Science & Technology Current Affairs MCQs

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The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research–National Physical Laboratory (CSIR–NPL) established the National Environmental Standard Laboratory (NESL). It is located at the CSIR–National Physical Laboratory in New Delhi. It was set up to test and recalibrate air pollution monitoring instruments and environmental sensors under Indian conditions. It ensures reliable and credible data for the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). It allows manufacturers, industries, and municipal bodies to validate instrument performance within India. It supports industrial emission audits, smart city monitoring networks, and provides reference gases and standard protocols.

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah laid the foundation stone of a Biosafety Level-4 (BSL-4) Bio-Containment Facility at the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre, Gandhinagar. It will be built at a cost of ₹362 crore over 11,000 square metres and will be India’s second BSL-4 lab after the National Institute of Virology, Pune. It is the first BSL-4 laboratory established by a state government. The facility will enable secure research on highly infectious and deadly viruses, reducing dependence on foreign labs. It will focus on zoonotic diseases and aligns with India’s One Health Mission. The project strengthens bio-safety, health security, and self-reliance, reflecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of science-led development.

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The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Zycubo, a copper histidinate injection, as the first treatment for Menkes disease in children. Menkes disease is a rare genetic disorder that affects the body’s ability to process copper. It is caused by mutation of the ATP7A gene located on the X chromosome, affecting copper transport and balance. Copper is essential for metabolism, brain function, blood formation, immunity, wound healing, and iron use. The disease leads to low copper levels in blood, liver, and brain, reducing copper-dependent enzyme activity.

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Recently, researchers at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Bengaluru, developed a deep-learning tool called Disobind. Disobind predicts how intrinsically disordered proteins (IDP) bind to their partner proteins. Intrinsically Disordered Proteins (IDPs) are shapeshifting proteins without fixed structure, crucial for cell signalling, gene regulation, and protein movement. Their flexibility makes them hard to study using traditional structural biology methods. Disobind uses protein language models trained on millions of protein sequences.

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Haven-1 is planned as the world’s first commercial space station in low-Earth orbit (LEO). It is a single-module station and a precursor to the larger multi-module Haven-2. It is being developed by American aerospace company Vast with support from NASA and private partners. It will host short-duration missions for microgravity research, in-space manufacturing, and orbital tourism.

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A 19-year-old college girl in Tamil Nadu died after consuming borax for weight loss. Borax is also called sodium tetraborate decahydrate, a white powdery mineral. It is composed of boron, sodium, and oxygen. It is used in glass and pottery glazes, metallurgy, welding flux, fertilizer additive, soap, disinfectant, mouthwash, and water softener. It naturally occurs in evaporite deposits from seasonal lake evaporation and can be synthetically produced.

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ExoMiner++ is a new deep learning software designed to discover exoplanets. It is developed by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). It analyses data from both the Kepler and TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) missions. The software scans stellar “light curves” for dips in brightness caused by planets transiting in front of their stars. Unlike standard black-box models, ExoMiner++ is an explainable AI, offering probability scores and reasoning to help astronomers verify and trust its findings.

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India recently confirmed two Nipah virus cases in West Bengal, with authorities containing the situation through surveillance and airport screenings. Nipah virus (NiV) is a zoonotic virus, meaning it spreads from animals to humans and also through contaminated food or human-to-human contact. Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are the natural hosts of Nipah virus. It is listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) under the Research and Development (R&D) Blueprint due to its epidemic potential.

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In January 2026, Microsoft launched its second-generation in-house artificial intelligence (AI) processor called Maia 200. It builds on the first Maia chip that was introduced by Microsoft in 2023. The Maia 200 chip is manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). It uses advanced 3-nanometer (nm) process technology and includes high-bandwidth memory. The chip is currently operational at a Microsoft data centre in Iowa, marking its first live deployment. Microsoft plans to expand its deployment to other data centres. Maia 200 offers higher computing power, faster memory bandwidth, and better energy efficiency.

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Bharat-VISTAAR (Virtually Integrated System to Access Agricultural Resources) is a proposed multilingual Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered platform for farmers, announced in Union Budget 2026-27 by Union Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman. It will integrate AgriStack portals and ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research) agricultural practices with AI systems. The platform aims to enhance farm productivity and reduce risks for farmers by providing customised, real-time advisory support to improve decision-making based on local conditions.