Protein from Budgett’s frog can block enzymes of disease-causing pathogens: Study

Budgett’s frog

• Behaviour
  • Budgett’s frogs are highly intelligent and very aggressive.
  • When frightened, they inflate themselves, stand up on their short legs and if this doesn’t deter the potential predator, they lunge at them with an open huge mouth followed up by a shrill shriek.
  • During the dry season, Budgett’s frogs remain in burrows they dig in the bottoms of pools of water.
  • While in the burrow, they will shed several layers of skin from which to form a waterproof cocoon that will keep the frog moist.
• They use their exceptional night vision and their sensitivity to movement when hunting food.
• Habitat/range: They are found near or in permanent or seasonal bodies of water in Paraguay, Argentina and Bolivia.
• Conservation Status
  • IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Key findings of the research

• The peptides (short proteins) produced from the skin of amphibians have long been studied because of their ability to counter unfavourable conditions in the environment, including harmful pathogens.
• The frog-secreted peptide inhibited two key enzymes called subtilisin carlsberg and proteinase K., produced by pathogens.
• These enzymes play a pivotal role in promoting infections by degrading specific protective proteins of the infected person.
• The peptide was shown to act through a slow-tight binding pathway, and was found to be as effective as SSI, a well-known subtilisin inhibitor.
• The researchers show the formation of a Michaelis complex – a tight, noncovalent complex with the intact inhibitor – during the process.

Fight for Ghaggar''s rights: Residents

Ghaggar River

• It is an intermittent river that flows only during the monsoon season.
• Course:
  • It rises from the Shivalik Rangein northwestern Himachal Pradesh.
  • It flows about 200 miles (320 km) southwest through Haryana state, where it receives the Saraswati River.
  • It eventually dries up in the Thar Desertin Rajasthan.
• This seasonal river feeds two irrigation canals that extend into Rajasthan. The Hakra, which flows in Pakistan, is the continuation of the Ghaggar River in India, and they are together called the Ghaggar - Hakra River.
• Historical Significance:
  • Several historians identify Ghaggar with the Vedic Saraswati River.
  • Along the banks of the Ghaggar River, many settlements of the Indus Valley Civilization have been excavated.
  • Hence it is believed that the ancient settlements on its banks are the creation of ingenious Vedic Aryans.
  • It is believed that the rivers Sutlej and Yamuna once flowed into the Ghaggar-Hakra river bed.
• Tributaries: The main tributaries of the Ghaggar are the Kaushalya River, Markanda, Sarsuti, Tangri, and Chautang.

2 tigresses captured for translocation to Nagzira

Navegaon Nagzira Tiger Reserve

• Location: It is situated in the Gondia and Shandara Districts of Maharashtra.
• It was declared a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1970. In 2012, the state government announced to merging this sanctuary with another national park to include in Tiger Project, now called as Nagzira Navegoan Tiger Reserve.
• It comprises Nawegaon National Park, Nawegaon Wildlife Sanctuary, Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary, New Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary, and Koka Wildlife Sanctuary.
• It is connected with many surrounding tiger reserves like Pench, Kanha, Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, Indravati Tiger Reserve etc.
• Topography: The topography is undulating, and the **highest point, viz. ‘Zenda Pahad’**is around 702 m above mean sea level.
• Vegetation: **Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest,**which includes dry mixed forests to moist forest type.
• Flora: There are 364 species of plants, and the major trees are: Terminalia tomentosa, Lagerstroemia parviflora, Anogeisus lotifolia, Pterocarpus marsupium, Diospyrus melanoxylon, Ougeinia oogenesis etc.
• Fauna: The major wild animals are: Tiger, Panther, Small Indian Civet, Palm Civet, Wolf, Jackal, Wild Dog, Sloth Bear, Ratel, Common Giant Flying Squirrel, Gaur, Sambar, Chital, Four Horned Antelope, Mouse Deer and Pangolin.

Youth for Unnati and Vikas with AI (YUVAi) to be featured in GPAI Summit 2023

YUVAi Initiative

• It is a collaborative initiative of National e-Governance Division (NeGD), Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India and Intel India.
• This programme, designed to equip the youth with essential Artificial Intelligence skills, has garnered attention for its innovative approach and commitment to enabling a future-ready workforce.
• It is aimed to foster a deeper understanding of AI, to enable school students from class 8 to 12 across the nation with AI skills and empower them to become human-centric designers and users of AI.
• Key Updates and Features of YUVAi Programme:
  • Progressing in three phases, the YUVAi programme is being implemented in multiple cohorts to ensure that maximum students stand a chance to become future-ready. It introduces students to several social themes to direct their AI knowledge towards solving real-world problems.
  • In the first Cohort, more than 8,500 students registered, post which, they attended online orientation sessions to learn fundamental concepts of AI. Teachers also enrolled into the program and underwent orientation sessions. Students then submitted innovative AI-based ideas under one of the eight core themes of the programme.
  • In phase 2, Top 200 AI-based ideas were shortlisted. Shortlisted students attended online deep dive AI training and mentorship sessions with certified Intel AI coaches and experts – helping students enhance their solutions. Students then submitted their AI projects to be evaluated for Phase 3.
  • In Phase 3, top 50 students were shortlisted and they were invited to attend a four-day face-to-face rapid modeling workshop – receiving one-on-one mentorship, apprenticeship and guidance from industry experts to fine-tune their projects and develop them into prototypes.
  • An on-spot project presentation was conducted by a multiple jury panel to shortlist Top 10 students.

US F-16 crashes into Yellow Sea off South Korea, says Yonhap report

Yellow Sea

• It is a marginal sea in the western Pacific Ocean.
• Location:
  • It is situated between mainland China to the west and north, the Korean Peninsula to the east, and the Shandong Peninsula and Liaodong Peninsula to the south.
  • It is positioned to the north of the East China Sea.
• The sea was named for the yellowish sand particles originating from the Gobi Desert that descend on the surface of the sea, thereby giving it a golden yellow color.
• Size: Also referred to in China as Huang Hai and in North and South Korea as the West Sea, the Yellow Sea is 870 kilometres long and 556 kilometres wide, covering an area of 380,000 sq km.
• Depth: It is one of the largest shallow areas of the continental shelf in the world, with an average depth of 44 metres and a maximum depth of 152 metres.
• Inflow: The main rivers that drain into the Yellow Sea include the Hai River, the Yalu River, the Han River, the Taedong River, and the Yellow River.
• Islands: The Yellow Sea is dotted with numerous islands, the largest of which include Jeju Island (South Korea), Shandong Peninsula islands (China), and Ganghwa Island (South Korea).
• Climate: The climate is characterized by very cold, dry winters and wet, warm summers.
• Currents:
  • The warm current of the Yellow Sea is a part of the Tsushima Current, which diverges near the western part of the Japanese island of Kyushu and flows at less than 0.5 mile (0.8 km) per hour northward into the middle of the sea.
  • Along the continental coasts, southward-flowing currents prevail, which strengthen markedly in the winter monsoon period, when the water is cold, turbid, and of low salinity.

Royal Bengal tiger spotted in Sikkim

• The Royal Bengal Tiger was captured by trap cameras of a team of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) which is conducting a study in the sanctuary in collaboration with the Sikkim Forest department.
• It was under a larger project called "Conservation and Use of Five Wetlands in three Himalayan States to secure Habitats of Birds Migrating within the Central Asian Flyway (CAF)."
• This project was sanctioned under the National Mission on Himalayan Studies (NMHS), aims to protect and conserve wetland sites in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, and Sikkim.

Pangalokha Wildlife Sanctuary

• It is located in East Sikkim district and connected to the forests of Bhutan and Neora Valley National Park in West Bengal.
• The Pangolakha Range, extending below the Chola Range, separates Sikkim from Bhutan.
• Vegetation: The Sanctuary has typical alpine-temperate-subtropical vegetation with high altitude lakes around Jelep La.
• Flora: Rhododendron, Silver Fir, Juniper forest and associated ground flora, moss-filled oak forests with dense bamboo thickets etc.
• Fauna: It is home to a diverse range of charismatic species, including red pandas, snow leopards, Himalayan musk deer, Himalayan goral, and Himalayan black bears.

Clam makes comeback from extinction off shores of Croatia.

Pinna nobilis

• It is a large species of Mediterranean clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Pinnidae.
• The clams, whose shells can grow as much as 1.2 m across, play an important ecological role by filtering sea water and allowing other organisms to flourish.
• It attaches itself to rocks using a strong byssus composed of many silk-like threads which used to be made into cloth.
• The animal secretes these fibres from its byssus gland; they consist of keratin and other proteins and may be as long as 6 cm (2.4 in). The inside of the shell is lined with brilliant mother-of-pearl.
• As with other members of its genus, Pinna nobilis hosts symbiotic shrimp which live inside its shell.
• It is believed that when it sees a threat, the shrimp warns the host, perhaps by retracting its claws or even by pinching. The clam then closes shut.
• It has been demonstrated that the shrimp has a similar filter-feeding diet to its host and the relationship is likely mutualistic.
• Distribution: This species is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea.
• Threats: It is relatively fragile to pollution and shell damage.
• The clam, known as the noble pen shell or pinna nobilis, started dying out as a deadly pathogen spread in parts of the Mediterranean around 2016.
• Conservation status
  • IUCN: Critically endangered

India Climbs to 7th Place in Global Climate Performance Index, Emphasizing Renewable Energy Gains

Climate Change Performance Index

• It is an instrument to enable transparency in national and international climate politics.
• It is published by Germanwatch, the New Climate Institute and the Climate Action Network annually.
• It was first time published in 2005.
• The CCPI uses a standardized framework to compare the climate performance of 63 countries and the EU, which together account for over 90% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• The climate protection performance is assessed in four categories: GHG Emissions, Renewable Energy, Energy Use and Climate Policy.

Key highlights

• Denmark retained the top spot with a score of 75.59 per cent. Estonia and the Philippines occupied the second and third ranks respectively, with 72.07 and 70.70.
• Saudi Arabia was at the bottom — 67th — in the performance list, while the host country United Arab Emirates occupied the 65th position.
• India receives a high ranking in the GHG Emissions and Energy Use categories, but a medium in Climate Policy and Renewable Energy, as in the previous year.
• India is trying to meet its National Determined Contribution (NDC), with clear long-term policies in place that focus on promoting renewable energy and providing financial support for domestic manufacturing of renewable energy components.
• India has relatively high taxes on petrol and diesel, which are intended to act as carbon taxes.

21.15 lakh applications received under PM Vishwakarma Scheme, says Skill Ministry

PM Vishwakarma Scheme:

• This is a central sector scheme launched by the Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, which offers services like market linkage support, skill training, and incentives for digital transactions to artisans and craftspeople engaged in specified trades.
• Time period: Five years (FY 2023-24 to FY 2027-28).
• Aim:
  • To strengthen and nurture the Guru-Shishya parampara, or family-based practice of traditional skills by artisans and craftspeople working with their hands and tools.
  • The scheme also aims at improving the quality as well as the reach of the products and services of artisans and craftspeople and to ensure that the Vishwakarmas are integrated with the domestic and global value chains.
• Eligibility & coverage:
  • It is available for rural and urban artisans and craftsmen across India.
  • It covers 18 traditional crafts such as Boat Maker; Armourer; Blacksmith; Hammer and Tool Kit Maker; etc.
  • Five lakh families will be covered in the first year and 30 lakh families over five years.
• Benefits:
  • Under this scheme, the artisans and craftspeople will be provided recognition through a PM Vishwakarma certificate and ID card.
  • They will receive collateral-free credit support of up to ₹1 lakh (first tranche) and ₹2 lakh (second tranche) with a concessional interest rate of 5%.
  • The scheme will further provide craftsmen with methods of skill upgradation involving basic and advanced training, a toolkit incentive of ₹15,000 and incentives for digital transactions, and marketing support.
  • Under the scheme, there will be two types of skilling programmes -**Basic and Advanced and a stipend of Rs 500 per day will also be provided to beneficiaries while undergoing skills training.

Missile testing paused in Odisha to save sea turtles

Wheeler Island

• Abdul Kalam Island, formerly known as Wheeler Island, is an island off the coast of Odisha.
• The island was renamed to honour the late President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and also to encourage the youth to pursue a scientific temperament.
• It is the only place in India that has an integrated test range maintaining a missile testing facility, which is located on this island.
• All indigenous missiles, like Akash missile, Agni missile, Prithvi Missile etc. are tested from here.
• The island is 2 km long, having an area of 390 acres, and is basically a soil formation without rocks in the Bay of Bengal.

Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO):

• It is the R&D wing of the Ministry of Defence, Govt of India, with a vision to empower India with cutting-edge defence technologies and a mission to achieve self-reliance in critical defence technologies and systems.
• It isIndia''s largest research organisation.
• Formation: The organisation was formed in 1958 from the amalgamation of the then already functioning Technical Development Establishment (TDEs) of the Indian Army and the Directorate of Technical Development & Production (DTDP) with the Defence Science Organisation (DSO).
• Headquarters: New Delhi.
• It has a network of laboratories engaged in developing defence technologies covering various fields, like aeronautics, armaments, electronics, land combat engineering, life sciences, materials, missiles, and naval systems.