Current Affairs 25th July 2017

Current Affairs 25th July 2017 - Important Points

• Public can become Citizen Scientist during Total Solar Eclipse stated by - NASA
•  Mindanao martial law is agreed to extend to end of year by - Philippine Congress
• Compound that can combat effects of Zika virus discovered by - Spanish scientists
• Mobile app Aarambh for road maintenance launched by - Union Government
• Captain of ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 team - Mithali Raj
• Renowned Indian scientist Yash Pal passed away on - 24th July 2017
• App to help disabled find accessible public places - BillionAbles
• Stapler pins in tea bags from January 2018 to be banned by - FSSAI

Current Affairs 25th July 2017 - Details

Public can become Citizen Scientist during Total Solar Eclipse stated by - NASA

NASA has extended an invitation to eclipse viewers from all around America to participate in a nationwide science experiment by collecting cloud and air temperature data and reporting it through their phones during US total solar eclipse.
This invitation is being extended under the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program.
This NASA-supported education and research program has its main focus to encourage students and citizen scientists to collect and analyze the observations of environment.

 Mindanao martial law is agreed to extend to end of year by - Philippine Congress

Philippine lawmakers voted to retain martial law on the southern island of Mindanao until the end of the year on 22nd July 2017. The step gave President Rodrigo Duterte more time to handle armed extremists allied with the Islamic State group.
Some 261 legislators agreed to increase military rule in a seven hour-long joint special session of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

More about Mindanao island

• It is the second largest island in the Philippines divided into 6 Regions; Caraga, Davao,Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Soccsksargen, and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
• It is considered the food basket of the Philippines.
• Violent conflicts in the southwestern regions of Mindanao were started in the 1960s.
• These conflicts led to the 1971 Manili Massacre, Pata Island Massacre, the foundation of the Moro
• National Liberation Front, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and the formation of the Ilaga.
• President Estrada declared an "All Out War" against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, after the militant group committed a series of terrorist attacks on government buildings, civilians and foreigners in March 2000.
• In December 2009, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo officially placed Maguindanao under a state of martial law following that Maguindanao Massacre.

Compound that can combat effects of Zika virus discovered by - Spanish scientists

Researchers from a southeastern Spanish University have announced the discovery of a molecule on 22nd July 2017 that could be used to combat the effects of Zika virus.
According to a statement released by the San Antonio Catholic University of Murcia, researchers from its Bioinformatics and High-Performance Computing research group have discovered that a compound called ‘novobiocin’ that was previously used as an anti-biotic countered the mosquito-borne disease symptoms. "It's a drug that had been withdrawn from the market because of its lost potency as an antibiotic.
Important Highlights

•   The discovery of the structure of the molecular proteins involved in the Zika virus' replication process was first done an year ago only.
• Researchers focused on an antibiotic that had been previously prescribed to fight off nosocomial infections, the infections that are acquired inside the hospital.
• Now, both the university teams have now patented the molecule as an anti-Zika treatment.
• The compound, known as ‘novobiocin’ had phenomenal results when given to mice with a 100 percent cure rate.
• The only remaining task is to figure out the correct proportion of dose needed to cure humans with a 100 percent success rate.

Mobile app Aarambh for road maintenance launched by - Union Government

Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Panchayati Raj, Rural Development, Drinking Water & Sanitation, and Deborah Greenfield, Deputy Director General (Policy) of the International Labour Organization (ILO) introduced a mobile app Aarambh for road maintenance on 24th July 2017.

Along with that, Greenfield and Tomar also launched a Concept Note and Guidance Note to Mobilize Funds to Maintain Rural Roads. The Concept Note outlines innovative ways, which can be adopted by the State Governments to mobilize additional funds for road maintenance and presenting some international best practices globally.

 Important highlights of App

• It is a mobile phone based app for performance based maintenance and community contracting to maintain rural roads.
• This mobile phone app targets at using Geographic Information System (GIS) based mapping to condition surveys, make road inventories, and producing cost estimates and other relevant data to prepare and monitor annual road maintenance plans.
• Its usage would greatly improve the service delivery of the state level institutions in planning and implementing performance.

Captain of ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 team - Mithali Raj

India skipper Mithali Raj was named as the Captain of the ICC Women's World Cup 2017 team by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on 24th July 2017.

Along with Mithali, Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma were the other two Indians included in the ICC's team. In 2009, She was first included in the team before this and this time she has been named for the second time in the tournament team at during the world cup.

As a Captain her selection came after she led India to the finals of the just-concluded ICC Women's World Cup. England won match over India just by nine runs in one of the most thrilling finals at the Lord's where Mithali scored a total of 409 runs during this 30 days tournament. After scoring 109 to enter into the semifinals , she won match by 186 runs.

Her other notable scores in the tournament were 71 against England as the tournament opener in Derby, 53 against Sri Lanka in Derby, 46 against the West Indies in Taunton, and against Australia in Bristol it was 69.

Renowned Indian scientist Yash Pal passed away on - 24th July 2017

Renowned Indian scientist and Padma Vibhushan awardee, Professor Yash Pal passed away at his residence in Noida on 24th July 2017. His last rites were held at 3 pm this afternoon. He is best known for his contributions to the study of cosmic rays, as an institution-builder. He was awarded with the Padma Bhushan in 1976 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2013. He became one of the leading science communicators of the country in his later years.

More about Yash Pal

• Born in 1926 in Jhang, now in Pakistan, he started his career at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), as a member of the Cosmic Rays group.
• The Government of India set up its Department of Space and embarked on an independent space program in 1972.
• In 1973, he took charge as the first Director of the newly set up Space Applications Center in Ahmadabad.
• He served as the Secretary General of the Second United Nations Conference on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in 1981- 1982.
• He later served as the Chairman of the University Grants Commission between 1986 and 1991. He also served as president of the Indian Physics Association.
• In October 2011 He was also awarded with the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for his excellence in academics, public administration and management.

 App to help disabled find accessible public places - BillionAbles

BillionAbles which is a Delhi-based start-up has launched a new app called BillionAbles aiming to assist people with disabilities to find tourist locations, accessible restaurants, and other public places across India. Sameer Garg, start-up’s founder stated that the app is India’s first lifestyle app for those with special needs.

He himself suffered a spinal cord injury at the age of 19 that left him with paralyzed lower limbs. He further added that currently a lot of organizations in India conduct accessible tours, provide skill-based training, run accessible cabs and provide facilities like ramps and washrooms, the information is not compiled and listed anywhere.

Garg conceptualised this concept and Deepak Kumar who is a 24-year-old student who is pursuing Engineering from Kurukshetra University in Haryana developed this.

Important Highlights

• The crowdsourced app lists over 1000 disabled friendly places all over India including accessible shops &  malls, accessible restaurants & hotels, , accessible entertainment joints, wellness, public transport, tours, cabs, disability events, washrooms and parking spaces.
• Users can filter the search result on the basis of features such as step-free access, Braille and sign language availability options or gluten free food.

Stapler pins in tea bags from January 2018 to be banned by - FSSAI

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) banned the use of stapler pins in tea bags on 24th July 2017. The decision is effective from 1st January 2018. The Use of stapler pins in tea bag is considered as a serious health hazard.

FSSAI confirmed that “The use of stapler pins in tea bags poses potential hazard to consumers since any loose staple pin consumed inadvertently with tea may cause a serious health hazard.”