News in Short

• A new study suggests that the arch that crosses the width of each of our feet could be one of the reasons why humans have evolved to stand and walk upright on two legs.
• These arches help to harden the feet enough to be able to resist the forces on the feet caused by walking, running or even jumping.
• The new study suggests that it could even be a big step forward as to why our ancestors could slowly learn to walk upright with only two feet.

• Researchers have found that deaf moths use a special kind of tactic to evade themselves from the predators.
• According to the study, moths can absorb as much as 85 per cent of sound that hunting bats pitch and reflect off the insects to locate them.
• They also added that many nocturnal insects developed the ability to hear the ultrasonic calls of bats which allows them to actively get rid off the approaching bats.

• Researchers have found that people living in countries with higher levels of air pollution such as India and China may face higher risks of developing kidney diseases.
• The findings may be especially important for parts of the world with higher air pollution where fine particulate matter levels are five to 10 times higher than in the US.
• Fine particulate matter comes from a variety of sources including fossil fuel combustion, industrial processes, and natural sources.
• The team found that exposure to higher amounts of fine particulate matter was associated with a higher degree of albuminuria, a marker of kidney dysfunction, as well as a higher risk of developing chronic kidney disease over time.

• Param Bir Singh, IPS officer of the 1988-batch, has been appointed as the Mumbai police commissioner.
• Singh was the DG Anti Corruption Bureau, where he recently gave a clean chit to Deputy CM Ajit Pawar in the irrigation scam.
• Singh will succeed Sanjay Barve who retired earlier in the after getting two three-month extensions as the police commissioner.

• Bharti Airtel said that it has paid ?8,004 crore to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) towards the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues.
• However, the company said that it owes only ?3,004 crore towards the AGR dues, as per its assessment, and the rest ?5,000 crore are additional ad-hoc payment.
• According to the DoT, Airtel has AGR dues of around ?35,000 crore including penalty and interests, out of which it has paid ?10,000 crore on February 17.