1.Polio virus
● In the mid-20th century, researchers widely believed the polio virus could only be grown in cultures of nerve cells.
● This misconception was propagated by their inability to infect rhesus macaques by the oral route, and only by directly injecting the virus into the nervous system.
● At the time, they didnʼt know the problem was with the polio virus strains they were using.
● The poliovirus has only one natural host — humans — and many of the early strains of the virus were isolated from humans and wouldnʼt infect non-human primates.
● Since scientists kept passing the virus through the brain tissues of macaques, it adapted to that mode of infection.
● The inability to culture polio in non-nerve cells was a major roadblock to developing a polio vaccine.
● . Since Africa was declared polio-free in August 2020, the wild poliovirus has been restricted to rural pockets of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
● But according to a recent report in Science, the virus is beginning to reappear in big cities in these two countries.
● This reemergence is a result of vaccine hesitancy due to misinformation, conflict, poverty, and limited access to these isolated regions.
● The WHOʼs Global Polio Eradication Initiative is thus set to miss its deadline of eradicating polio by the end of 2024
Vaccine development
● Salk made the first successful vaccine using Endersʼ method to grow the virus.
● He inactivated the virus by treating it with formaldehyde, and injected it into his test subjects.
● The fragments of the inactivated virus were able to induce immunity
● Albert Sabin developed the OPV that contained live polio strains weakened by growing them in macaque cells.
● Since Sabinʼs vaccine contained live virus particles, it had to rely on its natural mode of infection and was therefore administered orally.
● Occasionally, the weakened virus in the OPV would revert, and do the very job it was designed to prevent: cause polio.
● On the other hand, the IPV, while being a less potent vaccine, contained inactivated virus particles and carried no risk of causing vaccine-induced polio.
● The world has used both vaccines in the fight against polio.
● While some countries, such as Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland, relied exclusively on the IPV, most countries have used a combination of the two.
● The latter countries prefer the OPV for its superior protection and ease of administration.
● When the number of natural polio cases drops to zero, they switch to IPV for its enhanced safety.
● The latter countries prefer the OPV for its superior protection and ease of administration.
● When the number of natural polio cases drops to zero, they switch to IPV for its enhanced safety
2.AI and DIGITAL jurisprudence
Overview
● One of the most persistent and contentious issues in Internet governance has been the fixing of liability on “intermediaries” for content hosted by them.
● The landmark Shreya Singhal judgment addressed this by upholding Section 79 of the IT Act which grants intermediaries ʻsafe harbourʼ protection against hosting content, contingent upon meeting the due diligence requirements outlined in Section 3(1)(b) of the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules.
● However, its application to Generative AI tools remains challenging.
● There are contrasting views on the role of GAI tools.
● Some argue that they should be considered intermediaries since they are used almost like a search engine even though they do not host links to third-party websites.
The copyright conundrum
● Section 16 of Indian Copyright Act 1957 specifically provides that “no person” shall be entitled to protection of copyright except by the provisions of the Act.
● As in India, reluctance persists regarding the provisions of copyright protection to works generated by AI globally.
● The critical questions are: should existing copyright provisions be revised to accommodate AI?
● If AI-generated works gain protection, would co-authorship with a human be mandatory? Should recognition extend to the user, the programme itself, and by extension, the programmer, or both?
● The landmark K.S. Puttaswamy judgment (2017) by the Supreme Court of India established a strong foundation for privacy jurisprudence in the country, leading to the enactment of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP).
● Generative AI introduces a new layer of complexity.
● The DPDP Act introduces the “right to erasure“ as well as “right to be forgotten”.
● However, once a GAI model is trained on a dataset, it cannot truly “unlearn” the information it has already absorbed. This raises a critical question.
● How can individuals exercise control over their personal information when it is woven into the very fabric of a powerful AI model?
Way forward
● First, learning by doing. Consider granting GAI platforms temporary immunity from liability following a sandbox approach.
● Sandboxes allow AI technologies to be tested in a real-world settingunder regulatory oversight. –
● This approach allows responsible development while gathering data to identify legal issues that could inform future laws and regulations.
● Second, data rights and responsibilities. The process of data acquisition for GAI training requires an overhaul.
● Developers must prioritise legal compliance by ensuring proper licensing and compensation for the intellectual property used in training models. Solutions could include revenue-sharing or licensing agreements with data owners.
● Third, licensing challenges. Licensing data for GAI is complex as web-data lacks a centralised licensing body similar to copyright societies in the music industry.
● A potential solution is the creation of centralised platforms, akin to stock photo websites such as Getty Images, which simplify licensing, streamline access to necessary data for developers and ensure data integrity against historical bias and discrimination.
3. Graphene
● When the same element is able to exist in different forms, the forms are called allotropes.
● Graphene, thus, is an allotrope of carbon, along with diamond and graphite. It consists of a single layer of carbon atoms that are linked to each other in a honeycomb pattern. Graphene is among the most versatile materials known to humankind
● As a nanomaterial, it is stronger than diamond, more conductive than silver, more elastic than rubber, and lighter than aluminium.
● Many people called it a “wonder material”.
● It is simple to make graphene: use scotch tape to peel away the lead of a pencil for a while.
● Under a microscope, you should be able to see graphene residue left on the tape.
● However, scientists use more sophisticated techniques in laboratories, like chemical vapour deposition, to deposit graphene in order to make stronger car tires or when making chips to replace those made of silicon in smartphones.
● When graphene is mixed with concrete, the latter becomes 25% stronger and less carbon-intensive.
● Graphene also develops some unusual properties in a twisted bilayer form.
● In 2019, for example, physicists found that when one sheet of graphene is placed above another and rotated by 1.1 degrees relative to the bottom layer, the stack becomes a superconductor at low temperature.
4.Kadambini Ganguly (1861 – 1923)
Recently, birth anniversary of Dr. Kadambini Ganguly was celebrated.About Kadambini Ganguly (1861 – 1923).
She was born in 1861 in Bhagalpur, Bihar.She became first Indian-educated female doctor.
Key Contributions
She was a member of Brahmo Samaj.She was one of six representatives in the first female delegation of the 1889 Indian National Congress.In 1906, she helped organize the Women’s Conference in Calcutta.She along with Kamini Roy worked for a government committee to enquire about conditions of women miners in Bihar and Orissa. Her efforts resulted in India’s first Age of Consent Act in 1891. Value Courage, Determination, Leadership.
5.PM SVANidhi Scheme
Why in News?
Over 46.54 lakh small working capital loans have been disbursed to street vendors under the Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM-SVANidhi) in the three years since it was launched on June 1, 2020.
- A total of 46,54,302 loans had been disbursed. Out of those loans, about 40% (18,50,987) have been repaid so far.
What are the Key Features of the PM-SVANidhi?
- About:
- It is a Central Sector Scheme i.e., fully funded by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs with the following objectives:
- To facilitate working capital loan;
- To incentivize regular repayment; and
- To reward digital transactions
- Introduction of 3rd term loan of up to ₹50,000 in addition to 1st & 2nd loans of ₹10,000 and ₹20,000 respectively.
- The loans would be without collateral.
- It is a Central Sector Scheme i.e., fully funded by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs with the following objectives:
- Lending Agencies:
- Self help group, micro finance institutions, have been allowed due to their ground level presence and proximity to the urban poor including the street vendors.
- Eligibility:
- States/Union Territories (UTs):
- The Scheme is available for beneficiaries belonging to only those States/UTs which have notified Rules and Scheme under Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.
- Beneficiaries from Meghalaya, which has its own State Street Vendors Act may, however, participate.
- States/Union Territories (UTs):
- Street Vendors:
- The Scheme is available to all street vendors engaged in vending in urban areas.
- Earlier the Scheme was available to all street vendors engaged in vending on or before March 24, 2020.
- The Scheme is available to all street vendors engaged in vending in urban areas.
- Street Vendors:
- The Scheme is available to all street vendors engaged in vending in urban areas.
- Earlier the Scheme was available to all street vendors engaged in vending on or before March 24, 2020.
- The Scheme is available to all street vendors engaged in vending in urban areas.
Who is a Street Vendor/hawker?
- Any person engaged in vending of articles, goods, wares, food items or merchandise of daily use or offering services to the public in a street, footpath, pavement etc., from a temporary built up structure or by moving from place to place.
- The goods supplied by them include vegetables, fruits, ready-to-eat street food, tea, pakodas, breads, eggs, textile, apparel, artisan products, books/ stationary etc. and the services include barber shops, cobblers, pan shops, laundry services etc.
- Around 49.48 lakh street vendors have been identified in India.
- Uttar Pradesh has the maximum at 8.49 lakh, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 7.04 lakh.
- Delhi has only 72,457 street vendors.
- No street vendor has been identified in Sikkim.