Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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Ancient rock painting found

News

• Archaeologists have confirmed that a rock painting discovered in the Lesser Khingan Mountains in China’s Heilongjiang province dates back 12,000 years.

Beyond News

• A researcher said that several images painted with ochre were discovered on a rock in the city of Heihe.
• Preliminary studies showed that it was a scene of humans hunting, reports Xinhua news agency.
• Archaeologists confirmed the images of three mammoths, which means the rock paintings were made before the extinction of the animal, or at least 12,000 years ago.
• Meanwhile, archaeologists believe that the paintings were made by using fingers, not brushes, and with paints such as ochre.
• Ochre alone cannot be preserved on rock for such a long time. The paint is a mixture of ochre and animal glue, which has helped the artwork survive thousands of years archaeologists said.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

National Dam Safety Authority in the works

News

• The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister, has approved a proposal for introduction of the Dam Safety Bill, 2018 in Parliament.

Beyond News

• The Bill envisages a National Dam Safety Authority, which will liaise with State-level dam safety organisations and the owners of dams for standardising safety-related data and practices.
• The NDSA will investigate dam failures and have the authority to fine the States that are found remiss in implementing safety measures.
• It will look into “unresolved points of issue” between the States which share dam territory and look to “eliminating potential causes for inter-State conflicts,” an official release said.
• A case in point is the Mullaperiyar dam in Kerala, which is a perennial flashpoint between the State and neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
• The Chennai floods of 2015 due to unusually heavy rain were thought to have been compounded by an unprecedented release of water from the Chembarambakkam dam into the Adyar.
• Due to lack of legal and institutional architecture for dam safety in India, dam safety is a perennial concern.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Now, a spider silk based capsule to deliver vaccines

News

• Scientists have developed microcapsules made of spider silk that can deliver vaccines directly to the heart of immune cells.

Beyond News

• To fight cancer, researchers increasingly use vaccines that stimulate the immune system to identify and destroy tumour cells. However, the desired immune response is is not always guaranteed.
• In order to strengthen the efficacy of vaccines on the immune system and in particular on T lymphocytes, specialised in the detection of cancer cells researchers developed this new spider silk microcapsules
• This process could also be applied to preventive vaccines to protect against infectious diseases, and constitutes an important step towards vaccines that are stable, easy to use, and resistant to the most extreme storage conditions.
• The human immune system is largely based on two types of cells: B lymphocytes, which produce the antibodies needed to defend against various infections, and T lymphocytes. In the case of cancer and certain infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, T lymphocytes need to be stimulated.
• Scientists used synthetic spider silk biopolymers a lightweight, biocompatible, non-toxic material that is highly resistant to degradation from light and heat.
• Silk microparticles form a transport capsule that protects the vaccine peptide from rapid degradation in the body, and delivers the peptide to the center of the lymph node cells, thereby considerably increasing T lymphocyte immune responses.
• The synthetic silk biopolymer particles demonstrate a high resistance to heat, withstanding over 100 degree Celsius for several hours without damage. In theory, this process would make it possible to develop vaccines that do not require adjuvants and cold chains. An undeniable advantage, especially in developing countries where one of the great difficulties is the preservation of vaccines.
• One of the limitations of this process, however, is the size of the microparticles: while the concept is in principle applicable to any peptide, which are all small enough to be incorporated into silk proteins, further research is needed to see if it is also possible to incorporate the larger antigens used in standard vaccines, especially against viral diseases.

Action plan drawn up for monsoon eventualities

News

• With the forecast of a normal monsoon by the weatherman, the Telangana State government is gearing up to minimise the loss of lives and damage to properties and infrastructure in the event of monsoon turning vigorous.

Beyond News

• The Revenue (Disaster Management) Department has drawn up elaborate action plans to ensure effective coordination between different departments like Irrigation, Agriculture and Revenue as well as the Municipal Administration to ensure that damages are kept to the minimum.
• In addition, the Department has roped in teams from Army and Air Force to cooperate with the government in assisting/evacuating people from vulnerable areas.
• Revenue (Disaster Management) Principal Secretary said the department has completed mapping of vulnerable areas along the Godavari and Krishna basins as well as the low lying areas in the municipal areas, the GHMC in particular.
• Army has been fully sensitised and five teams of the armed forces have already conducted recce in vulnerable areas to carry out rescue and relief operations in case of any emergencies that could arise in the event of heavy rains.
• Efforts had been made to identify the old multi-storeyed structures vulnerable to heavy rains in the city and its surroundings while the department laid emphasis on strengthening the bunds of the tanks and canals across the State in collaboration with the Irrigation department to prevent any breaches so that flooding could be averted in the nearby habitations.

Face recognition software at rly. stations soon

News

• In a bid to trace missing children, the Government Railway Police have proposed to install face recognition software in CCTV cameras at different stations across the Tamil Nadu State.

Beyond News

• Many children run away from their home fearing failure in the exams. They can upload pictures of such missing children in the face recognition software so that CCTV cameras at the railway stations can identify them.
• According to data, the Child Help Desk at the Egmore station, supported by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in association with the Ministry of Railways and Childline India Foundation rescued 422 children between April 2017 and March 2018. Out of this, more than 90% are boys.
• The help desk at the Egmore station was started in June 2015 and till March 2018, a total of 1,328 children had been rescued. A majority of the children rescued were in the 15-18 age group. Most of the children are from Bihar.

China shows the world the way with solar road

News

• The experiment is the latest sign of China’s desire to innovate in, and dominate, the increasingly lucrative and strategically important market for renewable energy.

Beyond News

• The country already produces three-quarters of the solar panels sold globally, and its wind-turbine manufacturing industry is also among the world’s largest.
• The potential appeal of solar roads modified solar panels that are installed in place of asphalt  is clear. Generating electricity from highways and streets, rather than in fields and deserts packed with solar panels, could conserve a lot of land.
• Those advantages are particularly important in a place like China, a heavily populated country where demand for energy has risen rapidly.
• Because roads run through and around cities, the electricity could be used practically next door to where it is generated. That means virtually no power would be lost in transmission, as can happen with projects in outlying locations.
• Solar roads could also change the driving experience. Electric heating strips can melt snow that falls on them. Light-emitting diodes embedded in the surface can provide illuminated signage to direct drivers to exits and alert them to construction and other traffic hazards.
• Now, such roads are finally becoming viable. Prices have fallen drastically in recent years thanks to soaring Chinese production, a solar panel costs a tenth of what it did a decade ago. Road builders in China even want to design solar roads that can wirelessly recharge electric cars running on them, emulating a recent experiment in U.S.NY Times

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