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R.Paul Singh, World Agriculture Prize laureate
Headlines
First nation to eliminate mother-to-child HIV: WHO
Agricultural Outlook report 2015-2024: FAO
Scientists find potential new HIV therapy
World Agriculture Prize laureate
UN declares emergency in Yemen
Indigenous varieties of rice conserved in Odisha
National Skill Development Mission
India launches online system for foreign employers
For the first time, birth of new planet witnessed
First nation to eliminate mother-to-child HIV: WHO
Cuba has become the first country in the world to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis, the World Health Organisation has said, reports AFP.
“Eliminating transmission of a virus is one of the greatest public health achievements possible,” WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said.
“This is a major victory in our long fight against HIV and sexually transmitted infections, and an important step towards having an AIDS-free generation.”
Universal health coverage, improved access to tests and increased attention to maternal care were credited with the success, defined by health authorities as fewer than 50 cases of mother-to-child transmission of syphilis or HIV per 100,000 live births.
A small number of cases are allowed to persist, despite the certification, because antiretroviral treatment to prevent mother-to-child-transmission of HIV is not 100 per cent effective. Rather, WHO and the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) define the milestone as “a reduction of transmission to such a low level that it no longer constitutes a public health problem.”
Agricultural Outlook report 2015-2024: FAO
Global prices of agricultural items are expected to decline gradually over the next 10 years as growth in production is likely to exceed demand, reports PTI.
However, the prices would not fall below the rates that prevailed in early-2000, said the report ‘Agricultural Outlook 2015-2024′ prepared jointly by the Paris-based think tank OECD and the UN body FAO. Lower oil prices would also contribute to lower food prices as energy and fertilisers cost would come down.“Strong crop yields, higher productivity and slower growth in global demand should contribute to a gradual decline in real prices for agricultural products over the coming decade, but nonetheless, prices will likely remain at levels above those in the early-2000s,” FAO-OECD said.
Scientists find potential new HIV therapy
Scientists have discovered a way to block replication of the most common form of HIV at a key moment when the infection is just starting to develop.
Transmitted through bodily fluids, the HIV-1 virus infects and destroys key immune cells, known as CD4 T cells, that would ordinarily mount a defense against the virus and initiate the antiviral activity of other immune cells.
Scientists have long known that a substance produced by CD4 T cells called Interleukin-21 (IL-21) plays an important role in the immune system by activating immune cells that specialise in killing viruses like HIV-1 and driving the production of antibodies that attack them.
However, it was unclear how IL-21 might affect the early stages of HIV-1 infection that allows the virus to grow and spread unabated soon after a person is exposed.
World Agriculture Prize laureate
Indian-American professor R. Paul Singh has been named as the 2015 Global Confederation for Higher Education Associations for Agriculture and Life Sciences World Agriculture Prize laureate.
The award was announced at the annual GCHERA conference, held last week at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, Jounieh, Lebanon. The award will be formally presented on September 20, during a ceremony at Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu Province, China.“I’m deeply humbled and honoured upon receiving news of this award,” said Singh, a distinguished professor emeritus who has held dual appointments in the departments of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and of Food Science and Technology at the University of California, Davis.
UN declares emergency in Yemen
More than 30 civilians have been killed under fire from Houthi rebels in the Yemeni second city of Aden, prompting the United Nations to declare its highest level humanitarian emergency in the war-torn country.
Meanwhile in the central city of Taez, pro-government forces launched a manhunt for 1,200 escaped prisoners, including al-Qaeda members, allegedly freed by retreating rebel forces.
Both Aden and Taez have seen heavy fighting as loyalists of exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi battle to repel Houthi Shia rebels with the support of a Saudi-led air coalition launched in March.
Aden was Hadi's last refuge before he fled into exile in the neighbouring Saudi Arabia in March while his supporters have been battling to defend it against the rebels and renegade troops.The Houthis and their allies pounded the government-held Al-Mansura district of Aden with 15 Katyusha rockets, loyalist forces' spokesperson Ali al-Ahmadi said.
Indigenous varieties of rice conserved in Odisha
Both the Centre and the state are collecting and conserving indigenous rice varieties to craft new ones.
The State Seed Testing Laboratory (SSTL) in Bhubaneswar, Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI) in Cuttack, National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) in New Delhi under ICAR and Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority (PPV & FRA) in New Delhi are conserving indigenous varieties. The objective is to culture them, preserve them and come out with high-yielding varieties.
"Rapid urbanization and industrialization destroy rice varieties' habitats. Besides, we use their best genes to generate new varieties," said CRRI director Trilochan Mohapatra.
National Skill Development Mission
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today gave its approval for the institutional framework for the National Skill Development Mission in keeping with the commitment made during the Budget Speech for 2015-16.
The National Skill Development Mission will provide a strong institutional framework at the Centre and States for implementation of skilling activities in the country. The Mission will have a three-tiered, high powered decision making structure. At its apex, the Mission’s Governing Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, will provide overall guidance and policy direction. The Steering Committee, chaired by Minister in Charge of Skill Development, will review the Mission’s activities in line with the direction set by the Governing Council. The Mission Directorate, with Secretary, Skill Development as Mission Director, will ensure implementation, coordination and convergence of skilling activities across Central Ministries/Departments and State Governments. The Mission will also run select sub-missions in high priority areas. Further, the National Skill Development Agency (NSDA), the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and the Directorate of Training will function under the overall guidance of the Mission. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) provides a natural home for the Mission, organically linking all three decision making levels and facilitating linkages to all Central Ministries/Departments and State Governments.
India launches online system for foreign employers
India has launched an online registration system for foreign employers who seek to recruit Indian workers, including nurses.
According to the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi, all the foreign employers need to register in the eMigrate system. The system makes it mandatory for the employer to fill in a registration application which will then be vetted by the Indian mission.
Following this, the employer can raise the demand for Indian workers in the eMigrate system and seek a permit to recruit either directly or through recruiting agents online.The foreign employer will be required to declare the terms and conditions of employment of each category of the job at the time of applying for demand registration, said Deputy Chief of Mission & Head of Chancery Neeta Bhushan.
For the first time, birth of new planet witnessed
For the first time, scientists are now able to directly study the planet formation process at a very early stage.
Astronomers of PlanetS have confirmed the existence of a young gas giant planet that is still embedded in the gas and dust rich disk around its young host star.
For a full night a high-resolution infrared camera at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile observed only one object although telescope time at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) on Mount Paranal is very precious.
Analyzing the dataset collected by the instrument called NACO, an international team led by Sascha Quanz of ETH Zurich was able to confirm its earlier hypothesis: a giant planet candidate is orbiting the star named HD 100546.
The object is still in the process of formation and possibly surrounded by a disk from which it continues gathering material, explains researcher Sascha Quanz.
How, where and when giant planets form in the disks around young stars was so far mainly addressed via theoretical considerations and computer simulations, but now they have a ‘laboratory’ from which they can obtain empirical information, added Quanz.
HD 100546 is a young star. In astronomical terms this means that the object is “only” five to ten million years old. Located 335 light-years from Earth it is a relatively nearby cosmic neighbor.
TCA GK SHOWER, 3 July Current Affairs
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In which state "Mhara Gaon - Jagmag Gaon Scheme" was launched - Haryana
Who was selected for G D Birla Award for Scientific Research for 2014 - Sanjeev Galande
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