1. Two wild plant species are now extinct!
Tags: Science and Technology
According to the Journal of Threatened Taxa two species of plants first collected by botanists more than 125 years ago from Meghalaya and the Andaman Islands are now extinct in the wild.
Highlights:
- Study blames climate change, human interference and over-exploitation, or natural calamities for disappearance.
- Classified under the genus Boesenbergia, the species belongs to the family Zingiberaceae, the ginger family of flowering plants.
- Boesenbergia rubrolutea was first collected from the Khasi Hills, Thera, in Meghalaya on October 10, 1886. Specimens of Boesenbergia albolutea were collected from the Andamans and sent to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England, in 1889.
- The authors have recommended listing them as ‘Extinct in the Wild (EW) (IUCN 2019)’ under the IUCN Red List category.
IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) ● IUCN is a membership union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations ● Created in 1948, it is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. ● It is headquartered in Gland, Switzerland. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species. |
2. Science and Technology
Tags: Science and Technology
COVID-19
1. Omicron, “variant of concern”: Impact on World
With the emergence of Omicron and its virulence yet uncertain, concerns have emerged about whether the third dose of COVID vaccines should be administered in India.
- The United States and the United Kingdom have approved booster doses for all adults, six months after the completion of their second dose.
2. No International flights from India
The Government cited concerns over the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and indefinitely postponed the full resumption of scheduled international flights from December 15.
3. First Case of Omicron in India
India has confirmed two cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus in Karnataka.
- The announcement was made following confirmation from the Indian SARSCoV2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) that monitors the genomic variations of the pandemic.
4. The Indian SARSCoV2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) advises booster dose
Top Indian genome scientists have suggested booster doses of Covid vaccines for those above 40 years of age with preference to high risk and high exposure population.
- The recommendations to administer booster dose to those above 40 years of age was made in INSACOG’s weekly bulletin on November 29, before it confirmed the first cases of the new variant in India.
5. ZyCoV-D to be launched in seven States
The first COVID vaccine ZyCoV-D is cleared by India’s drug regulator for those aged 12 and above.
- This is the first COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed on a plasmid DNA platform to be commercially introduced anywhere in the world.
The Omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 likely acquired at least one of its mutations by picking up a snippet of genetic material from another virus - possibly one that causes the common cold - present in the same infected cells, according to researchers. This genetic sequence does not appear in any earlier versions of the coronavirus, called SARS-CoV-2, but is ubiquitous in many other viruses including those that cause the common cold, and also in the human genome, researchers said. |
6. Cyclone Jawad to hit Eastern coastal area of India
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning that the deep depression in the Bay of Bengal will develop into a cyclonic storm “Jawad” and it will affect north Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha and north-northeast of West Bengal.
The cyclone has been named “Jawad” by Saudi Arabia.
7. Facial recognition at airports from 2022
- AAI is working on a project of FRT-based Biometric Boarding System as part of the first phase of DigiYatra Implementation at four airports, including Varanasi, Pune, Kolkata, and Vijayawada.
