Science & Technology Current Affairs MCQs

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The Women in Space Leadership Programme (WiSLP) was launched by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) with the British Council. It is part of the UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI). The program aims to create a leadership framework to promote gender-inclusive practices in space sciences. It focuses on fostering women’s leadership in space and related fields.

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Scientists found carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide on Pluto’s largest moon, Charon. Charon is half the size of Pluto, measuring 1,214 km across, discovered in 1978. It’s named after the ferryman of dead souls in Greek mythology. Charon’s mass is over one-tenth of Pluto’s, and the two form a double dwarf planet system. The distance between Pluto and Charon is 19,640 km. Both bodies are tidally locked, always facing each other in same side. Charon completes one orbit of Pluto in 6.4 Earth days.

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India’s National Space Commission approved the Lunar Polar Exploration Mission (Lupex), India’s fifth lunar mission. Lupex follows the success of Chandrayaan-3’s Moon landing in August 2023, making India the fourth nation to land on the Moon. It is a joint mission between India’s ISRO and Japan’s JAXA, focusing on lunar resource exploration. The main objective is to study the presence and distribution of water on the Moon’s surface and beneath its regolith. Lupex aims to provide crucial data for future lunar exploration and potential human habitation.

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The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has met WHO standards for safety, efficacy, and quality in vaccine regulation. CDSCO is India’s National Regulatory Authority for medical devices, operating under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) heads CDSCO, with its headquarters in New Delhi.
CDSCO’s responsibilities include new drug approvals, clinical trials, drug standards, import quality control, and coordination with state regulators. It also grants licenses for critical drugs like blood products, vaccines, and IV fluids, along with state authorities.

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The Delhi High Court recently issued directions to improve access to “orphan drugs” for treating rare diseases. A rare disease is a health condition that affects a small number of people compared to more common diseases. There are between 7,000 and 8,000 classified rare diseases. Less than 5% of these rare diseases have available therapies. A disease is classified as rare if its prevalence is less than one case per 1,000 people.

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Gary Ruvkun, while accepting the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, praised Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), a tiny nematode worm. C. elegans is a small, simple organism used in research for its precise structure and fast growth (3-5 days). It was the first multicellular organism to have its full genome sequenced and neural wiring mapped. It has two sexes: hermaphrodite and male; the hermaphrodite can self-fertilize or cross-fertilize. Nematodes are abundant, living as parasites or in free-living forms in diverse environments like soil and marine ecosystems.

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India’s first Biomanufacturing Institute, BRIC-National Agri-Food Bio-Manufacturing Institute (BRIC-NABI), was inaugurated in Mohali. BRIC-NABI aims to advance the agri-food sector through biotechnology, supporting “Viksit Bharat” and “Make in India” initiatives. The institute focuses on high-yield crops, biofertilizers, and biopesticides to streamline research to commercialization. It promotes bio-based solutions like microbial fermentation for sustainable agriculture, improving crop yields, food quality, and alternative protein sources.

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Scientists from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) in Bengaluru have made significant observations using the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) on ADITYA-L1, India’s first solar mission. The VELC successfully captured and estimated the onset time of a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) that occurred on July 16. This marks the first scientific result from India’s solar mission. The VELC’s capabilities allowed for close observation of the CME near the Sun’s surface, a breakthrough since such events are usually seen from a distance.

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A 16-month-old child with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) received gene therapy at a private hospital. SMA is a genetic disorder affecting the central and peripheral nervous systems and voluntary muscle movement. It leads to the loss of motor neurons in the spinal cord and is classified as a motor neuron disease. There are five subtypes of SMA, categorized by age of onset, severity, and life expectancy. Symptoms include muscle weakness, especially in central body muscles, while involuntary muscles like those in the heart are not affected.

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Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee signed an agreement under the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) to develop a 5G “millimeter wave transceiver” for rural connectivity. Millimeter waves (30-300 GHz frequency) allow high-speed wireless communication with low latency and less interference. The project promotes local manufacturing, encouraging small and medium industries, creating job opportunities for engineering graduates. The use of polymer-metal structures reduces dependence on semiconductor industries, with a small development cost. It aims to generate Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and build a skilled workforce for 5G/6G technology.