A new method developed by researchers which uses earthquake-detecting seismometers to track falling space debris with the help of sonic boom.

About Sonic boom

• A sonic boom is the noise created by an aircraft or some other object when it surpasses the speed of sound.
• This rapid movement creates shock waves that manifest as a loud, booming noise.
• Causes: 
  • Mostly associated with aircraft 
  • Natural phenomena:volcanic eruptions, meteor showers & earthquakes

The Standard Model of Cosmology holds up in a massive 6-year study of the universe.

Standard Model of cosmology

• It is a theoretical framework that describes the evolution and structure of the universe on the largest scales.
• It provides a comprehensive understanding of the universe’s history, from its initial moments to its current state.
• It is based on the principles of general relativity and incorporates the laws of physics.
• The key components: The Big Bang theory, dark matter, dark energy, and the cosmic microwave background radiation.

North Korea has fired ballistic missiles towards the Sea of Japan.

Sea of Japan (also known as the East Sea.)

• Location: Western Pacific Ocean.
• It is connected with the East China Sea in the South via Tsushima and Korea straits and with the Okhotsk Sea in the north by the La Perouse and Tatar straits. 
• In the East, it is connected with the Inland Sea of Japan via the Kanmon Strait and the Pacific Ocean by the Tsugaru Strait.
• Boundaries
  • East: Japan & Sakhalin Island
  • West: Russia and the Korean Peninsula
• Shape: Almost elliptical

As per National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), only two confirmed cases of Nipah Virus Disease have been reported from West Bengal from December last year till date.

About Nipah Virus

• Nature: Zoonotic virus (spreads from animals to humans).
• Natural reservoir: Fruit bats also known as flying foxes.
• Transmission
  • Animal to human: Direct contact with infected bats or pigs or consumption of raw date palm sap or fruit contaminated by bats.
  • Human to human: Close contact with body fluids of infected persons
• First identified: 1999 outbreak in Malaysia and Singapore (from Bats to Pigs to Humans)
• Incubation period: 4–14 days
• Early symptoms: Fever, Headache, Cough, Sore throat and difficulty in breathing.

Karnataka constitutes the Gig Workers’ Welfare Board.

About Gig Workers’ Welfare Board

• Constituted under the Karnataka Platform-Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare Development) Act, 2025.
  • The Labour Minister is the ex officio Chairperson of the Board.
• It includes representatives of gig workers’ unions and aggregator platforms.
• Mandates registration of aggregators and gig workers with the issuance of unique IDs.
• It will facilitate the State government’s move to implement welfare measures for gig workers through a dedicated statutory body, with mandatory registration of both aggregator platforms and gig workers.

India and the European Union have agreed to strengthen cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy under the India-Euratom Agreement.

About Euratom

• EURATOM (European Atomic Energy Community) was established by the Treaty of Rome, 1957.
• Objective: Promote peaceful use of nuclear energy, research cooperation and dissemination of technical knowledge.
• Prevents diversion of civil nuclear material for military use.
• India and the EU signed an R&D agreement on peaceful uses of nuclear energy with EURATOM in July 2020, and India has been an associate member of CERN since 2017.

USA officially leaves the Paris Climate Agreement for the second time. 

About Paris Agreement

• Background: Adopted at UNFCCC COP21, Paris in 2015 and entered into force in 2016.
• Recognises climate change as a global emergency requiring international cooperation.
• Nature: Legally binding international treaty.
• Parties: 195 (194 countries + European Union). India is a member.
• Core Objectives:
  • Hold global temperature rise well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.
  • Pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C, acknowledging reduced climate risks.

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has constituted Strategic Asset Allocation and Risk Governance (SAARG) Committee.

About SAARG

• Constituted to strengthen investment architecture of NPS to support long-term retirement wealth creation, enhance diversification, improve risk management practices and expand subscriber choice.

About PFRDA

• Genesis: Established in 2003 and granted statutory status under PFRDA Act, 2013.
• Objective: To promote old age income security by establishing, developing and regulating pension funds such as the National Pension System (NPS) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY).
• Works under Ministry of Finance.

ALICE collaboration at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has explained how fragile deuterons survive high-energy particle collisions.

About Deuteron

• Stable isotope of hydrogen with a nucleus containing one proton and one neutron, bound together by the strong nuclear force.
• Symbol: “²H” or “D”.
• Properties
  • Charge: Net positive charge of +1.
  • Mass: About twice the mass of a proton.
• Applications: As a fuel in nuclear fusion reactions and in producing neutrons which can be used in cancer therapy, neutron radiotherapy etc.