Daily Prelims Notes 15 May 2022

May 15, 2022
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Daily Prelims Notes

15 May 2022

Table Of Contents

Subject: Polity

Section: President

In News: The Supreme Court has reserved orders on the question whether a Governor can refer the State government’s advice for granting remission to life convicts to the President for a decision. The court is examining a petition from A.G. Perarivalan, one of the life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, questioning the delay in his release even after the Tamil Nadu government, in 2018, recommended the release of all seven convicts in the case under Article 161 of the Constitution.

Article161: Power of Governor to grant pardons, etc, and to suspend, remit or commute sentences in certain cases

The Governor of a State shall have the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence against any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the State extends

Article 72: Power of President to grant pardons, etc, and to suspend, remit or commute sentences in certain cases

The President shall have the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence
- in all cases where the punishment or sentence is by a court Martial;
- in all cases where the punishment or sentence is for an offence against any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the Union extends;
- in all cases where the sentence is a sentence of death

Scope of the pardoning power:

Both the President and the Governor have been vested with sovereign power of pardon by the Constitution, commonly referred to as mercy or clemency power.
It is also made clear that the President’s power will not in any way affect a Governor’s power to commute a death sentence.

Statutory powers

The Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) provides for remission of prison sentences, which means the whole or a part of the sentence may be canceled.
Under Section 432, the ‘appropriate government’ may suspend or remit a sentence, in whole or in part, with or without conditions. This power is available to State governments so that they may order the release of prisoners before they complete their prison terms.
Under Section 433, any sentence may be commuted to less one by the appropriate government.
However, Section 435 says that if the prisoner had been sentenced in a case investigated by the CBI, or any agency that probed the offence under a Central Act, the State government can order such release only in consultation with the Central government.
In the case of death sentences, the Central government may also concurrently exercise the same power as the State governments to remit or suspend the sentence.

Difference between Statutory and Constitutional powers:

Under the CrPC, the government acts by itself. Under Article 72 and Article 161, the respective governments advise the President/Governor to suspend, remit or commute sentences.

Important Cases:

In Maru Ram etc. vs Union of India (1980), the Supreme Court said: “Section 432 and Section 433 of the Code are not a manifestation of Articles 72 and 161 of the Constitution but a separate, though similar, power.”
This was also a landmark decision in that it declared that the President and Governor do not independently exercise their power when disposing of mercy petitions or pleas for remission or commutation, but only on the advice of the appropriate governments. This principle was reiterated in Kehar Singh (1988).

2. Gatishakti Sanchar Portal

Subject: Science & tech

Section: Computer related

Context- Minister of Communications, Electronics, and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw launched Gatishakti Sanchar Portal in New Delhi.

Concept-

GatiShakti Sanchar Portal” is a collaborative institutional mechanism between all stakeholders including Central and State/UT Government(s), Local bodies, and Service Providers to facilitate the Right of Way (RoW) Application Process through a single interface.
The portal has been developed by MP State Electronics Development Corporation on behalf of Department of Telecommunication.
This integrated and centralized portal will facilitate smooth deployment of digital communications infrastructure across the country.
This portal was envisaged to streamline the process and for faster clearance of Right of Way (RoW) with transparency, accountability, and effective monitoring of various digital-based projects,
This portal will help in the rollout of 5G network across the country.
Integration of various infrastructures on this portal will help get clearance of right-to-way applications within a span of 20 to 22 days.
This would provide a robust mechanism to achieve our goal of “Broadband to All” as envisaged in the National Digital Communication Policy-2018.

Features:

GatiShakti Sanchar Portal will enable applicants from Telecom Services Providers (TSPs), Infrastructure Providers (IPs), Internet Services Providers (ISPs) etc. to apply for RoW approvals for laying Optical Fiber Cables (OFC) and erecting Telecom infrastructures like Towers etc. to submit their applications to various agencies of State/UT Governments and local bodies.
To assist users, it has a dedicated 8×6 (Monday to Saturday) customer services call centre, which supports RoW applicants and other stakeholders.
Shortly, the GatiShakti Sanchar Portal will be integrated with Central ROW Portals of central Ministries/departments like M/o Defence; M/o Environment Forests and Climate Change; M/o Road Transport and Highways; M/o Railways; M/o Petroleum and Natural Gas; M/o Housing and Urban Affairs; Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways; M/o Civil Aviation; Department of posts.
For effective monitoring the dashboard of the portal gives pendency status – overall, State wise and district wise.

3. National Cyber Forensic Laboratory (NCFL)

Subject: Science & Tech

Section: Disease

Context- Union Home and Co-operation Minister, Amit Shah has formally inaugurated the National Cyber Forensic Laboratory (NCFL) in Hyderabad.

Concept-

He inaugurated the laboratory at the premises of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory located at Ramanthapur in the city.
NCFL-E (National Cyber Forensic Laboratory for Evidentiary purpose) at CFSL, Hyderabad has been created by upgrading the existing Digital Forensic Facility under the ‘Centre for Cybercrime Prevention against women and children’ (CCPWC) scheme of MHA, GoI.
NCFL-E (Digital Forensic Division) of CFSL, Hyderabad is one of the first laboratory Notified as EXAMINER OF ELECTRONIC EVIDENCE under Section 79A of Information Technology Act by MeitY.
The NCFL-E (Digital Forensic Division) of CFSL, Hyderabad has been declared as ‘Centre of Excellence’ (CoE) for Cyber Forensics’ by MHA, GoI
The NCFL has created 4 specialized Hi-tech units to address issues in the field of digital forensics, which include
- a Mobile phone embedded system examination unit,
- a Digital storage Media Examination Unit,
- an Advanced Digital Forensic Unit, and
- Crime Scene Unit.
It is Expected to fast-track cyber crime cases in India.
The NCFL-E (Digital Forensic Division) carries out the activities viz.
- HDD Forensics.
- Optical Media Forensics.
- Flash Media Forensics towards Computer Forensic Examination as well as
- Physical, File System and Logical lever Forensic Analysis of GSM, CDMA Mobiles.
- SIM Card Analysis towards Mobile Phone Forensic Examination.
- Damaged Media Examination.

4. Pullulan

Subject: Science & Tech

Section: Disease

Context- Scientists have developed a new biomaterial that can be used to disinfect wounds and hastens the process of healing.

Concept-

About the study:

The work is a collaboration between scientists from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi, IIT Delhi and National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) in Bhubaneswar.
The biomaterial is derived from the polymer pullulan which is secreted by the fungus Aureobasidium pullulans .
- It is an exopolysaccharide, that is, this polymer is secreted by the fungus itself into the medium on which it is growing.

About Pullulan:

Pullulan is basically a polymeric chain of glucose.
Pullulan is a polysaccharide polymer.
Pullulan is produced from starch by the fungus Aureobasidium pullulans.
Pullulan as a biomaterial is already successful and widely used commercially.
It is exploited in food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industry because of its non-toxic, non-mutagenic and non-immunogenic properties.
Pullulan is mainly used by the cell to resist desiccation and predation. The presence of this polysaccharide also facilitates diffusion of molecules both into and out of the cell.
As an edible, mostly tasteless polymer, the chief commercial use of pullulan is in the manufacture of edible films that are used in various breath freshener or oral hygiene products such as Listerine Cool Mint.
Pullulan can also used as a vegetarian substitute for drug capsules, rather than gelatine.
As a food additive, it is known by the E number E1204.

Biomaterial is defined as “a material intended to interface with biological systems to evaluate, treat, augment or replace any tissue, organ or function of the body” and biocompatibility has been defined as “the study and knowledge of the interactions between living and nonliving materials.

What are examples of biomaterials?

Biomaterials include metals, ceramics, glass, and polymers. These biomaterials can be found in things such as contact lenses, pacemakers, heart valves, orthopedic devices, and much more.

What are biomaterials used for?

Biomaterials may be natural or synthetic and are used in medical applications to support, enhance, or replace damaged tissue or a biological function. The first historical use of biomaterials dates to antiquity when ancient Egyptians used sutures made from animal sinew.

Hydrogels

A hydrogel is a three-dimensional (3D) network of hydrophilic polymers that can swell in water and hold a large amount of water while maintaining the structure due to the chemical or physical cross-linking of individual polymer chains.
A hydrogel is a crosslinked hydrophilic polymer that does not dissolve in water. They are highly absorbent yet maintain well-defined structures.
These properties underpin several applications, especially in the biomedical area. Many hydrogels are synthetic, but some are derived from nature.
Hydrogels have an inherent ability to accelerate wound healing by providing a closed and moist environment to the wounds for easy exchange of oxygen and act as an absorbent pad to remove the pus and debris.

5. Neurodegenerative Disorders

Subject: Science & Tech

Section: disease

Context- Researchers from IISc Bangalore have identified a protein in yeast cells that dissolve RNA Protein complexes also known as RNA granules.

Concept-

The cytoplasm of any cell consists of structures made of messenger RNA (mRNA) and proteins known as RNA granules, in general.
Unlike other structures in the cell (such as mitochondria), the RNA granules are not covered and conﬁned by a membrane.
This makes them highly dynamic in nature, thereby allowing them to constantly exchange components with the surrounding.
RNA granules are present in the cytoplasm at low numbers under normal conditions but increase in number and size under stressful conditions including diseases.(indicate neurological conditions)
A deﬁning feature of the RNA granule protein is the presence of stretches containing repeats of certain amino acids i.e. Repeats of arginine (R), glycine (G) and glycine (G)—known as RGG.

Protein synthesis:

Messenger RNAs are converted to proteins (building blocks of the cell) by the process of translation.
RNA granules determine messenger RNA (mRNA) fate by deciding when and how much protein would be produced from mRNA.
Protein synthesis is a multistep and energy expensive process.
RNA granules also help in the process of shutting down protein production.
- Some RNA granule types (such as Processing bodies or P bodies) not only regulate protein production but also accomplish degradation and elimination of the mRNAs, which in turn helps in reducing protein production.
In yeast cells, a protein sbp1 promotes the disintegration of RNA granules which can help in tackling neurodegenerative disorders, caused by RNA granules.

6. The blood groups of humans and primates

Subject: Science & tech

Section: Basic science

Context- Chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan have blood groups containing AB, A, B and O, just like humans- shows a study.

Concept-

About the study:

Analysis of the blood group markers of some Neandertals and Denisovans showed the presence of the ABO group, and some other markers that are used today in blood transfusion.
- Neanderthals and Denisovans are an extinct species of hominids that were the closest relatives to modern human beings.
Primates (chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan, gibbons) also have blood groups containing AB, A, B and O, just as we humans have.

Blood is a constantly circulating fluid providing the body with nutrition, oxygen, and waste removal. Blood is mostly liquid, with numerous cells and proteins suspended in it, making blood “thicker” than pure water. The average person has about 5 liters (more than a gallon) of blood.

Blood contains many types of cells: white blood cells (monocytes, lymphocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils, and macrophages), red blood cells (erythrocytes), and platelets.

Blood Types: There are 4 main blood groups (types of blood) – A, B, AB and O. Blood group is determined by the genes one inherits from parents. Each group can be either RhD positive or RhD negative, which means in total there are 8 blood groups.

Blood is made up of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets in a liquid called plasma. Blood group is identified by antibodies and antigens in the blood.

Antibodies are proteins found in plasma. They’re part of the body’s natural defences. They recognise foreign substances, such as germs, and alert the immune system, which destroys them.

Antigens are protein molecules found on the surface of red blood cells.

The ABO system: There are 4 main blood groups defined by the ABO system:

Blood group A (23%, In India) – has A antigens on the red blood cells with anti-B antibodies in the plasma
Blood group B (34%, In India) – has B antigens with anti-A antibodies in the plasma
Blood group O (35%, In India) – has no antigens, but both anti-A and anti-B antibodies in the plasma
Blood group AB (8%, In India) – has both A and B antigens, but no antibodies

Receiving blood from the wrong ABO group can be life-threatening. For example, if someone with group B blood is given group A blood, their anti-A antibodies will attack the group A cells. This is why group A blood must never be given to someone who has group B blood and vice versa.

As group O red blood cells do not have any A or B antigens, it can safely be given to any other group.

Blood Types:

The A, B, and O blood groups were first identified by Austrian immunologist Karl Landsteiner in 1901.
Under the ABO blood group system, blood group are classified into four common blood groups i.e. A, B, AB and O.
Each red blood cell has antigen over its surface, which helps determine which group it belongs to.
For instance, in the AB blood group, both antigens A and B are found. A will have A antigens; B will have B antigens. In O, there are no A or B antigens.
Blood types are determined by the presence (or absence) of certain antigens (molecules that can trigger an immune response), if they are foreign to the body of the recipient.
Thus, a matching of the blood type of the donor with that of the receiver is necessary.

The Rh system: Red blood cells sometimes have another antigen, a protein known as the RhD antigen. If this is present, the blood group is RhD positive. If it’s absent, the blood group is RhD negative. This means one can be 1 of 8 blood groups:

A RhD positive (A+)
A RhD negative (A-)
B RhD positive (B+)
B RhD negative (B-)
RhD positive (O+)
RhD negative (O-)
AB RhD positive (AB+)
AB RhD negative (AB-)

What are the rarest blood types?

AB negative is the rarest of the eight main blood types – just 1% of our donors have it.

O positive: 35%
O negative: 13%
A positive: 30%
A negative: 8%
B positive: 8%
B negative: 2%
AB positive: 2%
AB negative: 1%

What is the golden blood type?

Rhnull: One of the rarest blood types in the world is Rhnull, sometimes referred to as ‘golden blood‘. People with this blood type have a complete absence of any of the Rh antigens.

Blood bank where blood gathered by the donation from blood donors is saved and preserved for later use in blood transfusion at optimum temperature.

What is the difference between Neanderthal and Denisovan?

Neanderthals were very early (archaic) humans who lived in Europe and Western Asia from about 400,000 years ago until they became extinct about 40,000 years ago. Denisovans are another population of early humans who lived in Asia and were distantly related to Neanderthals.

The primates (chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan, gibbons) also have blood groups containing AB, A, B and O, just as we humans have.

About Primates:

Primates is a taxonomic order that includes a diversified group of animals such as Lemurs, Lorises, Tarsiers, Monkeys, Apes and Humans.

Apes and Humans:

Both are members of Superfamily Hominoidae and further divided into two families viz.,
- Hylobatidae (Gibbons) and
- Hominidae (Orangutans, African apes {gorilla and chimpanzee} and Human).
Gibbons:
- Also called lesser apes.
- They are excellent brachiators (suspensory climbing) and are monogamous.
Orangutans:
- Largest and rarest Asian apes.
- Usually walks by quadrupedal.
- Facing the danger of extinction.
African Apes:
- Gorilla – Largest Apes.
- As of 2011, only 786 gorillas in the world.
- Chimpanzees – More closely resemble humans than a gorilla.
- Quadrupedal knuckle walkers as a gorilla
- Intelligent animals with generally pleasant personalities.
- Their interactions can be quite noisy, violent, and sometimes fatal.
- Bonobos: Close relatives of chimpanzees.
- Sometimes referred to as pygmy chimpanzees.
Humans:
- Only living species – Homo sapiens.
- Shows sexual dimorphism similar to that of other apes.
- Humans and African apes have the same internal organs, same bones and some blood groups in common.
- Erect posture and bipedalism due to modified pelvic bone sand spinal column.
- Humans and chimpanzees share 96% similarities in DNA base-pair sequences.
- This shows that the two species had a common ancestor and got evolved into separated species 6-7 million years ago.

Stages of Evolution of Human:

Dryopithecus
Ramapithecus
Australopithecus
Homo
- Homo habilis
- Homo erectus
- Homo sapiens
  - Homo sapiens neanderthalensis
  - Homo sapiens sapiens

7. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

Subject: Science & Tech

Context- A team of Australian researchers have identified a biochemical marker in the blood that could help identify newborn babies at risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Concept-

About SIDS:

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the unexplained death, usually during sleep, of a seemingly healthy baby less than a year old.
SIDS is sometimes known as crib death because the infants often die in their cribs.
In their study, babies who died of SIDS had lower levels of an enzyme called butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) shortly after birth, the researchers said.
BChE plays a major role in the brain’s arousal pathway, and low levels would reduce a sleeping infant’s ability to wake up or respond to its environment.

What causes SIDS?

The exact cause of SIDS is unknown, but it’s thought to be down to a combination of factors.
A combination of physical and sleep environmental factors can make an infant more vulnerable to SIDS. These factors vary from child to child.
Physical factors:
- Brain defects: In many of the babies, the portion of the brain that controls breathing and arousal from sleep hasn’t matured enough to work properly.
- Low birth weight. Premature birth or being part of a multiple birth increases the likelihood that a baby’s brain hasn’t matured completely, so he or she has less control over such automatic processes as breathing and heart rate.
- Respiratory infection. Many infants who died of SIDS had recently had a cold, which might contribute to breathing problems.
Sleep environmental factors:
- The items in a baby’s crib and his or her sleeping position can combine with a baby’s physical problems to increase the risk of SIDS. Examples include:
  - Sleeping on the stomach or side.
  - Sleeping on a soft surface.
  - Sharing a bed with parents, siblings or pets.
  - Being too warm while sleeping can increase a baby’s risk of SIDS.
- Risk factors:
  - Sex. Boys are slightly more likely to die of SIDS.
  - Age. Infants are most vulnerable between the second and fourth months of life.
  - Race. For reasons that aren’t well-understood, nonwhite infants are more likely to develop SIDS.
  - Family history. Babies who’ve had siblings or cousins die of SIDS are at higher risk of SIDS.
  - Secondhand smoke. Babies who live with smokers have a higher risk of SIDS.
  - Being premature. Both being born early and having a low birth weight increase your baby’s chances of SIDS.
  - Maternal risk factors Including mother younger than 20, Smokes cigarettes, Uses drugs or alcohol; Has inadequate prenatal care.

8. The Milky Way’s Dark Centre

Subject: Science and Technology

Section: Space

Context: Sagittarius A* (SgrA*), this region is believed to host a supermassive black hole of about 4 million times the solar mass.

Concept:

The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy’s appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye.

The Event Horizon Telescope is an international collaboration capturing images of black holes using a virtual Earth-sized telescope.

The Event Horizon Telescope is not just a single telescope. It consists of a consortium of eight powerful telescope arrays around the world given below, which together made up a giant eye, the size of the Earth and 3 million times sharper than the human eye.

Atacama Large Millimetre/sub-millimetre Array,
Atacama Pathfinder Experiment,
IRAM 30-metre telescope,
James Clerk Maxwell telescope,
Large Millimetre Telescope Alfonso Serrano,
Submillimetre Array,
UArizona Submillimetre Telescope and
South Pole Telescope.

The image looks at the massive object that sits at the very centre of our galaxy. Scientists had previously seen stars orbiting around something invisible, compact, and very massive at the centre of the Milky Way. This strongly suggested that this object — known as Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*, pronounced “sadge-ay-star”) — is a black hole, and this image provides the first direct visual evidence of it.

What is this black hole?

A black hole is a location in space with a gravitational pull so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape it. A black hole’s outer edge, called its event horizon, defines the spherical boundary where the velocity needed to escape exceeds the speed of light. Matter and radiation fall in, but they can’t get out.

Black hole’s shadow

The gas moving around the black hole emits light, which takes a curved path around the black hole and this leaves a central dark portion, referred to as the “shadow” of the black hole. This effect happens because of the enormous gravity of the central region. Thus, this image is an attestation of Einstein’s General Relativity theory.

What is naked singularity?

A naked singularity is a hypothetical gravitational singularity without an event horizon. In a black hole, the singularity is completely enclosed by a boundary known as the event horizon, inside which the gravitational force of the singularity is so strong that light cannot escape.

What is a wormhole?

A wormhole is a speculative structure linking disparate points in spacetime, and is based on a special solution of the Einstein field equations. A wormhole can be visualized as a tunnel with two ends at separate points in spacetime.

How far is the event horizon from a black hole?

The size of a black hole is defined by its event horizon – a distance from the center of the black hole within which nothing can escape. Scientists had previously been able to calculate that Sagittarius A* is 16 million miles (26 million kilometers) in diameter.

What is the reason for using a Long Baseline interferometry (VLBI)?

VLBI is a powerful technique in radio astronomy. By linking together widely separated radio telescopes, VLBI allows astronomers to see the universe in more detail than ever.

What is Messier 87?

Messier 87 (also known as Virgo A or NGC 4486, generally abbreviated to M87) is a supergiant elliptical galaxy with several trillion stars in the constellation Virgo. One of the most massive galaxies in the local universe.