Science & Technology Current Affairs MCQs

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The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change inaugurated an Advanced Facility for Pashmina Certification and a Next Generation DNA Sequencing (NGS) Facility at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun. NGS is a revolutionary technology for rapidly decoding entire genomes, analyzing millions of DNA sequences simultaneously. It helps researchers understand genetic diversity, evolutionary relationships, and population health. In wildlife conservation, NGS aids in studying genetic health, disease outbreaks, illegal wildlife trade, and climate change impacts on biodiversity. This advanced facility establishes WII as a leader in molecular and genetic wildlife conservation research.

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ISRO is set to launch 24 scientific experiments on the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM) satellite under the SpaDeX Mission. The Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) aims to develop autonomous space docking technology. The mission will use PSLV-C60 to demonstrate docking with two spacecraft: Chaser (SDX01) and Target (SDX02). This technology is vital for future lunar missions, the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS), and advanced space programs. The spacecraft will separate, align into the same orbit, and achieve docking to demonstrate power transfer before undocking for further operations. The mission’s orbit is 470 km at a 55-degree inclination.

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Norovirus outbreaks in the United States (U.S.) have risen sharply, with 91 cases in early December, up from 69 in late November. Norovirus is a highly contagious virus causing gastroenteritis, also known as the “stomach flu” or “winter vomiting bug.” It affects people of all ages and spreads quickly through contaminated food, water, surfaces, or close contact. Noroviruses cause 90% of viral gastroenteritis outbreaks and nearly 50% of cases worldwide. People can get infected multiple times due to the variety of norovirus strains. Preventive measures focus on hygiene and proper food handling to limit its spread.

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Turkey successfully tested the UAV-122 supersonic missile fired from the Bayraktar Akinci drone. Bayraktar Akinci is a long-endurance unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) developed by Turkish manufacturer Baykar. It supports fighter jets with air-to-ground and air-to-air attack capabilities. The drone measures 12.2 m in length, 4.1 m in height, and has a 20 m wingspan. It offers a 25-hour flight time and 7,500 km range. Equipped with AI-powered avionics, dual satellite communication, advanced radars, and collision avoidance systems, it enhances real-time situational awareness. It carries laser-guided munitions, missiles, and long-range weapons and is the first drone capable of launching air-launched cruise missiles.

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Silver nanowire-based conductive ink technology was transferred to two startups at NIT Warangal. The startups are M/s Chematico Technologies Private Limited (incubated at IIT Ropar) and M/s Vasanthbala Functional Materials Pvt Ltd (incubated at NIT Warangal). The technology was developed under a project funded by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). It aims to reduce dependency on foreign countries and tap into the growing demand for advanced electronic materials. The ink is used in flexible electronics, wearable devices, solar panels, RFID tags, and more. The global market for this ink is expected to surpass $16.87B by 2032. India imports conductive ink worth $15,72,000 annually from countries like the US, China, and Taiwan.

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Researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory discovered an unusual black hole that might illuminate the development of supermassive black holes. Chandra X-ray Observatory is NASA’s most powerful X-ray telescope, offering eight times greater resolution and detecting sources over 20 times fainter than its previous X-ray telescope. It was launched on July 23, 1999. It is designed to detect X-ray emissions from extremely hot areas in the Universe, including exploded stars, galaxy clusters, and matter near black holes.

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Swiss researchers have developed a gene editing technique to potentially treat Stargardt disease, also known as Stargardt macular degeneration. This rare genetic eye condition causes progressive vision loss in children and young adults, usually bilateral, involving both eyes. The disease is characterized by excessive lipofuscin buildup over the macula, responsible for clear central vision. The disease is more common in males and affects 1 in 8000 to 10,000 populations. Currently, there is no cure for the disease.

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The U.S. military has relocated Typhon missile launchers within the Philippines to improve mobility and survivability amid tensions with China and Russia. Typhon, or the Mid-Range Capability (MRC), is a mobile, surface-to-surface missile system developed by Lockheed Martin, United States. It features a modular design and can fire multiple missile types, including the SM-6 (500 km range) and Tomahawk cruise missiles (2,500 km range). The SM-6 strikes air and surface targets, while the Tomahawk is effective for land-attack and anti-ship missions. A full Typhon system includes four launchers, a command post, and support vehicles on trailers.

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China has developed DeepSeek AI models named DeepSeek-V3 and DeepSeek-R1 These models compete with ChatGPT and other leading AI systems DeepSeek is a free AI-powered chatbot created by Chinese entrepreneur Liang Wenfeng It was built at a lower cost than OpenAI models as it uses fewer advanced chips DeepSeek-R1 is trained on accurate sources but includes a censorship layer It outperforms AI models from Google Meta and Anthropic in quality DeepSeek is faster than GPT-4 and better at understanding regional idioms and cultural contexts

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Astronomers discovered Gaia BH3, a massive black hole close to Earth, using the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Gaia telescope. Gaia Mission, launched in 2013, aims to create the most precise 3D map of the Milky Way, surveying 1% of its 100 billion stars. It orbits the Sun at Lagrange Point 2 (1.5 million km from Earth), avoiding atmospheric distortion. Gaia scans the sky every two months using two telescopes. It helps detect exoplanets, main belt asteroids, and Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) by tracking stellar movements and brightness changes.