Kelp forests losing unique traits due to climate change, says study

• Kelp thrives in cold, nutrient-rich waters.
• They attach to the seafloor and eventually grow to the water’s surface and rely on sunlight to generate food and energy, kelp forests are always coastal and require shallow, relatively clear water.
• They provide underwater habitats to hundreds of species of invertebrates, fishes, and other algae and have great ecological and economic value.

Kelp forest

• Kelp forests have been observed throughout the Arctic by the Inuit. The Canadian Arctic alone represents 10 per cent of the world’s coastlines.
• They have adapted to severe conditions. These cool water species have special strategies to survive freezing temperatures and long periods of darkness and even grow under sea ice.
• In regions with cold, nutrient-rich water, they can attain some of the highest rates of primary production of any natural ecosystem on Earth.
• Between Ellesmere Island and Labrador, as well as along the coasts of Lancaster Sound, Ungava Bay, Hudson Bay, Baffin Bay, and Resolute Bay in Hudson Bay and eastern Canada, kelp forests have been scientifically documented.

Baby’s treatment costs Rs 17.57 cr, father looks to central govt for help

• Spinal Muscular Atrophy is a neurological condition caused by a defect in the SMN1 gene.
• Normally, every person is born with a gene called SMN1 which produces a protein called SMN protein, in many cells in our body.
• This protein is essential for the normal functioning of nerve cells in the spinal cord called the ‘anterior horn cells.
• The anterior horn cells control the skeletal muscles essential for all our movements However, the absence of the SMN1 gene causes a reduction in the amount of SMN protein produced in anterior horn cells.
• Impacts of reduced SMN protein: The reduced quantity of SMN protein causes gradual death of anterior horn cells, and thus progressive weakness of muscles of limbs, trunk and breathing and swallowing muscles.

Three types of SMA

• SMA Type 1: It is the most severe type of SMA. The child will never achieve independent sitting, and at best, can attain neck holding and rollover.
• SMA Type 2: These children will attain sitting without support, but, will not be able to walk independently.
• SMA Type 3: This is the milder form of SMA. The affected persons can walk independently but have difficulty walking upstairs.

SMA treatement

There are currently three types of medicines available for the treatment of children and adults with SMA.

• Spinraza (Nusinersen): This is an ‘exon skipping’, with medicine injected into the spine. There is no age limit for the administration of this medicine. It works by increasing the quantity of SMN2 expression, and thus SMN protein quantity.
• Zolgensma: It is an artificially prepared SMN1 gene, coupled with an innocuous viral vector (AAV9) and administered as a single-dose intravenous infusion. This medicine is approved for use in children under two years of age
• Risdiplam: It is the most recently approved drug (in 2020). It is in the form of powder and the reconstituted solution is given orally, once daily, life-long.

India’s first mission to study the Sun will be launched by June-July: ISRO chairman

• What is it?It is the largest payload that would fly on the Aditya-L1 mission. It is an internally occulted solar coronagraph capable of simultaneous imaging, spectroscopy and spectro-polarimetry close to the solar limb.
• The VELC consists of a coronagraph, spectrograph, polarimetry module and detectors, aside from auxiliary optics.
• It is built by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) at its CREST (Centre for Research and Education in Science and Technology) campus at Hosakote, Karnataka.
• Purpose:
  • It will observe the solar corona, which is the tenuous, outermost layer of the solar atmosphere.
  • It will analyze the coronal temperature, plasma velocity, density, etc.
  • It will also study Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and the solar wind.

Aditya-L1 Mission:

• It is India''s first dedicated scientific mission to study the Sun.
• The spacecraft will be placed in a halo orbit around the first Lagrange point, L1, which is 1.5 million km from the Earth towards the Sun.
• A satellite around the L1 point has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without occultation/eclipses.
• Aditya-L1 carries seven payloads to observe the photosphere, chromosphere, and the outermost layers of the Sun (the corona) using electromagnetic and particle detectors.
• The satellite will be launched by PSLV-XL launch vehicle from Sriharikota.

Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs):

• (CMEs) are large expulsions of plasma and magnetic fields from the Sun’s corona.
• The blast of a CME carries about a billion tons of material out from the Sun at very high speeds of hundreds of kilometers per second.
• A CME contains particle radiation (mostly protons and electrons) and powerful magnetic fields stronger than what is normally present in the solar wind.
• The resulting shocks ripple through the solar system and can interrupt satellites and power grids on Earth.

States fall short of targets to improve forest cover, quality

• National Mission for a Green India (GIM) is one of the eight Missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).
• GIM was launched in the year 2014 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
• Aim: To respond to climate change by a combination of adaptation and mitigation measures, which would help:
  • enhance carbon sinks
  • adaptation of vulnerable species/ecosystems to the changing climate
  • adaptation of forest-dependant communities
• Objectives:
  • Increased forest/tree cover on 5 million hectares (mha) of forest/non-forest lands and improved quality of forest cover on another 5 mha (a total of 10 mha).
  • Improved ecosystem services including biodiversity, hydrological services and carbon sequestration as a result of treatment of 10 mha.
  • Increased forest-based livelihood income of about 3 million households living in and around the forests.
  • Enhanced annual CO2 sequestration by 50 to 60 million tonnes in the year 2020.
• The Mission has clear targets for different forest types and ecosystems.
• Activities under Green India Mission will be implemented under convergence with Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) and the National Afforestation Programme (NAP).

Halwa Ceremony held for India''s Union Budget 2023-24

• It is a customary pre-Budget event that formally flags off the printing of different documents associated with the Budget and marks the final stage of the Union Budget-preparation.
• It involves the preparation of the traditional dessert ''halwa'' in a massive kadhai (wok) which is then served to the entire staff in the Finance ministry.
• The finance minister gives the go-ahead by stirring the kadhai and serving the sweet to officials.
• It takes place in the basement of the Finance Ministry''s North Block in Central Delhi, where a special printing press is located.
• After the ''halwa ceremony'', officials involved in the Budget-making process are ''locked in'' at the North Block. They are kept in absolute isolation and completely cut off from the outside world till the finance minister finally presents the Budget.

• The “lock-in” which follows the ‘halwa ceremony’ is observed to maintain the secrecy of the Budget preparation process.

What Are M1 Abrams Tanks And Why They Matter To Ukraine? 5-Point Explainer

• It is the United States main battle tank.
• The first M1 tank was manufactured by General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) in 1978 and was delivered to the US Army in 1980.
• It was named in honor to General Abrams, commander of US forces during the Vietnam War.
• The export version of the Abrams is used by the armies of Australia, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Poland, and Saudi Arabia.
• Features:
  • It uses a powerful and complex turbine engine that produces 1**,500 horsepowe**r and requires four persons to operate.
  • It is one of the heaviest tanks in service at nearly 62 metric tons.
  • The M1 tanks have a maximum speed of 45
  • Armement: The Abrams is armed with a 120 mm main gun and .50 caliber and 7.62 mm machine guns.
  • It can destroy tank-size targets at a range of 2 km while firing on the move.
  • In modern versions of the Abrams tank, there are layers of depleted uranium armour which provides substantial protection to those inside.