Chandrayaan-1

Next All about India's moon mission October 17, 2008 AIndia's first Moon mission, Chandrayaan is all set to add a golden chapter to India's space endeavour when it takes off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on October 22. Here's all that you wanted to know about India's first Moon mission What is Chandrayaan-1? Chandrayaan-1 is a scientific investigation -- by spacecraft -- of the Moon. The name Chandrayaan means Chandra (Moon), Yaan (vehicle). Chandrayaan-1 is the first Indian planetary science and exploration mission. When, and from where, Chandrayaan-1 will be launched? Chandrayaan-1 will be launched on October 22, 2008 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota (SHAR). How long will it take Chandrayaan-1 to get to Moon? It will take about 5� days for Chandrayaan-1 to get to the Moon. How close to Moon will Chandrayaan-1 come while orbiting the Moon? Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft will be in a 100 km polar orbit around the Moon. What are Chandrayaan' s scientific goals? The Chandrayaan-1 mission is aimed at high-resolution remote sensing of the Lunar surface in visible, near Infrared, low energy X-rays and high-energy X-ray regions. Specific scientific goals are: To prepare a three-dimensional atlas (with a high spatial and altitude resolution of 5-10m) of both near and far side of the moon. To conduct chemical and mineralogical mapping of the entire lunar surface for distribution of elements such as Magnesium, Aluminum, Silicon, Calcium, Iron and Titanium with a spatial resolution of about 20 km and high atomic number elements such as Radon, Uranium & Thorium with a spatial resolution of about 40 km. By simultaneous photo geological and chemical mapping we will be able to identify different geological units, which will test the hypothesis for the origin and early evolutionary history of the moon and help in determining the nature of the lunar crust. Image: On October 22, India will take a giant leap into space as it sets off Chandrayaan to explore the moon. Text: ISRO | Photograph: Bruno Vincent/Getty Images Also read: Coverage: India's Moon Mission

Delta 32 Mutation

There may be. There are many stories where someone who was in constant contact with plague victims didn’t die. Maybe genetics is the explanation.

For example, in 1665, the plague hit a small village in England called Eyam. The town quarantined itself to keep the Black Death from spreading into the rest of the country. A year later, the plague had burnt itself out but half of the townspeople were dead. Was there something special about the half that lived?

In 1996, researchers tracked down descendants of the people of Eyam and looked for any mutations they might have in common to explain this high survival rate. What they found was a mutation called CCR5-delta 32. 

The CCR5-delta 32 mutation was already known for a different reason—people with one copy of the CCR5-delta 32 mutation are resistant to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. People with 2 copies are virtually immune to HIV. 

The spread of the black death

The CCR5-delta 32 mutation probably arose a few thousand years ago in Northeastern Europe. It stayed rare until around 700 years ago when it suddenly became more common. The plague started in Europe around 700 years ago.

So, does CCR5-delta 32 protect people from the plague bacteria? Probably not. Mice infected with the plague bacteria died at around the same rates whether or not they had the CCR5-delta 32 mutation. 

Why then is this mutation so common in Europeans and even more common in people whose ancestors came from Eyam? 

Maybe smallpox is the reason. Smallpox killed 3 in 10 infected people for thousands of years in Europe. Recent studies suggest that smallpox, like HIV, can’t infect someone with the CCR5-delta 32 mutation.

Of course this doesn’t explain Eyam (unless there was a lot of smallpox in the area). A more controversial theory is that an unknown virus, not the plague bacteria, caused the Black Death. Besides the evidence of the CCR5-delta 32 mutation itself, some people contend that the disease shouldn’t have been stopped by quarantine and that it spread too quickly for a flea borne illness. 

Anyway, as you can see, while genetics were probably involved, there isn’t yet a solid answer as to what genes were involved.