About Myristica Swamps:

• These are freshwater swamps dominated by evergreen trees belonging to the Myristica ceae family.
• They are also denoted as living fossils due to the primitive nature of Myristica plants.
  • With an evolutionary origin of about 140 million years, the swamps are valuable for evolutionary studies.
• These forests are characterized by trees with large protruding roots jutting out of waterlogged soil, which remains inundated throughout the year.
• Geographical distribution: In India, these unique habitats occur in the Western Ghats, and a smaller distribution exists in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Meghalaya.
• Historically, they formed a large hydrological network all along the Western Ghats.
• Climatic conditions: The formation of these swamps is dependent on abiotic conditions like the shape of the valley between the forested hills, the amount of rainfall a place receives (with an average of 3000 mm), and water availability throughout the year.
• Typically, Myristica swamps are seen next to rivers and help in retaining water and act as a sponge, ensuring perennial water availability.
• These forests have higher ability to sequester carbon than non-swampy forests.
• These swamps are home to many vertebrate and invertebrate faunal species. This is due to stable macroecological conditions like high humidity, moderate temperature, and macrohabitat availability.
  • One example is the Myristica Swamp Treefrog (Mercurana myristicapalustris), only reported from a few pockets of the Shendurney and Peppara Wildlife Sanctuaries in Kerala.

Q1: What is a swamp?

A swamp is an area of land permanently saturated, or filled, with water. Many swamps are even covered by water. There are two main types of swamps: freshwater swamps and saltwater swamps. Swamps are dominated by trees. They are often named for the type of trees that grow in them, such as cypress swamps or hardwood swamps. Freshwater swamps are commonly found inland, while saltwater swamps are usually found along coastal areas. Swamps are transition areas.

Source: Myristica swamp forest discovered in Kumbral

District Agro-Meteorology Units in India

These were established by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in 2018 in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. The aim was to use weather data to prepare and disseminate sub-district level agricultural advisories.

District Agro-Meteorology Units Working

• The DAMUs were located within Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs).
• Scientists and researchers trained in meteorology and agriculture were recruited as DAMU staff.
• They used weather data provided by the IMD like rainfall, temperature and wind speeds to prepare agricultural advisories related to sowing and harvesting, usage of fertilizers and pesticides, irrigation etc.
• These advisories were sent to millions of farmers across the country free-of-cost in local languages twice a week.
• They were shared via text messages, WhatsApp groups, newspapers and also through in-person communication from DAMU staff and KVK officers.
• These advisories provided weather information in advance, they helped farmers plan activities like irrigation.
• They also served as early warnings for extreme events like droughts and heavy rainfall. Many studies conducted over the years have stressed the benefits of agro-met advisories.

District Agro-Meteorology Units FAQs

Q1. What is Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI)?

Ans. It is India’s largest and foremost Institute in the field of research and higher education, and training in agricultural sciences. The Institute is situated in Delhi and is administered by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

Nilgiri Mountain Railway

The NMR Railway line from Mettupalaiyam to Ooty is 45.88 km. long and lies partly in Coimbatore District and partly in Nilgiri District of Tamilnadu, on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats. It is fondly called the Ooty toy train of the Nilgiris Railway Company, first chugged up the hills on June 15, 1899.

Nilgiri Mountain Railway History

• It was in 1854, that the first plans were made to build a mountain Railway from Mettupalaiyam to the Nilgiri Hills.
• But it took the decision-makers 45 years to cut through the bureaucratic red tape and complete the construction and installation of the line.
• The line was completed and opened for traffic in June 1899.
• It was operated first by the Madras Railway under an agreement with the Government.
• In 2005, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, joining the ranks of India’s other famous mountain railways, such as the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and the Kalka-Shimla Railway.
• This designation underscores the railway’s cultural and historical importance, as well as its role in showcasing India’s rich heritage.

Nilgiri Mountain Railway FAQs

Q1. What is the World Heritage Committee?

Ans. It is a committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).The Committee is responsible for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund, and allocates financial assistance upon requests from States Parties.

About INS Malpe and INS Mulki:

• They are two indigenously designed and constructed Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Watercrafts (ASWCWC) built for the Indian Navy.
• This is the fourth and fifth ASWCWC being built for the Navy. 
• They are constructed by the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL).
  • The contract to build eight ASWSWC ships was signed between the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and CSL on April 30, 2019.
  • These vessels, known as the Mahe Class, will replace the current Abhay Class ASW Corvettes in the Indian Navy. 
• Features:
  • The vessels are capable of conducting anti-submarine operations in coastal waters, low-intensity maritime and mine-laying operations, besides sub-surface surveillance and search and rescue operations. 
  • The vessels are 78.0 m long and 11.36 m wide, with a draught of about 2.7 m.
  • The displacement is about 900 tonnes, with a maximum speed of 25 knots and endurance of 1,800 nautical miles. 
  • The ships are designed to fit indigenously developed, state-of-the-art SONARS for underwater surveillance.
  • They are equipped with light-weight torpedoes, anti-submarine warfare rockets, a close-in weapon system, and remote-controlled guns.

Q1: What is Torpedo?

A torpedo is a self-propelled, cigar-shaped underwater missile that is launched from a submarine, surface vessel, or airplane to destroy ships by rupturing their hulls below the waterline.

Source: Two anti-submarine warfare vessels for Indian Navy launched at Cochin Shipyard

About Photoelectric Effect:

• It is a phenomenon where electrons are emitted from a material’s surface when it is exposed to light of sufficient frequency.
  • When light photons hit the surface of a material, usually a metal, they transfer their energy to the electrons. If this energy is sufficient, the electrons are emitted from the material.
  • The energy must be greater than the electron’s binding energy, known as the work function, for the electron to be ejected from the material’s surface.
  • The excess energy from the photon, after overcoming the work function, is converted into the kinetic energy of the ejected electron.
• A material that can exhibit this phenomenon is said to be photo emissive, and the ejected electrons are called photoelectrons.
• The effect was discovered in 1887 by the German physicist Heinrich Rudolf Hertz. 
• The photoelectric effect is pivotal in understanding the quantum nature of light, as it reveals that light possesses both wave-like and particle-like properties.
• This duality is a cornerstone of quantum mechanics, illustrating how light can exhibit behaviors characteristic of both waves and discrete particles.
• The discovery and understanding of the photoelectric effect have profound implications in various scientific and technological fields, including the development of photovoltaic cells and advanced imaging technologies. 

Q1: What is a photovoltaic cell?

A photovoltaic (PV) cell, commonly called a solar cell, is a non mechanical device that converts sunlight directly into electricity. Some PV cells can convert artificial light into electricity.

Source: Superfast studies of photoelectric effect reveal the secrets of matter

About Elongated Tortoise 

The tortoise is medium-sized with a yellowish brown or olive shell and distinct black blotches at the centre of each scute. The tortoise has on its nostril a pink ring, which appears in the breeding season. Mature individuals of both sexes develop a distinct pinkish colouration surrounding the nostrils and eyes during the season.

Elongated Tortoise Distribution

• The tortoise, found in the Sal deciduous and hilly evergreen forests.
• It is distributed across Southeast Asia from northern India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh in the west, eastward through Myanmar, Thailand, and all of Indochina, north to Guangxi Province of China and south to Peninsular Malaysia.
• A disjunct tortoise population exists in the Chota Nagpur plateau in eastern India. It also inhabits lowlands and foothills of up to 1,000 m above sea level.

Elongated Tortoise Conservation Status

IUCN: Critically Endangered

CITES: Appendix II

Elongated Tortoise FAQs

Q1. What are Deciduous Forests?

Ans. It is a biome dominated by deciduous trees which lose their leaves seasonally. The Earth has temperate deciduous forests, and tropical and subtropical deciduous forests, also known as dry forests.

About Paraguay River:

• It is the fifth largest river in South America.
• It runs over a course of approximately 1,584 miles (2,549 kilometers) from its headwaters in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso (within the Brazilian Highlands) to its confluence with the Paraná River, of which it is the main tributary, just north of Corrientes, Argentina.
• It runs through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina.
• The river serves as a natural boundary, particularly between Paraguay and Brazil and between Paraguay and Argentina.
• The Pantanal, one of the most pristine and biologically rich environments on the planet, is contained within the Upper Paraguay River Basin.
  • Pantanal is the world’s largest tropical wetland. 
• The Paraguay, along with the Paraná and Uruguay Rivers, form the second most important drainage system in the world, which covers approximately 1.6 million square miles.
• These empty into the Rio de la Plata estuary at a rate of 2.8 million cubic feet of water per second, an outflow second only to that of the Amazon River. Thereafter, the rivers empty into the Atlantic Ocean.

Q1: What is an estuary?

An estuary is an area where a freshwater river or stream meets the ocean. In estuaries, the salty ocean mixes with a freshwater river, resulting in brackish water. Brackish water is somewhat salty, but not as salty as the ocean. An estuary may also be called a bay, lagoon, sound, or slough.

Source: Paraguay river registers its lowest water level in more than a century at Asunción

About Yellow Food Dye:

• It is also known as tartrazine and is a synthetic food colorant classified as an azo dye.
• It is lemon yellow in color and water soluble.
• It is used in many dairy products, beverages, desserts and confectioneries etc.

Highlight of the study

• This dye absorbs blue light strongly, which yields its characteristic orange-to-red color when dissolved in water.
• This happens because the blue part of the light is absorbed, leaving only the orange-to-red part visible.
• Normally, biological tissues scatter light due to their diverse composition of proteins, fats, and liquids.
• Researchers found that a concentrated tartrazine solution can match the refractive indices of these components, reducing light scattering and allowing light to pass through. This makes the skin appear transparent.
• When applied, tartrazine absorbs certain wavelengths of light, especially red light, changing how light interacts with the tissue.
• This effect enabled the researchers to see blood vessels, internal organs, and muscle contractions in real-time.

Potential Applications

This technique could simplify blood draws, improve laser tattoo removal, and aid in early cancer detection.

Q1: What is the Refractive index?

It is a measure of the bending of a ray of light when passing from one medium into another.

Source: Scientists use common yellow food dye tartrazine to make skin transparent, see internal organs inside body

About Presbyopia:

• It is an age-related condition in which the eyes gradually lose the ability to focus on nearby objects.
• People usually start to develop presbyopia at around the age of 40. 

Prebyopia Symptoms:

• A tendency to hold reading material farther away to make the letters clearer
• Blurred vision at normal reading distance.
• Eyestrain or headaches after reading or doing close-up work
• Prebyopia Treatment: According to doctors, spectacles are one of the most effective ways to manage the condition.

How does PresVu work?

The active ingredient — chemical compounds in medicines that have an effect on the body — in PresVu is pilocarpine.

• The compound contracts the iris muscles, which control the size of the pupil and help humans see things clearly, thereby enabling one’s eyes to focus better on nearby objects.
• PresVu uses “advanced dynamic buffer technology” — essentially, a base solution — to adapt to the pH level (a scale used to measure how acidic or basic a substance is) of tears.
• This ensures that the eye drop has “consistent efficacy and safety for extended use, keeping in mind that such drops will be used for years at a stretch”.
• PresVu is a prescription-only medicine and its impact is unlikely to last beyond four to six hours. It should not be used by people who have inflammation of the iris.

Regular use of PresVu may lead to itching and redness, eyebrow pain, and muscle spasms in the eyes.

Presbyopia FAQs

Q1. What is Pilocarpine?

Ans. It belongs to a class of drugs known as cholinergic agonists. It works by stimulating certain nerves to increase the amount of saliva you produce, making it easier and more comfortable to speak and swallow.