Science & Technology Current Affairs MCQs

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Recently, Orbiting Now reported about 12,952 satellites are orbiting Earth, with 145 launched in 2025 so far. These satellites operate in Geostationary Orbit (GEO), Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), and Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The United States ranks first with 8,530 satellites. Russia ranks second with 1,559 satellites. China is third with 906 satellites. India ranks seventh with 136 satellites, including 22 in LEO and 32 in GEO, plus deep space missions like Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter and Aditya-L1. India plans to add 100-150 new satellites in three years for navigation, communication, observation, and national security.

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Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the “3 by 35” Initiative to tackle non-communicable diseases (NCDs). It urges countries to raise taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks to achieve at least a 50% real price increase by 2035. NCDs like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes cause over 75% of global deaths. Higher taxes could prevent 50 million premature deaths over 50 years and generate USD 1 trillion in public revenue in the next decade. Between 2012 and 2022, around 140 countries already raised tobacco taxes, showing large-scale change is achievable.

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Scientists at the National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR), Delhi, have recently used CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to boost phosphate uptake in japonica rice varieties. CRISPR-Cas9 is a modern gene-editing tool used to precisely modify plant traits. Japonica rice is one of the two major eco-geographical races of Oryza sativa, the other being Indica. It is mainly grown in northern and eastern China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Japonica has short to medium grains, which are thick, sticky, and harder than regular white rice.

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Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras recently launched YD One, India’s lightest active wheelchair. It is the first indigenously developed precision-built mono-tube rigid-frame wheelchair in India. It is developed by TTK Center for Rehabilitation Research and Device Development (R2D2) at IIT Madras and Thryv Mobility startup. It aims to offer affordable, high-performance mobility and reduce dependence on costly imports.

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Recently, the blue rock pigeon, also called Columba livia, has been linked to concerns over spreading aspergillosis disease. Aspergillosis is an infection caused by Aspergillus, a mold genus with many species. The main infection-causing species is fungus “Aspergillus fumigatus”, which releases tiny airborne spores. These spores can cause respiratory illness when inhaled in large amounts, especially in people with weak immunity or lung issues. Aspergillosis is not contagious and doesn’t spread between people.

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Researchers at Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), Thiruvananthapuram recently detected circularly polarised radio emission near a young protostar about 4,500 light-years away. A protostar is the earliest stage in star formation, formed from a collapsing giant molecular cloud in the interstellar medium. As the cloud collapses, gravitational energy turns into heat, warming the forming protostar. The protostar stage lasts from 100,000 to 10 million years depending on the star’s mass. It begins with a dense molecular cloud core and ends with a pre-main-sequence star.

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Former U.S. President Donald Trump was recently diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI). CVI is a condition where leg veins cannot efficiently return blood to the heart, causing blood to pool in the legs. Normally, vein valves help blood flow upward, but in CVI, these valves don’t function properly. It can lead to symptoms like leg pain, swelling, cramps, skin changes, varicose veins, and leg ulcers. CVI is more common in people who are overweight, pregnant, have a family history, or had leg injuries, surgery, or blood clots.

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In July 2025, India launched its first indigenously developed carbon fibre foot prosthesis named ADIDOC. ADIDOC stands for AIIMS Bibinagar – DRDL, DRDO Indigenously Developed Optimised Carbon Foot Prosthesis. It was jointly developed under Atmanirbhar Bharat by AIIMS Bibinagar (under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana, PMSSY) and Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The foot is biomechanically tested to bear up to 125 kg load and is designed for K3-level active users. It comes in three weight-based variants to meet individual user needs.

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The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is developing a new malaria vaccine called AdFalciVax to fight Plasmodium falciparum. This was recently highlighted due to its unique chimeric and recombinant design. AdFalciVax is being developed with Regional Medical Research Centre Bhubaneswar (RMRCBB), National Institute of Malaria Research (NIMR), and Department of Biotechnology – National Institute of Immunology (DBT-NII). It uses Lactococcus lactis, a safe food-grade bacterium, for production. The vaccine targets both the pre-erythrocytic and sexual stages of the malaria parasite. This dual-target approach offers both personal protection and reduction of mosquito transmission.

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Indian space-tech startup Dhruva Space is set to launch its first commercial satellite mission named LEAP-1. LEAP-1 will carry payloads for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Earth observation. It uses the indigenously developed P-30 satellite platform, which was space-qualified on ISRO’s PSLV-C58 in January 2024 during the LEAP-TD mission. The mission is jointly developed by Dhruva Space, Akula Tech (Australia), and Esper Satellites (Australia).