GS Analyst
Daily Current Affairs

Preliminary results of an open-air study of genetically engineered mosquitoes — with an aim to suppress a wild population of virus-carrying mosquitoes — in the United States have shown promising results. 

Genetically Modified Mosquito

• A genetically modified insect is an insect that has been genetically modified for various reasons such as agricultural production, oil production and pest control.
• Scientists have moved on from using bed nets and insecticides to kill malaria-spreading mosquitoes, to genetically modify the mosquitoes by inserting a gene that leads to the production of male offsprings.
• Since only females carry the malaria-causing microorganism, the spread of the disease is controlled in the short-term while eventually the whole population gets wiped out.
• Scientists injected a gene from a slime mould into the mosquito which attached itself to the X chromosome during sperm-making process effectively masking the sperms leading to production of male offsprings.

Aim of the Experiment:

The aim of the experiment by Oxitec, a United Kingdom-based biotechnology firm, is to reduce the population of wild Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that is a vector for viruses such as chikungunya, dengue, zika and yellow fever. The scientists engineered a gene that will kill the female offspring.

How GM mosquitoes are produced and used to control Ae. aegypti mosquitoes?

• GM mosquitoes are mass-produced in a laboratory to carry two types of genes:
• A self-limiting genethat prevents female mosquito offspring from surviving to adulthood.
• A fluorescent marker genethat glows under a special red light. This allows researchers to identify GM mosquitoes in the wild.
• GM mosquitoes produced in the laboratory lay eggs. These eggs carry the self-limiting and fluorescent marker genes.
• GM mosquito eggs that carry the self-limiting gene are released into an area. Once they have hatched and develop through to the adult stage, they are available to mate with wild females. The genes are passed on to offspring.
• The female offspring die before they become adults. The expected result is that the number of Ae. aegypti mosquitoes in the area decreases.
  
  

Effectiveness of GM mosquitoes in reducing numbers of mosquitoes

• GM mosquitoes have been successfully used in parts of Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Panama, and India to control Ae. aegypti mosquitoes. Since 2019, over 1 billion mosquitoes have been released.
• When GM mosquitoes stop being released into an area, the Ae. aegypti mosquito population will slowly return to “normal levels.”
• GM mosquitoes will only work to reduce numbers of target mosquito species (e.g., Ae. aegypti), no other types of mosquitoes. Most communities have more than one type of mosquito.

Concerns

There are concerns about using tetracycline on a routine basis for controlling the expression of lethal genes. There are plausible routes for resistance genes to develop in the bacteria within the guts of GM insects fed on tetracycline and from there, to circulate widely in the environment.

The new study, published in Nature, finds that climate-stressed farmland possesses only half the number of insects, on average, and 25 percent fewer insect species than areas of natural habitat.

Ecological importance of insects:

• Insects are critical to the future of our planet.
• They help to keep pest species under control and break down dead material to release nutrients into the soil.
• Flying insects are also key pollinators of many major food crops, including fruits, spices and — importantly for chocolate lovers – cocoa.
• Insects are important because of their diversity, ecological role, and influence on agriculture, human health, and natural resources.
• Insects create the biological foundation for all terrestrial ecosystems.
• They cycle nutrients, pollinate plants, disperse seeds, maintain soil structure and fertility, control populations of other organisms, and provide a major food source for other taxa.
• Most major insect pests in agriculture are non-native species that have been introduced into a new ecosystem, usually without their natural biological control agents.
• Insects have evolved unique features in the animal world that are a surprise to experts in biomechanics and bioengineering because many are recent inventions of humans.
• Insects have been in competition with humans for the products of our labor ever since cultivation of soil began.
• Eighty-seven of the world’s major crops are thought to be fully or partially dependent on insect pollinators, of which most tend to be grown in the tropics.
• Cocoa, for example, is primarily pollinated by midges, a group of flies infamous for bedevilling camping trips in Scotland and other parts of the northern hemisphere.
• In fact, midges play a vital and under-appreciated role in pollinating the cocoa needed to make chocolate.

Key findings of the study:

• Some three-quarters of a million samples from around 6,000 sites worldwide were analysed in our study, adding up to nearly 20,000 different species in all.
• Insects are facing an unprecedented threat due to the “twin horsemen” of climate change and habitat loss.
• Habitat loss can add to the effects of climate change by limiting available shade, for example, leading to even warmer temperatures in these vulnerable areas.
• Insect declines are greatest in farmland areas within tropical countries – where the combined effects of climate change and habitat loss are experienced most profoundly.
• The farmland sites possess only half the number of insects, on average, and more than 25 per cent fewer insect species.
• Throughout the world, farmland in climate-stressed areas where most nearby natural habitat has been removed has lost 63 per cent of its insects, on average, compared with as little as 7 per cent for farmland where the nearby natural habitat has been largely preserved.
• It is predicted that climate change will have a particularly big impact in the planet’s tropical regions. Temperatures in the tropics are naturally quite stable, so species aren’t used to coping with the fast changes in temperature we are seeing with climate change.

NITI Aayog and UNICEF India recently signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a focus on children.

Key Point:

• This child-focused SDG initiative builds on India’s effort of monitoring progress through the SDG India Index and Dashboard which continues to be a unique data-driven initiative for triggering policy action.
• This new initiative with UNICEF is built on the ethos of SDG attainments for children and ensuring that no child is left behind.
• To achieve the child development priorities under the SDGs, UNICEF India and NITI Aayog are developing a comprehensive measure to understand the multi-dimensional attainments and deprivations among children across health and nutrition, education, water and sanitation and household living standards.
• The collaboration between NITI Aayog and UNICEF India will draw up the methods, technical analysis, reporting, and action planning for the first report on the ‘Status of India’s Children’ with a focus on the multi-dimensional aspects of child development like health, education, nutrition, protection, and other relevant areas.
• This project will undertake a whole-of-society approach of involving all stakeholders ranging from Union Ministries, State Governments, Civil Society Organizations, and child rights collectives.

About Sustainable Development Goals

• In September 2015, the General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Building on the principle of “leaving no one behind”, the new Agenda emphasizes a holistic approach to achieving sustainable development for all.
  
  

India Post Payments Bank recently launched Fincluvation, a platform to promote innovative solutions in collaboration with fintech startups to accelerate financial inclusion among the underserved and unserved population.

What is Fincluvation?

• The first-of-its-kind industry initiative, Fincluvation would create a powerful platform to mobilize the start-up community towards building meaningful financial products aimed at financial inclusion.
• The country has made rapid strides in FINTECH space in Global Tech world leading innovations like UPI, Aadhaar. 
  • The combination of IPPB’s banking stack, DoP’s trustworthy doorstep service network and the techno-functional acumen of start-ups can deliver unmatched value to the citizens of the country.
• Fincluvation will be a permanent platform of IPPB to co-create inclusive financial solutions with participating start-ups.
• IPPB and DoP collectively serve close to 430 million customers through neighbourhood post office.
• Further, it is one of the largest and trusted postal networks in the world with over 400,000 post office employees and Gramin Dak Sevaks. 
• India Post will invite startups to co-create solutions on the platform. The government will offer up to ?3 crore to support the entire journey from the proof-of-concept stage to the final product.
• Startups are encouraged to develop solutions aligned with any of the following tracks-
  • Creditization - Develop Innovative & Inclusive credit products aligned with the use cases of target customers and take them to their doorsteps through Postal network.
  • Digitization - Bring convenience through convergence of traditional services with Digital Payment Technologies such as making the traditional Money Order service as Interoperable Banking service.
  • Any Market-led solutions that can help solve any other problem relevant to IPPB and/or DoP in serving the target customers

Benefits

• Fincluvation will engage startups to participate, ideate, develop and market intuitive and tailored products and services for the customers.
  • It also encourages startups to develop solutions relating to creditization, digitization & more.  
• Further, fincluvation can help in meeting the varied and complex needs of the consumers through thoughtful, empathetic product design, and rapid prototyping among users.
  • With Fincluvation would also help develop technology-led financial solutions for India. 
• Fincluvation will also allow the start-ups to work with IPPB and DoP experts to develop solutions and conduct pilots using the postal network and IPPB’s technology stack. 
• Fincluvation mentors will work closely with startups to tweak products to customer needs and align the go-to-market strategies with operating models of India Post.
• Startups will also be able to use the physical infrastructure that the department of posts has across the country.

London-based Cryptocurrency lender, Nexo has joined hands with global payments company Mastercard to launch the world’s first “crypto-backed” payment card.

About the card:

• Nexo’s zero-cost credit will be available to eligible Nexo clients in Europe.
• The Card is linked to a Nexo-provided, crypto-backed credit line that allows cardholders to use their digital assets as collateral rather than selling them.
• The credit line is dynamic and can use multiple assets as collateral, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether.
• The card will be accepted by 92 million merchants worldwide where Mastercard is accepted, allowing investors to spend up to 90% of the fiat value of their crypto without selling any of it.
• Users can also earn up to 2% crypto cash back with each transaction.
• The Card also comes with direct Apple Pay and Google Pay integrations. Cardholders can add it to their preferred mobile wallet from the Nexo Wallet App.
• The company is planning to add debit-type card functionality to it and expand the offering internationally beyond Europe later.
  
  

A new study found that on one of Jupiter’s moons Europa, a prime candidate for life in the solar system, there might be an abundance of water pockets beneath formations called double ridges.

About Europa

• Europa is slightly smaller than Earth’s moon and its diameter is about one-quarter that of the Earth.
• Oxygen atmosphere: Even though Europa has a very thin oxygen atmosphere, it is considered one of the most promising places in the solar system to find present-day environments that are suitable for life beyond the Earth.
• Water: It is also believed that underneath Europa’s icy surface the amount of water is twice that on Earth.
• NASA notes that scientists believe Europa’s ice shell is 15-25 km thick and is floating on an ocean, which is estimated to be between 60-150 km deep.
• Interestingly, while its diameter is less than the Earth’s, Europa probably contains twice the amount of the water in all of the Earth’s oceans.

NASA’s Europa Clipper

• NASA is expected to launch its Europa Clipper in 2024.
• The module will orbit Jupiter and conduct multiple close flybys to Europa to gather data on the moon’s atmosphere, surface and its interior.
  
  

Implications of the recent findings:

• The central implication is that the shallow water pockets beneath the double ridge, like surfaces seen on the Greenland ice sheet on Earth and those seen on Europa’s ice shell, increase the potential habitability of the moon.
• The ice shell, which is potentially miles thick, has been a difficult prospect for scientists to sample.
• But according to the new evidence gathered by the Stanford team, the ice shell is believed to be less of a barrier and more of a dynamic system.
• This means that the ice shell does not behave like an inert block of ice, but rather undergoes a variety of geological and hydrological processes.

Double ridge Feature:

• Double ridge is the most common type of ridge on Europa: the term “ridge” usually refers to double ridge.
• A ridge pair with a continuous, V-shaped medial trough whose depth is less than the height of the ridges.
• They are 100s m wide on average, though in some cases are up to less than 5 km across.
• Double ridges are the most ubiquitous morphology on Europa and run almost linearly with generally uniform morphological characteristics for up to more than 1,000 km.