List of Invasive Animal Species
- Zoological survey of India has recently compiled the list of invasive animal species.
- These are species which pose a threat to the native biodiversity and human well-being.
- Papaya Mealy Bug - It belongs to Mexico and Central America.
- It is believed to have destroyed huge crops of papaya in Assam, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
- Cotton Mealybug - It is a native of North America but has severely affected cotton crops in the Deccan.
- Amazon Sailfin catfish – It is destroying fish populations in the wetlands of Kolkata.
- African Apple Snail – It is said to be most invasive among all alien fauna.
- It is a mollusk and was first reported in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands but today it is found all across the country.
- Orange Cup-Coral – It originated in the Indo-East Pacific.
- It has been reported in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Gulf of Kutch, Kerala and Lakshadweep.
Nyaya Gram
- It is a township with a judicial academy and auditorium in the Allahabad High Court.
- The U.P state government has provided the funding for this judicial infrastructure.
- And U.P public works department is the nominated construction agency.
- It will help judges to assemble and deliberate on the contemporary legislation and developments in the field of law.
Gene to Tackle Stress Faced By Plants
- Plants during their lifetime face biotic stress induced by living entities (pathogens) and abiotic stress caused by non-living entities (drought, osmotic stress, chemical or salt stress).
- Scientists have recently discovered a single gene whose expression controls the plants’ response to both biotic and abiotic stress.
- Hsp31 is a heat shock protein found in the plants. Over expression of this protein renders them tolerant to stresses.
- Methylglyoxal is an aldehyde which regulates processes such as cell proliferation and its survival at lower concentrations. But above a certain level it becomes toxic, targeting proteins and DNA to turn them non-functional.
- Hsp31 protein is found to detoxify the methylglyoxal when it reaches higher concentration.
- The protein is similar to PARK7 protein in humans which is linked to the early onset of Parkinson’s disease.
- Researchers believe that this finding can be used to engineer plants that can withstand, for instance, drought or bacterial infections.
Kangri
- Kangri is an earthen pot filled with burning charcoal traditionally used in Kashmir to keep them warm during the winter season.
- It is held by its handle under a long loose woolen garment which people in the Valley wear.
- As a part of their culture, parents give a specially designed pot to their daughter in the first winter after her wedding.
- It is being displayed as a work of art in affluent households, especially in urban Kashmir.
- Kangri-making is a cottage industry, providing employment to many men and women.
- But it is slowly losing out its relevance due to its ill-effects such as causing rashes and burns as well as due to affordability of modern heating appliances like electric and gas heaters.
Wakaleo Schouteni
- It is a new species of marsupial lion discovered in Australia which has been extinct for at least 19 million years.
- It was a meat eating predator existing in the late Oligocene to early Miocene era (some 18 to 26 million years ago).
- It is named in honour of palaeo-artist Peter Schouten.
- With this new finding, it is believed that two different species of marsupial lions were present in Oligocene era.
Sampark, Samanvay, Samvad
- It is a conclave organized by the Ministry of Railways to discuss and deliberate “Vision for New Railway – New India 2022”.
- The conclave is aimed at
- breaking the boundary put up by railway organization in sharing information (sampark)
- improve co-ordination (samanvay)
- find solutions (samvad) to the critical issues facing Indian Railways
- It encouraged all officers to give inputs and bring out the ground realities and potential impediments to implementation of new policies and reforms.
Source: The Hindu, PIB
0 comments:
Post a Comment