Cancer-fighting viruses can boost body’s immune response

• Oncolytic viruses (OVs) are viruses that selectively target and kill cancer cells while sparing normal ones. The study notes that these viruses also enhance the immune system’s ability to recognise and terminate cancer cells.
• Although long theorised, the research into oncolytic virotherapy picked up only in the 1960s. Of late, there have been several trials looking at different viruses for cancer treatment.
• The latest study focused on the virus known as myxoma and it found that T-cells infected with myxoma virus can lead to a type of cancer cell death not previously observed.

Artemis I will send a rocket without a crew on a monthlong journey around the Moon.

• The programme aims to increase women’s participation in space exploration. In addition, the Artemis I mission will carry two mannequins designed to study the effects of radiation on women’s bodies so that NASA can learn how to protect female astronauts better.
• The Greeks and Romans associated Artemis with the Moon, and she has also become a modern-day feminist icon.
• Artemis was a major deity in ancient Greece, worshiped at least as early as the beginning of the first millennium B.C., or even earlier.
• She was a daughter of Zeus, the chief god of the Olympians, who ruled the world from the summit of Mount Olympus. She was also the twin sister of Apollo, god of the Sun and oracles.
• Her independence and strength have long inspired women in a wide range of activities.
• As the goddess of animals and the wilderness, Artemis has also inspired environmental conservancy programs, in which the goddess is viewed as an example of a woman exercising her power by caring for the planet.

Over 20000 visitors on day one of Ganesh festival at Hubbali''s Idgah ground

• The Karnataka High Court has allowed Ganesh festival celebrations to go on at the grounds of the Hubbali-Dharwad Idgah, saying that unlike in the case of the Bengaluru Idgah, there is no dispute about the title. The Anjuman-e-Islam has challenged the order in the Supreme Court.
• The Idgah, one of three in Hubbali, is said to have been traditionally used by local Muslims to offer Ramzan and Bakrid prayers.
• The land was acquired by the Hubbali Municipality in the early years of the 20th century.
• Hubbali and Dharwad are twin cities in the Indian state of Karnataka.
• Hubbali-Dharwad form the second-largest municipality of Karnataka in terms of area, after capital Bangalore and second largest city after Bangalore. Hubbali–Dharwad makes up for the second largest urban agglomeration in the state after Bangalore.
• The cities have a single municipal corporation called Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC).

Anti-radiation pills help in case of a nuclear emergency in Ukraine

• These are unplanned or accidental events that create radio-nuclear hazard to humans and the environment. Such situations involve radiation exposure from a radioactive source and require prompt intervention to mitigate the threat.
• Dealing with such an emergency also involves the use of anti-radiation tablets.
• Potassium iodide (KI) tablets, or anti-radiation pills, are known to provide some protection in cases of radiation exposure. They contain non-radioactive iodine and can help block absorption, and subsequent concentration, of radioactive iodine in the thyroid gland.
• The thyroid gland, which uses iodine to produce hormones to regulate the body’s metabolism, has no way of telling radioactive from non-radioactive iodine. Potassium iodide (KI) tablets rely on this to achieve ‘thyroid blocking’.

Sonali Phogat was given recreational drug methamphetamine on the eve of her death

• Methamphetamine — meth for short — is a powerful, highly addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system, and is used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy, a sleep disorder.
• Crystal methamphetamine or crystal meth is a form of the drug that looks like glass fragments or shiny, bluish-white rocks. It is chemically similar to amphetamine.
• Methamphetamine can be smoked, swallowed in the form of a pill or tablet, snorted, and injected after dissolving the powder in water or alcohol.
• Methamphetamine can lead to myocardial infarction (heart attack); it can cause stroke. The drug can affect the heart, the brain, and the kidneys. It can result in the blood pressure shooting up suddenly. So, it is a very dangerous drug if there is an overdose.
• Meth raises the amount of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine, a natural chemical, plays a role in body movement, motivation, and reinforcement of rewarding behaviours.

Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Russia-Ukraine war zone

• The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station has been under Russian control since early March, but an escalation of the conflict in the town has raised the spectre of nuclear disaster.
• Ukraine has four nuclear power stations comprising 15 reactors. The plant at Zaporizhzhia has six reactors, which can together produce about 5,700 MW of electricity. Nuclear energy caters to about half of Ukraine’s power demand.
• Saefty of reactors
• Modern nuclear reactors are built to withstand considerable shock and impact. They have several layers of reinforced steel and concrete, and also elaborate fire security systems. Most of these reactors can survive earthquakes of magnitude 8 or higher. They are also designed to shut down automatically when they sense major natural hazards.