Science – Hard Level – GK Questions

Bio-inspired catalysts replicate enzyme active sites (e.g., porphyrins for heme) using synthetic scaffolds. Applications: green synthesis, environmental remediation, energy conversion. Interdisciplinary field combining chemistry, biology, materials science. [[NCERT Chemistry Class 12]]

QEC (e.g., surface codes) detects/corrects errors without measuring quantum state directly. Essential for fault-tolerant quantum computing. Active research area; India's National Quantum Mission includes QEC R&D. [[DST Reports, NCERT Physics Class 12]]

Senescent cells accumulate with age, secreting inflammatory factors (SASP). Senolytics (e.g., dasatinib + quercetin) clear them, improving healthspan in preclinical models. Clinical trials ongoing for osteoarthritis, fibrosis. [[ICMR Reports, NCERT Biology Class 12]]

Hybrid perovskites (e.g., MAPbI₃) degrade under humidity, heat, light, electric fields. Research focuses on compositional engineering, encapsulation, inorganic perovskites for commercial viability. India's NISE supports R&D. [[MNRE Reports, NCERT Chemistry Class 12]]

Ion engines: electric fields accelerate xenon ions to high velocity, producing efficient low-thrust propulsion. Used in deep-space missions (e.g., Chandrayaan-2 orbiter). High specific impulse enables long-duration missions. [[ISRO Reports, NCERT Physics Class 11]]

Techniques like 10x Visium, MERFISH preserve tissue architecture while sequencing RNA. Reveals cell-cell interactions, tissue organization in development, disease. Transformative for cancer biology, neuroscience. [[DBT Reports, NCERT Biology Class 12]]

Massive objects bend spacetime, deflecting light from background sources. Strong lensing creates arcs, rings, multiple images; used to map dark matter, study early galaxies. ISRO's AstroSat contributes to multi-wavelength lensing studies. [[NCERT Physics Class 11, IUCAA Reports]]

Gut microbiota influence brain function and behavior through neural, endocrine, immune pathways. Links to depression, anxiety, neurodegenerative diseases. Probiotics/prebiotics being explored for mental health interventions. [[ICMR Reports, NCERT Biology Class 11]]

Physisorption: weak van der Waals forces bind H₂ to high-surface-area MOFs. Reversible, fast kinetics; challenges: low volumetric density at ambient conditions. Research focuses on optimizing pore chemistry for room-temperature storage. [[NCERT Chemistry Class 12]]

SMRs (<300 MWe) use passive safety systems, factory fabrication, modular deployment. Suitable for remote areas, industrial heat, grid support. India's NPCIL is exploring SMR designs for domestic and export markets. [[DAE Reports, NCERT Physics Class 12]]

Green bonds fund renewable energy, clean transport, sustainable water management, etc. India is among top emerging market issuers. SEBI's Green Bond Guidelines (2017) ensure transparency and impact reporting. [[SEBI, MoEFCC Reports]]

CO₂ electrolysis using catalysts (Cu, Ag, molecular complexes) yields fuels/chemicals: CO, formate, ethylene, ethanol. Enables carbon recycling; challenges: selectivity, energy efficiency, scale-up. [[NCERT Chemistry Class 12, DST Reports]]

Quantum teleportation: entangled pair shared between sender/receiver; Bell measurement + classical bits enable state reconstruction. Does not transmit matter/energy; foundational for quantum internet. India's QuEST program advances this research. [[DST Reports]]

Tipping points: critical thresholds where small changes trigger large, irreversible shifts in Earth system. Monitoring these is crucial for climate risk assessment and policy. India's climate vulnerability increases with global tipping risks. [[MoES, MoEFCC Reports]]

scRNA-seq profiles gene expression in individual cells, identifying rare cell types, developmental trajectories, disease subpopulations. Revolutionized immunology, neuroscience, cancer research. [[DBT Reports, NCERT Biology Class 12]]

Weyl fermions (predicted 1929, observed 2015) are chiral, massless excitations in topological semimetals. Exhibit exotic transport: chiral anomaly, Fermi arcs. Potential for low-power electronics, quantum computing. [[NCERT Physics Class 12, DST Reports]]

Federated learning: model updates (not raw data) are shared from edge devices to central server. Preserves privacy, reduces bandwidth; used in healthcare (hospital data), mobile keyboards, IoT. Key for GDPR/DPDP-compliant AI. [[MeitY Reports]]

Epigenetic clocks (e.g., Horvath clock) predict biological age from methylation profiles. Accelerated aging correlates with disease, mortality. Applications: aging research, forensic age estimation, evaluating anti-aging interventions. [[ICMR Reports, NCERT Biology Class 12]]

VRFBs use V²⁺/V³⁺ (negative) and VO²⁺/VO₂⁺ (positive) couples in separate tanks. Power (stack size) and energy (tank volume) decoupled; ideal for grid-scale storage with long cycle life. [[MNRE Reports, NCERT Chemistry Class 12]]

Spin-based devices (MRAM, spin transistors) offer non-volatility, lower power, higher speed vs. charge-only electronics. Applications: high-density storage, quantum computing interfaces. Emerging field in condensed matter physics. [[NCERT Physics Class 12]]