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Agrahari]
GS-III Module
Science & Technology
Prelims-cum-Mains-2016
Current Affairs
VOLUME 4
(January 2016)
By
As part of Make in India initiative, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has
decided to open a 100 acre Space Park in Bangalore where private industries would be
allowed to take up manufacturing of space system related components.
The Space Park spread in 100 acres of Whitefield area is expected to cater to increasing
demand for components and other parts for satellites as India aims to launch more
satellites for various observational services in future. India plans to launch 12 satellites
in 2016 for remote sensing and navigation
M.Annadurai (ISRO satellite centre director) said that the Space Park will also
contribute to the governments Make in India initiative as the private industry and HAL
(Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd) have been helping us in making rockets and satellites over
the years.
Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working2as a scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of
Department of Science & Technology (GOI)
India will be the first country to have a high altitude polar landing of Chandrayaan 2
and it will have three components orbiter, Lander and rover to study the lunar
surface. The mission is scheduled to be launched 2017-18.
Chandrayaan 2 has a capability to soft land at a specified lunar site and carries in-situ
chemical analysis of the lunar surface and will have Orbiter Craft and Lander craft.
The precise periods of pulsars make them useful tools. Observations of a pulsar in a
binary neutron star system were used to indirectly confirm the existence of gravitational
radiation. The first extra solar planets were discovered around a pulsar, PSR B1257+12.
Certain types of pulsars rival atomic clocks in their accuracy in keeping time.
Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working3as a scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of
Department of Science & Technology (GOI)
Scientists latest research: Scientists have discovered the most energetic light ever detected in the universe
from the centre of a supernova known as Crab pulsar which is situated 6,500
light years away from Earth.
Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working4as a scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of
Department of Science & Technology (GOI)
As originally conceived, the Nag would have been available with three different types of
guidance, a wire guided version, an infra-red version and a mill metric wave (mmw)
active radar homing version. DRDO failed to develop a wire guidance system leading to
plans for this being dropped. Currently, guidance is based on an imaging infrared (IIR)
Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working5as a scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of
Department of Science & Technology (GOI)
The mmW seeker, on the other hand, is intended to operate as an optional system that
can replace the IIR passive seeker as a module. Also incorporated into the guidance
system, is a CCD camera. The advantage of this optical seeker is that it is less prone to
jamming. The missile has a weight of 42 kg and can engage targets at ranges 45 km.
The Nag is claimed to be first anti-tank missile which has a complete fiberglass
structure.
The Nag has a flight speed of 230 meters per second, is armed with an 8 kg tandem
shaped-charge warhead, has a rocket motor using nitramine-based smokeless extruded
double base sustainer propellant, has a single-shot hit probability of 0.77 and a CEP of
0.9 meters, and has a 10-year maintenance-free shelf-life. it was tested from Shamirpet
in Hyderabad on 13 June 2010.
The missile tested during the summer in Rajasthan failed to achieve its objective of
hitting the target at the intended 4 km range. The scientists found the fault with the
heat seeker unable to distinguish the heat signature of the target and the surrounding
during extreme temperate at great distance. This led to the development of a better
seeker with higher resolution and sensitivity by Research Centre Imarat (RCI) that can
track and distinguish targets at long distances .The first seeker trials were carried out on
29 July 2013 in the hot desert conditions in Rajasthan. The evaluation trials carried out
in September/August 2013 with the improved seeker provided fairly accurate results.
The actual trials are expected to begin in early 2014. In Jan 2016 successfully hit the
target 4 km away during a night trial in the Mahajan Field Firing Range.
Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working6as a scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of
Department of Science & Technology (GOI)
Indian army: 450 Nag missiles along with 13 NaMiCA (Nag Missile carriers) carriers
were to be inducted into the Army's arsenal by 2011 with the successful completion of
final validation trials in Rajasthan; however, this may now take some more time after
the missile's failure in the user validation trials. The Army also projected in their
perspective plan the need for 7000 Nag missiles and around 200 NAMICAs.
4. Write a short note on WIPO and critically analyses the IPR policy of India.
Ans. WIPO was established in 1967 by the WIPO Convention, which states that WIPOs
objective was to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the
world (WIPO, 1967, Article 3) Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
WIPO currently administers 24 treaties and facilitates the negotiation of several
proposed treaties covering copyrights, patents and trademarks.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the United Nations specialized
agency that coordinates international treaties regarding intellectual property rights. Its
184 member states comprise over 90% of the countries of the world, who participate in
WIPO to negotiate treaties and set policy on intellectual property matters such as
patents, copyrights and trademarks.
WIPO should become IPR agnostic and not insist on blindly promoting intellectual
property rights out of a simple belief that more is better. WIPO should explore new
models of rewarding creativity and promote whatever models encourage the creation
and dissemination of knowledge and culture. Traditional business models that rely upon
copyrights and patents are not the only means of promoting creativity and rewarding
innovation. New viral distribution marketing channels take advantage of the benefits of
digital technology and work by spreading information, as opposed to preventing access
Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working7as a scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of
Department of Science & Technology (GOI)
Critically analyses the IPR policy of India:Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) refers to rights provided to individuals or organizations
pertaining to specific innovation or Invention in products or processes for a certain
period of time. They exist in the form of patents, trademarks, Geographical Indicators
(GIs), copyrights, etc. IPR intends to spur and incentivize creativity and innovation and
facilitate access to knowledge in order to achieve social and economic welfare. In 1994,
member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) signed the Trade-Related
Aspects of Intellectual
Property Rights (TRIPS), which established the global standards for IPRs. India has the
Patents Act, 1970 under which the patent system operates in the country and the
Indian Copyright Act, 1957. As a signatory to the TRIPS agreement, India introduced the
Patent Amendment Act of 2005, which signaled a shift from process patents to product
patents; to make the act TRIPS compliant. India has based its patent law on the twin
principles of encouraging protection of IPR and safeguarding public interest through a
pro-public health and pro-access stance. However, in light of the recent patent
judgments passed in notable cases such as the one surrounding Compulsory Licensing
(CL) in Bayer vs. NATCO, or the decision to not grant patent protection to Glivec (a
cancer drug manufactured by Novartis since it failed to meet the stipulated novelty
requirements), there is an increased debate over the countrys IPR policy and laws.
India on the Global Innovation and IPR Scale :Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working8as a scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of
Department of Science & Technology (GOI)
The policy draft seeks to draw a correlation between a strong IP protection framework
and increased foreign investment in manufacturing in the country under the Make in
India program; however it does not present any empirical evidence supporting the
same or raise a point over whether IP protection in itself guarantees more foreign
investment. On the contrary, it is extremely hard to provide any empirical evidence. In
the US, while the number of patents has increased from 59,715 patents in 1983 to
244,341 in 2010, annual growth in the total factor productivity reduced from 1.2% in
1970- 79 to below 1% in 2000-09 and the annual expenditure on R&D has oscillated in a
band of 2.5% of the GDP for over three decades
5. Trace out the breakout of Ebola epidemics and how we are trying to fight it.
Ans. An observational study done roughly 29 months after the outbreak on survivors of
the 2007 Bundibugyo Ebola virus outbreak in Uganda found that long-term sequelae
(consequences) persisted for more than two years after Ebola virus disease. Symptoms
included eye pain, blurred vision, hearing loss, difficulty swallowing, difficulty sleeping,
arthralgias, memory loss or confusion, and "various constitutional symptoms controlling
Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working9as a scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of
Department of Science & Technology (GOI)
From August through December 2014, a total of 10 patients with Ebola were treated in
U.S. hospitals; of these patients, 8 survived. In March 2015, the U.S. CDC interviewed
the survivors; they all reported having had at least one adverse symptom during their
recovery period. The symptoms ranged from mild (for instance hair loss) to more severe
complications requiring rehospitalization or treatment. The most frequently reported
symptoms were lethargy or fatigue, joint pain, and hair loss. Sixty-three percent
reported having eye problems including two who were diagnosed with verities, 75%
reported psychological or cognitive symptoms, and 38% reported neural difficulties.
Although most symptoms resolved or improved over time, only one survivor reported
complete resolution of all symptoms.
A study published in May 2015 discussed the case of Ian Crozier, a Zimbabwe-born
physician and American citizen who became infected with Ebola while he was working
at an Ebola treatment center in Sierra Leone. He was transported to the US and was
successfully treated at Emory University Hospital. However, after discharge Crozier
began to experience symptoms including low back pain, bilateral enthesitis of the
Achilles tendon, paresthesias involving his lower legs, and eye pain, which was
diagnosed as uveitis. His eye condition worsened and a specimen of aqueous humor
was obtained from his eye which tested positive for Ebola. The authors of the study
concluded "Further studies to investigate the mechanisms responsible for the ocular
persistence of Ebola and the possible presence of the virus in other immune-privileged
sites (e.g., in the central nervous system, gonads, and articular cartilage) are
warranted." The authors also noted that 40% of participants in a survey of 85 Ebola
Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working10as a scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of
Department of Science & Technology (GOI)
Another study which was released in August 2015 looked at the health difficulties that
have been reported by survivors. Calling the set of symptoms "post-Ebola virus disease
syndrome (PEVDS)", the research found symptoms which included "chronic joint and
muscle pain, fatigue, anorexia, hearing loss, blurred vision, headache, sleep
disturbances, low mood and short-term memory problems." The research suggests that
"implementation of specialized health services to treat and follow-up survivors" is
needed.
In early December, the WHO reported that at a national level there were a sufficient
number of beds in treatment facilities to treat and isolate all reported Ebola cases,
although the uneven distribution of cases was resulting in serious shortfalls in some
areas. Similarly, all affected countries had sufficient and widespread capacity to bury all
reported deaths; however, because not all deaths are reported, it was possible that
some areas still had insufficient burial capacity. They reported that every district now
had access to a laboratory to confirm cases of Ebola within 24 hours from sample
collection, and that all three countries had reported that more than 80% of registered
contacts associated with known cases of EVD were being traced, although contact
tracing was still a challenge in areas of intense transmission and in areas of community
resistance.
become an eminent and serious concern in the field of healthcare and medicine.
Decrease in new antibiotic research permitted a rise in bacterial drug resistance.
Antibiotic resistant bacteria have been found in the initial stages of antibiotic use, but
over the time, they have become resistant to more than one antibiotic, termed as
multidrug resistant organisms (also called superbugs). Bacteria now are frequently
resistant to many if not all of the antibiotics. Inappropriate use and misuse of antibiotics
are significant factors for the increase in antibiotic resistant bacteria and thus evoked
counter attack. Hence, we are now experiencing a rapid increase in the number of
alternative approaches to combat these antibiotic resistant bacteria.
Antibiotic Resistance and its Current Aspects: Antibiotic resistance has become a major
concern in the present-day world. Most of the antibiotic resistant bacteria may have
Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working12as a scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of
Department of Science & Technology (GOI)
exhibit
broad-spectrum
activity.
number
of
next-generation
New and Alternative Approaches: Prevention is (always) better than cure. Avoiding
infections will reduce the use of antibiotics, further inhibiting the incidence of resistance
development in bacteria. A closer look at antibiotic resistant infections and the causes
and analyzing them will help the scientific community to develop new and specific
strategies to prevent them. Avoiding inappropriate use and misuse of antibiotics would
slow down the spread of resistant bacteria. As bacteria always evolve and can develop
more and more resistance, new antibiotics are needed to fight against them. WHO
recommends guidelines and some global strategies to fight and overcome this serious
issue? Latest strategies and approaches to tackle antibiotic resistant bacteria are
Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working13as a scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of
Department of Science & Technology (GOI)
Recent IRENA's report on renewable energy: Renewable energy jobs reached an estimated 7.7 million in 2014, excluding large
hydropower.
Jobs in the sector increased 18% from the estimate reported last year and the
regional shifts towards Asia continued, especially in manufacturing.
The 10 countries with the largest renewable energy employment were China,
Brazil, the United States, India, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, France, Bangladesh
and Colombia.
In 2014, the solar PV sector accounted for 2.5 million jobs, of which two-thirds
were in China. Solar PV jobs also grew in Japan, while decreasing in the European
Union.
Bio-fuels (1.8 million), biomass (822,000) and biogas (381,000) are also major
employers, with jobs concentrated in the feedstock supply. While Brazil and the
United States continued to dominate, Southeast Asia saw growth in bio-fuel jobs,
reflecting measures to support production.
Wind employment crossed the 1 million mark, with China accounting for half of
Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working16as a scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of
Department of Science & Technology (GOI)
"Growing food to supplement and minimize the food that must be carried to space will
be increasingly important on long-duration missions," said Shane Topham, an engineer
with Space Dynamics Laboratory at Utah State University in Logan. "We also are
learning about the psychological benefits of growing plants in space -- something that
will become more important as crews travel farther from Earth."
The experiment has four major objectives: to find out if the produce grown in space can
be consumed safely; what types of microorganisms might grow on the plants and what
can be done to reduce the threat of microorganisms in the hardware prior to launch;
Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working17as a scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of
Department of Science & Technology (GOI)
Since 2002, the Lada greenhouse has been used to perform almost continuous plant
growth experiments on the station. Fifteen modules containing root media, or root
modules, have been launched to the station and 20 separate plant growth experiments
have been performed.
I dont see future space crews leaving the Earth for long durations without having the
ability to grow their own food," said Topham. "The knowledge that we are gaining is
enabling us to extend our exploration and future colonization of space."
9. What are the reasons Pluto is not considered as ninth planet? Discuss.
Ans. Our first discussion of this part what is Pluto: Pluto was discovered in 1930 by an astronomer from the United States. An astronomer
is a person who studies stars and other objects in space.
1. Pluto was known as the smallest planet in the solar system and the ninth planet
from the sun. Today, Pluto is called a dwarf planet. A dwarf planet orbits the
sun just like other planets, but it is smaller.
2. A dwarf planet is so small it cannot clear other objects out of its path. On average,
Pluto is more than 3.6 billion miles (5.8 billion kilometers) away from the sun.
That is about 40 times as far from the sun as Earth. Pluto orbits the sun in an oval
like a racetrack. Because of its oval orbit, Pluto is sometimes closer to the sun
than at other times.
Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working18as a scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of
Department of Science & Technology (GOI)
This group decided that Pluto was not really a planet because of its size and
location in space. So Pluto and objects like it are now called dwarf planets
.Pluto is also called a plutoid. A plutoid is a dwarf planet that is farther out in
space than the planet Neptune. The three known plutoids are Pluto, Eris and
Make . Astronomers use telescopes to discover new objects like plutoids.
Scientists are learning more about the universe and Earth's place in it. What
they learn may cause them to think about how objects like planets are
grouped. Scientists group objects that are like each other to better
understand them. Learning more about faraway objects in the solar system is
helping astronomers learn more about what it means to be a planet.
10. Write a short note on IRNSS project of ISRO.
Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working19as a scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of
Department of Science & Technology (GOI)
Following details IRNSS project of ISRO : ISRO plans to launch the constellation of satellites between 2012 and 2014.
ISRO on 1 July 2013, at 23:41 IST launched from Sriharikota the First Indian
Navigation Satellite the IRNSS-1A. The IRNSS-1A was launched aboard PSLVC22.
On 4 April 2014, at 17:14 IST ISRO has launched IRNSS-1B from Sriharikota, its
second of seven IRNSS series. 19 minutes after launch PSLV-C24 was successfully
injected into its orbit.
IRNSS-1C was launched on 16 October 2014, and IRNSS-1D on 28 March 2015.
The constellation would comprise 7 satellites of I-1K bus each weighing around
1450 Kilograms, with three satellites in the Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) and 4
in Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GSO). The constellation would be completed
around 2015.
Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working20as a scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of
Department of Science & Technology (GOI)
The researchers, Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown, discovered the planet's
existence through mathematical modeling and computer simulations but have
not yet observed the object directly.
"This would be a real ninth planet," says Brown, the Richard and Barbara
Rosenberg Professor of Planetary Astronomy. "There have only been two true
planets discovered since ancient times, and this would be a third. It's a pretty
substantial chunk of our solar system that's still out there to be found, which is
pretty exciting."
Brown notes that the putative ninth planetat 5,000 times the mass of Pluto
is sufficiently large that there should be no debate about whether it is a true
Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working21as a scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of
Department of Science & Technology (GOI)
Batygin and Brown describe their work in the current issue of the Astronomical
Journal and show how Planet Nine helps explain a number of mysterious features
of the field of icy objects and debris beyond Neptune known as the Kuiper Belt.
"Although we were initially quite skeptical that this planet could exist, as we
continued to investigate its orbit and what it would mean for the outer solar
system, we become increasingly convinced that it is out there," says Batygin, an
assistant professor of planetary science. "For the first time in over 150 years,
there is solid evidence that the solar system's planetary census is incomplete."
The road to the theoretical discovery was not straightforward. In 2014, a former
postdoc of Brown's, Chad Trujillo, and his colleague Scott Shepherd published a
paper noting that 13 of the most distant objects in the Kuiper Belt are similar with
respect to an obscure orbital feature. To explain that similarity, they suggested
the possible presence of a small planet. Brown thought the planet solution was
unlikely, but his interest was piqued.
He took the problem down the hall to Batygin, and the two started what
became a year-and-a-half-long collaboration to investigate the distant objects. As
an observer and a theorist, respectively, the researchers approached the work
from very different perspectivesBrown as someone who looks at the sky and
tries to anchor everything in the context of what can be seen, and Batygin as
Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working22as a scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of
Department of Science & Technology (GOI)
Zika
virus (ZIKV)
is
member
of
Minsky, a professor emeritus at the MIT Media Lab, was a pioneering thinker
and the foremost expert on the theory of artificial intelligence. His 1985 book
The Society of Mind is considered a seminal exploration of intellectual structure
and function, advancing understanding of the diversity of mechanisms interacting
in intelligence and thought. Minskys last book, The Emotion Machine:
Commonsense Thinking, Artificial Intelligence, and the Future of the Human
Mind, was published in 2006.
Minsky viewed the brain as a machine whose functioning can be studied and
replicated in a computer which would teach us, in turn, to better understand
the human brain and higher-level mental functions: How might we endow
machines with common sense the knowledge humans acquire every day
Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working25as a scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of
Department of Science & Technology (GOI)
"Very few people produce seminal work in more than one field; Marvin Minksy
was that caliber of genius," MIT President L. Rafael Reif says. "Subtract his
contributions from MIT alone and the intellectual landscape would be
unrecognizable: without CSAIL, without the Media Lab, without the study of
artificial intelligence and without generations of his extraordinarily creative
students and protgs. His curiosity was ravenous. His creativity was beyond
measuring. We can only be grateful that he made his intellectual home at MIT.
A native New Yorker, Minsky was born on Aug. 9, 1927, and entered Harvard
University after returning from service in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After
graduating from Harvard with honors in 1950, he attended Princeton University,
receiving his PhD in mathematics in 1954. In 1951, his first year at Princeton, he
built the first neural network simulator.
Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working26as a scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of
Department of Science & Technology (GOI)
Minsky was convinced that humans will one day develop machines that rival
our own intelligence. But frustrated by a shortage of both researchers and
funding in recent years, he cautioned, How long this takes will depend on how
many people we have working on the right problems.
In 1985, Minsky became a founding member of the MIT Media Lab, where he
was named the Toshiba Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, and where he
continued to teach and mentor until recently.
Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working27as a scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of
Department of Science & Technology (GOI)
Minsky received the worlds top honors for his pioneering work and mentoring
role in the field of artificial intelligence, including the A.M. Turing Award the
highest honor in computer science in 1969.
In addition to the Turing Award, Minsky received honors over the years
including the Japan Prize; the Royal Society of Medicines Rank Prize (for
Optoelectronics); the Optical Society of Americas R.W. Wood Prize; MITs James
R. Killian Jr. Faculty Achievement Award; the Computer Pioneer Award from IEEE
Computer Society; the Benjamin Franklin Medal; and, in 2014, the Dan David
Foundation Prize for the Future of Time Dimension titled Artificial Intelligence:
The Digital Mind, and the BBVA Groups BBVA Foundation Frontiers of
Knowledge Lifetime Achievement Award.
In addition to the Turing Award, Minsky received honors over the years
including the Japan Prize; the Royal Society of Medicines Rank Prize (for
Optoelectronics); the Optical Society of Americas R.W. Wood Prize; MITs James
R. Killian Jr. Faculty Achievement Award; the Computer Pioneer Award from IEEE
Computer Society; the Benjamin Franklin Medal; and, in 2014, the Dan David
Foundation Prize for the Future of Time Dimension titled Artificial Intelligence:
The Digital Mind, and the BBVA Groups BBVA Foundation Frontiers of
Knowledge Lifetime Achievement Award.
Yet for most, the infection causes no symptoms and leads to no lasting harm.
Scientific concern is focused on women who become infected while pregnant and
those who develop a temporary form of paralysis after exposure to the Zika virus.
At least 4,000 babies in Brazil have been born with microcephaly over just the
last four months, and the spread of Zika virus is rapidly exploding. Here's just one
photo showing the horrific deformations believed to be caused by Zika, carried by
mosquitoes.
As more reports of deformed children keep appearing, the media is freaking out, the
CDC is freaking out and the U.S. government is freaking out, demanding urgent calls for
yet more vaccines. Alarmingly, the very same scientists who pushed for the release of
the genetically engineered mosquitoes that may have caused this entire are also now
calling for more genetically engineered mosquitoes which they claim will solve this
problem.
Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working29as a scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of
Department of Science & Technology (GOI)
Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working30as a scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of
Department of Science & Technology (GOI)