Current Affairs May 22 – GES Reporter

COVID-19 antibody detection kit

Why in News?

Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS), a laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has developed an antibody detection-based kit ‘DIPCOVAN’, the DIPAS-VDx COVID-19 IgG Antibody Microwell ELISA for sero-surveillance.
The DIPCOVAN kit can detect both spike as well as nucleocapsid (S&N) proteins of SARS-CoV-2 virus with a high sensitivity of 97 per cent and specificity of 99 per cent. The kit has been developed in association with Vanguard Diagnostics Pvt Ltd.

About

The DIPCOVAN kit was developed indigenously by the scientists.
The antibody detection kit is approved by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in April 2021.
In May 2021, the product received the regulatory approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), to manufacture for sale and distribution.
DIPCOVAN is intended for the qualitative detection of IgG antibodies in human serum or plasma, targeting SARS-CoV-2 related antigens.
It offers a significantly faster turn-around-time as it requires just 75 minutes to conduct the test without any cross reactivity with other diseases. The kit has a shelf life of 18 months.

PIB

Enhancing Collaboration among Astronomers

Why in News?

Delegates from BRICS nations highlighted the importance of enhancing collaboration among astronomers from the countries at the seventh meeting of the BRICS Astronomy Working Group Meeting.
Under the Science, Technology, and Innovation track of the BRICS 2021 calendar, India hosted the seventh meeting of BRICS Astronomy Working Group (BAWG) meeting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, as well as astronomers from these countries.
The delegates deliberated on strategic and operational matters and recommended the networking of existing Telescopes in BRICS countries and create regional Data Network.
They agreed to develop flagship project in this area.
The members of the working group also indicated future directions of research in this area such as building network of intelligent telescope and data network, study of transient astronomical phenomena in universe, big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning application to process the voluminous data generated now a days due to enhance multi-wavelength telescope observatory.

PIB

NIDHI4COVID2.0

Why in News?

As a rapid response to support startup-driven solutions for tackling the current challenging, second wave of COVID 2.0 in the country, Indian startups and companies have been invited to apply for developing new technologies and innovative products that can enable our country to fight the crisis.
0, a new initiative under which the companies can apply, will fund eligible startups & companies registered in India offering promising solutions in the thrust areas of oxygen innovation, portable solution, relevant medical accessories, diagnostic, informatics, or any other solution that addresses/mitigate various challenges faced by country/society due to the severe impact of COVID-19.

About Initiative

The initiative is a special drive of the National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB), Department of Science & Technology (DST), for supporting indigenous solutions and innovative products to combat the crisis that the country is currently facing due to the pandemic.
This initiative has been built based on NSTEDB’s past experience of implementing Centre for Augmenting WAR with COVID-19 Health Crisis (CAWACH) and also through special calls through National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations – Seed Support System (NIDHI – SSS) from Technology business incubators (TBI) to support Startups in 2020.

PIB

Israel-Hamas ceasefire

Why in News?

After 11 days airstrikes on and rocket attacks from Gaza, Israel and Hamas agreed to an Egypt-mediated ceasefire.

What led to the ceasefire?

Unlike in 2014, when the last major fighting between Israel and Hamas occurred, the Israeli troops were wary of launching a ground invasion this time.
This time, the focus of Israel’s military campaign, which started on May 10, was on leaving maximum damage to Hamas’s militant infrastructure through airstrikes.
Airstrikes will leave disproportionate civilian casualties. And disproportionate airstrikes, which was Israel’s strategy, will have even greater damage, inviting international pressure.
Israel is the only sovereign power in this conflict, which continues the occupation of Palestinian territories in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, international laws and norms.
So, when civilian casualties mounted in Gaza, even those countries that initially supported Israel’s “right to defend itself” started calling for a ceasefire. In the UNSC most countries backed an immediate ceasefire.
Israel was also facing internal pressure as its streets were gripped by riots between Jewish vigilantes and Arab mobs.

THE HINDU

Insurance Act

Why in News?

Indian promoters of insurance joint ventures with foreign partners will no longer be able to nominate a majority of the board members, as per the new rules notified under the Insurance Act. This follows the recent amendments to enhance the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the sector to 74% from 49%.
However, a majority of board members, key management persons (KMP) need to be resident Indian citizens, as should at least one of the three top positions — the chairperson of the board, the MD and CEO.

Applies to all JVs

This new norm will apply to all insurers, irrespective of the stake held by the foreign partner.
The Finance Ministry has also specified further conditions on the composition of the board for firms where foreign investors’ stake exceeds 49%.
“In an Indian insurance company having foreign investment exceeding 49%, not less than 50% of its directors shall be independent directors, unless the chairperson of its board is an independent director, in which case at least one-third of its board shall comprise independent directors,” state the Indian Insurance Companies (Foreign Investment) Amendment Rules, 2021, notified by the Finance Ministry.

THE HINDU

Vaccines Work Better In Men

Why in News?

A researcher is raising awareness about an important subtlety in vaccines in use in the United States — the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines appear to work slightly better for males than for females.
The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines use tiny orbs, or nanoparticles, to deliver their active ingredients to cells in our immune systems.
In the case of the Moderna vaccine, clinical trials showed it was 95.4% effective at preventing Covid cases for males, compared with 93.1% for females.
For the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the numbers are 96.4% for males and 93.7% for females.
Both vaccines use nanoparticles based on lipids. The pharma companies pack these tiny lipid-based particles with the vaccines’ active ingredients and essentially use the nanoparticles as delivery vehicles.
The study found natural killer cells from female donors took up fewer nanoparticles than natural killer cells from male donors. Based on this model system, then, it is plausible that immune systems of males and females would respond differently to the vaccine.

Cyclone Tauktae

Why in News?

Cyclone Tauktae has affected more than half of India and badly hit all states on India’s west coast. Starting off from Lakshadweep, the remnants caused rainfall up to Delhi, Bihar and Nepal and its clouds have even advanced into China.

Gujarat’s most severe

Tauktae was only the second ‘Extremely Severe Cyclone’ category storm to hit Gujarat in 23 years. Cyclone Tauktae made its landfall east of Diu on May 17 with wind speed ranging between 160–170 km/hr gusting to 185 km/hr.
The last cyclone of equal intensity to hit Gujarat was Cyclone Kandla (wind speed 160 to 170 km/hr) that crossed near Porbandar in 1998.
Climatologically, out of the five cyclones formed annually in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, only one develops in the Arabian Sea.
During its northward journey, Tauktae affected five states — Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat along with two Union Territories — Lakshadweep and Daman & Diu.
Cyclone Ockhi of 2017 had affected Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Slow progress

Unlike most cyclones that are forced to weaken post landfall as they detach from the sea, Tauktae retained its intensity as a cyclone and maintained wind speeds between 60 and 70 km/hr gusting to 80 km/hr.
Cyclones are formed between the tropics while western disturbances are formed in the mid-latitudes. When the two interact, they influence each other. Such an interaction occurred at the time of landfall
As Cyclone Tauktae came under the influence of western disturbances, it slowed down as it was crossing over to land.
This slow progress over the coast ensured that the cyclone continued to get sufficient moisture supply from the sea. Hence it did not weaken, but rather retained its intensity even 24 hours after coming over land.

New York’s ‘Vax and Scratch’ programme

Why in News?

New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced a new vaccination programme that will provide free lottery tickets to those individuals over the age of 18 years who choose to get vaccinated from one of the ten state-run sites.

What is the ‘Vax and Scratch’ program?

In order to incentivise people from the state of New York to get vaccinated, Cuomo has announced that lottery tickets that are otherwise sold for $20 by retailers across the state, will be given free of cost to those above the age of 18 who get vaccinated from either of the ten sites with either the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine or the single-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
These scratch-off lottery tickets have a maximum prize of $5 million and a minimum prize of $20.

ECMO in Covid-19 care

Why in News?

Over the past several weeks, as the second wave of Covid-19 has devastated India and patients have struggled against an acute shortage of medical oxygen and ICU beds, a clinical intervention technique known as ‘ECMO’ has entered the vocabulary of common conversation.
In critically ill patients, when oxygen support fails, specialists may resort to mechanical ventilation to help maintain oxygenation. However, some patients are no longer able to respond to such intervention — their heart and lungs are too weak or diseased to carry out the exchange of gases that is needed to stay alive.
In these extreme cases, doctors may choose to apply ECMO or extracorporeal membrane oxygen, which acts as an artificial heart and pair of artificial lungs outside the body (thus ‘extracorporeal’), which removes carbon dioxide from the patient’s blood and adds oxygen to it.

How does ECMO work?

Originally developed in the 1960s to support newborns and infants with respiratory distress syndrome and cardiac abnormalities, ECMO has been widely adapted for use in adults only over the last five years.
The ECMO machine works by inserting a plastic tube into a large vein and/or artery through the neck, chest or groin of the patient.
This tube allows the patient’s blood to flow out into an oxygenator, or artificial lung.
The oxygenator adds oxygen and removes carbon dioxide from the blood, before a pump sends this blood back into the patient through a different tube, at the same frequency and force as that of the patient’s heart.
The machine is used when all other medical options have been exhausted for patients whose lungs can’t provide enough oxygen to their body or rid themselves of carbon dioxide.
It can also be used for patients whose heart can’t pump enough blood to the body, and for those waiting to either get a heart or lung transplant.

What risks are involved in the ECMO procedure?

A major complication that might arise is bleeding. Because of the blood thinning medication that patients need while on ECMO, they can start bleeding at different places in their body.
Also, patients who are on ECMO sometimes do not get enough blood flow to their kidneys. This can cause their kidneys to stop working, a condition known as acute renal failure.
Infection is a very real and major threat. Tubes from the ECMO machine go from outside the patient’s body directly into their bloodstream.
This makes the patient extremely vulnerable to germs entering the body.

What caused record rains in Delhi

Why in News?

In a rare event, the convergence of a cyclone and a Western Disturbance caused record-breaking heavy rainfall in Delhi recently. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded 119.3mm of rain in the capital on Wednesday, which is the highest-ever 24-hour mark for the month of May.
It happened when Cyclone Tauktae, one of the strongest cyclones to have been recorded in the Arabian Sea, weakened and its remnants moved in the north-northeast direction from the Gujarat coast towards Delhi.
At the same time, a Western Disturbance, which is a weather pattern associated with non-monsoon showers, was moving towards Delhi from the Western Himalayan Region.
The convergence of these two phenomena caused widespread rain in the capital.

Support for Coal Production Overseas

Why in News?

The world’s richest nations have agreed to end their financial support for coal development overseas, in a major step towards phasing out the dirtiest fossil fuel.
After nearly two days of wrangling at a meeting of the G7 environment and energy ministers, hosted virtually by the UK, all reaffirmed their commitment to limiting global heating to 1.5C, and committed to phasing out coal and fully decarbonising their energy sectors in the 2030s.
Japan, one of the world’s biggest sources of finance for coal power, along with China, held out on agreeing to stop helping to build until the final stages of the two-day virtual meeting.
Japan’s government raised concerns that if it halted the financing, China would step in and build coal-fired power plants overseas that were less efficient than Japanese designs.
The other G7 members – the UK, the US, the EU, France, Italy, Germany, and Canada – were all united in calling for an end to such financing.
The rich countries that make up the G7, along with other major non-G7 economies such as China and South Korea, have played a major role in the past in financing fossil fuel development in poorer countries.
Japan, China and South Korea in particular have offered to help build coal-fired power plants in cash-strapped developing countries.

THE GUARDIAN

82% countries raised cover for vulnerable areas in a decade

As many as 82 per cent of countries and territories increased their share of protected area and coverage of other effective area-based conservation measures (OECM) since 2010.
This was reported by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The report, titled Protected Planet Report 2020, underlined the progress the world has made toward the ambitious goals agreed by countries in 2010 at the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity —
To conserve 17 per cent of land and inland water ecosystems and 10 per cent of its coastal waters and oceans by 2020, known as Aichi Biodiversity Target 11, a set of 20 targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
OECM are a conservation designation for areas that are achieving the effective in-situ conservation of biodiversity outside of protected areas.
On an average, 62.6 per cent of key biodiversity areas (KBA) either fully or partially overlap with protected areas and OECMs.
KBAs are sites that contribute significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity, in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems.

DTE

International Day for Biological Diversity

United Nations General Assembly in late 1993 proclaimed May 22 as “The International Day for Biological Diversity” (IDB)
The theme for this year’s (2021) IDB is “We’re part of the solution”.

International Day for Biological Diversity History and Significance

In 1992, government leaders across the world came together to attend “The Earth Summit” to construct a strategy for sustainable development.
It is common knowledge that sustainable development is the way to go to ensure the well-being of the population inhabiting on Earth as well as the well-being of Earth itself.
In the Earth Summit, the Convention on Biological Diversity was born but it officially came into force on December 29, 1993.
To commemorate its birth anniversary, International Day for Biological Diversity was also celebrated in the month of December. But in 2001, the United Nations proclaimed International Day for Biological Diversity to be May 22.

DTE

New WHO panel to investigate rise in zoonotic diseases and build action plan

The World Health Organization (WHO) has formed a high-level expert panel ‘One Health’ to study the emergence and spread of zoonotic diseases like H5N1, avian influenza, MERS, Ebola, Zika and possibly the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
The panel will advise global agencies such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on how future outbreaks, especially due to zoonotic diseases, can be averted.
It will also develop a surveillance framework and global action plan for the same.
Zoonotic diseases — pathogenic infections that transmit from animals to humans — have triggered pandemics in past as well. Three of every four infectious diseases are caused by zoonosis.
The experts will also closely study various human activities which disturb the natural wildlife and environment. Activities like food production and distribution and urbanisation cause biodiversity loss and climate change.
This damage, along with the increased pressure over natural resources, is a suspected reason behind the rapid emergence of various zoonotic diseases.

DTE