What Is A Satellite Phone?: Since earlier this week, the Internet has been abuzz with news that the next-generation iPhone could have satellite connectivity, thus enabling it to make calls without a cellular network. It all started when top Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the Apple’s next-generation iPhone 13 will feature a low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite […]
Category: Science and Technology Current Affairs
Nipah Virus in Kozhikode district of Kerala
Nipah Virus: After a gap of over three years, a case of the zoonotic Nipah virus infection has been reported in Kozhikode district of Kerala. A contact list of 188 persons, a majority of them healthcare workers, has been prepared. Symptomatic persons will be shifted to hospital. At a time when there is a relentless […]
NASA’s Perseverance Rover: Collected Its First Rock Sample
NASA’s Perseverance Rover Has Successfully Collected Its First Rock Sample: NASA’s Perseverance rover has successfully collected its first rock sample for return to Earth. NASA has called it a perfect core sample. NASA plans to launch more spacecraft to retrieve the samples collected by Perseverance. Perseverance arrived in February 2021 at Mars’ Jezero Crater, the […]
Remotely Piloted Aircraft System : Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd.
Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) In a first, in Coal India Ltd. (CIL) under the Ministry of Coal, an innovative Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) at Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) was inaugurated. Designed by the MCL’s Innovation Cell and the Department of E&T, the portal named “Vihangam’ for remote monitoring was created by a Mumbai-based start-up […]
Vande Bharat Express
Vande Bharat Express: The Indian Railways plans to operate 102 Vande Bharat trains by March 2024. About Vande Bharat Express: The Train18, later named Vande Bharat Express, was rolled out by the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai under the Indian government’s Make in India initiative. The train was launched on 15 February 2019. It was showcased […]
West Nile Virus Infection
West Nile Virus Infections: Russia warned of a possible increase in West Nile Virus (WNV) Infections this autumn as mild temperatures and heavy precipitation create favourable conditions for the mosquitos that carry it. It is a member of the flavivirus genus and belongs to the Japanese encephalitis antigenic complex of the family Flaviviridae. WNV is […]
Drone Rules, 2021: Important Points
Drone Rules, 2021: In March 2021, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) published the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Rules, 2021. Based on the feedback, the Government has decided to repeal the UAS Rules, 2021 and replace the same with the liberalised Drone Rules, 2021. Key features of Drone Rules 2021: Several approvals abolished: unique authorisation […]
Chikungunya Vaccine
Chikungunya Vaccine: International Vaccine Institute (IVI) has announced that Bharat Biotech’s Chikungunya vaccine candidate (BBV87) has entered into Phase II and III clinical trials. Currently, there is no commercial chikungunya vaccine. BBV87 is an inactivated virus vaccine, similar to Covaxin. Inactivated vaccines contain viruses whose genetic material has been destroyed by heat, chemicals or radiation […]
Delta Variant Sub-Lineage AY.12 – COVID 19
Delta Variant Sub-lineage AY.12: According to a report by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), a new sub-lineage AY.12 of the Delta variant of Covid-19 that was recently classified in Israel is now being reported in many parts of India. INSACOG is a multi-laboratory, multi-agency, Pan-India network to monitor genomic variations in the SARS-CoV-2 by […]
Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine For Infants – Andhra Pradesh
Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) Immunisation Drive For Infants.: The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh has launched Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) immunisation drive for infants. Earlier in December 2020, India’s first fully indigenously developed pneumococcal conjugate vaccine “Pneumosil” was launched. It prevents pneumococcal disease. It can protect both children and adults from pneumococcal disease. The vaccine […]
