Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO)

• The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was a regional defence organization that existed from 1955 to 1977.
• The purpose of the organization was to prevent communism from gaining ground in the region.
• The members of the SEATO includes:
  1. The United States
  2. France
  3. Great Britain
  4. New Zealand
  5. Australia
  6. The Philippines
  7. Thailand
  8. Pakistan
• Although called the “Southeast Asia Treaty Organization,” only two Southeast Asian countries became members.
• The Philippines joined in part because of its close ties with the United States and in part out of concern over the nascent communist insurgency threatening its own government.
• Thailand, similarly, joined after learning of a newly established “Thai Autonomous Region” in Yunnan Province in South China, expressing concern about the potential for Chinese communist subversion on its own soil.
• The rest of the region was far less concerned about the threat of communism to internal stability.
• Burma and Indonesia both preferred to maintain their neutrality rather than joining the organization.
• India initially stayed equidistant by not joining the organisation.

Mashco Piro

The logging activities in the amazon forest area appear to be pushing the Mashco Piro out of their traditional territories.

• Mashco Piro are one of the world's few remaining uncontacted tribes, having minimal interaction with outside society.
• They inhabit the amazon forest region of Peru, near the borders with Brazil and Bolivia.
• The Mashco Piro are nomadic hunter-gatherers who rely on the forest for their survival.
• Estimates suggest they may number around 750 individuals, though exact figures are difficult to confirm.
• They have a traumatic past, having been displaced and persecuted during Peru's rubber boom in the 1880s. Survivors retreated deeper into the forest.
• In 2002, Peru created the Madre de Dios Territorial Reserve to protect their territory, though this doesn't cover all their traditional lands.
• Increasing sightings of the Mashco Piro in recent years are likely due to encroachment on their lands, particularly from logging activities.
• Peru forbids direct contact with the Mashco Piro to protect them from diseases to which they lack immunity.
• Their way of life is currently threatened by deforestation and resource extraction in and around their territory.
• As one of the last uncontacted tribes, the Mashco Piro represent a unique cultural heritage that has remained largely unchanged for centuries.

Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesviruses (EEHVs)

The recent survey has estimated Kerala’s elephant population to be 1,793 in 2024, a decline of roughly 7 % over the previous year and 40% have died due to Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesviruses.

• Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesviruses (EEHVs) are a class of novel double-stranded DNA herpesviruses which cause acute haemorrhaging in juvenile Asian and African elephants.
• It is a viral disease with severe cases causing death within 24 hours of infection.
• The disease has a mortality rate of up to 85%.
• It pose a dire threat to conservation efforts.
• The disease itself has coexisted with elephants for millions of years.
• Young elephants are particularly vulnerable to the disease on account of the lower EEHV-specific antibody levels compared to the seniors.
• When it is triggered, the elephant dies of massive internal bleeding and symptoms which are hardly visible.
• Some elephants show symptoms such as reduced appetite, nasal discharge and swollen glands.

Project ‘Strawberry’

Recently it has been revealed that OpenAI is working on a new reasoning technology under the code name “Strawberry”, believed to be the new name for Project Q.

• Project Strawberry aims to dramatically improve AI reasoning capabilities, allowing for autonomous internet research and planning.
• It is an initiative of OpenAI.
• Main features of the project Strawberry:
  • Enhanced reasoning abilities.
  • Capability to plan ahead.
  • Ability to conduct deep research autonomously.
  • Improved problem-solving skills.
• Differences from current AI models:
  • Current Large Language Models (LLMs) struggle with common sense problems and multi-step logic tasks.
  • Strawberry models aim to handle complex, multi-step problems more effectively.
  • They could potentially work on problems over extended periods, even days.
• Potential applications:
  • Scientific research and breakthroughs.
  • Medical research, including drug discovery and personalized medicine.
  • Advanced problem-solving in mathematics and engineering
  • Legal analysis and strategic planning.
  • Personalized education and tutoring.
  • Business analysis and decision-making.
  • Creative fields like writing, art, music, and game design.

Cadmium Telluride (CdTe)

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mandi researchers assess environmental impact of solar cells and found that Cadmium Telluride has lowest carbon dioxide emissions among solar cell technologies.

• Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) is a material made from the combination of two elements such as Cadmium (Cd) and Tellurium (Te).
• It plays a critical role of light absorption.
• CdTe cells are referred to as thin-film because they are more absorptive than other types of photovoltaics (e.g. silicon solar cells).
• In a solar cell, the CdTe absorber is attached to other materials, which allows electric current to flow through the absorber layer into the metal contacts and be collected as sustainable electricity.
• According to the research done by IIT Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, CdTe (Cadmium telluride) technology exhibits some of the least environmental impact among solar cell technologies in India.
• It has the lowest carbon dioxide emissions, ozone depletion potential, human health effects, and particulate air pollution.
• It was one of five solar cell technologies on which the IIT scientists conducted a life-cycle assessment (LCA) to identify the most sustainable options for solar energy production in India.
• The other four were mono-silicon, polysilicon, Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS), and Passivated Emitter & Rear Contact (PERC).
• CdTe was closely followed by CIGS (Copper indium gallium selenide) PV (photovoltaic) cells.