Science & Technology Current Affairs MCQs

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Health officials in Florida have recently confirmed cases of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), also called “Zombie Deer Disease.” It is a fatal neurological disease that affects deer, elk, moose, and reindeer. It attacks the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). It is caused by prions, which are infectious misfolded proteins that damage the brain. Prions spread through body fluids like saliva, blood, and urine and can stay in soil and plants for years. Infected animals show weight loss, drooling, and strange behavior. There is no cure or vaccine, and the disease is always fatal.No human cases have been confirmed yet, but experts stay alert.

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China developed the underwater drone nicknamed the “ghost jellyfish”. The drone is made of a soft hydrogel material, has a transparent body, and uses electrostatic hydraulic actuators to mimic the natural, silent movement of a real jellyfish. It is equipped with an AI chip and a micro-camera for real-time object identification and can operate with very low energy consumption. Its primary uses are for stealthy underwater reconnaissance, ecological monitoring, and observing marine life without causing disruption.

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Bangladesh became the 8th country in the world to introduce the Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV) in its routine immunisation programme. Around 50 million children aged 9 months to 15 years will receive the vaccine under a nationwide campaign. India is the major vaccine supplier for this drive but has not yet included TCV in its Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP). Typhoid fever is caused by the Salmonella typhi bacterium and spreads through contaminated food and water or vectors like flies. The disease can lead to fever lasting several weeks, and complications like intestinal perforation can cause death. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 9–12 million global typhoid cases and over 1 lakh deaths annually — with India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan as hotspots

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Recently, a scintillometer was installed at the Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute (TRRI) in Aduthurai, Tamil Nadu. It is an optical instrument used to measure heat and moisture exchange between the land surface and the atmosphere. The device transmits a light beam between two fixed points to collect data. Turbulent air causes minute fluctuations in the beam, called scintillations, which are analysed to estimate heat transfer. It was installed as part of the TRRI Critical Zone Observatory (CZO) to enhance climate and crop research.

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Shri Manohar Lal, Minister of Power and Housing & Urban Affairs, inaugurated India’s first and largest Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (VRFB) system. The VRFB has a capacity of 3 Megawatt-hour (MWh) at NTPC’s NETRA Research & Development Centre in Greater Noida. This milestone advances India’s long-duration energy storage (LDES) solutions and strengthens renewable energy integration and national grid resilience. Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (VRFB) is a modern technology offering an alternative to lithium-ion batteries, expanding the pool of usable elements for battery systems.

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Scientists have recently developed a breakthrough therapy that clears toxic proteins from nerve cells, offering new hope for treating Motor Neuron Disease (MND). Motor Neuron Disease (MND), also known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a rare condition that damages parts of the nervous system. It causes muscle weakness, wasting, and paralysis as motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord die prematurely, stopping signals between the brain and muscles. Around 20% of cases are genetic, mostly affecting people over 50 years old. There is currently no cure, but treatment helps manage symptoms.

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The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology announced the development of four Hydrogen Valley Innovation Clusters (HVICs) across India. Hydrogen Valley Innovation Clusters (HVICs) aim to demonstrate the full green hydrogen value chain, from production, storage, transport to utilization. The project has a total investment of ₹485 crore. HVICs aim to build a local hydrogen ecosystem, connecting supply and demand across transport, industry, and energy, while fostering research, innovation, and skills. The four clusters are being developed in Pune, Jodhpur, Bhubaneswar, and Kerala.

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Sentinel-6B was recently launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, marking a major step in global ocean monitoring. It is a joint mission of NASA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and European Space Agency (ESA). It will track rising sea levels and their impacts, continuing the work of Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich launched in 2020. It orbits Earth at 7.2 km per second, completing one revolution in 112 minutes. It will measure sea levels with accuracy up to one inch, covering over 90% of oceans. Its mission life is 5.5 years. It carries six science instruments and uses fixed plus deployable solar panels in a non-Sun-synchronous orbit

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Scientists from ARIES (Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences), IIA (Indian Institute of Astrophysics) and global collaborators have recreated more than 100 years of the Sun’s polar magnetic history. They used archival data and old solar images from the Kodaikanal Solar Observatory (KoSO) to complete this long-term reconstruction. Kodaikanal Solar Observatory (KoSO) is one of India’s oldest and globally recognised solar observatories with over 120 years of uninterrupted solar observation. It is located in the Palani Hills of Tamil Nadu and operates as a field station of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru.

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AvironiX Drones, a deep-tech company based in Chennai, has launched a new agricultural spraying drone called AviSpray-10c. The AviSpray-10c is a compact and smaller next-generation spraying drone, designed specifically for Indian farming needs. The drone was developed to reduce the cost, operational difficulty, and manpower requirements usually associated with drone-based crop spraying. Unlike many drones built only in laboratory settings, the AviSpray-10c has been tested and validated through extensive real-world field deployments.