Table of Contents
RARE DISEASES
- Ministry of Health & Family Welfare approved the National Policy for Rare Diseases(NPRD) 2021.
- There is no universal or standard definition of rare disease but broadly defined as diseases that infrequently occur in a population, and three indicators are used to identify— the total number of people with the disease, its prevalence, and the availability/non-availability of treatment options.
- WHO defines rare disease as often debilitating lifelong disease or disorder with a prevalence of less than 10 per 10,000 people (or 1 per 1000 population).
- Different countries have their own definitions
- “Orphan diseases” is often used for these and drugs to treat them are called “Orphan drugs”.
- New diseases are discovered each year and added to the databases such as Orphanet database maintained by the European Union that is freely accessible to everyone.
MALARIA
- World Health Organisation (WHO) and partners recently organised “Reaching Zero” forum on malaria elimination to celebrate World Malaria Day (25th April).
- This year’s theme for the day is “Reaching the Zero Malaria target.’’
- WHO launched E-2025 initiative, under which group of 25 countries have been identified that have the potential to stamp out malaria within a 5-year timeline.
- Receive specialized support and technical guidance as they work towards the target of zero malaria.
- National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme NVBDCP (launched in 2003-04): It is an umbrella programme for the prevention and control of six vector borne diseases namely Malaria, dengue, chikungunya, Japanese encephalitis, kala-azar and lymphatic filariasis.
- National Framework for Malaria Elimination (NFME) 2016–2030 was launched in line with the WHO Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016– 2030 (GTS). The goals of NFME are:
- Eliminate malaria (zero indigenous cases) throughout the entire country by 2030; and
- Maintain malaria–free status in areas where malaria transmission has been interrupted and
- prevent re-introduction of malaria.
- National Strategic Plan (NSP) for Malaria Elimination 2017-2022 was launched based on NFME which specifies for phased elimination of Malaria.
Specific objectives of NSP are:
- Achieve universal coverage of case detection and treatment services in endemic districts.
- Strengthen the surveillance system.
- An appropriate vector control intervention.
- WHO’s High Burden to High Impact (HBHI) strategy has been initiated in four high endemic states i.e., West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh in July 2019.
NON-FUNGIBLE TOKEN
- Indian cryptocurrency exchange, WazirX has launched a non-fungible tokens (NFT) marketplace for Indian artists.
- An NFT, or a non-fungible token, is a digital object that can be a drawing, animation, piece of music, photo, or video with a certificate of authenticity created by blockchain technology.
- NFT is a unique proof of ownership over something you can’t usually hold in your hand — a piece of digital art, a digital coupon, maybe a video clip.
- The virtual object, which is actually a computer file, can be exchanged or sold with its certificate.
- “Tokenizing” these assets allows them to be bought, sold, and traded more efficiently while reducing the probability of fraud.
- NFTs can also be used to represent people’s identities, property rights, and more.
- All NFTs have a unique quality and a distinct value from any other similar token.
- The metadata of each NFT is an unalterable record that gives it the certificate of authenticity.
- They are digitally rare.
- They must be sold or purchased as a whole as they cannot be divided unlike fungible tokens.
SATELLITE BASED INTERNET CONNECTIVITY
- Telecom Regulatory Authority of India released a Consultation Paper on Licensing Framework for Satellite-based connectivity for low bit rate applications.
About Satellite based connectivity
- Rather than using an underground copper/fibre network, satellite based broadband connection operates by sending and receiving broadband signal to a satellite in space.
- Satellite-based low-bit-rate connectivity is possible using Geo Stationary, Medium and Low Earth orbit Satellites.
Benefits associated with Satellite connectivity
- Easier to deploy and wide coverage
- Enabler for IoT ecosystem
- Stronger bandwidth capabilities
- Boosting mobile broadband coverage in rural areas
SPACE DEBRIS
- China has launched a robot prototype in April 2021 that can scoop up debris left behind by other spacecraft with a big net.
- The robot, NEO-01 will use a net to capture debris and then burn it with its electric propulsion system.
- Peer into deep space to observe small celestial bodies, paving the way for future technologies capable of mining on asteroids.
- Space debris encompasses both natural (meteoroid) and artificial (man-made) particles.
- Meteoroids are in orbit about the sun, while most artificial debris is in orbit about the Earth which is commonly referred to as orbital debris.
- Orbital debris is any man-made object in orbit about the Earth which no longer serves a useful function.
- Such debris includes non-functional spacecraft, abandoned launch vehicle stages, mission-related debris and fragmentation debris.
PINK MOON
- The first super moon of 2021 has been named ‘Pink Moon’ as per a naming convention established in USA.
- It is named after herb moss pink, also called creeping phlox, moss phlox, or mountain phlox, one of the earliest spring flowers appearing in the United States.
- A book titled ‘Maine Farmer’s Almanac’ provides names for supermoon in each month of the year as they
About Supermoon
- The term “supermoon” was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979.
- The Moon orbits Earth in an ellipse which brings it closer to and farther from Earth as it goes around.
- The farthest point in this ellipse is called the apogee and the closest point is the
- Other moon events:
- Micro moon is when a Full Moon or a New Moon coincides with apogee.
- Blood Moon
- It refers to red colour of moon during the total lunar eclipse.
- During the total lunar eclipse, the Earth comes in between the Sun and the Moon.
- Shorter wavelengths of sunlight are scattered by Earth’s atmosphere and what reaches us is the longer wavelength red light.
THE UNICORN–CLOSEST BLACK HOLE TO EARTH EVER DISCOVERED
- Scientists have discovered the smallest-known black hole which is dubbed as ‘the Unicorn’ in the Milky Way galaxy and closest to the solar system.
- The black hole ‘Unicorn’ is roughly three times the mass of the sun.
NATIVE LANGUAGE
- Vice President elaborated on the importance of strong foundational skills in native languages in the initial years of informal learning at home.
- The native language (or the first language) refers to the language of the area the person grows up in. (child acquires either through schooling or socialization, such as family)
- Mother tongue is the in-born language
- there can be a home language spoken by other family members that may sometimes be different from mother tongue or local language.
- The United Nations (UN) has announced 2019 as the year ‘Year of International Mother Tongue Conservation.’
- Of the 196 languages listed as endangered by UNESCO India has the highest number of endangered languages in the world (40 Indian languages are on the verge of extinction).
- According to the UN every two weeks a language disappears taking with it an entire cultural and intellectual
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