Snowflake Yeast

Context: A recent study published in Science Advances  by NCBS Bengaluru and Georgia Tech reveals that multicellular life may have evolved not just through genetic changes, but also via simple physical and chemical processes, using snowflake yeast as a model.

About Snowflake Yeast

• Snowflake yeast is a laboratory-evolved strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (a single-celled yeast) that has been modified through evolutionary processes to form multicellular clusters
  • It resembles snowflakes, due to incomplete cell division. 
• Composition: These clusters are still composed of individual yeast cells connected by their cell walls while appearing multicellular. 
• Multicellular Behaviour: They exhibit emergent multicellular behaviors, including the formation of dense, branched structures and metabolically driven flows that aid in nutrient acquisition.
• Significance: Snowflake yeast provides a model system for studying the evolution of multicellularity and the transition from unicellular to multicellular life.

Operation ‘Midnight Hammer’

Context: The US conducted precision strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities, codenamed ‘Operation Midnight Hammer’.

About Operation Midnight Hammer

• Objective: To severely degrade Iran’s nuclear programme.
• Targets: The US strike targeted three of Iran’s most sensitive nuclear facilities
  • Natanz: It is Iran’s primary uranium enrichment site.
  • Isfahan: The facility encompasses research reactors and the Uranium Conversion Facility (To convert ‘yellowcake’ uranium to uranium hexafluoride (the raw input for centrifuges).
  • Fordow Enrichment Site: It houses 2,000 operational centrifuges and is built 90 meters deep inside a mountain.
• The Strike Package: The covert operation featured,
  • The B-2 Spirit bombers dropping the Massive Ordnance Penetrators (GBU-57s) on Natanz and Fordow
  • The US guided missile submarine launched more than 24 Tomahawk missiles at Isfahan.
• Execution: The operation marked the longest B-2 mission since 2001 and the first operational employment of the GBU-57.

About The Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM)

• It is an American long-range, all-weather, jet-powered, subsonic cruise missile that is primarily used by the United States Navy and Royal Navy in ship and submarine-based land-attack operations.
• Developed by:  Tomahawk was first manufactured by General Dynamics and developed by the Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University

World Sickle Cell Day

Context: On World Sickle Cell Awareness Day 2025 (19th June), DEPwD launched a nationwide drive to raise awareness and promote management of Sickle Cell Disease.

• The theme for 2025 is: “Global Action, Local Impact: Empowering Communities for Effective Self-Advocacy.” 

What is Sickle Cell Disease (SCD)?

• Sickle cell disease is a group of inherited blood disorders caused by a genetic mutation that affects haemoglobin — the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells.
• Affected red blood cells become rigid, sticky, and shaped like a sickle or a crescent, rather than smooth and round.
• These abnormal cells can block blood flow, reduce oxygen delivery, and cause pain, anaemia, and other complications. 

Prevalence in India

• India carries the second-highest global burden of sickle cell disease.
• An estimated 1 million Indians are affected, mostly from tribal communities.
• High-Prevalence States: Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
• According to a 2024 Meta-Analysis Data, SCD prevalence is 1.17%, and sickle cell trait (SCT) prevalence is 5.9%, particularly high in tribal regions.

World Team Blitz Championships

Context:  Indian chess player Divya Deshmukh defeated World No. 1 Hou Yifan at the World Team Blitz Championships in London.

• Grandmaster Koneru Humpy won the 2024 FIDE World Rapid Championship in New York.

About the World Team Blitz Championships

• It is an international chess tournament organized by FIDE (the International Chess Federation), where teams from different countries compete in the fast-paced “blitz” format. 
• In blitz chess, each player gets only a few minutes to make all their moves, making the games quick, intense, and exciting.

Format

The championship consisted of two major events:

Rapid Segment

• Format: 12-round Swiss system
• Time Control: 15 minutes per player with an increment of 10 seconds per move from move 1

Blitz Segment

• Round-robin tournament (Pools stage)
• Knockout tournament (Top 16 teams qualify)
• Time Control: 3 minutes per player with a 2-second increment per move from move 1

Gödel Prize

Context: Indian-origin professor Eshan Chattopadhyay, along with David Zuckerman, won the 2025 Gödel Prize for their 2016 paper, ‘Explicit Two-Source Extractors and Resilient Functions’. 

• The paper presents a major breakthrough in randomness extraction.
  • It is a process that converts unreliable or weak random sources into strong, usable random numbers—critical for secure computing, including cryptography and communications.

About the Godel Prize

• The prize is named in  honor of contribution made by  Kurt Gödel for his key contributions to mathematical logic, including the famous “P vs NP” question.
• Recognises outstanding papers in the area of theoretical computer science. 
• Sponsored  by: The European Association for Theoretical Computer Science (EATCS) and the Special Interest Group on Algorithms and Computation Theory of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM SIGACT).
• The Prize includes an award of $5000 (US).
• Eligibility: The research work nominated for the award should be in the area of theoretical computer science.

‘NAVYA’ – A Joint Pilot Initiative for Skilling Adolescent Girls

Context:  The Centre to Launch ‘NAVYA’ – Nurturing Aspirations through Vocational Training for Young Adolescent Girls. 

• Pilot initiaitve: A joint pilot initiative by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
• Target Group: Adolescent girls aged 16–18 years with minimum Class 10 qualification.
• Focus: Skill training in non-traditional job roles to promote women-led development.
• Coverage: 27 districts across 19 States, including Aspirational districts and those in the North-eastern region.

Objective

• Empower adolescent girls with skills, confidence, and job opportunities.
• Enable them to be change agents in India’s inclusive and self-reliant growth journey towards Viksit Bharat@2047.

Tripura Achieved Full Functional Literacy

Context: Tripura was declared fully literate under the ULLAS – Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram (New India Literacy Programme)

• Ladakh was the first administrative unit to declare full literacy on 24th June 2024 followed by Goa and Mizoram
• Literacy Rate of Tripura : 95.6% (up from 20.24% in 1961).

About Functional Literacy

• Functional literacy means having basic skills in reading, writing, and math to handle everyday tasks. 
• Importance: It helps people read signs, fill forms, manage money, understand health-related information, and participate in society.

About ULLAS – Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram 

• ULLAS, also known as the New India Literacy Programme (NILP), is a centrally sponsored scheme.
• Aligned with NEP (2020): It is aligned with the goals of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
• Volunteer Driven: This scheme is volunteer-driven and promotes the spirit of Jan Jan Saakshar (Literacy for All) and is based on the spirit of Kartavya Bodh. 
• Target Group: The scheme focuses on educating adults aged 15 years and above who missed out on formal schooling.

India to Link Rare Donor Registry with e-Rakt Kosh

Context: The Health Ministry plans to link India’s Rare Donor Registry (RDRI) with e-Rakt Kosh—the national online system for blood banks and blood availability.

What is e-Rakt Kosh?

• e-Rakt Kosh is a centralized digital platform developed under the National Health Mission (NHM).
• It helps manage and monitor blood bank operations across India.
• Available as both a web portal and mobile app, it connects citizens, blood banks, and health authorities.
• key features: Real-time blood availability, Blood bank directory, Blood donation camps, and Donor services. 

Rare Donor Registry (RDRI)

• Developed by Indian Council of Medical Research – National Institute of Immunohaematology (ICMR-NIIH). 
• Contains 4,000+ screened donors tested against 300+ rare blood markers.
  • Rare Blood Groups lack common antigen combinations usually found in most people’s blood.
• Includes ultra-rare groups like Bombay blood group, P-Null, and Rh-null.
• To  support patients with rare blood types—especially those with conditions like thalassemia and sickle cell disease—by maintaining a national database of carefully screened donors.

Benefits of the Integration

• Central Access: One-stop search for blood banks, blood availability, and donation camps.
• Improved Management: Blood banks can track rare donors and stock levels more effectively.
  Life-saving Reach: Aims to prevent deaths due to lack of rare blood types.

Estimates Committee

Context: Recently, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla addressed the National Conference of Estimates Committees of Parliament and State/UT Legislative Bodies in Mumbai during its 75th anniversary, emphasizing its role in budgetary reforms.

Estimates Committee of the Parliament

• The Estimates Committee was constituted in 1950.
• Composition: Composed of 30 members, elected annually by the Lok Sabha from among its members.
• Chairperson: Appointed by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from among its members.
• A Minister cannot be a member of this committee. 
  • If a member is appointed a minister, they cease to be part of the committee.
• Term of Office: One year.
• Functions of the Committee
  • Examine and Suggest Economies: Recommends economies, organizational improvements, and administrative reforms to enhance efficiency while staying within the policy of the estimates.
  • Policy Suggestions for Efficiency: Suggests alternative policies for improving efficiency and economy in administration.
  • Evaluation of Expenditure: Assesses whether the allocated funds are being well-utilized according to the policy framework indicated by the estimates.
  • Suggestions for Presentation of Estimates: Recommends the format in which the estimates should be presented to Parliament.
  • Exclusions: The Committee does not work on Public Undertakings that are assigned to the Committee on Public Undertakings as per the Rules of Procedure.

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