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What is meaning of term ‘Dark energy’?

All these years scientists have been trying to unravel the mysteries of the universe. But in vain. The universe and its vastness cannot be comprehended by the human eye. nor by the human mind. What else is possible: what else is out there? We look up for answers, into the vast cosmic ocean. Did you know that what we comprehend is just four percent of what is there in the universe? All of that you can see, touch and experience just contribute to less than 5 percent of the whole universe. What’s the rest? The rest is just dark. Dark matter makes up for 27 percent of the universe, and 68 percent is dark energy. Dark energy is still an enigma as is the universe. It is something that scientists have not been able to find an answer to. Albert Einstein was the first to postulate that the empty space is not ‘nothing.’ He added the cosmological constant and said the universe is static (neither expanding nor contracting). He later agreed that the universe is expanding. We now know that it’s only accelerating and not slowing down due to gravity. One explanation is that it is the dark energy that drives this accelerated expansion. There is a dark force that is pulling galaxies apart and results in a faster expansion rate. It is a kind of cosmic repulsive force that makes up the dominant component of the universe which is called the dark energy.

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What is meaning of term ‘Gene editing’?

Gene editing is all about making changes in your DNA sequence and thereby altering the genetic makeup. In other words, you customise your genetic makeup. So how is this carried out? Gene editing is performed using enzymes. Nucleases, which are enzymes are engineered to target a specific DNA sequence and cuts are introduced into the DNA strands by them. This aids in removing existing DNA sequences and inserting the replacement DNA. Gene editing will go a long way in targeting specific genes and thereby enable efficient treatment of diseases, according to doctors. With this, the genetic material gets added, removed, or altered in specific locales of the genome. It was in the late 1900s that the first gene editing technologies were developed. At present scientists use a tool called CRISPR to edit the DNA. But with this giant leap in medicine, there also come questions of ethical and social implications of genetically ‘engineering’ mankind. Should physical traits like eye colour or skin colour be altered?

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What is meaning of term ‘Stem cell therapy’?

What is meaning of term ‘Stem cell therapy’?

Stem cell therapy is therapy through cells. In this novel therapeutic approach, cells are administered directly into the body. Single cells are used for this purpose. But what are stem cells? Stem cells are the raw materials of the body, cells from which all the other cells develop. The stem cells divide and form cells that are called daughter cells. Now these daughter cells either become new stem cells or turn into specialised cells that undergo specific functions. They can turn into blood cells, bone cells, brain cells and so on. Stem cell therapy involves guiding the stem cells to turn them into cells doing specific functions. These cells can be used in patients whose tissues are affected or damaged by disease. So these stem cells are turned into specific cells and they repair the damaged tissues. Stem cell therapy is widely used in treating Parkinson’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease, type 1 diabetes, burns, heart disease, cancer and so on.

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What is meaning of term’ Woke’?

The word ‘woke’ is not just the past participle of wake, It is also a slang term representing an embrace of progressive activism. The Merriam-Webster added the word to its dictionary in 2017 defining it as being aware of and actively attentive to important societal issues (especially those of racial and social justice). The phrase’ woke’ or to ‘stay woke’ was first used by the African Americans. Though the word had been in use in the US throughout the early 2000s, it was not before the Black Lives Matter movement that woke became popular in the U.K.

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What is meaning of term ‘Pandemic’,’ Epidemic’, ‘Endemic’?

A pandemic is when a diseases growth is exponential and the number of cases increases each day across the world. A pandemic situation is declared when a new disease affects several countries and populations.  Viral respiratory diseases are most likely to turn into a pandemic like the COVID-19. In the past, there have been numerous cases of influenza pandemics. Global pandemic is called by the World Health Organisation (WHO) after taking advice from international health experts. The WHO defines pandemics epidemics, and endemic diseases based on the rate of the spread of the disease.

An epidemic is a sudden unexpected increase in the number of cases of an illness in a specific geographical area. However, it does not mean the disease is contagious yellow fever, smallpox, measles, and polio are prime examples of epidemics. It can also refer to a disease or other specific health-related behaviour (such as smoking) if the number of cases is clearly above the expected occurrence in a community or region.

Meanwhile, a disease outbreak is endemic when it is present but limited to a partiodar region making the disease spread and rates predictable. It is also called a baseline. For example malaria is considered endemic in certain countries and regions.

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What is meaning of term ‘Denuclearisation’?

Denuclearisation involves the complete elimination of nuclear weapons in a place. The Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is an international treaty that aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and to eventually achieve complete nuclear disarmament States signatory to the treaty ended all nuclear developments in their respective regions.

These states are also expected to allow inspection of their nuclear facilities by the international Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The NPT opened for signature in 1968 and entered into force in 1970. The treaty is almost universal with only four non-signatony countries- India, Israel, Pakistan and South Sudan after North Korea withdrew in 2003.

North Korea, which initially ratified the treaty, decided to pull out of it in 2003, becoming the first state ever to withdraw from the NPT. In 2005, Pyongyang publicly declared that it possessed nuclear weapons. Since then, North Korea has carried out several nuclear tests.

Meanwhile, Palestine is the most recent state to have joined, having submitted its instrument of succession on February 10, 2015.

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What is meaning of term ‘Whistleblowers’?

Who is a whistleblower? If an individual expose a crime in the interest of the public to some higher authority he is referred to as a whistleblower. That is blowing the whistle on (meaning "alerting about) any illegal activity. The individual could be an employee of a private or public organisation, a client, or anyone who gets to know about unethical actions such as corruption or fraud taking place in an organisation. Sometimes whistleblowers do their job, putting their lives at risk. There are instances of whistleblowers threatened, harassed and even murdered for complaining about the crimes. The Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2014 was enacted to enable anyone to disclose corruption and misuse of power by public servants, and to protect people reporting wrongdoings. Many organisations encourage whistleblowing, offer rewards and protect whistleblowers from retaliation. American political activist Ralph Nader is said to have given a positive connotation to the term whistleblower in the 1970s. Did you know that sports referees were once referred to as whistleblowers as they alerted the crowd and players about foul play during a game?

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What is meaning of term ‘Right wing’?

Right wing generally refers to an individual or a political party that holds capitalist views (intent on investing in trade and industry for profit) and advocates highly conservative policies bound by tradition.

 Groups subscribing to this view are in favour of a free market not controlled by government and private ownership. Characterised by ideas of authority, tradition and nationalism, the right-wing political ideology is centred around beliefs that certain social onders are unavoidable. its economic policies support low taxes and less regulation on businesses by the government. The rightwing ideology is in contrast to the left wing ideology which favours social equality in opposition to established social hierarchy. The two wings mark the opposite ends of the political spectrum.

Do you wonder how the term right wing originated? Well, it is said to have originated during the French Revolution in the late 18th Century when the supporters of the king, the conservatives, were seated on the right side of the presiding officer in the French parliament, and those with radical views, the anti-royals, on the left.

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What is meaning of term ‘Right wing’?

An oft-heard term, GDP is the abbreviation of Gross Domestic Product. GDP is the total value of goods and services produced within a country during a specific period, say a year. It determines the size of an economy. Simply put, GDP is one of the ways to measure a country's economic health. It includes private investments, government investments, consumption, government spending, and exports minus imports. A high GDP indicates a robust economy, while a country with a low GDP is a poor economy. The GDP figure is important for policy makers, investors, economists, businesses and bankers. Countries across the globe have different methods to arrive at their country's GDP. Each country prepares and publishes its own GDP data regularly. The country with the highest GDP in the world is the United States with over $25 trillion. The country with the lowest GDP is Burundi with $2.9 billion. According to reports, India with a GDP of about $3.4 trillion is the fifth biggest economy in the world.

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