PrashantTMavani

• Records reveal that this has been happening since the Indus Valley days (3500 BCE).

• While several theories had been debated, the actual answer is that it is due to the body clock (or circadian rhythm) of the rooster.

• Using an instrument that measures the sound intensity, they found it to be as loud as what hits our ears when we stand next to a jet aircraft.

• Sound intensity is measured in units called decibels.

• The full-blown crowing intensity of a “king” rooster is as high as 143 db(that of a jet engine is about the same); of course this is when we are about a foot away.

• This level of 140 db can damage your ear drums and deafen you.

• For comparison, the loudness of a whisper is 30 db, a mosquito buzz 40 dband busy traffic 80 db, and the sound of a baby crying out loud can hit 100- 120 db.

Cambodia backs anti-terror efforts

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Cambodian counterpart, Samdech Hun Sen, on Saturday held talks to boost ties in key areas of defence, security and counter-terrorism.

• The two leaders called for concerted global efforts to eliminateterrorism, including blocking sources of terror financing and dismantling terrorist bases.

• After the talks, the two countries inked four pacts, including the one to improve cooperation in the prevention and investigation of crimes and legal assistance in criminal matters and another on a line of credit from India to finance Cambodia’s Stung Sva Hab water resources development project for $36.92 million.

• Expressing satisfaction at the current state of bilateral defenceties, including ship visits and training programmes, the two leaders agreed to further enhance ties, including through exchanges of senior-level defence personnel and capacity-building projects.

• Both sides expressed a keen interest in enhancing cooperation in maritime domain, including preservation of marine andcoastal environment, anti-piracy cooperation, security of sea lanes of communication to maintain peace and ensure safety and security of navigation in the Indo-Pacific Region, and supported complete freedom of navigation and overflight and pacific resolution of maritime issues based on international law.

• Addressing a joint press event with Mr. Hun Sen, Mr Modi said India had also proposed a line of credit in several key areas such as health, connectivity and digital connectivity.

• Reaffirming their resolve to fight terrorism, the two leaders affirmed that those responsible for committing, abetting, organising and supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable and be punished.

Girl slapped 168 times on teacher’s order

• A 12-year-old girl was slapped 168 times over a period of six days by her classmates at a residential school in Jhabua district on the instruction of their teacher.

• The girl’s father complained to the school authorities and the police, but the school principal, K. Sagar, termed it a “friendly” punishment. “They were not strong slaps but mild and friendly ones,” he said.

• The girl’s father told the police that she was slapped 168 times between January 11 and 16, on the instruction of her science teacher Manoj Kumar Verma, for not completing her homework.

• The girl is a Class VI student.

• District Collector Ashish Saxena said he has ordered a probe into the matter.

13 die as minibus falls into river

• At least 13 persons, including seven women and children, drowned and three others were seriously injured when a minibus rammed into the safety barrier of a bridge and plunged into the Panchaganga river in Kolhapur, Maharashtra on Friday night.

• All 16 occupants of the vehicle belonging to three families were related and were residents of Balewadi, Pirangut and Hinjewadiareas in Pune.

• The driver of the vehicle lost control, smashed the safety barrier of the Shivaji Bridge and plunged into the water.

• Local people, who witnessed the accident, immediately informed police and rescue personnel.

• Bodies of the deceased were brought to Pune by late afternoon where the final rites were performed.

17 crore children below 5 years to get polio vaccine this year• President Ram Nath Kovind launched the Pulse Polio Immunisation (PPI) programme for 2018 here on Saturday by administering polio drops to children less than five years old at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

• The event was organised on the eve of the National Immunisation Day, which is observed on 28 January. More than 17 crore children of less than five years across the country will be given polio drops as part of the government’s drive to eradicate polio from the country.

• Speaking at the function, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare J. P. Nadda said, “We need to remain vigilant and maintain the population’s immunity and [continue] sensitive surveillance till global polio eradication happens as polio virus is still circulating in other parts of the world and may reinfectus.”

• He pointed out that the Universal Immunisation Programme is focusing on safeguarding children from more diseases than ever before, and has introduced new vaccines like the PneumococcalConjugate Vaccine (PCV) and rotavirus vaccine.

Satellite imagery shows build-up near Doklam

• Only a matter of time before a new flashpoint emerges, warns Stratfor, as both sides are upgrading their airbases along LAC

• India and China are pursuing a “wide-ranging strategic build-up” in airbases close to the Doklam Plateau, according to the latest analysis of satellite imagery acquired by Stratfor, an American geopolitical intelligence company.

• India and China had been engaged in an almost two-month standoff at Doklam in the summer of 2017.

95 dead, 158 injured in Kabul blast

Taliban claim responsibility for attack, the second in a week

• An explosives-packed ambulance blew up in a crowded area of on Saturday, killing at least 95 people and wounding 158 others, officials said.

• The blast occurred in an area where several high-profileorganisations, including the EU, have offices.

•Members of the EU delegation were in their “safe room”, and there were no casualties, an official told AFP.

Ancient crayon

• An ochre crayon and pebble were discovered by archaeologists near an ancient lake in England.

• This could have been used for artwork by our human ancestors who lived nearly 10,000 years ago.

• The find suggests that Ochre was collected and used by Mesolithichumans.

Cape Town crisis

• A report in Nature says that on April 12, Cape Town will become the first city to run out of water.

• In the third year of severe drought, Cape Town’s reservoirs have given way sooner than expected as voluntary efforts to conserve water failed.

• Its 4 million residents will have to collect water from 200 points.

Farthest quasar

• In a paper in Nature, scientists report finding light emitted nearly 490 million years ago from a quasar.

• This is now the earliest quasar to be spotted so far.

• Quasars consist of supermassive black holes consuming mass voraciously, and because of that beaming out radiation.

• They hold clues to puzzles about the early universe.

Smart MiNDs for new drugs

• Scientists have created tiny, implantable, and remote-controlled drug delivery systems that successfully dispense precise doses to specific regions deep inside the brains of rodents and primates.

• The devices — dubbed MiNDs, for miniaturised neural drug delivery systems — could overcome major obstacles to pharmacological treatments for neurological diseases by ensuring that active compounds access the deep brain structures that control behaviourand emotion without causing off-target effects.

• MiNDs are made of a stainless-steel needle containing an electrode for monitoring neural activity, and two channels for administering drugs via miniature remote-controlled pumps.

Gen-next smart solar windows could produce electricity• Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) in the US found a form of perovskite that works well as a stable and photoactivesemiconductor material that can reversibly switch between transparentand non-transparent state, without degrading its electronic properties.

•With a device like this, a building or car can harvest solar energy through the smart photovoltaic window.

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Do you know? Nalanda = Na+alam+Daa,meaning “no stopping of the gift of knowledge”So do gift share this lecture with your loved ones.