Science & Technology Current Affairs MCQs

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A new study suggests ulcerative colitis may be triggered when a normally hidden protective layer of immune cells beneath the gut lining becomes thinner. Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affecting the colon and rectum. It causes long-term inflammation and ulcers in the inner lining of the large intestine. Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an immune-mediated condition with cycles of flare-ups and remission.

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Health and Family Welfare Minister J P Nadda announced that India is now 8th globally in World Health Organization (WHO) Pharmacovigilance Contributions, up from 123rd ten years ago. He released the 10th edition of Indian Pharmacopoeia 2026 in New Delhi. The new edition incorporates 121 new monographs, taking the total to 3,340 monographs. For the first time, 20 blood component monographs have been included, supporting research in blood transfusion, thalassemia, hemophilia, and anaemia. India is the first country to include blood components in its pharmacopoeia. The Indian Pharmacopoeia is recognized in 19 Global South countries.

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India inaugurated the world’s second National Environmental Standard Laboratory (NESL) and the world’s fifth National Primary Standard Facility for Solar Cell Calibration at CSIR–National Physical Laboratory (NPL), New Delhi. NESL will provide India-specific calibration and certification of air pollution monitoring systems, supporting regulatory bodies, industries, and startups, and improving policy enforcement under programmes like the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).

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Scientists at the Raman Research Institute (RRI), Bengaluru have developed a novel, non-invasive technique to measure the local density of cold atoms in real time without disturbing their quantum state. The method, called Raman Driven Spin Noise Spectroscopy (RDSNS), overcomes limitations of conventional atom-imaging methods used in cold atom experiments. Cold atoms, cooled near absolute zero, are crucial for quantum computing, quantum sensing, and precision measurement, but traditional detection methods like absorption and fluorescence imaging are often destructive or slow.

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Scientists used first images from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory to discover the fastest-spinning asteroid of its size, named 2025 MN45. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is located on Cerro Pachón in the Chilean Andes at 8,684 feet altitude. It is named after astronomer Vera C. Rubin, who provided early evidence for dark matter. It is jointly funded by the United States National Science Foundation (NSF) and the United States Department of Energy (DoE). Its goals include studying dark matter and dark energy, mapping the Milky Way, tracking asteroids and comets, and observing changing cosmic objects.

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Recently, Google Research unveiled Project Suncatcher to address rising electricity demand from Artificial Intelligence (AI). Project Suncatcher proposes placing AI datacentres in low-Earth orbit (LEO) powered entirely by solar energy. It aims to reduce AI’s energy footprint and reduce dependence on Earth-based power grids, land, and water. The system uses clusters of satellites in sun-synchronous orbits to receive continuous sunlight. AI workloads run across satellites using ultra-high-bandwidth inter-satellite links. Only data inputs and outputs are sent to Earth. It relies on radiation-tolerant Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) and special thermal designs to work in space.

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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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A 29-year-old man in Karnataka died after contracting Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD), also called monkey fever. Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) is a tick-borne viral haemorrhagic disease mostly found in southern India, first reported in 1957 from Kyasanur Forest, Karnataka. The virus belongs to the family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus, part of the tick-borne encephalitis complex. It is called monkey fever due to its association with monkey deaths.

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Odisha government partnered with deep-tech startup BonV Aero to create a National Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Test and Innovation Corridor. The corridor will be set up at Rangeilunda in Ganjam district. It will be India’s first commercial airport repurposed as a real-world drone testing facility. The agreement was signed at the Wings India 2026 summit in Hyderabad. BonV Aero will lead indigenous research, development, and testing of unmanned aviation systems. The corridor will allow live UAV trials in low-altitude airspace up to 1,000 metres.

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The National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) launched the beta version of the Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for the eSankhyiki portal. Model Context Protocol (MCP) is a technology that allows users to directly connect datasets with their own Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools and applications. It provides a standard method to make official data accessible to Large Language Models (LLMs).