KANISHKBIOSCIENCE E -LEARNING PLATFORM - Help you think beyond the issue but relevant to the issue from UPSC prelims and Mains exam point of view. These linkages provided in this ‘hint’ format help you frame possible questions in your mind that might arise(or an examiner might imagine) from each current event. InstaLinks also connect every issue to their static or theoretical background. This helps you study a topic holistically and add new dimensions to every current event to help you think analytically.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiDqLyxXg_CtLFZoWTFOWjw
What is Cord blood banking?
Context:
Community Cord Blood Banking, a stem cell banking initiative introduced by LifeCell in 2017, has helped save the life of a seven-year-old girl from Nashik in Maharashtra who was suffering from aplastic anaemia.
What is Cord Blood?
Cord blood (short for umbilical cord blood) is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord and placenta post-delivery.
It contains special cells called hematopoietic stem cells that can be used to treat some types of diseases.
What is Cord blood banking?
Cord blood banking is the process of collecting the cord blood and extracting and cryogenically freezing its stem cells and other cells of the immune system for potential future medical use.
It contains special cells called hematopoietic stem cells that can be used to treat some types of diseases.
What is Cord blood banking?
Cord blood banking is the process of collecting the cord blood and extracting and cryogenically freezing its stem cells and other cells of the immune system for potential future medical use.
Globally, cord blood banking is recommended as a source of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for haematological cancers and disorders where its use is recommended.
For all other conditions, the use of cord blood as a source of stem cells is not yet established.
What Can It Be Used For?
The umbilical cord fluid is loaded with stem cells.
1 They can treat cancer, blood diseases like anemia, and some immune system disorders, which disrupt your body’s ability to defend itself.
2 The fluid is easy to collect and has 10 times more stem cells than those collected from bone marrow.
3 Stem cells from cord blood rarely carry any infectious diseases and are half as likely to be rejected as adult stem cells.
Concerns associated with stem cell banking:
1 Over the past decade, stem cell banking has been aggressively marketed even as its use is still in experimental stages. But these companies charge enormous fees from parents to preserve cells.
2 The concern here is that it is merely by emotional marketing that companies convince parents to bank the cells for several years promising future therapeutic use.
Prelims Link:
1 What are stem cells?
2 Types of stem cells?
3 Their benefits?
4 What is stem cell therapy?
5 Various projects in this regard.
Mains Link:
What is cord blood? How to- be parents are falling prey to the emotional marketing tactics by stem cell banking companies? Discuss.
Sources: the Hindu.
Facts for Prelims:
Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge:
1 Launched by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs (HUA) Ministry.
2 It is a challenge for 243 cities to switch over to mechanised cleaning of sewers and septic tanks by April 30, 2021.
3 It aims to ensure that no life of any sewer or septic tank cleaner is ever lost again owing to the issue of ‘hazardous’ cleaning.
4 The initiative was launched on the occasion of World Toilet Day (19th November).
Background:
The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act (2013) and various judgements of Hon’ble Supreme Court expressly prohibit hazardous cleaning, i.e. manual entry into a septic tank or sewer without protective gear and observing operating procedures.
Five Eyes:
It is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
These countries are parties to the multilateral UKUSA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperation in signals intelligence.
Origin: It began in 1946 when the United States and the United Kingdom agreed to an open exchange of intelligence on the communications of foreign nations. It was expanded when Canada joined the alliance in 1948, followed by Australia and New Zealand in 1956.
Willow warbler:
1 It has been sighted for the first time in the country in Thiruvanathapuram.
2 It is one of the longest migrating small birds that breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic.
IUCN Status: Least Concern.
17 species of warblers have been recorded from Kerala and the willow warbler forms the 18th warbler and 533rd species of bird to be recorded from the State.
India now has two of world’s 100 most powerful supercomputers:
Global information technology service provider Atos has announced that PARAM Siddhi – AI has been ranked 63 on the TOP500 ranking. This makes it India’s largest and fastest Supercomputer.
PARAM Siddhi – AI supercomputer has been established under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM), which is an initiative by the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
Notably, PARAM Siddhi – AI isn’t the only Indian supercomputer in the Top100 list. Pratyush that is used for weather forecasting was ranked 78th in the list.
Global Supercomputers:
The Top500 project tracks the most powerful supercomputers in the world and is published twice a year.
Japanese supercomputer Fugaku (442 petaflops) and IBM’s Summit (148.8 petaflops) are the two most powerful supercomputers in the world, according to the list.
Global HIV Prevention Coalition:
1 It is a global coalition of United Nations Member States, donors, civil society organizations.
2 Established in 2017 to support global efforts to accelerate HIV prevention.
3 It includes the 25 highest HIV burden countries, UNAIDS Cosponsors, donors, civil society and private sector organizations.
Goal: It seeks to ensure accountability for delivering prevention services at scale in order to achieve the targets of the 2016 Political Declaration on Ending AIDS, including a 75% reduction in HIV infections towards fewer than 500 000 infections by 2020, and to ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030.
{ With input from news agency language)
If you like this story, share it with a friend!
We are a non-profit organization. Help us financially to keep our journalism free from government and corporate pressure.
0 Comments