TNPSC Current Affairs July 02, 2020

www.tnpsc.academy – TNPSC Current Affairs July 02, 2020 (02/07/2020)

 

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Topic: Latest inventions on Science and Health, International Events

G4 Virus

Researchers in China have discovered a new form of swine flu that can infect humans, and they believe it has the potential to cause a future pandemic.

This swine flu has been dubbed the G4 virus and it’s related to the H1N1 flu that caused widespread illness in 2009.

What is the G4 virus, exactly?

The G4 virus is a newly discovered strain of the H1N1 flu virus. It’s basically a virus that’s found in pigs but has combined the swine flu virus with the H1N1 virus that circulates in humans.

G4 viruses bind to receptor molecules in human cells, and can replicate in the outer layer of the respiratory system.

Transmission and symptoms:

The newly identified virus can efficiently infect ferrets via aerosol transmission, causing severe clinical symptoms in them like sneezing, wheezing, coughing, and a mean maximum weight loss ranging from 7.3 to 9.8 per cent of the mammals’ body mass.

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Topic: Latest Diary of Events, Profile of States

Neyveli and Vizag disasters

Second fatal boiler blast in two months at plant in Tamil Nadu. The blast took place at a power plant of the central government-owned NLC India Limited (formerly known as Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited) in Cuddalore, about 180 km from state capital Chennai.

This once again underscore the value of safety protocols, particularly the Indian Boilers Act.

About the Indian Boilers Act, 1923:

Enacted with the objective to provide mainly for the safety of life and Property of persons from the danger of explosions of steam boilers and for achieving uniformity in registration and inspection during operation and maintenance of boilers in India.

Such accidents are mostly preventable, and occur rarely in the industrialised world, because of impeccable attention to safety. India’s aspirations to industrialise should be founded on safety.

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Topic: Latest Discovery of Rare Species, Profile of States

New butterfly species from Arunachal Prades

Lepidopterists have discovered two species of butterflies in Arunachal Pradesh. They are:

The Striped Hairstreak (Yamamotozephyrus kwangtugenesis) was located in Vijaynagar bordering Myanmar. It was first recorded by Japanese entomologists in Hainan province of China.

The Elusive Prince (Rohana tonkiniana) was found in Miao on the periphery of the Namdapha National Park. It has a Vietnamese connection and was thought to be the more familiar Black Prince found in the Eastern Himalayas.

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Topic: Latest Discovery of Rare Species, Profile of States

Assam keelback (Herpetoreas pealii)

The Assam keelback (Herpetoreas pealii), a snake endemic to Assam, has been found 129 years after it was last spotted by British tea planter Samuel Edward Peal in 1891.

Key facts:

The snake was considered a lost species since no sighting had been reported since its discovery in 1891.

In 2018, it was found in the Poba Reserve Forest (RF) by a team of scientists from the Wildlife Institute of India (WWI), who were retracing the steps of the Abor Expedition.

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Topic: Profile of States, Current Socio-Economic Issues

World’s first ever online B.Sc. degree in Programming and Data Science

The programme has been prepared and offered by the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras).

The program will have videos from the faculty, weekly assignments and in-person invigilated exams just like any other regular course.

Eligibility:

This programme is open to anyone who has passed Class 12th, with English and Maths at the Class 10th level, and enrolled in any on-campus UG course.

The current batch of students who are completing their Class 12th in 2020 are eligible to apply. Graduates and working professionals can also take up this programme.

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Topic: Welfare Oriented Govt Schemes and their Utilities

‘Accelerate Vigyan’ Scheme

Launched by Scientific and Engineering Research Board (SERB). It seeks to provide a single platform for capacity building programs, research internships, and workshops across the country.

The primary objective of this scheme is to give more thrust on encouraging high-end scientific research and preparing scientific manpower, which can lead to research careers and knowledge-based economy.

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Topic: Awards and Honors, Persons in News

2020 Great Immigrants

Pulitzer Prize winner Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee and Harvard University Economics Professor Raj Chetty were listed among the 38 immigrants to be honoured as the ‘2020 Great Immigrants’ by the Carnegie Corporation.

Key facts:

Every year since 2006, ahead of the Independence Day of the United States on 4th July, Carnegie Corporations of New York honors the legacy of its founder Andrew Carnegie- who being an immigrant from Scotland to the United States rose from poverty to become a leading industrialist and further went on to established a philanthropic fund to support education programs across the United States.

The awards are also to remind how immigrants have contributed to the greatness of the United States.

Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee: The noted biologist, oncologist and the author was awarded Pulitzer Prize in 2011 for his book: The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer.

Raj Chetty: He was chosen as the recipient for the award for his efforts in launching a real-time economic impact monitor of COVID-19.