1. NASA Discovers Six New Exoplanets, Expanding Known Exoplanet Count to 5,502
๐ช New Exoplanet Discoveries: NASA announced the discovery of six new exoplanets: HD 36384 b, TOI-198 b, TOI-2095 b, TOI-2095 c, TOI-4860 b, and MWC 758 c, bringing the total number of confirmed exoplanets to 5,502.
๐ Exoplanet History: The first exoplanets were confirmed in 1992 with the detection of Poltergeist and Phobetor orbiting the pulsar PSR B1257+12.
๐ญ Key Missions: NASA’s TESS, launched in 2018, along with the Spitzer, Hubble, and James Webb Space Telescopes, have been instrumental in discovering exoplanet candidates.
๐ Future Plans: NASA plans to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope in May 2027.
2. NASA’s New Study on Earth’s Orbit Challenges Conventional Views
๐ Revised Orbit Concept: A new NASA study reveals that Earth revolves around a barycenter, a point near but not inside the Sun, challenging the traditional view of Earth orbiting the Sun.
โ๏ธ Gravitational Balance: The barycenter is the center of mass in the Sun-Earth system. While the Sun’s mass pulls Earth into its orbit, Earth also exerts a gravitational force on the Sun.
๐ Orbital Dynamics: Giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn can influence the barycenter, sometimes pulling it outside the Sun’s boundaries.
๐ Kepler’s Third Law: NASA highlights that Kepler’s third law describes the relationship between the masses of two orbiting objects and their orbital parameters.
3. India Signs MoUs with the Marshall Islands for Community Development Projects
๐ฎ๐ณ India-Marshall Islands MoUs: India signed agreements with the Marshall Islands on July 15, 2024, to provide annual grants for four community development projects.
๐๏ธ Development Projects: The MoUs include the construction of a community sports centre at Ailuk Atoll, an airport terminal at Majit Island, and community centres at Arno and Wotje Atolls.
๐ FIPIC Commitment: These projects align with commitments made by India at the third summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC).
๐ Strategic Engagement: This move enhances engagement with Pacific Islands amid growing influence from China in the region, supported by the Quad members – India, Australia, Japan, and the US.
4. India’s External Affairs Minister Inaugurates First Overseas Jan Aushadhi Kendra in Mauritius
๐ Jan Aushadhi Kendra Inauguration: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar inaugurated India’s first overseas Jan Aushadhi Kendra in Mauritius on 18 July 2024, alongside Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth.
๐ Health Partnership: The India-Mauritius Health Partnership Project aims to supply cost-effective, made-in-India medicines to improve public healthcare and well-being in Mauritius.
๐ฅ Mediclinic Project: Dr. Jaishankar also inaugurated the Mediclinic Project in Grand Bois, Mauritius, funded by an Indian grant, which will provide secondary healthcare to 16,000 people in the region.
๐ณ Maitri Udyan: He laid the foundation stone of the India-Mauritius โMaitri Udyanโ in Port Louis and planted a sapling, marking his first bilateral visit to a country after his reappointment as External Affairs Minister.
๐ Civil Service College: During his visit, Dr. Jaishankar also inspected the Civil Service College project at Reduit, which is being built with Indian assistance, and reiterated support for Mauritiusโ claim to the Chagos Archipelago.
๐ Jan Aushadhi Yojana: The Jan Aushadhi Yojana, renewed as Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Yojana (PMJAY) in September 2015 and further revised in November 2016, was established to provide affordable medicines to the public.
5. Serum Institute of India and University of Oxford Launch ‘R21/Matrix-M’ Malaria Vaccine in Cote d’Ivoire
๐ Malaria Vaccine Launch: The Serum Institute of India and the University of Oxford have launched the ‘R21/Matrix-M’ malaria vaccine in Cote d’Ivoire, making it the first country in West Africa to begin vaccinations with this new vaccine.
๐ WHO Approval: The R21/Matrix-M vaccine was approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) last year after rigorous regulatory and clinical evaluations, proving to be highly effective and affordable.
๐ Production Commitment: Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute of India, announced a commitment to produce 100 million doses of the vaccine, highlighting its potential to significantly reduce the burden of malaria.
๐ง Initial Vaccinations: Africa has received 656,600 doses of R21/Matrix-M. Initially, 250,000 children aged 5 to 23 months will be vaccinated in 16 regions of Cote d’Ivoire.
๐ Regional Authorization: The vaccine has also been authorized by Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and the Central African Republic.
๐ฆ Malaria Vaccine Availability: R21 is the second malaria vaccine available in sub-Saharan Africa, following RTS,S. A total of 15 African countries are expected to introduce malaria vaccines in 2024 with support from Gavi, aiming to vaccinate approximately 6.6 million children against malaria in 2024 and 2025.
6. Malayan Tiger Faces Extinction: Urgent Conservation Efforts Needed
๐ Extinction Crisis: The number of Malayan tigers in Malaysia has plummeted from around 3,000 in the 1950s to less than 150, prompting conservation experts to declare a ‘national emergency’.
๐ฌ Scientific Classification: The Malayan tiger, scientifically known as Panthera tigris jacksonii or Panthera tigris malayensis, is a subspecies recognized only in the last two decades. It was previously considered the same as the Indochinese tiger.
๐ฒ๐พ National Symbol: The Malayan tiger is Malaysia’s national animal and is featured on the country’s Coat of Arms with its distinctive orange colour and black stripes.
๐ Habitat and Threats: Found in the Straits of Johor and Singapore, the Malayan tiger is critically endangered due to poaching, habitat loss, human-tiger conflicts, and road construction increasing fatal vehicle collisions.
๐ Legal Protection: Protected under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 and listed as ‘critically endangered’ on the IUCN Red List, recent surveys by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks and WWF-Malaysia confirm its dire status.
๐ Conservation Efforts: Malaysia’s eight-year National Tiger Conservation Action Plan, launched in 2020 in collaboration with nonprofits, outlines priorities like conservation tools and a national physical plan to aid in the tiger’s preservation.
