About:

• Anthrax is a serious infectious disease caused by gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria known as Bacillus anthracis which can be found naturally in soil.
  
  
• It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection.
  
  
• It is characterised by blisters around swellings on the skin, chest pain, vomiting, diarrhoea and fever.
  
  
• It commonly affects domestic and wild animals around the world. Cattle, sheep, goats, antelope, and deer can become infected when they breathe in or ingest spores in contaminated soil, plants, or water.
  
  
• People can get sick with anthrax if they come in contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products. Contact with anthrax can cause severe illness in both humans and animals.
  
  
• Anthrax is not contagious, which means you can’t catch it like the cold or flu.
  
  

About:

• The uterine transplant is the surgical procedure whereby a healthy uterus is transplanted into an organism of which the uterus is absent or diseased.
  
  
• Reasons: For women whose uterus is not healthy, or who do not have one, a transplant is the newest form of infertility treatment.
  
  
• Concerns:
  • Uterine transplants are still extremely rare, complicated and expensive. A uterine transplant, like that for other organs, requires clearances at several levels.
    
    
  • Concerns have been raised about the welfare of living donors who may end up regretting their choice to donate. A living donation is justified only after informed consent by the donor, and this after counselling by physicians and psychologists. 
    
    
  
  
  

About: 

• The Indian Penal Code (IPC) is the official criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law.
  
  
• History: The code was drafted in 1860 on the recommendations of first law commission of India established in 1834 under the Charter Act of 1833 under the Chairmanship of Lord Macaulay. It was passed into law in 1860. The Code came into operation in 1862.
  
  

Need of reforms:

• Rebooting the code introduced by the British in 1860 was necessary as it is primarily based on the spirit of “master and servant”.
  
  
• After it was framed, the IPC has never been amended in totality. Some additions and deletions have been made.
  
  
• There are uneven punishment for crimes of grievous nature. E.g. snatching of chains could be life-threatening in some cases but the punishment is not commensurate with the gravity of the crime. Depending on the whims of the police, it is booked under robbery or theft.
  
  

About:

• Initiated by the Liver Transplantation Society of India, the registry aims to collate national data of the procedures and their outcomes.
  
  
• Nearly 2,000 liver transplants are carried out in the country annually, highest in the world, yet there is no India-specific data. This leaves doctors to take help from the evolved U.S. and the U.K. registries.
  
  
• Hospitals from Delhi NCR, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have voluntarily reported their transplants to the registry. More hospitals are in various stages of signing up and by December.
  
  

About:

• While DTTI is not a treaty or law, it is a flexible mechanism to make sure that senior leaders from both countries are engaged consistently to strengthen the opportunities in the field of defence.
  
  
• Its central aims include strengthening India’s defence industrial base, exploring new areas of technological development and expanding U.S.-India business ties.
  
  
• The DTTI initiative is led by Undersecretary of Defence for Acquisition and Sustainment from the United States and Secretary for Defence Protection from India.
  
  
• DTTI came about to expedite the scope of cooperation on defence technology that become narrow due to the presence of differing bureaucratic processes and legal requirements.
  
  

About:

• This means Boris Johnson did not get the clean yes or no vote on his Brexit deal that he had hoped for and must by law request an extension. In short, it pushes the focus of Brexit decision-making into next week.
  
  
• The Letwin amendment says parliament will withhold approval of the prime minister’s Brexit deal until the withdrawal bill implementing Brexit has been passed.
  
  
• Essentially, this meant that Johnson was legally obliged to request the EU under the Benn Act to extend the date the votes on Brexit will be cast.
  
  

About:

• QF7879, a Qantas Airways aircraft flying from New York to Sydney, landed after a historic non-stop test flight that lasted 19 hours and 16 minutes.
  
  
• The world’s longest commercial airplane journey had 50 passengers and crew on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner for the 16,200-kilometre (10,066-mile) journey.
  
  
• Qantas has announced three long-haul flights as part of its Project Sunrise that aims to fulfil its goal of running non-stop commercial flights on a regular basis from the east coast of Australia to London and New York.
  
  
• A final approval for this project is subject to aircraft economics, regulatory approvals and industrial agreements, for which certainty is expected by December this year.
  
  

About:

• Chewang Rinchen Setu which has been constructed at an altitude of 14650 feet in the forward area of Ladakh region.
  
  
• This bridge has been built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
  
  
• Colonel Chewang Rinchen (1931 – 1997) was a highly decorated officer in the Indian Army from the Ladakh region. He was one of only six Indian service personnel to have twice won the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC), the second highest Indian gallantry decoration.