1) Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM): Recently, South Korea reported its first case of the rare yet fatal infection – Naegleria fowleri or “brain-eating amoeba”.
- Naegleria fowleri: It is a single-celled organism which can infect humans. It was first discovered in Australia in 1965 and is commonly found in warm freshwater bodies, such as hot springs, rivers and lakes.
- The amoeba enters the human body through the nose and then travels up to the brain. Once it goes to the brain, it destroys brain tissues and causes a dangerous infection known as PAM
2) E-sports: The President of India, amended the regulations governing eSports in accordance with the authority “conferred by clause (3) of Article 77 of the Constitution” and requested the Sports Ministry and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to include “Esports as part of multi-sports events.”
- E-Sports will now be a part of the “multisports event” category in India. E-Sports will be taken care of by Department of Sports under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Meanwhile, ‘Online Gaming’ will be under MEITY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology).
3) Solar Geo-engineering: It involves spraying substances into the atmosphere that form reflective aerosols and bounce sunlight back into space.
- This could stop global temperatures from increasing, but temperatures locally or regionally might continue to increase over the following few years, new research shows.
- Project ICARUS: It involves shooting reflective particles into the stratosphere to deflect the rays of the Sun and help bring down territorial temperature.
- However, last time in 1991, the eruption of Mount Pinatubo (Phillippines) brought about a ‘volcanic winter’, with global temperature cooling by 0.4 degrees Celcius, leading to the issue of food scarcity.
4) Ru-Fc (Ruthenium–Ferrocene) hybrid: A newly found bimetallic highly potent antitumor agent that inhibits new blood vessel development (antiangiogenic) can help treat cancer cases that become resistant to platinum drugs commonly used for tackling the disease.
- Several platinum-based anticancer drugs, including cisplatin, carboplatin etc are the frontline treatment options for various cancers.
- However, the acquired or intrinsic resistance significantly limits the uses of platinum-based treatment. Ruthenium−Ferrocene Bimetallic agent shows a highly potent antitumor effect in platinum-resistant cancers.
5) Polar Bear: Polar bears in Canada’s Western Hudson Bay, an inland sea connected to the Arctic Ocean, are dying at a fast rate, especially females and younger polar bears.
- Polar bears are one of the most significant predators in the Arctic region and they keep biological populations in balance.
- The polar bear is classified as “vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List.
