Current Affairs Quiz - February 2022

Notes:
North Korea has confirmed that it fired a Hwasong-12 mid-range ballistic missile. This is the first time it has tested a weapon of that size since 2017.
Japan and South Korea detected the launch of the intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), which is the seventh weapons test done by North Korea this month.

Notes:
Ace Tennis player Rafael Nadal created history as he won a historic 21st Grand Slam title, defeating Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in the final of the Australian Open.
The Spaniard became the first male tennis player to win 21 Grand Slam titles. He went ahead of Switzerland’s Roger Federer and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic-both tied at 20 each. Australian retired tennis player Margaret Court won 24 Grand Slam women’s singles titles.

Notes:
World Leprosy Day (WLD) is observed on the last Sunday of January. In 2022, World Leprosy Day is 30 January.
The “United for Dignity” campaign calls for unity in honoring the dignity of people who have experienced leprosy. WHO Goodwill Ambassador for leprosy elimination launched “Don’t forget leprosy” campaign. In India, Anti-Leprosy Day is observed on 30 January, the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Notes:
World Wetlands Day is observed on February 2 every year to raise awareness about their importance and the need to preserve them. On this day, the Convention on Wetlands was adopted in 1971.
World Wetlands Day 2022 is observed as a United Nations International day for the first time. The theme of World Wetlands Day this year is ‘Wetlands Action for People and Nature’.

Notes:
A new study has been done at an altitude of 3106 meters at the top of the mountain “Hoher Sonnenblick” in the “Hohe Tauern” National Park in Austria
The study is investigating the amount of plastic trickling down on us from the atmosphere. According to the study. About 30% of the nanoplastic particles measured on the mountain top originate from a radius of 200 kilometers, from cities. Around 10% of the particles measured in the study were blown onto the mountain by wind and weather over 2000 kilometers.

Notes:
As per a recent study by UK researchers, it has been found that Climate change is driving plants to flower earlier and earlier.
The average first flowering date of UK plants is a month earlier than it was before 1986. As per the research team, Plants flowering too early could be disastrous for hibernating and migrating animals, and for crops.

Notes:
Massive flooding in Ecuador’s capital Quito and a resulting landslide have killed at least 24 people. Ecuador is a country in South America, touching the Equator.
The floods were caused by heavy rains on the slopes of the Pichincha volcano, which overlooks the city.

Notes:
The National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY), a central sector scheme was launched in 2015 and was implemented in 12 cities.
As many as 77 projects have been implemented with an outlay of Rs 453.90 crores. 2 projects amounting to Rs 18.34 crore- Project in Badami (Karnataka) and Project in Warangal (Telangana) are under implementation. The mission period ended in 2019.

Notes:
Chimeric antigen receptor, CAR – T-cell therapy works by genetically engineering an individual’s T-cells to recognise and destroy cancer cells.
T-cells are a type of white blood cell of the immune system that can recognise and destroy foreign cells. Two first human patients who were treated with the therapy still possess cancer-killing cells a decade later. In the UK the therapy is approved for use in children, young adults and adults for certain types of blood cancers.

Notes:
Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) and the Indian Army have signed a contract worth Rs 3,131.82 crore for the manufacture and supply of Konkurs-M anti-tank guided missiles.
The missile with 75-4000 metre range can be launched either from the BMP-II tank or from a ground launcher. Konkurs-M is being manufactured under a license agreement with a Russian Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).