A Snapshot from the year 2022

Artice: Is Artificial Intelligence driven content writing a threat to Journalists?

Context

In November2022, a new AI-based chatbot called ChatGPT became a viral sensation. ChatGPT generates content based on written prompts.

Current Capabilities

• AI technology is currently being used to automate the process of producing basic news stories and generating basic social media posts for business and organisation outreach.
• AI also has utility in transcribing audio and video interviews, thus saving valuable time for reporters.
• Robots are also being utilised for producing basic news stories; for example, Robot journalists Heliograf, developed by Associated Press and ‘English AI Anchor’ developed by Chinese news agency Xinhua.

Limitations

• It is still incapable of the in-depth reporting and analysis that humans are capable of.
• The algorithm still lacks the ability to gather and interpret information and understand or empathise with humans as humans do.
• It also lacks the ability to write clearly and engagingly or mould writing style according to the target readership.
• Human journalists are capable of on-ground reporting, speaking to experts, posing questions and capturing the complexities and nuances of real-world problems, which is not the case with AI.

Conclusion

While AI can assist journalists in various ways, it cannot be a replacement for human judgement, critical thinking and fact-checking.

Article: NASA’s Ambitious Moon Mission:  Artemis-I

(Pic credit: NASA)

Artemis Programme

• Named after the goddess Artemis, the twin sister of Apollo in ancient Greek mythology, the programme aims to return astronauts to Moon’s surface by 2025, 50 years after Apollo missions.
• The programme is led by USA’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) along with three partner agencies, European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
• Unlike Apollo, the Artemis programme envisages a permanent presence on Moon through the establishment of a long-term lunar colony. This program would be a stepping stone for further expeditions to Mars and beyond.

Space Launch System

• It is NASA’s super heavy-lift launch vehicle, intended to be the successor of now retired Space Shuttle.
• It is the primary launch vehicle of the Artemis programme, and it is designed for human and scientific missions to Moon, Mars and beyond.
• The expendable (non-reusable) vehicle consists of a Cryogenic (Liquid H₂ and Liquid O₂) Core stage, two side-mounted solid-fuel rocket boosters, and an Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS).

Orion Spacecraft

• It is a partially reusable crewed spacecraft to be used in the Artemis Programme.
• The spacecraft consists of the crew module, which will inhabit the crew and the European Service Module.
• It is capable of supporting a crew of six beyond the low earth orbit.

Artemis- I

• It was the first integrated test flight of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) and the Orion spacecraft.
• The flight took off successfully on 16 November 2022 from Kennedy Space Centre’s launchpad 39B.
• The objective of this mission was to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed Missions.
• The spacecraft carried with it three astronaut mannequins equipped with sensors to collect data during the flight.

Artemis II & III

• In Artemis II, there will be a crew of four astronauts aboard Orion for 21 days.
• The crewed spacecraft will perform a lunar flyby test and return to Earth. The mission is currently planned for 2024.
• Artemis III will be the second crewed mission and the first crewed lunar landing mission. The mission is currently scheduled for 2025.

Article: Gene editing to boost Carbon Sequestration

Gene Editing

Gene editing is a technology that allows scientists to make precise changes to an organism’s genetic code. The most well-known method of gene editing is called CRISPR-Cas9.

CRISPR-Cas9

• CRISPR stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats. These are specific sequences of DNA that are found in the genomes of many bacteria and archaea.
• Cas9 is an enzyme that can cut DNA.
• When scientists want to edit a gene, they first use a guide RNA (gRNA) to identify the specific location of the gene in the DNA of the organism.
• Once the Cas9 enzyme reaches its target, it cuts the DNA. Once the DNA is cut, the scientists can then use the cell’s own repair mechanisms to add, delete or replace a section of the DNA.
• This technology allows for very precise gene editing and has the potential to be used for a wide range of applications, such as the treatment of genetic diseases, the development of pest-resistant crops, and new medicines.
• In 2020, Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

How can this technology boost Carbon Sequestration?

• Carbon Sequestration is process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It is one method of bringing down the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere with the goal of mitigating the effects of climate change.
• One of the most useful and profound applications of this tool can be bringing about genetic changes in crop plants like Rice and Sorghum to absorb more CO₂ during photosynthesis and grow longer roots to trap Carbon deeper into the soil.
• When it is very sunny outside, plants often turn off the key proteins involved in collecting photons of sunlight, which affects photosynthesis. Plants do this so as not to over-commit resources to harvest sunlight when other factors like water and nutrients might limit their growth.
• By now, several attempts have been made to improve photosynthesis by introducing DNA from bacteria and other plants with desirable traits into the genes encoding the light-harvesting proteins.
• Scientists are now applying the CRISPR-Cas9 technology in Rice; if successful, the efficiency of photosynthesis can be improved, and the tissue of the rice plants can capture 30% or more Carbon.
• Scientists are also identifying mutant strains of Rice with longer roots, which can funnel Carbon deeper into the soil and those strains whose roots release more sugar-heavy molecules called exudates that help soil microbial communities to thrive and enhance Carbon sequestration. These traits can be optimised by CRISPR-Cas9.
• CRISPR-Cas9 can also be used to manipulate the soil microorganisms to increase Carbon sequestration in the soil.

Conclusion

Even though CRISPR-Cas9 is promising, it is still a new and developing technology, and hence it may take decades for such crop varieties to move from the laboratory to farming lands.

Article: Removing Noise in Gravitational Wave Signals

What are Gravitational Waves (GWs)?

• These are ‘ripples’ in the fabric of space-time caused by some of the most violent processes in the Universe such as supernovas, colliding black holes and neutron stars.
• These cosmic ripples carry clues to the nature of gravity and information about their beginnings as they move at the speed of light.
• The existence of Gravitational waves was predicted by Einstein in 1916. However, the first direct evidence came in 2015, when the LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) physically sensed the undulations in space-time caused by  generated by two GW black holes 1.3 billion light-years away.
• GWs are not part of the Electromagnetic (EM) spectrum.

LIGO

                     (Hanford LIGO observatory, USA)

• LIGO stands for “Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory”.
• Currently, there are three such systems operating across the globe, two facilities of Advanced LIGO (aLIGO) in the USA, advanced VIRGO (AdV) in Italy and Kamioka Gravitational wave detector (KAGRA) in Japan.
• One of the facilities of a LIGO, termed INDIGO, is being installed at Hingoli in Maharashtra. It is slated to start operations around 2025.

How these detectors work?

• The detectors use a technique called interferometry to measure incredibly small distortions in space-time caused by passing gravitational waves.
• Each detector contains a pair of arms arranged perpendicularly (L-shape), with mirrors at the ends of each arm.
• Laser light is split and sent down the two arms, where it reflects off the mirrors and returns. The light beams are then recombined and sent to a detector.
• When a GW passes through the detector, it causes a very small change in the distance between the mirrors, which causes a phase shift in the recombined laser light.
• This shift can be very tiny and could be difficult to measure, but by using a technique called interferometry, scientists are able to detect these minuscule changes and thus detect the passing of a gravitational wave.

Issues Faced by These Detectors

• Shot noise occurs because the lasers produce photons randomly, causing fluctuations.
• Due to high laser power, laser photon shakes the mirrors, masking signals of low frequencies.
• Thermal noise (the electronic noise produced by the thermal motion of the electrons inside an electrical conductor at equilibrium).
• Ground detectors also face seismic noise and other forms of environmental noises such as creeping, lightning etc.

Removing Noise in Gravitational Wave Detector

• In spite of design similarities, the KAGRA observatory is unique in two ways:
• It is 200 metres below the ground surface inside the Kamioka mine. The underground location removes the unwanted vibrations from the ground surface.
• It uses cryogenically cooled mirrors at 20 Kelvin. It reduces the thermal noise in the mirror.

Article: Packaging Food: Looking for Durable and Efficient options

• Packaging plays a crucial role in preserving and maintaining the quality of the product by protecting them from any physical, chemical and environmental changes around them.
• Packaging also preserves nutritional value by blocking light, thereby preventing the deterioration of food.

Modern Packaging

• As the awareness among the general public grew, the food corporations had to change their method of packaging to make them free of harmful chemicals.
• Now they publicise while advertising that their packaging materials are free of harmful chemicals like BPA (Bisphenol A) and PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substance).
• Food Contact Materials: Besides packaging, the food we consume comes in contact with several other materials (FCMs) during production, harvesting, and transportation.
• Around 600 FCMs have been identified as carcinogenic, mutagenic, bioaccumulative, or environmentally harmful.
• Some of these chemicals are Parabens, Phenol, Styrene, Phthalates, trichloroethene, Benzophenone, p-Cresol and 1,3-dihydroxybenzene.
• Traditionally, food items were packaged with the intention of delaying the process of environmental effects on the food. But now, innovative methods of food packaging incorporate the use of technologies such as active packaging, intelligent packaging and modified atmospheric packaging. These methods not only preserve the food but are also environmentally friendly as well.
• Modified Atmospheric Packaging (MAP): It is a method of intelligent packaging in which the shelf life of fresh produce is increased by modifying or adjusting the environment inside the package by displacing the air and flushing the desired gaseous mixture.
• Active Packaging: Active Packaging involves the use of active additives inside the package. AP uses materials that absorb moisture and odour, reduce the quantity of oxygen and ethylene gas, and emit antioxidants and antimicrobials in the internal atmosphere.
• Intelligent Packaging (IP): IP focuses on conveying data to the consumers related to the safety, quality and integrity of the package. It uses labels or tags to convey information throughout the supply network.
• Smart Packaging: It is the combination of Active packaging and Intelligent packaging. Besides detecting, it can control the essential variables influencing the quality of the product. It includes self-healing polymers, self-cleaning, heating and cooling properties.
• Biodegradable Packaging: Currently, wide varieties of non-biodegradable synthetic polymers are used for packaging, which poses a threat to the environment. To overcome this drawback, Bioplastics are now being used as a packaging material. These are made up of natural polymeric materials obtained from nature, such as polysaccharides, proteins and lipids. These are non-toxic and biodegradable. To overcome their drawbacks, such as low mechanical strength, and low thermal stability, these are mixed with synthetic polymers or by blending different types of biopolymers.

Conclusion

While the earlier focus of the packaging industry was on durability and preservation of the products, today, safety and environmental factors also have taken centre stage. Nanoscience is emerging as the next big thing in this field; it can incorporate nanosensors to detect traces of contaminants, gases or microbes in packaged food items.

News: News in Short

NASA’S DART Mission changes asteroid mission in space

• • DART Mission: Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is a NASA mission which aims to exhibit a method of planetary defence against near-earth objects (NEOs). It is designed to assess the extent of asteroid deflection after the collision of spacecraft with the asteroid.
  • The craft intentionally crashed with the asteroid Dimorphos andsuccessfully changed its orbit.

Joint Mission to solve the mystery of brightest light shows in the Universe

 

• • • In an Italy-NASA collaboration on Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IPXE), scientists have solved the mystery of bright light shows emitted by explosive galaxies called Blazars.

• • • Blazars: They are a class of active galaxy with a bright, variable source of electromagnetic source at the centre (a supermassive blackhole) . They emit intense radiation across electromagnetic radiation, including visible light. This radiation is caused by jets of high-energy particles travelling at the speed of light that are shooting out from the black hole. They are the brightest object in the Sky.

Discovery of the oldest DNA

 

• • • Scientists have discovered DNA samples dating back two million years ago in the Ice Age sediments in northern Greenland.

• • • This is one million years older than the previously recorded DNA from a Siberian Mammoth bone.

• • • Using DNA, scientists mapped an ecosystem that endured extreme climate change two million years ago. This could help predict the long-term environmental effects of global warming

Discovery of a giant bacteria, Thiomargarita Magnifica

 

• • • A giant bacterium has been discovered In the Mangroves of Guadeloupe (a French overseas territory in the South Caribbean Sea).

• • • It is a giant filamentous bacterium with an average cell length of more than 9 mm. It is 5000 times greater than most bacteria and visible to the naked eye.

• • • Its DNA clusters are kept in membrane-bound compartments dubbed “pepins” after small seeds in the fruit.

• • • It also has three times more genes than most other bacteria.

Uranium extraction from the seawater

 

• • • Scientists from the Indian Institute of Science, education and Research, Pune, have extracted Uranium from the seawater.

• • • The team of scientists developed an adsorbent metal-organic framework (MOF) which is capable of extracting Uranium with high efficiency.

Trapping Zone: a new ecosystem

 

• • • Scientists from Oxford University have discovered a new ecosystem in the Maldives.

• • • It was described as “an oasis of life” 500 metres below the surface.

• • • It will be helpful in understanding the deep ocean in much better terms.

News: India-Specific Short News

(i) ISRO-OneWeb Commercial satellite Mission

       ● OneWeb satellite Constellation: It is a constellation of 648 Low earth orbit (LEO) communication satellites. It aims to provide high-speed, low-latency internet across the globe.

       ● It launched 36 LEO satellites for the UK-based OneWeb.

       ● Launched in October 2022, this was the heaviest commercial mission of the ISRO and the first commercial mission of its launch vehicle, LVM3 (GSLV MK3).

(ii) Chandrayaan-2 Maps the abundance of Sodium on the Moon

       ● CY-2’s Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer (CLASS) has mapped out the global distribution of Sodium on the Moon for the first time.

       ● CLASS measures the Moon’s X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectra to examine the presence of major elements such as Magnesium, Aluminium, Silicon, Calcium, Titanium, Iron, and Sodium.

(iii) India’s first privately developed rocket, Vikram-S

       ● Skyroot Aerospace successfully launched its first suborbital rocket, Vikram-S, from the sounding rocket launch complex, Sriharikota.

       ●It is a solid-fuel rocket.

       ● The launch was assisted by ISRO and IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre).

(iv) Successful Landing of Planes with Indian Navigation Technology

       ● In April 2022 Airport Authority of India (AAI) successfully conducted a landing trial at Kishangarh airport, Rajasthan using the indigenous satellite-based augmentation system named GAGAN (GPS-Aided GEO Augmentation Navigation).

       ● GAGAN: It was developed by AAI with help from ISRO. It is a system to improve the accuracy of satellite-based global navigation systems by providing reference signals. It will be helpful in safe operations in Indian air space, particularly in marginal weather and difficult approaches like Mangalore airport.

(v) First blowdown test of Trisonic wind tunnel at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre

       ● This facility evaluates forces, load distribution, acoustic levels, moments, and unsteady pressures, for the aerodynamic design of rockets and re-entry spacecraft.

       ● Trisonic wind tunnels are capable of testing various aircraft at different speeds below, at and above sound speed.

(vi) India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, Vikrant

      ● On September 2022, India commissioned its first ever indigenously built aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant.

      ● Built by Cochin Shipyard Limited, it is a 262-metre-long carrier with a displacement of 45000 tonnes.

      ● With this, India joined the elite list of 6 countries (USA, UK, France, China, and Russia) that have indigenously built an aircraft carrier.

(vii) Induction of Light combat helicopter, “Prachand.”

       ● Developed by HAL, this is a multipurpose light attack helicopter.

       ● This has been tailored for the needs of the Indian army in desert areas as well as high mountain areas.

       ● It is the world’s only attack helicopter capable of taking off and landing at 5000 metres altitude.