Daily Prelims Notes 8 December 2021

December 8, 2021
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

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DAILY PRELIMS NOTES

8 December 2021

Table of Contents

1. NASA’s new communications system LCRD

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – NASA launched its new Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD)

Concept –

NASA launched its new Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) — the agency’s first-ever laser communications system.
The LCRD will help the agency test optical communication in space.
Currently, most NASA spacecraft use radio frequency communications to send data. Optical communications will help increase the bandwidth 10 to 100 times more than radio frequency systems.
The LCRD payload is hosted onboard the US Department of Defense’s Space Test Program Satellite 6 (STPSat-6).
It will be in a geosynchronous orbit, over 35,000km above Earth.

Laser VS radio

Laser communications and radio waves use different wavelengths of light.
Laser uses infrared light and has a shorter wavelength than radio waves. This will help the transmission of more data in a short time.

Advantages of optical communications

Optical communications systems are smaller in size, weight, and require less power compared with radio instruments.
A smaller size means more room for science instruments.
Less weight means a less expensive launch.
Less power means less drain on the spacecraft’s batteries.
With optical communications supplementing radio, missions will have unparalleled communications capabilities.

2. Kasturirangan Committee on Western Ghats

Subject – Environment

Context – Karnataka Chief Minister informed the Centre that the state is opposed to the Kasturirangan Committee report on Western Ghats.

Concept –

Recommendations of the Kasturirangan committee report

The Kasturirangan committee report proposes 37 per cent of the total area of Western Ghats, which is roughly 60,000 square kilometres, to be declared as eco-sensitive area (ESA).
- The state of Karnataka has the highest percentage of the ESA- 46.50 per cent.
The report recommended a blanket ban on mining, quarrying, setting up of red category industries and thermal power projects.
It also stated that the impact of infrastructural projects on the forest and wildlife should be studied before permission is given for these activities.
It also stated that the UNESCO Heritage tag is an opportunity to build global and domestic recognition of the enormous natural wealth that exists in the Western Ghats.
- The 39 sites are located across the Western Ghats and distributed across the states (Kerala 19), Karnataka (10), Tamil Nadu (6) and Maharashtra (4).

3. Micro Labs for Genomic Sequencing

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – CSIR-IGIB and FIND plan to set up micro labs for genomic sequencing

Concept –

With the aim of taking genome sequencing to hard-to-reach locations and reducing the time to get results from these tests, CSIRInstitute of Genomics and Integrated Biology has partnered with FIND, a global alliance for diagnostics.
The concept is to decentralise genomic sequencing of SARSCoV-2 through micro labs located closer to where the RT-PCR testing takes place.
At present, test samples are sent to centralised labs at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s IGIB or others belonging to INSACOG – the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium – where they are run on high-throughput machines that require adequate samples to be run.
The micro lab will be housed in a redesigned shipping container and the genome sequencing involves the more nimble Oxford Nanopore technology.
FIND will support and finance this initiative, for possibly a year. The global alliance is a co-convener of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator – diagnostics pillar, and a World Health Organization collaborating centre for laboratory strengthening and diagnostic technology evaluation
This will advance a ‘hub-and-spoke’ model of genomic surveillance comprising both MegaLabs (high-throughput sequencing) and MicroLabs (high-priority sequencing).

4. Green-Ag project

Subject – Agriculture

Context – The switch to chemical-based farming and other faulty agricultural practices have imperilled Odisha’s Similipal biosphere reserve.

Concept –

The continuous exposure to faulty agricultural practices has garnered policymakers’ attention, and Similipal is among the five landscapes chosen for the Food and Agricultural Organisation’s Green-Ag project which was announced in 2018 and launched in Similipal in October 2021.
Funded by Global Environment Facility for six years, the project primarily aims to transform agricultural practices while ensuring conservation of biodiversity and forest landscapes.
The other four regions include Chambal in Madhya Pradesh, Dampa in Mizoram, desert areas in Jaisalmer and Barmer in Rajasthan and Corbett-Rajaji Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand.
Organic farming and agrobiodiversity conservation are among a portfolio of nature-based solutions proposed in the Green-Ag project.
The Green-Ag project is looking to build a multi-sectoral approach to develop synergy between the agriculture and allied areas with forest and environment, at the national, state and the district level.
Key missions that will be targeted for strengthening include the National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture; National Livestock Mission; National Food Security Mission; National Initiative on Climate-resilient Agriculture, National Mission for Horticulture and Rashtriya KrishiVikasYojana.

5. EU Regulators give Approval to Mix Vaccines

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – European Union regulators endorsed the mixing two different Covid shots for initial vaccine schedules and boosters

Concept –

European Union regulators endorsed the mixing two different Covid shots for initial vaccine schedules and boosters, saying hybrid approaches can increase governments’ flexibility in responding to the new omicron variant.
Combining viral vector vaccines such as AstraZeneca with mRNA jabs such as Pfizer generates a good level of antibodies against Covid and a higher T-cell response, another part of a person’s immune defense, compared to giving doses of the same shot, according to data analysed by the European Medicines Agency and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
Mix-and-match shot combinations are already used in a number of countries, including in the UK’s booster program, and can provide countries with flexibility when managing vaccine stockpiles and shortages as the new variant spreads.

6. US-Mexico Border

Subject – IR

Context – The Biden administration on Monday reinstated a Trump-era policy to make asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for hearings in US immigration court

Concept –

7. Employment vs Unemployment Rate

Subject – Economy

Context – Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister stated that the unemployment rate in the state was more than 17 per cent in the year 2016 and had now come down to four to five per cent.

Concept –

The Labour Force consists of persons who are of 15 years of age or more and are either of the following two categories:
- are employed
- are unemployed and are willing to work and are actively looking for a job
In other words, the Labour Force Participation Rate (or LFPR)essentially provides the percentage of the working-age (15 years or more) population that is asking for a job;
- It represents the “demand” for jobs in an economy.
- It includes those who are employed and those who are unemployed.
The Unemployment Rate (UER) is nothing but the number of unemployed as a proportion of the labour force.
The Employment Rate (ER) is a combination of the UER and the LFPR. The ER refers to the number of employed people as a percentage of the working-age population.
Lower employment rates do not signal lots of new jobs, rather fewer people demanding them.
LFPR in India is much lower than in other large economies. Often a fall in UER is a reflection of a fall in LFPR. Alow LFPR reflects poorly on the state of the economy.

8. Hydrogen sulphide suppresses HIV

Subject – Science and Tech

Context– Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) and their collaborators have identified a key role played by hydrogen sulphide (H2S) gas in suppressing the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)

Concept –

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) and their collaborators have identified a key role played by hydrogen sulphide (H2S) gas in suppressing the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
Increased H2S was found to have a direct effect on reducing the rate at which the virus multiplies in HIV-infected human immune cells.
Current state-of-the-art combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) is not a cure for HIV. It can only suppress the virus by causing it to become latent.

About Hydrogen sulphide

Hydrogen sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula H2S.
It is a colorless chalcogen hydride gas with the characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs. It is poisonous, corrosive, and flammable.
Hydrogen sulfide is often produced from the microbial breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen, such as in swamps and sewers; this process is commonly known as anaerobic digestion which is done by sulfate-reducing microorganisms.
H2S also occurs in volcanic gases, natural gas, and in some sources of well water.
The human body produces small amounts of H2S and uses it as a signaling molecule.
When high amounts of this chemical are found in the human body, damage to organs can occur with symptoms ranging from breathing difficulties to convulsions and even death.
Hydrogen sulfide is slightly denser than air. A mixture of H2S and air can be explosive.
Hydrogen sulfide burns in oxygen with a blue flame to form sulfur dioxide (SO2) and water.
In general, hydrogen sulfide acts as a reducing agent.
Hydrogen sulfide is slightly soluble in water and acts as a weak acid.
Hydrogen sulfide reacts with metal ions to form metal sulfides, which are insoluble, often dark colored solids.