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Science & Technology Current Affairs March 4th Week 2016

1) ISRO established GIRI Radar System at Tirupati.
  • The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) established the Gadanki Ionospheric Radar Interferometer (GIRI) near Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh.
  • It was set up at the National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL) which is an autonomous research institute of the Department of Space.
  • It consists of a rectangular antenna array of 160 two-element Yagi-antenna, arranged in a 20×8 matrix, 20 transmitter units, 6 digital receivers including data processing systems, a radar controller, and a host computer.
  • It is a 30 MHz radar system that will be engaged in meteor and space weather research in a comprehensive way.
 
2) Mint plant can help fight cancer: CIMAP Researchers.
  • Scientists at Lucknow based CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) have found that mint plant has medicinal values that can cure cancer.
  • They have identified that a medicinal compound called ‘L-Menthol’ derived from Mentha plant popularly known as mint. The discovery can be very useful for farmers in India where Mentha is grown in large quantity.
  • L-Menthol compound can kill the colon cancer cell line without affecting the normal cell line.
  • The compound inhibits the division of cancer cell and prevents its growth and spread to other organs of the body.
  • Its production is cost-effective, non-destructive and easily available in comparison to anti-cancer compound used at present obtained from the bark of European Yew tree.
  • The Mentha is available in abundance across the world compared to the European Yew tree which is found only in Europe and some parts of Africa and Asia.
3) South Korea tops Global Average Internet speed.
  • The global average internet connection speed increased 23 percent to 5.6 Mbps in the quarter ended December 2015 compared to the same period of 2014.
  • The report “Fourth Quarter, 2015, State of the Internet Report” was released by Akamai Technologies, a global leader in content delivery network services the report provides insight into key global statistics such as connection speeds, broadband adoption metrics, notable Internet disruptions, IPv4 exhaustion and IPv6 implementation.
  • South Korea had the top average connection speed at 26.7 Mbps, while India was the slowest in the Asia Pacific region with average speeds of 2 Mbps.
  • The peak speed in India was also lower than South Korea’s average - at 21.2 Mbps.
  • South Korea (95.3 Mbps) and Macao (83.1 Mbps) were the only countries/regions to post double-digit quarterly gains in average peak connection speed at 10 percent and 13 percent, respectively.
  • The report also showed each of the top 10 countries/ regions saw double-digit growth in 25 Mbps broadband adoption except Hong Kong, which posted a 9.8 percent change quarter-over-quarter. Norway and Denmark saw the greatest yearly gains, the report cited.
  • Iran had the lowest average connection speed, at 1.3 Mbps, followed by Vietnam with an average connection speed of 1.8 Mbps. 
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4) India’s rotavirus vaccine to combat diarrhoeal deaths launched.

  • Inching a step closer to universal immunisation, the Health Ministry launched the country’s first, indigenous rotavirus vaccine to combat diarrhoeal deaths.
  • A new milestone towards expanding the coverage of full immunisation in the country aimed at reducing child mortality
  • The rotavirus vaccine will now be available free of cost at all public health facilities under the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP).
  • Diarrhoea caused by Rotavirus is one of the leading causes of severe diarrhoea and death among children less than five years of age.
  • In India, between 80,000 to one lakh children die due to Rotavirus diarrhoea annually while nearly 9 lakh children are admitted to hospital with severe diarrhea.
  • The vaccine was being introduced initially in four States - Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Odisha - and would be expanded to the entire country in a phased manner.
  • The Rotavac is in addition to three new vaccines that have been introduced in India’s Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) including Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV), Measles, Rubella (MR) vaccine, and Adult Japanese Encephalitis (JE) vaccine.
5) Union Government unveils Defence Procurement Procedure 2016.
  • The Union Government has unveiled Defence Procurement Procedure 2016 (DPP 2016).
  • The DPP 2016 will replace the Defence Procurement Procedure 2013 (DPP 2013) and shall come into force on 1 April 2016.
  • The new policy has introduced an Indian Designed, Developed and Manufactured (IDDM) category which will benefit the local units.
  • It will cover all capital acquisitions undertaken by the Union Ministry of Defence, Defence Services and Indian Coast Guard (ICG) both from indigenous sources and import.
  • The DPP 2016 has been framed based on the recommendations of the Dhirendra Singh Committee that was appointed in May 2015 to review the DPP 2013.
6) Johnson & Johnson has received patent in India for multifocal contact lens designs.
  • Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Inc has received patent in India for multifocal contact lens designs, for contact lens for the aged especially patients with presbyopia.
  • As individual ages, patient’s eye is less able to accommodate or bend the natural lens to focus on objects relatively nearer to the observer, This condition is presbyopia.
  • Johnson and Johnson has its multifocal lenses sold under its contact lenses brand Acuvue, to address the issue of presbyopia.
  • According to the specification the company filed with the patent, the invention provides contact lenses that provide correction for presbyopia using multifocal designs that are scaled to an individual, or group of individuals, based on both pupil size and the Stiles-Crawf 3rd effect.
  • The pupil size of the individuals vary with age, luminance and distance from the eye to the object being viewed and as the luminance increases, the size of pupil has to be decreased.
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7) ISRO set to launch record 22 satellites in single mission.
  • The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to script history by launching a record number of 22 satellites in a single mission in May 2016.
  • These satellites (micro and nano) will be launched using ISRO’s workhorse Polar rocket PSLV C34. This mission will flag off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Srikarikota.
  • It will be carrying India’s Cartosat 2C along with 21 other satellites from other countries, including US, Canada, Indonesia and Germany as co-passengers.
  • Two of the nano-satellites have been developed by the Pune Engineering College and Sathyabhama University.
  • The micro-satellites include the M3MSAT of Comdev, Canada, to be used for collection and study of automatic identification system signals from low earth orbit.
  • The Indonesian satellite LAPAN A3 for earth surveillance and magnetic field monitoring.
  • The US space agency NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) holds current world record for sending highest number of satellites in single launch. It had sent 29 satellites to the orbit in a single launch in 2013.
8) USFDA approves Aurobindo Pharma’s Dementia Drug.
  • Drug firm Aurobindo Pharma has received final approval from USFDA to manufacture and market Rivastigmine Tartrate Capsules USP, used for the treatment of dementia disease, in the American market.
  • The company has received final approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Rivastigmine Tartrate Capsules USP, 1.5 mg, 3 mg, 4.5 mg and 6 mg.
  • The approved product is bioequivalent and therapeutically equivalent to Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation’s Exelon Capsules.
  • The approved product has an estimated market size of USD 26.7 million for the twelve months ending January 2016.
  • Exelon is used in the treatment of mild moderate dementia of the Alzheimer`s and Parkinson`s disease.
  • Aurobindo Pharma currently has a total of 246 ANDA approvals (211 final approvals including 10 from Aurolife Pharma LLC and 35 tentative approvals) from the US. 
9) India’s first indigenously developed sonar dome flagged off.
  • India’s first indigenous composites sonar dome, a ship’s underwater eyes and ears, was flagged off by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.
  • The sonar dome was dedicated to the nation dedicated to the nation and will be delivered to Mazgaon Docks, Mumbai for use in the warships of Indian Navy.
  • This is the first indigenously built sonar dome at Kineco`s state-of-the-art composites manufacturing facility at Pilerne, Goa.
  • It has been designed by Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) laboratory, R&D engineers based in Pune.
  • Warships have a sonar array fitted to the ship`s structure below the waterline. The sonar functions as the ship`s underwater eyes and ear.
10) China launched 22nd BeiDou navigation satellite.
  • China has successfully launched 22nd new generation satellite into space as part of its domestic BeiDou Navigation System (BDS).
  • It was launched using Long March-3A carrier rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center located in the south-western province of Sichuan. It was the 225th launch of the Long March carrier rocket.
  • BeiDou is Mandarin means magnetic Compass which was one of the Chinese major inventions in the history which had revolutionized the sea voyages.
  • The satellite, after entering its designed work orbit and finishing in-orbit testing, will join others already in orbit and improve the stability of the system, preparing for BDS to offer global coverage.
 
11) Rare sand-eating tadpoles discovered in Western Ghats.
  • Researchers have discovered Sand-eating tadpole species named Micrixalus herrei in Western Ghats. The tadpole belongs to the so-called Indian Dancing Frog family, Micrixalidae.
  • The discovery has been made by scientists from the University of Delhi, the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka and Gettysburg College, California.
  • The purple tadpoles were discovered from the deep recesses of streambeds in the Western Ghats and they possess muscular eel-like bodies and skin-covered eyes, which helps them to burrow through gravel beds.
  • These tadpoles probably remained unnoticed all these years because of fossorial [underground] nature.
12) India becomes fourth largest spender on defence.
  • India has become the world’s fourth largest spender on defence, following a 13.1% increase in its 2016-17 defence budget, according to US research firm IHS Inc.
  • India’s rise in the rankings from sixth position last year is a result of an increase in expenditure to $50.7 billion, combined with cuts to military spending by Russia and Saudi Arabia, where low oil prices have put considerable strain on their finances.
  • Information Handling Services (IHS), the leading source of information, insight and analytics, has predicted that India would become the fourth biggest defence spender by 2020.
  • Behind U.S., China and Russia, surpassing France, Japan and the U.K, IHS Jane’s Defence Budgets projects that India’s defence spend will reach $65.4 billion in 2020. 

Science & Technology Current Affairs March 3rd Week 2016

1) Monster stars discovered by British astronomers.
  • British astronomers have discovered a cluster of nine ``monster`` stars 30 million times brighter than the Sun.
  • Nine monster stars named as R136 and using NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.The cluster is the largest group of very massive stars ever identified
  • The star cluster located about 170,000 light-years away.
  • It is located in the Tarantula Nebula within the Large Magellanic Cloud – a satellite galaxy of our own Milky Way.
  • The young cluster hosts many extremely massive, hot and luminous stars whose energy is mostly radiated in the ultraviolet (UV). 
2) IMD deploys Drishti for providing real time visibility information to pilots.
  • India Meteorology Department (IMD) has deployed indigenously developed Drishti.
  • Drishti has been developed by the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bengaluru.
  • An instrument that will provide real time visibility information to pilots.
  • The instrument will help pilots in quick decision-making during critical landings and take-offs of aircraft particularly during foggy or rainy days.
  • The system transfer the crucial visibility updates to the pilots in real time who can now use this information that will be updated every minute.
  • Drishti is a transmissometer that takes in account the real time weather parameters like humidity, wind speed, temperature conditions, etc
  • It is cost-effective mandatory system required at all airports as per International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). 
3) Three astronauts launched to the International Space Station.
  • One American and two Russians blasted off for their six-month stay on the International Space Station from Kazakhstan.
  • The Russian Soyuz spacecraft lifted off with 9,000 pounds of thrust carrying the three astronauts from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
  • The Expedition 47 and 48 crew include veteran NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin.
  • Williams will take command of the station starting on June 4 beginning Expedition 48 and marking his third Space Station expedition, also a record.
  • Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka holds the world record at 878 days.
  • This will be Ovchinin’s first flight to the space station.
  • Soyuz was successfully captured and docked at the Space Station with the trio on time.
4) Chinese artificial Sun discharges UHT of 50 million degrees for 102 Seconds.
  • `man-made` sun experiment in China has successfully produced long pulse plasma discharge at a temperature of more than 50 million degrees - the longest discharge at such a high temperature.
  • The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), an artificial sun experiment developed by Hefei Institute of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Science.
  • The artificial sun realised a ultra-high temperature (UHT) long pulse plasma discharge for 102 seconds.
  • An artificial sun can provide limitless clean energy through controlled thermonuclear fusion.
  • The light and heat of the Sun come from two of hydrogen’s radioactove isotopes – deuterium and tritium.
  • These release a huge amount of energy during the process of fusion into a helium atom.The artificial sun imitates this fusion process. 
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5) YouTube India Partners OML, Qyuki, TVF to Launch New Originals.

  • YouTube its content partners, Culture Machine, OML, Qyuki and The Viral Fever (TVF), are set to launch four original properties.
  • Culture Machine will be launching a beauty and style-centric programme Beauty Hunt, while OML will launch the second season of Comedy Hunt.
  • LaughterGames will launch in April, where nine comedy creators will launch their own comedy web series, featuring among others, YouTube comedians such as East India Comedy, Put Chutney and Kenny Sebastian.
  • YouTube has started to invest big in India. And the numbers presented at an event in Mumbai was proof of the fact that India is moving at a pace which nobody could have imagined.
  • Presenting statistics around video consumption in India, YouTube says 400 hours of video content is put up every minute on the website.
 
6) India`s defence lab develops thermal imaging radar to look through walls.
  • To Strengthen Indian forces in dealing with hostage situations, India`s premier government R&D body DRDO has developed a radar that can look through a wall.
  • The Through Barrier Imaging Radar, named `Divyachakshu` (divine eye), has been developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation`s (DRDO) Electronics & Radar Development Establishment (LRDE) based in Bangalore and is going through development trials now.
  • It can look though walls of 20-30 cm thickness made of any material, by using thermal imaging.
  • The radar can produce images from the other side of the barrier up to a distance of 20 metres. It catches the thermal signatures and movements in a room can be clearly seen.
  • The radar tracks heat on the other side of the wall and gives real time thermal image, which can disclose the movement, number of people and other important information about the situation on the other side of the barrier.
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7) Researchers have developed a new Gravity Map of Mars.
  • Researchers have developed a new map of Mars’ gravity with three NASA spacecraft that is the most detailed to date, providing a glimpse into the hidden interior of the Red Planet.
  • The new gravity map will be helpful for future Mars exploration, because better knowledge of the planet’s gravity anomalies helps mission controllers insert spacecraft more precisely into orbit about Mars.
  • The improved resolution of the new gravity map suggests a new explanation for how some features formed across the boundary that divides the relatively smooth northern lowlands from heavily cratered southern highlands.
  • Also, the team confirmed that Mars has a liquid outer core of molten rock by analysing tides in the Martian crust and mantle caused by the gravitational pull of the sun and the two moons of Mars.
  • The map was derived using data collected by NASA’s Deep Space Network from three NASA spacecraft in orbit around Mars: Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), Mars Odyssey (ODY), and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).
  • The gravity field was recovered using about 16 years of data that were continuously collected in orbit around Mars.
  • The better resolution of the new map helps interpret how the crust of the planet changed over Mars’ history in many regions.
8) Nadda launches CBNAAT machines for quick diagnosis of TB.
  • Accelerating the efforts to combat Tuberculosis (TB) in the country, Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda launched Cartridge Based Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (CBNAAT) machines for the quick diagnosis of TB within two hours.
  • The CBNAAT is a revolutionary rapid molecular test which detects Mycobacterium tuberculosis and rifampicin drug resistance, simultaneously. This test is fully automated and provides results within two hours.
  • At present 121 CBNAAT machine are functioning and five hundred more such machines were launched by the Minister.
  • Nadda also launched a new anti-TB drug Bedaquiline, which is a new anti-TB drug for treatment of Multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis.
  • This drug is indicated for use in the treatment of drug-resistant TB. The drug will be made available in six public hospitals in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Guwahati and Ahmedabad.
9) Indian Coast Guard ship Arnvesh commissioned at Visakhapatnam.
  • The fast patrol vessel (FPV) of the Indian Coast Guard ICGS Arnvesh was commissioned at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
  • The ship is primarily intended to undertake coastal patrol, surveillance at sea, anti-smuggling, anti-piracy operations and search and rescue operations.
Important Features of ICGS Arnvesh:
  • The vessel among the 20 FPVs indigenously built by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL). It is capable of carrying a crew of five officers and 34 men on board.
  • The ship is 50-metre long, 300-tonne vessel. The vessel is propelled by triple Rolls Royce Kamewa water jets. It can achieve a maximum speed of 33 knots.
  • It has been fitted with the state-of-the-art communication and navigational equipment including night vision capabilities. Its main armament comprise 40/60 Bofors guns.
 
10) Indian Navy deploys P8I maritime surveillance aircraft to Seychelles.
  • The Indian Navy for the first time has deployed a P8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft to Seychelles for surveillance in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Seychelles.
  • The deployment has been done in accordance with the MoU signed between India and Seychelles. This is the first time that Indian Navy has deployed its latest and technologically most advanced maritime reconnaissance aircraft in Seychelles.
  • The deployment will provide Professional assistance to the Seychelles People’s Defence Force (SPDF) in curbing illegal activities and piracy as well as contribute towards security and stability in the IOR.
  • Besides India is also supplying naval vessels and aircrafts and supporting the oceanic countries such as Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius and Seychelles with training, hydrographic surveys, surveillance operations and counter-terror patrols as part of its maritime security and diplomacy.
 
11) Microsoft shuts Artificial Intelligence Robot.
  • Launched on Twitter as an experiment in ``conversational understanding`` and to engage people through ``casual and playful conversation``, Tay was soon bombarded with racial comments and the innocent bot repeated those comments back with her commentary to users.
  • The AI chatbot Tay is a machine learning project, designed for human engagement.
  • Some of the tweets had Tay referring to Adolf Hitler, denying the Holocaust, supporting Donald Trump’s immigration plans, among others.
About Robot Tay:
  1. Tay is an AI project built by the Microsoft Technology and Research and Bing teams was coded with information which can tell users jokes or offer up a comment on a picture you send her.
  2. Microsoft has since deleted some of the most damaging tweets from nearly the 96,000 that Tay tweeted.
  3. However, a website called Socialhax.com made screenshots of several of Tay’s comments before they were removed.
 
12) India among five nations creating Zika vaccine: WHO.
  • India is among five countries where projects are underway to develop vaccines to fight the deadly Zika virus affecting newborns in 38 countries.
  • Zika virus is posing severe public health implications and is linked to neonatal malformations and neurological disorders affecting newborns.
  • The WHO had in February declared the Zika virus outbreak as an ``international public health emergency``.
  • For vaccines, 23 projects are being worked on by 14 vaccine developers in the US, France, Brazil, India and Austria. The virus is currently circulating in 38 countries and territories. 

Science & Technology Current Affairs March 2nd Week 2016

1) Facebook reaches 142 million users in India.
  • Facebook has over 142 million users in India, of which about 133 million access the social media platform through their mobile phones.
  • 69 million people in India use Facebook daily, of which 64 million access the platform through their mobile devices.
  • India is the largest market for Facebook outside of the US.
  • The growth was led by strong uptake in markets like India, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico and Philippines.
  • Facebook Lite has reached 100 million monthly active users in less than nine months since it launched, making it our fastest-growing version of Facebook to hit that milestone.
  • Facebook Lite was built to use less data and work well despite constrained telecom networks, especially in developing countries.
  • And also Consuming less than 1 MB space, Facebook Lite supports over 50 languages languages.
2) ISRO successfully launches navigation satellite IRNSS-1F.
  • ISRO’s sixth navigation satellite IRNSS-1F was successfully launched PSLV C32 from the spaceport in Sriharikota.
  • IRNSS 1F satellite is part of the space segment satellites of the IRNSS system that has total constellation of seven satellites. It has a 12 year mission life.
  • It is 44.4 metre tall and has a liftoff mass of 1,425 kg. It will be located in the Geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) in the space with a 20,657 km apogee (farthest point to Earth) and 284 km perigee (nearest point to Earth).
  • It equipped with two types of payloads and navigation payload and ranging devices.
  • The navigation payload will be mainly used to transmit navigation service signals to the users.
About IRNSS System:
 
  • IRNSS System consists of constellation of seven satellites of which three are geostationary and four are non-geostationary.
4 Geosynchronous satellites: They will be orbiting in pairs in two inclined geosynchronous orbits. When observed from the ground, these 2 pairs of satellites will appear to travel in figures of ‘8’.
 
3 geostationary satellites: They will be placed in the geostationary orbit over the equator. They match the Earth’s rotation and shall remain at a fixed position in the sky.
 
Applications:
Terrestrial, Aerial and Marine Navigation.
Disaster Management.
Vehicle tracking and fleet management.
Integration with mobile phones.
Precise Timing.
Mapping and Geodetic data capture.
Terrestrial navigation aid for hikers and travellers.
Visual and voice navigation for drivers.
 
3) India to launch 25 foreign satellites from 7 countries this year.
  • India will launch 25 foreign satellites belonging to seven countries, with the USA topping the list in 2016-17.
  • Jitendra Singh, minister of state in Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) which looks after the department of space, 57 foreign satellites from 21 countries have been launched using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
  • Antrix - the commercial arm of ISRO - has signed agreements with Algeria and Canada for launching three satellites each, four for Germany, one each for Japan and Malaysia and 12 for the USA in 2016-17.
  • ISRO earned 80 million euros for the launch.
4) BSNL teams up with Tata Sky for video-on-demand service.
  • State run telecom firm BSNL has decided to offer video-on-demand services to their 2 crore plus customers pan-India.
  • They have announced partnership with Tata Sky to kickstart their operations right away.
  • Once a BSNL subscriber selects video-on-demand service, then the connectivity and bandwidth shall be provided by BSNL while content would be provided by Tata Sky, who have around 4000 titles available right now on their platform.
  • Tata Sky, which have 1.1 crore subscribers will get more visibility and branding infront of BSNL customers.
  • This also marks a first of its kind partnership between a public and private entity for providing a service which is unconventional in India. 
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5) New frog species discovered in India’s wastelands.
  • A team of researchers from India and the National University of Singapore (NUS) has discovered a new species of narrow-mouthed frog in the laterite rock formations of India’s coastal plains.
  • The tiny frog measures 1.7 cm and is called Laterite narrow-mouthed frog (Microhyla laterite), after the laterite rock formation from where the frog was discovered.
  • The new species belongs to the genus Microhyla, which now comprises 39 species, distributed across South and Southeast Asia.
  • They are broadly considered as rocky areas as they are usually devoid of trees and other vegetation, and are therefore classified as wastelands.
  • This study was conducted along the West coast of India.
6) Wikipedia developing speech engine for visually impaired users.
  • Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, has teamed up with KTH Royal Institute of Technology to develop the world`s first crowdsourced speech engine.
  • The platform is aimed at providing access to Wikipedia and other wikis to users having reading difficulties or visually impaired.
  • It will be optimized for Wikipedia but available as open source.
  • Joakim Gustafson, professor of speech synthesis technology added that the first tests will be carried out in Sweden.
  • The Wikimedia Foundation estimates that 25% of users – 125 million people per month – prefer or need a voice device for reading texts.
  • Wikipedia plans to have English, Swedish and Arabic ready by the end of the year before moving on to the other 280 languages its site supports.
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7) India Successfully Test-Fires Nuclear-Capable Agni I Missile.
  • India has successfully test-fired its indigenously built nuclear-capable intermediate range Agni-I ballistic missile, capable of hitting a target 700 kms away, from a test range off Odisha coast as part of a user trial by the Army.
  • The missile was fired from mobile launcher at launchpad-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Abdul Kalam Island (Wheeler Island) off the Odisha coast.
  • It was developed by Advanced Systems Laboratory, the premier missile development laboratory of DRDO in collaboration with Defence Research Development Laboratory, Research Centre Imarat and was integrated by Hyderabad based Bharat Dynamics Limited.
  • It weighs around 12 tonnes and is 15-metre-long.
  • Designed to carry both conventional and nuclear payload of about 1000 kg.
  • It can travel at a speed of 2.5 km/s and can destroy targets ranging between 700 and 1250 kms away.
 
8) Glenmark gets final FDA nod for migraine headache relief drug.
  • Glenmark Pharmaceuticals announced that it received the final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Frovatriptan Succinate tablets in the American market.
  • The Frovatriptan Succinate Tablets, 2.5 mg, which is therapeutical equivalent of Endo Pharmaceutical`s Frova tablets 2.5 mg.
  • Frovatriptan is used to treat migraines and helps to relieve other migraine symptoms.
  • It belongs to a class of drugs known as triptans.
  • It affects a certain natural substance (serotonin) that causes narrowing of blood vessels in the brain. 
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9) Earthquake warning system installed at Haryana govts building.
  • Haryana successfully installed the first ever Early Earthquake Warning and Security System (onsite) in the country as a pilot project at New Secretariat in Chandigarh.
  • The system was installed by New Delhi based Terra Techcom Private Limited and Secretary Electronics GmbH, Germany.
  • This device can save thousands of lives and reduce the losses in case of severe earthquake.
  • It works on the principle of detection of primary and secondary seismic waves of an earthquake.
  • The primary waves are fastest kind of seismic wave and are the initial vertical movements beneath the earth that do not cause any damage.
  • The secondary waves that travel beneath the earth horizontally and have the potential to cause damage. They are generally known to us as an earthquake.
 
10) ExoMars 2016 spacecraft successfully launched by Europe and Russia.
  • The joint European/Russian ExoMars spacecraft successfully launched at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan atop a Proton-M rocket.
  • A joint mission by the European and Russian space agencies, the probe will circle the red planet and measure minute levels of atmospheric gases.
ExoMars 2016:
  • It consists of the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and Schiaparelli, an entry, descent and landing demonstrator module.
  • The spacecraft is currently circling in a temporary and preliminary parking orbit around Earth following liftoff of the 191-foot-tall (58-meter)
  • A total of four more burns from the Breeze-M upper stage are required to boost ExoMars higher and propel it outwards on its seven-month-long journey to the Red Planet.
About Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and Schiaparelli :
  1. Its sole purpose is to search (trace) evidence of methane (CH4) and other atmospheric gases that could be signatures of active biological or geological processes on Mars.
  2. TGO has 4 suites of science instruments. They are ACS (Atmospheric Chemistry Suite), FREND (Fine Resolution Epithermal Neutron Detector), CaSSIS (Color and Stereo Surface Imaging System) and NOMAD (Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery).
  3. Schiaparelli will obtain measurements of electric fields on the Mar’s surface combined with measurements of the concentration of atmospheric dust.
  4. For the first time it will provide new insights into the role of electric forces on dust lifting, the trigger for dust storms on the Martian surface.
11) IAF successfully conducts combat drills; Astra, Akash missiles and LCA Tejas.
  • The Indian Air Force`s (IAF) long-awaited Exercise Iron Fist 2016 was successfully conducted at the Air Force Firing Range, Pokhran, in Rajasthan`s Thar desert.
  • The day-night exercise demonstrating IAF’s combat and fire power was conducted in the presence of Hon’ble President Shri Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
  • The massive exercise that included both a day and night components saw over 180 aircraft from the IAF inventory, which included fighters, transport and helicopters, in action and some firing missiles as well.
  • The event comprised 6 packages depicting 6 different themes in which more than 180 aircraft, including fighters, transport and helicopters of IAF participated
  • The event mainly showcased more than 22 types of platforms and Weapons Systems of IAF.
The event comprised six packages:
  1. Fly Past
  2. Net Enabled Operations
  3. Air Defence Operations
  4. Combat Support Operations
  5. Flying Displays
  6. All Weather Operations 

Science & Technology Current Affairs March 1st Week 2016

1) Zika virus linked to debilitating neurological disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome.
  • Researchers from France have found the Zika virus may cause Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), a disorder in which the body`s immune system attacks part of the nervous system.
  • GBS is a rare condition in which the body’s immune system attacks a part of the nervous system that controls muscle strength leading to muscle weakness in the legs and arms.
  • The syndrome is also be caused by bacterial infections as well as the dengue and chikungunya viruses transmitted by be vector Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
  • The study was carried out using blood samples from 42 patients who became ill in a previous outbreak of virus.
  • It was found that patients developed the neurological problems around six days after Zika infection making the virus main culprit of severe neurological disorder.
  • The biological mechanism by which Zika virus triggers the Guillain-Barré syndrome has yet to be identified.
 
2) NASA announces plans to build supersonic passenger jet.
  • US space agency NASA announced that it is planning to build a supersonic passenger jet which will be as quiet and efficient as possible.
  • It has awarded a $20 million contract to Lockheed Martin to develop a preliminary design for a quiet demonstration passenger aircraft designed to fly faster than the speed of sound.
  • The piloted test aircraft would use so-called Quiet Supersonic Technology, or QueSST, to create a supersonic “heartbeat”.
  • Lockheed Martin will develop baseline aircraft requirements and a preliminary aircraft design, with specifications, and provide supporting documentation for concept formulation and planning.
  • The new design would also meet the requirements for reduction of pollution as it would optimize fuel consumption.
3) Delhi launches country`s first HPV vaccination programme to fight cervical cancer.
  • Delhi has become the first state in India to launch the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) – a common sexually transmitted infection.
  • Which causes cervical cancer – vaccination programme in schools to protect teenage girls against cervical cancer.Health Minister Satyendar launched this programme.
  • The vaccination programme will be completed in the current academic year 2015-16 over two phases.
  • In the first year, girls studying in Class VI in government schools will be targeted and in the next year girls between the age of 9 and 13 will be targeted.
About Human Papillomavirus (HPV) :
  1. HPV is a DNA virus from the papillomavirus family which is mainly a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that causes genital warts and cervical cancer.
  2. The infection can be prevented through routine screening and vaccines that are safe and effective.
4) WhatsApp will end support for BlackBerry, Windows, Symbian platforms.
  • Messaging service WhatsApp end its support by the end of 2016 to BlackBerry phones and those powered by Nokia`s Symbian operating system.
  • Facebook-owned WhatsApp, which is used by a billion people worldwide, will stop working on the named operating systems.
  • It further said mobile operating systems offered by Google, Apple and Microsoft, which account for 99.5 per cent of sales at present, were less than 25 per cent of mobile devices sold at the time.
  • This is a "tough decision" but the "right one" in order to give people better ways to keep in touch.
  • Blackberry itself has dropped BB10 in favour of Android and this move from WhatsApp just makes it clear that there is no life for BB10 devices.
5) Flipkart launches online wallet to take on rivals like Freecharge and PayTM.
  • Flipkart has silently launched its wallet Flipkart Money powered by payments firm FX Mart on its Android app.
  • The launch of Flipkart Money comes at a time when online wallet providers Paytm, Freecharge and MobiKwik are raking up millions of users, enticing them with cashbacks and discounts.
  • It aims to have a more organized method of payment and cutting significant costs related to handling cash on product returns.
  • Flipkart Money was launched on the company`s Android app, where users can hold a balance of 10000 rupees at a time.
  • Cash can be withdrawn from the wallet to the cards or the bank account.
  • Money is part of Flipkart Wallet, which includes the biggest seller on Flipkart, WS Retail Credit, gift cards and other bank cards saved on the online retailer`s platform. 
6) Drug combination slows breast cancer spread.
  • A new treatment for breast cancer has been hailed a “game changer” after it was found to slow the progression of aggressive breast cancer by nine months.
  • By combining an established hormone drug called fulvestrant with a new treatment called palbociclib.
  • Doctors found they could slow the cancer growth in around two thirds of women with advanced forms of the most common type of breast cancer, thereby delaying the need for chemotherapy.
  • Women who took the new combination of drugs saw the progression of their cancer slow by an average of 9.5 months, compared with 4.6 months in the placebo group.
  • A total of 67 per cent of women in the group taking palbociclib plus fulvestrant either saw a reduction in the size of tumour or control of disease for at least six months.
  • Delaying the need for chemotherapy would be a huge boost for cancer patients, as its toxic side effects can be highly destructive.
  • Not only does it lead to hair loss, but it also causes nausea, extreme fatigue, and cripples the body’s immune system. 
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7) ASEAN-Plus military drill begins in Pune.
  • Military personnel of adversarial world powers converged upon the Aundh Military Station in Pune to thrall spectators with the largest Multinational Field Training Exercise (FTX) ever conducted on Indian soil.
  • In this military exercise over 300 participants from 18 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Plus countries are participating.
  • ASEAN countries along with ASEAN Plus nations viz. India, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, China, South Korea, Russia and US.
  • 10 ASEAN countries from South East Asia are Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
  • Exercise Force Eighteen is the largest multinational ground forces exercise to be conducted on Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) and Peace Keeping Operations (PKO).
  • The exercise will allow the armies of these countries to develop a common understanding in handling any complex situation.
  • The exercise is part of a concerted attempt by India towards constructive joint efforts of ASEAN Plus militaries to enhance the peace and security of the region.
 
8) Scientists have developed the world’s first living, breathing supercomputer.
  • Researchers from the EU-funded ABACUS project have created a model biological supercomputer that is both sustainable and highly energy efficient.
  • The model bio-supercomputer is powered by adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the substance that provides energy to all of the cells in a human body.
  • It was developed by international team of researchers led by Prof. Nicolau, the Chair of the Department of Bioengineering at McGill, believe.
  • The circuit created by the researchers is around 1.5 cm square and instead of electrons being propelled by an electrical charge, as is the case with a traditional microchip, short strings of proteins (called `biological agents` by the project team) travel around the circuit in a controlled way.
  • The researchers recognize that there is still a lot of work ahead to move from the model they have created to a full-scale functional computer.
9) China plans mission to land a probe on Mars in 2021.
  • China plans to land a probe on Mars in 2021 to coincide with 100th anniversary of founding of the ruling-Communist party of China.
  • The probe is expected to reach Mars in 2021 after a flight of seven to ten months.
  • China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the main contractor of China’s space missions, the Mars exploration is among the 10 major orders and the country’s next-generation heavy lift rocket, has received so far.
  • Other orders include the Chang’e-5 lunar probe mission that is expected to bring back soil from the moon around 2017, and the much-anticipated space station’s core module that will be launched around 2020.
Background:
  1. In November 2015, China unveiled a model of its orbiter and landing rover at the China International Industry Fair in Shanghai.
  2. China’s earlier mission to send a probe to the Red Planet in a joint mission with Russia failed in 2011.
  3. So far, only the US, the former Soviet Union, the European Space Agency and India have successfully carried out Mars exploration missions. 
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10) Zika breakthrough as scientists detail how virus attacks foetal brain.
  • Scientists claimed that they had found the first evidence of a biological link between the deadly mosquito-borne disease and microcephaly, a birth defect in which the infants` brains fail to grow properly.
  • Working with lab-grown human stem cells, scientists found that the virus selectively infected cells forming the brain’s cortex, the thin outer layer of folded gray matter.
  • Its attack made those cells more likely to die and less likely to divide normally and make new brain cells.
  • The experts at Johns Hopkins, Florida State and Emory universities believe that while the breakthrough does not prove a definitive link between Zika and microcephaly.
  • Zika virus attacked the human neural progenitor cells. Within three days of exposure, 90 percent were infected, and nearly a third had died.
11) Indian scientists develop Dengue drug.
  • Scientists have claimed to have developed a herbal medicine against dengue.
  • Which accounts for 50 per cent of the global population estimated to be at risk from the disease.
  • The herbal dengue medicine was developed using alcoholic extract of Cissampelos pariera Linn (Cipa extract) derived from velvetleaf, a species of flowering plant.
  • The drug has proved to be potent inhibitor to all four types (strains) of dengue virus.
  • The project was undertaken jointly by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), under the Ministry of Science and Technology, the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology and Ranbaxy Research Laboratory, and employed Ayurveda in devising the drug.
  • Scientists are now seeking to hold clinical trials and toxicity studies of the drug after approval from Union Ministry of Ayush and Drug Controller of India (DCI) for commercial production.
 
12) MIT researchers make waste gas-to-liquid fuel technology breakthrough.
  • The MIT Researchers have turned the emissions of power stations, steel mills and garbage dumps into liquid fuels.
  • The process has been successfully trialled at a pilot plant in China and a much bigger facility is now planned.
  • Biofuels have been seen as possible replacement, but current biofuels compete with food production and have been blamed for driving up food prices.
  • Using waste gases to create low-carbon liquid fuels would be a major advance in the battle against global warming if they could be made at low cost and large scale.
  • The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) process uses bacteria to convert the waste gases into acetic acid – vinegar – then an engineered yeast to produce an oil.
13) Indo-Indonesia Joint Training Exercise Garuda Shakti IV begins.
  • The fourth edition of the India-Indonesia Joint Training Exercise Garuda Shakti has begun at Magelang in Indonesia.
  • Bilateral exercise aims at Building and promoting positive relations between the Armies of India and Indonesia.
  • And also Enhancing their abilities to undertake joint tactical level operations in a counter insurgency environment under United Nations Charter.
  • In the 4th edition of the joint exercise Indian Army platoon strength contingent will carry out cross training with a platoon from the Airborne battalion of the Indonesian Army.
  • The Indian Contingent has been trained for combat conditioning, firing, tactical operations, tactical skills and special heliborne operations training.
  • Selected Indian unit has had varied operational experience in Counter Insurgency and Counter Terrorist operations in the Northern, Western and Eastern theatres.
  • The exercise will be conducted as joint Counter Insurgency operations exercise in urban and rural scenario and various facets of tactical Counter Insurgency operations (CIO). 
14) Iran shows it`s deterent power by conducting ballistic missile test.
  • Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has successfully test-fired several ballistic missiles from silos across the country.
  • The test was intended "to show Iran`s deterrent power and also the Islamic Republic`s ability to confront any threat against the (Islamic) Revolution, the state and the sovereignty of the country.
  • With this Iran has breached United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions that compel it to refrain from any work on ballistic missiles for 8 years.
  • About Ballistic Missile:
  • It is a missile with a high, arching trajectory which is initially powered and guided but falls under gravity on to its target.
  • Most of its trajectory is unpowered and governed by gravity and air resistance if it is in the atmosphere. In contrasts, cruise missiles are aerodynamically guided in powered flight.