Current Affairs Question - 21 January 2020

Explanation :

• The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), also known as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania.
• Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. These are among the few venomous mammals.
• Males have a spur on the back of their hind feet that is connected to a venom-secreting gland.
• International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently downgraded the platypus conservation status to Near Threatened from Least Concern.

Ecological Significance

• The Platypus eats all kinds of insect larvae, molluscs, crustacean, fish eggs and sometimes frogs. Since the platypus is a carnivore, it plays the typical role of the carnivore in an ecosystem. It keeps the populations of species in lower levels of the food chain in check.

Explanation :

• The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is the centre piece of global efforts to prevent the further spread of nuclear weapons, to foster the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of nuclear disarmament.
• The NPT entered into force in 1970.
• It is aimed at limiting the spread of nuclear weapons including three elements: (1) non-proliferation, (2) disarmament, and (3) peaceful use of nuclear energy.
• The Treaty defines nuclear weapon states (NWS) as those that had manufactured and detonated a nuclear explosive device prior to 1 January 1967. All the other states are therefore considered non-nuclear weapon states (NNWS). The five nuclear weapon states are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
• The treaty is reviewed every five years in meetings called Review Conferences of the Parties to the Treaty of Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.