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What is special about Bundelkhand village?

One village in the drought-hit Bundelkhand region is an oasis. Wondering how that is possible? Find out…

Bundelkhand, spread over Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, is one of India’s most water-scarce areas. But one village here is a lush-green oasis.

Jakhni village in Banda district of Uttar Pradesh revived traditional water conservation techniques about a decade ago when it was hit by a drought. As a result, the village now has 32 wells, 25 handpumps and four ponds, all of which are brimming with water. While the groundwater level was below 24 m earlier today it is at 2.5-3 m. Many of Jakhni’s inhabitants who had left in search of water and better livelihoods, have now returned due to the remarkable turnaround. All this has been achieved by undertaking certain measures.

The inhabitants built bunds (called med bandhi) around every farmland to contain rainwater in the field itself, which in turn helps retain soil moisture for a longer time. The villagers also planted trees alongside these meds. This concept, known as med-par-ped, contributed to the rise in the water level.

Zero water wastage

They adopted the ‘zero water wastage principle every single drop of water is utilised. Small drains were constructed, each drain being connected to a house. All the wastewater from the houses gets collected at a pond and is used in the farms.

The residents replenished their ponds by desilting them and removing encroachments. They dug furrows around them and planted shrubs there. Similarly, they trenched their wells and stopped dumping garbage there.

As paddy and lentils require a lot of water, the villagers decided to grow more vegetables like brinjal, spinach, coriander and mustard-crops which can grow on soil moisture. Jakhni is today one of the best sources of fresh vegetables in Bundelkhand.

Called ‘Jalgram’*, Jakhni has become a role model to surrounding villages. There are plans to establish an environment university in Jakhni as well as a research centre for indigenous conservation methods.

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What did Wilhelm Roentgen discover that helped with surgery?

Discovered in 1895 by German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen, X-ray revolutionised the fields of physics and medicine.

An X-ray is a kind of electromagnetic radiation that can travel at the speed of light (299.792 km per second) and pass through most substances including wood, tin foil, books and even concrete blocks that ordinary light cannot penetrate. It was discovered in 1895 by German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen.

Roentgen was experimenting with cathode rays, when he noticed that the fluorescent screen had begun to glow although no light was falling on it. He realised that it was due to an invisible ray. He called it X-ray because he did not really know what it was. Later, his colleague named it Roentgen ray.

The discovery of X-rays revolutionised the fields of physics and medicine.

As it can make internal structures of the body visible, X-rays are used to detect bone fractures, dental cavities, tumours, etc.

The flip side of the X-ray is that it can cause biological, chemical and physical changes in substances. It can damage the living tissues of plants and animals if it is absorbed by them. In human beings, an X-ray overdose may produce cancer, skin burns, a reduction of blood supply and other serious conditions.

Today we have a wide range of medical imaging techniques to create visual representations of the internal body. These include CT (computed tomography) scans, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and ultrasound.

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How did Wilson Greatbatch invented the pacemaker?

Quite by accident, American engineer Wilson Greatbatch invented the implantable cardiac pacemaker in the year 1958. Read on to know how….

An artificial pacemaker is a small battery-operated electronic device that’s placed under the skin in the chest to help control the heartbeat. The first successful implantable pacemaker was invented in 1958 by an American electrical engineer, Wilson Greatbatch. He was making a heart rhythm recorder when, by mistake, he added a wrong electronic component. He was shocked when the device, instead of simply recording the sound of the heartbeat, produced electronic pulses quite similar to the sounds made by a healthy heart.

It struck him then that the device could make an unhealthy heart beat in rhythm by delivering electrical pulses to make the heart muscles contract and pump blood. For two years he worked on modifying the device. He miniaturised it, coated it with a kind of resin to prevent it from getting damaged by body fluids, and powered it with a mercury-zinc battery.

Greatbatch discussed his invention with surgeon William Chardack, whom he met in a chance encounter. In 1960, the Chardack-Greatbatch pacemaker was implanted in an elderly man with an irregular heartbeat. The patient’s life was extended by 18 months.

Pacemakers today are about the size of a bullet. They are encased in titanium and keep the heart ticking with regular beats through computer-guided electrical pulses. They are inserted through the leg up into the right ventricle. Their batteries can last from 5 to 15 years.

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What are the predators of plant kingdom?

These are plants with many tricks up their sleeve. These are plants that consume meat. In short, these are called carnivorous plants. They lure unsuspecting prey into their traps. They indulge in carnivorous behaviour to obtain much-needed nutrients that are not found in the soil. Insects, spiders, lizards, mice, rats, and other small vertebrates become their prey. Let’s take a look at some of these meat eaters.

VENUS FLYTRAP

Here we have hinged traps built into each leaf of the plant. These hinged lobes have spiny tooth-like structures attached to them. There are hair-like projections called trichomes in the insides of the lobe and if a prey were to get into contact with these hairy structures, snap shut the lobes and the prey has been caught! The tooth-like structures that edge the lobes ensure that the prey cannot get out of the trap.

NEPENTHES RAJAH

The Nepenthes rajah is the largest carnivorous plant in the world. Its trap can grow up to 41 centimetres tall. Vertebrates and small mammals have fallen prey to this genus of camivorous pitcher plant. This plant is endemic to Borneo. Insects get attracted by the odour of the nectar and once inside the pitcher, they cannot escape as they fail to get a grip on the sticky walls of the pitcher. They then fall into the water in the pitcher and as they struggle, the digestive glands get stimulated and digestive acids are released. The Nepenthes rajah can even digest mice!

PITCHER PLANT

For the pitcher plant, its pitcher-shaped leaves form the trap. These pitfall traps are filled with digestive juices. The animals are lured by the nectar. The rims of the pitcher are slippery and the prey falls in and drowns in the digestive fluids. They are often seen growing in a range of habitats viz. from pine barrens to sandy coastal swamps. They normally grow in poor soil conditions and it is through their carnivorous behaviour that they get the much-needed nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen.

COBRA LILY

With its hooded pitcher-like leaves, this pitcher plant resembles a cobra. Even the purple-red appendages that the plant has resembles a set of fangs. The nectar glands attract insects and small animals to the mouth of the pitcher. The large tubular leaves of the plant trap water. This is the only species of its genus that do not produce its own digestive enzymes. Rather, it depends on bacteria to break down its prey. Once inside, there is no escape. The slippery walls and the downward-pointing hairs ensure this and the prey falls into the fluid at the bottom of the pitcher. The prey gets decomposed by microorganisms in the fluid. The plant is native to swamps in the mountainous regions of the USA.

BUTTERWORT

Butterwort is a carnivorous flowering plant that uses its sticky leaves to lure in insects and eventually trap and digest them. This plant releases its enzymes for digesting the prey whilst it holds the prey in its place with its sticky mucous.

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Do penguins face threat of extinction?

As much as 98% of colonies of this penguin species is at risk of extinction by 2100. So, the U.S. has listed the bird as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. There’s still hope to save them.

Where do emperor penguins live?

Different species of penguins are found in different parts of the Southern Hemisphere. The emperor penguins are found only in Antarctica, where they live and breed. Emperor penguins thrive on Antarctica’s coastlines in icy conditions any human would find extreme. The penguins breed on fast ice, which is sea ice attached to land But they hunt for food within the pack ice-sea ice floes that move with the wind or ocean currents and may merge. Sea ice is also important for resting, during their annual moult, and to escape from predators.  

The U.S. lists them as “threatened”.

If current global warming trends and government policies continue, Antarctica’s sea ice will decline at a rate that would dramatically reduce emperor penguin numbers to the point that 98% of all their colonies would become quasi-extinct by 2100, with little chance of recovering, a new study has shown. That’s why the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalised a rule listing the emperor penguin as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act, effective November 25, 2022. The director of the service said the listing “reflects the growing extinction crisis”. The U.S. Endangered Species Act has been used before to protect other species that are primarily at risk from climate change, including the polar bear, ringed seal, and several species of coral, which are all listed as threatened.

But, these penguins don’t even live in the U.S.!

Sure, these penguins don’t live on US. territory, so some of the Endangered Species Act’s measures meant to protect species habitats and prevent hunting them don’t directly apply. Being listed under the Endangered Species Act could still bring benefits, though. It could provide a way to reduce harm from U.S. fishing fleets that might operate in the region. And, with expected actions from the current administration, the listing could eventually pressure U.S. agencies to take actions to limit greenhouse gas emissions. However, the Bureau of Land Management has never acknowledged that emissions from oil and gas extraction on public lands and waters could harm climate-imperiled species. It issued more than 3.500 oil and gas drilling permits in New Mexico and Wyoming on public land during the first 16 months of the Joe Biden administration.

What’s harming the birds?

The greatest threat emperor penguins face is climate change. It will disrupt the sea ice cover they rely on unless governments adopt policies that reduce the greenhouse gases driving global warming. If there’s too much sea ice, trips to bring food from the ocean become long and arduous, and their chicks may starve. With too little sea ice, the chicks are at risk of drowning. Climate change is now putting that delicate balance and potentially the entire species at risk. Emperor penguins are adapted to their current environment, but the species has not evolved to survive the rapid effects of climate change that threaten to reshape its world. Major environmental shifts, such as the late formation and early loss of sea ice on which colonies are located, are already raising the risk.

How can we save them?

Decades of data since the 1960s are now helping scientists gauge the effects of anthropogenic climate change on the penguins, their sea ice habitat and their food sources. Meeting the Paris Agreement goal could still save the penguins. The results of the new study showed that if the world meets the Paris climate agreement targets, keeping warming to under 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 F) compared with pre-industrial temperatures, it could protect sufficient habitat to halt the emperor penguins decline. But the world isn’t on track to meet the Paris Agreement goals. The future of emperor penguins, and much of life on Earth, including humanity, ultimately depends upon the decisions made today.

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What is microsleep?

It occurs when a person is sleep deprived, tired, or suffering from a sleep disorder. Microsleep is a common cause of car accidents when an exhausted driver falls asleep at the wheel while driving.

It is a brief, involuntary episode of sleep lasting from a fraction of a second to several seconds. Microsleep occurs when a person is sleep deprived, mentally fatigued, depressed or suffering from a sleep disorder.

Microsleep can happen anytime, anywhere. Often, the person is so tired that he does not even realise that he has missed a few seconds of wakefulness. He may feel temporarily spaced out and not react to external factors like a traffic light.

Though it is a matter of a few seconds, microsleep is very dangerous if it occurs insituations when the person has to be constantly alert such as while driving, flying an aeroplane, or operating heavy machinery. Microsleep is a common cause of car accidents when an exhausted driver falls asleep at the wheel while driving and wakes up too late to avoid a collision or negotiate a curve on the road. Microsleep can affect your performance in school too. If you are sleep deprived, it is possible that microsleep could spell trouble while writing the exam paper.

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How do barcodes work?

Barcodes- those simple labels with black stripes-have revolutionised the retail industry. The stripes printed on product packaging contain important information regarding the product. Each barcode is made of varying widths of bars and spaces between them. The barcodes can be decoded only through special devices such as a laser or optical scanner, the kind used at supermarkets. Barcodes enable easy and fast transaction as well as analysis of sales data stored in the computer.

The information contained in barcodes is called Symbology. As soon as a barcode is passed through a scanner, all information pertaining to the product is shown on a computer screen. Shopkeepers love this system because it enables easy and fast transaction as well as analysis of sales data (stored in the computer). This system has a very low margin of error during sale. Barcodes are also useful for manufacturers since a unique identity can be inserted for each box of products to help in packaging and transportation

These days other geometric patterns are used in place of the original parallel bars but they are all generally referred to as barcodes.

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Who is an influencer?

Influencers are those who regularly post their views on social media for their target audiences. Influencers are bloggers and users of social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) who regularly post their views and have a large number of followers with whom they have established a relationship of trust. So if they recommend a particular product, their followers may purchase it or at least explore it. As a result, many advertisers and marketing professionals take their help to increase the sales of a product. This kind of marketing, in which the advertisers focus on a few influencers for the promotion of a brand, rather than a large group of consumers as a whole, is called influencer marketing’.

Many influencers today make a living sharing products on their social media handles. They are divided into four main types – mega, macro, micro and nano influencers (in descending order in terms of their followers.) Mega influencers are celebrities. Macro influencers may be everyday bloggers or vloggers (video loggers) whose content is very relatable to their target audiences.

Micro influencers are topic experts or topic fans such as fitness experts and gourmets. Nano influencers are ordinary digital citizens with less than 1000 followers. They have a strong influence on their followers, most of whom they know personally.

If a company wants more people to have a real connection with its brand as opposed to more people knowing about it, it will probably hire a nano influencer. After all, people are more likely to purchase a product on the recommendation of a discerning friend than some celebrity.

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What is interactive theatre?

Interactive theatre is where the performers encourage members of the audience to discuss pertinent issues with them.

Interactive theatre is a form of theatre which seeks to blur the traditional distinction between the performers and the audience. In traditional theatre, the performance is limited to a stage area and the audience passively observes the action of the play as it unfolds. But in interactive theatre, the actors engage audience members directly, making them active participants.

There are different types of interactive theatre. In immersive theatre, for instance, the audience is invited to the same stage area or playing space as the performers. They may be asked to hold props or become characters in the play. In improvisational theatre, viewers are asked to give performance suggestions.

In interactive therapeutic or educational plays, the audience is encouraged to discuss pertinent issues with the performers.

In some interactive plays, the audience is asked to determine the ending of a play by participating in a collective vote. For example, in “Night of January 16th,” a 1934 courtroom drama by famed Russian-American writer Ayn Rand, the audience decides whether the defendant is guilty or not, thus playing the role of the jury.

Many practitioners of interactive theatre use the black box format. In such a format, the play is staged in a room with black walls, movable seating, lighting and a stage that is devised to create an immersive experience. Space is used in an innovative manner the audience may be seated in the centre, on revolving chairs and the stage surrounds them.

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