Science and Technology Quiz: Science |9 Mar, 2021

A new snake eel species residing in the Bay of Bengal has been discovered and documented this month (January) by the Estuarine Biology Regional Centre (EBRC) of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) at Gopalpur-on-sea in Odisha.

· This new marine species has been named Ophichthus kailashchandrai to honour the vast contributions of Dr. Kailash Chandra, Director of ZSI, to Indian animal taxonomy.

· Ophichthus kailashchandrai is the eighth species of the Ophichthus genus found on the Indian coast. It is the fifth new species discovered by the Gopalpur ZSI in the last two years.

· The eel family ‘Ophichthidae’ comprises two sub-families — Myrophinae (69 species) and Ophichthinae (276 species).

· The sub-family Ophichthinae is identified by its hard tail and other osteological (bone) features, and it has 17 genera and 24 species.

· Out of them, seven species from the Ophichthus genus were earlier identified in Indian waters. The recent discovery is the eighth species of this genus.

· The Ophichthus kailashchandrai lives at a depth of around 50 metres in the sea. According to the studied specimens, individuals of this species are around 420 mm to 462 mm in length.

· They are light brown in colour, with white fins. They have a well-developed pectoral fin and also have a dorsal fin.

· Their posterior nostril is a hole covered by a flap on the upper lip opening towards the mouth.

· There are 180-182 total vertebrae in this new species. Their teeth are moderately elongated, conical and sharp.

Source: The Hindu

Simultaneously removing heavy metals such as arsenic, chromium, cadmium and mercury from waste water with very high efficiency now appears possible, thanks to the work of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay.

· The carbon-based nanostructure that the team fabricated shows 80-90% adsorption efficiency for all the four heavy metals studied.

· No electricity is required for the nanostructure to remove heavy metals from water as it allows for gravity-driven purification of the water.

· The nanostructures can be recycled and reused multiple times.

· While there is an initial drop of about 8% after the first cycle, the efficiency remains constant at 75-85% in the subsequent cycles.

· The carbon nanostructure is able to adsorb the heavy metals in the wide range of pH conditions — pH 2 to 13.

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: Indian Express

A meteorite that crashed into rural southeastern Australia in a fireball in 1969 contained the oldest material ever found on Earth, stardust that predated the formation of our solar system by billions of years, scientists said on January 13 – 2020.

· The oldest of 40 tiny dust grains trapped inside the meteorite fragments retrieved around the town of Murchison in Victoria state dated from about 7 billion years ago, about 2.5 billion years before the sun, Earth and rest of our solar system formed, the researchers said.

· Scientists previously had found a pre-solar grain in the Murchison meteorite that was about 5.5 billion years old, until now the oldest-known solid material on Earth.

· The oldest-known minerals that formed on Earth are found in rock from Australia’s Jack Hills that formed 4.4 billion years ago, 100 million years after the planet formed.

Source: The Hindu

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) – a diverse group of communicable diseases that prevail in tropical and subtropical conditions in 149 countries – affect more than one billion people and cost developing economies billions of dollars every year.

Populations living in poverty, without adequate sanitation and in close contact with infectious vectors and domestic animals and livestock are those worst affected.

As of 2017, the World Health Organization categorizes the following communicable diseases as neglected tropical diseases (NTDs):

· Buruli Ulcer

· Chagas Disease

· Chromoblastomycosisexternal icon

· Cysticercosis

· Dengue Fever

· Dracunculiasis (Guinea Worm Disease)

· Echinococcosis

· Fascioliasis

· Human African Trypanosomiasis (African Sleeping Sickness)

· Leishmaniasis

· Leprosy (Hansen’s Disease)

· Lymphatic Filariasis

· Mycetoma

· Onchocerciasis

· Rabies

· Schistosomiasis

· Soil-transmitted Helminths (STH) (Ascaris, Hookworm, and Whipworm)

· Trachoma

· Yawsexternal icon

Source: WHO

While conventional sodium sulphur batteries require very high temperature (300 degree C) for operation, researchers at the Indian Institute of technology (IIT) Madras have designed a new sodium sulphur battery that can be operated at room temperature.

By operating the battery at room temperature, the team was able to achieve higher charge storage capacity (technically called the specific capacity) and nearly zero self-discharge when the battery is not being used.

Source: The Hindu

It is a type of genetic engineering in which DNA is inserted, deleted or replaced in the genome of an organism using artificially engineered nucleases, or “molecular scissors”.

· Human genome editing can be used to treat many human diseases & genetic disorders like HIV/AIDS, hemophilia etc.

· It could substantially bolster disease resistance in humans & increase life span.

· It could form the basis of highly efficient & cost-effective next generation antibiotics (based on bacteriophage viruses).

· Gene editing can be used to protect endangered species or bring to life extinct species.

· It can be used to grow healthier food (via fortification) and increasing harvest.

· It has the potential to slow down the spread of diseases by eliminating its means of transmission. E.g., Gene editing can be used to introduce sterile mosquitoes into the environment.

Source: NCERT

Benzoic acid is an organic compound which is described by the chemical formula C6H5COOH.

· It consists of a carboxyl group attached to a benzene ring. Therefore, benzoic acid is said to be an aromatic carboxylic acid.

· This compound exists as a crystalline, colorless solid under normal conditions.

· It is white and belongs to the family of carboxylic acid.

· The term ‘benzoate’ refers to the esters and salts of C6H5COOH.

· The commercial production of benzoic acid is done via the partial oxidation of toluene with oxygen, catalyzed by manganese or cobalt naphthenates.

Some important uses of C6H5COOH are listed below.

· The production of phenol involves the use of benzoic acid.

· This compound is used in ointments that prevent or treat fungal skin diseases.

· C6H5COOH is used as a preservative in the food industry.

· Benzoic acid is an ingredient in many cosmetic products, such as lipsticks.

· It is also a precursor to benzoyl chloride.

· One of the components of toothpaste, mouthwash, and face-wash creams is C6H5

· This compound is also used in the manufacture of dyes and in insect repellants.

Source: NCERT

Keratinocytes are the primary type of cell found in the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin.

· In humans they constitute 90% of epidermal skin cells.

· Basal cells in the basal layer (stratum basale) of the skin are sometimes referred to as basal keratinocytes.

· By using an indigenously developed hydrogel made of a polymer (polyacrylamide) in lieu of the conventional plastic tissue culture plates, researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay have been able to achieve many-fold increase in the number of skin cells (keratinocytes) cultured in the lab.

· Unlike traditional methods, no feeder layer or drug is needed when cells are grown on the hydrogel substrate.

Source: The Hindu

The center of our Milky Way Galaxy is anchored by a black hole that is nearly 5 million times the mass of our Sun.

· Surrounding it is a chaotic city of stars, gas, and dust that we call Sagittarius A.

· We stacked false-color X-ray, infrared, and radio images into this single picture to show you the different structures hidden inside the core of our Galaxy.

· X-rays (purple) radiate from the super-hot gas trapped in the black hole’s grasp.

· The surrounding dust is heated by friction as it chaotically orbits around the black hole and then glows in infrared light (gold).

· And the enormous pools and three-armed rivers of gas shine in radio light (oranges and reds) to trace the complexity of magnetic fields in this violent neighborhood.

NOTE: A language professor has given a Hawaiian name — Powehi — to the black hole depicted in an image produced in a landmark experiment.

Though the Event Horizon Telescope set out to image both M87 and Sagittarius A* the black hole at the centre of the Milky way, they have succeeded only in imaging the former, despite its being much further away.

Source: The Hindu