About Hamataliwa mawlyngot:

• It is a new species of lynx spider.
• It was discovered from a hillside shrub in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills.
• Researchers found male and female specimens living on Molucca brambles growing along the slopes of the hills.
• It was named after Mawlyngot Village, where it was discovered.
• It marks the first recorded presence of the lynx spider genus Hamataliwa in Meghalaya.
  • Lynx spiders are agile hunters that do not build webs to trap prey.
  • Instead, they actively stalk insects among leaves and shrubs, relying on sharp vision and quick movements.
  • Because they prey on a wide range of insects, they are considered important natural predators in ecosystems and may also contribute to biological pest control in agricultural landscapes.
• While several species of Hamataliwa have been recorded from parts of China, Southeast Asia, and southern India, northeastern India remains poorly studied.
• The finding also helps bridge a gap in the known distribution of the genus between the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.

About Exercise Pitch Black:

• It is a biennial and multinational exercise hosted by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
• It is the RAAF’s flagship international flying exercise.
• The name ‘Pitch Black’ was derived from the emphasis on nighttime flying over large unpopulated areas.
• 2026 Edition:
  • It will run with operations based out of RAAF Bases Darwin and Tindal in the Northern Territory, as well as RAAF Base Amberley in Queensland.
  • It features a massive assembly of global air forces, providing an unparalleled platform for interoperability.
  • The exercise focuses on highly complex aerial manoeuvres, including offensive counter-air operations, air defence tracking, and tactical coordination between completely different styles of aircraft and communication systems.
  • The IAF has dispatched a highly capable multi-role task force to the exercise, ensuring robust participation across multiple operational spectrum.
  • For the IAF, training alongside advanced air assets from nations like the US, UK, Australia, France, and regional partners offers crucial exposure to contemporary air warfare tactics, electronic warfare defence, and modern network-centric operations.
  • Previous participation of India: The IAF has previously participated in the 2018, 2022, and 2024 editions of this exercise.

About Drop Shipping:

• Dropshipping is a retail business model in which a seller accepts customer orders without keeping the products in stock.
• Instead, when a customer places an order, the seller purchases the product from a third-party supplier, who then ships it directly to the customer.
• A dropshipper is an intermediary between consumers and suppliers, curating and promoting the goods that suppliers ship to customers.
• Many businesses prefer dropshipping because it removes costs like warehouse storage and unsold inventory.
• The dropshipping model is attractive to smaller retailers and entrepreneurs because it requires relatively little capital investment and overhead.
• Drop-shipping is not illegal, but there can be problems for buyers and sellers.

●   How Does Drop-Shipping Work?

• The company signs an agreement with a wholesaler, manufacturer, or other retailer to provide the goods it advertises.
• Customers place orders
• The company receives the order.
• The customer receives an order confirmation.
• The company forwards the order to the wholesaler, manufacturer, or other retailer.
• The wholesaler, manufacturer, or other retailer ships the order.
• Customers receive their product.

● Example:

• You list a phone case on your website for ₹500.
• A customer buys it for ₹500.
• You order it from a supplier for ₹300.
• The supplier ships it directly to the customer.
• Your gross profit is ₹200 (before marketing and other costs).

About Crohn’s Disease:

• It is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes swelling and irritation of the tissues, called inflammation, in the digestive tract.
• It can affect any part of digestive tract. But it usually affects the end of the small intestine and the beginning of the large intestine.
• The inflammation often spreads into the deeper layers of the bowel.
• Crohn’s disease can be both painful and debilitating. Sometimes, it may lead to serious or life-threatening complications.
• Causes:
  • People with a first-degree relative, such as a parent, sibling, or child, are at higher risk to have the disease.
  • Crohn’s disease can develop at any age, but usually first appears in people aged in their 20s and 30s.
  • It is more common in people living in the Western world, but it’s also becoming more common in developing countries.
• Treatment:
  • Crohn’s is a lifelong condition. There’s no known cure for Crohn’s disease.
  • But treatment can help manage symptoms, reduce inflammation, and live an active life.

About Indocolea devendrae:

• It is a new species of bryophyte plant.
• It was discovered in the forests of northern Kerala.
• It has been named 'Indocolea devendrae' in honour of noted bryologist and specialist in the study of non-flowering plants, Devendra Kumar Singh of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI).
• A unique feature of the newly identified plant is that it grows on the mushroom Phellinus fastuosus, which develops on tree trunks.
• Indocolea is an entirely new genus discovered in India and belongs to liverworts, a group within the bryophytes.

What is a Liverwort?

• It is a species of small nonvascular (lacking xylem and phloem) spore-producing plants.
• They are closely related to mosses and hornworts.
• Unlike flowering plants, liverworts lack true roots, stems, and leaves.
• Rather than having distinct stems and leaves, liverworts have a combined structure called a ‘’thallus’’ that branches, creating flattened lobes.
• They absorb water and nutrients directly through their surface.
• Liverworts are distributed worldwide, though most commonly in the tropics.
• The plants are not economically important to humans but do provide food for animals, facilitate the decay of logs, and aid in the disintegration of rocks by their ability to retain moisture.
• Liverworts are among the oldest terrestrial plants on Earth, with fossil records dating back over 470 million years.

About San Andreas Fault:

• Location: It is a major continental transform boundary that is situated in the extreme western part of the continent of North America.
• It is believed that the San Andreas Fault started to form about 30 million years ago in the mid-Cenozoic Era.
• It forms the border between two principal tectonic plates: the North American Plate on the eastern side and the Pacific Plate on the western side.
• Geologists classify the San Andreas Fault as a “strike-slip fault”, as the Pacific Plate slides laterally over the North American Plate in a northward direction.
• It is one of the world’s largest and most extensively studied faults.
• The northward movement along the San Andreas Fault had led to the creation of the Baja Peninsula.

What is Strike-slip Fault?

• It occurs in an area where two plates are sliding past horizontally with little to no vertical movement. 
• Strike-slip faults are found in California, the San Andreas Fault being the most famous, which has caused many powerful earthquakes.

About Venus flytrap:

• It is a small perennial carnivorous plant of the sundew family.
• Distribution: It is native to a limited region of North Carolina and South Carolina in the United States.
• Characteristics:
  • The plant grows in moist, acidic soil.
  • It grows in nutrient-poor environments and supplements its nutrition by capturing and digesting insects.
• Mechanism of Snapping:
  • The “trap” is made of two hinged lobes at the end of each leaf.
  • It uses specialized trigger hairs called trichomes located on the inner surface of the trap.
  • When an insect touches these hairs twice within a short period of time, the trap closes. ​Closure can occur in as little as one tenth of a second.
  • After the plant absorbs the nutrient-rich liquid produced by the digestive processes, the trap ​reopens, with the insect’s empty exoskeleton left behind.
  • This type of movement is called thigmonasty—a nondirectional plant response to being touched.
• Findings of the new Study:
  • The research says that when the trap is stimulated, the cell walls of the outer epidermal layer rapidly soften by roughly 30 to 40%, and cell wall becomes more flexible.
  • This releases internal stresses stored in the ‌tissue and causes ⁠the trap to bend and close.
  • When the trap snaps shut, the insect is sealed inside for digestion.

About 2-Bromo-4-Methylpropiophenone:

• It is an organic compound that falls under the category of aromatic ketones.
• It is most widely known as the primary starting material for manufacturing mephedrone (4-methylmethcathinone), a synthetic stimulant and psychotropic substance.
• It is primarily produced by specialised pharmaceutical manufacturers, as it’s highly valued in organic synthesis for several legal industrial applications.
• Properties:
  • It has a phenyl ring attached to a propiophenone group, substituted by a bromine atom at the 2-position and a methyl group at the 4-position.
  • Physically, 2-bromo-4-methylpropiophenone appears as a white or off-white crystalline
  • It is sparingly soluble in water but exhibits good solubility in various organic solvents such as ethanol, acetone, and chloroform.
• Applications:
  • It acts as an important intermediate in the synthesis of various pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and fine chemicals.
  • It exhibits potential biological activities, including antimicrobial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory effects.
  • It serves as a vital building block or intermediate for synthesising legal medical drugs, specifically analgesics, which are pain relievers, sedatives, and anticonvulsants (used to treat epilepsy and seizures). 

What is Controlled Substance?

• A controlled is generally a drug or chemical whose manufacture, possession, or use is regulated by a government, such as illicitly used drugs or prescription medications that are designated by law. 

About New GI Tags:

• Bhagaiya silk:
  • It is a hand spun silk textile mainly woven by Santhal tribal women.
  • These silk varieties, deeply rooted in local knowledge systems and indigenous craftsmanship, represent generations of skill passed down within rural communities.
• Kuchai silk:
  • It is produced by tussar silkworms cultivated on the trees of Asan and Arjun.
  • It is a part of ancient tradition of Jharkhand, which provides livelihood in rural areas.
  • It was started in the small village of Seraikela-Kharsawan – ‘Kuchai’ and is now spread all over Jharkhand.
• Munda Jewellery:
  • It is the distinctive artistic traditions of the Munda tribal community.
  • It is characterised by its unique motifs, craftsmanship and cultural significance, the jewellery embodies the rich tribal heritage of Jharkhand. 
• Jharkhand bamboo craft:
  • This product is made from locally available bamboo will now be accessible to a wider market.
  • It involves creativity and craftsmanship of rural artisans who transform locally available bamboo resources into a wide range of utility and decorative products.

About Long Range Land Attack Cruise Missile:

• It is a subsonic, surface‑launched cruise missile designed to strike land targets at long distances with high precision.
• Features:
  • Range: It is capable of striking targets at ranges approaching 1,000km while carrying a 450kg warhead.
  • It integrates a turbofan or turbojet propulsion unit for sustained flight, an advanced inertial navigation system augmented by satellite navigation for midcourse guidance, and a terminal seeker or terrain‑contour matching capability for accurate target engagement.
  • It is designed for low‑altitude, terrain‑hugging flight.
  • It minimises detection and interception risk while delivering a conventional warhead on designated high‑value targets.
  • It introduces a survivable terrain-hugging precision strike capability capable of threatening high-value command infrastructure, logistics hubs, radar installations, and naval assets.
  • It is developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) in Bengaluru and contributions from various DRDO laboratories and Indian Industry partners.