Miscellanous Quiz: Science & Technology |26 Mar, 2021

Optical fibre is a device which works on the principle of total internal reflection by which light signals can be transmitted from one place to another with negligible loss of energy.

Source: The Hindu

Haryana Police has adopted a unique barcoding software — Trakea — to ensure that thousands of forensic reports that form the backbone of the criminal investigation system and subsequent trials in the courts of law, are not tampered with.

· According to the police, Trakea ensures foolproof security of the samples collected from the scene of crime, and the forensic analysis reports, and is different from traditional methods that the state police force has been following for decades.

· Haryana Police claims it is the country’s first police force to have introduced this unique barcoding for forensic reports.

Source: The Hindu

India’s first e-waste clinic has been inaugurated in Bhopal and will enable segregation, processing and disposal of electronic waste from both household and commercial units.

· It was set up by the Bhopal Municipal Corporation and the Central Pollution Control Board.

· The e-waste clinic is developed on the bases of a three-month pilot project and, if successful, more clinics will be built throughout the country.

· The clinic is set up in accordance with the Solid Waste Management Rules adopted in 2016.

Source: ForumIAS factly

A Bilateral Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program has commenced between the Indian Patent Office (IPO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO).

The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) is a set of initiatives for providing accelerated patent prosecution procedures by sharing information between some patent offices.

Source: The Hindu

According to the Directorate General Foreign Trade (DGFT) Beach Sand Minerals (BSM) comprised a suite of seven minerals.

· They are limonite, rutile, leucoxene (titanium being mineral), zircon (zirconium being mineral), garnet, sillimanite and monazite (a proscribed substance under the Atomic Energy Act of 1962 since it covers uranium and thorium).

· The suites of BSM were also called atomic minerals. Except garnet and sillimanite, others were prescribed substances under the Atomic Energy Act.

Source: The Hindu

India had always been the first respondent in situations of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Management (HADR) in the subcontinent said by Indian Home Minister.

· Addressing the 10th meeting of the Heads of Departments of SCO member-States, he called on the Shanghai Cooperation organisation (SCO) members to make a concerted, synchronised effort towards securing people from disasters.

· Minister expressed the confidence that the four-day Joint Exercise on Urban Earthquake Search and Rescue (SCOJtEx)-2019, held in November 2019, and the ministerial meeting would help in finalizing an action plan for managing disasters for the year 2020-21.

Source: The Hindu

The microbot technology involves spraying of thousands of nano dots carrying registration information on vehicles.

· These nano-size metal particles carry information like the registration number and chassis number of the vehicle.

· The dots are sprayed at many different spots on the vehicle, so that even if the vehicle is stolen and sold for parts, it can be traced.

· The microdots are adhesive and will become permanent fixtures/affixation which cannot be removed without damaging the asset, which is the vehicle itself.

Source: Indian Express

When rubbers bands are twisted and untwisted, it produces a cooling effect. This is called the “elastocaloric” effect, and researchers have suggested that it can be used in a very relevant context today.

· Researchers from multiple universities, including Nankai University in China, have found that the elastocaloric effect, if harnessed, may be able to do away with the need of fluid refrigerants used in fridges and air-conditioners.

· These fluids are susceptible to leakages, and can contribute to global warming. In the elastocaloric effect, the transfer of heat works much the same way as when fluid refrigerants are compressed and expanded.

· When a rubber band is stretched, it absorbs heat from its environment, and when it is released, it gradually cools down.

· In order to figure out how the twisting mechanism might be able to enable a fridge, the researchers compared the cooling power of rubber fibres, nylon and polyethylene fishing lines and nickel-titanium wires.

· They observed high cooling from twist changes in twisted, coiled and super-coiled fibres.

Source: The Hindu

In a Rapid Communication published on January 14 – 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) had mentioned that the India-made Truenat MTB, a molecular diagnostic

test to diagnose pulmonary and extrapulmonary TB and rifampicin-resistant TB, has high diagnostic accuracy.

· Truenat MTB has “high diagnostic accuracy as initial test to diagnose TB and to sequentially detect rifampicin resistance”, says the WHO Communication.

· Truenat MTB will be used as an initial test to diagnose TB thus replacing sputum smear microscopy.

· Truenat is developed by the Goa-based Molbio Diagnostics.

· The company was provided with technical assistance and resources by the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) to help commercialize Truenat. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had assessed and validated the diagnostic tool.

Source: ForumIAS factly

Mobile phones can get infected through a type of cyber attack called Juice Jacking. A USB port is not simply a power socket, you can also use it to transfer and sync your data.

· A hacker can tamper with a USB charging port at a public charging station to steal passwords and export data.

· The main way to avoid juice jacking is to stay away from public charging stations or portable wall chargers.

· Carry a personal charger or a power bank or use USB condoms which are adaptors that allow the power transfer but don’t connect the data transfer pins.

· Switch off your phone or lock your phone and then plug it into the charging port. But this technique only works on few mobile models

Source: The Hindu