Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE
Topics Covered
- Genetically Modified Chicken
- Non-communicable disease
- New Delhi Superbug
- Bhopal Gas Tragedy and Curative Petition
- Leprosy
- Facts for Prelims
1 . Genetically Modified Chicken
Context : Genetically modified chickens that produce human proteins in their eggs can offer a cost-effective method of manufacturing drugs widely used for treating cancer and other diseases, a study has found.
What is GM Chicken?
- A genetically modified chicken is a chicken that has been injected with hormones or reconstruct its DNA to give it a new trait or characteristic.
Issue
- Many diseases are caused because the body does not naturally produce enough of a certain chemical or protein.
- Such diseases can be controlled with drugs that contain the deficient protein. These drugs are synthetically produced by pharmaceutical companies and can be very expensive to manufacture.
How it works
- Researchers have genetically modified chickens that can lay eggs that contain drugs for arthritis and some cancers.
- It can be done by inserting a human gene – which normally produces the protein in humans – into the part of the chickens’ DNA involved with producing the white in the chickens’ eggs
- After cracking the eggs and separating the white from the yolk, the chicken had relatively large quantities of the protein.
- The team has focused on two proteins that are essential to the immune system: one is IFNalpha2a, which has powerful antiviral and anti-cancer effects, and the other is macrophage-CSF, which is being developed as a therapy that stimulates damaged tissues to repair themselves.
- Three eggs are enough to produce a dose of the drug, and chickens can lay up to 300 eggs per year
- For chicken it’s just laying a normal egg. It doesn’t affect its health in any way.
Benefits
- The drugs are 100 times cheaper to produce when laid than when manufactured in factories.
- The researchers believe that in time production can be scaled up to produce medicines in commercial quantities.
2 . Non Communicable Disease
Context : Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) — mainly cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes and cancer — continue to be the top killers in the South-East Asia Region, claiming 8.5 million lives each year, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
About Non-Communicable Diseases
- Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), also known as chronic diseases, tend to be of long duration and are the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental and behavioural factors.
- The main types of NCDs are cardiovascular diseases (like heart attacks and stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma) and diabetes.
Observation of WHO
- Non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease, are collectively responsible for over 70% of all deaths worldwide, or 41 million people.
- These include 15 million people dying prematurely, aged between 30 and 69.
- One third of these deaths are premature and occur before the age of 70, affecting economically productive individuals.
- The four ‘major’ NCDs are caused, to a large extent, by four modifiable behavioural risk factors: tobacco use, unhealthy diet, insufficient physical activity and harmful use of alcohol.
- The NCDs disproportionately affect the poor, impoverish families, and place a growing burden on health care systems
Risk factors
Modifiable behavioural risk factors
Modifiable behaviours, such as tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet and the harmful use of alcohol, all increase the risk of NCDs.
- Tobacco accounts for over 7.2 million deaths every year (including from the effects of exposure to second-hand smoke), and is projected to increase markedly over the coming years.
- 4.1 million annual deaths have been attributed to excess salt/sodium intake.
- More than half of the 3.3 million annual deaths attributable to alcohol use are from NCDs, including cancer.
- 1.6 million deaths annually can be attributed to insufficient physical activity.
Metabolic risk factors
Metabolic risk factors contribute to four key metabolic changes that increase the risk of NCDs:
- raised blood pressure
- overweight/obesity
- hyperglycemia (high blood glucose levels) and
- hyperlipidemia (high levels of fat in the blood).
How it can be Prevented
- Detection, screening and treatment of NCDs, as well as palliative care, are key components of the response to NCDs.
3 . New Delhi Superbug
Context : In a significant find in the global spread of multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria, scientists have found a “superbug” gene — first detected in New Delhi over a decade back — in one of the last “pristine” places on Earth that is some 12,870 km away.
About the News
- Soil samples taken in Svalbard — a Norwegian archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole — have now confirmed the spread of blaNDM-1 (called New Delhi Metallo-beta-lactamase-1) into the High Arctic.
What are superbugs?
- Superbugs are strains of bacteria that are resistant to several types of antibiotics.
- Antibiotics are among the most commonly prescribed drugs for people. They’re also given to livestock to prevent disease and promote growth.
- Antibiotics are effective against bacterial infections, such as strep throat and some types of pneumonia, diarrheal diseases, and ear infections. But, these drugs don’t work at all against viruses, such as those that cause colds or flu.
- Unfortunately, many antibiotics prescribed to people and to animals are unnecessary. And the overuse and misuse of antibiotics helps to create drug-resistant bacteria.
What is blaNDM1
- This Antibiotic-Resistant Gene (ARG), originally found in Indian clinical settings, conditionally provides multi-drug resistance (MDR) in microorganisms, revealed the research team from UK’s Newcastle University.
- NDM-1 was first identified in New Delhi and coded by the resistant gene blaNDM-1.
- Strains that carry blaNDM-1 were first found in clinical settings in 2008, but by 2010, blaNDM-1 was found on water surfaces in Delhi.
- This gene gave bacteria resistant to a class of antibiotics known as Carbapenems, which doctors generally use as a last resort to treat bacterial infections.
- Since then, the resistant gene has been found in over 100 countries, including new variants.
4 . Bhopal Gas Tragedy and Curative Petition
Context : The Supreme Court decided to examine in April a curative petition by the government for more compensation to the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy, over and above the $470 million paid by Union Carbide.
About Bhopal Gas Tragedy
- Post-midnight on December 3, 1984, poisonous gas that leaked from the factory of Union Carbide (now known as Dow Chemicals) in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal killed thousands of people directly. The incident is now known as the Bhopal disaster or Bhopal gas tragedy.
- It is estimated that about 40 tonnes of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other chemicals leaked from the Union Carbide factory. Methyl isocyanate is extremely toxic and if its concentration in air touches 21ppm (parts per million), it can cause death within minutes of inhaling the gas. In Bhopal, the level was multiple times higher.
Current Issue
- The Supreme Court will hear in April a curative petition filed by the Centre seeking Rs 7,844 crore additional money from US-based Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), now owned by Dow Chemicals, to provide compensation to victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy.
About Curative Petition
- In the case, Rupa Ashok Hurra vs. Ashok Hurra and Anr (the year 2002), evaluation of Indian concept of Curative Petition took place by the Supreme Court of India.
- The question was raised that any relief should be given to the aggrieved person against the final order and judgment of the Supreme Court, after the dismissal of a petition of review.
- In this case, Supreme Court of India held that to prevent the abuse of court process and to cure or remove the miscarriage of justice, the court may reconsider its final judgment and order in exercise of its inherent powers. The court for this purpose devised that what has been termed as ‘Curative Petition’.
- The petitioner of the case has to allege as a fact to support his or her plea that the mentioned grounds has been taken in the earlier filed review petition and which is by the circulation it was dismissed. This thing has to be certified by a Senior Advocate.
- Then Curative Petition is circulated to the three senior judges and also to the judges who have given their judgment if they are available. For filing the curative petition, no time limit is given.
Conditions laid down by the court to entertain the curative petition
- The petitioner has to provide the genuine reason by which violation of natural justice can be established and fear of biases of the judge and his or her judgment has affected him adversely.
- In the petition, there shall be specifically mentioned grounds that it had been taken for review petition and was dismissed in the process of circulation.
- The Curative Petition shall be certified by the senior lawyers or an advocate related to fulfilment of the requirements.
- The petition is sent to three senior judges and also to the judges who have given their judgment which affected the petition, if available.
- If the majority of the judges agrees that matter of the case needs the hearing, then as far as possible it is sent to the same bench.
- An Even court can impose “emergency costs” to the petitioner if his plea does not meet the following condition and requirement.
5 . Leprosy
Context : Every Year, over 2 lakh new leprosy cases are detected around the world, with India accounting for more than half of these. World Leprosy Day, which focuses on the target of zero cases of leprosy-related disabilities in children, was observed globally on January 27 (the last Sunday of January) and will be observed in India on January 30 (M K Gandhi’s death anniversary).
About Leprosy
- Leprosy is a chronic bacterial infection of the skin and superficial nerves (in the skin) caused by Mycobacterium leprae. It may also involve the nose, eyes, throat and testicles.
- Leprosy is also known as Hansen’s disease
- The main symptom of leprosy is skin lesions. Other effects of leprosy are due to its impact on the body’s nervous system.
6 . Facts for Prelims
ESG Funds
- Three former Tata Group executives in partnership with Quantum Advisors will launch a $1 billion Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Fund which will invest in Indian companies that value the environment, society and corporate governance to the core.
- The fund will aim to drive higher ESG performance in Indian corporates and it will adopt an engaged, private equity approach to public markets investing, with a focus on working with companies willing to recognize the long-term advantages of actively adopting ESG standards of excellence.
- This initiative is aimed at encouraging Indian companies to do more to address the issues of sustainability and governance which if left unaddressed, have the potential to undermine public faith in free markets.
Steel Production
- India has replaced Japan as the world’s second-largest steel producing country, while China is the largest producer of crude steel, accounting for more than 51 percent of production, according to World Steel Association.
- The World Steel Association is one of the largest industry associations in the world. Its members represent around 85 percent of the world’s steel production, including over 160 steel producers with nine of the 10 largest steel companies, national and regional steel industry associations, and steel research institutes.