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Which of the following is considered a potential climate tipping element?
- Amazon rainforest dieback
- West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapse
- Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation slowdown
- All of these
Answer: All of these
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]]
Weyl semimetals host quasiparticles that behave like massless ________ fermions.
- Dirac
- Majorana
- Weyl
- Pauli
Answer: Weyl
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]]
DNA methylation patterns at specific CpG sites can be used to estimate:
- Genetic ancestry
- Biological age
- Disease risk
- All of these
Answer: All of these
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]]
Explainable AI (XAI) techniques aim to make machine learning models:
- Faster
- More accurate
- Interpretable and transparent
- Smaller in size
Answer: Interpretable and transparent
XAI addresses 'black box' problem in complex models (deep learning) by providing human-understandable explanations for decisions. Critical for high-stakes domains: healthcare diagnostics, credit scoring, judicial support. [[NITI Aayog Principles for Responsible AI]]
Enzyme immobilization on solid supports enhances catalyst reusability and stability for:
- Homogeneous catalysis
- Heterogeneous biocatalysis
- Photocatalysis
- Electrocatalysis
Answer: Heterogeneous biocatalysis
Immobilized enzymes combine biocatalyst specificity with heterogeneous catalyst recoverability. Used in pharmaceutical synthesis, biofuel production, biosensors. Aligns with green chemistry principles. [[NCERT Chemistry Class 12]]
Extreme event attribution studies use climate models to determine:
- Future climate projections
- Human influence on specific extreme events
- Carbon budget calculations
- Sea-level rise rates
Answer: Human influence on specific extreme events
Attribution science quantifies how climate change altered likelihood/intensity of events (heatwaves, floods). Informs loss/damage discussions, adaptation planning. Indian institutions (IITM, NCMRWF) contribute to regional attribution. [[MoES Reports]]
The ITER project, in which India is a partner, aims to demonstrate net energy gain from nuclear fusion using which fuel cycle?
- Deuterium-Deuterium
- Deuterium-Tritium
- Proton-Boron
- Helium-3-Deuterium
Answer: Deuterium-Tritium
ITER (France) uses D-T fusion: D + T → He + n + 17.6 MeV. Requires plasma at 150 million °C confined by magnetic fields (tokamak). Success would pave way for commercial fusion power. India contributes critical components. [[DST Reports, NCERT Physics Class 12]]
CAR-T therapy engineers a patient's T cells to express chimeric antigen receptors targeting:
- Bacterial antigens
- Viral proteins
- Tumor-specific antigens
- Autoantigens
Answer: Tumor-specific antigens
CAR-T cells recognize cancer cell surface markers (e.g., CD19 in B-cell malignancies), triggering targeted destruction. Personalized immunotherapy with high response rates in refractory cancers. Approved for certain leukemias/lymphomas. [[ICMR Reports, NCERT Biology Class 12]]
Green hydrogen is produced by electrolysis of water using electricity from:
- Coal power plants
- Natural gas reforming
- Renewable energy sources
- Nuclear power
Answer: Renewable energy sources
Green H₂: water electrolysis powered by solar/wind yields zero-carbon fuel. Critical for decarbonizing steel, ammonia, heavy transport. India's National Green Hydrogen Mission targets cost reduction and scale-up. [[MNRE Reports, NCERT Chemistry Class 11]]
Non-invasive BCIs typically use which technique to record brain activity?
- Electrocorticography (ECoG)
- Electroencephalography (EEG)
- Functional MRI
- Magnetoencephalography (MEG)
Answer: Electroencephalography (EEG)
EEG places electrodes on scalp to detect electrical activity from neuronal populations. Portable, low-cost, real-time; used in neurofeedback, prosthetics control, communication aids for locked-in patients. [[NCERT Biology Class 11, DBT Reports]]
Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology removes CO₂ directly from:
- Flue gases
- Ambient air
- Ocean water
- Soil
Answer: Ambient air
DAC uses chemical sorbents to capture CO₂ from atmosphere (~400 ppm), enabling negative emissions. Energy-intensive but crucial for hard-to-abate sectors. India's National Carbon Capture Program supports R&D. [[MoEFCC, DST Reports]]
Liquid biopsy for cancer detection primarily analyzes which component in blood?
- Red blood cells
- Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)
- Platelets
- White blood cells
Answer: Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)
ctDNA fragments released by tumors into bloodstream carry tumor-specific mutations. Liquid biopsy enables non-invasive cancer detection, monitoring treatment response, and identifying resistance mechanisms. Emerging tool in precision oncology. [[ICMR Reports, NCERT Biology Class 12]]
Which battery chemistry offers the highest energy density for electric vehicles?
- Lead-acid
- Nickel-Metal Hydride
- Lithium-ion
- Sodium-ion
Answer: Lithium-ion
Li-ion batteries (150-250 Wh/kg) provide superior energy density, cycle life, and power-to-weight ratio vs. alternatives. Dominant in EVs, smartphones, grid storage. Research focuses on solid-state Li-ion for enhanced safety. [[MNRE Reports, NCERT Chemistry Class 12]]
Gravitational waves were first directly detected by which observatory?
- LIGO
- VIRGO
- GEO600
- KAGRA
Answer: LIGO
LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) made the first direct detection of gravitational waves in 2015 (announced 2016), confirming Einstein's 1916 prediction. Waves originated from merging black holes 1.3 billion light-years away. Nobel Prize in Physics 2017. [[NCERT Physics Class 11, IUCAA Reports]]
Which organization leads the global One Health initiative in collaboration with FAO, UNEP, and WHO?
- World Bank
- OIE (WOAH)
- UNICEF
- IMF
Answer: OIE (WOAH)
WOAH (World Organisation for Animal Health, formerly OIE) co-leads the Quadripartite One Health partnership with FAO, UNEP, WHO. Addresses zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance, food safety at human-animal-environment interface. [[WHO, MoHFW Reports]]
Thermoelectric generators convert heat directly into electricity using the ________ effect.
- Photoelectric
- Seebeck
- Peltier
- Thomson
Answer: Seebeck
Seebeck effect: temperature gradient across dissimilar conductors generates voltage. Used in space probes (RTGs), waste heat recovery. Peltier effect is reverse (electricity → cooling). [[NCERT Physics Class 12]]
Which technique is best suited for determining the crystal structure of a solid compound?
- IR Spectroscopy
- NMR Spectroscopy
- X-ray Diffraction
- Mass Spectrometry
Answer: X-ray Diffraction
XRD analyzes diffraction patterns of X-rays scattered by crystal lattice, revealing atomic arrangement, unit cell parameters, phase identification. Fundamental for materials characterization. [[NCERT Chemistry Class 12]]
Which portal allows citizens to track the status of their passport applications?
- PARIVESH
- Passport Seva
- UMANG
- DigiLocker
Answer: Passport Seva
Passport Seva (https://portal.passportindia.gov.in) is the integrated online platform for passport services: application, appointment, tracking, grievance redressal. Part of Mission Mode Projects under Digital India. [[MEA Reports]]
In a p-n junction diode, the depletion region forms due to:
- Diffusion of majority carriers
- Drift of minority carriers
- Recombination of electrons and holes
- All of these
Answer: All of these
Depletion region: majority carriers diffuse across junction, recombine, leaving immobile ions. Creates built-in potential barrier. Fundamental to diode rectification, transistor operation. [[NCERT Physics Class 12]]
BLAST is a bioinformatics tool used for:
- Protein structure prediction
- Sequence alignment
- Gene expression analysis
- Metabolic pathway mapping
Answer: Sequence alignment
BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool) compares nucleotide/protein sequences against databases to find regions of similarity. Fundamental for evolutionary studies, functional annotation, diagnostics. [[NCERT Biology Class 12]]