Hydraulic jump
- New research published in Science reveals that ‘hydraulic jumps’ can be behind the cloudy ice plumes preceding deadly tornadoes.
- This is like what happens when streams of water smoothly run down a dam slopes but suddenly burst into froth when joining slower water below
What is hydraulic jump?
- A hydraulic jump is a phenomenon in the science of hydraulics which is frequently observed in open channel flow such as rivers and spillways.
- When liquid at high velocity discharges into a zone of lower velocity, a rather abrupt rise occurs in the liquid surface.
- The rapidly flowing liquid is abruptly slowed and increases in height, converting some of the flow’s initial kinetic energy into an increase in potential energy, with some energy irreversibly lost through turbulence to heat
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Yukawa force
- A novel experiment, described in a paper in Science, sets stringent bounds on what is called the fifth force or the Yukawa force – a component that plays a role in some extensions of the standard model beyond the four known fundamental forces – weak, strong, electromagnetic and gravitational.
- Yukawa force-The strong, short-range force between nucleons, as calculated on the assumption that this force is due to the exchange of a particle of finite mass (Yukawa meson),
- Nucleon is the collective term for protons and neutrons. Nucleons are the particles found in the nucleus of atoms.
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Orca
- Orca, the largest direct-air carbon capture facility, started operations in Iceland.
- It will pull CO2 from the air and trap it in the ground.
- It will do this at the rate of 4,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, which is the amount the world would release in four second
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AOP Technique
- Indian researchers have developed an improved water management system that can completely reuse dye wastewater from textile industries, eliminating its toxicity and making it suitable for domestic and industrial usage,
- It can reduce water treatment costs and facilitate reuse of water in dry regions, it added.
- The current three-stage treatment process for wastewater consisting of primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment is unable to treat toxic industrial wastewater.
AOP Technique
- The standalone advanced oxidation process (AOP) treatment technique for colour and odour properties in industrial effluents (dye based) may be insufficient to meet the set government standards and is also limited due to the high cost of AOPs involving continuous supply of chemical reagents.
- It cannot remove the synthetic industrial dyes and the effervescent colour and odour, which have a long lasting carcinogenic and toxic effect on the ecological balance, especially aquatic life
- AOP technology targeting zero discharge water management system is being utilised for complete reuse of industrial dye wastewater for domestic and industrial usage .
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Shapeshifting
- Climate change affects not only humans but also animals.
- In adapting to a warming planet, some warm-blooded animals are shapeshifting and getting larger beaks, legs and ears to better regulate their body temperatures (Trends in Ecology and Evolution). Strong shapeshifting has particularly been reported in birds
- “Shapeshifting does not mean that animals are coping with climate change and that all is fine.
- It just means they are evolving to survive it — but we’re not sure what the other ecological consequences of these changes are, or indeed that all species are capable of changing and surviving,”
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Nipah virus
- The Nipah virus is classified as an ‘emerging zoonotic disease’, meaning that it is caused by germs that spread between animals and people.
- It was first recognised in a large outbreak of 276 cases in Malaysia and Singapore from September 1998 to 1999.
- Prior to the Kerala outbreak of 2018, there have been several outbreaks in Bangladesh with spillovers into India, particularly in 2001 and 2007 at Siliguri and Nadia in West Bengal
- The Nipah virus (NiV) is classified as a “highly pathogenic paramyxovirus”, and handling it requires the highest grade of facilities called BS-4.
- The natural reservoir for the virus is large fruit bats of the Pteropus genus.
- From here the virus may pass on to pigs which may be infected after eating fruits that are bitten on by infected bats
- Currently, there is no known treatment or vaccine for either people or animals.
- Ribavirin, an antiviral, may have a role in reducing mortality among patients with encephalitis caused by the Nipah virus disease.
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Age Appropriate Design Code or the Children’s Code
- the U.K. government brought into effect the Age Appropriate Design Code or the Children’s Code, as an amendment to the Data Protection Act, 2018, operationalizing a set of regulations that will make using the digital space safer for children.
- While the Code is officially in place only in the U.K., tech majors such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube have tightened safety rules for children
- The Children’s Code is a data protection code of practice for online services likely to be accessed by children.
- The Code, applies to “information society services likely to be accessed by children”.
- The definition of an ISS is “any service normally provided for remuneration, at a distance, by electronic means and at the individual request of a recipient of services”.
- This includes apps; programs; search engines; social media platforms; online messaging or internet-based voice telephony services; online marketplaces; content streaming services (like video, music or gaming services); online games; news or educational websites; and any websites offering other goods or services to users on the internet
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