Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has asked for timely reporting of adverse events related to medical devices on the MvPI platform.

About MvPI

• Launched in 2015.
• Since 2018, Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission functions as National Coordination Centre.
• It monitors medical device-associated adverse events (MDAE) and creates awareness among healthcare professionals about the importance of MDAE.
  • MDAE can be reported by Clinical specialists, Biomedical Engineers, Nurses, Pharmacists, Patients etc.
• Benefits: Evaluating benefit-risk ratioof medical devices, achieving public confidence, etc.

FSSAI alerts fruit traders to ensure compliance with prohibition of Calcium Carbide in fruit ripening.

About Calcium Carbide

• Prepared by heating quick lime with coke and releases acetylene gas which contains harmful traces of arsenic and phosphorus.
• Use of calcium carbide for ripening fruits has been banned under Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011.

Safer alternative for fruit ripening

• Ethylene gas can be used at concentrations up to 100 ppm (100 μl/L), depending upon the crop, variety, and maturity.

A new type of financial frauds called Pig Butchering Scams are increasing worldwide, including in India. 

About Pig Butchering Scam

• Also known as a “sha zhu pan” scam, it is used to describe a scam perpetrated over a long period of time to steal victim's money repeatedly via online apps.
• Criminals lure victims into digital relationships to build trust before convincing them to invest into fraudulent schemes or platforms.
• The term “pig butchering” comes from the scammers’ practice of “fattening up” their victims by building trust before “slaughtering” them.

UN designated World Bee Day is observed on May 20.

About Bees

• Bees are pollinators, contributing directly to food security and conserving biodiversity.
• The honey bee has 3 pairs of legs, 4 wings, and has 5 eyes.
• Behaviours: Honey bee performs waggle dance to communicate the location of food sources
  • Propolis is a resinous substance produced by honeybees, which helps prevent cracks, protect hives from invaders and inhibit bacterial and fungi build up.
• Initiatives: The International Pollinator Initiative (IPI).

Purnima Devi Barman received the 2024 Whitley Gold Award dubbed ‘Green Oscar’ for conserving Greater Adjutant Stork (Leptoptilos dubius).  

About Greater Adjutant Stork 

• Distribution: Also known as ‘Hargila’, they reside only in Assam (80%) and Bihar of India and Cambodia.
• Habitat: Inhabits wetlands, nesting in tall trees with closed canopies and bamboo clumps around nesting trees, etc. 
• Threats: Hunting, habitat destruction including felling of nest trees; degradation of wetlands, etc. 
• Conservation Status: 
  • IUCN List: Nearly Threatened (NT)

Scientists have discovered 1.5 Billion-Year-Old “Giant” Viruses in Yellowstone National Park. 

About giant Viruses

• Refers to their exceptionally large genomes compared to more common viruses. They do not pose any risk to humans.
• They provide valuable insights into a period when single-cell organisms were starting to emerge on Earth. 

Yellowstone National Park

• Oldest and one of the largest national park in the US. 
• Designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1976 and a World Heritage site in 1978.
• Hot springs are the most common hydrothermal features in Yellowstone.

Astronomers under the SPECULOOS project had detected a new earth-sized exoplanet and named it as SPECULOOS-3b.

• Exoplanet is any planet beyond our solar system. They can either orbit other stars or can also be free-floating (rogue planets).

About SPECULOOS-3b

• It is an Earth-size planet orbiting an ultra-cool red dwarf star.
  • Red dwarfs are the smallest main sequence stars – just a fraction of the Sun’s size and mass.
• Located around 55 light-years from Earth and is tidally locked with its star and hence a particular side always faces the star.

Starlink satellite internet service has been launched in Bali, Indonesia.

About Starlink

• Starlink is the name of a satellite network of SpaceX to provide low-cost internet to remote locations. 
• SpaceX eventually to have as many as 42,000 satellites (currently 5800) in this so-called mega-constellation.
• A Starlink satellite has a lifespan of approximately 5 years. 
• It remains in low orbit (altitude of 550 km) and will help them deliver faster internet with wide coverage.
• In Satellite Internet service, there are no cables or fibres, rather it receives signal through antenna which is why it is useful in remote areas.