News in Shorts: 03 July 2025

Terbium

Context: Scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, have developed a glowing paper sensor that can help detect liver cancer.

• The sensor detects β-glucuronidase, an enzyme found in many living organisms using the fluorescence of a rare earth metal – terbium.

About Terbium

• Terbium is a silvery-white metal that is fairly hard and stays stable in air, even at high temperatures, because it forms a protective dark oxide layer on its surface.
• It reacts easily with diluted acids but doesn’t dissolve in hydrofluoric acid. This is because the acid forms a protective layer that stops further reaction.
• Terbium is found in small amounts in rare-earth minerals like bastnasite and ion-exchange clays, and also in nuclear waste.
• It is one of the rarest rare earth metals found on Earth—about as rare as thallium.
• Terbium is mainly used to make green light in devices such as fluorescent lamps, TVs, and computer monitors.

What are Rare Earth elements ? 

• Rare Earth Elements are a group of 17 elements — made up of 15 lanthanides, plus scandium and yttrium.
• They have similar properties like high density and excellent conductivity.
• Despite their name, these elements are not truly rare — they are fairly abundant in Earth’s crust.
• However, they are rarely found in concentrated deposits, which makes mining them economically challenging.

Whole Genome Sequencing of Ancient Egyptian

Context: For the first time, researchers have successfully sequenced the whole genome of an ancient Egyptian individual over 4,500 years old.

About the Sequencing

• The DNA belongs to a male from Egypt’s Old Kingdom (3rd–4th dynasties) and is the oldest, most complete genome from Ancient Egypt.
• The body, buried in a pottery vessel at Nuwayrat in Cairo, Egypt , was well-preserved due to stable burial conditions in a rock-cut tomb.
• DNA was extracted from the tooth root tips, enhancing its preservation despite Egypt’s warm climate.

Scientific Significance

• Unprecedented DNA Recovery: This genome is the first full ancient Egyptian sequence, surpassing previous partial datasets from later periods (787 BCE–23 CE).
• Preservation Breakthrough: Whole-genome sequencing from hot regions like Egypt is rare; most ancient DNA studies are from colder climates like Europe and Siberia.

Cultural Significance

• Ancestral Links: About 78% of the man’s ancestry traces to North African Neolithic populations, while 22% links to early Mesopotamian farmers.
• Cross-Regional Interaction: The findings provide biological proof of cultural exchanges and migrations between Egypt and the Eastern Fertile Crescent over 10,000 years ago, shaping early farming, trade, and writing systems.
• Historical Connectivity: Supports theories of long-distance genetic and cultural interactions far before the pyramid era.

C-FLOOD

Context: Union Minister of Jal Shakti inaugurates C-FLOOD, a Unified Inundation Forecasting System.

• The project marks a transformative step towards strengthening India’s flood management and disaster response framework.

About C-FLOOD

• C-FLOOD is a web-based platform that provides two-days advance inundation forecasts up to village level in the form of flood inundation maps and water level predictions. 
• The platform will act as a unified system integrating flood modelling outputs from national and regional agencies, offering a comprehensive decision-support tool for disaster management authorities. 
• It uses advanced 2-D hydrodynamic modelling to simulate flood scenarios andInundation forecasts will be integrated into the National Disaster Management Emergency Response Portal (NDEM).
• Co- Developed by:  
  • the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune 
  • Central Water Commission (CWC) and
  • National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) under the National Hydrology Project (NHP).
• Execution: under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).
• Present Coverage: Mahanadi, Godavari, and Tapi river basins (more river basins to be incorporated in the future).

DOWNLOAD PDF