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Monkey B Virus led first human death reported in China - Is  B deadlier than Coronavirus? WHAT HAS HAPPENED? As the world grapples with the devastating Covid-19 pandemic, a new viral infection has been reported in China.  The Monkey B Virus (BV) claimed its first victim in the country after a veterinary surgeon contacted the virus while dissecting two animals. The victim, a 53-year-old veterinarian based in Beijing, was the first documented human case of the virus in China. HOW THE CASE WAS DETECTED? The surgeon was infected with the virus after he dissected two  dead monkeys in early March. Later he started experiencing nausea and vomiting and a month later, fever and neurological symptoms followed. He visited several hospitals but eventually died on May 27,  China CDC Weekly revealed Saturday. Around mid-April, researchers collected cerebrospinal fluid from the patient for next-generation sequencing and the readings suggested possible alphaherpesvirus i...

WHO Emergency Committee warns about spread of more dangerous Covid variants WHAT HAS HAPPENED? The World Health Organization's emergency committee on Covid-19 on Thursday warned that the pandemic was not over and that it continued to evolve with four variants of concern. WHAT THE EMERGENCY COMMITTEE SAID? "The committee recognised the strong likelihood for the emergence and global spread of new and possibly more dangerous variants of concern that may be even more challenging to control," the panel said in a statement. The committee said that the pandemic was still an "extraordinary event" that continues to hurt public health, and needs a coordinated international response. The statement also said that the committee emphasised on the risk of emergency of new zoonotic diseases during the pandemic.  Zoonotic diseases are caused by germs that spread between animals and people, according to United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  A...

KAPPA VARIANT OF COVID 19 FOUND IN UTTAR PRADESH, IS IT A VARIANT OF CONCERN? Uttar Pradesh has reported two cases of the Kappa variant of Covid-19,   which has been confirmed by the King Geroge's Medical College where the genome sequencing of 109 samples took place.  Out of these 109 samples, 107 Delta variant cases have been found.   Some reports claimed that there have been three cases of Kappa variant in Uttar Pradesh and the first patient, a 66-year-old resident of Sant Kabir Nagar, has succumbed to the disease. According to the Union health ministry's June data, there were 3,969 Alpha, 149 Beta, 1 Gamma, and 16,238 Delta and Kappa variant cases in India.  The B.1.617 lineage was first observed in Maharashtra and was  "associated with an unusual rise in several districts of the state", the ministry had said about the lineage, not specifying Delta or Kappa. On Friday, Niti Aayog member (health) VK Paul said the Kappa ...

POWERFUL SOLAR STORM WITH 1.6 MILLION KMPH SPEED TO HIT EARTH MASSIVE SOLAR STORM TO HIT EARTH IMPACT ON CELL PHONE, GPS WHAT IS SOLAR STORM? A solar storm is a term used for atmospheric effects felt on Earth from  certain events that occur on the Sun. It occur when the Sun emits huge bursts of energy in the form of solar flares and coronal mass ejections. These phenomena send a stream of electrical charges & magnetic fields toward the Earth at a speed of million miles per hour. Solar storms start with a huge explosion on the Sun. These explosions-called solar flares - can be about as powerful as billions of nuclear bombs.  Solar flares usually go hand-in-hand with the release of huge streams of charged plasma that travel at millions  of miles per hour. These streams are called coronal mass ejections, or CMES. When CMEs hit the Earth, they can cause geomagnetic storms that disrupt satellites and electrical power grids. WHAT'S HAPPENING? A fierce solar stor...

The development of several vaccines against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in less than a year has given us all hope of a release from the pandemic. Now the goal has shifted to ensuring widespread vaccine coverage is achieved as quickly as possible around the globe. However , it is unlikely that any of the vaccines will be 100% effective at stopping transmission or infection. BREAKTHROUGH INFECTION There is a small risk that some fully vaccinated people will get infected. This  is known as a "breakthrough infection" - and it's entirely  expected It  is important to realise the limitations of vaccines. No  vaccine offers full protection to everyone who receives it. WHY BREAKTHROUGH HAPPENS ? This is possibly because different arms of the immune response produce different defences, namely antibodies, which are Y-shaped proteins that lock onto germs and neutralise them, And  T cells, which find and destroy infected cells. Antibodies  are ...

INDIA'S FIRST ELECTRIC HIGHWAY TO CHARGE EV WHILE DRIVING  SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY If everything goes as per the plan, India might soon get its first e-highway on Delhi-Mumbai Highway. As per the sources in the knowhow, the Road Ministry stated that the first stretch of e highway will likely be completed by mid-2022. The first stretch where the government is considering rolling out the project is the 200 km-long Delhi-Jaipur highway on the  Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, where 20 per cent of the roads will be  electrified. PROJECT • An electric highway or electric road recharges the batteries of vehicles driving on it. • It is considered an energy-efficient option and helps in reducing carbon  footprint. • The e-highway project has been a keen focus area for Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari. • In an interview, Gadkari had said India may soon have an 'electric highway' stretch, similar to the one in Sweden. • During Question Hour in the Lo...

Agni Prime Nuclear Missile successfully test fired by DRDO India successfully carried out the test-firing of a new missile in the Agni series known as Agni P on Monday off the coast of Odisha, officials said. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight tested the new generation nuclear capable ballistic missile from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam island at 10:55am off the coast of Odisha. "Various telemetry and radar stations positioned along the eastern coast tracked and monitored the missile. The missile has followed textbook trajectory, meeting all mission objectives with a high level of accuracy," DRDO said in a statement. Agni P, is the first of the new class of Agni missile to be launched by DRDO.  The ballistic missile weighs 50%-less than Agni 3 and has new guidance and a new generation of propulsion. SPECIAL FEATURES Since the missile is canisterised , it can be launched from rail and road and stored for a longer period an...

Jammu Airport Explosions - Drones used to drop explosives In a first-of-its-kind attack in India, two low-intensity improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were dropped from a drone at the Indian Air Force (IAF) base in Jammu, and they exploded "close to the helicopter hangar". The explosion did not cause any damage to any equipment, but two IAF personnel received "very minor" injuries. The sources said the first explosion occurred around 1.30 am. According  to initial inputs, an IAF patrolling team witnessed the  explosive being dropping and rushed to the area. A second was dropped minutes later, which led to very minor injuries  to two personnel, the sources said. It is learnt that both the explosions were of low intensity. However, the explosives were dropped close to the aircraft hangars.  "Had the IEDs fallen in the helicopter hangar, it would have caused damage. Thankfully, it fell a little away from it," a source said. While no fighters are ...

China launches bullet train near Arunachal border China on Friday unveiled its first fully electrified bullet train in the remote Himalayan region of Tibet. The  bullet train connects the provincial capital Lhasa and Nyingchi, which is a strategically located Tibetan border town close to Arunachal Pradesh. The 435-5km-long corridor has been integrated ahead of the centenary celebrations of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) on July 1. Over 90% of the track is 3000 metres above sea level and It has 47 tunnels and 120 bridges. The Lhasa-Nyingchi section is a part of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway. The Sichuan-Tibet Railway starts from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, goes through Ya'an and enters Tibet via Qamdo. The journey from Chengdu to Lhasa is reduced from 48 hours to 13 hours. This is the first electrified railway to be made operational in the  Tibet Autonomous Region. The Sichuan-Tibet Railway will be the second railway into Tibet following the Qinghai...

Bharti Airtel Tata Group collaborates to build Made in India 5G Network Bharti Airtel and Tata Group on Monday announced a strategic partnership for implementing 5G network solutions for India. The  announcement underscores a push for indigenous 5G solutions in India, as the world's second-largest telecom market gears up for fifth generation mobile networks, That  would enable connecting virtually everything together including machines, objects, and devices at ultra-high speeds. Tata Group has developed O-RAN (Open Radio Access Network) based Radio and core elements and integrated a totally indigenous telecom stack, While  Airtel will pilot and deploy this indigenous solution as part of  its 5G rollout plans in India, With a pilot beginning in January 2022, as per the norms formulated  by the government. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) brings its global system integration expertise  and helps align the end-to-end solution to both 3GPP and O-RAN ...

Nipah Virus antibodies found in bats from Mahabaleshwar cave NIPAH VIRUS Nipah virus (NiV) is a zoonotic virus and can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly between people. In  infected people, it causes a range of illnesses from asymptomatic (subclinical) infection to acute respiratory illness and fatal encephalitis. The virus can also cause severe disease in animals such as pigs, resulting in significant economic losses for farmers. Nipah virus was first recognized in 1999 during an outbreak among  pig farmers in, Malaysia. No  new outbreaks have been reported in Malaysia since 1999. During the first recognized outbreak in Malaysia, which also affected Singapore, most human infections resulted from direct contact with sick pigs or their contaminated tissues. Nipah Virus antibodies found in bats A cross-sectional survey by Indian Council of Medical Research National Institute of Virology to study the prevalence of Nipah virus (...

Covaxin Phase 3 trial result shows 77.8% efficacy against symptomatic Covid The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) under India's drug regulator on Tuesday approved Bharat Biotech' phase-3 trial efficacy data for its Covid-19 vaccine 'Covaxin.' According  to the data submitted, Covaxin has shown the efficacy of 77.8% from the trial conducted on 25,800 subjects. The Hyderabad-based COVID vaccine manufacturing company Bharat Biotech submitted data from the Phase III clinical trials of Covaxin to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) over the weekend.. The phase III data of its vaccine have been questioned various times and that is what makes the data crucial which will ascertain the efficacy of the vaccine. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has extended its emergency use nod to a total of seven manufacturers worldwide. Of  these, three are for those producing the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine , including one by the Serum Institute of India after Covishield wa...

Mysterious flying lights sighted in Gujarat sky triggers speculation of UFO Mysterious lights flickering in the night sky on Monday in Junagadh, Upleta, and nearby regions of Saurashtra in Gujarat have left residents excited and perplexed. Videos of these events have gone viral on social media. In Upleta town in Rajkot district, people heard a loud boom, followed by burning objects appearing to fall from the sky but blazing out before they could hit the ground. Laxman Bhopala, 48, a farmer who lives in Upleta told. "I was leaving a shop in Kutubkhana when I heard a loud sound, like some kind of explosion. When I looked around, I saw ablaze objects falling down, but burning out in the air,"  EXPERTS ON MYSTERIOUS FLYING LIGHTS SIGHTED IN GUJARAT The most likely explanation was that the lights were flares deployed by a fighter aircraft on a sortie.  "There are a lot of possibilities. It  could have been a meteor or satellite debris. But  after analysing all...

Delta Plus Variant Covid cases found in 3 States of India The Centre on Tuesday termed the emerging Delta plus variant a 'variant of concern' just hours after Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan and chairman, National Empowered Group on Vaccination V.K. Paul said it was only a 'variant of interest (Vol). A  variant of concern (VoC) carries the highest threat perception of a coronavirus variant, which is characterised by increased infectivity, transmissibility or resistance to vaccines and treatment. The decision comes after INSACOG, a consortium of 28 laboratories of the Health Ministry that is involved in genome sequencing, Informed the Centre on Tuesday that the Delta Plus variant has three worrying characteristics: MAIN CHARACTERISTICS * Increased transmissibility; * Stronger binding in receptors of lung cells;  * Potential reduction in monoclonal antibody response. The variant has been found in 22 cases in Maharashtra, Kerala, and Madhya Pradesh. "The Centr...

Miyazaki Mango- Rs 2.7 lakhs, World's costliest Mango in Madhya Pradesh A couple in Madhya Pradesh has deployed four guards and six  dogs to prevent the theft of two mango trees. The orchardist couple Rani and Sankalp Parihar planted two  mango  saplings years ago. The couple says that they were given the sapling of the plant  by a man on a train. However, little they had any idea the two mango saplings  would  develop and bore into unusual ruby-coloured  mangoes , the  Japanese Miyazaki.  According to the farmer couple, last year, some thieves broke into their orchards and stole the mangoes after it became locally  known that they have started growing this rare fruit. However , the couple could manage to protect two trees. Parihar said, he was on his way to Chennai to buy some saplings when he met a man on a train, who offered him what later turned  out to be Miyazaki. "He offered these saplings to me and asked to take care of ...

IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad's Twitter account blocked On Friday (June 25) morning, Twitter denied Union Electronics and IT and Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad access to his own account on the micro-blogging site. Though the Twitter account of the minister was visible for public viewing, Twitter did not permit anyone authorized to access this account to log in or make any post. About an hour later, Twitter unlocked access to the account by posting a warning message to the minister's account stating, WHAT THE IT RULE OF INDIA SAYS ON BLOCKING Rule 4 (8) of the newly notified Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 clearly stipulates that, Whenever  content that does not belong to the user is shared on a social  media platform the social media intermediary shall ensure that  prior to removing or disabling access, It  has provided the user who has shared such content with a notific...