CoV-2 protein audible.   Background Because of its small size, it is impossible to see the coronavirus with the naked eye, but it is possible to listen to it.  Details Ø   The over 1 hour 49 minutes long instrumental piece musically represents the amino acid sequence and the spike protein of the COVID-19 pathogen. Ø   The scientists represented the spike protein’s amino acid sequence, its secondary structure patterns and its three-dimensional folds in the form of a musical composition. Ø   Representing the protein in this form can help researchers find out new sites on the proteins, where drugs or antibodies may be able to bind themselves and stop the virus from infecting humans. Ø   Further, musically representing the spike protein is helping the researchers to unders...

The government has decided to ease its ban on the export of hydroxychloroquine, a drug that has garnered global interest in the treatment and prevention of COVID-19. Background US President Donald Trump tweeted about “retaliation” if India did not heed his request for the drug.  India said it would supply to countries that needed it the most, and to neighbours who were dependent on India’s capabilities. Details Ø It is an antimalarial drug option, considered less toxic than chloroquine, and prescribed in certain cases. Doctors also prescribe hydroxychloroquine for patients of rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Ø Hydroxychloroquine had a market size of only around Rs 152.80 crore in the 12 months ended February 2020. However, several countries source the drug from India. Ø In a study last month in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents (IJAA), French scientists reported that the patients treated with the drug showed a signifi...

Astronomers have assumed for decades that the Universe is expanding at the same rate in all directions. A new study based on data from ESA's XMM-Newton, NASA's Chandra and the German-led ROSAT X-ray observatories suggests this key premise of cosmology might be wrong. Background Researchers set out to verify a new method that would enable astronomers to test the so-called isotropy hypothesis. According to this assumption, the Universe has, despite some local differences, the same properties in each direction on the large scale. Details Ø Widely accepted as a consequence of well-established fundamental physics, the hypothesis has been supported by observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Ø A direct remnant of the Big Bang, the CMB reflects the state of the Universe as it was in its infancy, at only 380 000 years of age. Ø The CMB's uniform distribution in the sky suggests that in those early days the Universe must have been expand...

Global warming is about to destroy Earth’s delicate web of life. As some key species go extinct, entire ecosystems like coral reefs and forests will crumble, and some will collapse abruptly, starting as soon as this decade, a new study.  Background Global warming occurs when carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollutants and greenhouse gases collect in the atmosphere and absorb sunlight and solar radiation that have bounced off the earth’s surface. Details Ø Many scientists see recent climate-related mass die-offs, including the coral bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef and widespread seabird and marine mammal mortality in the Northeastern Pacific linked to a marine heat wave, as warning signs of impending biodiversity collapse. Ø Many species live in small geographic areas under a narrow range of climatic conditions. As global warming heats their habitat to the point that it is intolerable, many species have no place to go. Some will go extinct...

Researchers from the Australian Antarctic Program revealed that they had recorded temperatures as high as 9.2 degrees Celsius at Casey station in the continent east earlier this year, indicating a heatwave event. Background Heat waves are classified as three consecutive days with both extreme maximum and minimum temperatures. Between January 23 and 26, the station recorded minimum temperatures above zero degrees Celsius and a maximum temperature of 9.2 degrees Celsius. Details ➤ Scientists are concerned about the effect that the heat wave could have on Antarctica’s ecology,  both positive and negative. ➤ Most life exists in small ice-free oases in Antarctica, and largely depends on melting snow and ice for their water supply. ➤ Melted ice flooding can provide additional water to these desert ecosystems, leading to increased growth and reproduction of mosses, lichens, microbes and invertebrates. However excessive flooding can dislodge plants and alter the co...

The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) has said that the unemployment rate shot up in March. The employment rate in the economy fell to an all-time low of 38.2 percent in March 2020. Background With the coronavirus outbreak severely affecting every country, its impact on an already hobbling Indian economy is set to be devastating if the latest data on unemployment rate is taken as an indicator.  Details   Ø The Labour Participation Rate (LPR) in March 2019 was 42.7 percent. This is the first time the LPR has fallen below 42 percent. Ø The monthly figures from the CMIE that were released recently also show a curious inversion. In urban India, unemployment among the uneducated is at a higher level than those with a graduate degree (13%), for the first time since early-2016. Ø Most of the people are employed in service sector jobs in construction, repair, or unorganized transport, all of which have come to a standstill due to the current lockd...

Bharat Biotech is getting into development and testing of a vaccine against COVID-19 called CoroFlu as part of an international collaboration of virologists and vaccine makers. Background CoroFlu is a one drop COVID-19 nasal vaccine built on a flu vaccine “backbone” that has been shown to be safe and well-tolerated in humans, in Phase I and Phase II clinical trials. Details Ø   The company said that the product is part of an international collaboration of virologists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and vaccine companies FluGen along with Bharat Biotech. Ø   CoroFlu will build on the backbone of FluGen's flu vaccine candidate known as M2SR. M2SR is a self-limiting version of the influenza virus that induces an immune response against the flu. Ø   Researchers will insert gene sequences from SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19, into M2SR so that the new vaccine will also induce immunity against the coronaviru...

 The Hubble Space Telescope is tracking down a suspected black hole that shredded a wayward star that came too close for comfort. Background The famed space observatory made the find while hunting down the source of a powerful burst of X-rays caught in 2006 by two other cosmic telescopes: NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the European Space Agency's X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) . Details Ø   At the time, astronomers weren't sure if the X-rays had come from inside or outside of the Milky Way galaxy, but new high-resolution photography by Hubble shows that the X-ray source (known as 3XMM J215022.4−055108) is located in a star cluster at the edge of another galaxy.  Ø   The team's work further suggests the star cluster may have been the core of a small dwarf galaxy disrupted long ago, when the dwarf galaxy strayed too close to the larger galaxy that currently hosts the star cluster. Ø   Gravitati...

NASA’s Mars Helicopter, which will be attached to NASA’s Mars Rover named Perseverance during the mission, has successfully completed its testing stages. It will be the first aircraft to be flown on any other planet in human history.  Background With NASA eyeing Mars as the first habitable planet for humans after Earth, its Mars 2020 mission to reach its surface and establish a human base there is in full swing.   Details Ø   The testing phase marked the last time that the rotors of the helicopter have been operated on Earth and the next flight to be taken by the helicopter will be straight on Mars. Ø   NASA has used a twin-rotor mechanism to make it fly. The helicopter derives its energy from the sun through solar panels. Once on Mars, the helicopter will remain encapsulated until the mission managers determine an acceptable area to conduct test flights. Ø   The Mars helicopter comes as a part of a larger initiative in the s...

Researchers have been working on a hybrid system that creates the building blocks for organic molecules by capturing the energy of sunlight. And this system works by combining bacteria and nanowires. Background We can’t ship packages between Mars and Earth back on forth: one, that would be extremely expensive; two, it is not sustainable. So it is necessary for us to have a plan to produce most items locally. Details Ø   Nanowires are incredibly thin silicon wires that are about a hundredth of the width of a human hair. They are used as electronic components, sensors, and solar cells. Ø   In order to work it, we only need sunlight and water, which Mars has plenty on its vast surfaces in frozen form. Ø   The left side of the reactor is the chamber which contains the nanowire-bacteria hybrid that reduces CO 2  to form acetate. Oxygen is produced on the right side. Ø   The team first demonstrated the nanowire-bac...