Evo: AI Model for Genomics
Stanford University and the Arc Institute unveiled Evo, an artificial‑intelligence model designed for the world of DNA. Unlike language models trained on words, Evo reads and writes long stretches of genetic code.
- Design: Built using transformer architectures similar to ChatGPT, the model recognises patterns in microbial and viral genomes and predicts how mutations might change a protein’s function.
- Generative capability: Evo can suggest new DNA sequences that code for therapeutic enzymes or bacteriophages, accelerating the design of gene therapies and antiviral agents.
- Context length: It processes very long sequences, enabling researchers to study gene interactions across entire operons rather than isolated fragments.
- Open science: The model and its training data are open to researchers, encouraging collaboration and transparency.
- Potential impact: Faster drug discovery, precision editing tools, and a deeper understanding of how genetic changes drive disease. However, ethical guidelines are needed to prevent misuse.
Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) 2025
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) publishes the LEADS index to gauge how smoothly goods move within India. LEADS 2025 ranks states on infrastructure, service quality and regulatory efficiency.
- Purpose: To help states identify bottlenecks in supply chains and lower logistics costs, which currently exceed 13 % of GDP.
- Assessment criteria: Quality of roads, rail and warehousing; efficiency of customs and freight services; stakeholder feedback on delays and costs.
- Categories: States are grouped as Leaders, Achievers or Aspirers. Each receives tailored policy recommendations.
- New features in 2025: Corridor performance is tracked on major routes, data is made available via application programming interfaces (APIs), and a digital dashboard allows continuous monitoring.
- Significance: A better LEADS score can attract investment by signalling efficient supply chains and helps the government target infrastructure spending.
Kurmis: Quest for Scheduled Tribe Status
The Kurmi (also spelled Kudmi or Kurmia) community, largely located in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha and Bihar, has renewed its demand for inclusion in the Scheduled Tribe list.
- Historical background: The 1931 census listed Kurmis as a Scheduled Tribe. After independence they were reclassified as Other Backward Class (OBC) without formal consultation.
- Role in freedom struggle: Kurmi leaders took part in resistance movements such as the Chuar rebellion, Indigo revolt, Santhal uprising and the Quit India movement.
- Cultural traits: Primarily agrarian, Kurmis practise the Sarna religion, worship forests and hills, and follow totemic traditions. They reject identification with caste‑hierarchy Kurmis of northern India and assert Dravidian/tribal roots.
- Present status: Under the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (1908) they are recognised as OBC. They demand re‑inclusion in the ST list and official recognition of their Kurmali language.
- Significance: ST recognition could bring access to reserved jobs, education seats and developmental schemes, but it also raises debates about criteria for tribal status.
Supercomputers vs. Normal Computers
The inauguration of Europe’s first exascale computer, JUPITER, has rekindled discussions on how supercomputers differ from the devices we use daily. Understanding these differences highlights why countries invest heavily in high‑performance computing.
- Processing power: A personal computer performs billions of operations per second (gigaflops), while a supercomputer like JUPITER can execute quintillions of operations (exaflops), solving problems that would take a normal computer years.
- Architecture: Normal computers have a handful of CPU cores, whereas supercomputers link thousands or even millions of CPUs and graphics processors to work in parallel.
- Memory and storage: Personal machines typically contain gigabytes of RAM and terabytes of storage; supercomputers use petabytes of memory and specialised file systems for rapid data access.
- Networking: Instead of household Ethernet or Wi‑Fi, supercomputers rely on ultra‑fast interconnects like InfiniBand to synchronise their many processors.
- Cooling and power: Desktop fans suffice for normal use, but supercomputers require liquid or immersion cooling and draw power comparable to a small town.
- Usage: Ordinary users interact directly with a PC, but supercomputers are accessed remotely via job schedulers and used for tasks such as climate modelling, nuclear simulations and artificial‑intelligence training.
Sarcophagus Discovery in Tamil Nadu
Archaeologists in Kilnamandi village, Tiruvannamalai district, found a terracotta sarcophagus whose contents have pushed the timeline of Tamil history further back. Radiocarbon dating placed the burial around 1692 BCE, squarely within the Late Harappan period.
- The find: The sarcophagus contained charcoal from a funeral pyre, etched carnelian beads, pottery with graffiti marks, iron tools and high‑tin bronze objects.
- Graffiti marks: Fork‑like symbols and U‑shaped concentric circles on the pots show striking similarity (over 90 %) to Indus Valley script, suggesting cultural links.
- Trade links: Carnelian beads originated in Gujarat and Maharashtra, indicating long‑distance trade between South India and Harappan centres.
- Clan burial: Some graffiti were confined to certain burials, hinting at clan‑based identity.
- Significance: The discovery redraws trade maps of the Late Harappan age and pushes back Tamil Nadu’s graffiti tradition by several centuries. It also reveals a complex society using iron tools long before the Iron Age conventionally begins in South India.
Mumbai–Ahmedabad High‑Speed Rail (MAHSR) Corridor
Engineers recently completed a key tunnel breakthrough between Ghansoli and Shilphata, marking progress on India’s first high‑speed rail line.
- Project overview: The 508 km MAHSR corridor connects Mumbai, Maharashtra to Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Using Japan’s Shinkansen technology, trains will travel at 320 km/h, cutting the journey time from 6–7 hours to a little over two hours.
- Implementation: The project is managed by the National High‑Speed Rail Corporation Limited with Japanese technical and financial assistance.
- Infrastructure highlights: Twelve stations are planned, including Mumbai BKC, Thane, Surat and Vadodara. The route features long viaducts, river bridges and a 21 km tunnel (with 7 km under the sea).
- Economic benefits: The line is expected to generate jobs, stimulate construction and manufacturing industries and promote regional integration between Maharashtra and Gujarat.
- Technology transfer: Exposure to Japanese signalling and safety systems will build India’s capacity for future high‑speed rail projects.
Isobutanol as an Alternative Biofuel
The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) has begun testing isobutanol–diesel blends after earlier attempts to mix ethanol with diesel faced technical hurdles.
- Chemistry: Isobutanol is a four‑carbon alcohol (C4H10O), produced by fermenting sugars from cane juice, molasses or grains using genetically engineered microbes.
- Higher energy: It has a greater energy content than ethanol, which can improve mileage when blended with diesel.
- High flash point: Isobutanol is less volatile than ethanol, reducing fire risk during storage and blending.
- Miscibility: It mixes more uniformly with diesel than ethanol, often without requiring additional additives.
- Potential uses: Apart from blending (up to 10 %) with diesel for vehicles, isobutanol serves as a solvent in paints and coatings and can be a precursor for jet fuel and plastics.
- Limitations: Its low cetane number may cause knocking in diesel engines if used in high proportions; blending infrastructure upgrades add cost; and full miscibility often requires biodiesel as a co‑solvent.
Super Typhoon Ragasa and the Philippines
Super Typhoon Ragasa (locally called “Nando”) forced authorities in the Philippines to suspend classes and work as it approached northern Luzon with winds nearing 250 km/h.
- Characteristics: Ragasa is a Category 5 storm with sustained winds around 205 km/h and gusts reaching 250 km/h, making it one of the strongest typhoons in recent years.
- Formation: The storm developed over the warm western Pacific Ocean, where low wind shear allowed rapid intensification. It moved across the Luzon Strait and was expected to affect the Babuyan Islands before turning towards southern China.
- The Philippines: This archipelago nation sits in the western Pacific and comprises more than 7,000 islands. Its nearest neighbours are Taiwan across the Luzon Strait to the north, Vietnam across the South China Sea to the west, and Malaysia/Indonesia to the south. The country lies on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
- Impact: Typhoons regularly test disaster preparedness in the Philippines, highlighting the need for early warning systems, resilient infrastructure and climate‑adaptation strategies.