GS-III Module: Science & Technology

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P.
Agrahari]
GS-III Module
Science & Technology
Prelims-cum-Mains-2016
Current Affairs
VOLUME 4
(January 2016)
By
Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari

(Scientist in IIT Delhi)
Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working1as a scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of
Department of Science & Technology (GOI)
[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

1. "ISRO conceiving two national parks is a signal for increased privatization of the
nations space program comment.
Ans. Two space industry enclaves or parks that have been conceived one for
launchers at Sriharikota and a smaller one at an existing Bangalore spacecraft campus
signal increased privatization of the nations space program over the next five years.
For now, the facilities will be captive to drive the future missions of the Indian Space
Research Organization.
First, ISRO wants to groom and engage domestic industry in the launch vehicles area
from integrating sub-systems up to assembling, and even launching the PSLV.
Eventually the future consortium will be fully responsible for building and launching the
light-lift PSLV rocket.
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.

M.Annadurai also talked about progress so far in the second lunar mission Chandrayaan
2 and solar mission Aditya.
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.
2. What is 'crab pulsar'? Give a brief account of it.

Ans. A pulsar (short for pulsating radio star) is a highly magnetized, rotating neutron
star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation. This radiation can be observed only
when the beam of emission is pointing toward Earth, much the way a lighthouse can be
seen only when the light is pointed in the direction of an observer, and is responsible for
the pulsed appearance of emission. Neutron stars are very dense, and have short,
regular rotational periods. This produces a very precise interval between pulses that
range roughly from milliseconds to seconds for an individual pulsar. Pulsars are believed
to be one of the candidates of high and ultra-high energy astroparticles (see also
centrifugal mechanism of acceleration).
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.

The Crab Pulsar
The Crab Pulsar (PSR B0531+21) is a relatively young neutron star. The star is the
central star in the Crab Nebula, a remnant of the supernova SN 1054, which was
widely observed on Earth in the year 1054. Discovered in 1968, the pulsar was
the first to be connected with a supernova remnant.
The Crab Pulsar is one of very few pulsars to be identified optically. The optical
pulsar is roughly 20 km in diameter and the pulsar "beams" rotate once every 33
milliseconds, or 30 times each second. The out flowing relativistic wind from the
neutron star generates synchrotron emission, which produces the bulk of the
emission from the nebula, seen from radio waves through to gamma rays.
The most dynamic feature in the inner part of the nebula is the point where the
pulsar's equatorial wind slams into the surrounding nebula, forming a
termination shock. The shape and position of this feature shifts rapidly, with the
equatorial wind appearing as a series of wisp-like features that steepen, brighten,
and then fade as they move away from the pulsar into the main body of the
nebula.
The period of the pulsar's rotation is slowing by 38 nanoseconds per day due to
the large amounts of energy carried away in the pulsar wind.
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.

We performed deep observation of the Crab pulsar with MAGIC to understand
this phenomenon, expecting to measure the maximum energy of the pulsating
photons, said Emma de Ona Wilhelmi from the Institute of Space Sciences (IEECCSIC) in Barcelona.
The new observations extend this tail to much higher, above trillion electron volt
(TeV) energies, which is several times more energetic than the previous
measurement, added Roberta Zanin from ICCUB-IEEC, Barcelona.
It is surrounded by a region of intense magnetic field 10 thousand billion times
stronger than that of the Sun.
The new discovery challenges current theories about how neutron stars operate,
the authors of the study noted in a paper that appeared in the journal Astronomy
& Astrophysics. IANS
3. Write a short note on Nag missile.

Ans. Nag is a third generation "fire-and-forget" anti-tank missile developed in India. It is
one of five missile systems developed by the Defense Research and Development
Organization (DRDO) under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program
(IGMDP). Nag has been developed at a cost of 3 billion (US$44.2 million).
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)

passive seeker that ensures high-hit accuracy in both top- and front-attack modes.
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.
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

to information. WIPO should not favors traditional business models over innovative new
models in its work programme, and it should refocus its efforts on promoting creativity
and innovation by whatever means possible.
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

India is ranked 29th out of 30 countries in the International IP Index 2015,
released by the Global Intellectual Property Center of the US Chamber of
Commerce. This ranking measures the overall IP environment in a country.
China is ranked 19th in the same list.
India ranks 76th out of 143 countries (down from 66 in 2013) on the Global
Innovation Index 2014 published by Cornell University, INSEAD and World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It is the lowest ranked among the
BRICS nation, with China occupying the 29th rank.
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

for age and sex".
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

survivors in Sierra Leone reported having "eye problems", though the incidence of
actual uveitis was unknown.
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.
A number of Ebola Treatment Centers were set up in the area, supported by

international aid organizations and staffed by a combination of local and international

staff. Each treatment centre is divided into a number of distinct and rigorously separate
areas. For patients, there is a triage area, and low- and high-risk care wards. For staff,
there are areas for preparation and decontamination. An important part of each centre
is an arrangement for safe burial or cremation of bodies, required to prevent further
infection. In January 2015, a new treatment and research center was built by Rusal and
Russia in the city of Kindia in Guinea. It is one of the most modern medical centers in
Guinea. Also in January, MSF admitted its first patients to a new treatment centre in
Kissy, an Ebola hotspot on the outskirts of Freetown, Sierra Leone. The center has a
maternity unit for pregnant women with the virus.
6. What are recent developments in India to overcome the concern of rising

antimicrobial resistance, a serious health issue in India? Discuss
Ans.
Antibiotic resistance in microorganisms, especially in bacterial species, has
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

attained resistance to the first-line antibiotics. This has necessitated the development of
second-line antibiotics. With a slowdown in the development of antibiotics in the past
decade, the resistance level of bacteria has increased many folds, which demand the
development of new drugs. Currently, newer classes of compounds, including
antimicrobial peptides, bacterial biosynthetic inhibitors, etc., have given an upper hand
against antibiotic resistance. The recently developed carbapenem family of betalactum
antibiotics
exhibit
broad-spectrum
activity.
number
of
next-generation
fluoroquinolones currently are in developmental stages. Moreover, the use of lytic

bacteriophages to manage bacterial infections is accelerating the current research
developments. However, just like a bacteria, bacteriophages can also acquire resistance
to phages that attack them. Thus, phages can evolve resistance and adapt to resistant
bacteria. Looking at the current situation, there does seem to be a necessity to identify
and develop compounds that can address the problem of antibiotic resistance. The
threat of resistant bacteria is a critical public health issue that requires a coordinated
and multifaceted response.
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

described in the following sections: Photodynamic Therapy (PDT): PDT uses the interaction of light with a
photosensitize to inactivate bacteria. Photosensitize binds to the target cell and is
activated by irradiation with a light of suitable wavelength. During this process,
reactive oxygen species are generated that will produce bactericidal effect by
damaging multiple cellular structures. It has been found that anaerobic bacteria
that lead to periodontal diseases can be suppressed using PDT. In a research by
Minnock et al. it was concluded that chlorine e6 and BLC 1010 is able to suppress
periodontopathogenic bacteria. The efficiency of PDT can be improved by
chemical derivatisation or conjugation of photosensitizes; e.g., introduction of
side chains into the dye molecule ethylene blue and porphirins has shown
optimized results. Although there are some adverse effects such as impairment of
benign oral flora that may further develop to a single resistant species, scar
formation and phototoxic effects, PDT has a great benefit when the resistance
against antibiotics become worse.
Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs): Recent findings suggest that AMPs could be used
as a therapeutic model for designing new class of antibiotics. AMPs are basically
small peptides produced as part of non-specific immune response in many
organisms of both animal and plant kingdom. Study of AMPs as novel therapeutic
agents is in experimental stages. Hypotheses have been made regarding whether
these peptides can interfere with DNA as well, but this is yet to be evaluated for
confirmation. McGrath et al. synthesized a low-toxicity Lys-Leu or kloth (KL)
peptide called (KLAKLAK)2 toward mammalian cells. A variant of (KLAKLAK) 2

known as D(KLAKLAK) 2has been studied for antimicrobial activity. The study
successfully showed the inhibition of several gram-negative bacteria. In another
experiment, Barbu et al.showed that D(KLAKLAK) 2 induced apoptosis in mucor.
The molecule was also shown to inhibit germination and reduce hyphal activity,
yielding a fungicidal effect. With technological advancements, some of the
limitations like toxicity, stability, drug delivery mechanism, etc., can be resolved,
and then this new class of antibiotics could be a promising antimicrobial in the
market.
7. Discuss the macroeconomic impacts of renewable energy deployment in the

context of recent IRENA's report on renewable energy.
Ans. This paper builds on the results of the study Macroeconomic Effects of the Energy
Transition in Germany conducted by Prognos/EWI/GWS for the German Federal
Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. The goal was to analyze the effects of the
German energy transition on the economy, energy system and emissions. Two scenarios
have been defined. The Counter-Factual scenario describes the development without
the energy transition and is based on the assumptions of the reference scenario given in
the Energy Scenarios 2010. The Energy Transition scenario reflects historical
developments up to 2013 and the expected development up to 2020 is based on the
Energy Reference Forecast. The main differences between the two scenarios are the
expansion of renewable energy in gross electricity production and the improvements in
energy efficiency. The model PANTA RHEI shows the interrelations between the
economy, energy system and environment. The economic core of the model consists of
input-output tables, system of national accounts and the labor market. The economic
module is extended by an environmental module. That includes i. a. energy balances

and energy prices. Both modules are linked in a consistent way. The Counter-Factual
and Energy Transition scenario have been implemented in the model. The results show
that the investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency have a positive effect
on GDP and employment. EEG surcharge leads to increased electricity prices for most
consumer groups except the electricity-intensive industries. As a consequence the price
index rises. In combination with decreasing investments in the electricity market from
2013 onwards, employment and GDP effects become lower over time.
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

these jobs. The United States, Brazil and the European Union also saw gains.
Solar water heating and cooling employed 764,000 people, more than three
quarters of them in China. Other significant markets are India, Brazil and the
European Union.
Small hydropower employed about 209,000 people, more than half in China,
followed by the European Union, Brazil and India.
Large hydropower was estimated to support another 1.5 million direct jobs,
mostly in China and largely in construction and installation.
An array of industrial and trade a policy continues to shape employment, with
stable and predictable policies favoring job creation.
8. Write a short note on vegetation in space.
Ans. Lettuce, peas and radishes are just a few vegetables that are found in a summer
garden. But did you know these same vegetables also can be grown in space? Crew
members aboard the International Space Station have been growing such plants and
vegetables for years in their "space garden."
"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;

what can be done to clean or sanitize the produce after it has been harvested; and how
to optimize production compared to the resources required to grow it.
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.

3. At its closest point to the sun Pluto is still billions of miles away. Pluto is in a
region called the Kuiper (KY-per) Belt. Thousands of small, icy objects like Pluto
are in the Kuiper Belt. Pluto is only 1,400 miles (2,300 kilometers) wide. That's
about half the width of the United States. Pluto is slightly smaller than Earth's
moon. It takes Pluto 248 years to go around the sun. One day on Pluto is about 6
1/2 days on Earth.
Following the reason Pluto is not considered as ninth planet Anymore: In 2003, an astronomer saw a new object beyond Pluto. The astronomer
thought he had found a new planet. The object he saw was larger than Pluto.
He named the object Eris (EER-is).Finding Eris caused other astronomers to
talk about what makes a planet a "planet. There is a group of astronomers that
names objects in space.
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.

Ans. Our first parts of discussion are what is IRNSS: - IRNSS is an independent regional
navigation satellite system being developed by India. It is designed to provide accurate
position information service to users in India as well as the region extending up to
1500 km from its boundary, which is its primary service area. IRNSS will provide two
types of services, namely, Standard Positioning Service (SPS) and Restricted Service (RS)
and is expected to provide a position accuracy of better than 20 m in the primary
service area It is an autonomous regional satellite navigation system being developed by
Indian Space Research Organization which would be under total control of Indian
government. The requirement of such a navigation system is driven by the fact that
access to Global Navigation Satellite Systems like GPS are not guaranteed in hostile
situations.
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.

IRNSS-1D, which will provide navigation, tracking and mapping service and have a
mission life of 10 years, is the fourth in the constellation of seven satellites,
planned by Isro to constitute IRNSS, which would be on par with US-based GPS
once the full complement of spacecrafts are launched IRNSS-1D on 28 March
2015.
On 20 January 2016, 9:31 hrs IST IRNSS-1E was launched successfully aboard
PSLV-C31 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota.
11.What are the factors showing that ninth planet does exist? Discuss.
Ans. Caltech researchers have found evidence of a giant planet tracing a bizarre, highly
elongated orbit in the outer solar system. The object, which the researchers have
nicknamed Planet Nine, has a mass about 10 times that of Earth and orbits about 20
times farther from the sun on average than does Neptune (which orbits the sun at an
average distance of 2.8 billion miles). In fact, it would take this new planet between
10,000 and 20,000 years to make just one full orbit around the sun.
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

planet. Unlike the class of smaller objects now known as dwarf planets, Planet
Nine gravitationally dominates its neighborhood of the solar system. In fact, it
dominates a region larger than any of the other known planetsa fact that
Brown says makes it "the most planet-y of the planets in the whole solar system."
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

someone who puts himself within the context of dynamics, considering how
things might work from a physics standpoint. Those differences allowed the
researchers to challenge each other's ideas and to consider new possibilities. "I
would bring in some of these observational aspects; he would come back with
arguments from theory, and we would push each other. I don't think the
discovery would have happened without that back and forth," says Brown. " It
was perhaps the most fun year of working on a problem in the solar system that
I've ever had."
12.Write a short note on Zika virus.
Ans.
Zika
virus (ZIKV)
is
member
of
the virus family Flaviviridae and
the genus Flavivirus, transmitted by daytime-active Aedes mosquitoes, such as A.

aegypti. Its name comes from the Zika Forest of Uganda, where the virus was first
isolated in 1947.
The virus was first isolated in April 1947 from a rhesus macaque monkey that had
been placed in a cage in the Zika Forest of Uganda, near Lake Victoria, by the
scientists of the Yellow Fever Research Institute. A second isolation from the
mosquito A. africanus followed at the same site in January 1948. When the monkey
developed a fever, researchers isolated from its serum a transmissible agent that
was first described as Zika virus in 1952.
In humans, the virus causes most often no symptoms or a mild illness known
as Zika fever, which since the 1950s has been known to occur within a narrow
equatorial belt from Africa to Asia.
In 2014, the virus spread eastward across the Pacific Ocean to French Polynesia,
then to Easter Island and in 2015 to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean,
and South America, where the Zika outbreak has reached pandemic levels.

Zika virus is related to dengue, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, and West
Nile viruses.
The illness it causes is similar to a mild form of dengue fever, is treated by
rest, and cannot yet be prevented by drugs or vaccines.
There is a possible link between Zika fever and microcephaly in newborn babies
by mother-to-child transmission, as well as a stronger one with neurologic
conditions in infected adults, including cases of the GuillainBarr syndrome.
In 2015, Zika virus RNA was detected in the amniotic fluid of two fetuses,
indicating that it had crossed the placenta and could cause a mother-to-child
infection. There is a possible link between Zika fever and microcephaly in
newborn babies by mother-to-child transmission
In January 2016, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
issued travel guidance on affected countries, including the use of enhanced
precautions, and guidelines for pregnant women including considering
postponing travel. Other governments or health agencies soon issued similar
travel warnings, while Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El
Salvador, and Jamaica advised women to postpone getting pregnant until
more is known about the risks. On February 2, 2016, Dallas County Health and
Human Services confirmed the first case of transmission in the United States.
13. Discuss the significance of contribution of Marvin Minsky in pioneering

artificial intelligence.
Ans. Marvin Lee Minsky (August 9, 1927 January 24, 2016) was an American cognitive
scientist in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), co-founder of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology's AI laboratory, and author of several texts on AI and philosophy.

Marvin Lee Minsky was born in New York City to an eye surgeon father, Henry, and to a
Jewish mother, Fannie, who was an activist in Zionist affairs, where he attended The
Field ston School and the Bronx High School of Science. He later attended Phillips
Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. He then served in the US Navy from 1944 to 1945.
He held a BA in mathematics from Harvard (1950) and a PhD in mathematics
from Princeton (1954). He was on the MIT faculty from 1958 to his death. In 1959 he
and John McCarthy founded what is now known as the MIT Computer Science and
Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. At the time of his death, he was the Toshiba Professor
of Media Arts and Sciences, and professor of electrical engineering and computer
science.
Marvin Minsky, father of artificial intelligence,
Marvin Minsky, a mathematician, computer scientist, and pioneer in the field of

artificial intelligence, died at Bostons Brigham and Womens Hospital on Sunday,
Jan. 24, of a cerebral hemorrhage. He was 88.
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

through experience? How, for example, do we teach a sophisticated computer
that to drag an object on a string, you need to pull, not push a concept easily
mastered by a two-year-old child.
"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.
Minsky joined the faculty of MITs Department of Electrical Engineering and

Computer Science in 1958, and co-founded the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
(now the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory) the following
year. At the AI Lab, he aimed to explore how to endow machines with human-like
perception and intelligence. He created robotic hands that can manipulate
objects, developed new programming frameworks, and wrote extensively about
philosophical issues in artificial intelligence.
Marvin Minsky helped create the vision of artificial intelligence as we know it

today, says CSAIL Director Daniela Rus, the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Professor in
MITs Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. The

challenges he defined are still driving our quest for intelligent machines and
inspiring researchers to push the boundaries in computer science.
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.
Professor Nicholas Negroponte, co-founder and chairman emeritus of the

Media Lab, says: Marvin talked in riddles that made perfect sense, were always
profound and often so funny that you would find yourself laughing days later. His
genius was so self-evident that it defined awesome. The Lab bathed in his
reflected light.
In addition to his renown in artificial intelligence, Minsky was a gifted pianist

one of only a handful of people in the world who could improvise fugues, the
polyphonic counterpoint that distinguish Western classical music. His influential
1981 paper Music, Mind and Meaning illuminated the connections between
music, psychology, and the mind.
Other achievements include Minskys role as the inventor of the earliest co

focal scanning microscope. He was also involved in the inventions of the first
turtle, or cursor, for the LOGO programming language, with Seymour Paper,
and the Muse synthesizer for musical variations, with Ed Fredkin.
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.
14.Write a short note on Zika virus and its disastrous potentialities.

Ans . The Zika virus is a mosquito-transmitted infection related to dengue, yellow fever
and West Nile virus. Although it was discovered in the Zika forest in Uganda in 1947 and
is common in Africa and Asia, it did not begin spreading widely in the Western
Hemisphere until last May, when an outbreak occurred in Brazil. Until now, almost no

one on this side of the world had been infected. Few of us have immune defenses
against the virus, so it is spreading rapidly. Millions of people in tropical regions of the
Americas may now have been infected.
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.

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[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P.

Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

2. What is 'crab pulsar'? Give a brief account of it.

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

3. Write a short note on Nag missile.

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

A number of Ebola Treatment Centers were set up in the area, supported by

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

6. What are recent developments in India to overcome the concern of rising

Antibiotic resistance in microorganisms, especially in bacterial species, has

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

fluoroquinolones currently are in developmental stages. Moreover, the use of lytic

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

7. Discuss the macroeconomic impacts of renewable energy deployment in the

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

the virus family Flaviviridae and

the genus Flavivirus, transmitted by daytime-active Aedes mosquitoes, such as A.

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

13. Discuss the significance of contribution of Marvin Minsky in pioneering

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

Marvin Minsky, a mathematician, computer scientist, and pioneer in the field of

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

Minsky joined the faculty of MITs Department of Electrical Engineering and

Marvin Minsky helped create the vision of artificial intelligence as we know it

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

Professor Nicholas Negroponte, co-founder and chairman emeritus of the

In addition to his renown in artificial intelligence, Minsky was a gifted pianist

Other achievements include Minskys role as the inventor of the earliest co

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

14.Write a short note on Zika virus and its disastrous potentialities.

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

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