Subject: Science and tech Context: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has envisaged launch of a Covid vaccine “Covaxin” for public health use latest by August 15. It sparked debate that whether it is possible to check efficacy and safety of vaccine in short time. Concept: Covaxin has been developed by the company Bharat Biotech […]
Subject: Science and tech Context: India has completed its 50% contribution to ITER in France Concept: ITER is one of the most ambitious energy projects in the world today. In southern France, 35 nations are collaborating to build the world’s largest tokamak, a magnetic fusion device that has been designed to prove the feasibility of […]
Subject: Science and tech Context: In UP, five people were killed and one injured after being struck by lightning in the state. Concept: Lightning is an electrostatic discharge that releases tremendous amount of energy, with the rapid movement of electrons converting air to super heated plasma. There are three categories of lightning intracloud (IC), which […]
Subject: Science and tech Context: Researchers in China have discovered a new strain of the influenza virus which they claim has the potential to turn into a pandemic. Concept: The scientists identified the virus through surveillance of influenza viruses in pigs that they carried out from 2011 to 2018 in ten provinces of China. They […]
Subject: Science and tech Context: Delhi is going to set up Plasma bank first-of-its-kind initiative in the entire country Concept: Similar to blood banks, where blood is extracted and stored for those who might be in need, the idea is to extract and store plasma from people who have recovered from Covid-19and give it to someone […]
Subject: Science and tech Context: Researchers have spotted a peculiar dragonfly, the Scarlet Skimmer (Crocothemisservilia), in the Puzhakkal area of the Kole wetlands in Thrissur with very rare biological phenomenon. Concept: Gynandromorphs (“gyne” from Greek meaning female, “andro” for male, and “morph” meaning variety) are individual animals that have both genetically male and female tissuesand often have observable male and female characteristics. They […]
Subject: Science and tech Concept: Sensitivity measures how often a test correctly generates a positive result for people who have the condition that’s being tested for (also known as the “true positive” rate). A test that’s highly sensitive will flag almost everyone who has the disease and not generate many false-negative results. Specificity measures a […]
Subject: Science and tech Concept: As part of the RECOVERY trial, a range of potential treatments is being tested in patients being admitted to the UK National Health Service (NHS) hospitals that are positive for COVID-19. Sponsored by Oxford University in England, the trial is assessing the effectiveness of different potential COVID-19 treatments on their ability to reduce […]
Subject: Science and tech Context: PatanjaliAyurved claimed ‘Coronil’ and ‘Swasari’ would cure COVID-19 in only seven days and claimed that a randomised controlled trial (RCT) among COVID-19 positive patients had proved favourable results. Concept: A randomised controlled trial is an experiment that is designed to isolate the influence that a certain intervention or variable has on […]
Subject: Science and tech Context: Though government is pushing to end TB by 2025, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a massive disruption in TB services Concept: Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis that most often affect the lungs. Tuberculosis is curable and preventable. TB is spread from person to person through the When […]