Science & Technology Current Affairs MCQs

Notes:
Scientists in Australia have discovered the world’s oldest known meteorite impact crater in northwestern Australia, estimated to be 3.47 billion years old. The North Pole Crater is over 1 billion years older than any previous impact site. It was likely formed by a meteorite striking Earth at 36,000 km/h, creating a site 100 km wide. The collision may have sent debris as far as South Africa. This discovery challenges prior beliefs about Earth’s early history and suggests such impacts may have contributed to the origins of life.

Notes:
China deployed a powerful Large Phased Array Radar (LPAR) in Yunnan province near the China-Myanmar border. It has a surveillance range of over 5,000 km, covering the Indian Ocean and deep into Indian territory. It can detect and track ballistic missile launches in real time. Unlike traditional radars, it uses electronically controlled antennas for instant scanning. It can track multiple targets, including ballistic missiles, with high precision. LPARs play a key role in early warning systems and air defense networks.

Notes:
Prince Frederik of Luxembourg, 22, recently died from a rare genetic disease called POLG. POLG is a mitochondrial disorder that prevents cells from producing enough energy, leading to organ failure. It primarily affects the brain, nerves, muscles, liver, and sometimes vision. Patients often become bedridden and lose the ability to perform daily activities. The disease is caused by mutations in the POLG and POLG2 genes, affecting mitochondrial replication. Symptoms range from muscle weakness and seizures to liver failure and difficulty walking. There is no cure; treatment focuses on symptom management and quality of life improvement.

Notes:
Audible enclaves are small pockets of sound that remain undisturbed by surrounding noise. They use new technologies to deliver sound to a specific person even in a crowd. Sound waves travel through a medium, moving particles back and forth at different frequencies. Higher frequency sounds diverge more due to diffraction. Parametric array loudspeakers create focused sound beams using high-frequency waves modulated with audio signals. A study published on March 17 in PNAS shows that two high-frequency waves intersect, creating sound only audible nearby due to non-linear interactions.

Notes:
The Government of India will establish the Second National Gene Bank to conserve 10 lakh crop germplasm for future food and nutritional security. This initiative is part of the “Investing in Innovations” theme of Union Budget 2025-26. A Gene Bank stores seeds, pollen, and plant tissues to protect plant species, aid crop breeding, and ensure biodiversity conservation. India’s First National Gene Bank was established in 1996 by Indian Council of Agricultural Research – National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBPGR), New Delhi. It is the second-largest Gene Bank globally, housing 4,71,561 accessions of 2,157 species.

Notes:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) could help speed up the diagnosis of Coeliac Disease, an inherited autoimmune disorder. It is caused by an immune reaction to gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. Eating gluten triggers intestinal damage, leading to malabsorption of nutrients. Symptoms include diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss, bloating, and anemia. In children, it can affect growth and development. 1 in 10 people with a first-degree relative having the disease are at risk. 1 in 100 people worldwide are affected. The only treatment is a strict gluten-free diet.

Notes:
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, an Indian astronaut, will pilot the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) to the International Space Station (ISS), marking a milestone for India in global space missions. Axiom Space, a private company in Houston, is organizing Ax-4 in collaboration with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), European Space Agency (ESA), Poland, and Hungary. The mission crew includes Peggy Whitson (commander), Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland, and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. The team will stay for 14 days aboard the ISS and carry out around 60 scientific experiments, highlighting international cooperation in space exploration.

Notes:
Health authorities in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, have issued a public alert after a rise in Legionnaires’ disease cases in Sydney, raising fears of contamination in air conditioning systems. Legionnaires’ disease is a serious lung infection caused by Legionella bacteria, usually found in natural water bodies but can also grow in man-made systems like cooling towers. The bacteria can lead to two illnesses: Legionnaires’ disease, a severe pneumonia, and Pontiac fever, a mild flu-like illness. Common symptoms include cough, fever, muscle pain, shortness of breath, and sometimes confusion or diarrhea. It spreads by inhaling contaminated water droplets, not from person to person. There is no vaccine, but antibiotic treatment is effective once diagnosed.

Notes:
China has unveiled the world’s first 16-barrel Anti-Drone Barrage Weapon System to counter drone swarms and missile threats. It uses a “wall of fire” approach instead of traditional point-to-point targeting, increasing chances of hitting fast and unpredictable aerial threats. The system fires dense barrages of projectiles to intercept drones, missiles, rockets, helicopters, and artillery shells. It addresses current air defence gaps against low-cost drone saturation attacks. China plans both domestic deployment and international exports amid rising drone threats near Taiwan.

Notes:
Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD), also known as Monkey Fever, is rising in Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru districts of Karnataka. It is a tick-borne viral haemorrhagic disease first reported in 1957 from Kyasanur Forest, Karnataka. It is caused by the Kyasanur Forest Disease Virus (KFDV), part of the Flavivirus genus and Flaviviridae family, linked to the tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) complex. The virus spreads through hard ticks (Hemaphysalis spinigera) and affects humans, monkeys, and rodents, but not through human-to-human contact.