New pathway to regulate nitrate absorption in plants

• The gene MADS27, which regulates nitrate absorption, root development and stress tolerance, is activated by the micro-RNA, miR444, therefore offers a way to control these properties of the plant.
• The researchers studied this mechanism in both rice (monocot) and tobacco (dicot) plants. The research is published in Journal of Experimental Botany.

Role of Nitrates

• Nitrogen is one of the most important macronutrients needed for development of a plant. It is a part of chlorophyll, amino acids and nucleic acids, among others. It is mostly sourced from the soil where it is mainly absorbed in the form of nitrates and ammonium by the roots.
• Nitrates also play a role in controlling genome-wide gene expression that in turn regulates root system architecture, flowering time, leaf development, etc.
• Thus, while a lot of action takes place in the roots to absorb and convert nitrogen into useful nitrates, the absorbed nitrates in turn regulate plant development apart from being useful as a macronutrient.

Powerful earthquake of magnitude 5.9 on the Richter scale struck a remote town in Afghanistan, killing over a thousand and injuring many more.

Earthquakes

• According to the theory of plate tectonics, the Earth’s crust and upper mantle are made of large rigid plates that can move relative to one another. Slip on faults near the plate boundaries can result in earthquakes.
• The point inside the Earth where the earthquake rupture starts is called the focus or hypocentre. The point directly above it on the surface of the Earth is the epicentre.

Seismic waves

• Any elastic material when subjected to stress, stretches in a proportional way, until the elastic limit is reached. When the elastic limit is crossed, it breaks.
• Similarly, the Earth also has an elastic limit and when the stress is higher than this limit, it breaks. Then there is a generation of heat, and energy is released. Since the material is elastic, the energy is released in the form of elastic waves.
• These propagate to a distance determined by the extent of the impact. These are known as seismic waves.

Geographical Indications (GI) registry of Kai chutney.

• Applied under food category, the GI tag will help develop a structured hygiene protocol in the preparation of Kai chutney for standard wider use. Geographical Indications labels enhance the reputation and value of local products and support local businesses.
• People often keep a safe distance from red weaver ants as their sting inflicts a sharp pain and reddish bumps on the skin. Despite this, weaver ants are popular among the tribes of Mayurbhanj district in Odisha for the mouth-watering dish made of them — the Kai chutney.
• This savoury food item, rich in proteins, calcium, zinc, vitamin B-12, iron, magnesium, potassium, sodium, copper, fibre and 18 amino acids, is known to boost the immune system.
• Weaver ants, Oecophylla smaragdina, are abundantly found in Mayurbhanj throughout the year. They make nests with leaves of host trees.

Early human ancestors one million years older than thought

• The researchers analysed the fossilised remains of Australopithecus from Sterkfontein caves and argued they lived at the same time as their East African counterparts like the famous Lucy, complicating the way scholars have understood human evolution.

Australopithecus

• Australopithecus, meaning “southern ape”, was a group of hominins or now-extinct early humans, that was closely related to and almost certainly the ancestors of modern humans.
• They inhabited the planet 4.4 million to 1.4 million years ago, likely encompassing a time period longer than our own genus, Homo. Their fossils have been found across sites in eastern, northern, central and southern Africa.

What Sterkfontein caves

• The “Cradle of Humankind” is a 47,000-hectare paleoanthropological site, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Located 40 km northwest of Johannesburg, it contains a complex system of limestone caves, where a significant number of hominin fossils have been found.
• Within this complex lies Sterkfontein, a complex system of caves that holds a long history of hominin occupation and contains the largest number of Australopithecus fossils in the world.

Growing space tourism posing a risk to the climate

• The Researchers found that the soot emissions from rocket launches are far more effective at warming the atmosphere compared to other sources.
• The researchers state that routine launches by the rapidly growing space tourism industry “may undermine progress made by the Montreal Protocol in reversing ozone depletion.”

Montreal Protocol

• The Montreal Protocol is a landmark international treaty that was adopted in Montreal in 1987, and was aimed at protecting the Earth’s ozone layer by regulating the production and consumption of nearly 100 chemicals called ozone-depleting substances (ODS).
• The treaty phases down the consumption and production of various ODS in a stepwise manner.
• The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) states that without this treaty, ozone depletion would have increased by more than ten times by 2050, as compared to current levels.

Australia is killing millions of bees

• The recent outbreak of the deadly varroa mite, a sesame seed-sized parasite that was first spotted at a port near Sydney last week, poses a massive threat to the country’s multimillion-dollar honey industry.
• The Varroa mite, or Varroa destructor, is a parasitic insect that attacks and feeds on honeybees.
• Reddish-brown in colour, the tiny pests are known to kill entire colonies of honeybees, officials have warned. They often travel from bee to bee and also via beekeeping equipment, such as combs that have been extracted.
• The spread of the mite is largely blamed for a sharp decline in the number of honey bee colonies worldwide. It has plundered bee colonies across the globe.
• Although Varroa mites can feed and live on adult honey bees, they mainly feed and reproduce on larvae and pupae in the developing brood, causing malformation and weakening of honey bees as well as transmitting numerous viruses.