Science & Technology Current Affairs MCQs

Notes:
A study in Odisha found that melioidosis cases peak during and after the monsoon season. Melioidosis is a bacterial disease caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, which lives in soil and surface water in tropical and subtropical regions. It is endemic in Southeast Asia, northern Australia, the Indian subcontinent, and parts of China. Also known as Whitmore’s disease, it has a high Case Fatality Rate (16%-50%). It spreads through contact with contaminated soil, air, or water.

Notes:
Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis (SSPE) is a rare but serious brain disorder linked to measles (rubeola) infection. It remains a health concern in Lucknow and Uttar Pradesh due to low measles vaccination coverage. SSPE appears years after measles infection, even in those who seemed fully recovered. It is caused by an abnormal immune response or a variant form of the measles virus. This leads to long-term brain inflammation, often resulting in death. SSPE is rare worldwide but more common in unvaccinated regions. It mostly affects children and adolescents, with males at higher risk.

Notes:
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Drone Federation India (DFI) launch National Innovation Challenge for Drone Application and Research (NIDAR) under the SwaYaan initiative to boost drone innovation. NIDAR aims to engage students and researchers in developing autonomous drones for real-world challenges. SwaYaan focuses on building human resources in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), including drones. It was approved in July 2022. It targets training 42,560 participants through formal and non-formal programs to create a skilled drone workforce.

Notes:
IIT Guwahati researchers developed AI-powered robots for border surveillance. The robots, created by Da Spatio Rhobotique Laboratory Pvt. Ltd (DSRL), offer real-time monitoring in tough terrains. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) acknowledged their potential for India’s defence. The Indian Army is conducting field trials for deployment. Unlike drones and stationary cameras, these robots overcome terrain, weather, and endurance challenges. Features include pole traversal, obstacle navigation, and AI-driven reconnaissance. The system enhances threat detection and security. This innovation supports India’s vision of self-reliance in defence technology.

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:
New observations of the Great Red Spot on Jupiter show unexpected atmospheric activity above and around the storm. The Great Red Spot is an anticyclone, a high-pressure system that creates a long-lasting storm. It is located in Jupiter’s Southern Hemisphere. It appears as a massive red spot, though the cause of its red color remains unknown. The storm extends above Jupiter’s main cloud layers and is the largest known storm in the Solar System. The storm has existed for at least 150 years and may be even older. Its long duration is linked to Jupiter’s gaseous composition, which lacks a solid surface that would dissipate the storm’s energy. Unlike hurricanes on Earth that weaken upon landfall, Jupiter’s storm remains active due to its deep atmosphere.

Notes:
Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru have developed a made-in-India Organ-on-Chip (OoC), which was earlier imported. Organ-on-Chip is a small, flexible device made of polymers that mimics the structure and function of human organs on a micro scale. It contains tiny channels where living human cells grow and interact, simulating real tissue environments. Different models like lung-on-chip and liver-on-chip have been created to study specific organs. Fluids such as blood or drugs can be passed through the chip to observe their effects on human cells, helping in medical research and drug testing.

Notes:
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT-Kgp) developed an energy-efficient graphene-based technology for oil-water separation to manage oil spills safely and effectively. Graphene is a single atomic layer of graphite, an allotrope of carbon with tightly bonded atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice. It is about 200 times stronger than steel, lightweight, transparent, and highly elastic with excellent thermal conductivity and flexibility. The new technology uses graphene’s unique properties to clean oil spills efficiently with less energy and no toxic residue. Graphene is also used in making microchips, batteries, and biomedical devices due to its versatile nature.

Notes:
Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara discovered that fruit fly larvae can sense electric fields, a rare ability called electroreception. Electroreception is the biological sense that allows animals to detect weak electric fields in their surroundings. It is mostly seen in aquatic vertebrates like sharks and electric fish, but now found in invertebrates like fruit fly larvae too. A single neuron in the larva’s head was found to detect the electric field and trigger movement. The larvae changed direction based on the electric field, proving they sensed it and not other stimuli. This finding shows electroreception may be more common and ancient than previously thought.

Notes:
The Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment in Germany has made a major advance in particle physics as of April 2025. Neutrinos are neutral subatomic particles formed in radioactive decay and nuclear reactions like those in the sun and stars. The KATRIN (Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino) experiment, located in Karlsruhe, Germany, aims to measure the mass of the electron antineutrino, which is produced during beta decay. The latest results from KATRIN have reduced the upper limit of neutrino mass to less than 0.45 electron volts, marking a 50% improvement.