SYNTHETIC MEAT Subject : Science & tech Context : Microsoft Founder Bill Gates has stirred the internet once again, this time with his comment on synthetic meat. Concept : Cultured meat or Synthetic meat is a meat produced by in vitro cell culture of animal cells, instead of from slaughtered animals It is […]
MOSQUITO PROTEIN AEG12 Subject : Science & tech Context : Mosquito protein inhibits number of viruses, raises hope against Covid too. Concept : A mosquito protein, called AEG12, strongly inhibits the family of viruses that cause yellow fever, dengue, West Nile, and Zika, and also weakly inhibits coronaviruses, according to scientists at the […]
MARTIAN BLUEBERRIES Subject: Science & tech Context: Martian ‘blueberries’ find a parallel on Earth. Similar haematite concretions have been found in Kutch, Gujarat. Concept: In 2004, NASA’s Mars exploration rover ‘Opportunity’ found several small spheres on the planet, informally named Martian blueberries. Opportunity’s spectrometers studied the mineralogy and noted they were made of […]
ADENOVIRUS VACCINE Subject: Science & tech Context: Unlike the mRNA vaccine platform used by Pfizer and Moderna, where vaccine efficacy reached 94% and 95%, respectively, the vector-based vaccine platform technology used by AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson have shown lower efficacy. Concept: Adenovirus Vector Vaccine : In this vaccine, adenovirus is used as […]
EXTREME WET BULB TEMPERATURE Subject: Science & tech Context: A new study suggests that large swaths of the tropics will experience dangerous living and working conditions if global warming isn’t limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Concept: A study published Monday suggests that sharply cutting emissions of greenhouse gases to stay below that limit, […]
NOVAVAX VACCINE Subject : Science & tech Context : US-based Novavax on Friday announced a final efficacy figure of 96.4% for its vaccine against the original strain of the novel coronavirus, with an efficacy as high as 83.4% two weeks after the first shot itself, boosting the global fight against covid-19. Concept : […]
LIQUEFIED HYDROGEN FROM BROWN CARBON Subject : Science & tech Context : A Japanese-Australian venture has begun producing hydrogen from brown coal in a A$500 million ($390 million) pilot project that aims to show liquefied hydrogen can be produced commercially and exported safely overseas. Concept : Liquid hydrogen (LH2 or LH2) is the […]
2001 FO32 Subject : Science & tech Context : On March 21, the largest asteroid predicted to pass by Earth in 2021 will be at its closest. It is called 2001 FO32. Concept : It is a near-Earth asteroid classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group. With an estimated diameter […]
MAPPING INDIAN OCEAN GENOME Subject: Science & tech Context: Scientists from the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) in Panaji onboard its research vessel Sindhu Sadhana will spend the next three months traversing the course of over 10,000 nautical miles in the Indian Ocean on a research project to reveal the internal working of […]