Mad Cow Disease
Why in News?
Brazil will halt beef export to China after a case of mad cow disease was confirmed in the northern state of Para.
What is Mad Cow Disease?
- Mad Cow Disease is also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
- It is degenerative, transmissible, slowly progressive, and a fatal infection that affects the central nervous system of adult cattle.
What causes mad cow disease?
- Basically, there is an abnormal version of a protein found on cell surfaces, called a prion, according to research.
- After getting altered, these proteins destroy the nervous system tissue- the brain and spinal cord.
- The body of a sick cow does not even know the abnormal prion is there. Without knowing it is there, the cow’s body cannot fight off the disease.
What are the signs of BSE in cows?
- According to US Food and Drug Administration, a common sign of BSE in cows is incoordination.
- A sick cow has trouble walking and getting up, and may also act very nervous or violent, which is why BSE is often called “mad cow disease.”
- It usually takes four to six years from the time a cow is infected with the abnormal prion to when it first shows symptoms of BSE. This is called the incubation period. During the incubation period, there is no way to tell that a cow has BSE by looking at it.
- Once a cow starts to show symptoms, it gets sicker and sicker until it dies, usually within two weeks to six months.
Treatment
- There is no treatment for BSE and no vaccine to prevent it.
- Most scientists think that BSE is caused by a protein called a prion. For reasons that are not completely understood, the normal prion protein changes into an abnormal prion protein that is harmful.
GS Paper III News
Kerala to use robotics tech extensively for manhole cleaning
Why in News?
Kerala became the first state in the country to use robotics technology for cleaning all its commissioned manholes by pressing into service the robotic scavenger Bandicoot in the temple town of Guruvayur.
What is Bandicoot Robot?
- Bandicoot Robot is a first robotic scavenger of the world, developed as a Make in India and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan initiative by Kerala-based Genrobotics.
- Features
- The Robot has Waterproof, HD Cameras and gas sensors that identifies harmful gases in the manhole.
- Recently Bandicoot has bagged Kerala Pride award.
What is Manual Scavenging?
- Manual scavenging is a term used mainly in India for “manually cleaning, carrying, disposing of, or otherwise handling, human excreta in an insanitary latrine or in an open drain or sewer or in a septic tank or a pit”.
- India under Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (MS Act, 2013)” banned Manual Scavenging.
What are the reasons for the prevalence of manual scavenging?
- Lack of enforcement of the Act, PEMSR, Poor Rehabilitation Scheme, Indifferent attitude of Society, Lack of Data.
What are the efforts that have been taken to tackle manual scavenging?
- NAMASTE: National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) is a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) as a joint initiative of the MoSJE and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
- It aims at providing access to alternative livelihoods support and entitlements to reduce the vulnerabilities of sanitation workers and enable them to access self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities and break the intergenerationality in sanitation work.
- Self-Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS) is a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJE).
- The scheme was introduced 2007, to rehabilitate the identified manual scavengers.
- Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (Act)
GS PAPER I NEWS
Karakattam Dance
Why in News?
Recently, the Prime Minister of India congratulated Karakattam dancer and recent Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar awardee V Durga Devi.
About Karakattam Dance
- Karakattam is a form of folk dance performed at festivals, conferences, road shows and most Mariamman festivals.
- This is one of the many creative traditions that exist for Mariamman, the rain goddess. The dance form is not dead, but has undergone drastic changes and adaptations in recent years.
- Karakattam and agriculture are related. This is because Mariamman Puja is held in the month of Medam after Makarakkoithu (harvest season) in Kerala.
- Karakattam is mainly known in Tamil Nadu and is also performed in various parts of Kerala.
What are the characteristics of Karakattam?
- Karakattam performances are characterized by many swaying movements and delightful jokes.
- Takes a lot of practice and dedication. Three tiered flower arrangements in different colors stand on containers filled with water, rice or soil.
- When a Karakattam dancer dances, all of this balances overhead.”
- Other highlights include lighting a fire, sticking needles into eyes, and balancing a bottle on the performer’s back by holding it parallel to the ground.
GS PAPER II NEWS
Raisina Dialogue
Why in News?
Ms. Meloni will be the chief guest and keynote speaker at the 8th Raisina Dialogue. This is the first prime ministerial visit from Italy in five years.
Raisina Dialogue
- It is a multilateral conference committed to addressing the most challenging issues facing the global community.
- Every year, global leaders in policy, business, media and civil society are hosted in New Delhi to discuss cooperation on a wide range of pertinent international policy matters.
- The Dialogue is structured as a multi-stakeholder, cross-sectoral discussion, involving heads of state, cabinet ministers and local government officials, as well as major private sector executives, members of the media and academics.
- The conference is hosted by the Observer Research Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.
Observer Research Foundation
- It is an independent think tank based in New Delhi with three centres in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.
- It leads and supports political thought to build a strong and prosperous India in a just and equal world and helps to discover and inform India’s options.
- It brings Indian voices and ideas to the forums shaping the global debate.
- Provides impartial, independent, well researched analysis and information to a wide range of decision makers in government, business, academia and civil society worldwide.
GS PAPER II NEWS
Caveat
Why in News?
Recently, a student was reprimanded by CJI for submitting a disclaimer on her menstrual leave application.
About Caveat
- A caveat is “a formal notice requesting the court not to take any action without prior notice to the person making the reservation.”
- The person making the reservation is called a “caveator”.
- The term “CAVEAT” is not clearly defined anywhere except in the 1978 Calcutta High Court judgment in Nirmal Chandra Datta vs Girindra Narayan Roy.
- This is a precaution taken against issuing a will or administrative letter by the person making the reservation, in some cases. Section 148A of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) clarifying the reservation was introduced by the 1976 Amendment Act on the advice of the Judicial Council.
- Anyone can apply to the court.
- Applicant or Applicant must also send notice of appointment by “registered mail” to the person making the application.
- It was recently used in the “Shailendra Mani Tripathi v. Union of India & Others”, a petition seeking menstrual leave for female students and working women across Indian institutions.
GS PAPER III NEWS
Pink Bollworm
Why in News?
The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) recently approved confined field trials for Pink Bollworm-resistant GM cotton in Hisar, Haryana.
About Pink Bollworm
- One of the most destructive pests on cotton.
- Scientific name: Pectinophora gossypiella
- Distribution: Native to India and now found in almost all cotton-growing countries in the world.
Description
- The adult is a small butterfly, about 3/8″ in length, with dark brown markings on the forewings.
- The caterpillar stage is destructive and recognizable.
- The larva has characteristic pink stripes and lengthens just before pupation.
- It can be up to ½ inch.
Environmental threats
- The pink cotton beetle is a major pest of cotton.
- Adults live only two weeks, but females lay over 200 eggs.
- Adults lay eggs on cotton. After hatching, the larvae eat the seed and damage the cotton fiber, reducing yield and quality.
- Hibiscus, okra and mallow plants were also affected.
GS PAPER III NEWS
Bisphenol A
Why in News?
According to a recent study, “bisphenol A” can shorten the life cycle of mosquitoes and lead to a population explosion.
About Bisphenol A
- Bisphenol A is a synthetically produced, colorless, crystalline organic compound that occurs in the solid phase and belongs to the diphenylmethane group.
- Soluble in organic solvents, but insoluble in water.
- Also used as glasses. This chemical is widely used to soften plastics, paints and other products.
- Known to inhibit the reproduction and development of aquatic organisms.
- Exposure to common fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) delays larval development and pupal time.
Uses of Bisphenol A
- BPA polycarbonate plastics are very sturdy in nature and are used to make large variants of microwave-proof utensils.
- It is used as a material for safety glasses, bulletproof windows and helmets.
- Bisphenol A acts as a component in epoxy resins that are very good coating agents and therefore is used for the protective coating of pipelines and to cover the inner surface of food cans.
- It is used in many medical devices such as heart-lung machines, incubators, artificial kidneys, dental fillers, and sealants.
- It is also used as eyewear glasses, due to their optical clarity.
Environmental impacts of Bisphenol A
- BPA can enter the environment directly through the leaching of chemicals or degradation of materials containing bisphenol A and may render the land unfertile and barren making it unsuitable for agriculture.
- It affects the growth and reproduction of marine life.
- It causes endocrine effects in fish, amphibians, and reptiles.
Bisphenol A effects on human health:
- When ingested, the chemical disrupts the endocrine system by interfering with the hormones and affecting the brain and prostate gland of foetuses, infants, and children.
- It can cause high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular disease in adults.
- BPA is a xenoestrogen and mimics estrogen present in the body, thus exhibiting hormone-like properties.
- It can indirectly aid in the spread of vector-borne diseases in humans and animals.