Daily Current Affairs 

To The Point Notes

1.Model Code of Conduct (MCC) 

• Context: The Election Commission of India (ECI) recently directed the Haryana government to delay the results of its recruitment drive until the completion of the Assembly polls.
• Definition: The MCC is a guideline framework for political parties and candidates during elections in India, published by the ECI.
• Activation: The MCC comes into effect immediately after the EC announces the election schedule.
• Legal Status: The MCC is not a statutory document and isn’t enforceable by laws made by Parliament. However, some violations of the MCC are also offenses under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
• Scope of MCC:
  • Campaign Conduct: Regulates the behavior of political parties and candidates during election campaigns and polling.
  • Complaint Mechanism: Provides a system for parties to lodge complaints with EC observers in case of disputes.
  • Ministers’ Conduct: Specifies how ministers in power should behave while the MCC is in force.
  • Manifestos: Prohibits parties from making promises that contravene constitutional ideals.

2.Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus (VDPV)

Key Points:

• Definition: A strain related to the weakened live poliovirus in the oral polio vaccine (OPV).
• Origin: Arises in under-immunized populations where the weakened virus from OPV can spread and mutate.
• Risk: Can revert to a form that causes illness and paralysis in under- or unimmunized populations or immunodeficient individuals.
• Transmission: Primarily through the fecal-oral route or contaminated water/food.
• Symptoms: Fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, neck stiffness, limb pain. Paralysis in a small percentage of cases.
• Prevention: Immunization (OPV or inactivated polio vaccine (IPV)).
• Recent Case: Meghalaya case reported as VDPV by the Union Health Ministry.
• Note: Polio is a highly infectious disease mainly affecting children under five, causing permanent paralysis in about 1 in 200 infections or death in 5-10% of those paralyzed.

3.Malaysia’s Tweaked ‘Orangutan Diplomacy’

Key Points:

• Context: Malaysia proposes ‘sponsor an orangutan’ initiative for palm oil importers to fund orangutan conservation.
• Background: Initial plan was to gift orangutans to palm oil-purchasing countries, but faced criticism.
• Orangutan:
  • Largest arboreal mammal, spends most time in trees.
  • Closest living relatives of humans, sharing 96.4% of human genes.
  • Three species: Bornean, Sumatran, and Tapanuli.
  • Mainly eat fruits, but also consume leaves, flowers, insects, and small mammals.
  • Found only in the wild on Borneo and Sumatra.
  • All three species are critically endangered.
• Palm Oil:
  • Edible vegetable oil from oil palm trees (Elaeis guineensis).
  • Native to West and Central Africa, extensively grown in Malaysia and Indonesia.
  • Malaysia is the world’s second-largest palm oil producer.
  • Used in soaps, cosmetics, candles, biofuels, lubricants, food processing, and pharmaceuticals.
• Note: Malaysia’s tweaked ‘orangutan diplomacy’ aims to address concerns about the initial plan while promoting orangutan conservation and sustainable palm oil production.

4.Hayflick Limit

Key Points:

• Discovery: Leonard Hayflick’s groundbreaking discovery in the 1960s.
• Concept: Normal somatic cells have a limited number of divisions.
• Cellular Clock: An in-built mechanism within cells determines lifespan.
• Senescence: Cells reach a division limit and become senescent, stopping replication.
• Accumulation: Senescent cells accumulate, leading to aging and decline.
• Ultimate Limit: Estimated to be around 125 years for humans.
• Telomeres: Protective caps on DNA that shorten with each cell division.
• Telomere Loss: Contributes to the Hayflick limit.
• Future Research: Exploring mechanisms behind the Hayflick limit and ways to mitigate cellular senescence.
• Note: The Hayflick limit provides insights into the fundamental biology of aging, but ongoing research is needed to fully understand its implications and potential interventions.

5.Mettukurinji (Strobilanthes sessilis)

Key Points:

• Endemic: Western Ghats, Acanthaceae family, native to Asia and Madagascar.
• Blooming: Flowers every 7 years, similar to Neelakurinji (14 years).
• Location: Confined to the northern periphery of the Western Ghats.
• Diversity: India has the highest diversity of Strobilanthes species, with 72 endemic to Sahyadris.
• Flowers: Enchanting compact flowers in various shades of purple, lavender, and blue.
• Threats:
  • Monocarpy (flowering once and dying) due to sensitivity to rainfall and heat.
  • Frequent landslides and floods.
  • Twitching of flower bunches by visitors.
• Conservation: Neelakurinji is classified as ‘threatened’ by the IUCN.
• Note: Mettukurinji’s depleting numbers due to these threats highlight the need for conservation efforts to preserve this unique and beautiful plant species.