 A very good evening aspirants, welcome to the Hindu newspaper analysis brought to you by Shankar IIS Academy. Today's date is 29th of May 2023, displayed here are the list of news articles that we are going to discuss today. We have chosen news articles from yesterday's newspaper as well. So without much delay, let us get into the first news article discussion. Take a look at this news article. It talks about an interesting feature of the new parliament building in New Delhi. It's a special pendulum called the Foucault Pendulum named after the French physicist Leon Foucault who invented it in the 19th century. See the basic intention behind the invention of this pendulum is to demonstrate the rotation of the earth. Now, I am going to explain you the working of this pendulum. It might be a bit complex but try to pay more attention so that you can understand what I am saying. Now imagine a normal pendulum. In a normal pendulum there will be a bob at the end of the pendulum, right? Now imagine that you tie a pin to the bottom of this bob and keep a paper under it. The pendulum now swings and after some time you see the paper. Now you will see that the paper will have the lines traced by the pendulum and it will be straight line, right? But this Foucault pendulum does not move like an ordinary pendulum in one direction. It moves in multi direction as showed here. The actual trick remains here. If you see a Foucault pendulum in real life you will see that it moves like any normal pendulum and this is because of the rotation of the earth. Can you get it? Here I am trying to say that even though Foucault pendulum moves in multi direction when you view at the pendulum from the surface of the earth it will always approach towards you because your direction keeps changing as the earth rotates, okay? So when you see it from the surface of the earth the Foucault pendulum will look similar like a normal pendulum. If you could not understand let me explain. Now this is the first stroke of the pendulum and imagine this is the top view of the earth. You stand here on the earth and watch the pendulum move and this is the second stroke of the pendulum but for you it would appear very similar to the first stroke. You don't see the difference because you along with the earth have moved. So it's kind of an illusion. So here the pendulum is moving in different direction but always towards you and you are moving along with the earth. So whenever you see the pendulum even though it moves in different direction it appears to you like a normal pendulum and you can observe zero difference between a normal pendulum and a Foucault pendulum. Now you can see the difference between a normal pendulum and Foucault pendulum when you tie a pen to the bottom of the bob. So when a pen is tied to the bottom of a Foucault pendulum you would expect straight line but it would be something like this shown in the image and if you leave the pendulum over a time it would make an entire circle. So the physicist used this experiment to prove that earth is rotating. Also remember all that we saw is with respect to north pole. In different latitude it appears differently. For example over the equator the plane of the swing would not appear to shift at all. You can see that here. Since it appears to be a potential preliminary question we made an effort to explain you this concept. So that's all regarding this news article with these learnt points. Now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now look at this article from yesterday's science page. It talks about the risks of iron fortification. There are many interesting things to learn so straight away we will get into the discussion. Before that the syllabus relevant to this news article is highlighted here. You can go through it. See as we all know iron is an essential mineral that our bodies need for various functions. Most importantly iron is crucial for the formation of a substance called hemoglobin. This hemoglobin carries oxygen in our blood. However this article says that too much iron can be harmful. So iron should be taken in moderation. We take iron because iron deficiency can cause many complications including anemia. So one way to treat anemia is through fortifying foot with iron. So here what does the word fortification mean? Fortification means adding extra iron to commonly consumed food like wheat, rice or even salt. By doing this we can provide a significant portion of the daily iron requirement for both men and women. This article says that excessive conception of iron can occur sometimes. It can happen when someone regularly consume a balanced diet or exceeds the recommended limits for fortified food intake. So in order to avoid the risk associated with excess iron there is a defined level called the tolerable upper limit of intake. This limit is set at 40 mg per day. This limit is especially important for people who already have too much iron in their body like patients with talasemia. Out that talasemia is a condition that causes iron overload in the body. See when we observe iron our bodies usually excrete only small amount of it. Only in some instances like menstrual bleeding in women we excrete iron in large quantities. This means that women have a natural way of getting rid of excess iron but men do not. Therefore men are more vulnerable to excess iron intake. Experts with the article recent studies have shown that when fortified foods are consumed children tend to excrete more iron. However we are not entirely sure how this extra excretion happens but it is likely that the children's body loses the excess iron through the intestine or urine. See this is something interesting to note because we take iron rich foods thinking that if we don't take iron we will get anemic but even if we do fortification the actual effect of iron on hemoglobin formation might be lower than we think. Also our bodies have a mechanism to regulate iron absorption but excessive iron can remain unabsorbed. Typically only about 5-10% of ingested iron is absorbed and the rest is excreted. So here comes the question what will happen if we take more iron. See the unabsorbed iron can cause inflammation in the gastrointestinal lining and disrupt the balance of bacteria in the colon leading to symptoms like abdominal cramps, constipation or diarrhea. Moreover excessive iron in the gastrointestinal tract can interfere with the absorption of other essential minerals. Apart from this one of the major concern is the link between excess iron and diabetes. See iron can create oxidative stress in the body. This can damage cells, proteins and DNA over time. This chronic oxidative stress can also impair the normal breakdown of fatty acids and this will lead to elevated triglyceride levels and their accumulation in muscle and liver tissues. Further some researchers analyzed data from Indian adolescent children. They found increased levels of a marker called serum ferritin. This serum ferritin represents iron storage in the body and this is also associated with a proportional increase in the risk of certain health conditions. It leads to complications including elevated blood sugar levels, increase in total cholesterol and hypertension or in simple words as the level of serum ferritin increased the risk of having bad health condition also increased proportionally. All you have to remember here is serum ferritin represents iron storage in the body. It is basically a marker. Further analysis suggested that providing an additional 10 milligram of iron per day through fortification can increase the prevalence of having high blood sugar level. This could be an increase of 2 to 14 percentage across different socio-economic groups. In very high amounts iron can also contribute to liver fibrosis. This is a condition where excessive deposition of extracellular matrix affects the liver. So considering these potential risks it's crucial to approach iron fortification on an individual basis. But what are we trying to do? We are trying to implement mandatory programs across diverse populations. So the article says that individualized strategies should be developed and thorough monitoring is necessary to detect any adverse events. Apart from this it is important to understand that while some people require extra dietary iron not everyone does. So precision in public health is essential to avoid the risk of iron overload and this can lead to potential long term chronic illnesses and that is why we must strike a balance and consider individual needs to ensure the well-being of everyone. See if you have approached problems yesterday or read the question you would be knowing the importance of looking around the world. We are all so indulged in our phones. Most of us do not know where a squirrel builds its nest. So from now on let's look around. Notice small things. Understand yourself why this happens and learn from your surroundings. Next time when you pick up groceries say what are all the fortified foods. We have fortified salt, rice and etc. Look around for this and learn about it. And also try to understand the context in which you are reading an article. Last year Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that all rice provided under food security scheme will be fortified with iron and folic acid by 2024. So there has been a concern surrounding iron fortification. This is how you link everything and get a holistic understanding. And if you do so you will never forget those details for a lifetime. So with this note let's take up the next news article. Look at this news article. This news article talks about mission life. Now suddenly it is in news because of an awareness campaign which was organized by the Regional Office of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in Chennai. This awareness event was conducted for the past two days that is on May 27th and 28th at the Children's Park in Gindi, Chennai. So that is why mission life was in news. In this context let us learn few facts about mission life. See first of all know that the term life stands for lifestyle for environment. The mission life was introduced by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 26th United Nation Climate Change Conference of the parties that is COP26 which held in Glasgow. Mission life is India led global movement which inspires people to take actions to protect and preserve the environment. So now talking about the objectives of the life mission. Mission life is designed with the objective to mobilize at least 1 billion Indians and other global citizens to take individual and collective action for protecting and conserving the environment in the period 2022-28. Apart from this the mission also aims to transform at least 80% of all villages and urban local bodies to environment friendly once by 2028. See the mission intends to nudge individuals to undertake simple acts in their daily lives like switching off the lights when not in use, then using public transport instead of using their own car, then turning off running taps when not in active use and so on. See these kinds of individual actions can contribute significantly to combat climate change and in turn helpful in building a sustainable future. Apart from individual actions, mission life also plans to liberate the strength of social networks. As part of this the mission life plans to create and nurture a global network of individuals called pro-planet people in short called as P3. These pro-planet people will have a shared commitment to adopt and promote environmentally friendly lifestyles. So through the P3 community the mission seeks to create an ecosystem that will enable self-sustainable and environmentally friendly behaviors. So that's all about life mission with these learnt points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now take a look at this science page article. This article talks about gravitational waves. So in this news article discussion let us understand what are gravitational waves, how they are formed, how it can be detected and what are the effects of gravitational waves on earth. So firstly what are gravitational waves? See gravitational waves or invisible ripples in space time fabric which travels at the speed of light. It was first conceptualized by Albert Einstein in his theory of relativity in 1915. That gravitational waves were discovered exactly after a century that is on 14th September 2015 only. These gravitational waves contain large information about cosmos as well. Now let us see how these gravitational waves are formed. See as I already said universe is considered as an invisible space time fabric and gravitational waves are formed due to the ripples caused in space time fabric due to different conditions. Those conditions include firstly when two massive black holes collide with each other then when two big stars orbit each other and finally when supernova explosion occurs. Supernova explosion is nothing but explosion of a massive star. You can see that in the image given here. Now let us see how gravitational waves can be detected. See it took over a century to detect the gravitational waves right? This is because these waves are formed in farer place. So the detection of gravitational waves that remind a big challenge for the scientist. But in 2015 the gravitational waves were detected by using LIGO. LIGO stands for Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory one of the important properties of gravitational waves is that when it passes through an object it squeezes or stretches an object in one particular direction. But this change is very small and minute in nature. Working of LIGO is based on this property of gravitational waves only. LIGO consists of two four kilometer L shaped long vacuum chambers. Both of the vacuum tubes are placed perpendicular to each other. At one side of these vacuum chambers highly reflecting mirrors are placed and from the other side light rays are released simultaneously in both the tubes. Normally the light hits the reflective mirrors and the reflector light from both the tubes will return simultaneously. As we know if gravitational wave passes through an object it creates a small squeeze or stretch. So if gravitational waves passes through LIGO then the light rays won't return simultaneously. There will be a slight variation in the timing. So from this we can detect the presence of gravitational waves. Gravitational waves which were detected for the first time in 2015 were produced by the merger of two black holes which were about 29 and 36 times the mass of sun. This merger happened 1.3 billion years ago. The black hole mergers are one of the best sources for strong gravitational waves. Even though the event happened few billion years ago scientists could still detect the energy emitted by the burst of gravitational waves. So when the scientist observed the waves and announced their result in 2016 the very next year noble price was awarded for the same. Still now 10 gravitational waves have been discovered by four observatories in USA, Europe and Japan. When we talk about gravitational waves it is very important to know initiative in India regarding LIGO. Know that Indian government has approved the plan to set up a LIGO in Ingoli, Maharashtra at the cost of about 2600 crore rupees. The construction will be completed around 2030 and this project will be a collaboration between a consortium of Indian Research Institute, US observatories plus several international partners. Now finally moving on to see about the effects of these gravitational waves on earth. See as we discussed earlier gravitational waves when passed through an object it changes the physical dimension of an object through a stretch or squeeze. But these changes are very very small and negligible in nature. So there is no need to worry about the gravitational waves yet we are investing more money and time to study gravitational waves because they reveal many mysteries regarding the universe. That's all regarding this news article discussion with these learnt points now let us move to the next news article discussion. Now take a look at this news article. This news article talks about DENGO. Currently according to the World Health Organization the incidence of DENGO has grown over recent decades. Currently half of the world population is at risk and in India also in 2001 the infection geography of DENGO was restricted only to 8 states but currently the infection geography covers almost all the states and union territories in India. So according to ICMR the risk from DENGO has been propelled by several factors which includes climate change, increased urbanization and increased travel. So this is the crux of the news article given here. In this context let us understand few points about DENGO. See as we all know DENGO is a viral infection which is caused by the DENGO virus. The infection is more common in tropical and subtropical climates. So how does it transmit? The DENGO virus is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected female adi's species mosquitoes like adi's egyptae and adi's albopictus. These adi's species mosquitoes also spread zika, chicken gunia and other viruses. And note that DENGO cannot spread directly from person to person. The only possible ways are human to mosquito transmission and mosquito to human transmission. Apart from this there is also evidence of the possibility of maternal transmission. A pregnant woman infected with DENGO can pass the virus to her fetus during pregnancy or around the time of birth. Because of this the babies may suffer from preterm birth, low birth weight and fetal distress. So what are the symptoms of DENGO? See most of the people infected with DENGO will have mild or no symptoms and they will get better in 1-2 weeks. If symptoms occur they usually begin 4-10 days after infection and last for 2-7 days. The common symptoms may include high fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain, vomiting and trash. And note one point here, sometimes DENGO can be severe and lead to death. The individuals who are infected for the second time are at greater risk of severe DENGO. The symptoms of severe DENGO include severe abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, rapid breathing, restlessness, being very thirsty and so on. So the people with these severe symptoms should get care right away. So now finally let's see about treatment for DENGO. See there is no specific treatment for DENGO. However in most cases DENGO fever can be treated at home with pain medicine. The focus is on treating pain symptoms. Most often paracetamol is used to control pain. In the case of people with severe DENGO hospitalization is often needed. So to conclude preventing mosquito bites is the best way to avoid getting DENGO. So that's all regarding this news article discussion. In this news article discussion we briefly saw about DENGO, its causative agent, how it transmit then we saw about the symptoms and finally we saw about the treatment. So these learnt points now let us move on to the next news article. Take a look at this snippet article. It reports that the arctic female ground squirrels in Alaska have emerged from hibernation up to 10 days before their male counterparts. This is because of the warming of permafrost in the Alaska region. The article further says that the mismatch in hibernation between the male and female squirrels could have large cascading ecological impacts. So this is what the article talks about. So in this news article discussion let us understand few points about hibernation. See hibernation is a type of deep sleep that are observed in some animals and other living organisms during both summer and winter. Hibernation is just like a long nap which is almost like a coma. During winter in the polar regions, mostly all places are covered with snow and there is very little food available to the animals and birds living in the polar regions. Some of the birds like falcon, goose and cranes may migrate to other regions to escape the severe winter. But the big animals like bears and the creatures like squirrels won't be able to migrate. So they have to save some energy to survive the winter right. Here is where hibernation plays a major role. Hibernation helps the animals to save their energy and to survive the winter without eating much food. So what happens during hibernation? See during hibernation the animals body temperature drops. Apart from this the heart beat and the breathing of the animal also slows down. Because of this the animal does not use much energy so they will be able to survive the severe winter. Now how do the animals get ready for hibernation? See the hibernating animals get ready for their winter sleep by eating extra food and they store it as body fat near the heart and the lungs. So during hibernation the animals use the already stored fat to carry out the minimal metabolism. Now talking about the animals that hibernate, see the animals like bears, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, hedgehogs, skunks, bats, limoors and so on hibernate during winter. Apart from such animals insects like bees, ladybugs and butterflies are also known to hibernate. In addition to this some birds, reptiles, amphivians and mammals also hibernate during winter. So that's all regarding hibernation. So these learnt points now let us move on to the next part of the news article discussion which is the preliminary practice question discussion. Now look at this first question about dengue virus statement one it spreads directly between the humans. See this statement is actually incorrect the dengue virus spread through the infected female adi's, species, mosquitoes it cannot spread directly between humans. So this statement is incorrect. Statement two the vector that spreads dengue virus also spread zika and chikungunya. This statement is actually correct we saw that in the discussion right. Statement three it can be transmitted to the fetus when the pregnant mother is infected with dengue. This statement is also correct here. So the correct answer for the question is option B only two because the first statement is incorrect here. Now moving on look at this question three statements are given. Statement one days and nights occur due to rotation of the earth. See this statement is actually correct. Statement two the circle that divides the day from night on the globe is called the circle of illumination. Now look at the third statement Foucault pendulum demonstrate the rotation of the earth. This statement is also correct. So here the correct answer for the question is option C three statements only. Now moving on the question given here ask you to find which animal observe hibernation. Four animals are given bats, bears, reptiles and rodents. See here all of them undergo hibernation during winter. So the correct answer here is option D all the four. Now the question displayed here is the quiz question for you today. Just go through the question try to answer it in the comment section. So the questions displayed here are the main practice questions for you today. Just go through the question try to write an answer and post it in the comment section. With this we came to the end of the news article discussion. If you like the video hit like do comment and do not forget to subscribe to Shankara AS Academy YouTube channel. Now thank you so much for listening.