Science & Technology Current Affairs MCQs

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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.

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World Chagas Disease Day is observed every year on April 14 to raise awareness about the devastating impact of Chagas disease. The theme for World Chagas Disease Day 2025 is “Prevent, Control, Care: Everyone’s role in Chagas disease,” emphasizing the need for accessible healthcare and ongoing patient support. Chagas disease is caused by the Trypanosoma cruzi parasite, found in the feces of the triatomine bug. It primarily affects regions in South America, Central America, and Mexico. If untreated, Chagas disease can lead to serious heart and digestive issues. Early treatment targets killing the parasite, while chronic cases focus on managing symptoms.

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Startup QNu Labs has launched the world’s first unique platform called Q-Shield. Q-Shield allows smooth cryptography management across cloud, on-premises, and hybrid setups. It offers a full solution to secure sensitive data both while moving (in transit) and when stored (at rest). It helps enterprises safeguard their critical infrastructure. Critical Infrastructure includes key sectors like the Communications Sector and Energy Sector, where any threat or disruption can harm national security and the economy.

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Google has launched its 7th-generation Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), named Ironwood, to improve the performance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) models. TPU is a specialised processor known as an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) developed by Google in 2015. It is designed especially for machine learning and AI tasks. TPUs are made to perform tensor operations, which are the main data structures used in Machine Learning (ML) models. TPUs are faster than Central Processing Units (CPUs) and Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) in AI tasks. They can train complex neural networks in just a few hours.

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India is seen as a major contributor to setting global rules for responsible space behavior, as stated by Marjolijn van Deelen, European Union (EU) Special Envoy for Space, at the Global Technology Summit. Anti-Satellite (ASAT) weapons are used to disable or destroy satellites for strategic defense purposes. These weapons can disrupt satellites used for surveillance, communication, navigation, or early warning. ASATs are divided into Kinetic Energy ASATs, which destroy satellites by direct impact, and Non-Kinetic ASATs, which use methods like cyber-attacks or lasers. ASATs can be launched from the ground, aircraft, or even other satellites. So far, the United States, Russia, China, and India have tested ASAT weapons. India’s ASAT test, called Mission Shakti, was carried out in March 2019 by hitting a satellite in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at 300 km altitude.

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AIIMS Raipur has successfully performed its first Swap Kidney Transplant, also known as a Kidney Paired Transplant. With this, it became the first among the newer All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and the first government hospital in Chhattisgarh to perform this complex surgery. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare highlighted it as a major step in advanced healthcare. This procedure helps patients with end-stage kidney disease by increasing transplant options through donor pairing. Swap Kidney Transplant is estimated to boost the number of kidney transplants by 15 percent. The National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) has recommended all states and Union Territories adopt this method to improve donor availability.

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Recently, concerns were raised when the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) called for proposals using GenomeIndia data without sharing important phenotype data details. Phenome India-CSIR Health Cohort Knowledgebase (PI-CheCK) was launched by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on December 7, 2023. The project aims to build India-specific risk prediction models for cardio-metabolic diseases like diabetes, liver, and heart diseases. It is India’s first pan-India longitudinal health study focused on cardio-metabolic health.

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A new mosquito species called the “Pwani molecular form” has been found in coastal areas of Tanzania and Kenya, drawing global attention to malaria control. It belongs to the Anopheles gambiae complex, which includes some of the world’s most dangerous malaria-spreading mosquitoes. This mosquito shows strong genetic differences from other species in the same group, suggesting unique behaviour or environmental adaptation. Genetic studies confirm it is only found along the coastal regions of East Africa, mainly in Tanzania and Kenya. It does not carry the usual genes for insecticide resistance found in other malaria vectors. This may mean it has a different resistance method or is more sensitive to current insecticides.

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Scientists recently found signs of ancient wildfires, called palaeofires, from the Permian Period about 250 million years ago in the Godavari Basin. Palaeofires are wildfire events recorded in ancient rocks, helping us understand Earth’s past vegetation, climate changes, and coal formation. The study covered a long geological timescale, from the Late Silurian to the present Quaternary Period. Researchers used methods like Palynofacies analysis, Raman Spectroscopy, Rock-Eval Pyrolysis, and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy to study tiny fossils and charcoal. They clearly identified charcoal formed on-site (in situ) and transported charcoal (ex situ), solving a major geological debate. They also found that sea-level changes affected how fire residues were preserved—more intact during sea-level drops (regressive) and more scattered during sea-level rise (transgressive).

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The Hubble Space Telescope recently completed 35 years of space exploration since its launch on April 24, 1990. It is the first dedicated space-based telescope system and is named after astronomer Edwin Hubble. The idea of such a telescope was first proposed in the 1940s by US astronomer Lyman Spitzer. It was launched as a joint mission between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA). ESA contributed 15% of the mission’s cost in return for 15% of observation time. Its launch was delayed from 1986 to 1990 due to technical issues and the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Hubble orbits Earth at around 569 km in Low Earth Orbit and observes ultraviolet, visible, and infrared light. It was designed to be repaired and upgraded in space, making it a renewable telescope. This historic telescope continues to help scientists understand galaxies, stars, and the vast universe beyond Earth.