Daily Current Affairs

CRISPR gene-editing possible in temperature sensitive organisms, plants & crop varieties (GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)

Why in news?

• The CRISPR gene-editing technology that received the Nobel Prize in 2020 has witnessed a new height.
• Indian scientists have demonstrated for the first time that the associated Cas9 enzyme, which acts as molecular scissors to cut DNA at a location specified by a guide RNA, can bind to and cut the target DNA at very low temperatures.
• This work has shown the highly efficient functioning of this platform at temperatures as low as 40 C, making it possible to edit genes in temperature sensitive organisms, plants, or crop varieties.

 

What is CRISPR-Cas9 technology?

• CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) are short DNA sequences found in the genome of prokaryotic organisms such as bacteria, which are reminders of previous bacteriophage (viruses) attacks that the bacteria successfully defended against.
• Cas9 enzyme (part of bacteria’s defence mechanism uses these flags to precisely target and cut any foreign DNA, thus protecting the bacteria from future attacks by similar bacteriophages.
• The unprecedented precision of targeting the DNA sequences and then efficiently cutting them is the basis for CRISPR-Cas9 technology, which has been recently demonstrated in editing genes in cells and organisms.
• CRISPR-Cas9 technology has been successfully used for many purposes, including basic studies of gene function, agriculture, and medicine to increase our knowledge of disease processes and their potential future therapies. So far, most binding trials were typically performed at 37 °C.

 

Current experiment:

• As a further step to advance this platform into the forefront of biomedical and analytical biotechnology, scientists of Raman Research Institute (RRI), have explored temperature-dependent binding and release of cleaved products by the Cas9 enzyme.
• They have demonstrated that the Cas9 enzymes strongly bind to the target at very low temperatures and remains bound to the cleaved DNA products even after the enzyme has done its job.
• Subsequently, the bound products were released in a controlled fashion using high temperature or chemical denaturant (that make proteins and DNA lose their 3-dimensional structure and become non-functional). 

 

Significance:

• The research expands possible application of the Cas9-based genetic toolbox to a previously unexplored temperature range that would be compatible with long-term storage of biological samples.
• Their observations on high efficiency of Cas9 binding to target at very low temperatures also provide opportunities to edit genomes of the less explored organisms called cryophiles with an optimal growth temperature of 15°C.

 

Way Forward:

• The results on Cas9-DNA binding and release mechanics will provide valuable insights for developing temperature-dependent applications of the CRISPR-Cas9 technology.
• It also builds a quantitative understanding of product release mechanism of this enzyme system.

 

McKinsey lists 10 steps to decarbonise India while pursuing economic growth

(GS Paper 3, Economy)

Why in news?

• McKinsey recently released a report titled, ‘Decarbonising India: Charting a pathway for sustainable growth’.
• It presents an insight into opportunities and mechanisms to decarbonise six polluting sectors that contribute to around 70 per cent of India’s overall emissions — power, steel, transportation, cement, aviation and agriculture.

Decarbonisation opportunities:

The report proposesmore than 100 decarbonisation levers across these key sectors and takes a deeper look at four cross-cutting decarbonisation opportunities:

1. Green hydrogen;
2. Carbon capture, usage, and storage (CCUS);
3. Natural climate solutions;
4. Material circularity.

 

Key Highlights:

• India announced its ambition to become a net-zero emitter by 2070 at COP26—an important milestone in the fight against climate change.
• The report highlights that, despite low per-capita emissions (1.8 tons CO2), India is the third-largest emitter globally, emitting a net 2.9 gigatons of carbon-dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e) every year as of 2019. The bulk of these emissions (about 70 per cent) are driven by six sectors: power, steel, automotive, aviation, cement, and agriculture.
• They modeled outcomes on India’s net-zero journey along two scenarios: first, the current line-of-sight (LoS) scenario with current (and announced) policies and foreseeable technology adoption; and second, the accelerated scenario with far-reaching polices like carbon pricing and accelerated technology adoption, including technologies like CCUS.

 

Ten actions India may consider to accelerate its decarbonisation effort:

• Lay out a detailed medium-term decarbonisation plan with sector-specific priorities and policy frameworks that account for interdependencies across sectors and provide demand signals to guide corporates to invest.
• Accelerate implementation of a compliance carbon market (within three years). This would also require the creation of demand signals, especially in hard-to-abate sectors, and incentives linked to investments in newer technologies like CCUS.
• Enable banks to support the transition, catalyzed by a green-transition bank. Banks could be asked to come up with their investment glide paths within one to two years and build the necessary capability for assessing risks in these new spaces.
• Accelerate renewable adoption in the power sector to scale up capacity addition by four times and to deepen market reforms with a 30-year outlook in a manner that ensures a stable grid fed predominantly by infirm power.
• Empower a nodal authority to define a national land-use plan. Lay clear land-use guidelines for optimized use across urbanization, industrial needs, carbon sinks, agriculture, and renewables.
• Create a resilient indigenous manufacturing capability and increase investment in cleantech R&D. Efforts would be needed to develop local raw-material resources (such as rare earths), secure materials from elsewhere in the world, and produce equipment locally through mechanisms like production-linked incentive (PLI).
• Evaluate five carbon capture and storage hubs in Gujarat (Jamnagar), Odisha (Paradeep), Rajasthan (Barmer), Maharashtra (Pune), and Andhra Pradesh (Vizag) potentially in public–private partnership for utilization and storage of captured carbon.
• Create a national circularity mission with recycling hubs in the top 20 Indian cities (contributing 35 percent of municipal solid waste), mandated targets on recycling rates, recycled raw-material use (for example, blending norms), and landfill levies.
• Enhance the National Hydrogen Mission with government playing a key role in accelerating demand through blending mandates, boosting cost competitiveness via capital subsidies and R&D investments, and enabling export opportunities via international trade agreements.
• Empower companies to play on the front foot, evaluating investment opportunities that this green trend will unlock, aligned with India’s national plans or opportunities opened up by decarbonisation of other countries (for example, green-hydrogen derivative exports).

Way Forward:

• The report emphasizes the need for India to take thoughtful actions now to set itself up for an accelerated and orderly transition.

Home Ministry asks States to appoint Child Welfare Police Officers

(GS Paper 2, Governance)

Why in news?

• Recently, the Ministry of Home Affairs has asked the States/Union Territories to appoint a Child Welfare Police Officer (CWPO) in every police station to exclusively deal with children, either as victims or perpetrators.

 

Details:

• Acting on an advisory issued by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, the Home Ministry referred to provisions under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, which calls for designating at least one officer, not below the rank of an Assistant Sub-Inspector, CWPO in every police station.
• In a note to all Directors-General of Police, the Home Ministry said the Commission had further requested that a Special Juvenile Police Unit in each district and city headed by an officer not below the rank of a Deputy Superintendent of Police be established.

 

Child Welfare Police Officer (CWPO):

• The unit would comprise CWPOs and two social workers having experience of working in the field of child welfare, of whom one shall be a woman, to co-ordinate all functions of police in relation to children.
• The contact particulars of the CWPOs should be displayed in all police stations for the public to contact.

 

Compliance:

• Pointing to other provisions under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules, 2016, which prescribed specific roles for CWPOs and the Special Juvenile Police Unit in cases of child rights violations, the Ministry called for reviewing the compliance and functioning of the set-up in the States/Union Territories and, where they didn’t exist, taking steps to operationalise the arrangement at the earliest.

 

Crimes against children:

• The advisory comes in the backdrop of increasing number of crimes against children, including murders and offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
• Going by the data published by the National Crime Records Bureau, the total number of crimes against children increased from 1,28,531 in 2020 to 1,49,404 in 2021.
• While Madhya Pradesh topped the country with 19,173 cases, Uttar Pradesh stood second with 16,838 cases. A total of 1,402 children were murdered in 1,279 cases reported across the country.
• As many as 1,15,414 cases of kidnapping and abduction involving 1,18,549 children were reported in 2021. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh topped the list in these cases, the NCRB data revealed.

Black Sea Grain Initiative

(GS Paper 3, Economy)

Why in news?

• In a move that allayed concerns about yet another disruption to global food supply chains, Russia re-joined the Black Sea Grain deal.
• The reversal came a day after Russian President stated that it would suspend, but not end, its involvement in the deal.

Why it matters?

• The Black Sea Grain deal endeavours to tackle escalating food prices emanating from supply chain disruptions because of Russian actions in the world’s ‘breadbasket’. 
• Russia had earlier said that the move was in response to Ukraine’s involvement in an attack on Russian ships in the Sevastopol port in the Crimean Peninsula (annexed by Russia in 2014).
• Ukraine had refuted the charges. The development led to both United States and Ukraine accusing Russia of using food exports as a means to strengthen its position in the war. 

 

What is the Black Sea Grain Initiative? 

• The deal, brokered by the United Nations (UN) and Turkey, was signed in Istanbul on July 27, 2022. Initially stipulated for a period of 120 days, with an option to extend or terminate thereafter in November, the deal was to provide for a safe maritime humanitarian corridor for Ukrainian exports (particularly for food grains) from three of its key ports, namely, Chornomorsk, Odesa and Yuzhny/Pivdennyi.
• The central idea was to calm markets by ensuring an adequate supply of grains, thereby limiting food price inflation.
• Ukraine is among the largest exporters of wheat, maize, rapeseed, sunflower seeds and sunflower oil, globally. Its access to the deep-sea ports in the Black Sea enables it to directly approach Russia and Europe along with grain importers from the Middle East and North Africa.
• Russia’s action in the East European country has now disturbed this route, earlier used to ship 75% of its agricultural exports – precisely what the initiative sought to address.

 

What are the other broad features of the initiative?  

• The deal put in place a Joint Coordination Centre (JCC), comprising senior representatives from Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UN for oversight and coordination.  
• All commercial ships are required to register directly with the JCC to ensure appropriate monitoring, inspection and safe passage. Inbound and outbound ships (to the designated corridor) transit as per a schedule accorded by the JCC post-inspection.
• This is done so as to ensure there is no unauthorised cargo or personnel onboard. Following this, they are allowed to sail onwards to Ukrainian ports for loading through the designated corridor.
• All ships, once inside the Ukrainian territorial waters, are subject to the nation’s authority and responsibility.

 

Security check:

• Should there be any requirement for removing explosives, a minesweeper from another country would be required to sweep the approaches to the Ukrainian ports, in other words, accompany the vessel with tugboats.
• A total de-mining along the Ukrainian coastline was rejected because it was believed that it could spur their vulnerability to Russian attacks.  
• Moreover, in order to avoid provocations and untoward incidents, it is mandated that monitoring be done remotely.
• No military ships or unmanned aerial vehicles can approach the corridor closer than a pre-decided distance agreed upon by the JCC. This too would require consultation with the parties and authorisation of the JCC. 
• In the event of non-compliance or suspicious activities, upon the request of a party, the JCC would provide assistance to the crew or conduct an inspection against security guarantees.  

 

A relief for supply chain:

• As per the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, approximately 9.8 million tonnes of grains have been shipped since the initiative was commenced.
• The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation’s (FAO) Food Price Index, which assesses the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities, fell for the sixth consecutive month in a row this October.
• Following the fifth consecutive month of decline, the supply situation in markets was seen to be easing, with the potential for further price drops. People hoarding the grain in the hope of selling it for a sizeable profit owing to the supply crunch were now obligated to sell.  
• The initiative has also been credited for having made a “huge difference” to the global cost of living crisis. 
• About 44% of the shipments, which include corn, wheat, rapeseed, and sunflower oil among others, reached high-income countries (including Spain, Netherlands and Italy among others), 28% reached low and middle-income countries (Egypt, Iran, Sudan and Kenya among others) and 27% reachedupper-middle income countries (Turkey, China and Bulgaria among others).

 

Valid concerns:

• The initiative alone cannot address global hunger; it can only avert the chances of the global food crisis spiralling further, especially when the region is yet to scale prior year levels.
• A year-over-year comparison for the period between January and September illustrates an export gap of 1.2 million tonnes to least developed countries and 8.1 million tonnes to developing countries, for wheat.
• Further, for maize, there is an export gap of about 2.4 million tonnes to developing countries during the same period. This can be attributed to shipping being shut between February and July— which is when Ukraine typically ships most of its maize, particularly to Europe. 

 

What would suspension of the deal mean? 

• The deal’s suspension was expected to re-introduce the price pressures on grain prices, especially that of wheat, with inventory being at historical lows.
• It could particularly impact countries in the Middle East and Africa such as Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, Sudan and Yemen which have benefitted from the resumption (refer to the chart) and are particularly dependent on Russian and Ukrainian exports.  
• Not only are those countries more dependent on Ukraine as a supplier of wheat and other grains, they tend to buy more during the winter to supplement their own harvests, which are largely consumed by the end of the year. Thus, the suspension could spur food insecurity as well as potentially exacerbate political tensions. 

 

Impact on Ukraine:

• As for domestic challenges, the storage facilities in Ukraine are already at capacity even as farmers turn to harvest the crops planted in spring. This, combined with restricted export opportunities, implies lower prices for farmers even as shortfalls spur prices globally.  
• Lower prices will bring some Ukrainian farmers to the verge of bankruptcy and create further disincentives to plant for the next crop year. This is especially when prices of inputs such as fertilisers have been constantly rising.

Conclusion:

• As Ukraine typically accounted for about 10% of global wheat exports before the war, the effect on global markets is akin to back-to-back droughts over three years in a major wheat-producing region, and it likely means that global stocks will not recover for at least another year.
• Thus, tight stocks are expected to cause higher prices and keep markets volatile.