National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) | Current Affairs | Vision IAS
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    Posted 05 Apr 2024

    8 min read

    National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO)

    • Centre plans to create a national digital database of organ donors for smooth transplants.
      • As per the NOTTO data, India witnessed 16,041 organ transplants in 2022, as against the wait list of nearly 500,000 organ failure recipients.

     

    • About NOTTO
      • National level organization set up under Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
      • Functions:
        • All India activities of coordination and networking for procurement and distribution of Organs and Tissues. 
        • Registry of Organs and Tissues Donation and Transplantation.
    • Tags :
    • NOTTO

    NATO

    • NATO marked 75 years of conception.

     

    • About NATO
      • Founded in 1949 
      • Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium
      • Currently has 32 countries from Europe and North America.
        • Sweden is the latest to join.
      • Founded on the principle of collective defense, meaning that if one NATO ally is attacked, then all NATO allies are attacked.
      • Largest peacetime military alliance in the world.
    • Tags :
    • NATO
    • collective defense

    Mulching

    • In Phey village in Ladakh, farmers use mulching to grow organic watermelon.
      • It is significant because Ladakh is a cold desert and watermelon is a hot climate plant.

     

    • About Mulching
      • It is the process of covering the topsoil with plant material such as leaves, grass, twigs, crop residues, straw, etc.
      • Helps create a soil structure with smaller and larger pores through which rainwater can easily infiltrate into soil, reducing surface runoff.
      • Benefits: Prevents soil erosion, increases organic matter in the soil, etc.
    • Tags :
    • Mulching

    Plankton crash

    • The red color of Promenade beach in Puducherry last year was connected to plankton crash, an expert panel told National Green Tribunal (NGT).
    • Noctiluca scintillans, a type of phytoplankton, turn a red color when in large numbers experienced a crash, leading to the release of colored pigment from their cells.
      • These pigments then stick to rocks and the sea floor, forming a biofilm-like layer and causing ‘red tides’.
    • Plankton crashes happen due to a lack of nutrients or lack of CO2 in the earlier part of the production cycle.
      • Plankton may also die later in the cycle due to sudden change in water quality.
    • Tags :
    • Plankton crash
    • Promenade beach

    Hydroponics

    • Hydroponics has emerged as a linchpin in the expansion of India’s sustainable food sector.

     

    • About Hydroponics
      • It is a soil-less farming technique where plants are grown using a water-based nutrients.
      • Can include an aggregate substrate, or growing media, such as vermiculite, coconut coir, perlite, etc.
      • Significance: Can save water, land, and other resources, enhanced plant yields, etc.
      • Challenges: Lack of technical knowledge, higher initial set-up cost, need to constant human intervention, etc.
    • Tags :
    • Hydroponics

    Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC)

    • NASA to create Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC) for the moon and other celestial bodies.

     

    • Coordinated Lunar Time
      • It aims to provide a consistent time-keeping benchmark for lunar missions and space activities.
      • An Earth-based clock on the moon would lose an average of 58.7 microseconds per Earth-day due to time dilation.

     

    • Time Dilation refers to the fact that time passes at different rates for different observers, depending on their relative motion or positions in a gravitational field.
    • Tags :
    • LTC
    • Coordinated Lunar Time

    OpenAI’s new Voice Engine

    • OpenAI has introduced a new AI model known as Voice Engine that can replicate any voice in any language.
    • It lets users upload brief audio samples and generate audio in the same voice and manner of speaking.
    • It is yet to be released for public use.

     

    • Application: Providing reading assistance, Translating content, helping patients recover their voice, etc.

     

    • Disadvantages: Misuse like cloning public figures’ voices, privacy-related issues, lack of regulations, etc.
    • Tags :
    • AI
    • OpenAI
    • Voice Engine

    Kumittipathi rock painting

    • Miscreants have damaged rock art paintings at the cave at Kumittipathi, Tamil Nadu.

     

    • About Kumittipathi rock painting:
      • Believed to be 3000 years old, the artists have used an inorganic white pigment, along with natural gum, to paint the figures.
      • They depict an elephant, ther (a chariot, some say it is a peacock), and the lives of early dwellers. 
      • While most of the rock painting sites in Tamil Nadu are found on rock shelters, those at Kumittipathi are drawn inside a cave. 
    • Tags :
    • Kumittipathi
    • rock painting
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