The 2024 Nobel Prize winners have transformed protein science through AI-driven breakthroughs, revolutionizing structure prediction and unlocking vast potential for medicine and biotechnology.
๐ 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Awarded to David Baker, Demis Hassabis, and John Jumper for their revolutionary work in protein structure prediction and protein design.
๐งฌ Protein Significance: Proteins, made from just 20 amino acids, are crucial to all life forms, providing structural support, catalyzing reactions, facilitating transport, controlling muscle movements, and enabling cell communication.
๐งฉ Protein-Folding Problem: Understanding how proteins swiftly fold into their specific 3D structures is critical to determining their function, a challenge known as the protein-folding problem.
๐ Historical Milestones: In 1962, Kendrew and Perutz were awarded the Nobel Prize for mapping protein structures like haemoglobin. By 2010, scientists had mapped 170,000 out of an estimated 200 million protein structures.
๐ค AlphaFold Breakthrough: Developed by DeepMind, AlphaFold (versions 1, 2, and 3) revolutionized protein structure prediction, enabling accurate predictions within hours. However, it requires human input to understand why proteins fold the way they do.
๐ Real-World Applications: Protein design has practical impacts across various fields, including:
- Medicine: An antiviral nasal spray for COVID-19.
- Chemistry: Design of new enzymes for producing atorvastatin and vitamin B6.
- Biosensors: Developing proteins to monitor health, such as blood glucose levels.
๐ Future of Protein Science: AI-powered tools like AlphaFold are reshaping biology and medicine by accelerating protein research and enabling the development of innovative drugs and treatments.
The Indian Army’s upgraded T-90 Bhishma tank enhances firepower, mobility, and threat detection, strengthening its combat capabilities across challenging terrains.
๐ก๏ธ Upgraded T-90 Bhishma Tank: The Indian Army has unveiled its first upgraded T-90 Bhishma tank, enhancing combat readiness and marking a step towards self-sufficiency in defense.
๐ฅ Primary Battle Tank: In service since 2003, the T-90 Bhishma is known for its firepower, agility, and protection, with the latest upgrades boosting its effectiveness.
๐จโโ๏ธ Three-Member Crew: Operated by a commander, gunner, and driver who collaborate to locate and eliminate threats, showcasing the tank’s efficiency in combat.
โ๏ธ Armaments: It is armed with a 125 mm smoothbore gun capable of firing different projectiles and an anti-aircraft gun that fires up to 800 rounds per minute at targets within a 2-kilometer range.
๐๏ธ Versatile Maneuverability: Its compact design allows for high-speed movement (up to 60 km/h) through various terrains, including forests and mountains.
๐ Thermal Sighting System: The advanced thermal sighting system enables the T-90 to detect and engage targets up to 8 kilometres away, day or night, adding significant tactical advantage.
The NAFIS 2021-22 survey highlights significant improvements in rural income, financial literacy, and access to institutional finance, driven by government support and increased female workforce participation.
- ๐ Second All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey (NAFIS) 2021-22: Released by NABARD, this survey provides insights into rural livelihoods and financial inclusion in India, following up on the first survey from 2016-17.
- ๐ฐ Income Growth: The average monthly income of rural households saw a significant increase of 57.6% since the last survey.
- ๐ฝ๏ธ Consumption Patterns: The share of food in household consumption baskets decreased from 51% to 47%, indicating a shift towards other expenditures.
- ๐ Kisan Credit Card Effectiveness: The Kisan Credit Card continues to be a key instrument for financial inclusion, particularly in the rural farming sector.
- ๐พ Landholding Size Decline: The average size of landholding has dropped from 1.08 hectare to 0.74 hectare, reflecting growing land fragmentation.
- ๐ Financial Literacy Improvement: The proportion of respondents with good financial literacy increased from 33.9% to 51.3%, showing progress in financial education.
- ๐ณ Institutional Loans Access: The share of agricultural households taking loans from institutional sources rose from 60.5% to 75.5%, demonstrating increased access to formal financial systems.
Reasons for rising rural income:
- ๐ผ Government Support: Schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) provided employment to 5.6 crore households, boosting rural incomes.
- ๐ฉโ๐พ Increased Female Labour Participation: The rural female labour force participation rate increased from 19.7% in 2018-19 to 27.7% in 2020-21, contributing to higher household incomes.
Shale gas, extracted through hydraulic fracturing, is a key focus of India’s energy policy, with government initiatives supporting exploration and environmentally sound practices.
๐งโ๐ฌ Study by Birbal Sahni Institution of Palaeosciences: Scientists from this institution under the Department of Science and Technology conducted research on hydrocarbon generation in source rocks, focusing on the concentration of organic matter as a key factor.
๐ What is Shale Gas?: Shale gas is a form of natural gas (mainly methane) found in shale rock formations. It is extracted using hydraulic fracturing (fracking), which involves injecting high-pressure water, sand, and chemicals to fracture the shale.
๐ฟ Guar Gum Use: The gum from Cluster bean (Guar) seeds is an essential component in the extraction process of shale gas.
๐ชจ Formation of Shale: Shale is a fine-grained, sedimentary rock formed over time from the compression of clay, silt, mud, and organic matter. Shales were deposited in ancient environments like seas, river deltas, lakes, and lagoons and can be found at various depths.
โ๏ธ Government Initiatives: The Indian government introduced the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) in 2016, creating a uniform licensing system for both conventional and unconventional resources, including shale gas.
๐ข๏ธ Exploration by PSUs: Public sector units (PSUs) like ONGC and Oil India Limited have been granted permission to explore shale gas within their existing oil and gas blocks.
๐ฑ Environmental Guidelines: The government has also issued guidelines for environmental management during shale gas/oil exploration and production, ensuring that these activities are regulated and environmentally sustainable.