Current Affairs - Science

Ayushman cards issued under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) offer free treatment of up to Rs 5 lakh per annum per family at impanelled hospitals nationwide, as celebrated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra.

The R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine, developed by Oxford University and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, has been added to the World Health Organization's list of prequalified vaccines, marking a significant development in the global fight against malaria. The R21/Matrix-M vaccine became the second malaria vaccine to achieve WHO prequalification; the first one was the RTS, S/AS01 vaccine.

Noma, also known as cancrum oris, primarily affects children aged 2 to 6 years old, and it has been added to the WHO's list of Neglected Tropical Diseases to enhance awareness and efforts for combating this severe infection in impoverished communities.

The Tropospheric Emissions Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) satellite is designed to measure major air pollutants, including ozone, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, and formaldehyde levels, providing hourly air quality measurements over North America.

Pompe Disease, also known as Glycogen Storage Disease Type II, is a rare genetic disorder characterized by the accumulation of glycogen in the lysosomes of cells due to a deficiency of the enzyme acid alpha-glucosidase (GAA). Nidhi Shirol, India’s first Pompe disease patient, passed away last month at the age of 24 years after battling the disease.