Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) injection that traps uranium in the guts and blood of victims during a nuclear accident or warfare. When EDTA is injected into the veins, it “grabs” heavy metals and minerals and removes them from the body.

Ca-EDTA Respiratory Fluid, which is the inhalation formula for chelation, or grabbing, of heavy metals and radioactive elements deposited in lungs through inhalation at nuclear accident sites.

Microcephaly is a condition where the head (circumference) is smaller than normal.

Microcephaly may be caused by genetic abnormalities or by drugs, alcohol, certain viruses, and toxins that are exposed to the fetus during pregnancy and damage the developing brain tissue. Unfortunately, a 2015-2016 outbreak of Zika virus in Brazil has been associated with a large number of infants born with microcephaly. Epidemiological and some viral isolations suggest that pregnant women who get Zika virus have a high chance of fetal infection that may lead to microcephaly, although a definitive link between Zika virus infection and microcephaly is not yet proven.

Signs and symptoms of microcephaly may include a smaller than normal head circumference that usually remains smaller than normal as the child grows, dwarfism or short stature, delayed motor and speech functions, mental retardation, seizures, facial distortions, hyperactivity, balance and coordination problems, and other brain-related or neurological problems; although some with the disorder may develop normal intelligence.

Epithelial cells are the building blocks of embryonic development, and must endure the twisting and packing that happens as organs form.

A team studying the cells that give rise to embryos and can be found lining our organs and blood vessels pinpointed a three-dimensional shape that occurs as they bend and pack together.

The new shape, dubbed the scutoid, allows these epithelial cells to organize with the most efficiency, as opposed to the column or bottle-like shapes scientists previously attributed to this process.

A communicable disease is one that is spread from one person to another through a variety of ways that include: contact with blood and bodily fluids; breathing in an airborne virus; or by being bitten by an insect.

Reporting of cases of communicable disease is important in the planning and evaluation of disease prevention and control programs, in the assurance of appropriate medical therapy, and in the detection of common-source outbreaks. California law mandates healthcare providers and laboratories to report over 80 diseases or conditions to their local health department. Some examples of the reportable communicable diseases include Hepatitis A, B & C, influenza, measles, and salmonella and other food borne illnesses.

A biosensor is an analytical device, used for the detection of a chemical substance present in living systems. Most commonly used bloodglucose-biosensor is used for glucose monitoring

Biosensors are used in fields of

• Biotechnology,
• Agriculture,
• Food Technology

The bacterial species Mycobacterium Tuberculosis is the causative agent of TB.

• Latent TB – The bacteria remain in the body in an inactive state. They cause no symptoms and are not contagious, but they can become active
• Active TB – the bacteria do cause symptoms and can be transmitted to others.

Coagulation, also known as clotting, is the process by which blood changes from a liquid to a gel, forming a blood clot. It potentially results in hemostasis, the cessation of blood loss from a damaged vessel, followed by repair. The mechanism of coagulation involves activation, adhesion and aggregation of platelets, as well as deposition and maturation of fibrin.

Coagulation begins almost instantly after an injury to the blood vessel has damaged the endothelium lining the blood vessel. Exposure of blood to the subendothelial space initiates two processes: changes in platelets, and the exposure of subendothelial tissue factor to plasma Factor VII, which ultimately leads to cross-linked fibrin formation. Platelets immediately form a plug at the site of injury; this is called primary hemostasis. Secondary hemostasis occurs simultaneously: additional coagulation (clotting) factors beyond Factor VII (listed below) respond in a cascade to form fibrin strands, which strengthen the platelet plug.

The plants have low energy needs, as they use relatively slow transport systems.  Plant transport systems move energy from leaves and raw materials from roots to all their parts.

• The xylem (tissue) moves water and minerals obtained from the soil to all other parts of the plants.
• The phloem (tissue) transports products of photosynthesis from the leaves (where they are synthesized) to other parts of the plant.

Breathing is the physical process where you inhale and exhale air in and out of your lungs. Inhaling brings in air containing Oxygen, which is absorbed and exchanged for Carbon Dioxide. The Carbon Dioxide, now in the air inside your lungs, is expelled when you exhale. The Oxygen is carried in your blood to the cells around your body where respiration takes place. Respiration is a chemical reaction where Oxygen is used to breakdown Glucose in order to generate energy which is then used by the cell to function.

Two different kinds of vaccine are available: an inactivated (killed) polio vaccine (IPV) and a live attenuated oral polio vaccine (OPV). OPV consists of a mixture of the three live attenuated poliovirus serotypes.

Inactivated Polio Vaccine is produced from wild-type poliovirus strains of each serotype that have been inactivated (killed) with formalin. It is an injection able vaccine and can be administered alone or in combination with other vaccines (e.g., diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, and haemophilus influenza).

In some rare cases, OPV can lead to vaccine-associated paralytic polio (VAPP) or vaccine derived poliovirus (VDPV). VAPP is associated with a single dose of OPV administered in a child or can occur in a close unvaccinated or non-immune contact of the vaccine recipient who is excreting the mutated virus. A VDPV is a very rare strain of poliovirus, genetically changed from the original strain contained in OPV. VDPV can cause paralysis in humans and develop the capacity for sustained circulation.

The Government has proposed a ban on the use of antibiotic Colistin that is widely used in the meat and poultry industry in India to make animals grow faster. 2.     The indiscriminate use of Colistin in farming increases the chance that bacteria would develop resistance to the drug, making it useless when treating patients.

Antitranspirants are compounds applied to the leaves of plants to reduce transpiration. They are used from Christmas trees, on cut flowers, on newly transplanted shrubs, and in other applications to preserve and protect plants from drying out too quickly.

These are of four types:

• Stomatal Closing
• Film forming
• Reflective
• Growth retardant

Lead Poisoning:

• Lead is a cumulative toxicant that affects multiple body systems and is particularly harmful to young children.
• Lead in the body is distributed to the brain, liver, kidney and bones. It is stored in the teeth and bones, where it accumulates over time. Human exposure is usually assessed through the measurement of lead in blood.
• Lead in bone is released into blood during pregnancy and becomes a source of exposure to the developing fetus.
• There is no known level of lead exposure that is considered safe.
• Lead exposure is preventable.

Glaucoma is a condition that causes damage to your eye’s optic nerve and gets worse over time. It’s often linked to a buildup of pressure inside your eye. Glaucoma tends to be inherited and may not show up until later in life.

The increased pressure, called intraocular pressure, can damage the optic nerve, which transmits images to your brain. If the damage continues, glaucoma can lead to permanent vision loss. Without treatment, glaucoma can cause total permanent blindness within a few years.

A team of doctors led by Dr Shamee Shastry from the blood bank of Kasturba Medical College, Manipal identified a rare blood group called ‘pp’ or ‘P null’ phenotype. ABO and Rh D are the commonly typed blood group systems.

There are more than 200 minor blood group antigens that are found very rarely, other than the common ones- A, B and Rh. If 1 out of 1000 people has this kind of antigen, the blood group is considered rare. The person with rare blood group will lack the high-frequency antigen or multiple common antigens.

A cochlear implant is an electronic medical device that replaces the function of the damaged inner ear. Unlike hearing aids, which make sounds louder, cochlear implants bypass the damaged hair cells of the inner ear (cochlea) to provide sound signals to the brain.

The cochlear implant technology can help people who:

• have moderate to profound hearing loss in both ears
• receive little or no benefit from hearing aids
• score 50% or less on sentence recognition tests done by hearing professionals in the ear to be implanted
• score 60% or less on sentence recognition tests done by hearing professionals in the non-implanted ear or in both ears with hearing aids.

Many people have cochlear devices in both ears (bilateral). Listening with two ears can improve your ability to identify the direction of sound and separate the sounds you want to hear from those you don’t.

Leprosy:

• Leprosy is one of the oldest diseases in recorded history.
• It is a chronic, progressive bacterial infection caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae.
• It primarily affects the nerves of the extremities, the skin, the lining of the nose, the upper respiratory tract and the eyes.
• Known to occur at all agesranging from early infancy to very old age.
• Common in many countries, especially those with a tropical or subtropical climate.
• It is also known as Hansen’s disease

Ruminants include cattle, sheep, goats, buffalo, deer, elk, giraffes and camels. These animals all have a digestive system that is uniquely different from our own.

Instead of one compartment to the stomach they have four. Of the four compartments the rumen is the largest section and the main digestive centre. The rumen is filled with billions of tiny microorganisms that are able to break down grass and other coarse vegetation that animals with one stomach (including humans, chickens and pigs) cannot digest. Ruminant animals do not completely chew the grass or vegetation they eat. The partially chewed grass goes into the large rumen where it is stored and broken down into balls of “cud”. When the animal has eaten its fill it will rest and “chew its cud”. The cud is then swallowed once again where it will pass into the next three compartments—the reticulum, the omasum and the true stomach, the abomasum.

Bowman’s capsule (or the Bowman capsule, capsula glomeruli, or glomerular capsule) is a cup-like sack at the beginning of the tubular component of a nephron in the mammalian kidney that performs the first step in the filtration of blood to form urine. A glomerulus is enclosed in the sac.

The OECD Development Centre’s Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) is a cross-country measure of discrimination against women in social institutions (formal and informal laws, social norms, and practices) across 180 countries.

The UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), with ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), the Global Task Force and Cities Alliance, will co-host the first Cities Summit during the fourth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-4) in Nairobi, Kenya. Convening under the theme, ‘Innovation for Livable and Sustainable Cities: Multi-level and Integrated Urban Systems,’ the Summit will provide a forum for high-level dialogue between mayors, ministers, the private sector and civil society.

Malham cave at the southern tip of Israel’s Dead Sea is the world’s longest salt cave system.

The cavern, which extends over six miles (10km) underground, is believed to be even more extensive than Iran’s Namakdan cave, which was previously thought to be the longest salt cave.

They tend to exist in highly arid regions, like the area around the Dead Sea, which is located at the lowest point on Earth and is too salty to support animal life.

Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a socio-political movement which uses nonviolent resistance to protest against climate breakdown, biodiversity loss, and the risk of human extinction and ecological collapse.

Extinction Rebellion was established in the United Kingdom in May 2018

Naikpod Tribe – Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

Yanadi Tribe – Andhra Pradesh

Kurichiya tribe – Kerala

The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) is an intergovernmental organization promoting the sustainable management and conservation of tropical forests and the expansion and diversification of international trade in tropical timber from sustainably managed and legally harvested forests.

• Develops internationally agreed policy guidelines and norms to encourage sustainable forest management (SFM) and sustainable tropical timber industries and trade.
• Assists tropical member countries to adapt such guidelines and norms to local circumstances and to implement them in the field through projects and other activities.
• Collects, analyzes and disseminates data on the production and trade of tropical timber.
• Promotes sustainable tropical timber supply chains.
• Helps develop capacity in tropical forestry.

Note:

• The 2019 International Day of Forests (21 March) is focusing on the theme, ‘Forests and Education,’ and aims to highlight the importance of education in achieving sustainable forest management (SFM)

Source:

https://sdg.iisd.org/news/on-international-day-fao-announces-two-forest-education-initiatives/

Dosmoche is a festival celebrated in Ladakh, India

Source:

https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/seeking-to-protect-the-tradition/article26531965.ece

Humpback mahseer is a species of a large freshwater fish also called the tiger of the water and found only in the Cauvery river basin (including Kerala’s Pambar, Kabini and Bhavani rivers).

The humpback mahseer is endemic to the Western Ghats in southern India.

Recently IUCN declared it as Critically Endangered.

Tiger is endangered as per IUCN.

So, all the statements are correct.

Source:

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/the-hump-backed-mahseer-critically-endangered/article26653559.ece

The UNGA launched the International Decade for Action: Water for sustainable development (2018-2028) on World Water Day, which is celebrated annually on 22 March.

Source:

http://sdg.iisd.org/events/launch-of-international-decade-for-action-water-for-sustainable-development-2018-2028/

Fall Armyworm attack: Deadliest pest epidemic grips India. In nine months, the pest has spread to 10 Indian states causing widespread crop damage.

Source:

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/agriculture/fall-armyworm-attack-low-maize-yield-reduces-cattle-feed-63700