Marawah Island
Why in news?
- The oldest known natural pearl in the world has been discovered by Abu Dhabi archaeologists working at a Neolithic site on Marawah Island, just off the coast of Abu Dhabi.
Crucial highlights
- Dubbed the ‘Abu Dhabi Pearl’, it was found in layers that have been radiocarbon dated to 5,800-5,600 BCE, during the Neolithic period.
- The Emirates News Agency said that the discovery is a proof that pearls and oysters were being used in the UAE nearly 8,000 years ago, and represents the earliest known evidence for pearling yet discovered anywhere in the world.
- Prior to the Abu Dhabi Pearl discovery, the earliest known pearl in the UAE came from a Neolithic site in Umm Al Qaiwain.
• Ancient pearls have also been found at a Neolithic cemetery close to Jebel Buhais, in the Emirate of Sharjah.
Taanaji Malusare
About:
- Taanaji Malusare was a Maratha military leader and a close aide of Chhatrapati Shivaji. Taanaji is popularly remembered for the Battle of Singhagad that took place in the year 1670.
- In the year 1665, the Treaty of Purandar was signed between Jai Singh and Shivaji, which required the Maratha ruler to give up Fort Kandhana (later named Singhagad) to the Mughals.
- Later, Shivaji entrusted Taanaji the task of reconquering the fort Kondhana at any cost. In the battle, Taanaji fought against Udaybhan Rathore, a formidable Rajput warrior, who was put in charge of Fort Kandhana by Jai Singh.
- According to legend, Shivaji, upon hearing the news of Tanaji’s demise during the battle, said Gad ala pan Sinha gela (Although the fort was captured, a lion was lost). The fort was renamed as Singhagad (lion’s fort) by Shivaji to honour Tanaji.
QS Indian University Rankings
Why in news?
- Recently, The QS Indian University Rankings were released — this is the second edition of the standalone rankings for India’s higher education institutions. The rankings include public, private, higher education or deemed universities.
About Rankings:
- The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) dominate the list, with seven IITs figuring in the top ten rankings.
- Like last year, IIT-Bombay leads followed by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).
- IIT-Delhi now stands third in the ranking. Delhi University, University of Hyderabad and the Indian Institute of Science are the only other non-IIT institutions in the top ten.
Methodology:
- The methodology used eight indicators – with indicator of “Academic reputation” having the highest weight – to determine the institutions’ rankings. These were:
- academic reputation (weight of 30%),
- employer reputation (20%),
- faculty-student ratio (20%),
- proportion of staff with a PhD (10%),
- papers per faculty from Scopus database (10%),
- citations per paper from Scopus database (5%),
- proportion of international students (2.5%), and
- proportion of international faculty (2.5%).
Skin-on interface
- Researchers from the University of Bristol in partnership with Telecomm ParisTech and the Sorbonne University in France have developed a skin-on interface that mimics the appearance of human skin and its ability to sense.
About:
- The interface is made up of layers of silicone membrane. It is, therefore, more natural than the hard casing of phones, and can detect gestures made by end-users.
- The artificial skin allows the device it is on to “feel” the user’s grasp, including its pressure and location. Therefore, it can detect interactions such as tickling, caressing, twisting and pinching.
Significance:
- While artificial skin has been studied in the field of robotics, the aim of those studies was either cosmetic or focussed on safety. This is the first time that the uses of “realistic” artificial skins are being considered for augmenting devices.
- This development could take touch technology to the next level for interactive devices such as phones, wearables and computers.