Category: Current Affairs

Four new dwarf hot Jupiter planets discovered

Scientists of Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany have discovered four new G-type ‘hot Jupiter’ extra-solar planets orbiting dwarf stars. These planets are: HATS-50, HATS-51, HATS-52 and HATS-53. -These were discovered ssing telescopes of the Hungarian-made Automated Telescope Network-South (HATSouth) Exoplanet Survey, the team observed -All the four planets belong to the class of exoplanets known as ‘hot Jupiters.’ Objects of this type are similar in characteristics to Jupiter, with Read More …

Hedychium chingmeianum and Caulokaempferia dinabandhuensis: Two new species of Ginger

Scientists have discovered two new species of Ginger in Manipur and Nagaland. These two new species are: Hedychium chingmeianum and Caulokaempferia dinabandhuensis. Hedychium chingmeianum, discovered in Tuensang district of Nagaland, is an epiphytic plant and grows on tall trees. Caulokaempferia dinabandhuensis was found growing in rock crevices, boulders and humus rich soil in the Shirui Hills of Ukhrul in Manipur. Both the plants are from the family of Zingiberaceae, to which the commonly Read More …

Nyctibatrachus mewasinghi: New Night frong species

-According to a scientific paper published in The Journal of Threatened Taxa (an international journal on conservation and taxonomy) a new night frog species ‘Nyctibatrachus mewasinghi’ was discovered from Kerala. -The frog has been named after wildlife scientist Mewa Singh, in honour of his contributions to behavioural ecology and primate studies. -This species belongs to a genus endemic to the Western Ghats, from Kozhikode’s Malabar Wildlife Sanctuary. Features: This new species iss Read More …

NASA’S Parker Solar Probe for Sun

US space agency, NASA is turning 60 in 2018 and on this occasion it is planning to launch a slew of important missions in 2018. -One of those planned mission for 2018 is NASA’s Parker Solar Probe to explore the Sun’s outer atmosphere. -The Parker probe will use Venus’ gravity during seven flybys over nearly seven years to gradually bring its orbit closer to the Sun. -The spacecraft will fly through Read More …

‘Tetramorium krishnani’ and ‘Tetramorium jarawa’: New species of ants in Andman

Scientists of the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bengaluru and the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Japan have discovered two new endemic species of ant in Andman. These species were named ‘Tetramorium krishnani’ and ‘Tetramorium jarawa’ in honour of late scientist K.S. Krishnan of the NCBS, and after the Jarawas, an indigenous people of the islands . According to the study published in PeerJ , the newly discovered ants Read More …

World’s first double whirlpool discovered

-Finally, scientists have discovered the world’s first double whirlpool, which was earlier existed only in theory. -Scientist of University of Liverpool, London have done this miracle. -Scientists have discovered this unique world’s first double whirlpool, called Modons, in Tasman sea. -While eddies (whirlpools that can span hundreds of miles in the ocean) are not uncommon, two connected eddies spiraling in opposite directions was previously unheard of. -Ocean eddies almost always Read More …

Madhya Pradesh recorded largest tiger deaths in 2017

According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), total 95 tiger deaths were recorded in 2017. It is less 2 of 2016. As per the report, Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest tiger death in the country for a second consecutive year in 2017. 25 out of the 95 tiger deaths reported in the country took place in MP, followed by 17 in Maharashtra and 15 each in Karnataka and Uttarakhand. In Read More …

China ivory sale ban came into effect

-China’s complete ban on ivory trade came into effect on December 31, 2017. -All of the country’s licensed ivory carving factories and retailers have been closed. -Chinese President Xi Jinping and then U.S. President Barack Obama had reached on a landmark judgement in 2015 to ban ivory trade. -China and the U.S. both had agreed to “near-complete” ivory bans. It prohibits the buying and selling of all but a limited Read More …

उत्तर प्रदेश समीक्षा अधिकारी/सहायक समीक्षा अधिकारी परीक्षा 2017 पाठयक्रम एवं परीक्षा प्रणाली

पदों की संख्याः 465 न्यूनतम शैक्षणिक योग्यताः स्नातक आयु सीमाः 21-40 वर्ष आवेदन की अंतिम तिथिः 30 जनवरी, 2018 प्रारंभिक परीक्षा तिथिः 8 अप्रैल, 2018 पाठयक्रम एवं परीक्षा प्रणाली -परीक्षा दो चरणों में आयोजित की जाएगी। प्रथम चरण प्रारंभिक परीक्षा की है और इसमें क्वालीफाय किये छात्रें को मुख्य Read More …

Damehood honour to Indian origin Pratibha Laxman Gai

Acclaimed York-based Indian origin scientist Pratibha Laxman Gai will be honored by UK Queen’s prestigious damehood, the female equivalent of a knighthood. Gai, grew up in India and won the national science talent scholarship before winning another scholarship to study at the University of Cambridge. -Pratibha Laxman Gai has been honoured for “services to chemical sciences and technology”. -Inspired in early life by the physicist-chemist Marie Cure, Gai’s patented inventions are Read More …

The first draft of the updated National Register of Citizens in Assam

The first draft of the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC), an exercise undertaken only in Assam, will be made public at midnight on December 31. The main objective of this exercise is to identify illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. -According to the state finance minister, all those whose names do not figure in the NRC will have to be deported. -The NRC is being updated in Assam for the first time Read More …

India test-fired ‘Advanced Air Defence supersonic interceptor missile’

-India on December 27, 2017, successfully test-fires its indigenously developed ‘Advanced Air Defence supersonic interceptor missile’ at Abdul Kalam island (earlier Wheeler Island) in Odisha. -It is capable of destroying any incoming ballistic missile in low altitude. -The target ‘Prithvi missile’ was launched from launch complex 3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur. -This was the third supersonic interceptor test carried out in 2017 in which an incoming Read More …

Scientists discovered pair of eddies or ‘smoke rings’ in the Tasman Sea

Scientists of University of Liverpool, UK have discovered ‘smoke rings’ in the Tasman Sea which may ‘suck up’ small marine creatures and carry them at high speed and for long distances across the ocean. -Researchers found a pair of eddies spinning in opposite directions and linked to each other so that they travel together all the way across the Tasman Sea, taking six months to do it. -The smoke rings Read More …

Viswanathan Anand won World Chess Chapionship 2017

Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand has regained the World Rapid Chess Championship title in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 28 December. -In the final and fifth round, Anand beat Russia’s Vladimir Fedoseev to reclaim the title he had won in 2003. -Anand, took revenge for his 2013 World Championship loss as he defeated World No 1 Magnus Carlsen in the ninth round match on December 27, was placed joint second at the Read More …

WFIRST: New telescope for the largest picture of universe

NASA will launch a space telescope that will provide the largest picture of our universe ever seen, with the same depth and clarity as the Hubble Space Telescope. -It has been named as Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope or WFIRST. -NASA has planned to launch this telescope in the mid-2020s. -This next generation telescope will function as Hubble’s wide-eyed cousin. -While just as sensitive as Hubble’s cameras, WFIRST’s 300-megapixel Wide Field Read More …