Science & Technology Current Affairs MCQs

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The President of the French Space Agency (CNES) recently discussed various topics, including 60 years of French-India space cooperation and upcoming missions like Gaganyaan and TRISHNA. The TRISHNA mission is a collaboration ISRO and CNES. Its main objectives are to provide high-resolution observations of Earth’s surface temperature, vegetation health, and water cycle dynamics. The mission will assess urban heat islands, detect thermal anomalies from volcanic activity, and monitor snow-melt runoff and glacier dynamics. Additionally, it will gather data on aerosol optical depth, atmospheric water vapor, and cloud cover.

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The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Jordan the first country in the world to eliminate leprosy, a major public health achievement. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised Jordan for its efforts to stop leprosy transmission and reduce its stigma. Jordan has not reported any local cases of leprosy for over 20 years. The declaration followed an independent assessment of the situation in the country. Despite Jordan’s success, leprosy still affects over 120 countries, with more than 200,000 new cases reported annually.

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Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed a special nanomaterial to reduce heavy metal contamination in groundwater, focusing on chromium pollution. This discovery addresses a growing environmental concern, especially in urban areas impacted by industrial waste. Chromium is a toxic metal that enters soil and groundwater mainly from industries like leather tanning, electroplating, and textile manufacturing. Traditionally, contaminated water is removed and treated at plants using chemical and physical processes, highlighting the need for more effective solutions.

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NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope shared a video of the spiral galaxy Caldwell 45 (NGC 5248). Spiral galaxies are collections of stars and gas, featuring spiral arms extending from their center. These galaxies contain young, hot stars and are known for their beautiful shapes. Around 60% of discovered galaxies are spiral, including the Milky Way. Spiral galaxies have a central bulge surrounded by a flat, rotating disk of stars. They are distinct from elliptical and irregular galaxies.

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India’s Prime Minister launched three Param Rudra Supercomputing Systems and a High-Performance Computing system for weather and climate research. These supercomputers were developed indigenously under the National Supercomputing Mission at a cost of Rs 130 crores. The supercomputers are deployed in Delhi, Pune, and Kolkata to enhance research across fields like physics, material science, and astronomy. Pune’s GMRT will use it for Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) research, while Delhi’s IUAC and Kolkata’s S N Bose Centre will focus on material science and cosmology. The National Supercomputing Mission was launched in 2015 to meet growing computational needs.

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Researchers from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics discovered an interaction between a radio jet from an Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) and the surrounding interstellar medium in a dwarf galaxy, NGC 4395. This groundbreaking finding, observed at a distance of about 14 million light years, challenges previous beliefs that only large galaxies host AGNs. The study utilized data from various telescopes, including Hubble and Chandra, to explore this phenomenon, enhancing our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution.

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Llama 3.2 is Meta’s first open-source, multimodal AI model designed to assist developers in creating advanced applications. Introduced during a Meta event in California, CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasized its capabilities in visual understanding and document analysis. This model represents a significant advancement in AI technology, enabling developers to build tools that can quickly analyze and explain lengthy documents, thereby enhancing productivity and innovation in various fields, including research and business.

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ESA will launch a satellite called DRACO (Destructive Reentry Assessment Container Object) mission in 2027 to study satellite disintegration during reentry. DRACO aims to help reduce space debris by collecting data on how satellites break apart. The mission will also study the environmental impact of reentry, including material interactions with the atmosphere.Deimos, a European company, will build the 200-kilogram satellite. DRACO will carry a 40-centimetre capsule with cameras and sensors to record data during reentry. The capsule will parachute down after reentry, sending crucial information before being lost at sea.

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Researchers at IIT Madras have discovered a new method to treat retinal tears and diabetic retinopathy using mild laser-induced convection to improve drug delivery into the retina. They conducted simulations to study different treatment types, focusing on heat and mass transfer. This innovative approach could benefit around 11 million people in India with retinal disorders. Currently, laser-based techniques are employed to treat conditions like retinal tears, diabetic retinopathy, macular edema, and retinal vein occlusion.

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Ceres was reclassified from an asteroid to a dwarf planet due to its mass, which allows it to maintain a round shape. Recent studies by Purdue University and NASA revealed that its crust is likely composed of 90% ice, suggesting a history as a watery world. The findings are based on data from NASA’s Dawn mission, which provided insights into Ceres’ cratered surface and icy composition, challenging previous assumptions about its geology.