The Science & Technology Weekly – 22 May – 28 May, 2016

Starting 4th April, 2016 we have a started a new initiative to post Science and Technology Compilation of all articles coming in leading news daily on a weekly basis. We look forward to simplify the preparation of aspirants by easing out their task in one of the most vague topics in UPSC preparation. The compilation will make aspirants aware with day to day happenings in the field of science and technology as well list out basics in brief.
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1. Now, an app to find the closest blood bank
2. Rise in jaw disorders, could be stress-related
3. Water staircases in seas
4. Why is the wave height of tsunami not so big in open seas?
5. Blood pressure fluctuations may cause brain function decline: study
6. Now, an app for your infant’s health
7. Potassium bromate in same cancer class as coffee
8. ISRO to test rocket that takes its fuel from air
9. Solar storms may have seeded life
10. Monsoon cheer as El Nino ends
11. India fifth largest producer of e-waste: Study
12. Vast cluster of galaxies spotted in early universe
13. Fewer girls get cardiac care: study
14. Potential trigger to kill cancer discovered
15. Microsoft, Facebook to jointly build subsea cable for faster internet

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[1] Now, an app to find the closest blood bank

News:

• Moved by the plight of people who frantically search for blood donors and blood banks during medical emergencies, a Bengaluru-based software engineer has developed a mobile app that provides details of these facilities situated close by, from any location in the country.

 

Access on Google Maps

• He has designed Android appAusodhyatmika (available for free in Google Play) that lists the details of all registered blood banks of the country and their location, with contacts that can be accessed through Google Maps.
• All blood banks located within a 100 km radius, with their distance, can be checked.
• Blood banks beyond this limit can also be located using the advanced search option.
• The app offers an option for any donor to enrol his/her name on the list of prospective donors to help people who are in need of a blood group, which is not available in any blood bank.
• Mobile phone users could easily find donors’ contact number and also can track them using the in-built GPS system.
• The app also has a list of ambulances and names of all the registered hospitals of the country, their contact numbers and their addresses.
• The app provides details of other healthcare entities such as clinics, nursing homes, pathology labs, diagnostics, pharmacies, and veterinary hospitals that are registered with the Government of India.

Database of medicines

• Besides this, the app also has the database of over one lakh medicines and their combinations.
• To prevent any misuse, the app has an option called ‘Report Abuse’, using which, any user can report wrongful use of the app.

[2] Rise in jaw disorders, could be stress-related

Study:

 

• It is seen that about 52 per cent of the population suffer from varying degrees of temporomandibular joint

• Over the last decade or so, dentists in the city have seen an increasing number of mostly young patients coming in with certain symptoms: pain the jaw, dull ache or radiating pain towards the cheek, ear or neck, a tired feeling to the face, toothaches, headaches, clicking or popping sounds while yawning or even limited movement of the jaw.

• These symptoms, dentists say, could be due to a disorder of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) – the joint that connects the lower jaw to the skull.

• While the disorder could occur for a variety of reasons, including improper alignment of the teeth or trauma, one reason it could get aggravated is stress, say dentists.

TM Joint:

• The TMJ is the only moveable joint in the entire face.
• It is a ball-and-socket joint and it can start to erode due to a number of reasons.
• When a person is under a lot of stress, they tend to clench their jaw or grind their teeth (bruxism), the muscles become taut, the joint does not get any rest and this causes its inflammation, leading to the pain and dysfunction.
• Based on various studies done in different parts of India, it is seen that as high as about 52 per cent of the population suffer from varying degrees of TMD, a majority of these being very mild.
• Out of these, about 22 per cent suffer from problems affecting both right and left temporomandibular joint.
• Women in their childbearing years account for 90 per cent of all TMJ sufferers.
• Medical conditions such as arthritis, hormone replacement therapy and even partial or full dentures that are not the right fit could be contributing factors.

So what can be done?

• Conservative treatment includes cold or warm compresses to the jaw, exercises for the jaw, a soft diet, a dental splint and medications, among others.
• In very severe cases, surgical intervention may be considered.
• But most of all, a good night’s sleep and stress management are absolutely essential.

[3] Water staircases in seas

Finding

• Internal waves, which move vertically through the ocean, can sometimes pass through “water staircases,” which are steplike variations of density of water, in such as manner as to churn up the underlying warm, salty water, thereby increasing the temperature of the top, cooler layers.

Its effect

• This suggests a possible mechanism by which the upper layers of the Arctic Ocean warm up, causing the ice to melt.

What is water staircase

• Water staircases are steplike variations of density of water due to steplike changes in temperature and salinity.

Some facts

• Though internal waves exist where the density gradually increases with depth, they cannot propagate where the density is uniform, for instance, within the steps of the staircase.

Ocean warming

• The Arctic Ocean has inflows coming from the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean.
• In this, the top layers consist of cooler and less saline water and below that is a layer of water coming from the Atlantic Ocean which is more saline and warmer, too.
• The effect of salinity wins over that of temperature and so, though the water below is warmer, it is heavier than the cooler, less saline layer on top..
• “Warm, but salty water — ultimately originating from the Atlantic Ocean resides near the bottom of the Arctic Ocean. If turbulence could somehow mix this water with that above, then, eventually, the surface could warm more rapidly, and this would increase the rate of sea-ice melt.
• One mechanism for mixing is the result of breaking internal waves.
• They do not exist where there are strong currents, as in the Antarctic, which have enough energy to stir up any staircases that might form
• So the scenario is that when an internal wave strikes a density staircase, a part of its energy may be transmitted through the staircase. In other words, density staircases in the ocean can act to reflect short wavelength internal waves and transmit longer wavelength waves. This is analogous to the selective transparency of glass windows on modern buildings that have multilayered coatings designed to reflect red light (long wavelength light) and allow green-blue (shorter wavelength) light through
• On reaching the ocean floor, the long-wavelength waves which have been transmitted cause turbulence and mix up the water. The warm waters then rise to the top and warm the top layers.

[4] Why is the wave height of tsunami not so big in open seas?

Some facts

• Tsunami is a Japanese word meaning harbour wave.
• Tsunami waves are somewhat similar to the wind generated waves we see at a beach.
• Wind generated waves are restricted to a thin layer below the water surface and the up-down oscillations of the water particles (typically 0.1 – 3 m at the surface) quickly decrease as one moves down from the water surface. We can create such waves by a paddle.

How Tsunami waves is created

• Tsunami waves, on the other hand, are created by a large motion of the earth’s crust, for example in an earthquake.
• A large plate (hence large wavelength) of the earth’s crust creates these waves by displacing water and the energy liberated is huge.
• Wave amplitudes are small (0.1 – 1 m) but the wavelength is large, typically 100 to 1,000 km. Oscillations of water particles are not just restricted to the water surface but are distributed in the entire depth. We cannot create such waves by a paddle.
• Because of the large volume of water involved, energy of tsunami waves is large even though the amplitudes are small.
• This is why it is difficult to observe the height of tsunami waves in the open sea.

When Tsunami reaches sea shore

• But the destructive power of the tsunami waves is felt when they reach the seashore. Here the same energy gets concentrated into a smaller depth and hence amplitude becomes very large and gets noticed.
• Thus, the tsunami waves correspond to large amount of energy liberated in a large volume with relatively small amplitude becoming noticeable only when the waves reach shallow waters.

 

[5] Blood pressure fluctuations may cause brain function decline: study

Study:

• High long-term variability in blood pressure may lead to faster decline in brain and cognitive function among older adults.
• Blood pressure variability might signal blood flow instability, which could lead to the damage of the finer vessels of the body with changes in brain structure and function.
• These blood pressure fluctuations may indicate pathological processes such as inflammation and impaired function in the blood vessels themselves.
• They found that higher visit-to-visit variability in the top number in a blood pressure reading (systolic blood pressure) was associated with a faster decline of cognitive function and verbal memory.
• Researchers also found that higher visit-to-visit variability in the bottom number (diastolic blood pressure) was associated with faster decline of cognitive function among adults aged 55 to 64, but not among those aged 65 and older.
• Neither average systolic or diastolic blood pressure readings were associated with brain function changes, researchers said.
• Physicians tend to focus on average blood pressure readings, but high variability may be something for them to watch for in their patients.
• Controlling blood pressure instability could possibly be a potential strategy in preserving cognitive function among older adults.

[6] Now, an app for your infant’s health

Issue

• The lack of avenues to monitor vaccination schedules, separating myth from reality, and finding a reliable platform to monitor the health and developmental milestones of an infant can be a nerve wracking experience.
• To tackle this problem an app has been developed.

Facts

• Babyberry, a new app aims to help young parents keep track of their baby’s overall growth and development by providing a proactive experience, covering things such as vaccination charts, growth milestones and features such as the ability to buy expert recommended products and services.
• The app uses a range of algorithms to provide personalised inputs about the child from age zero to six years. It uses matrices tp include data from the world health organisation to provide parents information about development milestones as well. For example, the app will tell you when the child is expected to start to walk, talk and react to various things. It helps discard many age old myths people associate with infants.
• The app now provides information from the time the baby is conceived to six years of age. Parents can monitor everything from the number of kicks by the foetus during the third trimester to the vaccination schedule of the infant and major development milestones.
• The recommendation engine, mBryo takes into account the baby’s age, gender, demographics, hobbies, skills and the parents’ lifestyle. Parents receive alerts on when vaccinations are due and their possible side effects.
• The app also helps connect parents with suppliers of baby products from diapers to toys. The new version of the app also allows parents to connect with doctors nearby.

[7] Potassium bromate in same cancer class as coffee

Background

• According to an investigation done by the Centre for Science and Environment Potassium bromate is there in several brands of bread and refined flour products including burgers and pizza.
• Issue
• Potassium bromate, the chemical additive widely prevalent in bread and refined flour and associated with cancer, is in the same league as coffee, aloe vera, mobile phone radiation and carbon black, a key ingredient in eye-liner.
• It also is less toxic than processed and red meat, according to the list of agents deemed potentially cancerous by the International Agency For Research on Cancer (IARC) — a World Health Organisation body.

How IARC prepares the list

• Based on the quantity and quality of scientific evidence that is available through peer-reviewed literature and documented reports on the risk of cancer, the IARC follows a five-step grading scheme, the highest of which is Grade 1, or substances that are proven to cause cancer in humans, and the lowest at Grade 4 where there is definite proof that there is no link to cancer.
• There are grades 2A and 2B which include potassium bromate and coffee — that differentiates between agents ‘probably’ and ‘possibly’ associated with cancer.

Government action

• The Central government is all set to ban the use of potassium bromate, the cancer-causing chemical.
• The CSE report said that while one of the chemicals is a category 2B carcinogen (possibly carcinogenic to humans), the other could trigger thyroid disorders but India has not banned their use.
• The Health Minister has directed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to take-up the matter and submit a detailed report at the earliest.

Some important facts

• While the European Union and many countries, including China, have banned potassium bromate as a flour treatment agent, the U.S. and India have permitted its use.
• But many groups in the U.S. have been demanding a ban on the additive in bread and flour.
• The FDA approves its use up to 75 parts per million (ppm) in flour, while India has limited it to 50 ppm in bread and 20 ppm in flour and refined wheat flour (maida).
• As the CSE results show, none of the bread and bakery samples tested exceeded the maximum permissible limit of 50 ppm and hence did not violate the Food Safety and Standards (Food Product Standards and Additives) Regulations, 2011.
• Even when potassium iodate is not used, breads will still contain traces of it as the chemical is used for producing iodised salt in India. The European Union, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand have banned potassium iodate for flour treatment.

[8] ISRO to test rocket that takes its fuel from air

Issue

• After successfully testing a technology demonstrator of a reusable launch vehicle, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to test an air-breathing propulsion system, which aims to capitalise on the oxygen in the atmosphere instead of liquefied oxygen while in flight.

Analysis

• Generally, vehicles used to launch satellites into space use combustion of propellants with oxidiser and fuel.
• Air breathing propulsion system aims at use oxygen present in the atmosphere up to 50 km from the earth’s surface to burn the fuel stored in the rocket.
• This is like satellites making use of solar power. Likewise, this technology aims to take oxygen from the atmosphere instead of carrying it all the way.

Importance of this

• This system, when implemented, would help in reducing the lift-off mass of the vehicle since liquefied oxygen need not be carried on board the vehicle. This would also help increasing the efficiency of the rocket and also make it cost-effective.
• The new propulsion system, once mastered, would complement ISRO’s aim to develop a reusable launch vehicle, which would have longer flight duration. The system, involving the scramjet engine, would become crucial while sending up the spacecraft.
• ISRO is now evolving and testing various technologies to bring down the cost of launch vehicles. The national space agency had earlier developed rockets that can send multiple satellites in a single mission.

[9] Solar storms may have seeded life

Finding

• Solar storms four billion years ago may have provided the crucial energy needed to warm Earth and seed life despite the Sun’s faintness, new research has revealed.

Analysis

• Some four billion years ago, the sun shone with only about three-quarters the brightness we see today i.e. back then, Earth received only about 70 per cent of the energy from the Sun than it does today, but its surface roiled with giant eruptions spewing enormous amounts of solar material and radiation out into space.
• That means Earth should have been an icy ball. “Instead, geological evidence says it was a warm globe with liquid water. We call this the ‘Faint Young Sun Paradox’. Our new research shows that solar storms could have been central to warming Earth.
• The eruptions also may have furnished the energy needed to turn simple molecules into the complex molecules such as RNA and DNA that were necessary for life.
• Understanding what conditions were necessary for life on our planet helps us both trace the origins of life on Earth and guide the search for life on other planets. Until now, however, fully mapping Earth’s evolution has been hindered by the simple fact that the young Sun wasn’t luminous enough to warm Earth.
• Scientists are able to piece together the history of the Sun by searching for similar stars in our galaxy. By placing these sun-like stars in order according to their age, the stars appear as a functional timeline of how our own Sun evolved.

[10] Monsoon cheer as El Nino ends

News:

 

• Australia’s weather bureau said the withering El Nino — among the strongest in history and responsible for two years of consecutive droughts and record summer temperatures in India — had ended.

• Weather officials in India said this could also be a precursor to floods during August and September and monsoon possibly spilling over to October.

 

[11] India fifth largest producer of e-waste: Study

News:

• India, which has emerged as the world’s second largest mobile market, is also the fifth largest producer of e-waste, discarding roughly 18.5 lakh tonnes of electronic waste each year.
• Telecom equipment alone accounts for 12 per cent of the e-waste.

Matter of concern

• The rising levels of e-waste generation in India have been a matter of concern in recent years.
• With more than 100 crore mobile phones in circulation, nearly 25 per cent end up in e-waste annually.
• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has notified e-waste management rules, 2016, in which producers are for the first time covered under extended producers’ responsibility (EPR).

Waste collection target

• The rules prescribe a waste collection target of 30 per cent waste generated under EPR for the first two years, progressively going up to 70 per cent in the seventh year of the rule.
• The rules prescribe stringent financial penalties for non-compliance.
• However, unorganised sector in India is estimated to handle around 95 per cent of the e-waste produced in the country.
• Given the huge user base and vast reach of telecom in India, it is practically difficult and expensive for the handset manufacturers to achieve the targets prescribed in the rules from first year, the study added.

Phased manner

• It is suggested that electronic waste collection targets are implemented in a phased manner with lower and practically achievable target limits.
• Also, detailed implementation procedures for collection of electronic waste from the market need to be followed.

[12] Vast cluster of galaxies spotted in early universe

News:

• Scientists, including those of Indian-origin, have discovered a vast collection of young galaxies located 12 billion light years away.
• The newly discovered “proto-cluster” of galaxies, observed when the universe was only 1.7 billion years old (12 per cent of its present age), is one of the most massive structures known at that distance.
• The protocluster will very likely grow into a massive cluster of galaxies like the Coma cluster, which weighs more than a quadrillion Suns.
• Clusters this massive are extremely rare: only a handful of candidates are known at such early times.
• The new system is the first to be confirmed using extensive spectroscopy to establish cluster membership.
• The formation and early history of these clusters is not well understood.

[13] Fewer girls get cardiac care: study

Study says:

• A retrospective study involving 519 schoolchildren from various areas of Punjab has revealed that gender bias exists with parents favouring boys over girls when it comes to getting their children’s heart problems corrected, even when treatment is provided completely free of charge.
• The children were diagnosed with either congenital or rheumatic heart disease. Of those who underwent cardiac intervention, only 195 (37.6 per cent) were girls, while the remaining 324 (62.4 per cent) were boys.
• Gender bias was apparent for all ages of children and seen in parents from both rural and urban communities. In fact, the discrimination was greater in the case of urban communities with the ratio of male to female patients being 1.71:1 for urban setting compared with 1.64:1 in the rural setting.

[14] Potential trigger to kill cancer discovered

Issue

• Scientists, including one of Indian-origin, have discovered a new way of triggering cell death, a finding that may lead to drugs for treating cancer and autoimmune diseases.

Findings

• Programmed cell death, also called apoptosis, is a natural process that removes unwanted cells from the body.
• Failure of apoptosis can allow cancer cells to grow unchecked or immune cells to inappropriately attack the body.
• The protein known as Bak is central to apoptosis. In healthy cells Bak sits in an inert state but when a cell receives a signal to die, Bak transforms into a killer protein that destroys the cell.
• Researchers  have discovered a novel way of directly activating Bak to trigger cell death.
• This discovery can be used to develop drugs that promote cell death.

[15] Microsoft, Facebook to jointly build subsea cable for faster internet

Issue

• Microsoft and Facebook have joined hands to build a new, state-of-the-art subsea cable across the Atlantic Ocean that will help meet the growing customer demand for high speed, reliable connections for cloud and online services for Microsoft, Facebook and their customers.

Analysis

• Microsoft and Facebook are collaborating on this system to accelerate the development of the next-generation of internet infrastructure and support the explosion of data consumption and rapid growth of their respective cloud and online services.
• The 6,600 km MAREA cable will be the highest-capacity subsea cable to ever cross the Atlantic – eight fibre pairs and an initial estimated design capacity of 160 Tbps.
• The submarine cable system, to be operated and managed by Telxius, Telefonica’s new telecommunications infrastructure company, will also be the first to connect the US to southern Europe – from the data hub of Northern Virginia to Bilbao, Spain and then to network hubs in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
• This new “open” design brings significant benefits for customers: lower costs and easier equipment upgrades which leads to faster growth in bandwidth rates since the system can evolve at the pace of optical technology innovation.