Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2021

Notes:
Osteocyte is a cell that lies within the substance of fully formed bone. It is also considered as the master regulator cell of the skeleton.
A Research led by Australian medical research team has mapped the unique genetic profile of the osteocytes, for the first time. It also highlights the genes that are switched on or off on osteocytes, which will help in diagnosing bone diseases with genetic component.

Notes:
Scientists have discovered the oldest known human burial in Africa, at a location named “Panga ya Saidi”. It is an archaeological cave site located in South-Eastern Kenya.
It is a burial of a child aged 2-1/2 or 3 years old, buried in a shallow grave with its head resting on a pillow. The burial is said to be more than 78,000 old.

Notes:
A cloudburst is an extreme amount of precipitation in a short period of time, which is capable of creating flood condition. It is sometimes accompanied by hail and thunder.
Several shops and houses are buried under the debris after the cloud burst incident in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli. State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) is undertaking relief work in the affected regions.

Notes:
Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder characterised by less oxygen-carrying protein- haemoglobin and less red blood cells in the body than normal.
May 8 is observed as World Thalassemia Day every year. The day commemorates the struggles of the patients suffering from this genetic disorder.

Notes:
The World Health Organisation (WHO) finally granted the conditional approval to Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use.
The Sinopharm vaccine, developed by China, was already authorised by 45 countries. China has approved five of its vaccines for emergency use and it is using Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines for domestic use and export.

Notes:
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has recently launched a new application for psycho-social wellness of students.
The new app will help the class 9-12 students and parents from CBSE-affiliated schools. Live counselling sessions will be conducted free of cost, thrice a week by trained counsellors. Earlier, there was a practice of counselling through toll-free number.

Notes:
Researchers have found an 18.5-million-year-old fossil in Panama. It is said to be the oldest reliable species of a climbing plant.
The new species is named as ‘Ampelorhiza heteroxylon’., belonging to the climbing vine known as a liana from the soapberry family. This discovery is expected to shed more light on the evolution of climbing plants.

Notes:
India’s only aircraft carrier is INS Vikramaditya, a modified Kiev-class 44,500-tonne aircraft carrier and the flagship of the Indian Navy.
The aircraft recently reported a minor fire at its home port, Karwar in Karnataka. India bought the aircraft carrier from Russia and it joined the naval fleet seven years ago. The Indian Navy operates MiG-29K maritime fighters from the deck of this aircraft carrier.

Notes:
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which was launched in the year 2016 to collect samples from the asteroid “Bennu”, has commenced its journey back to the Earth.
The spacecraft has collected samples from the asteroid, which is 320 million km from Earth and is expected to reach the Earth in 2 years.

Notes:
The Voyager 1 probe of NASA, has detected humming sound in space, which is said to be caused by gas in interstellar space. The plasma wave system of the probe had made this observation.
The Voyager 1 probe was launched by NASA in the year 1977, to study the outer Solar System.