S&T

Compilation
2014

AUGUST
4/Aug/2014
[1]. Difference between invention and Innovation?
Invention: In its purest sense it means to create a new product or introduction of a new process for
the first time.
Innovation: Improving products that already exist to create something new.
Invention and innovation both are creative.
Honey-bee network: it lists many admirable innovations from the aam admi.
More info on them: http://www.sristi.org/hbnew/aboutus.php
[2].Ebola virus disease sets off international concern
The current outbreak of Ebola virus disease, which can produce bleeding in sufferers and is capable
of killing a large proportion of those who catch it, started in the west African nation of Guinea in
December last year. It then spread to neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone. Since the end of May,
there has been an alarming surge in cases and deaths.
The World Health Organization is convening a meeting this week of an emergency committee to
decide whether the current situation constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International
Concern (PHEIC).
What is PHEIC?
Under WHOs International Health Regulations, a PHEIC is defined as an extraordinary event which
is determined to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread of
disease and to potentially require a coordinated international response.
There are 5 species of Ebola virus and 4 can cause disease in humans. The one responsible for the
ongoing outbreak in West Africa is the Zaire ebolavirus, which has the highest case-fatality rate
(about 60 per cent to 90 per cent).
The first Ebolavirus outbreaks occurred simultaneously in 1976 in the Democratic Republic of Congo
and Sudan. Fruit bats are believed to be the natural host for the virus.
You can visit this link for a 3d model of the Ebola virus:
http://www.sciencemag.org/site/extra/ebola/

[3]. Marine pelagic zone:

It is an ecological realm that includes the entire ocean water column. Of all the inhabited Earth
environments, the pelagic zone has the largest volume, 1,370,000,000 cubic kilometres (330,000,000
cubic miles), and the greatest vertical range, 11,000 metres (36,000 feet).
What is there in pelagic zone?
Pelagic life consists of three categories.
The phytoplankton, which constitute the food base of all marine animals, are microscopic
organisms that inhabit only the sunlit uppermost oceanic layer, using sunlight to
photosynthetically combine carbon dioxide and dissolved nutrient salts.
Zooplankton are the marine animals that rely mainly upon water motion for transport,
although some forms such as jellyfish are feeble swimmers. Zooplankton subsist on
phytoplankton and smaller zooplankton and are dominated in their numbers by small
crustacean copepods and euphasiids.
Nekton, the free swimmers, are dominated by the bony and cartilaginous fishes,
molluscans, and decapods, with rarer mammals and reptile
Mesopelagic zone: The stretch between 200 and 1,000 metres deep is called the Mesopelagic zone,
dubbed twilight zone for the scant amount of sunlight it gets.

[4]. Lignocellulose: It is a generic term for describing the main constituents in most plants, namely
cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin. Cellulose, the major component of cell walls of land plants, is a
glucan polysaccharide containing large reservoirs of energy that provide real potential for conversion
into biofuels.
Lignocellulosic biomass consists of a variety of materials with distinctive physical and chemical
characteristics. It is the non-starch based fibrous part of plant material.

Routes for synthesizing renewable fuels and chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass

More info on Lignocellulosic biomass:

http://www.bioenergyconsult.com/what-is-lignocellulosic-biomass/

SEPTEMBER
4/Sept/2014
There are two main reasons why the high risk factors for CVD did not translate into higher
death rates in high-income countries,
First, there was better control of risk factors and frequent use of proven drugs to
reduce the risk of deaths.
Second, people living in the high-income countries had greater chances of
undergoing interventions like bypass surgery/angioplasty to prevent death
Risk factors alone doesnt determine the mortality rate. Other determinants like easy and
timely access to healthcare and medicines, diagnosis of risk factors and treatment/control,
and greater awareness play an equally important role in preventing death.
What can India do to address the issue:
We must make essential healthcare facilities diagnosis and essential drugs available
even in PHCs. The secondary level can take care of basic emergency treatment and tertiary
level for conducting operations and angioplasty.
-2 components are there to reduce risk factors and mortality,
health promotion
healthcare
The health promotion component is to raise awareness and risk reduction and the
healthcare component is to provide early detection and effective treatment. In India, both
are inefficient
[2].Smoky fires raise risk of respiratory diseases, early death
Air pollution is the number one environmental cause of death in the world, with HAP
[household air pollution] being a major contributor to this burden.
A large proportion of the Indian population some 700-million-plus people living in both
urban and rural areas continued to rely on solid fuels. Over a million deaths each year in this
country could be attributed to household air pollution.
The way out:
All the available evidence indicated that improved cook-stoves using solid fuels would not
reduce pollution levels sufficiently for health benefits to be realised.
Cleaner fuels such as gas and electricity can help mitigate this problem in India.
[3]. National Mole Bank (NMB):
Jointly funded by the DST and CSIR, the mole bank was established in 2011 at the Indian
Institute of Chemical Technology in Hyderabad to store diverse molecules (either
synthesised or isolated from natural resources) and to provide a platform for biologists and
chemists to join hands in developing drugs.
The unique facility is meant to give a fillip to the drug discovery process by enabling
collaborative research. The chemists can store their samples at NMB, while the biologists
can retrieve them for biological screening.

11/Sept/2014
[1].Can BRCA gene be patented?
A year after the U.S. Supreme Courts landmark decision on breast cancer BRCA1 and BRCA2
human DNA patent case that went against the interests of Myriad Genetics, the Australian
Federal Court, on September 5, upheld the patents for the mutant BRCA1 human DNA.
Reasons given by US Court:
The U.S. Supreme Court had revoked the patent awarded to the company on the grounds
that isolation of the DNA from human body alone does not amount to innovation and hence
was not patentable. The isolated genes are in no way different from what are produced in
nature.
Reasons given in favour of the patent in the Australian court:
Isolation [of the gene], does produce something that is not inherent in the human body, it is
a different structure in the sense it is not surrounded by the things it is in the cell with.
The final question?
A genetically modified bacterium that degrades crude oil was awarded patent years ago in
the U.S. It involved a fair amount of innovation. Can isolation of the BRCA genes from the
human body match it?
[2]. Langurs might be 3 different species:
Scientists at the Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES), Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have,
through an analysis of the langurs physical traits and genetic profile, found three genetically
different species:
Semnopithecus entellus (found across north India)
S. priam (drier parts of peninsular India)
S. hypoleucos (mostly in the Western Ghats).
-need to assess the status of each population and devise separate conservation plans.
[3]. Deforestation results in net cooling effect:
Read more: http://www.zmescience.com/ecology/environmental-issues/worlddeforestation-surprisingly-results-net-cooling-effect/

18/Sept/2014
[1]. IISc: novel membrane filters water, kills bacteria:
A low-cost water purification membrane capable of filtering out objects greater than one
micron size and also killing E. coli bacteria has been developed by the Bangalore-based
Indian Institute of Science (IISc) researchers and Steer Engineering Pvt. Ltd, Bangalore.
The novel membrane with pores as small as 0.57-0.68 microns was developed by mixing two
polymers polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene oxide (PEO) at 180 degree C. Unlike PE,
PEO is water-soluble and the two polymers are immiscible
[2]. Himalayan glaciers loosing ice by thinning:
The response of the Himalayan glaciers to climate change is very puzzling in many ways.
Despite being subjected to similar climate changes, some of these glaciers appear to be
stagnant as their fronts (or mouths) appear to be stationary.

Three aspects of the puzzle are interesting:

First, despite experiencing similar climatic changes, such as warming, many glaciers appear
not to be retreating in other words, they appear to be stagnant.
Second, there is a marked difference between the average behaviour of extensively debriscovered glaciers and sparsely debriscovered glaciers.
Third, there is a large variation in the
retreat rates of the fronts of
glaciers, which is the point where the
glacier begins.
-Extensively debris-covered glaciers
are retreating type despite the front
appearing stationery
-bare glaciers

[3]. Innovative approach to manage water hyacinth:

Hyacinth: It is an aquatic weed. A native of Brazil, the weed has spread to other parts of the
world, through initial intentional introductions for its aesthetic values in Africa, Southern
Asia and the U.S.

Infestation of water hyacinth

Research sponsored by Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India, at Annamalai
University has shown that herbicides like 2, 4-D, glyphosate and paraquat are effective in
controlling the weed.
However use of herbicides has following disadvantages,
1). herbicide use in water system impairs the water quality in terms of dissolved oxygen,
electrical conductivity etc.
2). Besides causing mortality of fishes, the water treated with all these herbicides caused
histological damages in fish organs like gills, liver, kidney and brain
Alternative:
The Department of Agronomy, Annamalai University through a National Agricultural
Technology project sponsored by Indian Council of Agricultural Research, brought out an
innovative approach of managing the weed with the application of dried leaf powder of a
medicinal plant called Coleus amboinius/aromaticus (Karpooravalli or Omavalli in Tamil).

25/Sept/2014
[1]. Synthetic biology: India should not miss the boat:
Synthetic Biology in simple terms is the application of engineering principles to biology.
Knowledge of the Human genome sequence led to the evolution of omics sciences
(genomics, proteomics, metabolomics etc).
Synthetic biology can be used to create biological circuits that can give the desired output in
terms of a new molecule or a new function. These circuits then can be combined to create
biological machines whose parts would be genes, proteins, RNAs, promoters, inducers,
repressors etc. In simple terms an activator molecule would turn on the switch to make a
protein that can act as an activator or repressor (on or off) switch of another pathway.
Registry of Standard Biological Parts (RSBP): RSBP is a collection of genetic parts that are
used in the assembly of systems and devices in synthetic biology. It conforms to the BioBrick
standard, a standard for interchangeable genetic parts.
Synthetic Biology in microbial systems can generate microbial factories to produce drugs,
vaccines, fuel components and other chemicals with diverse applications and many global
companies are involved in this effort. The most often quoted success story is the production
of artemisinin, a powerful antimalarial drug, in yeast at a commercial level.
The hype is to construct new organisms performing unique functions: processing signals,
storing information and carry out analogue functions, steps towards making biological
machines and computers.
International Risk Governance Council (IRGC): IRGC is a non-profit and independent
organisation whose purpose is to help improve the understanding and governance of
systemic risks that have impacts on human health and safety, on the environment, on the
economy and on society at large.
What should India do?
We need to build interdisciplinary research teams and also create a new institute to foster
the area. iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machines) is an international synthetic
biology competition that was started for undergraduate university students, but now
expanded to high school students and entrepreneurs.
iGEM evolved out of student projects at MIT, USA and the first competition was held in 2004
at MIT with 5 teams and this number has increased to 254 for 2014 with teams from all over
the globe.
India has only 1 team from IIT Delhi while China has 50 teams out of a total of 84 teams
from Asia.

[2].Manjul Bhargavas Fields Medal and beyond:

The award of the 2014 Fields Medal to Professor Manjul Bhargava of Princeton Uniersity is
a crowning recognition for his path-breaking contributions to some of the most famous and
difficult problems in Number Theory. The Fields Medal, known as the Nobel Prize of
Mathematics, has an age limit of 40, and therefore recognizes outstanding contributions by
young mathematicians who are expected to influence the development of the subject in the
years ahead.
Manjul Bhargava was awarded the Fields Medal for his pioneering work on several long
standing and important problems in number theory, and for the methods he has introduced
to achieve this phenomenal progress methods that will influence research for years to
come.
He has also been awarded with SASTRA Ramanujan prize in Dec 2005.
SASTRA Ramanujan prize: The SASTRA Ramanujan Prize, founded by Shanmugha Arts, Science,
Technology & Research Academy (SASTRA) University in Kumbakonam, India, Srinivasa Ramanujan's
hometown, is awarded every year to a young mathematician judged to have done outstanding work
in Ramanujan's fields of interest. The age limit for the prize has been set at 32 (the age at which
Ramanujan died), and the current award is $10,000.
[3]. Coming, a simple breath test for drug-resistant tuberculosis
A new prototype technique looks for traces of nitrogen gas emitted by the disease-causing germ
Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Strains of the microbe which respond to the drug isoniazid have an enzyme called KatG that
reacts to the antibiotic by releasing nitrogen.The test entails administering a small amount
of isoniazid, waiting for five to 10 minutes and then taking a breath sample, which is
chemically analysed by a mass spectrometer.
A positive result showing the presence of nitrogen indicates the person has a TB
infection that can be safely tackled with isoniazid, one of two frontline tuberculosis
treatments.
If it gives a negative result, this means that either a person does not have TB or has an
isoniazid-resistant strain.
[4]. Arctic sea ice removes atmospheric CO2:
New research has shown that sea ice removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. If Arctic
sea ice is reduced, we may face an increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide, researchers
warn.

Bonus Article:
Millenium Development Goals:
What are they?
The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which range from halving extreme poverty to
halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of
2015 form a blueprint agreed to by all the worlds countries and all the worlds leading
development institutions. They have galvanized unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the
worlds poorest.
Millennium Summit
In September 2000, building upon a decade of major United Nations conferences and summits,
world leaders came together at United Nations Headquarters in New York to adopt the United
Nations Millennium Declaration, committing their nations to a new global partnership to reduce
extreme poverty and setting out a series of time-bound targets - with a deadline of 2015 - that have
become known as the Millennium Development Goals.

8 Millennium Development Goals

Position now:
2013: MDG Acceleration and Beyond 2015
On 25 September 2013, the President of the UN General Assembly hosted a special event to follow
up on efforts made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). At the Special
Event towards achieving the MDGs, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon presented to Member States
his report entitled A Life of Dignity for All. In the outcome document adopted by Member States,
world leaders renewed their commitment to meet the MDGs targets and agreed to hold a high-level
Summit in September 2015 to adopt a new set of Goals building on the achievements of the MDGs.
On 23 September 2013, the Secretary-General hosted a high-level forum to catalyze and accelerate
further action to achieve the MDGs and enrich the deliberations of the General Assembly and
beyond. The forum focused on concrete examples of scaling up success and identifying further
opportunities. Additional commitments to boost MDG achievement were announced, bringing the
total to more than $2.5 billion.

OCTOBER
09/Oct/2014
[1].Turning an optical microscope into a nanoscope:
Nobel Prize for Chemistry for 2014 has been equally divided among the Laureates Eric
Betzig, Stefan W. Hell and William E. Moerner for having bypassed a presumed scientific
limitation stipulating that an optical microscope can never yield a resolution better than 0.2
micrometres (half the wavelength of light).
Using the fluorescence of molecules, scientists can now monitor the interplay between
individual molecules inside cells; they can observe disease-related proteins aggregate and
they can track cell division at the nanolevel.

[2]. A prize for illuminating lives with blue light:

Nobel prize in physics for 2014 goes to Isamu Akasaki, Meijo University and Nagoya
University, Hiroshi Amano, Nagoya University, and Shuji Nakamura, University of California,
Santa Barbara, for inventing the blue light emitting diode (blue LED) 20 years ago.
Red & Green LEDs have been around from 1950s but Blue LEDs which gave off blue light of
significant strength were fabricated by 1990s.

Why their invention got Nobel?

Because blue was the last -- and most difficult -- advance required to create white
LED light. And with white LED light, companies are able to create Smartphone and
computer screens, as well as light bulbs that last longer and use less electricity than
any bulb invented before.

A modern white LED light bulb converts more than 50 percent of the electricity it
uses into light. Compare that to the 4 percent conversion rate for incandescent
bulbs, and you have one efficient bulb.
LEDs also last up to 100,000 hours, compared to 10,000 hours for fluorescent lights
and 1,000 hours for incandescent bulbs. Switching more houses and buildings over
to LEDs could significantly reduce the world's electricity and materials consumption
for lighting.
Blue LEDs can also be used to bacteria infested water.

What these 3 scientists did?

Two of this year's prize winners, Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano, worked together on
producing high-quality gallium nitride, a chemical that appears in many of the layers in a
blue LED. The previous red and green LEDs used gallium phosphide, which was easier to
produce. Akasaki and Amano discovered how to add chemicals to gallium nitride
semiconductors in such a way that they would emit light efficiently. The pair built structures
with layers of gallium nitride alloys.

The third prize-winner, Shuji Nakamura, also worked on making high-quality gallium nitride.
He figured out why gallium nitride semiconductors treated with certain chemicals glow. He
built his own gallium nitride alloy-based structures.
[3].How we get a sense of place and navigate:
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2014 has been divided among three scientists
with one half being awarded to John O'Keefe of University College, London, and the other
half shared by May-Britt Moser of the Centre for Neural Computation, Trondheim, Norway
and Edvard I. Moser of Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience, Trondheim, Norway for
their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain.
What these scientists did?
They discovered that how we are able to get a sense of place in any given environment and
an ability to navigate. If the sense of place gives us a perception of the position with respect
to the environment, the ability to navigate is linked to the direction and distance from the
previous positions. In effect, the two together provide us with an internal positioning or
inner GPS with respect to the environment.
Hippocampus area of the brain is responsible for spatial navigation It contains place cells.
Place cells provide the spatial map while the grid cells provide the navigation or path
integration system. Grid cells are contained in the entorhinal cortex.

Implication of this discovery:

The discovery of place cells and grid cells and their role in spatial mapping and navigation
have great implications in medicine. The reason why patients with Alzheimers disease often
lose their way and cannot recognise the environment becomes clear as the hippocampus
and entorhinal cortex, where the place cells and grid cells are located, are frequently
affected at an early stage.

Ethical issues involved:

The work of the scientists in this case involved working with mice which highlights how
important working with animals as models is. The recent banning of animal experiments in
schools and colleges has been a bad move, and needs to be rescinded.

16/Oct/2014
[1]. Mars probes to observe cometary visitor
Comet named Siding Spring will hurtle past Mars on Oct 19th 2014.
Comet has been named after Australian observatory from where it was discovered in
January 2013.
The Indian connection!
The Indian Orbiter as well as three
American and one European spacecraft
now around Mars will be training their
instruments on the comet. Two U.S. rovers
trundling about on the Martian surface will
also peer up with their cameras.
Significance of these cometary
observations:
As the comet is coming into the inner solar
system for the first time, it will carry the
signature of the pristine material out of
which the sun and the planets were born
some 4.6 billion years back. Observations of
the comet will therefore aid in
understanding the origin and evolution of
the solar system.
These will be the first spacecraft observations made from close proximity of a comet that
originated in the Oort Cloud (The Oort Cloud is an extremely distant shell of icy bodies
encircling the solar system.
Whats the comet made of?
With the mass of a small mountain, the comet is made up of rocky dust and various volatile
ices.
[2]. 3 important advances made by India in the last 100 years in the field of genetics,
namely,
sugarcane breeding
the discovery of the Bombay Blood Type (the O subgroup)
the mathematical analysis of the mapping of genes distributed across the length of
the chromosome.

Sugarcane breeding: Sugarcane has been grown in India from Rigvedic times. It was known
then as Ikshu.
The sweetest sugarcane came from Papua New Guniea and was known as Saccharum
officianarum also known as Noble Cane.
Indian variety i.e. S. Spontaneum was not as sweet but its talk was quite robust. The
sugarcane breeding station at Coimbatore cross-bred the two sugarcane varities and
produced a new breed which was sweet and had a robust stalk.
Between 1930 and 1935, this work of Venkataraman (he lead Coimbatore Breeding station)
led to a doubling of sugarcane production in the country
[3]. Vultures may be rescued by their genetic diversity
Genetic diversity, the level of biodiversity, refers to the total number of genetic
characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species.
Indias vulture population is now just
3% of what it was 2 decades ago.
What vultures have lost in numbers,
they make up for in genetic diversity
a key criterion for successful breeding
finds a study of three critically
endangered Asian vultures: Oriental
White-backed vulture (Gyps
bengalensis), Long-billed vulture (Gyps
indicus) and Slender-billed vulture
(Gyps tenuirostris).
South Asias vulture population have
fell precipitously mainly due to an anti-inflammatory drug called diclofenac once routinely
administered on cattle. Vultures that scavenged on cattle carcasses that contained traces of
the drug often died from toxicity and kidney failure.
[4]. Stem cells to treat blindness appear safe
An experimental treatment for blindness that uses embryonic stem cells appears to be safe,
and it improved vision in more than half of the patients who got it, two early studies show.
Special Feature of Embryonic stem cells:
Embryonic stem cells, which are recovered from embryos, can become any cell in the body.
Ethical issue:
They are considered controversial by some because they involve destroying an embryo and
some critics say adult stem cells, which are derived from tissue samples, should be used
instead.
More info about Stem cells:
1). link below contains a whole animation regarding Stem cells
http://bcs.whfreeman.com/thelifewire/content/chp19/1902001.html
2). https://cyhsanatomy1.wikispaces.com/WHAT+ARE+STEM+CELLS%3F

Embryonic Stem Cell Process

[5]. Ornamental Fish culture:

Info on Ornamental fish culture can be found here,
http://www.epao.net/epSubPageExtractor.asp?src=education.Science_and_Technology.Orn
amental_Fish_Culture_How_and_Where

[6]. Mars and its Moon:

23/Oct/2014
Diwali CelebrationS

30/Oct/2014
[1]. Why Western Ghats in Ktka receive more rainfall
In a recent study of rainfall trends using remotely sensed satellite data and actual field data
from the Indian Meteorological Department of the Western Ghats region over the past 14
years, it was found that during the monsoon months of June, July, August, September, the
average rainfall was more over Karnataka than Maharashtra and Kerala.

Reasons:
First, Due to wider topography of the Ghats in Ktka the rain bearing winds have to
travel longer distance and have more time for the drops to coalesce and precipitate
as rainfall.
Second, the slope of the mountain has a direct bearing on the possibility of
precipitation. This is borne out by the Ghats of Karnataka where the mountains are
gently sloping, compared to the steep slopes of the Ghats in Maharashtra and
Kerala. The air parcel will retain its energy and speed for a longer time when the
slope is gradual. This will provide sufficient vertical motion to cloud droplets to grow
by collisioncoalescence process and hence form precipitation.
Third, the gentle slope provides a greater area for sunlight absorption and heating
leading to greater convection when compared with an abrupt slope i.e. less Ghat
area such as that of the Maharashtra and Kerala Ghats.
Fourth, the continuous mountain range presents a greater barrier to rain-bearing
winds than a range comprising isolated mountains with gaps in between where the
winds can easily pass to the leeward side. Unlike in the case of Kerala, the Ghats in
Maharashtra and Karnataka are continuous.
Interestingly, the study found that often areas of heavy rainfall were far away from the
summits of the mountains, as much as 50 km away.
The reason for this is that there is more chance of rainfall occurring at the foot of the
mountain as there is greater depth for the moisture in the clouds to coalesce into big drops
which finally reach the ground.
[2]. Bose-Einstein condensate: The BEC is formed when a gas of bosons is cooled to very
low temperatures, close to absolute zero. The gas condenses into a quantum liquid, namely,
a liquid in which the quantum effects which normally take place at a microscopic level are
observable macroscopically. In other words, the entire fluid behaves like a single entity.

[3]. EU leaders hammer out landmark climate deal:

The EUs new climate and energy policy framework, obliges the blocs member states to reduce their
domestic greenhouse-gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030, relative to 1990 levels.
European heads of state also agreed on a politically binding EU-wide target to increase the
proportion of energy generated from renewable sources to 27% by 2030, up from just over 14%
currently

November 2014
[1].Novel way to purify drinking water
-Using silver ions in combination with carbonate ions.
-Viral Load: Viral load, also known as viral burden, viral titre or viral titer, is a measure of
the severity of an active viral infection.
-Carbonate dissolves faster than silver
[2].New class of potent anti-malarial drugs found
-An international team of scientists has found a new class of molecules that showed a high
level of potency against human malaria parasites in animal trials. The new compound known
as pyrazoleamides, were effective against Plasmodium falciparum as well as Plasmodium
vivax, the two most prevalent parasite species causing human malaria.
-Drug targets the parasites ability to control its sodium levels
-During its lifecycle at one stage, the parasite infects Red Blood Cells and replicates inside
them. While replicating it changes the permeability of membrane of RBCs which leads to a
sharp increase in the sodium levels
-The drug breaks the ability of the parasite to control its own sodium levels thereby causing
a dramatic apparent bursting.
[3].New material for cooling surfaces
-Stanford University engineers have invented an ultrathin multilayered material which can
reflect sunlight from, say, buildings and thereby lower the temperature of the building.
-could be a soln to air conditioned rooms which are costly
-Thickness<1.8microns which is less then aluminium foil
-It is made up of seven layers of hafnium oxide and silicon dioxide, each of differing
thicknesses, on top of a thin layer of silver.
-It is designed to reflect both infrared light (which cannot be seen) and visible
sunlight.
-What is special is that the material reflects light at the frequency which is not absorbed by
atmospheric gases. This is known as the atmospheric window
-Light with frequency between 8 and 13 microns when beamed into atmosphere escapes
into outer space and is not absorbed by the atmosphere
-Thermal light[4]. Deep ocean has no role in sea level rise
-A new study by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) scientists has found
that the contribution to sea level rise is only from the upper half (0-2,000m) of the ocean
and the ocean below this depth has no role to play in sea level rise.
-Satellite Altimetry-Altimetry is a technique for measuring height. Satellite altimetry
measures the time taken by a radar pulse to travel from the satellite antenna to the surface
and back to the satellite receiver.The total contribution to sea level rise from the entire
water column was determined using satellite altimetry

Satellite Altimetry

-Argo array: Scientists have been recording the temperature and sea levels of the top half of
the Ocean directly since 2005, using a network of 3,000 floating temperature probes called
the Argo array of floats. The Argo floats are used to measure sea level variations due to
thermal expansion (steric sea level) of the ocean in the 0-2,000m ocean layer. Each float
spends most of the time 2000 metres below the surface but it emerges every ten days to
transmit data to satellites.

[5].Keeping an eye on the preemies eye

-Premature babies called as preemies.
-Babies born before 37 weeks of pregnancy are termed as premature babies or preemies
-Mildly premature: Born before 35-37 weeks of pregnancy
-Moderately premature: Born before 32 weeks of pregnancy
-Extremely premature: Born before 28 weeks of pregnancy
-Eye needs to taken particular care of in preemies.
-Eye begins to develop at 16 weeks of pregnancy. Blood vessels of the Retina start
forming. In a preemie growth of these vessels is incomplete creating a Retinal
Detachment within few weeks of birth. This disorder of the eye in a preemie is termed
as Retinopathy of Prematurity or ROP.
-1000s of preemies are born in India and ROP has taken epidemic proportions.
- ROP can be treated or managed if discovered early enough, between 20-30 days after
birth.
These 30 days are called Tees Din Roshni Ke (or thirty days to brightness).

[6].Flash memory breaches nanoscales

Breakthrough in computing hardware, a team of scientists from Glasgow has proposed a
way to harvest molecules and construct nano-sized non-volatile (permanent) storage
devices, also known as flash memory devices flash .Efforts are made to engineer molecular
memory using nanoscale polyoxometalate clusters instead of the conventional metal-oxide
semiconductor (MOS) devices.
The challenge
It is a great challenge to reduce the size of conventional MOS flash memories to sizes below ten
nanometres. This poses a problem when one tries to build small flash memory devices. Hence other
options have been pursued for quite some time, including those using proteins and other molecules.
However, using these molecular memories involved integrating them with the MOS technologies,
which was proving to be by difficult.

Device simulation
Flash memory is in everyday usage now. It is used in digital cameras, USBs and various other
places. Unlike a computers RAM, which is volatile meaning that the memory stored in it
will dissipate once power supply is broken a flash memory can retain what is written on it
even when power supply is discontinued. For that reason it is called a non-volatile memory.
So long, flash memories have been constituted using MOS technologies.
[7].India tight-lipped on the issue of hydrofluorocarbons (imp)
India did not clearly spell out its position on the issue of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) during a
key UN conference here as nations debated whether to set up a contact group for discussing
the proposed amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase down the harmful greenhouse
gas.
As nations debated pro and cons of the issue, India neither supported nor opposed it and
instead merely read out a joint-bilateral statement on HFCs signed by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and U.S. President Barack Obama during their White House summit on
September 30.
India had not opposed to participate in discussing on the agenda on the issue of harmful
greenhouse gas under United Nations Montreal Protocol on ozone depleting substances.
During the debate yesterday, oil producing Gulf nations led by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait
opposed to setting up a contact group on the issue, arguing that the Montreal Protocol does
not have the mandate to deal with the greenhouse gas.They said that the issue should be
discussed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Montreal Protocol is a UN treaty signed in 1987 to ban ozone-depleting substances like
chloroflurocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochloroflurocarbons (HCFCs), which were used in
refrigerators and air conditioners. HFCs were brought into replace the ozone-depleting
substances but it was proved later that the ozone friendly gas has a potent warming effect.

During the past six conferences, it was India which had led the Gulf States to block the use
of the Montreal Protocol to phase out HFCs.
The change in Indian stand comes in the wake of a joint Indo-US statement on HFCs this
year under which both the nations had agreed to discuss the harmful greenhouse gas under
the Montreal Protocol. The Gulf countries argued that there were no alternatives to HFCs.
Sensing that evolving a consensus on setting up of a contact group is not easy, the U.S.
proposed to setting up of an informal group to discuss the mandate of the contact group
and not to discuss the amendment proposal.
[8].Leopards: discreet denizens of human habitation
Leopards live in closer proximity to human settlements than earlier thought, suggests a new
study. The animals are discreet even as they venture rather close to houses looking for
domesticated prey mainly dogs and livestock .
Scientists who tracked five leopards fitted with GPS-collars, in Maharashtra and Himachal
Pradesh, gathered some new insights into their movements, diet and interaction with
people in highly human dominated landscapes. Most of these leopards ventured as close as
25 meters to individual houses at night, but rarely came near homes during day. Dogs
appeared to be their most preferred prey, and none of the animals was involved in
purposeful attacks on people.
The reactive management strategies in India that involve capture and relocation of
leopards are founded on a misconception about leopard behaviour, the paper says. The
animals do not stray into human habitations, but are often resident individuals that
settle within a small range once they have found their niche. Domesticated animals make
easy prey for these highly adaptable carnivores when wildlife is not available.
Research tells us that translocating leopards in fact only increases conflict. The stressful
nature of the process, which brings them close to humans and places them in unfamiliar
locations, only adds to aggression. Two of the Maharashtra leopards, were captured from
the densely populated area.
Even at those areas these leopards occupied small, discrete, and very stable home ranges
implying that they were resident in their ranges. Although they were released in forested
patches they moved through very human dominated landscapes, including industrial and
suburban areas, indicating that translocation has limited benefits in resolving leopard
conflicts. It appears that relocations of so called problem individuals may either have only
short-term local effects, may simply move the conflict to another area, or in the worst case
scenario, increase the level of conflict.
Using a diabetes drug to treat TB shows promise
Metformin- is commonly prescribed for type 2 diabetes patients.treating TB both the
drug-sensitive and drug-resistant types may become far more effective if clinical trials in
humans produce the same results as laboratory and animal studies.

Metformin was found to inhibit intracellular growth of TB bacteria, restrict disease

immunopathology and enhance the efficacy of anti-TB drugs.
[9].Figuring out spillover of a bat-borne virus
Using a bat-borne virus that sporadically infects horses in Australia as an example, a team of
scientists has examined conditions under which viruses that bats carry could spill over into
other species.
Bats are host to a number of viruses that are lethal to humans, Ebola being one of them.
Understanding what makes it possible for such viruses to make the leap out of bats is
therefore of importance.
Using Hendra virus factors involved in spillovers from bats were identified.
The virus circulates in fruit bat populations in the country, and spillovers of the virus into
horses have occurred sporadically.
It was examined why the spillovers occurred only in some places, and not others, where bat
and horse populations overlapped. Moreover, just a small proportion of horses in an area
where an outbreak occurred were affected.
Not only must bats be present and carrying the virus, but they must also be shedding those
viruses.
New evidence suggested that virus excretion from bats occurred in pulses that could drive
spillover, they noted. Shortage of food and pregnancy might be among the factors that lead
to such pulses of virus shedding.
Bats excrete urine and faeces around trees where they feed or roost, and their saliva can be
present in fruit they partially consume. Horses could pick up the Hendra virus when grazing
near trees with bats. The susceptibility of individual horses also determined their probability
of infection.
Removal of any of the enabling conditions should prevent spillover.
Conservation and restoration of critical feeding habitats for bats should reduce the risk of
nutritional stress and their moving to urban and semi-urban areas in search of food.
Vaccination would reduce the susceptibility of horses to the virus.
But culling or dispersing fruit bat populations for which there has been public and
political pressure in Australia would not help.
No evidence that the prevalence of Hendra virus in bat populations was associated with
population density and therefore that decreases in host density would reduce virus
prevalence.

[10].Karnataka has mangrove patches, a study finds

Scientists analysed a set of satellite imagery to discover mangrove, an unlikely ecological
wealth on Karnatakas coast that successive forest surveys of India have completely missed
out. The State has a sizeable stretch of mangrove forests, a vibrant saline-water ecosystem
generally associated with Indias east coast.
researchers identified 300 hectares of mangrove forest in Karnataka, spread over three
coastal districts. Mangrove shrubs, known best for a thriving aquatic life nurtured within
their mesh of stilt-roots also serve a vital socio-economic function. They act as green
shields buffering the coastline against sea erosion, and the potentially devastating impacts
of cyclones and tsunami.
Its impact-reducing potential was best evident along the east coast after tsunami struck
India in December 2004. while mangroves have been declining in several parts of the world
from timber harvesting and pollution, these forests in Karnataka have in fact grown spatially
over the last two decades.
At the confluence of four rivers Aghanashini, Gangavali, Sharavati and Venkatapura
and the Arabian Sea is a long stretch of dense and tall mangrove vegetation..The
rejuvenation owes entirely to local conservation efforts, both by forest officials and
communities, in reforestation and protection. These patches of mangroves went
unrecorded by the Forest Survey because they are not very large,. FSI also only recently
began using remote sensing and relied largely on ground-reporting.
. In Aghnashini estuary, mangroves grew by four per cent between 1989 and 2010. A decline
in shrimp culture in the 1990s led to a natural regeneration of mangroves, aided by
reforestation with select mangrove species. Two other estuaries Sharavathi and
Venkatapura showed a similar rejuvenation of mangrove species
The importance of mangroves: They support livelihood, aquaculture, they supply medicinal
plants, and fuel wood and construction materials. And in terms of ecological services, they
stabilise shorelines, are nurseries for fish breeding and filter heavy metals.
The value of an estuary is calculated as $19120 per hectare per year if all goods and
services are taken into account: shrimps, fish and crabs; mangrove shrubs; nutrient cycling,
hydrology, soil protection and a sink for carbon.
[11].Nano materials in cancer therapy
In spite of many advances in cancer treatment, one of the biggest challenges is to ensure
that normal cells do not get damaged while destroying malignant tumours.
In the case of most therapies, either oral or intravenous, the drug gets distributed
throughout the body. As a result, higher dosages are required, which makes the treatment
expensive.

Targeted therapy
To overcome the problems faced in current treatment methods, scientists are trying to take
advantage of the increased proliferation activity of cancer cells by adopting targeted
therapy through the use of nano materials without causing much harm to a non-cancerous
tissue.
Iron oxide nanoparticles have been synthesised and attached a drug called photo-sensitiser
and a peptide to provide targeted photodynamic therapy.
In this type of therapy, a photo-sensitiser is used along with a specific wavelength of light to
kill cancer cells. On exposure to light, the photo-sensitiser releases free radicals that kill the
cancer cells.
In laboratory studies, the scientists created a tumour in mice, injected the drug and shone
light on the malignant tissue. They found that peptide-bound nano particles retarded the
tumour growth significantly when compared with controls or treatments with nano particles
without peptide.
.
While photodynamic therapy would be useful in treating cancers of the skin, neck, head and
mouth, they were trying to seek endoscopic treatment modalities for cancers of organs
inside the body.
It could be beneficial especially for treatment of eye cancers as also those of mouth and
uterus.
.
[12].Role of El Nino in heat build-up in Indian Ocean(***v imp)
The Indian Ocean has been warming at a rate faster than thought before (1.2 deg C during
the past century). It is also the largest consistent contributor to the global ocean warming
trends. Recent studies show that a warm Indian Ocean can in turn modulate the Pacific
conditions including the El Nino events. So basically, such large warming over the Indian
Ocean has implications on the global climate.
The western Indian Ocean, traditionally thought to have cooler sea surface temperatures
(SSTs) than the central and eastern Indian Ocean, is surprisingly showing an even stronger
summer warming trend over the whole of the 20th century than the central and eastern
Indian Ocean. The warming is significantly so large that it may alter the monsoon circulation,
monsoon rainfall over the ocean and land, marine food webs and fisheries (western Indian
Ocean is one of the most productive oceans) and global climate including the El Nino.
A recent study focused on the causes for this warming and found that it was mainly due to
El Nino events, which are getting stronger and more frequent during recent decades,
possibly due to a changing climate. These El Nino events weaken the summer westerly

(blowing from west to east) winds over the Indian Ocean. Winds have the effect of cooling
the sea surface. Strong winds cause evaporation and loss of latent heat from the ocean
leading to cooling. When the winds are weakened the opposite happens the ocean
warms.
. This work is part of an Indo-French collaboration, carried out under the National Monsoon
Mission set up by the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
The study found that the ocean atmospheric phenomenon the El Nino, and its influence
on the Walker Circulation were responsible for periodic weakening of monsoon westerlies
and led to abnormally high summer sea surface temperatures in the western Indian Ocean.
Walker Circulation represents the zonal (east-west) circulation over the tropics. In the
Pacific, the trade winds blow from east to west. This is because of the low pressure in the
west and high pressure in the east, which drives these winds. This is linked to the warm
waters over the west Pacific and cool waters over the east Pacific. In the upper atmosphere,
this trade wind circulation is completed by winds blowing from west to east.
During summer, this Pacific cell is linked to the monsoon westerlies in the Indian Ocean.
During an El Nino, due to warm waters in the east and cool waters in the west, the pressure
systems also change, reversing (shifting) the Walker circulation. The wind direction reverses
and the whole circulatory system shifts eastward leaving only weak surface westerlies in the
western Indian Ocean. This results in ocean warming in the Western Indian Ocean.
A simultaneous correlation analysis between the eastern Pacific and
global summer mean SST anomalies, after removing the global warming trends, depicts
significant positive correlation over the western Indian Ocean. This indicates that ENSO
dominates the western tropical Indian Ocean variability during summer.
The frequency and magnitude of El Ninos have also increased in the recent decades,
possibly due to global warming. This means a piling up of heat on the Indian Ocean.
Unlike the Pacific or the Atlantic Oceans, the Indian Ocean is land-locked on the north. This
means that the ocean circulation which carries the tropical heat towards the poles is
restricted in the Indian Ocean, withholding the piled up heat.
how Indian Ocean warming affects the El Nino?? Earlier studies have shown that enhanced
tropical Indian Ocean warming in recent decades favours stronger trade winds in the
western Pacific via the Walker circulation and hence is likely to suppress the El Nino events.
The western Indian Ocean, due to its cool, nutrient rich waters, is abundant with marine
phytoplankton and the fisheries thrive on it. Excessive warm waters can be detrimental to
phytoplankton production which in turn affects the fisheries, he notes.

[13].Pakistan a big impediment to global polio eradication(imp)

The global polio eradication effort will miss yet another deadline that of stopping
transmission of all naturally-occurring wild polio viruses by the end of this year, a vital first
step in completing a task that began in 1988 and was to have been achieved by the year
2000.
The latest report from the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB), which produces periodic
assessments of how the global programme states that the virus remains out of control in
Pakistan. In Africa, Ebola has complicated the task of wiping out the virus.
In the nine months from January to September this year, polio paralysis had increased fivefold in Pakistan compared to the same period last year while in the rest of the world it had
been reduced seven-fold.
Many polio cases in neighbouring Afghanistan were caused by the Pakistan virus. This virus
had also gone to Syria and Iraq, and paralysed children there.
[13].Drug-resistant malaria: replaying an Asia Pacific nightmare?(imp)
Some 40 years ago in Southeast Asia, malaria began to develop resistance to chloroquine,
the drug that for years had helped keep the disease at bay. Before long, resistance to
chloroquine had spread into India, and then went on to ravage Africa before setting off a
global malaria outbreak. Years of gains in the fight against malaria were reversed as the
number of deaths spiked around the world.
resistance to artemisinin the current mainstay of malaria treatment worldwide is
emerging in precisely the same part of the world as chloroquine lost its potency. Signs of
resistance to artemisinin were first detected in western Cambodia and since then the
problem has also been detected in Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam.It has heightened
concerns that India may be next.
.
But a rapidly growing population and near-static levels of public health expenditure have
left the public health system fragile. The problems are particularly acute in remote areas far
from the major cities, where inadequate access to health care places a disproportionate
burden on the poor, women and ethnic minorities.
It is in these same hard-to-reach areas that fighting malaria is proving most difficult. A lack
of health workers and laboratory technicians, compounded by shortage of malaria
inspectors, is affecting surveillance and service delivery. What is certain is the fact that in
poor communities, malaria is a debilitating affliction, trapping its victims in a vicious
downward cycle of poverty, sickness, loss of income and more poverty.
India is under siege, and it knows that it cannot fight the threat of artemisinin resistance at
its borders. Just as Ebola has to be tackled at its source in west Africa, so the focus of the

malaria effort must be to ensure that resistant parasites do not break out of the handful of
countries where, for now, they are known to be located.
This is why India, besides playing a leading role in a host of regional and global initiatives, is
deeply involved in the work of the newly formed Asia Pacific Malaria Leaders Alliance, which
brings together heads of government committed to battling malaria, with the Manila-based
Asian Development Bank as its secretariat. Given Indias role as a major manufacturer of
generic drugs, there is probably no one better placed to oversee this crucial element of
malaria control. Malaria is treatable and beatable, but the threat from a worldwide
resurgence of the disease is growing.
Asia must launch an urgent all-out offensive against the disease and against resistance or
risk suffering the same nightmare and its consequences as 40 years ago.
Encapsulating bio inputs for crops has several advantages(imp)

In present-day agriculture, bio-fertilizers are of great economic importance because they

partially replace chemical inputs and play a vital role in enhancing soil and environmental
quality.
Plenty in market
Different formulations of bio-fertilizers are available in plenty in the market and their
success depends on the crop, environment, ease-of- use, cost and availability.But a perfect
bio-fertilizer formulation does not exist till date and each type has its own limitations.
Nevertheless, a promising advancement has been the development of this capsule
technique that allows encapsulating the required nutrition in a capsule and delivering them
to the crop.
While such methods have been fairly successful inside laboratories, practical attempts to
implement the same in the fields have been largely unsuccessful.
the other advantages of this technology include reduced cost and easy handling and
transport, no harmful by-products, less requirement of inorganic and inert material, storage
at normal temperature and more importantly, enhanced shelf life (18-24 months)..
Less requirement
Besides, the number of capsules required will be markedly less compared to other bio
formulations.
For instance, the normal requirement of any other bio-fertilizer for ginger crop is 20 kg for a
hectare.

It can be replaced with just 200 capsules weighing 200gm (each capsule weight being
1.0gm), a marked decrease of 100 times by volume.
The main components in the capsule are the essential nutrients packed in a hard gelatin
capsule (like the ones we get in medical stores). The whole process of encapsulation can be
done at room temperature.
one does not need any sophisticated equipment or special conditions. This is significant
because the investment cost to manufacture these capsules is low.
The encapsulation technique appears to be significant because it can be used to deliver all
kinds agriculturally important microorganisms like nitrogen fixers, nutrient solubilizers/
rhizobacteria, trichoderma, etc to any crop, whatsoever.
The technology has been successfully tested in farmers fields and patent for this delivery
process has been filed for,-Field tested.
At the time of application, the required capsules should be mixed in water and the seed/
planting materials are soaked in the solution for 30 minutes before sowing. The remaining
liquid can then be drenched in the field or pots.
.
Yet to be licensed
Since it has not yet been licensed to prospective entrepreneurs, the bio-capsule is being
given to farmers for testing through the Agricultural Technology Information Center (ATIC)
of the institute.

DECEMBER
4/Dec/2014
[1].IISc: novel way to reduce cell damage found:
Reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are produced continuously in the body during cellular
metabolism and responsible for cellular damage, are removed by naturally occurring
antioxidants. However, the scavenging system fails when the amount of ROS produced is
elevated. The most prevalent reactive oxygen species is hydrogen peroxide; excess amount
of hydrogen peroxide can damage the cells the most.
Researchers at IISc were able to remove any excess ROS by using Vanadia nanowires
(nanowires made of Vanadium).
The vanadia nanowires functionally mimic an antioxidant enzyme (glutathione peroxidase)
produced by the body to scavenge hydrogen peroxide. Glutathione peroxidase is one of the
two enzymes that control the level of hydrogen peroxide inside a cell.
Vanadium in foam, bulk and complex forms produces more ROS. It is in only nano form that
it acts like a ROS scavenger.
Possible benefits:
Nanowires made of vanadia can reduce cell damage in the human body.
This breakthrough can help develop drugs that prevent ageing, cardiac disorders,
and several neurological problems like Parkinsons and Alzheimers disease.
Anti-oxidant drugs at present in addition to scavenging ROS also produce small
quantities of ROS themselves so this new finding may help in developing drugs that
mimic natural detoxification pathways.
The human body has numerous mechanisms to scavenge ROS, and specifically hydrogen
peroxide. However, when people are suffering from a disease, the production of ROS shoots
up, and the natural scavenging mechanisms are not able to cope with. In such cases, ROS
levels are controlled artificially.
[2]. Super Earth:
A super-Earth is an extrasolar planet (or exoplanet) with a mass higher than Earth's, but
substantially below the mass of the Solar System's smaller gas giants Uranus and Neptune,
which are 15 and 17 Earth masses respectively.

The term super-Earth refers only to the mass of the planet, and does not imply anything
about the surface conditions or habitability. The alternative term "gas dwarfs" may be more
accurate for those at the higher end of the mass scale.
[3]. Neuroplasticity (Brain plasticity or Brain Malleability):
It is the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout
life. Neuroplasticity allows the neurons (nerve cells) in the brain to compensate for injury
and disease and to adjust their activities in response to new situations or to changes in their
environment.
For eg:- if one hemisphere of the brain is damaged, the intact hemisphere may take over
some of its functions. The brain compensates for damage in effect by reorganizing and
forming new connections between intact neurons. In order to reconnect, the neurons need
to be stimulated through activity.
Neuroplasticity sometimes may also contribute to impairment. For example, people who are
deaf may suffer from a continual ringing in their ears (tinnitus), the result of the rewiring of
brain cells starved for sound. For neurons to form beneficial connections, they must be
correctly stimulated.
[4]. 50 years since Haldanes death:
J.B.S Haldane- A gifted mathematician, biologist, socialist, atheist, materialist and superb
populariser of science, Haldane enjoyed his eccentricities and was acclaimed as a genius. His
personality continues to stimulate and interest scholars. In 1957, at the age of 65, he and his
wife, Helen Spurway (an accomplished geneticist herself) decided to leave Britain and
immigrate to India.
He was critical of Indian science and scientists but saw hopes in young people. During his
stay here he did much for research in animal and human genetics and in support of science
education.

11/Dec/2014
[1]. Satellites to assess coral reef health:
What are Coral Reefs?
Coral reefs are diverse underwater ecosystems held together by calcium carbonate
structures secreted by corals. Coral reefs are built by colonies of tiny animals found in
marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals,
which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups.
Importance of Coral reefs:
Coral reefs are important for many reasons. Most importantly, they provide
protection and shelter for many different species of fish. Without coral reefs, these
fish are left homeless with nowhere to live and no where to have their babies.
Not only do these fish increase the diversity of our world, but also, reef fish and
molluscs feed between 30 and 40 million people every year.

They also make beautiful pets and the money made by catching and selling these
animals provides many people with an income so that they can feed their families.
Coral are very important in controlling how much carbon dioxide is in the ocean
water. The coral polyp turns carbon dioxide in the water into a limestone shell.
Without coral, the amount of carbon dioxide in the water would rise dramatically
and that would affect all living things on Earth.
Lastly, coral reefs are very important because they protect coasts from strong
currents and waves by slowing down the water before it gets to the shore. That is
why they are called barrier reefs. They provide a barrier between the ocean and the
shore.

Coral Reef - Solomon Islands

One of the problems being faced by the coral reefs is Coral Bleaching.
Coral bleaching: When water is too warm, corals will expel the algae (zooxanthellae) living in their
tissues causing the coral to turn completely white. This is called coral bleaching.
Not all bleaching events are due to warm water. Cold water can also cause bleaching events like in
January 2010, in Florida in USA where cold water temperatures caused a coral bleaching event that
resulted in some coral death. Water temperatures dropped 12.06 degrees Fahrenheit lower than the
typical temperatures observed during that time of the year.

How is India tackling with the problem:

Scientists at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) are using satellite
technology to glean data on Sea Surface Temperatures (SST). Based on an average temperature for a
particular period, they assess if the coral reefs are facing thermal stress and forewarn about the
probability of bleaching.
INCOIS has started the Coral Bleaching Alert System (CBAS) for Indian coral reefs located in
Andaman & Nicobar Islands and elsewhere in India.

Conclusion:
Continuous monitoring through the advisories issued by INCOIS would enable the authorities to
prepare bleaching response plans and also better manage interactions leading to coral bleaching.

[2]. Mountains of plastic afloat in the oceans:

Believe it or not, nearly 269,000 tonnes of plastic comprising an estimated 5.25 trillion plastic
particles are floating in the worlds oceans, including the Bay of Bengal. This estimate does not take
into account the amount of plastic waste found in the shorelines, on the seabed, suspended in the
water column and that consumed by marine organisms.
The plastic particles are found in three size ranges, namely,
Microplastic (less than 4.75 mm). The microplastic particles occur in two size classes 0.331.00 mm and 1.01-4.75 mm.
Mesoplastic (4.75-200 mm)
Macroplastic (above 200 mm).
With nearly 38 per cent of plastic particles and 35.8 per cent of plastic mass, the North Pacific Ocean
is the most polluted ocean in the world.
In the southern oceans, the Indian Ocean has far more plastic particles and mass than the South
Atlantic and South Pacific Oceans put together.
Direct ingestion of Microplastic waste particles by marine organisms coupled by the fact that many
such organism are preyed upon by bigger animals and sea birds is a cause for concern as it might
lead to bioaccumulation of plastic in such animals.

18/Dec/2014
[1]. Taj: the pollutants causing discolouration identified:
Particulate carbon
fine dust particles
The above particles that are deposited on the marble are responsible for its browning.
Both organic carbon (Light absorbing brown carbon) and dust particles have the ability to
preferentially absorb light in the blue region of the spectrum. The absorption of blue light by these
pollutants in turn gives the marble surface a brown hue.
The presence of haematite in the dust that is responsible for the brown hue.
Though the absorption of blue light by individual dust particles may be smaller than that by brown
carbon, the copious amount of dust of two micron size found in the particulate matter makes the
overall absorption much higher than that by brown carbon.
Pure dust particles per se do not have the ability to stick to surfaces. But what we see is a potpourri
of particles. The organic carbon is very sticky, Prof. Tripathy said. Unlike the dust particles, carbon
particles are in the 100 nanometre to 1 micron size. Burning of biomass like wood and dung, burning
of trash and crop residue are the primary sources of brown and black carbon.
[2]. Why is the ozone hole concentrated over Antarctica?

Ozone is a colourless gas. Chemically, it is very active and reacts readily with a number of
substances. These reactions cause rubber to crack, hurt plant life, and damage peoples lung
tissues. But ozone also absorbs harmful components of sunlight, ultraviolet B, or UV-B,
protecting living things below.
Ozone can be destroyed by a number of free radical catalysts, the most important of which
are the hydroxyl radical (OH), nitric oxide radical (NO), chlorine atom (Cl) and bromine atom

(Br). Human activity has dramatically increased the levels of chlorine and bromine in the
atmosphere.
Each year for the past few decades during the Southern Hemisphere spring, chemical
reactions involving chlorine and bromine cause ozone in the southern polar region to be
destroyed rapidly and severely. This depleted region is known as the ozone hole. British
scientists discovered this hole in 1985.

The hole in Antarctica occurs in the spring (September to December). It begins with this
overall ozone thinning, but it is assisted by the presence of polar stratospheric clouds (PS
clouds). During the extreme cold of winter, with no sun for six months, polar winds create a
vortex which traps and chills the air; the temperature is below -80 Celsius. The ice in these
PS clouds provides surfaces for the chemical reactions that destroy the ozone. This needs
light to kick-start the reactions. By the end of spring warmer December temperatures break
up the vortex and destroy the PS clouds. Sunlight starts creating ozone again and the hole
begins to repair.
Every March to April during the Northern Hemisphere springtime similar, but less
pronounced ozone hole forms above the Arctic. The natural circulation of wind, the polar
vortex, is much less developed in the Northern Hemisphere above the Arctic.