Most Probable topics for UPSC Prelim 2020

Most Probable topics for UPSC Prelim 2020 : 25 June 2019

Drinking Coffee may help fight obesity

                 According to a study, Drinking coffee may stimulate the body's own fat-fighting defences, which could be the key to tackling obesity and diabetes.

# initially only attributed to babies and hibernating mammals, it was discovered in recent years that adults can have brown fats too.

# The study is carried out in human to find components which could have a direct effects on "Brown Fat" functions, which play a key role in how quickly we can burn calories as energy

# Scientists needs to ascertain if coffee is acting as the stimulus or if there's another component helping with the activation of brown fat.

Sperm retains viability in outer space

According to a study, the human sperm retains its viability within the different gravitational conditions found in the outer space which is performed using a small aerobatic training aircraft (CAP10) , which can provide short-duration hypo-gravity exposure.

# The plane executed 20 parabolic manoeuvres, providing 8 seconds of micro-gravity for each parabola.

# The sperm analysis comprised of concentration, motility, vitality, morphology and DNA fragmentation.

The plant paradox diet

            

          According to the book, The Plant Paradox : The Hidden Dangers in Healthy Foods that causes Diseases and Weight Gain, written by American Cardiologist Dr, Steven R Gundry, premises that the lectins, found naturally in foods such as wheat (gluten is a lectin), beans (especially rajma, peanuts), potatoes, nuts (especially cashew), nightshade vegetables (brinjal, tomato, peppers) are "edible enemies". 

# Lectins are protein found in plants that protect them from predators, so they're most likely to be found in the peel.

# Within our bodies, they causes inflammation, which then leads to many other conditions, mainly autoimmune diseases (when the immune system gets hyperactive and attacks healthy cells : asthma, rheumatoids arthritis, psoriasis, among a few).

# These are hormone and nutrient disruptors (they prevent the body from absorbing nutrients), which, overtime, causes havoc in the system.

# Fermenting and Sprouting reduces lectin level in foods.

ASEAN vows to tackle ocean waste

According to the survey of Ocean Conservancy report, 2017, just five Asian countries - China, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand dumps more than half of the eight million tonnes of plastic waste that ends up in ocean every years.

# Leaders at the meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are expected to sign a "Bangkok Declaration" on fighting maritime waste, which promise to "prevent and significantly reduces the marine debris".