14 November 2022

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

1 – Genome Editing: GS III – Topic Biotechnology

Context:

• Researchers have used CRISPR technology for the first time to introduce genes into immune cells, enabling them to attack cancer cells while likely sparing healthy cells. This will boost the efficacy of immunotherapy.

About:

• The CRISPR gene editing method has already been used by humans to remove certain genes and increase the immune system’s capacity to fight cancer.
• The study, which was published in the journal Nature, used CRISPR to reroute immune cells to detect modifications in the patient’s own cancer cells by both removing specific genes and inserting new ones.

What exactly is genome editing?

• Genome editing, commonly referred to as gene editing, is a group of scientific procedures that enables scientists to change an organism’s Deoxy-Ribonucleic Acid (DNA).
• These technologies allow us to add, remove, or change genetic material in specific sections of the genome.
• Based on proteins linked to Clustered Regularly Interspaced Palindromic Repeats, scientists have developed highly efficient systems (CRISPR). With this technique, the precise genetic sequence can be changed.
• The variety of plant breeding choices has increased because to this instrument. With the aid of this technique, professionals in agriculture can now alter the genome to add specific features to the gene sequence.
• SDN 1, SDN 2, and SDN 3 are the three categories of the method, which are divided according to the sort of edit that is carried out.
• Site-Directed Nuclease (SDN) 1 makes minute insertions and deletions in the host genome’s DNA without adding any new genetic material.
• SDN 2 requires precise changes to be made using a small DNA template for the alteration. Both of these methods don’t employ genetic material from non-human animals, and the crops that are produced are the same ones that have always been cultivated.
• Similar to how genetically altered organisms are made, the SDN3 technique incorporates longer foreign genes or bigger DNA pieces (GMOs).

What distinguishes gene editing from the production of GMOs?

• Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) modify the genetic composition of their hosts by adding foreign genetic material.
• The greatest place to get these genes for use in agriculture is in soil bacteria, which are later genetically altered to become the host genome.
• The introduction of the genes cry1Ac and cry2Ab from the soil bacterium Bacillus Thuringiensis (BT) into the cotton plant, for instance, may cause the native cotton plant to manufacture endotoxins to defend itself naturally against the pink bollworm.
• The pink bollworm is the most common pest for cotton growers, thus BT Cotton employs it to help farmers fight it naturally.
• Genome editing is fundamentally different from genetic engineering in that both processes include the addition of foreign genetic material.
• Agribusiness employs these techniques to develop plant kinds that are more productive and resistant to biotic and abiotic stress.

Source The Hindu

2 – Monkeypox: GS II – Topic Health-related issues

Context:

• More proof has emerged recently that the monkeypox virus can spread even before symptoms appear. Pre-symptomatic transmission has reportedly occurred up to four days before to the onset of symptoms, according to a recent BMJ experiment with a bigger sample. According to estimates, 53% of monkeypox virus transmission occurs in the presymptomatic stages.

About:

• The monkeypox virus can spread before symptoms appear, making it difficult to treat many infections by merely excluding those who are already unwell.

 Monkey pox: What is it?

• The transfer of a disease from sick animals to people is known as zoonotic, or monkeypox.
• The monkeypox virus has been identified in squirrels, dormice, rats that were illegally harvested from Gambian forests, and several different species of monkeys.
• The primary cause is monkeypox.
• Although the disease’s natural reservoir is yet unknown, it is thought that African rodents and monkeys are the primary carriers and carriers of monkeypox.
• Occurrence: According to the WHO, cases are often found where the virus-carrying animals live—in tropical rainforests.
• The WHO has recognised the two separate clades known as the Congo Basin Clade (sometimes called the Central African Clade) and the West African Clade.
• the transmission Transmission can occur via respiratory droplets, contact with bodily fluids, wounds on the skin or on internal mucosal surfaces, such as those in the mouth or throat, sores on contaminated items, and so on.
• Six generations made up the longest reported line of transmission, and human-to-human transmission is rare (meaning the last person to be infected in this chain was six links away from the original sick person).

How has the sickness spread?

• Following two outbreaks of a condition resembling the pox in colonies of monkeys housed for research, which gave rise to the name “monkeypox,” the infection was first identified in 1958.
• In 1970, the Democratic Republic of the Congo saw its first known human case (DRC).
• Monkeypox cases have been confirmed by the WHO in 15 nations across four continents.
• What sets the monkeypox apart from the smallpox?
• The variola virus, which causes smallpox, and the vaccinia virus, which was used in the smallpox vaccine, are all members of the orthopoxvirus, which also causes monkeypox.
• Although less severe than smallpox, monkeypox exhibits similar signs and symptoms.
• Both diseases have different signs and symptoms.
• In spite of the fact that smallpox has been eradicated globally since 1980 as a result of immunizations, monkeypox is still a problem in some parts of Central and West Africa and has occasionally appeared elsewhere.

What are the symptoms and signs that the sickness is present?

• Fever, headaches, and back and muscle aches and pains are the first indications of monkey pox.
• Lymphadenopathy is yet another negative impact that smallpox does not have.
• Monkeypox typically takes 7–14 days from infection to the onset of symptoms, however it can take anywhere between 5–21 days.
• Stage 1: The patient starts to develop a rash that starts on the face and extends to other regions of the body one to three days following the commencement of a fever.
• The lesions become harder, fill with a clear fluid, then pus, and eventually form scabs or crusts over the course of two to four weeks. Stage of skin eruption.
• Patient mortality rates, according to the examples presented, have ranged from 0% to 11%, with mortality rates among small children being higher.
• Even though there is no proven, secure treatment for monkeypox, the WHO advises supportive care depending on the symptoms.
• Monkeypox outbreaks can be controlled in the United States using antiviral drugs, the smallpox vaccination, and the vaccinia immune globulin (VIG).

Way Forward:

• To avoid contracting the monkeypox virus, many different steps can be performed.
• Whenever possible, stay away from any animals that might be infected with the virus.
• Be careful while handling any bedding or other items that have been in contact with a sick animal.
• Keep infected patients away from anyone who might be at risk for infection.
• Following contact with infectious individuals or animals, thoroughly wash your hands.
• Prior to delivering care to patients, put on personal protective equipment (PPE).

Source The Hindu

3 – Kashi Tamil Sangamam: GS I – Topic Indian Culture

Context:

• A month-long Kashi-Tamil Sangamam featuring students, professors, and businesses from the State will take place in Varanasi from November 16 to December 19. Priests, cooks, and cow shelter workers from several Tamil Nadu temples will participate.
• Professionals and opinion leaders will be among the 2,500 guests at the event, together with more than 200 teenagers from different districts in Tamil Nadu.

About:

• From November 16 to December 19, Varanasi will play host to a Kashi-Tamil Sangamam.
• Academic interactions, such as seminars and talks, will be place at this Kashi-Tamil Sangamam between experts and researchers with an emphasis on highlighting the connections and shared values between the two ancient manifestations of Indian culture.

What exactly would the involvement of the Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti (BBSinvolvement) in the Kashi-Tamil Sangamam entail?

• To find, affirm, and celebrate the long-standing connections between Tamil culture and Kashi, the Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti (BBS), a powerful organisation for the development of Indian languages led by Chamu Krishna Shastry, has put forth a proposal.
• It was created by the Ministry of Education.
• To cultivate a sense of our shared roots, the main objective is to strengthen the linkages between the two knowledge systems and cultural traditions.
• The Sangamam, which has two key ancient centres of learning and culture, would be the greatest location to learn about the persistence of India’s cultural resources.
• The Sangamam was scheduled for the lucky Tamil month of Karthigai in accordance with the principles and ethos of “Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat.”
• To establish a bridge between contemporary India and prehistoric India.
• It will also promote intercultural and linguistic exchange.

What does the Tamil word Karthigai represent?

• The Tamil month of Karthigai masam, also known as Karthikai masam, is the eighth in the calendar.
• Lord Muruga, Lord Shiva, and Lord Vishnu all savour Karthikai Masam very greatly.
• In Tamil Nadu, the month of Karthika is crammed with notable celebrations.
• The two most important festivals associated with Karthikai are Maha Bharani and Karthikai Deepam. Karthikai Deepam is observed on the night of the full moon, or pournami, in the Karthikai month.
• The month of Kartik is known as Karthigai Masam in Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, and Kannada Hindu calendars.

Kashi-Tamil Sangamam themes:

• In addition to modern inventions, trade exchanges, edutech, and other cutting-edge technology, the Sangamam will feature themes from literature, classical texts, philosophy, spirituality, music, dance, and theatre.
• It will also offer students a rare chance to study a range of Indian Knowledge Systems, educational and training approaches, arts and cultures, languages, literature, etc.

Source The Hindu

 4 – Megalithic Sites: GS I – Topic Indian Culture

Context:

• Common anthropomorphic burial sites, thought to be the most numerous in Andhra Pradesh, can be found in the Tirupati district.
• Anthropomorphic sites are those that have a depiction of a human body over their megalithic graves. However, the majority of them go unheeded because neither the locals nor the authorities are worried about preserving what may one day be a priceless cultural legacy.

Types and Definitions of Megaliths:

• The term “megalith” is typically used to refer to a single piece of stone, though it can also refer to one or more boulders that have been specifically shaped for a certain purpose. People from all around the world and from different historical periods have used it to describe buildings they have constructed.

Following are the several kinds of megalithic structures:

• Menhir: A menhir, often known as a “standing stone,” is a single upright stone that was erected in Western Europe during the Paleolithic era.
• A solitary prehistoric standing stone or monolith. When referring to a single stone from more recent periods, the term “monolith,” which is occasionally used synonymously with “megalith” and “menhir,” is more common.
• Typically placed over burial chambers, single megaliths that can be positioned horizontally without the assistance of other stones.
• Stone circles: Stone circles are known as “cromlechs” in Welsh; the English word “cromlech” is rarely used with that meaning.
• A dolmen, a megalithic form, is produced when a large capstone is balanced on two or more support stones to create a chamber below that is occasionally enclosed on one or more sides. frequently used as a burial chamber or tomb.
• Cist: Cremated remains are stored safely in cists, which are little ossuaries made of stone. Dolmens and burial grounds are two examples of megalithic construction. These burials were all performed underground. There were cists with one or more chambers.

Indian megaliths:

• Southern India has produced megaliths dating as far back as 5000 BC, and the country itself has produced megaliths dating back to before 3000 BC.
• Nearly everywhere in the southern Indian subcontinent are megaliths.
• The more recent megaliths are found in the east, indicating a substantial historical advancement, whereas the older megaliths are discovered in central India and the upper Indus valley.
• These are believed to constitute a sizeable portion of funeral or post-burial rites, which may or may not include memorials for those whose remains are not easily accessible. The case study is the Brahmagiri archaeological site, which was uncovered in 1975 and contributed to the definition of the south Indian prehistoric cultural sequence. Other megalithic structures, however, don’t appear to be connected to funerals.
• Menhirs, chamber tombs, rock-cut burials, dolmens, stone alignments, stone circles, and humanoid sculptures are just a few of the innumerable megalithic structures that have been found all over India.

Source The Hindu