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Prelim Bits 09-10-2018

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October 09, 2018

Zika Virus

  • Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) surveillance system has recently detected cases of Zika Virus in Jaipur.
  • Zika virus is a member of the virus family Flaviviridae.
  • It is a mosquito-borne disease transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes.
  • It can be passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus. Infection during pregnancy can cause certain birth defects.
  • Zika infection during pregnancy can cause a birth defect of the brain called microcephaly and other severe brain defects.
  • It is also linked to other problems, such as miscarriage, stillbirth, and other birth defects.
  • There is no vaccine or medicine for Zika.
  • The disease is currently being reported by 86 countries worldwide.
  • Symptoms of Zika virus disease are similar to other viral infections such as dengue, which include fever, skin rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain and headache.
  • In India, the first outbreak was reported in Ahmedabad in January-February 2017 and 2nd outbreak in Krishnagiri district in Tamil Nadu.
  • Both were successfully contained through intensive surveillance and vector management.
  • According to WHO, Zika is no longer a public health emergency of international concern.

Diphtheria

  • Government hospitals in Delhi has reported a dozen diphtheria deaths in children over the past two weeks.
  • Diphtheria is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheria.
  • It primarily infects the throat and upper airways and produces a toxin affecting other organs.
  • The toxin causes a membrane of dead tissue to build up over the throat and tonsils, making breathing and swallowing difficult.
  • The disease is spread through direct physical contact or from breathing in the coughs or sneezes of infected individuals.
  • It can be fatal if left untreated, but has become increasingly rare in recent decades due to high rates of vaccination.

Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences

  • Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences rewards the design of methods that addresses sustainable growth in the global economy and welfare.
  • It is not formally a Nobel Prize.
  • It was created by the Swedish central bank “in memory of Alfred Nobel” and first awarded in 1969.
  • This year, it is awarded to William D. Nordhaus and Paul M.Romer from USA.
  • Nordhaus is known for persuading governments to address climate change, preferably by imposing a tax on carbon emissions.
  • Paul M. Romer is known for integrating technological innovations into long-run macro-economic analysis.

Cyclone Luban

  • Tropical Cyclone Luban is spinning through the Arabian Sea.
  • It is forecast to track toward Oman, Yemen or the Gulf of Aden in the week ahead.
  • The cyclone is named as Luban by oman authorities.
  • Tropical cyclones are most likely to develop in the Arabian Sea in the spring and fall.
  • It usually affects the Arabian Peninsula every one to two years.
  • The cyclone typically weaken as they approach the Arabian Peninsula due to dry desert air.
  • This year, Cyclone Sagar made landfall in western Somalia in May. It was the country's strongest and westernmost tropical cyclone in records dating to the mid-1960s.

Voyager 2

  • NASA has recently reported that Voyager 2 is nearing heliosphere (Sun's outer border) and could soon enter interstellar space.
  • Voyager 2 is the space probe launched by NASA in 1977 to study the outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune).
  • Heliopause - The place where the sun’s constant flow of material and magnetic field stop affecting its surroundings.
  • Heliopause marks the end of a region created by our sun that is called the heliosphere.
  • The sun creates heliosphere by sending a constant flow of particles and a magnetic field out into space at over 670,000 miles per hour. This stream is called the ‘solar wind.’
  • Interstellar Space is the part of space that exists between stars with cold particles around it.
  • Inside the heliosphere, the solar particles are hot but less concentrated. Outside of the bubble, they are very much colder but more concentrated.
  • Once an object arrive in interstellar space, there would be an increase of “cold” particles around it.

 

Source: The Hindu, BusinessLine, Indian Express

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