Satellite has been launched under SSLV-D3/EOS-08 mission by the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV)-D3 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

• Mission configuration is set to operate in circular Low Earth Orbit at an altitude of 475 km ( inclination of 37.4°), with a mission life of 1 year.
• SR-0 DEMOSAT was also onboard which was developed by Space Kidz India.

Objectives of EOS-08 mission

• Designing and developing a microsatellite, 
• Creating payload instruments compatible with the microsatellite bus, 
• Incorporating new technologies required for future operational satellites.

Payloads of E0S-08 Mission 

• Electro Optical Infrared Payload (EOIR) payload: To take images in Mid-Wave & Long Wave Infrared band for applications like Disaster Monitoring, Environmental Monitoring etc.
• Global Navigation Satellite System- Reflectometry payload (GNSS-R) payload: Uses remote sensing for measuring ocean winds, soil moisture, Himalayan cryosphere, etc.
• SiC UV Dosimeter: Monitor UV irradiance at Gaganyaan mission's crew module viewport, serving as a high-dose alarm sensor for astronaut safety.

About Earth observatory satellites (EOS)

• EOS or Earth remote sensing satellites are designed for Earth observation (EO) from orbit.
  • EO refers to collecting information about activities on Earth, both natural and artificial, including physical, chemical, biological and human systems.
• Applications: Used in Early warning systems, environmental impact monitoring etc.

India selected Shubhanshu Shukla and Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair (Group Captains in the IAF) for Axiom-4 mission. 

• They will train in U.S. and experience gained during the mission will be beneficial for human space programme. 

Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4)

• It is the fourth private astronaut mission of NASA and a private US company Axiom Space. 
• It is expected to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) for fourteen days.
• Axiom Space has contracted SpaceX as a launch provider.

Scientists identify Ladakh as potential site for Martian or Lunar analogue research station 

• An analogue research station is a place that has physical similarities to a planet or planetary body or extreme space environments.
• Presently, there are 33 analogue research stations with none being in Indian sub-continent. 
  • These include BIOS-3 (Russia), HERA and Biosphere 2 (USA), Mars One (Netherlands) and D-MARS (Israel). 

Need for Analogue sites

• Field testing for new technologies, robotic equipment, vehicles, power generation, infrastructure etc. which are crucial for prolonged space missions. 
• Study or simulate human habitats in such environment and associated behavioural effects – such as isolation and confinement, team dynamics, menu fatigue etc. 
  • Simulation tests are essential as these are meant to be stand-alone units capable of handling all contingencies. 

Why is Ladakh ideal as Martian/Lunar Analogue?

• Geomorphological similarities to an early Mars and Moon: 
  • Dry, cold, arid desert, with abundant rocky ground.
  • Vast flat land devoid of vegetation, dunes, and drainage networks. 
  • Segregated ground ice and permafrost, and rock glaciers. 
• Geochemical similarities to Martian surface: Volcanic rocks, saline lakes, and hydrothermal systems.
• Exobiological similarities: Permafrost (evidence of water in past), increased UV and cosmic radiation flux, reduced atmospheric pressure, hot springs (rich in boron) and sufficient isolation.

Recently some experts have raised concern of Technological doping.

About Technological doping:

• Technology doping is the practice of gaining a competitive advantage using sports equipment.
  • e.g., Speedo LZR Racer swimsuits of 2008 Olympic (Later banned)
• Regulation: World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) considers prohibiting technologies if they are “performance-enhancing” or “being against the spirit of the sport”.

World’s first thorium molten salt nuclear power station will be launched in Gobi Desert by China in 2025. Instead of Uranium, this nuclear power station uses thorium as fuel.

• Its reactor does not need water for cooling because it utilizes liquid salt or carbon dioxide to transfer heat and make electricity.
• Unlike the water-cooling model, this design significantly reduces the chances of meltdowns. 

Thorium as a Fuel

• Thorium, a naturally occurring element with radioactivity, is found at trace levels in soil, rocks, water, plants and animals.
• Due to its physical characteristics, thorium cannot be used directly to produce nuclear energy.  It has to be first converted to U-233 in a nuclear reactor. 

Significance of Thorium based reactors

• Abundant Supply unlike Uranium. In India, Kerala and Odisha have rich reserves of monazite, which contains about 8 – 10% thorium.
  • Monazite is also prominent in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Jharkhand.
• Chemically safe, due to higher melting point, better thermal conductivity, better fuel performance characteristics, chemical inertness and stability. 
• Environmentally safe, generates lesser toxic and short-lived radioactive wastes. 

ICAR recently developed a miniature plant genome editing tool ‘ISDRA2TNPB’

• ‘ISDra2TnpB’ is being seen as a next-generation tool for genome editing in plants that can overcome the limitations of Cas9 and Cas12 of CRISPR.
• CRISPR allows precise genome editing but has limitations due to the size of commonly used proteins Cas9 and Cas12 (consisting of 1,000–1,350 amino acids).
  • The large size poses challenges for effective delivery inside cells, especially through viral vectors.
• TnpB proteins are considered the evolutionary ancestors of Cas12 nucleases and consist of only around 350–500 amino acids. 

About Genome editing tool ISDra2TnpB

• It is derived from bacteria called Deinococcus radiodurans (it can survive extreme environmental conditions).
• It belongs to a family of transposons or jumping genes that can move within the genome, targeting specific DNA sequences with the help of RNA.

Significance

• TnpB can target unique regions in the genome that Cas9 cannot. 
• It facilitates the creation of fusion proteins, broadening the scope of genome engineering applications.
  • A fusion protein (chimeric protein) is created by joining two or more genes that originally coded for separate proteins. 
• It was effective on both types of flowering plants monocots (like rice, which have one seed leaf) and dicots (like Arabidopsis). 

Click here to read More on ‘CRISPR’ gene editing.

WHO declared Monkeypox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). 

• Decision came on advice from International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee.
• Following an Mpox outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and outside Africa, it was declared as global PHEIC for second time in two years.

About Mpox

• Viral illness caused by monkeypox virus, a species of genus Orthopoxvirus.
• First detected in humans in 1970 in DRC. 
• Spreads via close contact and tends to cause flu-like symptoms and pus-filled skin lesion.
• Occurs mostly in central and western Africa, and affected primarily (but not only) gay, bisexual etc.
• Vaccines and therapeutics developed for smallpox and approved for use in some countries can be used for mpox in some circumstances.

About PHEIC

• As per IHR (2005), an outbreak qualifies as a PHEIC if it is unusual or unexpected; it has potential for international spread; and may require an immediate international action.
  • IHR, 2005 is a binding international legal agreement involving 196 countries across globe, including all Member States of WHO.
• PHEIC represents the highest level of alert issued by WHO under IHR. 
  • Since 2009, WHO has declared seven international public health emergencies, including H1N1 influenza pandemic in 2009, polio outbreak in 2014, Ebola outbreak (West Africa) in 2014 & 2019, Zika epidemic in 2016, Ebola outbreak (Congo) in 2019, COVID-19 in 2020 and Mpox in 2022 & 2024.

Indigenous tetravalent dengue vaccine, DengiAll has proceeded toward its phase-3 clinical trials. 

• Trial would be conducted with collaboration of Indian Council of Medical Research and Panacea Biotec.

Dengue (Break-Bone Fever)

• Viral infection that transmits with bite of an infected female Aedes mosquitoes (also responsible for chikungunya, Zika).
• Dengue is found in tropical and sub-tropical climates worldwide, mostly in urban and semi-urban areas.
• It can escalate to severe conditions like dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome in adults. 
• Currently, there is no antiviral treatment or licensed vaccine against dengue in India.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has been conducting serosurvey since last year to determine exposure to Mpox among India’s high-risk population.

About Serosurvey

• It is the collection and testing of blood (or proxy specimen such as oral fluid) from a specimen of a defined population over a specified period of time.
• Objective: To estimate prevalence of IgG antibodies against an infectious pathogen as an indicator of exposure to a pathogen.
• Significance: Can be used to estimate prevalence of infection, immunity gap, key parameters for infectious disease modeling, etc.

Leonard Hayflick passed away recently. 

• He introduced the ‘Hayflick limit’ that fundamentally changed the understanding of aging.

About Hayflick limit

• It is the number of times a cell population can divide until it attains a cell cycle arrest. 
• It depends on the length of chromosomal telomeres, which decreases in standard cells with every cell division.
  • The telomere is the region of repetitive DNA sequences at the end of a chromosome.
• The “Hayflick limit”, is around 125 years for humans. 
• Beyond this, no amount of diet, exercise, or genetic tweaking against diseases can extend the human lifespan.

Researchers highlight that biosurfactants can be produced using green substrates from agro-industrial waste. 

Surfactants

• A surfactant (surface-active agent) is a substance that, when added to a liquid, reduces its surface tension, thereby increasing its spreading and wetting properties. E.g., Detergent. 

About Biosurfactants

• They are active compounds that are produced at microbial cell surface or excreted, and reduce surface and interfacial tension. 
• Produced by bacteria, yeasts, and filamentous fungi. 
• Microbial surfactants advantages over synthetic ones: 
  • Low toxicity and high biodegradability.
  • Remain active at extreme pH and salinity.

Application of Bio surfactants:

• Environmental bioremediation: Used to clean up oil spills, remove heavy metal contaminants, and treat wastewater. 
• Agriculture: Used to improve soil quality, manage plant diseases, and increase the concentration of trace elements in the soil. 
• Pharmaceutical industries: Used in antimicrobial, anti-adhesive, antiviral & anticancer pharmaceuticals

Recently Scientists spotted heaviest antimatter nucleus in a particle accelerator Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider.

• It is called antihyper hydrogen-4 (Made up of antiproton, two antineutrons and antihyperon)

Antimatter

• Antimatter particles share the same mass as their matter counterparts, but qualities such as electric charge are opposite. 
  • E.g. A positively charged positron is an antiparticle to a negatively charged electron.
• Antimatter particles corresponding to electrons, protons, and neutrons are called positrons, antiprotons, and antineutrons.
• Matter and antimatter particles are always produced as a pair and if come in contact annihilate one another (leaving pure energy).