Current Affairs - March 2020 to May 2020 Month May 2020 Type Science and Technology 113 Current Affairs were found in Last Three Months for Type - Science and Technology Science 1. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research along with National Physical Laboratory recently discovered a bi-luminescent security ink, to be used to counterfeit currency notes. It shows two colours when exposed to light. Ink is produced by mixing two different colours namely green and red in the ratio 3:1. This mixture was hated to 400-degree Celsius. 2. Scientists from Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST) developed a pH-responsive smart bandage that can deliver medicine applied in wound at pH that is suitable for the wound. It is developed by fabricating a nanotechnology-based cotton patch that uses cheap and sustainable materials like cotton and jute. Jute has been used for first time as a precursor in synthesizing fluorescent carbon dots, and water was used as dispersion medium. Stimuli-responsive nature of fabricated hybrid cotton patch acts as an advantage as in case of growth of bacterial infections in a wound, and this induces release of drug at lower pH which is favourable under these conditions. This pH-responsive behaviour of the fabricated cotton patch lies in the unique behaviour of the jute carbon dots incorporated in the system because of the different molecular linkages formed during the carbon dot preparation. Use of cheap and sustainable material like cotton and jute to fabricate patch makes whole process biocompatible, non-toxic, low cost and sustainable. 3. Scientists at Hyderabad-based DNA Finger Printing and Diagnostics Center have discovered a new mechanism that prevents cancer when an anti-cancer protein is converted. CDFD scientists have identified a rare p53 form of tongue cancer in Indians, which causes these mutant p53 cancers. Scientists identified genes of mutant p53 protein. One of these genes, called SMARCD1, is the most important. SMARCD1 converts a protein into symbolic words. It goes with other proteins and forms a multi-protein complex. Scientists have found that SMARCD-1 is seen in tongue cancer in Indians. 4. IIT BHU Researchers made significant achievements in developing nanomaterials based supercapacitors to achieve high energy density and power density of supercapacitors. High energy density of supercapacitors suggests that constant current can be withdrawn for longer duration without recharging. Hence automobiles can run longer distances without charging. Researchers developed a cost-effective process of producing reduced graphene oxide (rGO) at a moderate temperature of 100°C, with high capacitance performance. Researchers also developed a novel green approach for synthesis of Iron-based nanocatalyst, which can be used for large scale production of Cabon Nanotubes. Additionally, Group is working on optoelectronic applications of nanomaterials, for developing novel nanostructures of carbon and metal dichalcogenides semiconductors for photodetection and Surface-Enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). SERS can help detect harmful molecules present in water at ultra-low concentrations. They demonstrated detection of Rhodamine 6G (R6G), an organic laser dye up to lowest limit of sub-nano-molar concentration using rGO and MoS2 nanomaterials. 5. Scientists at Agharkar Research Institute Pune come up with plant data of the Northern Western Ghats, which indicates that plateaus, in addition to forests, should be prioritized for conservation of Northern Western Ghats. They found that majority of endemic species are therophytes, which complete their life cycle in a short period during monsoon. Northern Western Ghats have plateaus and cliffs that display maximum endemic species, unlike forests. Forests of Northern Western Ghats harbour many species which are not endemic. 6. Scientists at Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) developed a highly efficient superabsorbent material for liquid respiratory and other body fluid solidification and disinfection for the safe management of infected respiratory secretion, titled Chitra Acrylosorb Secretion Solidification System. AcryloSorb can absorb liquids at least 20 times more than its dry weight and also contains a decontaminant for in situ disinfection. 7. Scientists at Institute of Nano Science and Technology Mohali (INST) found a low-cost metal-free nanomaterial for visible light microbial disinfection which can be an alternative to silver and other metal-based materials - Researchers tested carbon nitride quantum dots (g-CNQDs) for visible-light-driven antibacterial activity and found it to be efficient, apart from being biocompatible with mammalian cells. It is a suggested anti bacterial alternative to metal/non-metal semiconductors and expensive silver, thus making it cost-effective 8. Scientists from Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology Dehradun found a seasonal advancement in 220 surge-type glaciers in the Karakoram Range of Ladakh. ‘Surging’ glaciers are those that have shown advancement in volume and length over time. Behaviour of these glaciers, which are 40% of glaciated area of Karakoram, goes against normal trend of considerable reduction in volume and length of most glaciers in the Himalaya in recent decades. Surging of glaciers is potentially catastrophic as it can lead to destruction of villages, roads and bridges. It can also advance across a river valley and form ice-dammed lake. Scientists focused on Shispare and Muchuhar glaciers, former tributaries of once larger Hasanabad Glacier situated in Hunza Valley, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Surge-type glaciers oscillate between brief (months to years) rapid flow and lengthy (tens to hundreds of years) slow flow or stagnation, which are called ‘active’ (or ‘surge’) and ‘quiescent’ phases, respectively. The study will help to understand diversity of glacial behaviour and help make accurate assessments of individual glacier mass balances for disaster planning and management. 9. Scientists from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) fabricated an economical and energy-efficient wafer-scale photodetector (thin slice-based) using gold – silicon interface, for security applications. It could help detect weak scattered light as an indication of unwanted activity. Photodetectors are utmost important in ay optoelectronic circuit, used in wide variety of applications. However, material cost and intricate fabrication processes involved in realizing high-performance detectors make them unaffordable for day to day applications. The current invention provides a cost-effective solution-based fabrication method for high-performance photodetector. Detector exhibits a rapid response of 40 microseconds and can detect low light intensities. It operates in self-powered mode, wich high precision. 10. SpaceX became first private rocket company to send astronauts to space, launching NASA Astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken. It will end reliance of NASA on Russian space rockets for sending NASA astronauts to space. As part of mission, Astronauts in SpaceX's Crew Dragon Capsule entered International Space Station (ISS). 11. A new parasitic fungus has been discovered by a University of Copenhagen (Denmark) biologist, termed as Troglomyces twitteri. It is named after Twitter as it was discovered in Twitter. The image was posted in Twitter by an entomologist 1n 2018. The Fungi belongs to the order called Laboulbeniales. These are fungi that attack millipedes and insects. They look like larvae. 12. A new trough collector equipped with enhanced energy to serve industries has been developed by IIT Madras. The Parabolic Trough Collector is a lightweight and low-cost system with high energy efficiency and can operate under the country's varied climatic conditions. It can pave way for sustainable energy solutions in agriculture and industrial process heat sectors. Trough Collector focuses sunlight on a small area where it is absorbed and then utilised for heating and subsequently into energy generation. 13. A tiny near-Earth asteroid and temporary satellite of Earth named 2020 CD3, has been discovered, as part of the Mount Lemmon Survey or Catalina Sky Survey. It is the second temporary satellite of Earth discovered, after 2006 RH120, which was discovered in 2006. 2020 CD3 may have been captured by Earth around 2016–2017, and is expected to remain in a geocentric orbit around Earth until April 2020. Also, Astronomy student from University of British Columbia, Michelle Kunimoto discovered 17 new planets, including a potentially habitable Earth-sized rocky body that may have liquid water, by combing data collected by NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope. Finding also includes planet named ‘KIC-7340288 b’ which is 1000 light years away from eart and is one and a half times size of Earth and is in habitable zone of its star. 14. An analysis of 369 solar-like stars shows that brightness variations of our Sun are extremely weak by cosmic standards, making Sun extraordinarily monotonous. Study is led by Germany's Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research. For the first time, scientists compared Sun with hundreds of other stars with similar rotation periods and other fundamental properties. Study found that on average, other stars had five times more brightness variability than our sun. Sun is made up mainly of hydrogen and helium, formed more than 4.5 billion years ago. It stretches about 1.4 million kilometers across and has a surface temperature of 5,500 degrees