7 October 2026
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026 to Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai.
The citation is "for the discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis".
Some molecules, such as amino acids, exist as two mirror images, but living organisms contain only one of them, a property chemists call homochirality.
Kagan in 1986 found a way to obtain a far greater excess of one mirror image than had been thought possible; Soai described a reaction with the potential to be homochiral in 1995 and achieved it in 2003.
Heiner Linke, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, said the two had solved a chemical mystery more than a century old.
Kagan, born 1930 in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, is Professor Emeritus at the then Universite Paris-Sud; Soai, born 1950 in Hiroshima, is Professor Emeritus at Tokyo University of Science.
The prize amount is 12 million Swedish kronor, to be shared equally.
Laureates:
Henri B. Kagan, Kenso Soai
Prize amount:
12 million Swedish kronor
Awarding body:
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Why it matters for exams: Nobel Prize laureates, their citation and the awarding institution are asked almost every year in Kerala PSC and UPSC general studies papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Homochirality Homochirality — The property of living systems of using only one of the two mirror-image forms of a molecule.
Autocatalysis Autocatalysis — A reaction in which the product itself speeds up the reaction that makes it.
5 October 2026
The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel.
The citation is "for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics".
Deisseroth works at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Stanford University in the United States.
Hegemann is at Humboldt University of Berlin and Nagel at the University of Wurzburg, both in Germany.
Hegemann and Nagel discovered channelrhodopsin, a protein in a single-celled alga; Deisseroth turned it into a light-controlled switch for nerve cells.
Optogenetics allows researchers to show how nerve cells shape memories, feelings and behaviour in the living brain.
Laureates:
Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, Georg Nagel
Awarding body:
Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet
Protein discovered:
Channelrhodopsin
Why it matters for exams: The medicine Nobel, the institution that awards it and the technique named in the citation are standard general science questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Optogenetics Optogenetics — A method that uses light to switch selected nerve cells on or off in a living animal.
Channelrhodopsin Channelrhodopsin — A light-gated ion channel protein first found in a single-celled alga.
7 October 2026
The World Health Organization released its first global guidelines on the integrated management of obesity in children and in adolescents.
WHO says child and adolescent obesity has quadrupled since 1990, rising from two per cent to around eight per cent of those aged five to 19.
In 2024 about 170 million children and adolescents were living with obesity: 70 million children aged five to nine and some 100 million adolescents up to 19.
WHO defines obesity as a chronic, relapsing disease caused by excessive fat deposits that can still be managed through effective care.
The guidelines strongly recommend dietary change, physical activity and other behavioural interventions as the foundation of care.
They do not recommend medicines, bariatric surgery or weight-loss devices for children aged 0 to 9.
For adolescents aged 10 to 19, approved medicines such as GLP-1 therapies should be considered only after a supervised lifestyle programme has failed, and bariatric surgery only under strict conditions in severe obesity.
Children and adolescents with obesity, 2024:
about 170 million
Prevalence, ages 5-19:
two per cent to around eight per cent since 1990
Age group where drugs are not recommended:
0-9 years
Why it matters for exams: Non-communicable disease burden and WHO norms are a recurring theme in both Kerala PSC and UPSC health and society questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Bariatric surgery Bariatric surgery — Surgery that changes the digestive system to induce weight loss.
GLP-1 Glucagon-like peptide-1 — A class of approved medicines used in obesity and diabetes care.
7 October 2026
The World Health Organization published the Global Roadmap for Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy 2026-2035 and beyond.
Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, particularly pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, are major causes of maternal death and severe illness worldwide.
WHO says they also contribute to stillbirth, preterm birth, newborn deaths and health-system costs, and have lasting effects on women's cardiovascular health.
Deaths from these disorders have declined too slowly over the past three decades, even as progress was made against other causes of maternal mortality.
The roadmap sets coordinated actions across five areas: research and innovation; norms and standards; access to health products; implementation; and advocacy and accountability.
It is aligned with Sustainable Development Goal targets 3.1 and 3.2 and was prepared with the Human Reproduction Special Programme.
The report runs to 74 pages and carries ISBN 978-92-4-012548-3.
Period covered:
2026-2035 and beyond
Action areas:
five
SDG targets:
3.1 and 3.2
Why it matters for exams: Maternal mortality causes and the SDG 3 targets are standard questions, and this roadmap names both.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Pre-eclampsia Pre-eclampsia — High blood pressure arising in pregnancy with signs of organ damage; a leading cause of maternal death.
SDG 3.1 Sustainable Development Goal target 3.1 — The global target on reducing the maternal mortality ratio.
7 October 2026
A woman who worked at a laboratory in Russia's Irkutsk oblast in Siberia died, and the World Health Organization said the authorities were examining whether pneumonic plague caused her death.
WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva that her workplace was an institute studying dangerous pathogens, including plague, in a part of Siberia where plague occurs naturally in wild animals.
On 7 October, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Russian regulators had told WHO there was no evidence pneumonic plague played a part in her death and that no pathogens had been detected; about 200 of her contacts were placed in quarantine.
Plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, usually found in small mammals and their fleas.
Pneumonic plague occurs when the bacteria infect the lungs and can spread from person to person through respiratory particles.
WHO says this form can be fatal within 18 to 24 hours of onset if untreated, but common antibiotics for enterobacteria can cure it if given early.
Nearly 4,000 plague cases and 423 deaths were reported across 10 countries between 2019 and 2025, most of them in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Madagascar.
Region:
Irkutsk oblast, Siberia, Russia
Causative bacterium:
Yersinia pestis
Untreated pneumonic plague:
can be fatal within 18 to 24 hours
Contacts quarantined:
about 200
Why it matters for exams: Plague, its causative organism and the difference between its bubonic and pneumonic forms are standard biology and public health questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Yersinia pestis Yersinia pestis — The bacterium that causes plague, usually carried by small mammals and their fleas.
Pneumonic plague Pneumonic plague — The lung form of plague, which can pass directly between people through respiratory particles.
7 October 2026
The World Health Organization said its immediate funding requirement for Yemen has increased from 9 million dollars to 31 million dollars as conflict escalates and needs rise.
An additional 700,000 dollars is needed to support refugees who have crossed to Djibouti.
More than 200,000 people have been displaced according to the International Organization for Migration, while close to 3,800 have fled across the Red Sea to Djibouti.
As of 2 October the Yemeni health authorities reported 959 deaths and 4,207 injuries across 10 governorates.
Fighting has been concentrated on the coast in Lahj governorate near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, in neighbouring Taiz and in Marib governorate in the north.
Nearly half the health facilities in the affected governorates lack partner support, with gaps in frontline trauma care and outpatient services.
Dr Syed Jaffar Hussain, WHO Representative in Yemen, said the situation is evolving into a complex emergency.
WHO immediate requirement:
raised from $9 million to $31 million
Deaths as of 2 October:
959
Injuries as of 2 October:
4,207
Why it matters for exams: Yemen, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea route are frequently asked in world geography and current affairs.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Bab al-Mandeb Bab al-Mandeb Strait — The strait between Yemen and the Horn of Africa linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
Governorate Governorate — The first-level administrative division of Yemen, comparable to a state or district.
6 October 2026
World Trade Organization members meeting in the General Council on 5 and 6 October took up WTO reform, follow-up to past ministerial conferences and the state of ongoing negotiations.
The Chair of the General Council, Ambassador Clare Kelly of New Zealand, said the one overall time frame members have in mind is the 15th Ministerial Conference, for which dates have not been fixed.
Nearly 60 speakers took the floor on the reform item, discussing the foundational principles of the multilateral trading system and development concerns.
Several members said the discussion should move from process to substance and focus on concrete proposals.
The Chair said dispute settlement reform talks are proceeding under the Dispute Settlement Body, whose Chair is Ambassador Guilherme de Aguiar Patriota of Brazil.
Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala called on delegations to put forward more concrete proposals.
Members also discussed the Agreement on Electronic Commerce and emerging agricultural trade issues.
Meeting dates:
5-6 October 2026
General Council Chair:
Ambassador Clare Kelly, New Zealand
Speakers on the reform item:
nearly 60
Why it matters for exams: The WTO's internal organs, its Director-General and the ministerial conference cycle are frequently asked in economy and international organisation papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
General Council WTO General Council — The WTO's highest decision-making body between ministerial conferences, made up of all members.
DSB Dispute Settlement Body — The WTO body that administers the rules for settling trade disputes between members.
MC15 15th Ministerial Conference — The next WTO ministerial conference; the dates had not been fixed as of this meeting.
7 October 2026
The Food and Agriculture Organization called for urgent investment to protect food production as crises deepen across the Near East and North Africa.
In Sudan 19.5 million people face high levels of acute food insecurity, yet only 23 per cent of the 193 million dollars required under the 2026-2028 Emergency Response Plan has been funded.
In Syria about 7.2 million people were facing acute food insecurity in late 2025; FAO requires 171.5 million dollars in 2027 to assist 5.2 million people.
In Yemen 18.3 million people faced Crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity in the latest analysis, and FAO has secured less than 1 per cent of the 87.9 million dollars required under its 2027 Emergency and Resilience Plan.
FAO said more than 22 per cent of Lebanon's agricultural land has been damaged and about 50 per cent of agricultural land in the South and Nabatieh is inaccessible.
More than one million people were displaced in Lebanon following the escalation of March 2026, mainly from rural areas.
FAO says it reached almost five million people in Sudan in 2026 with seeds, livestock vaccination, animal feed and input vouchers.
Sudan food insecurity:
19.5 million people; 23 per cent of $193 million funded
Yemen:
18.3 million people; less than 1 per cent of $87.9 million secured
Lebanon farmland damaged:
more than 22 per cent
Why it matters for exams: FAO, acute food insecurity classification and the Sudan, Syria and Yemen crises recur in economy and international organisation questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations — The UN specialised agency for food security and agriculture, based in Rome.
Acute food insecurity Acute food insecurity — Hunger severe enough to threaten lives or livelihoods, classified in phases from Minimal to Famine.
Background
The International Labour Organization describes itself as "the only tripartite U.N. agency, since 1919". It brings together governments, employers and workers of 187 Member States to set labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes promoting decent work. The ILO was created in 1919, as part of the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I, on the founding belief that social justice is essential to universal and lasting peace. It is a specialized agency of the United Nations and works from Geneva. Its tripartite structure gives an equal voice to workers, employers and governments in setting labour standards and shaping policies. Its governance runs through the International Labour Conference and the ILO Governing Body, and its standards are laid down in the ILO Constitution and in ILO Declarations. Its Regular Budget is funded from assessed contributions by Member States, based on the scale of assessments of the United Nations. At country level it works through Decent Work Country Programmes agreed with governments and with employers and workers organisations.
Created:
1919
Member States:
187
Headquarters:
Geneva, Switzerland
Structure:
Tripartite: governments, employers and workers
Why it matters for exams: Founding year, founding treaty, headquarters and the tripartite structure are the four ILO facts that recur in Kerala PSC and UPSC prelims.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Tripartism — The ILO practice of giving governments, employers and workers an equal voice in its decisions.
Decent Work Country Programme DWCP — The ILO programming instrument that sets its priorities and planned support within a single country.
Background
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) describes itself as the United Nations agency that serves innovators and creators, ensuring that their ideas travel safely to the market. It was established in 1967 and its headquarters is at Geneva, Switzerland. Its 194 member states approve its strategic direction and activities in the annual meetings of the Assemblies, while its staff form the Secretariat that implements those decisions. Some 250 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) have official observer status at WIPO meetings. The international filing and registration systems WIPO lists are PCT, the International Patent System; Budapest, the International Microorganism Deposit System; Madrid, the International Trademark System; Hague, the International Design System; and Lisbon, the International System of Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications. It also maintains WIPO Lex for intellectual property laws, treaties and judgments, lists the WIPO-Administered Treaties, and publishes the Global Innovation Index. Its external offices are at Algiers, Rio de Janeiro, Beijing, Tokyo, Abuja, Moscow and Singapore.
Established:
1967
Member states:
194
Headquarters:
Geneva, Switzerland
Accredited observers:
Some 250 NGOs and IGOs
Why it matters for exams: Which WIPO system covers which right is a standard prelims trap, and the founding year and Geneva headquarters are routinely asked alongside it.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
PCT Patent Cooperation Treaty — WIPO's international patent system, through which one application can be pursued in many countries.
Appellation of origin — A product name whose protection rests on the product coming from a particular place.
Background
The European Union's own description of its institutions separates three bodies with confusingly similar names. The Council of the European Union, informally the Council, is the voice of EU member governments, adopting EU laws and coordinating EU policies: government ministers from each EU country meet in it, and the EU dates it to 1958 (as Council of the European Economic Community). Each EU country holds the presidency on a 6-month rotating basis, and the Council meets in 10 different configurations, one for each policy area. The Foreign Affairs Council has a permanent chairperson - the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy - while the other configurations are chaired by the relevant minister of the country holding the rotating presidency. Council meetings take place in Brussels, except for three months (April, June and October) when they are held in Luxembourg. Decisions usually require a qualified majority: 55% of countries - with 27 current members, this means 15 countries - representing at least 65 % of total EU population; to block a decision, at least 4 countries are needed (representing at least 35% of total EU population). Sensitive topics like foreign policy and taxation require a unanimous vote. The European Council is a separate institution. It is made up of the heads of state or government of all EU countries, the European Council President and the European Commission President; it usually meets 4 times a year, it generally decides issues by consensus, and it does not pass laws. The EU lists it as established in 1974 (informal forum), 1992 (formal status), 2009 (official EU institution), and as one of the EU's 7 official institutions; its President is elected by the European Council itself for a once-renewable two-and-a-half-year term. The EU's own page adds a third warning: Council of Europe - not an EU body at all.
Council of the EU established:
1958 (as Council of the European Economic Community)
Council presidency:
6-month rotating basis
Council configurations:
10
Qualified majority:
55% of countries, 15 of 27, representing at least 65 % of total EU population
Blocking a decision:
at least 4 countries representing at least 35% of total EU population
European Council as an official EU institution since:
2009
European Council President's term:
once-renewable two-and-a-half-year term
Why it matters for exams: Telling the Council of the EU from the European Council, and both from the Council of Europe, is a standing trap in international-organisation questions, and the qualified majority thresholds are asked directly.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Qualified majority — The usual Council voting rule, needing both a share of member countries and a share of EU population.
Configuration — A sitting of the Council of the EU for one policy area, attended by the ministers responsible for it.
Background
INTERPOL Notices are international requests for cooperation or alerts allowing police in member countries to share critical crime-related information. They are issued by the General Secretariat at the request of a member country's INTERPOL National Central Bureau and are made available for all member countries to consult in the Notices database. A Red Notice seeks the location and arrest of persons wanted for prosecution or to serve a sentence. A Yellow Notice helps locate missing persons; a Blue Notice collects additional information about a person's identity, location or activities; a Black Notice seeks information on unidentified bodies. A Green Notice warns about a person's criminal activities where the person is considered a possible threat to public safety, an Orange Notice warns of a serious and imminent threat to public safety, and a Purple Notice seeks or provides information on modus operandi, objects, devices and concealment methods used by criminals. A Silver Notice, in pilot phase, is to identify and trace criminal assets. A Notice is published only if it complies with INTERPOL's Constitution and the Rules on the Processing of Data, and it will not be published if it violates Article 3, which forbids the Organization from undertaking any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character. Most Notices are for police use only, but all United Nations Special Notices are public. Member countries may also circulate a diffusion directly to other countries, following the same colour-coded system.
Issued by:
General Secretariat, at the request of a National Central Bureau
Bar on political cases:
Article 3 of INTERPOL's Constitution
Notice in pilot phase:
Silver Notice
Notices that are public:
All United Nations Special Notices
Why it matters for exams: Matching each notice colour to its purpose is a recurring objective question, and Article 3 of the INTERPOL Constitution is the standard follow-up.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
National Central Bureau NCB — The designated police office in each INTERPOL member country that links it to the General Secretariat.
Diffusion — A request a member country circulates directly to other countries instead of through a notice.