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Sunday, 16 October 2011

Current Affairs : August 12, 2011


Cells that Can Destroy Leukemia developed by US Scientists
U.S. scientists developed cells that can destroy leukemia in three weeks
That could lead to new and effective treatments for deadly blood cancer
A new engineering technique involving leukemia patients treated with their own
T cells
T cells: A type of white blood cells that were genetically modified to target and
destroy tumors within the patient’s body
White blood cells are unable to distinguish tumor cells from healthy tissue,
allowing cancer to spread out of control
To overcome this problem, scientists inserted a protein called chimeric antigen
receptor on white blood cells so that they can attack tumor cells
Inserted protein will bind with another protein called CD19 that is present in
Leukemia tumour cells
This results in the proliferation of T cells
R. Narasimhan, Veteran Journalist and Advertising Professional passed away
Veteran journalist and advertising professional, R. Narasimhan passed
away
Mr. Narasimhan joined The Hindu as a sub-editor in 1950
He was responsible for the formation of the National Hindu Press Employees
Union and has served as vice president and general secretary of the Madras
Union of Journalists.
India’s desert State Rajasthan’s First-ever Export of Certified Organic Food to the US
The first-ever consignment of certified organic food to be exported from Rajasthan
to the United States
The organic food comprised mainly conventional pulses for which there is a
heavy demand in the U.S.
The pulses were produced from the processing unit of the Morarka Organic
Foods in Sitapura Industrial Area
Organic farming culture gaining ground in Rajasthan is deemed to be as
significant as Harit Kranti (Green Revolution) introduced in 1965 by the then
Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, as a result of which the wheat imports from
the U.S. had stopped
TrES-2b (or Kepler-1b): Coal-Black Alien Planet Is Darkest Ever Seen
TrES-2b (or Kepler-1b): An extrasolar planet orbiting the
star GSC 03549-02811 located 750 light years away
The planet has been identified in 2011 as the darkest known
exoplanet, reflecting less than 1% of sunlight
It is darker than any planet or moon in our solar system
NASA’s Kepler spacecraft was used by the astronomers to make

this observation
TrES-2b was discovered in 2006 by the Trans-Atlantic Exoplanet
Survey
It orbits its star at a distance of only three million miles. The star heats TrES-2b to
a temperature of more than 1800 degrees Fahrenheit
TrES-2b orbits the star GSC03549, which is located about 750 light-years
away
It can be observed near the constellation Draco TrES-2b is the darkest known exoplanet, reflecting less light than coal or black acrylic paint.It is not clear why the planet is so dark. One reason might be a lack of reflective clouds like those that make brilliant Jupiter, due to the proximity TrES-2b to its parent star and therefore high temperature. Another reason could be the presence in the atmosphere of chemicals that absorb light such as sodium vaporized titanium oxide or potassium gas.
‘Citizens have right to invoke RTI Act to fight corruption’: SC
The Supreme Court articulated that the Citizens have a right to invoke the RTI Act
to fight corruption and bring in transparency and accountability in the
administration
A bench of justices R V Raveendran and A.K. Patnaik opined that the provisions of
RTI Act should be enforced firmly and all pains should be made to bring to light
the necessary information under clause (b) of section 4(1) of the Act which relates
to securing transparency and accountability in the working of public authorities
and in discouraging corruption
The bench made the remarks while dismissing the Central Board of Secondary
Education’s plea that Students have no right to examine their assessed answer
scripts
The apex court however, said that the Act should not be misused for extracting
impractical information in an indiscriminate manner
IOC launches multi-function regulators for LPG cylinders
State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) launched multi-function regulators for
domestic cooking gas cylinders
The Multi-functional domestic presser regulator has numerous safety features
which include leak detection, child lock, gas level indicator and excess flow shutoff
feature
The safety features of the regulator will be helpful in making kitchens safe and
convenient

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