Current Affairs

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) published research that compares the effectiveness and feasibility of two approaches,  attempting to contain an outbreak at the border, and quarantining symptomatic cases within the country . Details Ø The research makes a case for post-travel tracking rather than border containment. It uses mathematical modelling to show that spending resources on quarantining symptomatic cases can achieve a meaningful impact on the disease burden  rather than attempting to achieve infeasible levels of containment at the borders. Ø It also accounts for the inevitability that an outburst of cases would make lab confirmations impractical. Therefore, the paper proposes “symptomatic surveillance” to be included with quarantine measures. Ø The government has focused on random sampling of patients with severe symptoms and quarantining positive cases. In the initial weeks of rising cases in India, asymptomatic travellers were no...

As the novel coronavirus has spread across continents, studies are underway to better understand its origin and how it is transmitted.   Background   Diseases caused by coronaviruses, such as COVID-19, are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), SARS-CoV was transmitted to humans from civet cats, and MERS-CoV from dromedary camels.  Details   Ø   Both the viruses, however, are believed to have originated from bats and subsequently passed on to other animals. Ø   While researchers are yet to conclude how the novel coronavirus, which was first detected in China’s Wuhan, originated, many believe it could be traced back to bats. Ø   Many studies over the years have found bats to be a natural reservoir for a large number of zoonotic viruses that have caused outbreaks in many countries in the past. These include rabies, Marburg, Nipa...

India has volunteered to participate in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) ongoing solidarity trial for developing vaccines for Covid-19. Background WHO with its partners is organizing a study called the solidarity trial in many countries in which some of the untested treatments are compared with each other. The study has been designed to generate the robust data needed to show which treatments are the most effective. Details Ø In order to look at newer drugs that might come, India is soon likely to participate in the WHO solidarity trial for COVID-19. Earlier we did not do it because our numbers were so small and contribution would have looked minuscule. Ø WHO’s multi-country solidarity trials aims to isolate drugs approved by regulators for other diseases that can be utilised in the Covid-19 fight. The reason already safety-tested drugs are being looked at is because these do not need lengthy clinical trials. Ø Among the drugs lined up f...

The ozone layer above Antarctica has recovered so much, it's actually stopped many worrying changes in the Southern Hemisphere's atmosphere, according to a new study. Background A new study suggests the Montreal Protocol, the 1987 agreement to stop producing ozone depleting substances (ODSs), could be responsible for pausing, or even reversing, some troubling changes in air currents around the Southern Hemisphere. Details Ø Before the turn of the century, ozone depletion had been driving the southern jet stream further south than usual. This ended up changing rainfall patterns, and potentially ocean currents as well. Ø Using a range of models and computer simulations, researchers have now shown this pause in movement was not driven by natural shifts in winds alone. Ø In Australia, for instance, changes to the jet stream have increased the risk of drought by pushing rain away from coastal areas. If the trend does reverse, those rains might retur...

The government has unveiled the first set of measures to address the looming economic distress set off by the shutdown of business and destruction of demand.   Background The announcements come when the government is hard-pressed to create the headroom for additional spending in a fiscally difficult year. Details Ø Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a package that aims to provide, for the next three months, free food to the “poorest of the poor”, some income support to farmers and unorganised sector workers, a Rs 50-lakh medical insurance cover for health care staff and a Rs 500-transfer to women Jan Dhan account holders. Ø Officials indicated that a package for the MSME sector and a broader income-support scheme for migrant and farm workers, which was being expected, are likely to follow. Ø The government has unveiled the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana to provide free wheat, rice and pulses to nearly 80 crore people across...

In a study, scientists have described how micro-organisms survive in rocks nestled thousands of feet beneath the ocean floor in the lower oceanic crust .   Background Organisms seeking out an existence far beneath the sea floor live in a hostile environment. Very little resources find their way into  The  seabed through seawater and subsurface fluids, which circulate through fractures in the rock and carry inorganic and organic compounds . Details ➤The discoveries were made as part of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), which studies samples of rock and sediment taken from beneath the seafloor. ➤Normally, it’s to investigate the historic climate records preserved there, but in this case an international team of scientists found evidence of life. ➤The first analysis of messenger RNA, the genetic material containing instructions for making different proteins, from this region, coupled with measurements of enzyme activities, microscopy, c...

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread in India and across the world, Kochi-based startup Asimov Robotics has developed a robot that can be deployed in hospitals to ease pressure on the medical staff. Background The three-wheeled robot can carry food, medical and clinical consumables and navigate freely in the hospitals. The robot has been developed in 15 days by a team of seven people. Details Ø The robot is mainly designed to be used inside isolation wards. The robot, dubbed “ KARMI-BOT ”, has lower and upper trays that can be loaded with food or sterile containers. Ø Additionally, the robot also disinfects the used items as it comes out of the quarantine zone. The robot also lets doctors or relatives interact with the patients through video calling. Ø The robot has autonomous navigation and can be used remotely as well. The advantage of deploying a robot in this scenario is to cut down on human to human contact. This will help both...