TURNING AROUND

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has discovered a new planet recently . It is between the sizes of Mars and Earth and orbits a nearby star. It has been named L 98-59b. One of TESS’s goals is to build a catalogue of small, rocky planets on short orbits around very bright, nearby stars for atmospheric study. Apart from L 98-59b, two other worlds orbit the same star. While all three planets’ sizes are known. “The discovery has a great engineering and scientific accomplishment for TESS. For atmospheric studies of small planets,it is needed to short orbits around bright stars, but such planets are difficult to detect. This system has the potential for fascinating future studies,”. L 98-59b is around 80% Earth’s size. The two other worlds in the system, L 98-59c and L 98-59d, are respectively around 1.4 and 1.6 times Earth’s size. Their host star, L 98-59, is about one-third the mass of the Sun and lies about 35 light-years away. While L 98-59b is a record for TESS, e

It is a method of decoration. Arabesque means geometricized vegetal ornament. It is characterized by continuous stem which splits regularly producing a series of counter poised,leafy secondary stems which can intern split again or return to be reintegrated into the main stem.It forms that "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils".

Introduction: • French Gothic architecture is a style which emerged in France in 1140, and was dominant until the mid-16th century. • The most notable examples are the great Gothic cathedrals of France, including Notre Dame Cathedral, Chartres Cathedral, and Amiens Cathedral. Paris was struck in its very heart as flames devastated the roof of Notre-Dame, a historic 850-year-old medieval cathedral made famous by Victor Hugo. Salient features of the French Gothic architecture: • Gothic art evolved out of Romanesque art and lasted from the mid-12th century up to the late 16th century in some areas of Germany. • Architecture was the main art form of the Gothic, and the main structural characteristics of Gothic architectural design stemmed from the efforts of medieval masons to solve the problems associated with supporting heavy masonry ceiling vaults (arched roofs) over wide spans. • The layout in French Gothic cathedrals was often of a Latin cross. The main axis is the most impor

Ancient Indians understood the art of water governance. Most of India’s traditional water management has been at the community level; relying upon diverse, imaginative and effective methods for harvesting, storing, and managing rainfall, runoff and stream flow. • Inscriptions on Tamil Nadu’s temples record administrative and social decisions from a time when they were a seat of authority for the local community. Water scarcity in India: • Many Indian cities, including Delhi and Bangalore, face water crisis, especially that of freshwater. • A World Bank study puts the plight of the country in perspective: o 163 million Indians lack access to safe drinking water. o About 210 million Indians lack access to improved sanitation. o 21% of communicable diseases are linked to unsafe water. Reverence for the resource: • Inscriptions from 700-1,000 years ago, connected to water conservation in temples at places like Mannarkovil, Cheranmahadevi, Tirukurungudi, Kovilpatti, and Pudukkottai

What is the issue? Chennai-Salem highway case gains significance as it will test the judiciary’s assessment of environmental and economic interests. What is the case about? The case relates with acquisition of land for the proposed eight-lane expressway , part of the “Bharatmala Pariyojana”, a centrally sponsored highway programme , connecting Chennai to Salem in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is aimed chiefly as a corridor for more efficient freight movement with a cover of more than 250 KM. The project could have given a harmful impact on the forests, the surrounding water bodies and the wildlife of the region. Given this, the key contention is the debate over the need for an environmental impact assessment (EIA) before land acquisition of a project. The Supreme Court too had already denied the National Highway Authority of India’s urgent request for a stay of the judgment in line of judgement of Madras High court. What is the government’s stance? The TN government

United States,  Google's India-born CEO Sundar Pichai and Nasdaq president Adena Friedman  have been chosen for the prestigious Global Leadership Awards 2019  by business advocacy group USIBC in recognition of the two companies' contribution as the leading technology-driven platforms.

A study published a few days ago in the journal  Nature Genetics  has found the presence of a third and a new ancestor to humans — a sibling of the Neanderthal and the Denisovan. The study compared the complete DNA sequences of the Jarawas and the Onges living in the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal with the DNA sequences of Neanderthals and Denisovans, and they found some notable differences in the DNA sequences. “In this study it was found in the DNA sequence of modern humans, specially in the Jarawa and Onge populations, fragments of DNA that belong neither to the Neanderthal nor the Denisovan nor even to most of the contemporary human groups,” . “Further statistical analysis of the DNA segments showed that the best explanation of the origin of these DNA fragments is that they belong to an unknown third human ancestor that is already extinct. The unknown human ancestor is like an evolutionary sibling of the Neanderthal and the Denisovan.” A small proportion of DNA from the unk