Science & Technology: July 2022 Current Affairs | Science & Technology for UPSC CSE PDF Download

Hadron Collider Run 3 

Why in News?

The European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) has reignited the Large Hadron Collider for the third time in July2022 — 10 years after it enabled scientists to find the ‘God particle’ or Higgs Boson.

What Do We Need to Know About LHC?

About:

• The Large Hadron Collider is a giant, complex machine built to study particles that are the smallest known building blocks of all things.
• In its operational state, it fires two beams of protons almost at the speed of light in opposite directions inside a ring of superconducting electromagnets.
• The magnetic field created by the superconducting electromagnets keeps the protons in a tight beam and guides them along the way as they travel through beam pipes and finally collide.
• LHC’s powerful electromagnets carry almost as much current as a bolt of lightning; they must be kept chilled.

Latest Upgrade:

• This is the LHC’s third run, it will operate round-the-clock for four years at unprecedented energy levels of 13 tera electron volts. (An electron volt is the energy given to an electron by accelerating it through 1 volt of electric potential difference).
• Scientists are aiming to be delivering 1.6 billion proton-proton collisions per second” for the ATLAS and CMS experiments.
  • ATLAS: Largest general purpose particle detector experiment at the LHC.
  • CMS: one of the largest international scientific collaborations in history, with the same goals as ATLAS, but which uses a different magnet-system design.

How has LHC Performed in Previous Runs?

First Run:

• A decade ago, CERN had announced to the world the discovery of the Higgs boson or the ‘God Particle’ during the LHC’s first run.
  • The discovery concluded the decades-long quest for the ‘force-carrying’ subatomic particle, and proved the existence of the Higgs mechanism, a theory put forth in the mid-sixties.
  • This led to Peter Higgs and his collaborator François Englert being awarded the Nobel Prize for physics in 2013.
  • The Higgs boson and its related energy field are believed to have played a vital role in the creation of the universe.

Second Run:

• It began in 2015 and lasted till 2018. The second season of data taking produced five times more data than Run 1.

What Do We Know About God Particle?

• In 2012, the Nobel-winning discovery of the Higgs boson (also known as 'God particle') validated the Standard Model of physics, which also predicts that about 60% of the time a Higgs boson will decay to a pair of bottom quarks.
• In 1960s Peter Higgs was the first person to suggest that this particle might exist.
  • The Higgs field was proposed in 1964 as a new kind of field that fills the entire Universe and gives mass to all elementary particles. The Higgs boson is a wave in that field. Its discovery confirms the existence of the Higgs field.
• The Standard Model of Physics:
  • The Standard Model of particle physics is the theory which describes three of the four known fundamental forces (the electromagnetic, weak, and strong interactions, and not including the gravitational force) in the universe, as well as classifies all known elementary particles.
    (i) It explains how particles called quarks (which make up protons and neutrons) and leptons (which include electrons) make up all known matter.
    (ii) It also explains how force carrying particles, which belong to a broader group of bosons, influence the quarks and leptons.
  • Scientists do not yet know how to combine gravity with the Standard Model.
• The Higgs particle is a boson.
• Bosons are thought to be particles which are responsible for all physical forces.
• Other known bosons are the photon, the W and Z bosons, and the gluon.

 Monkeypox 

In News

• Recently, the World Health Organisation has declared the global monkeypox outbreak a 'public health emergency of international concern' (PHEIC).

About

• Declaring a global emergency means the monkeypox outbreak is an “extraordinary event” that could spill over into more countries and requires a coordinated global response.
• The WHO had previously declared emergencies for public health issues such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak, the Zika virus in Latin America in 2016, and the ongoing effort to eradicate polio.

Monkeypox

About: 

• It is a viral zoonotic disease that occurs primarily in tropical rainforest areas of Central and West Africa.
• Caused by monkeypox virus, a member of the Orthopoxvirus genus in the family Poxviridae.
• The clinical presentation of monkeypox resembles that of smallpox, a related orthopoxvirus infection which was declared eradicated worldwide in 1980.

Symptoms:

• Fever
• Rash and swollen lymph nodes
• Headaches and nausea

Transmission:

• Mostly transmitted to people from wild animals such as rodents and primates.
• Human-to-human transmission also occurs.
• Monkeypox virus is transmitted from one person to another by contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials such as bedding.

Outbreaks:

• The first case of monkeypox was reported in 1958 in monkeys and in humans in 1970 in the western Africa.
• Nigeria witnessed the biggest outbreak of the disease in 2017.
• Thereafter, the disease has been reported in many countries including the USA, Singapore, UK.

Difference from smallpox:

• The main difference between symptoms of smallpox and monkeypox is that the latter causes lymph nodes to swell (lymphadenopathy) while smallpox does not. 

Present Cases:

• The majority of reported cases of monkeypox currently are in males, and most of these cases occur among males who identified themselves as gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM), in urban areas, and are clustered in social and sexual networks.

5G & Fiberisation

Why in News?

India is preparing to auction off airwaves to rollout 5G services in the country.

• The infrastructure needed for such a rollout requires existing radio towers to be connected via optical-fibre cables.

What do we know about Optical Fibre?

About:

• Optical fibre is the backbone of the digital infrastructure — the data is transmitted by light pulses travelling through long strands of thin fibre.
• Metal wires are preferred for transmission in optical fibre communication as signals travel with fewer damages.
  • The optical fibre works on the principle of total internal reflection (TIR). 
• Light rays can be used to transmit a huge amount of data (In case of long straight wire without any bend).
  • In case of a bend, the optical cables are designed such that they bend all the light rays inwards (using TIR).

Benefits:

• High Speed:
  • Fiber provides more bandwidth and has standardized performance up to 10 Gbps and beyond, something that it is impossible to achieve when using copper.
  • More bandwidth means that fiber can carry more information with far greater efficiency than copper wire.
• Range of Transmission:
  • Since data travels in the form of light in fiber-optic cables, very little signal loss occurs during transmission and data can move at higher speeds and greater distances.
• Not susceptible to interference:
  • Fiber-optic cable is also much less susceptible to noise and electromagnetic interference than copper wire.
  • It is so efficient, in fact, that roughly 99.7% of the signal reaches the router in most cases.
• Durability:
  • Fiber-optic cable is completely immune to many environmental factors that affect copper cable.
  • The core is made of glass, which is an insulator, so no electric current can flow through.

What do we mean by Fiberisation?

About:

• The process of connecting radio towers with each other via optical fibre cables is called fiberisation.
• The backhaul is a component of the larger transport that is responsible for carrying data across the network.
• It is necessary to increase the density of mobile towers to provide better coverage to consumers and businesses.

Challenges in Fiberisation:

• Resources:
  • To reach the targeted level of fiberisation, India requires about Rs 2.2 lakh crore of investment to help fiberise 70% towers.
• Demand:
  • Government programmes like BharatNet and Smart Cities adds to the demand of fibre deployment, necessitating a complete tower fiberisation.
  • India laid out the vision in 2020 to connect every village in the country with optical fiber cable (OFC) in 1,000 days.
• Right to Way (RoW) Rules:
  • The Indian Telegraph RoW Rules 2016 were gazette notified by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Govt. of India in 2016.
    (i) While all States/UTs are required to implement these rules, they are not in complete alignment and still require certain amendments to align.
    (ii) Several districts and local bodies have not agreed to the RoW policies as notified in those respective States and are following their own bylaws overriding the State RoW policies aligned with the RoW rules, 2016.

What is India’s Status in Fiberisation?

• To transition into 5G, India needs at least 16 times more fibre, according to estimates by STL, a technology company specialised in optical fibers and cables.
• India at present connects only 30% of India’s telecom towers.
  • India exported optical fibre worth USD138 million to over 132 countries between April 2020 and November 2021. 
  • A little more than 30% of mobile towers have fibre connectivity; this needs to be scaled up to at least 80%.
• The fibre kilometer (fkm) per capita in India is lower than other key markets.
  • Ideally, a country needs 1.3 km of fibre per capita to ensure good fiberisation.
  • India’s fkm is just 0.09 compared to 1.35 in Japan, 1.34 in the U.S. and 1.3 in China.
• These tower sites which are connected via fibre are called fibre point of presence (POP).
  • Currently these fibre POPs at a tower site can handle data at one to five Gbps speed.

How can Satellite Communication assist in 5G Deployment?

• As Processing power needs to be distributed from centralised data centres to edge servers closer to users, Satellite communication can provide high-capacity backhaul connectivity to large numbers of edge servers over wide areas.
• It can facilitate 5G broadband connectivity to underserved areas where it is not feasible to deploy terrestrial infrastructure like remote villages, islands or mountainous regions.
• Satellite-based networks are the only means for delivering 5G broadband to users on board moving vessels, including cars, ships, airplanes and high-speed trains.
  • Space-based broadcast capabilities support over-the-air software updates for connected cars anywhere in the world.

Way Forward

• Production-Linked Incentive:
  • In order to boost domestic manufacturing of optical fibre, the government should consider introducing a PLI scheme that aims to give companies incentives on incremental sales from optical fibre manufactured in domestic units.
• Right to Way (RoW) Rules:
  • GatiShakti Sanchar online portal can enable centralisation of RoW approvals for telecom infrastructure projects, including 5G and help operators to deploy required infrastructure for the upcoming 5G rollout in a timely manner.
  • Recently, DoT revised the RoW rules, making it easier to install aerial optical fibre cable in the country.
  • This can enable infrastructure providers to deploy cables overhead via street light poles and traffic light posts.

Since 5G technology is a part of technology ,so to read more information on this topic:

• Achievements of Indians in Science & Technology 

Anthrax Outbreak in Kerala

Context

• Surveillance and preventive measures were intensified at Athirappilly in Kerala’s Thrissur as anthrax has been confirmed in wild boars found dead in the area.

 About

• Anthrax is an infectious disease caused by gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria known as Bacillus anthracis.
• The spores that house Anthrax bacteria are naturally present in soils.
• It commonly affects domestic and wild animals around the world.
• People can get sick with anthrax if they come in contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products.
• Anthrax can cause severe illness in both humans and animals.
• There's no evidence that anthrax is transmitted from person to person but it's possible that anthrax skin lesions may be contagious through direct contact.
• Signs and symptoms can include skin sores, vomiting and shock.
• Prompt treatment with antibiotics can cure most anthrax infections.
• Anthrax vaccination is recommended for people at high risk of infection.
• Inhaled anthrax is more difficult to treat and can be fatal. Anthrax is very rare in the developed world. However, the illness remains a concern because the bacteria have been used in bioterrorism attacks in the United States.
• The American disease control arms of the government have categorized Bacillus anthracis as a Category A threat, a rank designated for dangerous elements that pose a hazard to national security.
  

Oncolytic Viruses

Context: 
Recently, the human trial of a cancer-killing virus started

What is Oncolytic Virotherapy?

• Oncolytic viruses can kill cancer cells while leaving nearby healthy cells and tissues intact.
• In oncolytic virotherapy, the treatment also exerts its influence by activating an antitumor immune response made of immune cells such as Natural Killer (NK) cells.
• However, sometimes those natural killers limit the oncolytic viruses, and so despite the exciting development in the OV field in recent years, there is room for improvement to tackle some limitations, including the relatively weak therapeutic activity and lack of means for effective systemic delivery.

What is the Novel Approach?

• A region of the gene is deleted which shows to activate the signaling pathway that enables the virus to replicate in normal cells.
• It consists of a new oncolytic virus called FusOn-H2, based on the Herpes simplex 2 virus, (HSV-2), commonly known as genital herpes.
• Arming FusOn-H2 with a chimeric NK engager that can engage the infiltrated natural killer cells with tumour cells can significantly enhance the effectiveness of this virotherapy.

What is Cancer?

About:

• It is a large group of diseases that can start in almost any organ or tissue of the body when abnormal cells grow uncontrollably, go beyond their usual boundaries to invade adjoining parts of the body and/or spread to other organs. The latter process is called metastasizing and is a major cause of death from cancer.
• A neoplasm and malignant tumor are other common names for cancer.
• Lung, prostate, colorectal, stomach and liver cancer are the most common types of cancer in men, while breast, colorectal, lung, cervical and thyroid cancer are the most common among women.

Cancer Burden:

• Cancer remains as one of the leading causes of adult illness and death due to chronic and Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) world-over including in India.
• According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cancer is the second leading cause of death globally and in 2018, there were approximately 18 million cases globally, of which 1.5 million were in India alone.

Prevention:

• Between 30% and 50% of cancer deaths could be prevented by modifying or avoiding the key risk factors.
• Key risk factors include tobacco use, alcohol use, diet, exposure to ultraviolet radiation, pollution, chronic infections, etc.

Treatment:

• Options include surgery, cancer medicines and/or radiotherapy, administered alone or in combination.
• Palliative care, which focuses on improving the quality of life of patients and their families, is an essential component of cancer care.

What are the Related Initiatives?

• National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke
• National Cancer Grid
• National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority
• International Agency for Research on Cancer
• National Cancer Awareness Day