Must Read News Articles – February 11, 2018

Archives

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Society related  issues:

Medicare is not healthcare(The Hindu Opinion)

The National Health Protection Scheme, touted as the world’s largest healthcare programme, envisages providing medical insurance cover of up to Rs. 5 lakh each to 10 crore families. Assuming an average family size of five members, this translates to 50 crore people, or nearly 40% of the population.

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International relations:

Modi reiterates support for Palestine(The Hindu)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said support for the Palestinian cause is a continuing thread in India’s foreign policy and hoped for an early realisation of a “sovereign, independent Palestine living in a peaceful environment”.

The Indian hand in a French satellite(The Hindu)

It took the PicSat team just three years to design and build the nano satellite, which is made of three cubes, each just 10 cm in length, weighs no more than 3.5 kg and is equipped with a telescope which is 5 cm in diameter. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) played a pivotal role in the project’s quick execution as its PSLV launcher successfully placed the satellite in the helio-synchronous orbit (about 500 km in altitude), on January 12.

Modi treads cautiously on status of Jerusalem(The Hindu)

During his historic visit to Palestine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday reaffirmed India’s support for the Palestinian cause, and called for dialogue to find a permanent solution to the crisis, but stopped short of saying anything on the contested issue of the status of Jerusalem.

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Economy

Don’t deny benefits for want of Aadhaar: UIDAI(The Hindu)

Aadhaar-issuing authority UIDAI on Saturday said that no essential service or benefit can be denied for want of the biometric national ID.

‘After GST, I see 2-3% savings in 3-5 years’(The Hindu)

Prior to GST, the Indian logistics sector was actually struggling to add value when compared to global peers. It was just seen as a labour contractor or a transporter and actually not getting the benefit of being a part of the supply chain. But that equation has changed now.

Environment:

Bengal a hub for soaring trade in wild Indian birds(The Hindu)

It was like a scene from Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s National Award-winning filmCharachar (‘Shelter of the Wings’, 1994), where the protagonist Lakhinder, played by Rajat Kapur, a bahelia (bird-catcher) by profession, releases his catch in the forest. Forest officials of the Kharagpur Divisional Office, too, had never witnessed anything like this before.

The knowledge of our own finitude(The Hindu)

Geography, or even nature, rarely preoccupies the modern mind except when disaster arrives home in the form of a fire or a tsunami

Science and Technology:

Gene tweak may mean contraceptives for men(The Hindu)

A new finding by scientists at the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), Hyderabad could pave the way for the development of a new type of contraceptive.

Neglected but treatable(The Hindu)

In the public health context, neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) have been consistently and alarmingly under-emphasised despite being widespread among low-income populations in developing tropical regions (Africa, Asia, and the Americas).

IISc team identifies an early-stage biomarker for Alzheimer’s(The Hindu)

Researchers at Bengaluru’s Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have identified a potential biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease. The biomarker shows up very early in the disease process and well before clinical and even pathological manifestation of the disease. They also found that it is possible to reverse the disease process if identified early.

Mitochondria: Immigrants that add power to the mother’s cells(The Hindu)

Immigration is much in the news these days. But, go back to history, and we find that early humans started migrating ‘Out of Africa’ since about 3 million years ago. As territories, communities and nations became established, movement from a ‘foreign’ place or group into such ‘nations’ became the basis of accepting or denying entry. This depended on whether the migrants added ‘value’ to the locals or otherwise.

IGIB researchers partially reverse a rare disorder(The Hindu)

Researchers at Delhi’s Institute of Genomics & Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB) have for the first time used zebra fish to model the rare genetic disorder — Rubinstein Taybi Syndrome (RSTS) — seen in humans.

Skewed sex ratios induce same-sex behaviour in pigeons(The Hindu)

It’s all about making the best of a bad job: if there is a paucity of males, female rock pigeons can form long-lasting, same-sex relationships to bring up their chicks, find scientists. Such female pairs fare no differently than female–male pairs, and better than single females, in bringing up their brood.

IACS’ new source of white light(The Hindu)

The most commonly used method of producing white light is by mixing three primary colour–emitting phosphors in a proportionate composition. The existing methods of white-light production are energy-intensive and involve a long process.

Yesterday’s current affairs material by Forum IAS

7 PM Editorial: Apex Court passes interim order on appointments to Tribunals

9 PM Current affairs brief:

10 PM Current affairs MCQs