Jumping Genes and Alzheimer’s

• Jumping genes, scientifically known as transposons, are mobile genetic elements that can move from one location to another within the genome. They were first discovered by Barbara McClintock, who won the Nobel Prize in 1983 for this work.
• In humans, transposons make up nearly 50% of the genome, and while most are inactive, some retain the ability to “jump” and cause genomic instability.
• The most common type of jumping genes are retrotransposons, especially LINE-1 elements, which replicate through an RNA intermediate and use reverse transcriptase to reintegrate into DNA.
• Normally, the activity of these elements is tightly controlled by the body through epigenetic mechanisms, but in aging or diseased brains, especially in neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s, these controls can weaken.
• Once activated, transposons can insert themselves into essential genes, disrupt DNA sequences, and lead to cellular damage, especially in the brain’s neurons, which are non-dividing and highly vulnerable.
• In experiments with genetically modified fruit flies that mimic Alzheimer’s symptoms, blocking transposon activity using an HIV drug (3TC) led to improvements in neural function.
• 3TC is a reverse transcriptase inhibitor, which prevents retrotransposons from copying and inserting themselves into new parts of the genome.
• In a clinical trial with human patients, 3TC did not improve memory directly but reduced levels of neurofilament light (NfL)—a key biomarker of neurodegeneration—suggesting protection against neuronal damage.
• This supports a new hypothesis: Alzheimer’s disease may not just be a disorder of protein aggregation (like amyloid or tau), but also one of genomic instability caused by the reactivation of jumping genes.

About the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)

• The UNSC is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), with the primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security.
• Under the UN Charter, all member states must comply with UNSC decisions.
• It determines threats to peace, recommends settlement methods, imposes sanctions, and authorizes military actions.

Structure and Membership

• The UNSC consists of 15 members, each having one vote.
• Five permanent members (P5) with veto power:
  • China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
• Ten non-permanent members, elected by the UN General Assembly for two-year terms, with equitable geographical representation:
  • 5 from Africa/Asia, 1 from Eastern Europe, 2 from Latin America, and 2 from Western Europe/others
• The UNSC is headquartered at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

G4 Nations’ Position and India’s Advocacy

• India, Brazil, Germany, and Japan (G4) are actively advocating UNSC reform. At a recent IGN meeting, India’s Permanent Representative declared the current UNSC structure outdated, no longer reflecting contemporary geopolitical realities.
• The G4 proposal calls for:
  • Expanding the Council from 15 to 25 or 26 members
  • Including 11 permanent members and 14–15 non-permanent members
  • Encouraging Member States to submit models to enable formal negotiations.

What is the Memory of the World (MoW) Programme?

• The MoW Programme was launched by UNESCO in 1992 with the goal of preserving global documentary heritage and preventing what it called “collective amnesia.”
• It aims to safeguard rare documents, including manuscripts, oral traditions, audio-visual content, and archive materials, of global and universal value.
• According to UNESCO, this documentary heritage should be preserved, protected, and permanently accessible to all, while respecting cultural practices.
• The MoW Register serves as a global compendium of such heritage, and is updated biennially (every two years).
• As of 2025, the Register contains 570 entries, including:
  • The Mahavamsa (Sri Lanka’s ancient chronicle),
  • Shaiva Siddhanta manuscripts (India),
  • Auschwitz trial recordings (Germany),
  • And the March 7, 1971 speech of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Bangladesh).

India’s Contributions to the MoW Register

• India has made 13 contributions, including two joint submissions:
  • Rig Veda (added in 2005),
  • Works of Abhinavagupta, the Shaivite philosopher (added in 2023),
  • Archives of the Non-Aligned Movement’s first summit in Belgrade, 1961 (joint submission),
  • Dutch East India Company archives (joint submission).
• In 2025, two new Indian manuscripts were added, both preserved at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune:
  • Natyashastra by Bharata Muni
  • Bhagavad Gita, attributed to Vyasa.

About the NISAR Mission

• NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) is a joint Earth observation satellite mission developed by NASA and ISRO under a bilateral agreement signed in 2014.
• The satellite is scheduled for launch in June 2025 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Andhra Pradesh, aboard ISRO’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark II (GSLV Mk II).
• It marks the first-ever collaboration of its kind between India and the United States in radar-based Earth monitoring from space.
• NISAR aims to map the entire Earth’s surface every 12 days, enabling high-frequency, precise, and repeat observations.
• It will monitor ecosystem changes, ice sheet dynamics, vegetation patterns, sea level rise, and groundwater variation, and will track natural hazards like earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, and landslides.

Key Features and Components

Technological Advancements

• Dual Radar System: NISAR is the first satellite to use two radar frequencies simultaneously — L-band (NASA) and S-band (ISRO).
  • L-band Radar: Penetrates dense forests and soil, useful for volcanic and seismic zone monitoring.
  • S-band Radar: Offers higher resolution surface imaging, operating at 2–4 GHz frequency and 8–15 cm wavelength, ideal for urban and terrain analysis.

What is Article 142?

• Article 142 empowers the Supreme Court to pass any order or decree necessary for complete justice in any pending case before it. This power is discretionary and unique to the apex court.
• The concept of complete justice means ensuring justice beyond technicalities by filling legislative gaps, and interpreting or even overriding laws when necessary to protect constitutional values, fundamental rights, and social welfare.
• The framers of the Constitution, especially B.R. Ambedkar, intentionally entrusted this extraordinary power only to the Supreme Court. The jurisprudence under Article 142 has developed over 50+ years, with the Court maintaining self-imposed limits.
• Article 142 elevates the Supreme Court’s role as the guardian of the Constitution, enabling it to intervene in cases involving public interest, human rights, or democratic breakdown, ensuring justice where legislative or executive action is lacking.
• The Article strengthens democracy by protecting the rights of minorities, ensuring equal treatment before the law, and acting as a check on executive and legislative overreach.
• Article 142 promotes judicial innovation by allowing the Court to create guidelines and direct government authorities, especially in cases involving public interest and constitutional values.
• The lack of a clear definition of “complete justice” can lead to subjectivity, inconsistent rulings, and unaccountable discretion. This raises concerns under the basic structure doctrine, particularly separation of powers.

About Root Rot Disease:

• Root rots, as the name suggests, attack plants from the ground via their roots.
• This can lead to wilting and plant death.
• These rots may also affect the trunk and stems, causing splits or rots above ground.
• Rots may also affect young plants such as seedlings.
• There are two causes of root rot: overwatering and/or the presence of fungal-like pathogens.
• Overwatering depletes oxygen in the soil, and this causes the roots to stop functioning, become softened, and die.
• Pathogens can also invade plants that are affected by inconsistent or overwatering. The range of pathogens that cause root rots affects many different plants.
• It is caused by numerous fungi, especially Armillaria mellea, Clitocybe tabescens, and Fusarium, and many oomycetes, including Pythium, Phytophthora, and Aphanomyces.
• If a root-rot pathogen is present, it may spread through the soil, carried by soil water, to affect nearby plants.
• Prevention:
  • Control measures include planting in well-drained soils, including raised beds, planting resistant varieties (such as plants grafted onto resistant rootstock), or selecting plants that naturally cope well with wet or heavy clay soil.
  • Where root rot occurs, remove affected plants. Some fungal treatments are available to treat soils.

About Tapi River:

• The Tapi River, also known as the Tapti River, is one of the major rivers in central India.
• It is considered one of the only three major rivers in India that flow from east to west, the other two being the Narmada and the Mahi
• It covers a large area in the State of Maharashtra besides areas in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
• Course:
  • Origin: It rises in the Gawilgarh Hills of the central Deccan plateau in south-central Madhya Pradesh state.
  • It flows westward between two spurs of the Satpura Range, across the Jalgaon plateau region in Maharashtra state, and through the plain of Surat in Gujarat state to the Gulf of Khambhat (an inlet of the Arabian Sea).
• It has a total length of about 700 km. For the last 51 km it is tidal but is navigable by small vessels.
• It drains an area of 65,145 sq.km., which is nearly two percent of the total area of India.
  • The basin lies in the states of Maharashtra (51,504 sq.km.), Madhya Pradesh (9,804 sq.km.) and Gujarat (3,837 sq.km.).
  • Situated in the Deccan plateau, the basin is bounded by the Satpura range on the north, by the Mahadev hills on the east, by the Ajanta Range and the Satmala hills on the south, and by the Arabian Sea on the west.
  • The major part of the basin is covered with agriculture, accounting for 66.19% of the total area.
• The Tapti flows roughly parallel to the longer Narmada River to the north, from which it is separated by the main part of the Satpura Range.
• The two river valleys and the intervening range form the natural barrier between northern and peninsular India.
• The Tapti River’s three major tributaries—the Purna, Girna, and Panjhra—flow from the south in Maharashtra state.
• Ukai Dam: A major hydroelectric project located on the Tapi River, providing water and electricity to surrounding areas.

About Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge:

• It is a suspension bridge currently under construction in Zhenfeng County, Guizhou Province, China.
  • Guizhou province is a mountainous area of China, which is 800 miles west of the city of Shenzhen.
  • It's already home to many impressive structures and buildings. Nearly half of the top 100 tallest bridges in the world are in Guizhou.
• Upon completion, Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge will hold the title of the world's highest bridge.
• It will be 625 meters (2,051 feet) above Beipan River level-200m taller than the Eiffel Tower.
• That also makes it taller than the Millau Viaduct in France, which at 343 meters (1,125 feet) held the record for the tallest bridge until now.
• The bridge is a steel truss suspension bridge with a total length of 2,890 metres (9,482 feet).
• Altogether, these trusses weigh about 22,000 tons, equivalent to three Eiffel Towers.
• It's taken 3 and a half years to build, with construction officially starting on 18 January 2022.
• The cost of the bridge is estimated at around £216 million (Rs 2,200 crore).
• It will form part of the Shantou–Kunming Expressway, a major roadway that connects China’s southeastern coastal city of Shantou to Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province.
• The bridge will cut travel time across the canyon from about one hour to two minutes.

About Surface Mount Technology (SMT):

• It refers to a manufacturing technique where electronic components are directly applied to the surface of a printed circuit board (PCB).
• SMT, developed in the 1960s and 1970s, replaced conventional through-hole technology (THT), producing more compact, economical, and efficient electronic devices.
• This method enables automated production to conduct a more extensive assembly, resulting in the creation of a fully functional circuit board.
• Any electronic element installed in this manner is identified as a surface-mounted component (SMD).
• In opposition to conventional manufacturing techniques, SMT removes the necessity for elements to be placed through apertures; rather, elements are attached to the board via the process of soldering.
  • The two main soldering techniques are reflow soldering and wave soldering.
  • Assembling PCBs using SMT involves various steps like solder paste application, component placement, reflow soldering, and cleaning.
• SMT is used in many industries like consumer electronics, medical, and aerospace industries.
• THT vs. SMT:
  • As compared to THT, SMT has cheaper production costs, increased component density, and superior electrical performance. But the initial cost is high, and it is difficult to repair.
  • The process for SMT production setup is faster when compared to THT. This is because components are mounted using solder paste instead of drilled holes. It saves time and labor-intensive work.
  • SMT supports microelectronics by allowing more components to be placed closer together on the board. This leads to designs that are more lightweight and compact.
  • Simplicity: In THT, lead wires pass through the holes to connect components. Because SMT components are soldered right onto the PCB, the overall makeup is far less complex.
  • The heat dissipated in SMT is also less than through-hole components.

About Mahadev Koli Tribe:

• Mahadev Koli or Mahadeo Koli are a subcaste of the Koli community of Maharashtra and Goa states of India.
• The Mahadev Koli derive their name from their god, Mahadev, and live in the Mahadev hills of Maharashtra.
• They are found mostly in the Pune, Ahmednagar, and Nasik districts of Maharashtra.
• They are classified as a Schedule Tribe.
• They speak Marathi and use the Devanagari script.
• There are twenty-four exogamous clans among the Mahadev Koli, and they use their clan's names as their surnames.
• Their staple food consists of rice, nagli, varai, and wheat.
• Occupation: Other than agriculture, they are also involved in cattle production, dairy and poultry farming, and wage labour as subsidiary occupations.
• Beliefs:
  • Most of the Mahadev Koli follow a number of Hindu traditions.
  • Members of each clan have their own deity.
• They possess extensive knowledge of local flora, utilizing over 50 native tree species for medicinal purposes.
• Tanaji Malusare, a revered general in Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's army, hailed from this community. His valor in the Battle of Sinhagad is legendary.