BIOSIMILAR MEDICINES

Context: Dr Reddy’s launched Roche’s biosimilar Avastin in India for treatment of various types of cancers.

About Biosimilar Medicines:

• Biosimilarity means that the biological product is highly similar to the reference product notwithstanding minor differences in clinically-inactive components.
• There are no clinically meaningful differences between the biological product and the reference product in terms of the safety, purity, and potency of the product.

ANSUPA

Context: The Odisha Wetland Authority has approved implementation of an integrated management plan to conserve two of its largest lakes.

About:

• The integrated management plan has been approved for Chilika and Ansupa at an estimated investment of ₹180 crore.
• The five-year management of lakes is intended at strengthening livelihood of thousands of fishermen relying on the two water-bodies. Besides, tourism promotion and conservation of ecology will be taken up.
• Ansupa, State’s largest freshwater lake, is spread over almost 2 sq km. Ansupa is famous for its sweet water fish, especially labeo bata locally known as pohala. It is also the wintering ground for 32 species of migratory birds.
• Chilika, country’s largest brackish water lagoon, is spread over 1,100 sq km. Lakhs of tourists visit the lake to watch endangered Irrawaddy dolphins and migratory birds during winter.

INTERPLANETARY SHOCK

Context: Recently, NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission made the first high-resolution measurements of an interplanetary shock.

About:

• Interplanetary shocks are a type of collisionless shock — ones where particles transfer energy through electromagnetic fields instead of directly bouncing into one another.
• These shocks, made of particles and electromagnetic waves, are launched by the Sun, which continually releases streams of charged particles called the solar wind.
• These collisionless shocks are a phenomenon found throughout the universe, including in supernovae, black holes and distant stars.

ODISHA RASAGOLA

Context: Rasagola makers of Odisha are seeking government support for wider reach.

About Odisha Rasagola:

• Odisha Rasagola’ is a sweet from the state of Odisha made of chhena (cottage cheese) cooked in sugar syrup, which is very soft to feel, is juicy and non- chewy in consistency and can be swallowed without teeth pressure.
• Colour development of the ‘Odisha Rasagola’ is very specific, where without addition of external colour.
• Various intensely-coloured rasagolas are prepared using the principle of caramelisation of sugar with specific methods of preparation.
• Odisha Rasagolas are white in colour with round shape (non‐ spherical) but off white rasagolas in various shades are plentily prepared by cooking the rasagola at 110 degree Celsius for about 40 minutes in which caramalisation of sugar takes place giving the off white colour.