News: Prime Minister has inaugurated mega virtual summit RAISE 2020- ‘Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020′. Facts: RAISE 2020: It has been organised by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in association with the NITI Aayog. Aim: To bring together people to exchange ideas on the use of Artificial Intelligence for social empowerment, inclusion… Continue reading Prime Minister inaugurates RAISE 2020
Category: Factly: Science and Technology
This category contains all Current Affairs Factly Articles for Prelims, related to Science and Technology. You can find all relevant Science and Technology related updates on this page. This page is specifically useful for UPSC Prelims exam.
Explained: The discovery of Hepatitis C virus that helped three scientists win the Medicine Nobel
News: The 2020 Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology has been awarded to Americans Harvey J Alter and Charles M Rice and British scientist Michael Houghton for the discovery of the Hepatitis C virus. Facts: Hepatitis C: It is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV): the virus can cause both acute… Continue reading Explained: The discovery of Hepatitis C virus that helped three scientists win the Medicine Nobel
Bio E, ICMR develop antisera for Covid treatment, prevention
News: Hyderabad-based vaccine maker Biological E, in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), has developed “highly purified antisera”. Facts: Antisera are blood sera that contain antibodies against a specific viral toxin or antigen. They are injected to help in the treatment or prevention of the diseases associated with that virus. They can… Continue reading Bio E, ICMR develop antisera for Covid treatment, prevention
Understanding an abundant, highly transmissible coronavirus mutation
News: D614G mutation of SARS- CoV-2 has been found more transmissible than most others. Facts: Mutation: A mutation is a change in the sequence of bases of DNA or RNA in a genome. All viruses mutate to adapt to the barriers that humans put up. RNA viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 mutate slowly as they require… Continue reading Understanding an abundant, highly transmissible coronavirus mutation
Explained: How CSIR will try to find out if coronavirus can spread while airborne
News: The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has started air sampling studies to study whether airborne transmission of Covid-19 is possible. Facts: Virus causing Covid-19: SARS-CoV-2 Spread of the Virus: It spreads through respiratory droplets from one person to another. The airborne transmission of the virus has been subjected to widespread debate. About… Continue reading Explained: How CSIR will try to find out if coronavirus can spread while airborne
Explained: How NASA is planning to send humans to the moon again by 2024
News: NASA published the outline for its Artemis program. Facts: ARTEMIS stands for Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of the Moon’s Interaction with the Sun. Objectives: Establishing of lunar outpost Investigating the Moon’s resources and how they might be exploited Using Moon as a base to explore Mars and further into deep space Broaden commercial… Continue reading Explained: How NASA is planning to send humans to the moon again by 2024
India’s first CRISPR Covid-19 test, developed by the Tata Group and CSIR-IGIB, approved for use in India
News: The Tata CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) test, powered by CSIR-IGIB (Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology) FELUDA, received regulatory approvals from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for commercial launch. Facts: FELUDA is the acronym for FNCAS9 Editor Linked Uniform Detection Assay. It is a low cost paper strip test… Continue reading India’s first CRISPR Covid-19 test, developed by the Tata Group and CSIR-IGIB, approved for use in India
Brucellosis outbreak in China
News: Thousands of people in China have tested positive for brucellosis after a leak at a biopharmaceutical company. Facts: Brucellosis also known as Malta fever or Mediterranean fever is a bacterial disease caused by various Brucella species which mainly infect cattle, swine, goats, sheep and dogs. Transmission: Humans generally acquire the disease through direct contact… Continue reading Brucellosis outbreak in China
Explained: What is serial interval, and how can it be managed to control Covid-19?
News: According to a study, China which has now gone over a month without any locally transmitted Covid-19 cases was able to contain Covid-19 due to its ability to manage the serial interval. Facts: Serial Interval: It is the duration between symptom onset of a primary case and symptom onset of secondary cases(contacts) generated by… Continue reading Explained: What is serial interval, and how can it be managed to control Covid-19?
Explained: What is Solar Cycle 25, announced by NASA and NOAA scientists recently?
News: Scientists from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA) have announced their predictions about the new solar cycle called Solar Cycle 25 which they believe has begun. Facts: What is Solar Cycle: It is the cycle that the Sun’s magnetic field goes through approximately every 11 years. Solar Minimum: It is the beginning… Continue reading Explained: What is Solar Cycle 25, announced by NASA and NOAA scientists recently?
