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Why is a psoriasis drug being used to treat COVID-19 patients?

Why is a psoriasis drug being used to treat COVID-19 patients? Context Biocon announced that it had received the approval of the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to market Itolizumab for treatment of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) in moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome patients due to COVID-19. Itolizumab is a monoclonal antibody which is used to treat acute psoriasis. What are monoclonal antibodies? Monoclonal antibodies are proteins cloned in

Previously unknown faults at the foot of the Himalaya discovered

Previously unknown faults at the foot of the Himalayas discovered Context Data from an oil and gas exploration company has now helped geologists discover a series of faults at the foot of the Himalaya. Sesimic exploration data The team looked at seismic reflection data, which are routinely collected by exploration companies looking for oil and gas. In this method, seismic waves are produced by small explosions at multiple sources, and many recorders called geophones to re

Autotomy

Autotomy How does a lizard lose its tail? Certain animals voluntarily shed a body part in response to attempted predation. Lizards losing their tails when they are pulled by a predator is well known. This self-amputation is called autotomy. The severed tail continues to wiggle for about 30 minutes. Studies have shown that the severed tail follows an elaborate repetitive and diverse motion, which includes flips up to 3 cm in height. The wiggly motion very often distracts the atte

Solar Orbiter Mission

Solar Orbiter Mission NASA launched the Solar Orbiter to space on an Atlas 5 rocket from Florida on February 10. The mission is a cooperative mission between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) which will help researchers to know how the star's energy affects Earth and humans in space. Key Points The Solar Orbiter Mission is a cooperative mission between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). It a seven-year mission. Significance: It will observe the S

Arming India’s poor against the pandemic

Arming India’s poor against the pandemic Vitamin D deficiency can affect COVID-19 high-risk patients, particularly those who are diabetic, have heart conditions, pneumonia, obesity and smoke. It is also associated with infections in the respiratory tract and lung injury. Importance of Vitamin-D Besides, vitamin D is known to help in having the right amount of calcium in the bones, catalyse the process of protecting cell membranes from damage, preventing the inflammation

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) celebrated its 92nd foundation day on 16th July 2020. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) was established on 16 July 1929 as a registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. It is an autonomous organisation under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture and Farme

NISHTHA Programme

NISHTHA Programme GS-Paper-3 Education Recently, the National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA) programme has been launched for the first time in online mode in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Imp Points Initially, the NISHTHA programme was launched in 2019 in face-to-face mode to improve learning outcomes at the elementary level in the country. The covid-19 pandemic situation and lockdown hav

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