Chytridiomycosis
Syllabus: Prelims : Environment
Why in News?
- Study develops method to detect all amphibian chytrid fungus strains.
About Chytridiomycosis
- Fungal Disease: Amphibian chytridiomycosis is a fatal fungal disease caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, affecting amphibians worldwide. It primarily affects the skin and has led to population declines and extinctions.
More Information
- Chytrid originated in Asia and spread globally due to global travel and trade in amphibians.
- The disease caused population declines and species extinctions, serving as a precedent for the threat of infectious diseases to biodiversity.
- Chytrid primarily affects frog species, leading to the wiping out of 90 species.
- The fungus reproduces in the frogs’ skin, damaging their ability to balance water and salt levels, eventually resulting in death.
- Chytrid is considered the deadliest animal disease due to its high mortality rate and the large number of species it affects.
- Frogs in regions without an evolutionary history with chytrid, like Australia and the Americas, were particularly vulnerable to the disease.
- The devastating impact of chytrid on frog populations was noticed by amphibian biologists in the 1980s, and in 1998, the chytrid fungal pathogen was identified as the cause.
- A recent multinational study has developed a method to detect all known strains of the disease, which will improve detection and research efforts towards finding a widely available cure.
PARAS Telescope
Syllabus: Prelims : Science and Technology
Why in News ?
- New exoplanet, 13 times Jupiter’s mass, discovered by scientists using the PARAS telescope.
About the discovery
- New Jupiter-size exoplanet with highest density discovered around star TOI4603/HD 245134, initially identified as a potential candidate by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite.
About PARAS telescope
- PARAS, a high-precision spectrograph, was commissioned in 2012 at the Mount Abu telescope in India.
- It achieves velocity precision better than 2 m/s over long periods on bright RV standard stars.
- With a spectral coverage of 3800–9500 Å and a resolution of ~67000, PARAS offers efficient performance (~7%) under ideal conditions.
- Its stable point-spread function, environmental control, calibration fiber, and ample observing time make it ideal for exoplanetary and stellar astrophysics research.
Side Notes :
- Exoplanets are planets outside our solar system.
- They can orbit stars or exist as free-floating rogue planets.
- Massive giant exoplanets have a mass exceeding four times that of Jupiter.
XPoSat
Syllabus: Prelims : Science and Technology
Why in News ?
- India is planning to launch X-Ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) later this year.
XPoSat mission
- XPoSat is India’s first polarimetry mission and the world’s second after NASA’s IXPE(Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer)
- It aims to study bright astronomical X-ray sources in extreme conditions.
- The spacecraft carries two payloads: POLIX ((Polarimeter Instrument in X-rays)) for measuring polarimetry parameters and XSPECT for spectroscopic information.
- POLIX is developed by RRI in collaboration with ISRO’s URSC and will observe around 40 astronomical sources.
- XSPECT ((X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing)) will provide insights into various sources like X-ray pulsars, blackhole binaries, and low-magnetic field neutron stars.
Significance
- These polarimetry missions will help observe polarized X-rays from neutron stars and supermassive black holes.
- By measuring the polarisation of these X-rays, we can study where the light came from and understand the geometry and inner workings of the light source
Detecting X-Rays in Space
- X-rays have high energy and short wavelengths.
- They are emitted by objects at extremely high temperatures, such as pulsars, supernova remnants, and black holes.
- X-rays consist of moving electric and magnetic waves, while polarized light has organized waves vibrating in the same direction.
- Polarimetry measures the angle of rotation of polarized light passing through specific materials.
Some Facts
- France became the first country in the world to impose a ban on short-haul domestic flights, favoring train travel for routes up to two-and-a-half hours.
- Planes emit 77 times more CO2 than trains on these routes.
- Private jets are estimated to be 5-14 times more polluting than commercial planes and 50 times more polluting than trains.
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