UPSC Daily Current Affairs| Prelim Bits 04-02-2025

Asteroid 2024 YR4

Why in News?

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) officials said that 2024 YR4 has slightly more than 1% chance of crashing into Earth in 2032.

• It is a near-Earth asteroid recently discovered by a telescope in Chile.
• Size – Measuring 40 to 100 metres across, as big as a football field.
• Size measurement is based on estimates from its reflected light.
• Asteroids do not emit a light of their own, they only reflect sunlight. It brightness depends on how reflective the asteroid’s surface.
• Currently, it is moving away from the planet at 13.26 kilometres (8.24 miles) per second.
• It passing within roughly 800,000 kilometres of Earth, about twice the distance of the moon.
• It will eventually fade from view over the next few months, and will not be visible again until it passes Earth’s way again in 2028.
• Destruction potential – Categorized by - Torino Scale.
• The NASA JPL Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) has currently rated the 2024 YR4 a 3 on a scale from 0 to 10.
• Rating – Scale 3 - When the object is larger than 20 metres (65 feet) and has an impact probability of 1% or higher.

Apophis asteroid, which was discovered in 2004, was initially rated 4 on the scale but was later downgraded as observations showed that it posed no threat for at least 100 years.

• It is expected to release 8 to 10 megatons of energy in case of a crash.
• The European Space Agency (ESA) has stated that the asteroid will safely pass through Earth with a 99% chance of no collision.

Torino Scale

• Torino scale is a rating system that helps astronomers and the public understand the risk of a near-Earth object (NEO) colliding with Earth.
• The scale is named after Turin, Italy, where it was first presented at an international conference in 1999.
• The scale is used to categorize the likelihood and consequences of a potential impact.
• The scale uses a number from 0 to 10, with higher numbers indicating a greater risk.

• The scale is based on the probability of a collision and the estimated kinetic energy of the impact.
• The scale is color-coded to help convey the level of risk.
• The scale is used to communicate the seriousness of collision predictions.
• The scale is used to help the public understand the potential impact of a NEO.
• The scale is used to help determine the level of public concern that is warranted.

References

1. The Indian Express | Asteroid 2024 YR4
2. Economic Times | Asteroid 2024 YR4

United States Agency of International Development (USAID)

Why in News?

The United States of America’s Administration recently decided to put an end to United States Agency of International Development.

• USAID is the lead international humanitarian and development arm of the US government.
• The agency was established via an executive order by President Kennedy after the US Congress in 1961 passed the Foreign Assistance Act.
• The act mandated the creation of a single agency to administer foreign aid.
• The agency provides assistance to other countries primarily by funding non-governmental organisations (NGOs), foreign governments, international organisations, or other US agencies.
• Aim - To alleviate poverty, provide education and healthcare, among other things.       
• Funding - The agency managed more than $43 billion in funds, and provided assistance to around 130 countries in FY2023.
• The top 10 recipients of USAID-managed funds in FY2023 (in descending order of funding).
  • Ukraine, Ethiopia, Jordan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Syria.
• Employees - USAID employed more than 10,000 people in FY2023, according to CRS, with approximately two-thirds of this workforce serving overseas.
• USAID maintains more than 60 missions around the world.
• Significance for India - The US has provided development and humanitarian assistance to India since 1951, when President Harry Truman signed the India Emergency Food Assistance Act.
• Economic aid from the US has also helped establish 8 agricultural universities, the first Indian Institute of Technology, and 14 regional engineering colleges.
• It also strengthened India’s national programs on immunization, family planning, maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and polio.
• In 2004, the Indian government decided to reject any foreign aid that comes with conditions. This has, over time, led to a decline in the quantum of such assistance.

Reference

The Indian Express | USAID

New Green Cardamom Species

Why in News?

Recently, an international team of researchers have identified 2 new species that are close cousins to green cardamom.

• Green cardamom – It is the most valuable spice plant in the world and of huge economic importance.
• Taxonomy
  • Scientific name – Elettaria cardamomum.
  • Genus – Elettaria, now has 7 species.
• It is based on the spice’s old Malayalam name, Elletari which is used by Hendrik van Rheede in the 17^th century.
• Seed capsules – It provides the commercial green cardamom.
• It is known as Queen of Spices.
• 2 new species – Elettaria facifera and Elettaria tulipifera.
• Discovered in – Western Ghats regions of Kerala.

Elettaria Facifera

• Found in – Kerala’s Periyar Tiger Reserve in Idukki district.
• Morphology – It is distinguished by sessile leaves, erect flowering shoots that are separate from the leafy shoots, and pure white labellum with purple-red markings.
• Mannan tribe – They refer to it as the Vai noki elam, (loosely, Open-mouth cardamom) due to the fruit’s resemblance to an open mouth.

Elettaria Tulipifera

• Found in – Agasthyamalai hills in Thiruvananthapuram district.
• Morphology – It has strikingly beautiful tulip-shaped inflorescence and large, bright to dark red, whorled bracts.

• Conservation – The researchers have underlined the need for conservation efforts as both species face threats.

Reference

The Hindu| 2 New Green Cardamom Species

Henipavirus

Why in News?

First case of deadly henipavirus found in North America.

• Henipavirus is a zoonotic, negative-sense RNA Virus.
• Family – Paramyxoviridae.
• Natural Hosts – Pteropid fruit bats (flying foxes)

Camp Hill virus, a type of henipavirus has been found in the northern short-tailed shrews, a small mammal commonly found in Canada and the US.

• Symptoms - Dizziness, headache, fever, and myalgias.
• Respiratory symptoms also may be present. Relapsing or late-onset encephalitis can occur months or years after acute illness.
• Transmission - These inhibit the cell’s response to viral infection, and allow viral replication.
• These thus act as virulence factors, blocking the interferon-stimulated antiviral defense mechanisms from kicking in inside the infected cells.
• The virus causes destruction of small blood vessels in many major organs, such as the brain, liver and kidney, causing organ failure. This is associated with microinfarction, infection, and organ failure.
• Fatality - Fatality often occurs when the disease progresses to severe encephalitis and symptoms like confusion, abnormal reflexes, seizures, and coma occur.
• Prevention - By ensuring HeV vaccination of all horses in risk situations, as well as minimal human contact with fruit bats, isolation of sick animals.
• Treatment - Symptomatic, and no vaccine or antiviral drug has been developed so far to treat the disease.

Reference

Times of India | Henipavirus