About Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI) Project:

• It is a missile-intercepting system under joint development by the US and Japan.
• By the end of 2032, Washington and Tokyo aim to achieve full operational capability for the system.
• What is the Glide Phase?
  • With a traditional Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), the warhead separates from its booster and continues on a parabolic, gravity driven trajectory to its target.
  • A hypersonic weapon, by contrast, separates from its booster after the peak of its trajectory and accelerates toward the Earth using gravity. It then performs a pitch manoeuvre to begin a flatter trajectorycalled the glide phase.
  • Unlike typical ballistic missiles, the hypersonic and glide vehicles travel at five times (or more) the speed of sound on an unpredictable trajectory.
• What is the Project all about?
  • Hypersonic weapons or missiles pose a unique challenge due to their blinding speeds and relatively low altitudes (20 to 80 km) during the glide phase.
  • They can navigate around areas containing known missile defence sensors.
  • These characteristics make it particularly challenging for ground-based radar systems to track them efficiently.
  • The GPI Project aims to provide regional hypersonic missile defence.
  • It will achieve this by launching specially modified missiles from surface warships.
  • These missiles will engage and destroy incominghypersonic missilesas they glide through the boundary between space and Earth’s atmosphere.
  • The “glide” phase of the missile’s trajectory provides the best opportunityto intercept it before it enters its last high-speed drop.

Q1: What is an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)?

An ICBM is a guided missile that is designed to deliver nuclear warheads, although it could also deliver other payloads. According to the Federation of American Scientists, ICBMs have a minimum range of 5,500 kilometers (3,400 miles), with maximum ranges varying from 7,000 to 16,000 kilometers. ICBMs are much faster and have a greater range than other types of ballistic missiles. Agni-V is an Indian ICBM with a range of over 5,000 km.

Source: Explained: What is the Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI) programme?

About Widal Test: 

• It is a test done for diagnosing typhoid fever.
  • Typhoid fever, also known asenteric fever, is a bacterial infection caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi, and it is commonly spread through contaminated food or water. 
  • A person with typhoid fever will experience symptoms like fatigue, high fever, headache, diarrhoea or constipation, abdominal pain, weight loss, and red spots.
  • These symptoms mimic those of malaria, dengue, influenza, and typhus, to name a few, making it difficult to diagnose without proper testing.
• As with other infections, our immune system produces antibodies in the blood against the bacteria, causing enteric fever. 
• The widal test is a serological test that detects antibodies against the bacteria in a patient’s blood sample, indicating whether or not they have been infected with the bacteria. 
• It is used to help diagnose a current or recent infectionor to determine if an individual has had a previous typhoid infection.
• It’s a point-of-care test and doesn’t need special skills or infrastructure.
• Developed in the late 1800s by a French physician, it is no longer used in many countries because of its flaws.The World Health Organization (WHO)has said that due to the various factors that can influence the results of a Widal test, it is best not to rely too much on this test.
• Limitations:
  • A single positive Widal test report doesn’t necessarily mean a typhoid infection is present, and a negative report doesn’t confirm the disease’s absence.
  • To diagnose an active infection, clinicians must test at least two serum samples taken at least 7-14 days apart, so that they may detect a change in the concentrations of the antibodies. But getting two samples is rarely feasible and time-consuming.
  • In areas with a high and continuous typhoid burden, certain levels of antibodies against the bacteria may already be present in the blood. Without knowing the baseline cut-off, it isn’t possible to correctly interpret the test.
  • The reagents used in the Widal test to reveal the presence of various antibodies can cross-react with antibodies produced against infections by other bacteria, viruses or parasites, or even in typhoid-vaccinated individuals, leading to false positives.
  • Prior antibiotic therapy can also affect antibody levels and yield a false negative.

Q1: What is the World Health Organization (WHO)?

It is a specialized agency of the United Nations which was established in 1948, that connects nations, partners and people to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable – so everyone, everywhere can attain the highest level of health.

Source: How the Widal test is clouding India’s sense of its typhoid problem | Explained

About AlphaFold3:

• It is a new AI model developed by Google DeepMind and Isomorphic Labs. 
• It is a revolutionary model that can predict the structure and interactions of all life’s molecules with unprecedented accuracy and even it mapped the behaviour for all of life's molecules, including human DNA.
• It can generate molecules' joint 3D structure, revealing how they all fit together.
• It models large biomolecules such as proteins, DNA and RNA, as well as small molecules, also known as ligands — a category encompassing many drugs.
• Furthermore, AlphaFold 3 can model chemical modifications to these molecules which control the healthy functioning of cells, that when disrupted can lead to disease.
• It assembles its predictions using a diffusion network, akin to those found in AI image generators. 
• Significance
  • It allows scientists to see cellular systems in all their complexity, across structures, interactions and modifications.
  • This new window on the molecules of life reveals how they’re all connected and helps understand how those connections affect biological functions — such as the actions of drugs, the production of hormones and the health-preserving process of DNA repair.

Q1: What is DNA?

Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) is a set of instructions found in a cell.These instructions are used for the growth and development of an organism. The DNA of a person is unique, and variation in the sequence of DNA can be used to match individuals and identify them.

Source: Google DeepMind unveils next generation of drug discovery AI model

About Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting:

• It is pivotal in the international community's ongoing efforts to safeguard Antarctica's fragile ecosystem and promote scientific research in the region.
• It is convened annually under the Antarctic Treaty System, these meetings serve as forums for Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties and other stakeholders to address Antarctica's pressing environmental, scientific, and governance issues.
• What is the CEP?
  • It was established under the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (the Madrid Protocol) in 1991.
  • The CEP advises the ATCM on environmental protection and conservation in Antarctica.

Key facts about the Antarctic Treaty

• It was signed in 1959 and entered into force in 1961.
• It established Antarctica as a region dedicated to peaceful purposes, scientific cooperation, and environmental protection. Over the years, the Treaty has garnered widespread support, with 56 countries currently party to it.
• Provisions of the treaty
  • Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes only
  • Freedom of scientific investigation in Antarctica and cooperation toward that end… shall continue
  • Scientific observations and results from Antarctica shall be exchanged and made freely available
• India has been a Consultative Party to the Antarctic Treaty since 1983.
• It participates in the decision-making process along with other 28 Consultative Parties to the Antarctic Treaty.
  • India’s first Antarctic research station, Dakshin Gangotri, was established in 1983.
  • At present, India operates two year-round research stations: Maitri (1989) and Bharati (2012).
  • The permanent research stations facilitate Indian Scientific Expeditions to Antarctica, which have been ongoing annually since 1981.
  • In 2022, India enacted the Antarctic Act, reaffirming its commitment to the Antarctic Treaty.
• The Antarctic Treaty Secretariat (ATS) serves as the administrative hub for the Antarctic Treaty System.
• ATS was established in 2004 and coordinates the ATCM and CEP meetings, reposits and disseminates information, and facilitates diplomatic communication, exchanges, and negotiations related to Antarctic governance and management.

Q1: What is the mandate of the Arctic Council?

It is to promote cooperation among Arctic states on common issues, particularly on sustainable development and environmental protection.

Source: India to formally convey to ATCM its plans to built new research station in Antarctica

About Neural Processing Unit (NPU):

• It is a dedicated processor designed specifically for accelerating neural network processes.
• A neural network is essentially a type of machine learning algorithm that mimics the human brain for processing data.
• It is highly capable for handling machine learning operations that form the basis for AI-related tasks, such as speech recognition, natural language processing, photo or video editing processes like object detection, and more.
• In most consumer-facing gadgets such as smartphones, laptops and tablets, the NPU is integrated within the main processor, adopting a System-on-Chip (SoC) configuration.

How is NPU different from the Central Processing Unit (CPU)?

• CPUs employ a sequential computing method, issuing one instruction at a time, with subsequent instructions awaiting the completion of their predecessors.
• In contrast, NPU harnesses parallel computing to simultaneously execute numerous calculations. This parallel computing approach results in swifter and more efficient processing.
• NPU is also able to learn based on accumulated data in order to deduce optimal solutions.

Q1: What is Deep learning?

Deep learning is a subset of machine learning, has revolutionized the way machines process and interpret data. It teaches computers to do what comes naturally to humans; for example, in the case of Self-Driving cars, recognizing the signals to stop or go.

Source: NPU: What is it and why is it gaining importance in semiconductor industry

About Dice Snake:

• It is a nonvenomous snake belonging to the family Colubridae, subfamily Natricinae. It is also called a water snake.
• Females of this species are bigger than males.
• Distribution: They are mainly found in much of Eurasia and are also present in Egypt.
• Habitat: They live near rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, and the surrounding grasslands. They can also be found in coastal areas and frequent plantations and urban areas.
• Unique character:
  • They fake their own death to avoid being eaten by predators, as it is a good tactic for the prey to create a distraction and escape. 
  • This behaviour depended on various factors like the sex of the individual, injuries, body temperature, size, age, presence of food in the stomach, presence of eggs in females, and previous experience with a predator.
  • When feeling threatened, they spread a very bad-smelling secretion from their cloaca or play dead.
• Threats: They suffer from loss of the wetland habitat in some areas of their range, pollution, roadkill, persecution by people, and collection for the pet trade.
• Conservation status
  • IUCN Red list: Least Concern

Q1: What are Cytotoxins?

The Cytotoxins (CTXs) are an essential class of the non-enzymatic three-finger toxin family and are ubiquitously present in cobra venoms.

Source: Dice snakes fake their own death by leaking blood from mouth, smearing faeces: Study

About Indian Ocean Dipole: 

• It is sometimes referred to as the Indian Nino, is a similar phenomenon, playing out in the relatively smaller area of the Indian Ocean between the Indonesian and Malaysian coastline in the east and the African coastline near Somalia in the west.
• A ‘positive IOD’ — or simply ‘IOD’ — is associated with cooler than normal sea-surface temperatures (SST) in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean and warmer than normal sea-surface temperatures in the western tropical Indian Ocean.
• The opposite phenomenon is called a ‘negative IOD’, and is characterised by warmer than normal SSTs in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean and cooler than normal SSTs in the western tropical Indian Ocean.
• A positive IOD event is often seen developing at times of an El Nino, while a negative IOD is sometimes associated with La Nina.
• Impacts
  • A positive IOD helps rainfall along the African coastline and also over the Indian sub-continent while suppressing rainfall over Indonesia, southeast Asia and Australia. The impacts are opposite during a negative IOD event.
  • The IOD was identified as an independent system only in 1999.

Q1: What is El Nino?

A warming of the ocean surface, or above-average sea surface temperatures (SST), in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. It is associated with lower than normal monsoon rainfall in India.

Source: Positive IOD may re-emerge this year, likely to boost south-west monsoon