 Good afternoon friends, welcome to Shankar's Summary 2024. In this video, we are going to discuss the important science and tech current affairs from past year. That is from June 2023 to February 2024. We have handpicked this exam related topics for you. So make use of it. Now let us get into the discussion. Let us discuss about genome sequencing. Before knowing about genome sequencing, first let us understand the basic units of hereditary. That is what is gene, what is chromosome, what is genome, what is DNA and what are the differences between each of these terms. Firstly, the basic unit is DNA and the DNA is composed of four nucleotides that is adenine, thiamine, guanine and cystozyne. So these four nucleotides make up the DNA and a series of DNA make up the gene. So basically the genes are made up of DNA and each gene carries information that determine particular characteristics like our eye color or what is the blood type. Next is chromosome. See many genes make up the chromosome. So humans typically have 46 chromosomes or 23 pairs of chromosome with one set inherited from each parent. And next is genome. Genome is a entire set of genetic instructions or information carried by an organism. It includes all genes as well as non-coding regions of DNA. So all the genetic information of an organism is called genome. Under genome there is a classification called chromosome and under chromosome there are genes and under genes there is DNA and under DNA there are four nucleotides. So this is the hierarchy. Try to remember that. Now let us see about what is genome sequencing. Firstly, imagine your body as a gene instruction manual. The instruction manual is useful for building and operating you and this instruction manual has many chapters. Each chapter is a chromosome. Under each chapter there are many sections. Each section is a gene. Under each section there are many words. These words are DNA and inside the words there are many letters. The letters are nucleotides that is adenine, guanine, systosine, thiamine. So genome sequencing is like reading through this instruction manual letter by letter to understand what it is saying. Scientists use special tools and machines to read the DNA sequence which is basically figuring out the order of these letters that is ATGC. Now why is this important? See our genome holds a key to understanding a lot about us. Why we look like this? Why some of us are susceptible to certain diseases and what can be the medication for those diseases? So all these answers can be obtained through genome sequencing. So in simple terms genome sequencing is like deciphering the instruction manual of life to understand what makes each of us unique. Now let us see the important applications of genome sequencing. The foremost emerging application is a diagnosis of genetic disease even before the baby is born. So this will allow early medical intervention to cure the disease. The second application is making custom-made medicines. See with genome sequencing we can make medicines specific for an individual that can bring down the side effects associated with the medication. So this will also be helpful in designing cancer-based medications. Another application of genome sequencing is recombination of a gene which is also called genetic modification. See recently we have seen many genetic modified organisms. So genetic modification is also an application of genome sequencing. And another recent application is identification of microorganism. See during pandemic times we came across alpha variant, delta variant of coronavirus. So they were the mutants of primal coronavirus. See such identification can be done by genome sequencing and another interesting application of genome sequencing is foreign six. When biological remains are obtained from a crime site, the genome sequencing can be used to narrow down the identity. So genome sequencing is also used in foreign six. So these are the important applications of genome sequencing. This will be useful for our main exam as well as problem exam. Now we shall discuss an MCQ related to this topic. Look at the question here. This question is about genome editing. If you want to know the importance of this topic, just look at these two previous year questions. Here the first question is about Cas9 protein which was asked in 2019 prelims. See Cas9 protein is a molecular scissor used in gene editing. We have seen this in discussion. Look at the another question here. This question is about genome sequencing which was asked in 2017 UPSC prelims. So the question that we are going to discuss now is very important. With reference to genome editing technique consider the following statements. It involves the introduction of foreign genetic material into an existing gene. The first statement is incorrect. This definition refers to genetic modification and not gene editing. So obviously the first statement is correct. It can help to cure certain diseases in both plants and humans. This statement is correct. Gene editing technology helps to cure certain diseases in plants and humans. Look at the third statement. There is no side effects or safety risk associated with gene editing. This statement is obviously incorrect. There are side effects, safety issues and allergic reactions associated with gene editing. So this statement is also incorrect. The question asked for incorrect statement. So the correct answer is option C 1 and 3 only. So with this let us conclude this discussion and let us move to the next topic. For the first topic let us take up the noble prices for 2023. Before discussing 2023 noble price let us know some basic information about noble price. Noble price were awarded from 1901. Initially noble price was given only for five fields that is physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace. In addition to these five original fields noble price in economic sciences was created in 1968. So the noble price in economics were issued from 1968 only. Now who selects a noble price for each field? Look at this table for your easy understanding. The noble price for physics and for chemistry were selected by Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The noble price for medicine is chosen by Noble Assembly at Karolinska Institute. Literature noble price is selected by Swedish Academy. Noble peace price is selected by Norwegian Noble Committee which is appointed by Norwegian Parliament. Noble price in economic sciences is selected by Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Every year noble price were awarded in stock home which is capital of Sweden. But only the noble peace price is awarded at Oslo in Norway. As you can see the noble peace price is selected by Norwegian Noble Committee and it is also awarded in Norway. All other prices are awarded in Sweden. Now whether noble price has to be compulsorily given each year. Sometimes it can be withheld. This happens in two situations. If no worthy candidate is found or during extraordinary situations like world war. See these are the years in which noble price were not issued. From 1914 to 1918 it is the first world war and the prices were not issued. And during second world war also the noble prices were not given in several categories. The noble price in peace was not awarded in 1948 because the noble committee did not find a suitable lawrette who met the Alfred Nobles criteria. Also the noble price in literature was not awarded in 1972 due to the controversy surrounding the selection process. And also in 2018 the noble price in literature was postponed to next year due to sexual harassment scandal within the Swedish academy. So these are the basic details we need to know about noble prices. Now coming to the 2023 noble price. The name of the person who won the noble price is not important for our exams. So we are not going to look at it. We shall just discuss the discoveries for which noble price was awarded. Firstly let us take up the noble price for chemistry. See chemistry noble price is given for discovery of quantum dots. So in this discussion we shall understand about quantum dots, its properties and applications. See firstly what is quantum dot. It is a nano sized semiconductor particle which is made up of materials like cadmium selenide or lid sulphide. These tiny particles can absorb and emit light in different colors depending on their size. Let me explain it simply. Imagine quantum dots as tiny particles which we cannot see with our eyes. When you shine light on quantum dots they start to glow in different colors. The color in which they glow depends on their size. So the interesting fact is that you can control the color by changing the size of the quantum dots. So the smaller dots emit blue light and the bigger dot emits red light. Basically the size of quantum dots determine the color of light emitted by them. So this light emitting property of quantum dots are used by scientists in many areas. Let us see the applications of quantum dots. First is advanced displays. See quantum dots are used in high quality displays like LED TVs and laptops. They enhance the quality of display by providing high accurate and vibrant colors. If quantum dots are used then the display is called QLED display. That is quantum dot LED display. The next application is biomedical imaging. See quantum dots are used in biomedical imaging for creating better images of tissues and cells. They are also used in drug delivery and targeting systems. So they also have application in medical field. Another important application is LED lightening. See quantum dots are also used in solar cells. They can be tuned to observe specific wavelengths of light effectively. So by using them in solar cells we can capture a broader range of sunlight. So basically the quantum dots are used to improve the efficiency of solar cells. Lastly quantum dots are also used in quantum computing. So these are the important areas in which quantum dots are used. So in conclusion quantum dots are Q dots are nanoparticles with the unique light emitting properties. And the chemistry noble prize for 2023 is given for the discovery of quantum dots. Now moving on to the next noble prize for medicine. This is awarded for discovery on mRNA that is messenger RNA. So this discovery led to the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19. The problem with injected mRNA was that it caused inflammatory reactions. In order to prevent this the scientist modified the mRNA's chemistry and this led to the development of mRNA vaccines. This technology is used in Moderna and P-Pfizer COVID vaccines. Here mRNA stands for messenger RNA. See mRNA vaccines are faster and cheaper to produce than other vaccines. They are also flexible and adaptable as they can be easily modified to target new variants. This is about mRNA and for this only the noble prize for medicine for 2023 is awarded. Now moving on to the next noble prize for economics. As we have seen earlier this prize was only created in 1968 and it was not a original noble prize. And also note that this prize was awarded by the central bank of Sweden. Now the noble prize for economics for 2023 is awarded to Claudia Goldin. This is for her research on gender gap in labor market. She studied about why women are paid lesser than men for the same job. So her research is focused on the gender disparities in labor market. So this is about the noble prize for economics 2023. Then about the peace noble prize it is awarded to Nargis Muhammadi from Iran. She is a human right activist and the prize is awarded for her advocacy of women's rights in Iran. So we have seen a overall view about all the noble prizes for 2023 and their achievements. With this we conclude this topic. Now we shall discuss about cryogenic 20 engine which is a CE-20 engine. Recently Israel has achieved a significant milestone in its Gaganian mission by completing the human rating of CE-20 cryogenic engine. This will also power the LVM-3 launch vehicle. So in this discussion let us see about what is CE-20 engine and the basics of cryogenic engine and also about LVM-3 launch vehicle. See a cryogenic engine as a final stage of launch vehicle that uses cryogenics. Here cryogenic means the system that operates at lower temperature. Due to the use of propellants at extremely low temperature the cryogenic stage is much more complex than solid or liquid propellants. The working of cryogenic engine the cryogenic engine uses liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as propellants and this CE-20 engine will be used in Gaganian mission. As we all know the Gaganian mission aims to launch a crew of three humans into 400 kilometer orbit for a three day mission. So CE-20 engine will be a part of Gaganian mission. This CE-20 cryogenic engine is developed by liquid propulsion system center which is a subsidiary of ISRO. It is the first indian cryogenic engine to have gas generator cycle. So the CE-20 engine uses a combination of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants in a gas generator cycle. Now there is another type of engine which is recently developed by ISRO it is called the semi cryogenic engine. Now what is the difference between a normal cryogenic engine and a semi cryogenic engine means in a normal cryogenic engine there is liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen but in semi cryogenic engine instead of liquid hydrogen we use refined carousel. So this is the main difference. The advantage of using refined carousel is that it is lighter than liquid fuel and can be stored at normal temperature. So that is why it is called semi cryogenic engine. Now we shall see about launch vehicle mark 3. This is also called GSLV mark 3 and recently ISRO launched its heaviest rocket that is LVM mark 3 which carried 36 satellites successfully to low earth orbit. The 36 satellites belongs to UK based initiative called one web constellation. So in this discussion let us see the basics of LVM 3 launch vehicle and about one web constellation. See LVM 3 launch vehicle can launch 4000 kg of satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbit and it can launch 8000 kg of payload into low earth orbit. See it is a three stage launch vehicle which consists of two solid propellants strap-ons on its sides and a core stage comprising of liquid stage and cryogenic stage. So these are the three stages of LVM 3 launch vehicle. Now what is one web constellation? It consists of 49 satellites which orbits in 12 orbital planes in low earth orbit. These orbital planes are 1200 km above earth. See this one web constellation is a collaborative project between UK based one web group and ISRO. It totally contains 588 active satellites which are placed in 12 orbital planes with 49 satellites in each plane. This constellation aims to provide high speed low latency internet connectivity worldwide. So this constellation will bring a secured solution not only to the enterprises but also to the towns, villages, municipalities and including the remote areas across India. So the main aim of this mission is a high speed internet connectivity. So this is about the one web constellation. In this discussion we have seen the basics of cryogenic engine and what is CE-20 engine and the basics of LVM 3 launch vehicle in addition to one web constellation. Now let us discuss an MCQ related to this topic. Look at the question here. It is about ramjet and scramjet engines. UPSC is also asking questions about latest technologies in ISRO. Look at this question. It is asked in 2018 Prelims and it is about PSLV and GSLV. So there is possibility of UPSC asking question about ramjet and scramjet engines and about other new technologies being developed in ISRO. Now let us solve this question. See the first statement says that unlike ramjet engines scramjet engines do not rely on aircraft's forward motion to compress the incoming air. This statement is incorrect because ramjet is a type of air breathing jet engine that relies on aircraft's forward motion to compress the incoming air for combustion process. Likewise scramjet engine also relies on the aircraft's forward motion to compress the incoming air. So both engines do not have any rotating compressor. They only rely on aircraft's forward motion. Now look at the second statement. Both ramjet and scramjet engines have the capacity of operating at hypersonic speeds. This statement is also incorrect because the average speed of ramjet is three to six mac. The efficiency of ramjet engine starts to drop when the vehicle reaches the hypersonic speed that is the speed above six mac. So for this reason only scramjet engine was developed. See scramjet engine is an improvement over ramjet engine. It efficiently operates at hypersonic speeds. It even allows supersonic combustion meaning it can travel at a speed more than six mac. So the correct answer for this question is option D neither one nor two. With this let us conclude the discussion and move to the next topic. The next topic is zodiacal light. Zodiacal light is a faint glow of light that is visible on completely dark nights from earth. This light is created by scattering of sunlight by interplanetary dust in space. But where this interplanetary dust came from? What is the source of this interplanetary dust? These questions remind us a mystery. But recently we have found the answer. We thought that these dust particles are from asterisks. But now we actually found the real source of these dust. Scientists at Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad examined the data from Juno spacecraft. See this Juno spacecraft is launched by NASA in 2011 to study about Jupiter and its moons. The data from Juno spacecraft recently showed that these dust particles are not from asterisks but actually they are from Mars. So this is really interesting. By studying the data obtained from Juno spacecraft we have found that the moons of Mars could be the source of these interplanetary dust particles. See the name interplanetary dust particles means the dust particles which are present between earth and Mars. So these dust particles were escaping from the moons of Mars and they are scattered between earth and Mars. When sunlight falls on these dust particles it is scattered and appears as glowing light in the sky and we can see it from earth. So this light is called zodiacal light. If we look at the moons of Mars, Mars have two moons. They were Deimos and Phobos. Here Phobos is the bigger moon and Deimos is the smaller moon. So from these two moons only the interplanetary dust particles emerge. The low gravity of Deimos and Phobos allows the smaller dust particles to easily escape into space. So these smaller dust particles escape into space while the larger dust particles are pulled back by Mars gravity leading to the formation of dust string around Mars. So the scattering of sunlight by these dust particles create the zodiacal light in the sky. So this is about the zodiacal light. Now let us take up the next topic. Recently Tamil Nadu government has banned the sale and protection of cotton candy because there was a toxic chemical called rhodamine B which was used in this cotton candies. So in this discussion let us see the basics of this rhodamine B and about natural food colors and artificial food colors. See the rhodamine B is a chemical which is commonly used for dyeing in various industries like textile, paper, leather and paints. It serves as a coloring agent which produces red and pink color. In powdered form it appears as green but when water is added it changes into pink color. This rhodamine B is a cancer causing substance and it is very harmful to human health but it was used in cotton candies for many years. So now the Tamil Nadu government has identified it and banned it recently. Now let us see what are the permitted natural food colors. See carotene, carotenoids which produces yellow and orange colors. Chlorophyll gives the green color. Riboflovin also gives yellow color. Caramel produces orange red color. Kerkumin which is sourced from turmeric gives yellow color. So these are natural food colors. Now look at the synthetic colors. These are approved synthetic colors. Carmoicin and erythrosin produces red color. Tartarsin produces yellow color. Indigo carmine produces blue color. Fast green FCF produces green color. So these are the approved synthetic colors which is used in food industry. So this rhodamine B is a chemical which is used in cotton candy and it is identified as carcinogenic substance which is it causes cancer. Now we shall discuss an MCQ related to this topic. See this is a three statement question about endosulfan. Before looking at the answer for this question let me first explain to you why we framed this question. See India is a fast developing country where the development comes pollution. So UPSC has constantly asked questions about various pollutants. For example look at these two questions. In 2020 UPSC they asked about the source of benzene pollution. In 2019 there was a question about gaseous pollutants from burning crop residue. So questions about pollutants has been regularly been asked in plumes. Every year we can expect a question about pollutants or pollution. That's why we have discussed the rhodamine B in our discussion. Now look at this question. It is about endosulfan. Here the statement one is incorrect. Firstly endosulfan is a pesticide and not a herbicide. Secondly endosulfan is used in cashew plantations of Kerala and Karnataka and not in coffee plantations. The second statement is correct. Endosulfan has the ability to bio accumulate. In addition to this it is persistent meaning it will take a long time to disintegrate. So it is grouped as persistent organic pollutant. Look at the third statement it is also correct. Endosulfan is placed in annex A of Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutant. See when a chemical is placed in annex A of Stockholm Convention the parties to the convention must take measures to eliminate the protection and use of that chemical. Note the fact here India is also party to Stockholm Convention. In addition to this in 2011 Supreme Court of India passed an interim order which banned the protection and sale of endosulfan. So the correct answer is option B 2 and 3 only. Now let us move to the next topic. Here we are going to discuss about quasars. What do you mean by quasar? Firstly quasar stands for quasi stellar radio sources. They are very luminous objects in faraway galaxies that emit radio frequencies. Quasars are the brightest known objects in our visible universe and they are also the most distant objects ever recorded by us. How quasars are formed? See quasars are formed when two galaxies collide each other. So in future when Milky Way galaxy collide with Andromeda galaxy it will create a bigger quasar. Quasars emit radio waves x-rays and light waves. See quasars can be detected only using radio telescope. With a normal optical telescope quasar will look like a normal bright star. The difference between a quasar and a star is very difficult to identify even with a Hubble space telescope. The first quasar was discovered in 1950 and it was named as 3C273. Because the quasars are located very distant from us they are the most ancient objects ever known to us. They give insights into yearly formation of our universe. So this is about the quasars. Now let us move to the next topic. In this discussion let us see about CRISPR technology which is a gene editing technology. In this discussion we shall understand the basics of this technology and the issues surrounding the gene editing technologies. Know that CRISPR is a short form for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats. In 2012 scientists discovered that CRISPR is a key part of our immune system. CRISPR is just repeated DNA structures. CRISPR-Cas9 technology was adopted from a naturally occurring gene editing system that bacterias use as an immune defense. Here Cas9 is a molecular scissor that is used to cut DNA. When infected with the virus bacteria capture the small pieces of virus DNA. Then they insert it into their own DNA in a particular pattern to create segments known as CRISPR arrays. The CRISPR arrays allow bacteria to remember the virus. If the virus attack again the bacteria produce RNA segments from the CRISPR arrays that recognize and attach to the specific regions of virus DNA. The bacteria then uses Cas9 or a similar enzyme to cut the DNA apart which disable the virus. So this naturally occurring technology in bacteria is now employed by humans for gene editing. So this is called CRISPR-Cas9 technology. Here Cas9 is molecular scissor. So this is a procedure involved in CRISPR-Cas9 technology. Now let us see how CRISPR-Cas9 technology is used by humans. Firstly they create a small piece of RNA for guidance. This is similar to RNA segments that the bacteria produce from CRISPR array. When introduced into cells this guide RNA recognizes the intended DNA sequence and it attaches itself to the specific target sequence in the cells DNA and it also attaches to the Cas9 enzyme. Then the Cas9 enzyme cuts the DNA targeted location. So this is similar to what happened in bacteria. Here note that apart from Cas9 other examples like CPF1 can also be used in this technology. So the CPF1 Cas9 are the enzymes used in this technology to cut the DNA. And once the DNA is cut researchers use our own cells DNA repair machinery to add and delete the pieces of genetic material. In this way we can edit the genes. So this is about the gene editing technology called CRISPR-Cas9. Now what are the concerns regarding gene editing? See first is gene editing makes irreversible changes to every cell in the body of future children and their descendants. That would be extraordinarily risky for human experimentation. Secondly there are issues including off target mutations or unintentional edits to the genome and they have long term health and safety consequences. Thirdly many consider genome alterations to be unethical advocating that nature should be left to its own course. In 2018 a Chinese researcher disclosed that he used CRISPR technology to cure a disease by correcting the underlying genetic problem. So this was the first documented case of creating a designer baby. Finally gene editing can also be used to eliminate species of pests that could upset the careful balance of ecosystem. This could have disastrous consequences like disrupting the food web. Also note that gene editing technologies could be potentially misused for harmful purposes such as creation of bio weapons or spread of genetically modified organisms in the environment. So these are the important concerns regarding gene editing. Now look at an MCQ related to this topic. See virus has been a favorite topic for UPSC. There have been so many questions about virus in past UPSC examinations. In 2013, 2015, 2016, 2021 there are questions about virus. So this year we can expect a question about virus or something related to virus. Now look at this practice question. Consider the following statements about virus like particles or VLP. VLPs are infectious as they contain the native genetic material of virus. This statement is incorrect. Virus like particles or nanoscale structures made up of assembled viral proteins. Since they are made up of viral proteins, they can mimic the virus. But an important thing is that virus like particles lack viral genetic material and this makes them non infectious. So they do not contain native genetic material of the virus. So the first statement is incorrect. Now moving to the second statement, virus like particles can be used as carriers for delivery of bio and nano materials such as drugs, vaccines and quantum dots. This statement is correct. Now look at the third statement. Virus like particles can be used in treatment of hereditary and genetic disorders. This statement is also correct. VLPs can also be used as gene therapy tools. Now look at the fourth statement. Vaccines for hepatitis B virus and human papilloma virus have been developed using virus like particles. This statement is also correct. Since VLPs lack genetic material and are non infectious, they are the perfect candidates for making vaccines. VLP based vaccines are already available for hepatitis B and human papilloma virus. So the statements 2, 3 and 4 are correct. So the correct answer is option B. With this, let us conclude this discussion and move to the next topic. Our next topic is CAR T-cell therapy. See this is very important for a problem 6M because UPC has been asking a lot of questions related to emerging technologies in medical field. CAR T-cell therapy short form for chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy. It is a form of immunotherapy that is used to treat cancer. In this therapy, a person's own T-cells are genetically modified to enhance their ability to target and destroy cancer cells. Here the T-cell is a type of white blood cell which can fight cancer cells. Now let us see how this CAR T-cell therapy actually works. In this therapy, regular immune cells which are called T-cells are transformed into powerful cancer fighters which will be known as CAR T-cells. So basically the T-cells are transformed into CAR T-cells. As we have seen the T-cell is simply a white blood cell that can help the body to find and fight the infections. So they are naturally skilled at killing cancer cells. By using CAR T-therapy, we modify these T-cells by changing their genes to make them even better at attacking cancer. So after the genetic modification, we put these supercharged CAR T-cells back into the patient's body. So these supercharged cells then go to work seeking out and attacking cancer cells. This is especially effective for blood cancers like leukemia and lymphomas. So overall CAR T-cell therapy is like turning your own body into a cancer killing superheroes. And note that this therapy is mainly used to fight blood cancers. Recently Central Drug Standard Control Organization granted market authorization for India's first indigenously developed CAR T-cell therapy. And this indigenously developed therapy is named as NEXT CAR 19. So this paves a way for commercial launch of CAR T-cell therapy in India. It will be available at lower cost compared to other countries. Now what is difference between a normal CAR T-cell therapy and this NEXT CAR 19? This NEXT CAR 19 is developed by Immuno ACT which is a company incubated at IIT Bombay. This particular therapy is designed to target cancer cells that can carry CD19 protein. This protein acts like a flag on cancer cells which allows CAR T-cells to recognize and attach themselves to the cancer cells and start the process of destroying it. So the important keywords here are NEXT CAR 19. What is NEXT CAR 19? It is indigenously developed CAR T-cell therapy. CD19 protein. What it is related to? It is related to the CAR T-cell therapy and especially it is related to NEXT CAR 19 treatment. So remember these keywords and what are they related to? This will be useful for our Prelims examination. So this is all about this topic. Now let us discuss an MCQ. See this question is about biotransformation technology. We know UPSC is asking questions about latest technology, recent developments in science and technology. So this year also we may expect a question about biotransformation technology. Which of the following is correct about biotransformation technology? The correct answer is option A. See biotransformation technology is a novel approach to ensure that plastics are processed efficiently and broken down. This is to prevent plastics from escaping refuse streams. In this technology, regular polythene is manufactured with a biotransformation additive. This additive will help in achieving time set biodegradation. Now let us see how this works. Biotransformation additive which is called biot additive are added to the plastic during the manufacturing process. The final plastic product will retain the properties of regular polythene and can be recycled like regular polythene and it will also be fully biodegradable in the natural environment. This will happen in three phases. See when the plastic is in use, the biot technology will be dormant. It can also be recycled just like regular plastic. So this is the first phase. When the plastic is exposed to natural environmental conditions such as sunlight, air, water, it will cause the plastic material to self destruct. See the biot technology that is present in the plastic will attack the crystalline and amorphous region of the polymer structure. So this will transform the plastic into a waxy substance that is no longer a plastic. So this wax like substance is not harmful for the environment and this is the second phase. In the third phase, the bacteria and fungi in the natural environment will digest this wax and break it down to carbon dioxide, water, and humus. So there will not be any micro plastic left behind. So this is about biotransformation technology. This technology is being used in plastics. Now let us move to the next discussion. Recently our prime minister inaugurated the second rocket launch port of ISRO at Kulasegarapatinam in Tamil Nadu. This is near Tuthukudi district in Tamil Nadu. Now what is the significance of this Kulasegarapatinam launch port? Geographically and strategically this launch port provides a natural advantage to ISRO's future launches because it allows a direct southward and smaller launch trajectory for lightweight satellites. So this will boost the ISRO's attempt to enhance payload capacities. See if a satellite is launched from Kulasegarapatinam, it can follow a straight southward flight path. When we launch a satellite from Satishthavan space center in Andhra Pradesh, it follows a longer trajectory in order to avoid flying over Sri Lanka to protect it from rocket derbys. But when rockets are launched from Kulasegarapatinam, this maneuver is not required as there is no land mass along the flight path in the southward direction. So it is easier to launch satellites from Kulasegarapatinam than from Sri Yerikota. Next is this Kulasegarapatinam launch port is located closer to the equator. The launch site's near equator benefit from the earth's rotation. This gives a significant velocity boost to the rockets during the lift off. So this boost in velocity allowed for increased payload capacity and it is advantageous for future missions aiming for geostationary orbit. So these are the significance of Kulasegarapatinam launch port. In this context let us see about the difference between low earth orbit, geostationary orbit, geosynchronous orbits. Firstly what is an orbit? See an orbit is a curved path that an object in space takes around another object due to gravity. First let us see geostationary orbit. Satellites in geostationary orbit circle earth above the equator from west to east following the earth's rotation. It travels exactly at the same rate as the earth. So this makes satellites in geostationary orbit appear to be stationary over a fixed position. This orbit is used by telecommunication satellites and weather monitoring satellites. Now what is lower earth orbit? As the name suggests it is an orbit that is relatively closer to the earth's surface. It is normally at an altitude of less than 1000 km. This orbit is most commonly used for satellite imaging. It is also used by international space station as it is easier for astronauts to travel to and from for a short distance. Now look at this polar orbit and sun synchronous orbit. Satellites in polar orbit usually travel from north to south rather from west to east. So they pass through the poles. That is why it is called polar orbit. Polar orbits are also a type of lower earth orbit because they are at the altitudes within 200 to 1000 km. Now sun synchronous orbit is a particular kind of polar orbit. Satellites in this orbit traveling over the polar regions are synchronous with the sun. This means they are synchronized to always be in same fixed position relative to the sun. It simply means the satellite always visit the same spot at the same local time. For example, it passes the city of Paris every day at the noon exactly. A satellite in sun synchronous orbit would be usually at an altitude between 600 to 800 km. So this is about the important orbits of satellites. Now let us discuss an MCQ related to this topic. Look at the question. Consider the following statements with reference to orbits of satellites. Look at the first statement. Satellites in geostationary orbit circle earth above the equator from north to south following the earth's rotation. This statement is incorrect. The satellites in geostationary orbit circle earth from west to east following the earth's rotation. So the statement 1 is incorrect. Now look at the statement 2. Satellites in polar orbits usually travel past earth from west to east passing roughly over earth's poles. This statement is also incorrect. The satellites in polar orbits usually travel past earth from north to south over the earth's poles. So the correct answer is option D. Neither one nor two. With this let us conclude the discussion and move to the next topic. Look at this topic. Recently there was a concept called white hole which appeared in news. These white holes are considered as opposite of black holes and it has capacity to generate a new universe. Basically white holes is like a movie running in reverse. In a black hole everything is attracted to black hole and the white hole is just a reverse of it. Everything is emitted from white hole. So an entire universe can be generated from white hole. While comparing the formation black holes are believed to form from the collapse of massive star at the end of their life cycle. White holes are purely speculative and has not been observed. So they are hypothetical solutions to the equations of general relativity. But currently we don't know the mechanism for their formation. There is a theory called quantum bounds theory and according to this theory black holes potentially transition to white holes through a bounds. This bounds is called a big bounds and it is similar to big bang. According to this theory there is a possibility of universe emerging from white hole. This emergence of universe from white hole is called big bounds which is similar to big bang. So these concepts like big bounds and white holes recently appeared in news. Please take a note of it. With this let us conclude this discussion. Let us move to the next topic. See recently union cabinet has approved 100% foreign direct investment in space sector. This is done under the revised FDI policy. Now what are the changes made in FDI norms? Under updated FDI policy the satellite sub sector has been divided into three different types. First is manufacturing of components and systems for satellites, ground segment and user segment. In this segment the FDI is allowed as automatic route. It means up to 100% of FDI is permitted in this segment. The second one is satellite manufacturing and operation, satellite data products etc. In this segment 74% of FDI is allowed. For investment beyond 74% government approval is required. The third one is launch vehicles and their components. In this segment up to 49% of FDI is allowed under automatic route. So above 49% the government approval is required. So these are the three segments under new FDI norms. Now what is the significance of this initiative? See this revised FDI norms will attract investors globally to invest in Indian space sector. It will boost the Indian space sector as the India space economy is expected to increase from 8.4 billion dollars to 44 billion dollars by 2033. The increase to private sector involvement will create more jobs and facilitate the adoption of modern technology. Now let us see some basics about FDI in India. As we all know FDI refers to investments made by foreign entities and can be either establishing business operations or acquiring business assets in another country such as ownership or controlling interest in a foreign company. Basically there are two types of routes of FDI in India. One is automatic route and another one is government route. Under automatic route if a foreign company wants to invest in India they do not need any approval from the government of India. So this is automatic route they can automatically invest in India. Under government route a foreign company must get approval from the government of India before investing in Indian business. So these are the two routes for FDI in India. Now in certain sectors FDI is prohibited. The real estate business, gambling and betting, cheat funds, nidhi company, trading in transferable development rights, manufacturing of tobacco products and other sectors which are not yet open for private sector like atomic energy, railway operations etc. So in these sectors the FDI is not yet allowed. Also the lottery business the FDI is not allowed. With this let us conclude this discussion and move to the next topic. Now moving on to the next topic. Recently scientists have been studying about colossal black holes which is 53 million light years away. In this context we shall know about gravitational lensing which is an important topic for problems. Gravitational lensing is a natural phenomena that occurs when a massive celestial body bends the path of light around it. Know that the body that causes the light to curve and bend is called gravitational lens. Now let us see how this phenomena occurs. See gravitational lens can occur when a huge amount of matter like a cluster of galaxies creates a gravitational field that magnifies the light from distant galaxies which are present behind it. Know that this effect is like looking through a giant magnifying glass. It allows researchers to study the details of early galaxies which are far away to be seen with the current technology and telescopes. An important point to remember that gravitational lensing is based on Einstein theory of general relativity. This theory says that mass bend light. So an object with a huge mass will bend the light passing nearby it. So this is about the concept of gravitational lensing. Now let us see the applications. An important application is magnification. This will allow us to observe objects which are very far away and too faint to be seen. Secondly with this phenomena we can find the massiveness and density of the object. See the more massive the object is the stronger its gravitational field and hence a greater bending of light rays. So if an object bends the light rays more then it means it has greater mass. So we can find how massive an object is with the help of gravitational lensing. Thirdly gravitational lensing acts as a natural cosmic telescope. With this we can observe distant objects in space. Finally it can help astronomers to know about black holes dark matter etc. So these are the important applications of gravitational lensing. With this let us conclude the topic. Now we shall discuss about the important missions which appeared in news in 2023. Let us begin with Aditya L1 mission. Aditya L1 satellite was launched using polar satellite launch vehicle that is PSLV XL. This Aditya L1 mission is recently placed in halo orbit around Lagrangian point 1. Actually this Lagrangian point L1 is about 1.5 million kilometers from earth. Now why are we placing the satellite in L1 point? The answer is that the satellite placed in L1 point has major advantage of continuously observing the sun without any eclipses. So there is no obstruction while we study the sun. So this is why Aditya L1 satellite is placed in this point and the orbit around L1 point is called as halo orbit. The Aditya L1 satellite carries 7 payloads to observe the sun's atmosphere using electromagnetic and particle magnetic field detectors. That is it has multi wavelength observation capacity. So this is a very important point. Since Aditya mission is going to study the sun let us know the various layers of sun's atmosphere. Firstly photosphere it is the lower most or the innermost layer of sun's atmosphere. It can be observed directly and from here only most of the sun's energy is emitted. And secondly the chromosphere which is the middle layer and it is above the photosphere. See the chromosphere plays a major role in conducting heat from interior of the sun to the outermost layer which is corona. So this corona is the outermost layer of the sun and here the temperature is very high. Actually it is higher than the inside layers. So basically corona is the hottest layer of sun's atmosphere. Now let us see what are the Lagrangian points. See there are five Lagrangian points that is L1, L2, L3, L4 and L5. Out of five points the L1 has many advantages like it is one of the gravitationally stable points in space. When a satellite is placed at L1 point it can continuously monitor the sun without any blockage of view and the fuel required for the satellite will be very less compared to other orbits. So the position of L1 provides an early advantage to observe coronal mass ejections and solar flares. So we can observe this coronal mass ejection before they can affect the earth. So it means we can have more time for space weather predictions to protect our satellites. So this is about the Lagrangian points. So with this we wind up this topic and let us move to the next topic. The next topic is about stem cells. Stem cells recently appeared in news because of a successful transplantation of lung-derived stem cells and this lung-derived stem cells is safe for humans. The patients who received the stem cell therapy showed signs of improvement in their lung function. Specifically the transplants enhanced the lung's ability to exchange gases. Now what are stem cells? See cells are basic unit of life and it can be divided into two types. Differentiated cells and undifferentiated cells. Most cells in our body are differentiated cells meaning that it have a specific purpose. These differentiated cells can only save the specific purpose in a particular organ. For example red blood cells are specifically designed to carry oxygen through the blood. But stem cells are undifferentiated cells and they act as body's raw materials. That means stem cells are cells from which other cells with specialized functions are generated. So all the differentiated cells are emerging from stem cells. So the stem cells are the template. These stem cells have ability to divide and make indefinite number of copies of themselves. When a stem cell divides it can either remain a stem cell or turn into a differentiated cell such as a muscle cell or a red blood cell. Remember under the right conditions in a body or laboratory stem cells can divide to form more cells called daughter cells. Now there are two types of stem cells. One is embryonic stem cell and another one is adult stem cell which is also called somatic stem cell. So the two types are embryonic stem cell and somatic stem cell. The embryonic stem cells are derived from embryos during the early stage of development. They have potential to differentiate into any type of cells in the body. The adult stem cells which is also called somatic stem cells are found in various tissues of body such as bone marrow skin etc. It has limited differentiation potential compared to the embryonic stem cell. It is also responsible for maintenance and repair of specific tissues. So this is about the type of stem cells. Now let us see the applications of stem cells. Stem cells play a crucial role in medical research and potential therapeutic applications. First important application is regenerative medicine. Stem cells can be used to repair or replace damaged or diseased tissues including organs. Secondly they are used in cell based therapies. Stem cells can be differentiated into specific types of cells and used for transplantation to replace damaged cells or tissues. For example hematopoietic stem cell transplants are commonly used in the treatment of certain blood disorders. Thirdly stem cells are used in drug discovery and testing. See stem cells can be used in the development and testing of new drugs providing a more accurate model for studying human physiology and diseases. So these are the important applications of stem cells. Now we shall discuss an mcq related to this topic. Look at the question here it is about antimicrobial resistance. Already there was a question about the causes of antimicrobial resistance in prolims 2019. Look at this question antimicrobial resistance happens when microorganisms like bacteria virus fungi and other parasites become resistance to only antibiotics. The statement is incorrect. See antimicrobials or medicines used to prevent and treat infections in humans animals and plants. Antimicrobial is a broad term which includes antibiotics antivirals antifungals and antiparasitics. So it is not about the resistance only to antibiotics it includes resistance to all antibiotics antivirals antifungals and antiparasites. So the statement is incorrect. Now look at the second statement antimicrobial resistance has been declared as one of the top 10 threats to global health in 2019. Yes the statement is correct. In 2019 WHO released a list of top 10 threats to global health and antimicrobial resistance was one of them. So the correct answer is option B2 only. With this we have come to the end of the discussion. Other important topics regarding science and tech current affairs will be posted next Monday. So keep updated. If you like the video please share it with your friends and don't forget to subscribe to Shankara Ace Academy YouTube channel. Thank you for watching.