(Current Affairs) Science & Technology, Defence, Environment | April: 2015

Science & Technology, Defense, Environment

Country’s highest zoo attempts to save high altitude herbivores

  • The initiative taken by Darjeeling’s Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park (PNHZP) in conserving high altitude herbivores that have been on the path of extinction, has served to stem the rapid decline in their numbers.

  • Some of the animals that have been included in the conservation programme of PNHZP, the countries highest altitude zoo located at over 7,000 ft, are the Blue Sheep, the Himalayan Tahr, the Himalayan Goral and the Markhor.

  • All the four herbivores have been placed in the Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which denotes that the species are ‘threatened’. The conservation of these animals is also crucial for the Himalayan ecosystem.

  • “All the four herbivores are the main prey of the much endangered Snow leopard. A decrease in their numbers will naturally affect the existence of the elusive mountain cat,” Upashna Rai, the biologist in the PNHZP told.

  • Conserving these herbivores serves the dual purpose of protecting the snow leopard as well. The PNHZP is also involved in the global conservation and breeding programme of the snow leopard.

  • The Darjeeling Zoo has taken the initiative of breeding these high altitude herbivores and is also involving the other high altitude zoos in breeding and conservation of the species.

  • It has provided to each of the main zoos of Sikkim and Nainital one pair of the Blue Sheep and the Himalayan Goral as a part of an exchange programme.

4th navigation satellite launch in March 2015

  • The fourth navigation satellite of the country is getting ready for launch in March, and it will be another step forward for India in evolving its own navigation satellite system and not depend on the Geographical Positioning System (GPS) service of the U.S.

  • Cryogenic propulsion systems on board PSLV-C27 rocket that will launch the satellite are being developed by scientists of the ISRO Propulsion Complex at Mahendragiri in Tirunelveli district.

  • S. Ingersol, group director of the complex, told, “Totally, seven satellites are required to be launched to complete the configuration under the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) and already three had been launched.

  • Dr. Ingersol said launch of the remaining four satellites would be completed in one year and after that India’s dependency on the U.S. for GPS service would be significantly reduced. “This will trigger the much-needed development in geographic information systems.”

  • The Mahendragiri complex was developing the second and fourth liquid stages needed for the launch vehicle. “Advance research by ISRO scientists has made India go for launching heavier satellites of three to four tonnes from our own soil,” he said.

TB rate going down, but not fast enough to meet WHO target

  • India is unlikely to reach the WHO target of elimination of tuberculosis (TB) by 2050 going by the rate at which incidence of the disease is declining in the country.

  • “Incidence of TB in India is declining at the rate of about 2 per cent per year. However, in order to reach the TB elimination target by 2050, the rate should be 19 to 20 per cent per year,” WHO Representative to India Nata Menabde told.

  • She, however, said that on using available strategies and technologies effectively, along with universal health coverage and social protection, the country could achieve a reduction of TB incidence rate of 10 per cent per year by 2025.

  • “To hasten the decline of TB incidence beyond that would require new tools such as new effective vaccines, new points of care, effective diagnostics and new effective shortened treatment regimens,” she suggested.

  • Additionally, social determinants of TB such as under-nutrition, overcrowding and poor ventilation in slums and clinical risk factors such as diabetes mellitus, smoking etc should be addressed simultaneously, she added.

  • Citing the WHO Global TB Report 2014, Ms. Menabde said that India has already met the Million Development Goals (MDG) target of 50 per cent reduction in the prevalence of TB by 2015 compared to 1990. “India is also well on track for reducing TB death by 50 per cent by 2015,” she stated.

  • Ms. Menabde, however, said there was a need to improve the quality of care provided to TB patients at private clinics and hospitals as most approached such facilities for treatment, especially in urban areas.

  • “At least one-half of the TB patients in India, especially in urban areas, approach private sector for TB care. But the quality of care in the private sector in most situations is not satisfactory.

  • “There is a need for wider dissemination of ‘standards for TB care’ to the private sector, targeted approaches to engagement with them and more stringent implementation of mandatory notification of TB cases.

Deficient southwest monsoon hits Rabi sowing

  • A delayed and deficient southwest monsoon has shrunk rabi sowing from last year’s level. If sowing was taken up on 597.15 lakh hectares of land last year, the figure this time was 566.18 lakh hectares.

  • What is worrisome is the gap of 30.97 lakh hectares between the areas sown in the previous week and its corresponding week last year, higher than the deficit of 26.82 lakh hectares when making such a comparison for the week earlier.

  • The southwest monsoon was 12 per cent lower than the long period average in the country and 21 per cent in northwest India, hitting kharif crop production by 2-3 per cent. The rain deficit is affecting rabi sowing now.

  • A meeting in the Agriculture Ministry to review the crop and weather situation noted that wheat has been sown in 4.92 lakh hectares less this year because of lower moisture in the soil. Although the area under wheat will be made up in the next few weeks, the harvest will depend on the weather conditions.

  • Of particular concern is the lower acreage of pulses. The area under gram is lower this year by 14.8 lakh hectares from last year’s because of the lower minimum support price. Farmers have turned away from sowing gram as the price is low, sources said.

  • The area under coarse cereals is lower by 4.57 lakh hectares mainly because of reduced sowing of maize and jowar in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.

Almonds could Reduce belly fat, Study Found

  • Snacking on almonds instead of carbs could reduce belly fat and lower the risk of heart disease, a new study has claimed.

  • The study found that a daily snack of 1.5 ounces of almonds instead of a high-carbohydrate muffin, eaten as part of an overall healthy diet, improved a number of heart disease risk factors in study participants.

  • In addition to significantly improving LDL and total cholesterol, snacking on almonds instead of muffins also reduced central adiposity (belly fat), a well-established heart disease risk factor.

  • Reducing abdominal fat is particularly beneficial given its connection to metabolic syndrome and increased risk for heart disease. The twelve-week, randomised, controlled clinical study, led by researchers at Penn State University, was conducted in 52 overweight, middle-aged adults who had high total and LDL cholesterol but were otherwise healthy.

  • Participants ate cholesterol-lowering diets that were identical except that one group was given a daily snack of 1.5 ounces (42g) of whole natural almonds, while the other group was given a banana muffin that provided the same number of calories.

  • Participants were provided all meals and snacks in amounts based on their calorie needs to maintain body weight, and followed each diet for six weeks. The diet containing the almond snack, compared to the muffin snack, decreased total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol non-HDL-cholesterol and remnant lipoproteins.

  • In addition, the diet with the muffin snack reduced HDL (good) cholesterol more than the almond diet. Despite no differences in body weight or total fat mass, the almond diet significantly reduced abdominal fat mass, waist circumference and leg fat mass compared to the diet with the muffin snack.

Common factors in divergent habitats of migratory birds, Studies found

  • To understand the diverse habitats of migratory birds and make comparison studies, the bird watchers’ team of Nature Society of Tirupur, that has been studying the arrival-departure patterns of such species in western region, travelled across the State where migratory birds flock in large numbers.

  • The assessment helped find the common factors that prompt certain bird species to visit areas such as Nanjarayan tank in Tirupur and the coastal lines of the State, though outwardly it looks as a divergent environment.

  • Disclosing the patterns of migrations and common factors that make respective species to seek abodes in different parts of the State, K. Ravindran, secretary of the Society, told that many of the species that flock the Nanjarayan irrigation tank area in Tirupur and its hinterland were also seen in coastal areas of the State, especially in Nagapattinam district.

  • The team found species like the Sandpipers, which come from Western Europe, the Northern Pintails, that migrates from Northern Europe and North America, and the Black-tailed Godwits, a bird species coming from Iceland area in Europe, among few others, which comes to western region of the State during winter season, in coastal areas too with some of them even noticed in smaller numbers around irrigation tanks in sanctuaries like Koonthankulam near Tirunelveli.

Indian vaccine Meningitis will protect infants

  • A meningitis A vaccine (MenAfriVac) manufactured by Serum Institute of India, Pune was approved by WHO a few days ago for use in infants in sub-Saharan African populations. The vaccine will be introduced as part of the routine immunisation programme.

  • “In the four years since its introduction in Africa, MenAfriVac has had an immediate and dramatic impact in breaking the cycle of meningitis A epidemics,” a WHO release said. The vaccine has already been used in those aged 1-29 years.

  • But with the WHO’s approval, the vaccine can be given to infants thereby “protecting million more children at risk of the deadly disease.” About 200,000 people suffer from meningitis every year in the region.

  • The disease kills 20,000 to 25,000 people in the region every year. “Like in the case of measles, not many meningitis cases are seen in children younger than one year,” said Dr. Suresh Jadhav, Executive Director of Serum Institute.

  • “A mother, who has had meningitis, transmits the meningitis antibodies to newborns and these antibodies protect them for one year.”

  • Every individual living in the meningitis belt (which stretches from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east) gets infected with meningitis before the age of 29 years and hence mothers invariably carry antibodies against the disease.

  • The WHO has approved the use of a 5 microgram dose of the vaccine for children, which will be administered when theyare nine months old.

  • Immunisation at nine months will help achieve sustainable disease control following mass campaigns that target people belonging to the 1-29 age group.

  • Explaining the rationale for choosing to immunise at ninth month, Dr. Jadhav said: “It’s one opportunity to treat both measles and meningitis,” he said. Measles vaccination is also given to children at nine months of age.

  • A booster dose will be given when the child is 12-18 months old. According to Dr. Jadhav, the first meningitis dose will protect a child for five years and a booster dose will confer lifelong protection.

  • Though a single campaign has been carried outto cover a large population in 15 countries, those born after the campaign have not received the MenAfriVac vaccine and are hence vulnerable to meningitis infection. But with the introduction of the vaccine as part of the immunisation schedule, these children will also be protected.

New dolphin-like creature identified near Scotland: scientists

  • A new dolphin-like species that lived around 170 million years ago has been identified from fossils found on the Isle of Skye off Scotland.
  • The 14-feet long marine creature has been named Dearcmhara shawcrossi in honour of an amateur enthusiast, Brian Shawcross, who recovered the creature’s fossils from the island’s Bearreraig Bay in 1959.
  • It is a member of a group called ichthyosaurs that were among the dominant marine reptiles when dinosaurs ruled the land. “The dolphin-like creatures were as long as 14 feet from snout to tail, and inhabited warm, shallow seas around Scotland during the Jurassic Period,” Scientist reported.
  • Dearcmhara, a moderate-sized ichthyosaur, swam in warm, shallow seas during the Jurassic Period, preyed on fish and other reptiles.

Playing music benefits the brain: research

  • More than a decade ago, there was great buzz in the press and media on something that was tantalizingly referred to as “The Mozart Effect”. Some researchers claimed that school students performed better in tests as they were listening to music by the great European classical music composer Mozart.

  • Compared to them, another set of students (control group, same age, same background and so forth) who took the same tests, but with no Mozart in the background, did less well.

  • This news spread like wildfire and parents began playing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to their children with the hope of elevating their performance, and hopefully IQ values as well.

  • Several questions were raised about this Mozart effect, both in the professional and popular press. Is it reproducible (not always, low sample size)? Does listening to music only calm the mind and focus it to the task on hand? Why Mozart, why not Beethoven, Bach or Beatles? Why only western music, and not Carnatic, Hindustani, Japanese or even soothing chants? Is the effect temporary or long-lasting? Do lullabies make infants smarter, besides sleep-inducing?

  • Many of these questions were attempted to be answered by a variety of experiments — amateur and professional — and the overall consensus appears to be that music is good for you, but as far as the Mozart Effect goes, the jury is still out.

  • A more scientifically challenging question here is whether music makes noticeable change in your cognitive abilities, and affect and alter the brain in perceptible ways.

  • Is listening to music as a passive recipient sufficient, or should one actively engage in music — singing solo or in groups, playing an instrument, and improvising more effectively? Note that in the latter case, you are actually exerting and exercising your brain. In other words, listening to Mozart, or to play Mozart — which would be a better or true “Mozart Effect”?

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