Science & Technology Current Affairs MCQs

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Blue Origin recently launched NASA’s ESCAPADE mission to Mars. ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) is NASA’s first coordinated multi-spacecraft orbital science mission to Mars. It consists of twin orbiters named Blue and Gold that will observe Mars from different locations simultaneously. The mission is part of NASA’s SIMPLEx (Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration) program.

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Google inaugurated its largest Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure hardware engineering centre outside the US in Taipei, Taiwan. The centre will focus on AI infrastructure hardware engineering for Google’s global operations. Technology developed and tested at the centre will be deployed across Google’s global data centres. These AI systems support billions of Google devices and services worldwide. The centre reinforces Taiwan’s role as a key hub for global AI innovation.

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A recent study found that the shingles vaccine can reduce the risk of death from dementia. Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful skin rash. It is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus responsible for chickenpox. After chickenpox, the virus stays dormant in nerve cells and can reactivate when immunity becomes weak. Shingles usually appears as a painful stripe of blisters on one side of the body, face, or neck. It is not directly contagious but can spread chickenpox to unvaccinated people. It mainly affects people over 50 years or those with weak immune systems. The Shingrix vaccine helps prevent shingles and its complications.

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NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has signed 70 Technology Transfer Agreements with industry. NSIL was incorporated on 6 March 2019 under the Companies Act, 2013, and works under the Department of Space (DOS), Government of India. It helps Indian industries take up high-technology space activities and promotes commercial use of India’s space products and services.

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The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently launched RESPOND Basket 2025. The programme invites research proposals from premier universities and recognised academic and R&D institutions. It focuses on areas relevant to ISRO’s upcoming missions and national priorities. RESPOND Basket 2025 supports projects including the Bharatiya Antariksh Station, Chandrayaan-4, Gaganyaan missions, Venus orbiter, and a human Moon landing. The initiative aims to strengthen collaboration between ISRO and academic institutions and foster research aligned with India’s space ambitions.

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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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ISRO’s Aditya-L1 mission decoded the impact of a powerful solar storm on Earth’s magnetic shield. Aditya-L1, India’s first space-based solar mission, was launched by PSLV-C57 in 2023 and is in a halo orbit around Lagrange Point 1 (L1). The storm was caused by a massive eruption of solar plasma from the Sun. The most severe effects occurred in turbulent regions that strongly compressed Earth’s magnetic field. Some geostationary satellites were exposed to harsh space conditions. The study highlights the importance of understanding space weather, caused by transient solar activity, affecting satellites, communications, and technology.

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Huntington’s disease (HD) is a rare hereditary brain disorder where specific neurons break down, leading to emotional problems, loss of thinking ability, and uncontrolled movements. Neuron damage occurs mainly in the basal ganglia (controls movement) and the cerebral cortex (controls thinking, memory, and decision‑making). Huntington’s disease (HD) is caused by a genetic mutation in the HTT (Huntingtin) gene, which produces the huntingtin protein essential for neuron function. Recent research is providing fresh hope by advancing understanding of the disease mechanisms and potential treatments, offering optimism for future therapies.

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Japan officially ended the Akatsuki mission after losing contact with the spacecraft for over a year. Akatsuki, also called PLANET-C or Venus Climate Orbiter (VCO), was operated by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). It was the only active spacecraft orbiting Venus, studying volcanism and atmospheric dynamics, especially super-rotation.

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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.