Subject: Science and tech Context: Plumes of water erupt from Europa and Enceladus which indicates that these bodies have subsurface oceans beneath their ice shells. Concept: Saturn’s moon Enceladus and Jupiter’s moon Europa may support life, because scientists have spotted water plumes bursting from their icy shells. A mathematical calculation by NASA scientists guesses that […]
Subject: Science and tech Context: Researchers have reported in The Lancet that Covid-19 patients with very high levels of cortisol in their blood are more likely to deteriorate quickly and die. Concept: Cortisol is a steroid hormone, one of the glucocorticoids, made in the cortex of the adrenal glandsand then released into the blood, which transports it all […]
Subject: Science and tech Context: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) approved the use of TrueNat machines, manufactured by a Goa-based company, for carrying out confirmatory tests for Covid-19 disease. Concept: The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, does not have a DNA, but an RNA molecule. The reverse transcription process (the RT in RT-PCR) converts the RNA […]
Subject: Science and tech Context: Prime minister has announced target to gasify 100 million tonnes (MT) of coal by 2030 which will be a big boost to coal gasification in India and fulfil vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ using clean coal technology. Concept: Coal gasification is the process of converting coal into synthesis gas (also called syngas), which is […]
Subject: Science and tech Context: An annular solar eclipse will occur on 21 June, 2020 Concept: A solar eclipse occurs on a new moon day when the Moon comes in between the Earth and the Sun and when all the three objects are aligned. An annular solar eclipse will occur when the angular diameter of […]
Subject: Science and tech Context: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) approved new kind of test for diagnosis of Covid-19 called rapid antigen detection test Concept: The test is done on swabbed nasal samples that detect antigens that are found on or within the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is a point-of-care test, performed outside the conventional laboratory setting, and […]
Subject: Science and tech Context: Dexamethasone became the first drug proved to improve survival from Covid-19 Concept: Researchers from UK found dexamethasone given either orally or through an IV, after 28 days reduced deaths by 35% in patients who needed treatment with breathing machines and by 20% in those only needing supplemental oxygen. It did […]
Subject: IR/Science and tech Context: China and Pakistan possess more nuclear weapons than India, according to a new yearbook released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Concept: Findings: The nine nuclear-armed states—the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) together […]