2020 CD3 is a mini-moon which is also an asteroid that has been orbiting Earth for three years. It was spotted on February 15, 2020 using the Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) in Arizona, USA. Catalina Sky Survey is a NASA Read More …
Category: PRELIMS TERMINOLOGY
A Rs. 3.6 crore grant to promote research on pigmentary disorder
Studies to understand the problem of pigmentary disorders is expected to get a major shot in the arm with Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance conferring an Intermediate Fellowship Award on Dr. Rajender K. Motiani, Assistant Professor at Faridabad-based Regional Centre for Read More …
Henneguya salminicola-First known animal that doesn’t breathe
Researchers from the Tel Aviv University (TAU) and University of Kansas, have discovered a tiny parasite of salmon called Henneguya salminicola which has no mitochondrial genome and thus has lost the ability to perform aerobic respiration. Facts The organism is Read More …
Biojet Fuel and AN-32 Aircraft
News: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 23, 2020 in his monthly Mann ki Baat radio address, hailed the use of biofuel in AN 32-an Indian Air Force transport aircraft, saying such innovations would bring down carbon emissions and lower the nation’s Read More …
Government unveiled SUTRA PIC India programme to research on ‘indigenous’ cows
The Central Government has unveiled an initiative to research on ‘indigenous’ cows. The initiative is SUTRA PIC ( Scientific Utilisation Through Research Augmentation-Prime Products from Indigenous Cows), which is led by the Department of Science and Technology (DST). The initiative Read More …
Remdesivir: Medicine being tested for coronavirus treatment
The Wuhan Institute of Virology, China Academy of Sciences had filed a patent application to use remdesivir to treat the novel coronavirus (2019 nCoV) on January 21, 2020, which has sparked debate on China’s social media about intellectual property issues. Read More …
Andhra Pradesh Assembly passed resolution for the abolition of the Legislative Council
The Andhra Pradesh Assembly on January 27, 2020 passed a resolution for the abolition of the Legislative Council. 133 members, voted for it and none opposing it. The Opposition Telugu Desam Party had made it clear that it would boycott Read More …
What is 2019-nCoV?
On 31 December 2019, World Health Organisation was alerted to several cases of pneumonia in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. On 7 January 2020, Chinese authorities confirmed that they had identified a new virus ( 2019 Novel Coronavirus, or Read More …
Kerala govt. challenges CAA in Supreme Court under Article 131
Kerala became the first State to challenge in the Supreme Court the constitutionality of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, which came into force on January 10, 2020. The State on January 14, 2020 approached the Supreme Court and filed Read More …
Mugalayikaviharika and Yajñapindikamahavihara-Two monasteries confirmed at Moghalmari
The presence of two monasteries — Mugalayikaviharika and Yajñapindikamahavihara have been confirmed from recent excavations at Moghalmari. Moghalmari is a Buddhist monastic site of the early medieval period in West Bengal’s Paschim Medinipur district. Facts The two monasteries were confirmed Read More …
Why Bojjannakonda is famous for?
Bojjannakonda is a famous Buddhist site at Sankaram, 3.5 km from Anakapalle and 41 km from Visakhapatnam. The villagers, as a part of an ancient ritual, used to throw stones at a belly-shaped object at the site on the Kanuma Read More …
Ophiocoma wendtii-lacks eyes but can still see
Researchers from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, have published an article in the Current Biology, in which they have described that the red brittle star, called Ophiocoma wendtii, lacks eyes but can still see. A cousin of the starfish, O. Read More …
The locust attack in Gujarat
Why in the news: Swarms of locusts descended on parts of Gujarat and Rajasthan, destroying crops and triggering panic. Facts The locusts, known as tiddis locally, have wreaked havoc on standing crops of castor, cumin, jatropha, cotton, and potato, and fodder grass Read More …
Earliest Sanskrit inscription in South India found at Chebrolu in Andhra Pradesh
The Archaeological Survey of India’s (ASI) Epigraphy Branch has discovered the earliest Sanskrit inscription in South India as on date. It is also the earliest epigraphic evidence so far for the Saptamatrika cult. Till date, the Nagarjunakonda inscription of Ikshavaku Read More …
What is the National Population Register (NPR)?
Why in the News? After protests in various parts of the country, against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019 and the proposed National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC), West Bengal and Kerala announced to suspend the work related to the Read More …