Current Affairs 18 May 2016

Current Affairs 18 May 2016 -  Important Points

• Nuclear Capable which missile test fired from Odisha - Prithvi-II
• Union Government opens what to speed up patent grant process – Tatkal like window
• UTMB scientists genetically engineered world’s first which virus infectious cDNA clone - Zika Virus
• What is the name of world’s first robot lawyer hired by US law firm – ROSS
• Who wins La Liga Champions Parade 2016 - FC Barcelona

Current Affairs 18 May 2016 - Details

Nuclear Capable which missile test fired from Odisha - Prithvi-II

Among Important National Current Affairs, Indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II surface-to-surface missile was successfully test-fired from Odisha.

In this missile test at Chandipur in Odisha, it was carried out by Strategic Force Command (SFC) from a mobile launcher at launch complex-3 from the Integrated Test Range (ITR).

Know About Prithvi-II Missile

• Missile Prithvi-II is a tactical short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) formed by indigenously by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

• However, it is the first missile indigenously developed by DRDO under India’s prestigious Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP).

Union Government opens what to speed up patent grant process – Tatkal like window

Among Important National Current Affairs, Union Government has opened a special Tatkal like channel (window) to expedite examination process of patent applications by start-ups as well as of entities choosing India for filing the first patent. 

Although in this regard, the DIPP which is also known as Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has as amended patent rules.

Do You Know – 

• Aim of Union Government is to reduce the time frame for the grant of patents to 18 months from the present 5-7 years by March 2018. 

• It also wants to popularize India as a patent filing hub so that more companies file applications in India. 

UTMB scientists genetically engineered world’s first which virus infectious cDNA clone - Zika Virus

Among Important International Current Affairs, on 13 May 2016 from the University Of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) a multidisciplinary research team declared that it genetically engineered world’s first clone of the Zika virus strain.

The development of cDNA clone which is expected to speed up many aspects of Zika research, including vaccine and therapeutic development.

Know About Zika Virus – 

• Zika virus is a disease which is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes. 

• People who are having this Zika virus disease can have symptoms that can include mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache.

• This Zika virus is known to be an emerging mosquito-borne virus.

What is the name of world’s first robot lawyer hired by US law firm – ROSS

Among Important International Current Affairs, by a US law firm BakerHostetler the world’s first robot lawyer named ROSS has been employed. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) lawyer will assist the law firm and its various teams in legal research.

By the company ROSS, the robot was built and its working is based on cognitive computing. In 2014 only the project had started out of research at the University of Toronto to build an artificial intelligence legal research assistant to allow lawyers to enhance and scale their abilities. 

The US law firm ROSS started functioning with first ten months after they began teaching it bankruptcy law.

Who wins La Liga Champions Parade 2016 - FC Barcelona

Among Important Sports Current Affairs, on 15 May 2016 in the final match Barcelona FC retained the Spanish league title La Liga with 3-0 score against Granada.

Being the first player apart from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to do so since the 2008–09 seasons, Luis Suárez finished as top scorer.

With 91 points in total, the football club finished the tournament. After this win, It is Barcelona FC's fifth straight win and eighth league title in 12 seasons.

Whereas, Football Club Real Madrid finished second with a 2-0 win over Deportivo.