SCIENCE REPORTER JANUARY-2018 - studyiq.comJanuary-2018).pdf · Dr. Ravi Agraharis Classes (Scientist in IIT Delhi, Author of Mc Graw Hill) 1 SCIENCE REPORTER JANUARY-2018 By Dr

Dr. Ravi Agrahari’s Classes (Scientist in IIT Delhi, Author of Mc Graw Hill)

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SCIENCE REPORTER JANUARY-2018

By

Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari - Scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of DST (GoI) - Author of McGraw Hill Publication of Science & Technology - More than 15 years teaching experiences - Faculty of Enroute IAS (Old rajendra Nagar, N.Delhi)


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JANUARY-2018

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

➢ Father of DNA Fingerprinting in India Passes

Away

➢ ASTRONOMY & SPACE

• New Exoplanet LHS 1140b

• First Exoplanet Found to Contain Water

• Cassini-Huygens- End of a Mission

• Supercluster of Galaxies- Saraswati

• India Launched 104 Satellites One Go

• GSAT-9 is India’s Gift to Neighbouring Countries

• India Launched its Heaviest Rocket

• First Global Map of Water on Moon

• Smallest Star in the Universe

• World’s Smallest Spacecraft Launched by Breakthrough

Starshot

• LIGO Detects Collision of Neutron Stars for the First Time

• World’s Lightest Satellite Designed by an Indian Student

➢ BIOTECHNOLOGY

• Gene SLFN11 Encodes a Protein Against HIV1

➢ MATTER & ENERGY

• World’ First Floating Wind Farm

➢ HEALTH & MEDICINE

• World’s Smallest Pacemaker

• Mesentery: A New Human Organ

➢ COMPUTERS AND ROBOTICS

• World’s First Hybrid ‘Aeroboat’

• First ‘Made in India’ Industrial Robot: BRABO

• Ransomeware Cyberattack- Affects at Least 150

Countries

➢ Largest Iceberg Broke Off From Antarctica’s

Larsen C

➢ NEW SPECIES DISCOVERED


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➢ TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING

➢ World’s Largest Aircraft

➢ World’s Biggest and Powerful X-ray Laser Gun

Unveiled

➢ SOHUM: Indigenously Developed Low-cost

Hearing Device for Newborns

➢ School of International Biodesign (SIB)

➢ Scientists Turn-on the World’s Largest Artificial

Sun in Germany

➢ ENVIRONMENT

➢ OBITUARIES 1. Prof. U.S. Rao: India’s Satellite Man

2. Prof. P.M. Bhargava: Architect of Modern Biology in India

3. Prof. Yash Pal: Popularised Science Education in India

4. Prof. C.V. Vishveshwara: Renowned Physicist

➢ CSIR- 2017 • CSIR Ranked Ninth in the World

➢ Menstrual Blood Stem Cells- Promising Future?

➢ Incredible Spiders Conversations with a

Naturalist

➢ Lake Abraham Frozen Explosives in Tranquil

Waters

➢ WATER

➢ Father of DNA Fingerprinting in India Passes

Away

“Father of DNA fingerprinting in India”, Dr. Lalji Singh passed away in the last

month of the year 2017. He died of a massive heart attack at the BHU Trauma

Centre on 10th December.

He was 25th Vice Chancellor of the Banaras Hindu University, the fourth

Director of the Hyderabad- based CSIR-Centre for Cellular & molecular

Biology (CSIR-CCMB), and a Padma Shri recipient.

Even Director of CSIR-CCMB, Dr. Lalji Singh set up the Laboratory for the

Conservation of Endangered species (LaCONES) for conservation of

endangered wildlife in India.


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LaCONES notched up several successes including development of universal

DNA based marker for identification of wild animals from parts and remains,

rehabilitation of smuggled star tortoises, detection of certain parasitic, bacterial

and viral diseases in endangered animals from different zoological parks and

wildlife sanctuaries in India using DNA-based methods.

Dr. Lalji Singh also did pioneering research on Indian population genomics

and showed that the tribes in Andaman Islands were some of the first

human beings to migrate out of Africa.

➢ ASTRONOMY & SPACE

• Seven Earth-Sized Planets Found in Aquarius Astronomers discovered seven Earth-sized exoplanets orbiting an

ultracool star – TRAPPIST-1.

(Aquarious mean Deep sky object / Aquarius constellation is located in the

southern hemisphere. It is one of the 12 zodiac constellations)

The star is about the size of Jupiter and much cooler than Sun., about 40

light years from Earth in the constellation Aquarius.

The star was discovered by Michael Gillon, an astrophysicist at the

University of Liege in Belgium. Follow- up observations with ground based

telescopes and the Spitzer space telescope now reveal that the third planet

is actually four additional Earth-sized ones, three of which could be

habitable. If those planets have Earth-like atmospheres, they may even

have liquid water oceans on their surfaces.

• New Exoplanet LHS 1140b In the constellation of Cetus, a super-Earth exoplanet in the habitable zone of

LHS 1140 (a red dwarf star about one-fifth the size of the Sun) was discovered.

The LHS 1140b is about 1.43 times larger and about 6.6 times heavier

than the Earth i.e. gravity on LHS 1140b would be three times greater than

Earth. It is probably made up of rock with a dense iron core. This planet is

expected to be present in the Goldilocks Zone (area where the

temperature is neither too low nor too high).

(Note: Cetus constellation is located in the northern sky. Also known as the

Whale, it is one of the largest constellations in the sky)

• First Exoplanet Found to Contain Water Exoplanet WASP-121b located about 900 light-years away in the

constellation Puppies was found to contain water in the form of hot

water molecules. It belongs to a class of exoplanets called hot Jupiters. The

planet is nearly twice the size of Jupiter and orbits much closer to its host star.

The top of the planet' atmosphere is heated to a blazing 4600⁰ f, hot enough to


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boil some metals. The researchers were able to detect glowing water

molecules in the planet’s atmosphere by using NASA’s Hubble space

telescope.

(Notes: Puppies: A constellation in the S hemisphere lying between Vela and

Canis Major, a section of which is crossed by the Milky way)

• Cassini-Huygens- End of a Mission The Cassini spacecraft orbited Saturn and ended its life on 15 September

2017 with a plunge into the ringed planet’s atmosphere after a mission that

lasted in 19 years and 11 months.

It was a joint project of NASA, ESA (European space Agency) and ASI

(Italian Space Agency) to study the planet Saturn and its systems

including its rings and natural satellites. The mission is known for

discoveries such as finding jets of water erupting from Enceladus, and

tracking down a few new moons for Saturn.

• Supercluster of Galaxies- Saraswati A team of Indian astronomers identified a previously unknown,

extremely large supercluster of galaxies located in the direction of

constellation Pisces. The supercluster of 43 galaxies, which they named

“Saraswati”, is one of the largest known structures in the nearby

universe, and is 4 billion light years away from us and may contain the

mass equivalent of over 20 million billion suns. The Saraswati

supercluster, for instance, extends over a scale of 600 million light years.

A team of Indian astronomers from Inter-University Center for Astronomy and

Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune, Indian Institute of Science Education and

Research (IISER), Pune National Institute of Technology (NIT), Jamshedpur

and Newman College (Thodapuzha) identified a massive supermega river of

galaxies. The new discovery has been named Saraswati- which in Sanskrit

literally means ‘ever-flowing stream with many pools’. The supercluster is

about 4 billion light years away. The discovery is forcing astronomers to

rethink about the early of the evolution of the universe and provides vital

clues about the mysterious dark matter and dark energy.

• India Launched 104 Satellites One Go ISRO created history around the world with the successful launch of 104

satellites in a single mission on 15 February 2017. These satellites were

launched on board the Polar Satellites Launch Vehicle PSLS-C37 on its 39ᵐ

mission from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. It broke the earlier

record of launching 37 satellites by Russia on 19 June 2014.


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Of the total 104 satellites, only three were Indian and 101 were

international. India’s three satellites included Cartosat-2 (main payload)

and nanosatellites, INS-IA and INS-IB.

The total weight of all the 104 satellites carried on-board PSLV-C37 was 1378

kg.

• GSAT-9 is India’s Gift to Neighbouring Countries Also dubbed as the ‘South Asia’ satellite, GSAT-9 with the objective to

provide various communication applications in Ku-band with coverage

over South Asian countries was launched by the Geosynchronous

Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F09) on 5 May 2017.

With a payload power of 2.3 kilowatts and an operational life of 12 years,

GSAT-9 will be used for telecommunications, disaster management and

weather forecasting to benefit neighboring countries Afghanistan,

Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

This 2195 kilograms satellite is positioned at 48⁰east in the geostationary

orbit. Costing around Rs. 235 crore, the satellite will also contribute to

enhancing IT connectivity and facilitating tele-education and telemedicine.

• India Launched its Heaviest Rocket The Indian space programme notched up yet another milestone success as the

country’s most powerful rocket- GSLV Mk-III- soared into space placing

the communication satellite GSAT 19 (heaviest to be lifted by an Indian

rocket till date) on 5 June 2017.

GSLV Mark III, also nicknamed ‘Fat Boy’, weighed 640 tonnes and carried a

3136 kg GSAT-19 communication satellite to an altitude of around 179

km above the Earth.

The GSLV Mk-III is capable of carrying payloads of up to 4000 km into the

Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) or about (LEO), which is about

twice the capability of GSLV MK-II.

Currently, Indian depends on the European Space Agency (ESA) for heavy

launch of INSAT- class satellites of 3.5 ton, which incurrs a cost of Rs 800

crore for each launch.

GSLV Mk-III makes it possible for India to launch its heavier satellites at

one-third the cost or at about Rs 350 crore.

• First Global Map of Water on Moon Scientists from Brown University have created the first map of water

trapped in the uppermost layer of the Moon’s soil. The study used data

taken from NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper, which flew aboard India’s

Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft. The amount of water on Moon increases towards

the poles but gradually decreases the equator


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• Smallest Star in the Universe It has been named as EBLM J0555-57AB. The star was identified by

SuperWASP (Wide Angle Search for Planets), extra solar planet detection

programme run by several universities. The star is located about 600 light-

years away. It is slightly larger than Saturn in size and may possibly have

Earth-sized planets with liquid water in its orbit. The gravitational pull at

its surface is about 300 times stronger than on Earth.

• World’s Smallest Spacecraft Launched by Breakthrough

Starshot Starshot is a comprehensive space programme that launched the world’s

smallest spacecrafts dubbed as ‘Sprites’.

The six prototypes of sprites were launched in June 2017 in Low Earth

Orbit to test technologies that would eventually be used for interstellar

missions. Each of the mini sprite spacecrafts are built on a single 3.5cm ×

3.5cm circuit board. They weight just four grams each. They are equipped

with tiny solar panels, two antennas, tiny radio, computer magnetometer

and gyroscope.

They are smallest spacecrafts that have managed to establish contact

with ground stations.

• LIGO Detects Collision of Neutron Stars for the First Time Gravitational waves from a neutron star collision in the galaxy NGC 4993

were detected for the first time on 17 August 2017. The galaxy is located

about 130 million light years away from the Earth in the constellation

Hydra.

The collision known as ‘kilonova’ led to a rumble of gravitational wave

dubbed GW170817 as detected by LIGO. The kilonova associated with

GW170817 was observed by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra

X-ray Observatory.

• World’s Lightest Satellite Designed by an Indian Student Weighing just 64 grams, NASA launched the world’s lightest satellite

designed and built by 18-year-old Rifath and his team from India. The

tiny satellite has been named as ‘KalamSat’ after the former president and

scientist Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. The satellite was launched into the space on

a sounding rocket from NASA’s facility in Wallops Island. The 3.8 cm cube-

structured is a 3-D printed satellite.

Equipped with nano Geiger Muller counter for measuring the radiation in

space, the satellite is built with reinforced carbon fibre polymer. The

purpose behind the launch of KalamSat was to to demonstrate the

performance of 3D-printed carbon fibre.


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➢ BIOTECHNOLOGY

• Gene SLFN11 Encodes a Protein Against HIV1 Scientists from University of Colorado Boulder have discovered a gene

called SLFN11, which encodes a protein known as schlafen family member

11, or Schlafen 11 which may induce a cellular response against infection

by viruses including human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1). The new

study found that SLFN11’s antiviral potency is highest in non-human

primate species such as chimpanzees and orangutans, but less effective

humans and gorillas, indicating that the gene’s effects have become highly

species-specific over time when it comes to fighting off HIV-1.

➢ MATTER & ENERGY

• World’ First Floating Wind Farm World’s first full-scale floating wind farm, named as Hywind project, is built

off the coast of Scotland.

The project consisting five turbines is aimed to bring power to 20,000

homes.

The wind farm covers an area of about four square kilometers of water in

the North Sea, having an average wind speed of about 10 metre per

second.

➢ HEALTH & MEDICINE

• World’s Smallest Pacemaker Scientists for the first time have successfully implanted the world’s smallest

pacemaker dubbed as Micra Transcatheter Pacing System (TPS) in a patient

in US. The pacemaker about the size of large vitamin capsule is for patients

with bradycardia, a condition characterized by a slow heart rate, usually fewer

than 60 beats per minute. TPS provides the most advanced pacing technology.

It was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. It is one-

tenth the size of a traditional pacemaker and is the only leadless

(wireless) pacemaker approved for use in the US.

Another positive is the battery can last up to 10 years.

• Mesentery: A New Human Organ Scientists from Ireland have discovered a new human organ as the 79th

organ of the human body in the Digestive System named the Mesentery,

which connects the intestine to the abdomen.

The mesentery is a double fold of the peritoneum, which is the lining of the

abdominal cavity.

The discovery will help in better understanding and further scientific study of

the mesentery which could lead to less invasive surgeries, fewer

complications, faster patient recovery and lower overall costs.


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➢ COMPUTERS AND ROBOTICS

• World’s First Hybrid ‘Aeroboat’ The world’s first hybrid “aeroboat” has been built by an Indo-Russian joint

venture.

It is capable of travelling on land, water, snow and sand.

The aeroboat will have room for about 10 passengers and one crew

member.

Aeroboats are cheaper to maintain and fuel.

The aeroboats “hybrid” engine is capable of running on either petrol or

electricity thus helping in reducing carbon emission and improving

energy efficiency top.

The aeroboat is designed to access difficult terrain, such as flooded or marshy areas where the use of regular boats is made impossible because of shallow water, patches of dry land or by marine vegetation. Our amphibious aeroboats can provide high-speed year-round navigation, even when bodies of water are frozen like in Russia.

• First ‘Made in India’ Industrial Robot: BRABO A Tata group company, Tal Manufacturing Solutions, has unveiled India’s

first ever robot called ‘BRABO’. BRABO stands for “Bravo Robot”.

The robot is primarily developed to complement the human workforce and

repeatedly perform high volume, dangerous and time-consuming tasks

ranging from handling or raw materials to packaging of finished

products. The development cost, as reported, is Rs 10 crore.

• Ransomeware Cyberattack- Affects at Least 150

Countries The biggest cyberattack the world has ever seen is a virus that looks people

out of their computer files until they pay a ransom to the hackers.

The ransomware, called WannaCry, locks down files on an infected

computer and asks the computer’s administrator to pay in order to

regain control of them.

➢ Largest Iceberg Broke Off From Antarctica’s

Larsen C

This is the trillion tonne iceberg four times the size of London that

cracked off from Antarctica

Weighing more than a trillion tons, an iceberg split off from Antartica’s Larsen

C ice shelf sometime between July 10 and July 12, 2017.


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Larsen C is the fourth largest ice shelf on the east side of the Antartica

Peninsula, surrounding the southernmost continent of the planet.

Project MIDAS, an Antartic research project based in the United Kingdom,

reported the final breakage.

➢ NEW SPECIES DISCOVERED World’s first Fluorescent Frog

Scientists have discovered polka-dot tree frog (Hypsiboas punctatus), the

world’s first fluorescent frog in Argentina.

In normal light the frog appears to have a dull, mottled browny-green skin

with red dots, but under UV light it glows a bright fluorescent green.

New Frog Species with Pig Face

A group of Indian scientists from the CSIR-Centre for Cellular & Molecular

Biology, Hyderabad has recently discovered a new frog species named

Nasikabatrachus bhupathi, which has a face of pig.

The frog has been named after the Indian herpetologist S.Bhupathy, who died

in 2014.

(Note: Herpetology: is the study of reptiles and amphibians)

Two New Earthworm Species

Scientists have discovered two new primitive species of earthworm in the

Western Ghats mountain ranges in Kerala.

Drawida polydiverticulata

Drawida thomasi

Drawida polydiverticulata has an organ located in the front of its body. This

species was found to be widespread in the protected shoal grasslands of the

Munnar region, including Eravikulam National Park, Pampadun Shola National

Park and Chinnar wildlife Sanctuary.

Drawida thomasi was collected at the Kozhippara Waterfalls near

KAkkadampoyil, at the border between Malappuram and Kozhikode.

Two New species of Cycas

Recently in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands scientists have discovered two

new species of cycas named Cycas pschannae and Cycas dharmrajii.

➢ TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING Russia Launches Mammoth Icebreaker Ship

Russia launched the world’s biggest and most powerful icebreaker ship.

Named ‘Sibir’, the ship is powered by two nuclear reactors and can break

three-meter thick ice fields.


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The mammoth vessel weighs 33,500 tons and stretches 173 metres in

length.

This vessel will be able to break through ice up to 4.5 metres thick. And this

prowess will particularly be pivotal in keeping the Northern Sea Route and

Arctic coast open all year round.

➢ World’s Largest Aircraft Weighing nearly 227 metric tons, and having the world’s largest wingspan of

118m, this gigantic airplane successfully tested each of its six engines during

operation.

Designed to act as a mobile launch pad to carry rockets into low-Earth

orbit, the Stratolaunch aircraft’s wingspan is longer than a professional

football field.

➢ World’s Biggest and Powerful X-ray Laser Gun

Unveiled Scientists in Germany have recently started operating the world’s powerful

X-ray laser, known as the X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL), the European

machine can capture images of individual atoms, in a few millionths of a

billionth of a second!

Its beam is 100 times more intense than if all the sunlight hitting the earth’s

surface was focused on just a thumbnail.

The machine will be used to help recreate conditions deep inside the sun,

to make antibiotics as well as synthesise a new form of diamond.

➢ SOHUM: Indigenously Developed Low-cost

Hearing Device for Newborns The Union Ministry of Science and Technology has launched SOHUM, an

indigenously developed low-cost hearing screening device for newborns.

The innovative medical device has been developed by the School of

International Biodesign (SIB) startup Sohum Innovation Labs India Pvt Ltd

under Department of Biotechnology (DBT) supported (SIB).

Features of SOHUM

The Sohum aims to make this battery-operated non-invasive screening device

available across the country to minimise or reverse the hearing loss damage. It

is a low cost portable device which uses brain-stem auditory evoked

response, a best screening choice recommended by the American Association

of Pediatrics and National Health Services of UK. It measures auditory brain

waves via three electrodes placed on the baby’s head. When stimulated,

electrodes detect electrical responses generated by the brain’s auditory

system. If there is no response, it indicates child cannot hear. Once it is


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detected at quite an early age, measures can be taken to prevent other

problems such as impaired communication skills and even possible mental

illness.

➢ School of International Biodesign (SIB)

SIB is a flagship Program of the DBT aimed to develop innovative and

affordable medical devices as per India’s unmet clinical needs and to train

the next generation of medical technology innovators in India. It is

implemented jointly at All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)

and IIT Delhi in collaboration with International partners. Biotech

Consortium India Limited manages techno-legal activities of the Program. It

serves as a valuable contribution to the Make in India campaign of the

Government.

➢ Scientists Turn-on the World’s Largest Artificial

Sun in Germany At the German Aerospace Center, in Julich, scientists have used film

projector lights to produce a glare that is almost 10,000 times the

intensity of natural sunlight on Earth.

The structure known as ‘Synlight’ is made up of a honeycomb of 149

spotlights.

Each of these lights is a kind of ‘xenon arc lamps’ used for cinema

projectors, utilized here to simulate sunlight.

Scientists are hoping to explore new ways of making hydrogen and

exploring cleaner energy sources using this technology.

➢ ENVIRONMENT Fungus That Can Feed on Plastic


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A fungus (Aspergillus tubingensis) has been discovered by scientists of the

Chinese Academy (CAS).

The fungus was found in Pakistan and usually lives in soil, but can also grow on

the surface of plastics.

The plastic-eating fungus secrets enzymes onto the surface of the plastic

breaking the chemical bonds between the plastic molecules, or polymers.

➢ OBITUARIES

1. Prof. U.S. Rao: India’s Satellite Man

Eminent space scientist and former chairman of ISRO, Prof. Udupi

Ramachandra Rao passed away on 24 July 2017 in Bengaluru. He served as

chairman of ISRO from 1984 to 1994.

Under his guidance, ISRO designed more than 20 satellites including India’s

first satellite Aryabhatta.

Under his leadership, India initiated the development of the Geostationary

Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and the development of cryogenic technology in

1991.

He was also responsible for the successful launch of INSAT satellites.

2. Prof. P.M. Bhargava: Architect of Modern Biology in India

Molecular biologist and founder director of CSIR-Centre for Cellular &

Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB), Dr. Pushpa Mitra Bhargava died on 1

August 2017 in Hyderabad.

An excellent organic chemist whose foresight led to the development of DNA

fingerprinting in India.

3. Prof. Yash Pal: Popularised Science Education in India

Well-known educationist and science communicator, Prof. Yash Pal passed

away at the age of 90 on 25 July 2017.

He was known for his significant contributions in the study of cosmic rays.

He served as the first director of the newly set up Space Applications

Centre, Ahmedabad in 1973 and chairman of the University Grants

Commission (UGS) from 1986 to 1991.

He made regular appearances on the science programme Turning Point

telecast on Doordarshan explaining scientific concepts in layman’s language.

4. Prof. C.V. Vishveshwara: Renowned Physicist

Popularly known as the ‘black’ hole man of India’s Prof. C.V. Vishveshwara

passed away on 16 January 2017 at the age of 78 in Bengaluru.

He was not only the first among Indians to study black holes, but also the

first in the world to formulate the mathematical calculations of

gravitational waves, way back in 1970 (Nature, 227, pp 936).


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➢ CSIR- 2017 CSIR Ranked Ninth in the World

India’s largest network of S&T laboratories, the Council of Scientific &

Industrial Research (CSIR) has been ranked ninth in the world based on the

Scimago Institutions ranking World Report 2017.

CSIR has been ranked ninth amongst a total of 1,207 government institutions.

Artificial Leaf Creates Fuel from Sunlight and Water

Scientists from the CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL) have

developed an artificial leaf absorbs sunlight to generate hydrogen fuel

from water.

Smart device to monitor, detect cracks

Scientists from CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CECRI),

Karaikudi, have developed a portable device that will monitor weak

structure and send alerts whenever a crack is observed.

The device called the ‘Triboluminescence (TL) camera uses a light-emitting

compound and a smart camera that allows detection of cracks- invisible to the

naked eye- on structures made of concrete, metal and fibre-reinforced

plastic.

➢ Menstrual Blood Stem Cells- Promising Future? Xiaolong Meng and his colleagues at Bio-Communication Research Institute,

Wichita, USA collected menstrual blood in a urine cup from a healthy

menstruating woman. When they isolated and grew the cells from it, they

found that these cells had an incredible rate of doubling- every 19.2

hours. This was 2-3 times faster than the normal cells.

Menstrual stem cells seem to be on par with the bone marrow derived stem

cells: they can be easily collected and have equal potency as bone-marrow

stem cells.

Menstrual stem cells can selectively migrate to regions of damage or

injury and regenerate or repair the tissues.

Several reproductive health issues in women would benefit from an

endometrial or menstrual blood stem cell-based therapy. This could also

be employed in women suffering from thin endometrium – i.e. endometrium

that does not grow thick enough for an embryo to implant. For such people,

these studies may indicate light at the end of the tunnel where the menstrual

blood can be a practical, accessible, non-invasive, and painless way of

obtaining stem cell therapy.


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➢ Incredible Spiders Conversations with a

Naturalist Masters of Camouflage

Wilderness is harsh, especially for small beings like spiders. So it is evident

that many species have learnt to mimic their surroundings to escape

predation by insects, birds and bugs.

A Vegetarian Spider!

While spiders are usually carnivorous, Bhageera kiplingi a type of

jumping spider is predominantly vegetarian. Native to Latin America, the

spider feeds on a type of nutritious nectar stored by ants residing on the

acacia trees.

Mistaken Identity

• The spinnerets which weave the silk are situated in the lower

abdominal region.

A Web of Wonder

• Spider silk is a natural protein, incredibly strong and durable, with

high tensile strength, comparable to steel and Kevlar.

• A lot of geometry and physics goes into spinning a web.

• Caerostris darwini is an inch sized spider found in Madagascar and

is seen to make the largest known web covering a 30 square foot

area.

➢ Lake Abraham Frozen Explosives in Tranquil

Waters • Home to this spectacular phenomenon, Abraham Lake is an artificial

lake created in 1972, on North Saskatchewan River in Western

Alberta, Canada.

• The icy man-made lake was made during the construction of Bighorn

Dam and owes name to Silas Abraham, an inhabitant of the Saskatchewan

River valley in the nineteenth century.

• The organic matter generated after the death of organisms, including

plants, leaves and animals, falls into the water body and sinks to the

bottom. The micro-organisms at the lake-bed munch on this dead organic

matter and methane is released in the process.

• The white rock substance known as methane hydrate from deep beneath

the Earth’s crust and from the ancient oceans remains also contributes to

the methane output in the lake.


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• During the winter season, this methane gas fails to escape into the

atmosphere when it comes in contact with the iced water of the lake

and turns to while floating blobs.

• As winters set off and the lake defrosts, the bubbles break free and

rise to the top, releasing the methane into the air.

• However, this phenomenon is not restricted to just Abraham Lake;

methane forms in millions of water bodies around the Arctic region as

well.

• The experts have found ways to extract this natural frozen gas from

deposits of icy methane hydrate buried in the ocean floor and thus it can

prove to be a newfound energy reserve for the countries with scant

energy resources.

➢ WATER

• India is constantly facing the threat of declining amounts of fresh water. • Jawwad Patel, a 22-year-old engineering student from Hyderabad has

developed a device i.e. Dewdrop. • ‘Dewdrop’ is the name of model that fills and refills itself with potable

water. • Patel has designed a 3D-printed apparatus, which uses moisture from

air to create water. • This self-filling water apparatus produces pure drinkable water from

thin humid air. • The device contains a smart condenser that is connected to sensors and

an-on-board computer. It comprises of a fan that absorbs thin humid

air and transfers it to the condenser. The humid air is then converted

into water through a computerized sensor with respect to

atmosphere parameters. • The water is further passed through several membranes to remove

dust and other unnecessary materials. Air. • After the completion of this process, the water undergoes a UV

treatment that kills all germs and microbiological activities after

which the water is mineralized and stored in the attached tanks. • In an hour the device can extract nearly 1.8 litres of water from air. • The apparatus can extract high quality water even if the air is

polluted. • It is powered by a 12 V and 6000m Ah Li-ion battery pack which can be

recharged from any power outlet or even through solar device. • The device is beneficial where water resources are in limited

quantities. Jawwad Patel has also been nominated for the National Youth

Award 2015-16 and Dr APJ Kalam Excellence Award 2016.


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(Dr. Ravi Agrahari’s Classes)

For offline classes you can join me in Delhi

@ Old rajendra Nagar & Mukherjee Nagar,

New Delhi – 9650540359

Whatsap- 9911809808

Documents

SCIENCE REPORTER JANUARY-2018 - studyiq.comJanuary-2018).pdf · Dr. Ravi Agraharis Classes (Scientist in IIT Delhi, Author of Mc Graw Hill) 1 SCIENCE REPORTER JANUARY-2018 By Dr