SUPERINFECTIONS
Researchers at Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet have described findings leading to so-called “superinfections”. It can also contribute to research on Covid-19.
About:
- Influenza is caused by a virus, but the most common cause of death is secondary bacterial pneumonia rather than the influenza virus per se.
- Pneumococcal infections are the most common cause of community-acquired pneumonia and a leading global cause of death.
- A prior influenza virus infection sensitizes for pneumococcal infections, but mechanisms behind this increase susceptibility are not fully understood.
- Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now identified influenza-induced changes in the lower airways that affect the growth of pneumococci in the lungs
C32-LH2 TANK
The public sector aerospace manufacturing company, the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) delivered the biggest cryogenic propellant tank C32-LH2 to the Indian Space Research Organisation in Bengaluru.
About:
- The C32-LH2 tank is a developmental cryogenic propellant tank of aluminium alloy designed for improving the payload capability of GSLV MK-III launching vehicle of ISRO.
- The tank designed by HAL can load 5755 kg propellant fuel in the 89 cubic meter volume. Even earlier HAL had partnered with ISRO to supply satellite structures for the PSLV, GSLV Mark II and III launch vehicles.
WORLD AIDS DAY
World AIDS Day is being observed on December 1 to raise public awareness about Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome, AIDS. The theme this year is ‘Ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic: resilience and impact.’
About:
- World AIDS Day is observed on the 1st of December, every year, since 1988. World AIDS Day was the first global health day to be celebrated.
- AIDS is the abbreviation for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. It is a chronic illness, which can also be potentially life-threatening. The disease is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus, HIV which affects the human immune system.
WOMEN IN POLITICS
US President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris announced an all-women team of the White House staff to serve in senior communication roles.
Significance of this announcement:
- Biden’s office claims that this will be the first time the communications positions will be filled entirely by women.
- Biden’s office claims that the move to appoint an all-women senior media team shows Biden’s continued commitment to building an administration that “looks like America”.
- Four of the seven appointments are women of colour. Harris has called the team “barrier shattering”.
- He has chosen former Barack Obama administration's State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki as his White House press secretary.
ANNAPURNA IDOL
In the November 29 episode of Mann Ki Baat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that an ancient idol of the goddess Annapurna, stolen from India about a century ago, is being brought back from Canada.
About:
- This idol was stolen from a temple of Varanasi and smuggled out of the country around 100 years ago somewhere around 1913.
- Annapurna, also spelt Annapoorna, is the goddess of food. The 18th-century idol, carved in the Benares style, is part of the University of Regina, Canada’s collection at the MacKenzie Art Gallery.
ZEBRAFISH
Scientists at Pune-based Agharkar Research Institute have used the Zebrafish as a research model and identified genes that can promote heart regeneration. Scientists have sought to decode the heart regeneration processes using this animal model.
About:
- Zebrafish – a tiny freshwater fish barely 2-3 cm long can efficiently regenerate its damaged heart within a short time period.
- Zebrafish is found in the tropical and subtropical regions. The fish is native to South Asia’s Indo-Gangetic plains, where they are mostly found in the paddy fields and even in stagnant water and streams.
- It is a popular aquarium fish, frequently sold under the trade name Danio.
ORGANISATION OF ISLAMIC COOPERATION (OIC)
India hit out at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for making factually incorrect and unwarranted references to Jammu and Kashmir.
About:
- The 47th session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers on November 27-29 at Niamey, Niger, had made a reference to India over its policies on J&K.
- The OIC — formerly Organisation of the Islamic Conference — is the world’s second largest inter-governmental organisation after the UN, with a membership of 57 states.
- The OIC’s stated objective is “to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world”.
- OIC has reserved membership for Muslim-majority countries. Russia, Thailand, and a couple of other small countries have Observer status.
BHAGYALAKSHMI TEMPLE
Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited the Bhagyalakshmi temple while on a trip to Hyderabad. And Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath made a pitch for renaming the city as Bhagyanagar.
About:
- Bhagyalakshmi temple is a small temple dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi, adjacent to the southeast minar of Charminar. Made of bamboo poles and tarpaulins, it has a tin roof, and the southeast minar forms its back wall.
- There is no definitive version on how and when exactly it came up, but it has been there since at least the 1960s. Secunderabad MP G Kishan Reddy claimed that the temple predates Charminar, whose construction was started in 1591.
- Sources in the Archaeological Survey of India said the temple encroaches on the protective perimeter of Charminar.
KIWIS OF ZIRO VALLEY
The kiwis that grow wild in Arunachal Pradesh’s Ziro Valley are the only certified organic fruit of their kind in the country.
About:
- Arunachal is first in the country to obtain Organic Certification for Kiwi under Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North East Region (MOVCD-NER).
- The organic certification was provided by the Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North East Region (MOVCD-NER), a scheme for the northeastern states by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare under the Central government.
- Kiwis of Ziro Valley — located in Lower Subansiri district — were certified as organic following a standard three-year-process.
SCO ONLINE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION
Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India & Chair of the SCO Council of Heads of Government in 2020, launched the first ever SCO Online Exhibition on Shared Buddhist Heritage, during the 19th Meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government (SCO CHG), held in New Delhi, in video-conference format.
About:
- This SCO online International exhibition, first ever of its kind, is developed and curated by National Museum, New Delhi, in active collaboration with Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member countries.
- The exhibition deploys state of the art technologies like 3D scanning, webGL platform, virtual space utilization, innovative curation and narration methodology etc.
- Buddhist philosophy and art of Central Asia connects Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries to each other.
- The visitors can explore the Indian Buddhist treasures from the Gandhara and Mathura Schools, Nalanda, Amaravati, Sarnath etc. in a 3D virtual format.
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