Today's Headlines - 28 July 2023
Kargil Vijay Diwas
GS Paper - 2 (Polity)
Leaders across India’s political spectrum paid their tributes to India’s armed forces and the fallen martyrs on the occasion of the 24th anniversary of the Kargil Vijay Diwas. The Kargil war was imposed on India. At that time, India had tried to solve the issues with Pakistan through talks. During Operation Vijay, the Indian Army sent a message not only to Pakistan but to the whole world that when it comes to our national interests, our Army will not back down at any cost.
The Kargil War
The Kargil War officially ended on 26 July 1999, with the eviction of the last remaining Pakistani troops and infiltrators from positions on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC).
The conflict was triggered when infiltrators from Pakistan crossed the LoC and occupied high positions in Ladakh’s Kargil district.
The infiltrators were initially thought to be jihadis. But over the first few weeks, as the sheer scale of the invasion came to light, the role of the Pakistani state became undeniable.
Between mid-May and July, the Indian forces slowly recaptured critical positions from the Pakistanis, in the face of heavy casualties and numerous strategic and logistic difficulties, culminating with the Army announcing the complete withdrawal of all Pakistani regular and irregular troops from Kargil on 26 July 2023.
Indian casualties at the end of the War stood at 527 dead, 1,363 wounded and 1 PoW (Fl Lt K Nachiketa, whose MiG-27 was shot down during a strike operation).
Challenging conditions
The Kargil War posed multiple challenges to the Indian armed forces. On one hand, were the enemy infiltrators, well armed and supported by non-stop shelling by Pakistan artillery from across the border. On the other, were the conditions of Kargil itself.
Kargil is located at the northern edge of the LoC some 200 km northeast of Srinagar and 230 km west of Leh.
While the town of Kargil is itself at an altitude of 2,676 m (8,780 ft), Dras lies at a height of 3,300 m (10,800 ft) and the surrounding peaks rise to altitudes of 4,800 m (16,000 ft) to 5,500 m (18,000 ft).
These are extremely high altitudes, which cause severe physiological effects on the human body while also posing logistical and strategic challenges.
How the Army conquered Kargil’s conditions
The initial stages of the War taught some valuable lessons, as both the Army and the Air Force discovered that it was unprepared for such high-altitude combat at this scale.
Many soldiers suffered from altitude sickness which event caused a few casualties. The lack of equipment for fighting in such cold weather was another challenge.
On the other hand, the terrain and Pakistan’s constant shelling on the crucial NH 1A caused major logistical challenges.
Eventually, the Army modified its methods to overcome these challenges. Units initiated acclimatisation and training programs to better prepare the soldiers for the conditions.
Better cold-weather equipment was procured (though the Army remained lacking in this regard throughout the War).
Techniques for high-altitude assault were further honed. Instead of daytime frontal attacks, assaults increasingly featured small groups scaling near-vertical terrain.
#upsc #news #todayheadline #kargil #vijaydiwas #polity #pakistan #ladakh #indian #forces #loc #physiological #strategic #army #war #logistical #equipment
Kargil Vijay Diwas
GS Paper - 2 (Polity)
Leaders across India’s political spectrum paid their tributes to India’s armed forces and the fallen martyrs on the occasion of the 24th anniversary of the Kargil Vijay Diwas. The Kargil war was imposed on India. At that time, India had tried to solve the issues with Pakistan through talks. During Operation Vijay, the Indian Army sent a message not only to Pakistan but to the whole world that when it comes to our national interests, our Army will not back down at any cost.
The Kargil War
The Kargil War officially ended on 26 July 1999, with the eviction of the last remaining Pakistani troops and infiltrators from positions on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC).
The conflict was triggered when infiltrators from Pakistan crossed the LoC and occupied high positions in Ladakh’s Kargil district.
The infiltrators were initially thought to be jihadis. But over the first few weeks, as the sheer scale of the invasion came to light, the role of the Pakistani state became undeniable.
Between mid-May and July, the Indian forces slowly recaptured critical positions from the Pakistanis, in the face of heavy casualties and numerous strategic and logistic difficulties, culminating with the Army announcing the complete withdrawal of all Pakistani regular and irregular troops from Kargil on 26 July 2023.
Indian casualties at the end of the War stood at 527 dead, 1,363 wounded and 1 PoW (Fl Lt K Nachiketa, whose MiG-27 was shot down during a strike operation).
Challenging conditions
The Kargil War posed multiple challenges to the Indian armed forces. On one hand, were the enemy infiltrators, well armed and supported by non-stop shelling by Pakistan artillery from across the border. On the other, were the conditions of Kargil itself.
Kargil is located at the northern edge of the LoC some 200 km northeast of Srinagar and 230 km west of Leh.
While the town of Kargil is itself at an altitude of 2,676 m (8,780 ft), Dras lies at a height of 3,300 m (10,800 ft) and the surrounding peaks rise to altitudes of 4,800 m (16,000 ft) to 5,500 m (18,000 ft).
These are extremely high altitudes, which cause severe physiological effects on the human body while also posing logistical and strategic challenges.
How the Army conquered Kargil’s conditions
The initial stages of the War taught some valuable lessons, as both the Army and the Air Force discovered that it was unprepared for such high-altitude combat at this scale.
Many soldiers suffered from altitude sickness which event caused a few casualties. The lack of equipment for fighting in such cold weather was another challenge.
On the other hand, the terrain and Pakistan’s constant shelling on the crucial NH 1A caused major logistical challenges.
Eventually, the Army modified its methods to overcome these challenges. Units initiated acclimatisation and training programs to better prepare the soldiers for the conditions.
Better cold-weather equipment was procured (though the Army remained lacking in this regard throughout the War).
Techniques for high-altitude assault were further honed. Instead of daytime frontal attacks, assaults increasingly featured small groups scaling near-vertical terrain.
#upsc #news #todayheadline #kargil #vijaydiwas #polity #pakistan #ladakh #indian #forces #loc #physiological #strategic #army #war #logistical #equipment
Today's Headlines - 16 August 2023
Isro’s space probe to study the Sun
GS Paper - 3 (Space Technology)
The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) released images of the Aditya-L1 mission — the space agency’s first attempt to study the Sun. The satellite has reached the Satish Dhawan Space Center (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, for its integration with the launch vehicle, PSLV.
What is the Aditya-L1 mission?
The Aditya-L1 will observe the Sun from a close distance, and try to obtain information about its atmosphere and magnetic field.
It’s equipped with seven payloads (instruments) on board to study the Sun’s corona, solar emissions, solar winds and flares, and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), and will carry out round-the-clock imaging of the Sun.
Why is studying the Sun important?
Every planet, including Earth and the exoplanets beyond the Solar System, evolves — and this evolution is governed by its parent star.
The solar weather and environment affect the weather of the entire system. Variations in this weather can change the orbits of satellites or shorten their lives, interfere with or damage onboard electronics, and cause power blackouts and other disturbances on Earth. Knowledge of solar events is key to understanding space weather.
To learn about and track Earth-directed storms, and to predict their impact, continuous solar observations are needed.
Every storm that emerges from the Sun and heads towards Earth passes through L1, and a satellite placed in the halo orbit around L1 of the Sun-Earth system has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation/eclipses.
L1 refers to Lagrangian/Lagrange Point 1, one of five points in the orbital plane of the Earth-Sun system. Lagrange Points, named after Italian-French mathematician Josephy-Louis Lagrange, are positions in space where the gravitational forces of a two-body system (like the Sun and the Earth) produce enhanced regions of attraction and repulsion.
These can be used by spacecraft to reduce fuel consumption needed to remain in position. The L1 point is home to the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Satellite (SOHO), an international collaboration project of NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).
The L1 point is about 1.5 million km from Earth, or about one-hundredth of the way to the Sun. Aditya L1 will perform continuous observations looking directly at the Sun.
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, launched in 2018, has already gone far closer — but it will be looking away from the Sun.
The earlier Helios 2 solar probe, a joint venture between NASA and the space agency of erstwhile West Germany, went within 43 million km of the Sun’s surface in 1976.
#upsc #news #headline #ISRO #study #sun #space #technology #india #space #research #technology #aditya #mission #SDSC #satishdhawanspacecenter #srihorikota #andhrapradesh #PSLV #distance #magnetic #corona #solar #planet #weather #earth #repulsion #gravitational #forces #fuel #SOHO #NASA #germany #surface
Isro’s space probe to study the Sun
GS Paper - 3 (Space Technology)
The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) released images of the Aditya-L1 mission — the space agency’s first attempt to study the Sun. The satellite has reached the Satish Dhawan Space Center (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, for its integration with the launch vehicle, PSLV.
What is the Aditya-L1 mission?
The Aditya-L1 will observe the Sun from a close distance, and try to obtain information about its atmosphere and magnetic field.
It’s equipped with seven payloads (instruments) on board to study the Sun’s corona, solar emissions, solar winds and flares, and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), and will carry out round-the-clock imaging of the Sun.
Why is studying the Sun important?
Every planet, including Earth and the exoplanets beyond the Solar System, evolves — and this evolution is governed by its parent star.
The solar weather and environment affect the weather of the entire system. Variations in this weather can change the orbits of satellites or shorten their lives, interfere with or damage onboard electronics, and cause power blackouts and other disturbances on Earth. Knowledge of solar events is key to understanding space weather.
To learn about and track Earth-directed storms, and to predict their impact, continuous solar observations are needed.
Every storm that emerges from the Sun and heads towards Earth passes through L1, and a satellite placed in the halo orbit around L1 of the Sun-Earth system has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation/eclipses.
L1 refers to Lagrangian/Lagrange Point 1, one of five points in the orbital plane of the Earth-Sun system. Lagrange Points, named after Italian-French mathematician Josephy-Louis Lagrange, are positions in space where the gravitational forces of a two-body system (like the Sun and the Earth) produce enhanced regions of attraction and repulsion.
These can be used by spacecraft to reduce fuel consumption needed to remain in position. The L1 point is home to the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Satellite (SOHO), an international collaboration project of NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).
The L1 point is about 1.5 million km from Earth, or about one-hundredth of the way to the Sun. Aditya L1 will perform continuous observations looking directly at the Sun.
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, launched in 2018, has already gone far closer — but it will be looking away from the Sun.
The earlier Helios 2 solar probe, a joint venture between NASA and the space agency of erstwhile West Germany, went within 43 million km of the Sun’s surface in 1976.
#upsc #news #headline #ISRO #study #sun #space #technology #india #space #research #technology #aditya #mission #SDSC #satishdhawanspacecenter #srihorikota #andhrapradesh #PSLV #distance #magnetic #corona #solar #planet #weather #earth #repulsion #gravitational #forces #fuel #SOHO #NASA #germany #surface
Today's Headlines - 18 August 2023
IITG produces pluripotent stem cells
GS Paper - 3 (Biotechnology)
Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG) in collaboration with scientists from Christian Medical College, Vellore, have reported a method to convert regular human skin cells into pluripotent stem cells. The human body is made of many kinds of cells – nerve cells, heart cells, liver cells, pancreatic cells, and so on, with unique structures and functions.
More about the News
All these distinctive cells originate from stem cells to perform a specific function. Lack of any of this cell type in a human body will result in a disease or disorder.
Thus, stem cells can be programmed to develop into mature functional cells, which can be used to replace damaged cells.
Stem Cells have to be extracted from embryos or parts of the adult human body like the brain or bone marrow, which is challenging from both ethical and practical aspects.
Thus, scientists are exploring techniques to convert ordinary cells, like skin or blood cells, into pluripotent stem cells – stem cells that can be programmed to develop into any other form of an adult cell type. These cells are called Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs).
The most important advantage of iPSCs is their potential to produce patient-specific cells which can be transplanted to the site of injury or the site of tissue degeneration due to various disease conditions, and thereby, eliminate any chance of immune rejection.
The conversion of mature cells into iPSCs was first shown by Prof. Shinya Yamanaka, who won the Nobel Prize in 2012 for his discovery.
How it Prepared
This research involved introducing specific genes into mature cells to convert them into iPSCs.
The researchers have used a safe, integration-free method, and have introduced genes such as OCT3/4, SOX2, KLF4, L-MYC, LIN28 and a p53 shRNA into skin cells to transform them into iPSCs.
The iPSCs produced by the IITG and CMC researchers were versatile, maintained their genetic makeup well, and could potentially differentiate into a range of body cell types.
Additionally, tests confirmed that the DNA structure of the cells was not altered and matched that of the original cells. Importantly, these iPSCs were found to be free from bacterial contamination.
iPSCs are useful for the design of stem-cell therapies for a range of ailments. iPSCs can be programmed to become beta islet cells to treat diabetes, blood cells to treat leukaemia, or neurons to treat disorders like Parkinson's and Alzheimer’s diseases.
Given the importance and potential of stem cells, the Government of India actively supports stem cell research through the Department of Health Research-Indian Council of Medical Research (DHR-ICMR).
This commitment spans two decades and includes initiatives such as advanced research centres, thematic task forces, and iPSC generation.
The collaboration between IIT Guwahati and CMC Vellore aligns seamlessly with these efforts and India’s endeavour to be at the forefront of stem cell research.
#upsc #news #headline #IITG #pluripotent #stem #cells #biotechnology #technology #guwahati #biotechnology #christian #medical #college #vellore #human #pluripotent #nervecells #pancreaticcells #unique #functions #disease #adult #practical #IPSC #shinyayamanaka #nobelprize #parkinson #alzheimer #diabetes #forces #research #DHR #ICMR #department #taskforces #india
IITG produces pluripotent stem cells
GS Paper - 3 (Biotechnology)
Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG) in collaboration with scientists from Christian Medical College, Vellore, have reported a method to convert regular human skin cells into pluripotent stem cells. The human body is made of many kinds of cells – nerve cells, heart cells, liver cells, pancreatic cells, and so on, with unique structures and functions.
More about the News
All these distinctive cells originate from stem cells to perform a specific function. Lack of any of this cell type in a human body will result in a disease or disorder.
Thus, stem cells can be programmed to develop into mature functional cells, which can be used to replace damaged cells.
Stem Cells have to be extracted from embryos or parts of the adult human body like the brain or bone marrow, which is challenging from both ethical and practical aspects.
Thus, scientists are exploring techniques to convert ordinary cells, like skin or blood cells, into pluripotent stem cells – stem cells that can be programmed to develop into any other form of an adult cell type. These cells are called Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs).
The most important advantage of iPSCs is their potential to produce patient-specific cells which can be transplanted to the site of injury or the site of tissue degeneration due to various disease conditions, and thereby, eliminate any chance of immune rejection.
The conversion of mature cells into iPSCs was first shown by Prof. Shinya Yamanaka, who won the Nobel Prize in 2012 for his discovery.
How it Prepared
This research involved introducing specific genes into mature cells to convert them into iPSCs.
The researchers have used a safe, integration-free method, and have introduced genes such as OCT3/4, SOX2, KLF4, L-MYC, LIN28 and a p53 shRNA into skin cells to transform them into iPSCs.
The iPSCs produced by the IITG and CMC researchers were versatile, maintained their genetic makeup well, and could potentially differentiate into a range of body cell types.
Additionally, tests confirmed that the DNA structure of the cells was not altered and matched that of the original cells. Importantly, these iPSCs were found to be free from bacterial contamination.
iPSCs are useful for the design of stem-cell therapies for a range of ailments. iPSCs can be programmed to become beta islet cells to treat diabetes, blood cells to treat leukaemia, or neurons to treat disorders like Parkinson's and Alzheimer’s diseases.
Given the importance and potential of stem cells, the Government of India actively supports stem cell research through the Department of Health Research-Indian Council of Medical Research (DHR-ICMR).
This commitment spans two decades and includes initiatives such as advanced research centres, thematic task forces, and iPSC generation.
The collaboration between IIT Guwahati and CMC Vellore aligns seamlessly with these efforts and India’s endeavour to be at the forefront of stem cell research.
#upsc #news #headline #IITG #pluripotent #stem #cells #biotechnology #technology #guwahati #biotechnology #christian #medical #college #vellore #human #pluripotent #nervecells #pancreaticcells #unique #functions #disease #adult #practical #IPSC #shinyayamanaka #nobelprize #parkinson #alzheimer #diabetes #forces #research #DHR #ICMR #department #taskforces #india