Omega (Ω) blocking
According to a study, recent floods in the Mediterranean regions were caused by low-pressure systems forming around an Omega Block centered over the Netherlands.
- Omega block occurs when two low-pressure systems become cut off from the main flow of the jet stream, sandwiching a high-pressure system between them.
- Omega blocking events have also been linked to other extreme weather events in the past, including Pakistan floods in 2011, 2019 heatwaves during May in France and July in Germany etc.
Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary
Surya Regional Water Supply Project of Maharashtra has achieved a milestone by completing the tunnelling work of the Tungareshwar tunnel recently.
- Location – Maharashtra.
- It forms a corridor between Sanjay Gandhi National Park (also known as Borivali National Park) and Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary.
- It is home to famous Tungareshwar Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva.
Mithun
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has recognised the Mithun (Bos frontalis) as a food animal. Food Animals are those that are raised and used for food production or consumption by humans.
- Habitat – Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram. (Also found in parts of Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Bhutan)
- State animal of both Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.
- Similar to that of Gaur (Indian bison) but are smaller in size.
- Earlier in 2022, Himalayan yak was accepted as food animal.
Tasmanian tiger
In a first-of-its-kind experiment, researchers have successfully extracted Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) from the preserved skin and muscle of an extinct Tasmanian tiger.
- Also known as the thylacine.
- It was a dog-sized striped carnivorous marsupial inhabited in Australia and adjacent islands.
- It resembled a wolf, aside from the tiger-like stripes on its back.
m102.4
According to research published in The Lancet journal of Infectious Diseases, m102.4 is a “potent, fully human” monoclonal antibody that neutralises Hendra and Nipah viruses, both outside and inside of living organisms.