Prelims Focus 12th May 2026

Lupus Disease

In News: Every year on May 10, the global community observes World Lupus Day to raise awareness, educate the public, and advocate for better research and care for those living with this chronic autoimmune condition. For 2026, the theme is “Make Lupus Visible,” focusing on highlighting this “invisible illness” that affects millions worldwide.

What is Lupus?

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks its own healthy tissues and organs. This results in chronic inflammation and damage to various body parts, including the skin, joints, kidneys, heart, lungs, and brain. It is not contagious.

• “The Great Imitator”: Lupus is nicknamed the “great imitator” because its symptoms often resemble other diseases (such as arthritis or infections), making it difficult to diagnose early.
• Flare-ups and Remission: Symptoms often come and go. When symptoms worsen, it is called a “flare,” and when they improve or disappear, it is called “remission”.
• Who is Affected: While it can affect anyone, it is most common in women between the ages of 15 and 45.

UN-Habitat

In News: On May 7, 2026, UN-Habitat officially launched the Catalogue of Solutions 2026-2029, a comprehensive, actionable, and strategic resource designed to tackle the world’s most pressing urban challenges. Developed through decades of global field experience, this initiative aims to help countries, cities, and communities implement proven, tested tools to create inclusive, resilient, and sustainable urban futures.

Key Features of the Catalogue

• 81 Tested Solutions: The catalogue compiles 81 proven tools, methodologies, and advisory services across different regions of the world.
  • Focus Areas: It addresses critical issues, including:
  • Housing and Land: Ensuring access to adequate housing, aiming to address the needs of nearly 3 billion people requiring affordable, accessible housing by 2030.
  • Informal Settlements & Slums: Strategies for upgrading, land administration, and formalizing settlements.
  • Urban Basic Services: Improving water, sanitation, waste management, and sustainable transport.
  • Climate Action & Resilience: Nature-based solutions, green transit, and energy-efficient building codes.
• Target Audience: It is designed for Member States, national and local governments, technical departments, and funding partners.

Multiple Independently Targeted Re-Entry Vehicle system

In News: India conducted the successful flight-trial of an Advanced Agni missile with Multiple Independently Targeted Re-Entry Vehicle (MIRV) system from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha.

• The multiple independent re-entry vehicles (MIRV) technology makes it possible to launch several warheads at different targets at the same time, for maximum damage. 
• It bolsters a country’s counter-attack power, particularly in countries such as India, which has a no-first-use nuclear policy. 
• It is hard to intercept as each warhead will take its own path and can also carry dummy warheads to avoid missile defence.
• Advanced sensors and avionics yield further increases in targeting accuracy and effectiveness.
• It was first used by the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1960s, and has been used by China, the United Kingdom, and France since that time. 

Homogeneous Accretion

In News:The paper published in Nature Astronomy suggests that the earth was made primarily of the materials in the inner solar system in a process known as homogeneous accretion.

• The formation model of a planet from a mixture of materials (metals, silicates, volatiles) that accrete simultaneously is called homogeneous accretion.  
• This indicates that the planet formed from chemically similar building blocks before the beginning of its formation, as opposed to heterogeneous accretion where the planet built up in stages of accretion of various materials. 

Survey records 143 Odonata species across Western Ghats

In News: A recent study in the Western Ghats shows that there is a huge loss of biodiversity in dragonflies and damselflies, with only around 65% of the species recorded as compared to what was seen in the past, which points to a probable loss of 35%.

• Western Ghats is a 1600 km mountain range along the western coast of India and a known biodiversity hotspot in the world.
• Odonata
• Odonata is an insect order that includes dragonflies (suborder Anisoptera) and damselflies (suborder Zygoptera). 
• They have clear wings, long thin bodies and their thorax slopes down. 
• Odonates are typically aquatic, active during the day and are predators of other, usually near water, and are consumed by both adult and aquatic larvae.

Canary Islands

In News: A cruise ship with a hantavirus case has landed in the Canary Island of Spain.

• The Canary Islands or Canaries is a group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean, and is the southernmost autonomous region of Spain. They are situated some 100 kilometres off the northwest coast of Africa. 
• The islands are split in two; a western group (Tenerife, Gran Canaria, La Palma, La Gomera and Ferro islands) and an eastern group (Lanzarote, Fuerteventura Island and six islets).
• The islands are strategically located in the vicinity of vital shipping lanes in the Atlantic Ocean, between Europe, Africa and the Americas and therefore have an economic and strategic significance.
• The islands were created when volcanic eruptions happened millions of years ago, and they have a subtropical climate which means they are very warm and have little change of season.

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