20 October 2023

Q1. Iron Dome, recently seen in news is:

1. Diesel Electric attack submarine:
2. Navigation system
3. Air defence system
4. Facial recognition tracking (FRT) system

• Solution:

(C)

• Iron Dome is a mobile all-weather air defense system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries.
• The system is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells.

Q2. Winchcombe, recently seen in news is a:

1. Geostationary satellite
2. Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope
3. Meteorite
4. Asteroid

• Solution:

(C)

• A piece of the Winchcombe meteorite that touched down in the town of Winchcombe in Gloucestershire in the UK in February 2021.
• Winchcombe is also significant because it is the meteorite to have fallen and recovered from the UK in about 30 years.
• Further, this type of meteorite is known as a carbonaceous meteorite and out of about 65,000 known meteorite types, only about 1,000 are of this particular type.

Q3. Consider the following statements regarding Mucormycosis:

• Mucormycosis is a fungal infection caused by a group of molds called mucormycetes.
• Soil, plants, manure, and decaying fruits and vegetables are the common sources of infection.
• It affects the sinuses, the brain and the lungs and can be life-threatening in diabetic and cancer patients.

Which of the above statements is/are correct:

1. 1, 2
2. 1, 3
3. 2, 3
4. 1, 2, 3

• Solution:

(D)

• Mucormycosis is a serious but rare fungal infection caused by a group of molds called mucormycetes.
• These molds live throughout the environment.
• It is caused by exposure to mucor mould which is commonly found in soil, plants, manure, and decaying fruits and vegetables.
• It affects the sinuses, the brain and the lungs and can be life-threatening in diabetic or severely immunocompromised individuals, such as cancer patients or people with HIV/AIDS.

Q4. Consider the following statements regarding non-fungible token (NFT):

• NFTs are unique digital assets with each token representing a unique value.
• NFT is not interchangeable in nature.
• NFTs include digital real estate, digital art and music.

Which of the above statements is/are correct:

1. 1, 2
2. 1, 3
3. 2, 3
4. 1, 2, 3

• Solution:

(D)

• NFT is a one-of-its-kind asset that is not interchangeable in nature.
• It means that the NFT is not replaceable by another ‘identical’ item.
• For example, if two individuals hold a bitcoin each, they can exchange their bitcoins, which are a replica of each other and have the same value.
• However, NFTs are not interchangeable, as they are more like pieces of art where each and every token is unique in itself.
• While bitcoins are also digital assets, NFTs are unique digital assets with each token representing a unique value.
• NFTs have evolved to include digital real estate, video game items, digital art and music.

Q5. Consider the following statements regarding Zeolites:

• The Zeolites are naturally formed when the volcanic rocks react with alkaline ground water.
• The naturally occurring zeolites are more pure compared to those produced industrially.
• Zeolite is used in oxygen production plants.

Which of the above statements is/are correct:

1. 1, 2
2. 1, 3
3. 2, 3
4. 3 only

• Solution:

(B)

• Air India airlifted 35 tonnes of zeolite mineral used in oxygen production plants on two flights from Rome to Bengaluru.
• Zeolite is used in oxygen production plants that are based on pressure swing adsorption (PSA) technology.
• Zeolites are microporous, aluminosilicate minerals commonly used as commercial adsorbents and catalysts.
• Zeolites occur naturally but are also produced industrially on a large scale.
• Natural zeolites form where volcanic rocks and ash layers react with alkaline groundwater.
• Naturally occurring zeolites are rarely pure and are contaminated to varying degrees by other minerals, metals, quartz, or other zeolites.
• For this reason, naturally occurring zeolites are excluded from many important commercial applications where uniformity and purity are essential.

Q6. Consider the following statements regarding Quasars:

• Quasars are very luminous objects in faraway galaxies.
• They are not found in galaxies that have supermassive blackholes.

Which of the above statements is/are correct:

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

• Solution:

(A)

• An international team of astronomers have discovered the most distant ‘radio-loud’ quasar with the help of European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT).
• It took 13 billion years for the quasar’s light to reach earth, according to a paper published in The Astrophysical Journal March 8, 2021.
• Quasars are very luminous objects in faraway galaxies that emit jets at radio frequencies.
• They are only found in galaxies that have supermassive blackholes which power these bright discs.
• However, 90 per cent of them do not emit strong radio waves, making this newly-discovered one special.
• Most active galaxies have a supermassive black hole at the centre which sucks in surrounding objects.
• Quasars are formed by the energy emitted by materials spiralling around a blackhole right before being sucked into it.

Q7. TrueNat mchines, recently seen in news can be used to test:

• Covid-19
• Tuberculosis
• HIV

Select the correct answer code:

1. 1 only
2. 1, 2
3. 1, 3
4. 1, 2, 3

• Solution:

(D)

• TrueNat This is a privately designed test that works on the same principle as RT-PCR, but with a smaller kit and with faster results.
• TrueNat, designed by MolBio Diagnostics Pvt Ltd, Goa, is commonly used for tuberculosis and HIV testing.
• The ICMR approved TrueNat for screening and confirmation for Covid-19.

Q8. Which of the following services generally use encryption to secure data transmission:

• Payment gateways
• Messaging services
• Wireless microphones and Bluetooth devices

Select the correct answer code:

1. 1, 2
2. 1, 2, 3
3. 1, 3
4. 2, 3

• Solution:

(B)

• Encryption is the process of encoding messages or information in such a way that only authorized parties can read it.
• For example: word “ABC” can become “BCD” in encrypted form, if every letter is replaced by next alphabet.
• Those who know how it is encoded can only able to read “ABC” correctly.
• All messaging services like WhatsApp, Viber, Google Chat, Yahoo messenger use encrypted services. Banks (payment gateways) and e-commerce sites also use encryption to protect financial and private data including passwords.
• Encryption is also used to protect data in transit, for example data being transferred via networks (e.g. the Internet, e-commerce), mobile telephones, wireless microphones, wireless intercom systems, Bluetooth devices and bank automatic teller machines.

Q9. Which of the following is/are examples of natural nanomaterials, i.e. those which occur naturally in the world:

• Haemoglobin in our blood
• Particles in volcanic ash
• Nano-structures that give colour to peacock’s feathers
• Exhaust from fossil fuel burning engines

Select the correct answer code:

1. 2, 3, 4
2. 1, 2, 3, 4
3. 1, 2, 3
4. 1, 2

• Solution:

(C)

• Natural nanomaterials, as the name suggests, are those that occur naturally in the world.
• These include particles that make up volcanic ash, smoke, and even some molecules in our bodies, such as the hemoglobin in our blood.
• The brilliant colors of a peacock’s feathers are the result of spacing between nanometer-scale structures on their surface.
• Man-made nanomaterials are those that occur from objects or processes created by people.
• Examples include exhaust from fossil fuel burning engines and some forms of pollution

Q10. The commercial applications of nano-technology in agriculture sector include:

• Delivery of pesticides and fertilizers
• Monitoring soil conditions and plant growth
• Detection of animal and plant pathogens
• Deliver DNA to plants

Select the correct answer code:

1. 1, 2, 3
2. 1, 2
3. 1, 2, 3, 4
4. 1, 2, 4

• Solution:

(C)