Q.1 Recently which among the following state has adopted fly ash utilization policy ?

A) Maharashtra

B) Punjab

C) Karnataka

D) Tamil Nadu

Ans. A

Fly ash is a fine, glass powder by-product recovered from gases of burning coal in thermal power plants during production of electricity. They are micron sized earth elements primarily consisting silica, alumina and iron.

Fly ash causes air pollution. It can also contaminate water and soil systems. The wet disposal of Fly ash results in leaching of toxic heavy metals in ground water system.

Q.2 DNA Index System (DIS) allows generation of DNA profiles from which of the following samples :

1. Saliva

2. Blood strains

3. Buccal Swabs

Select the correct answer using the codes given below :

A) Only 1

B) 1 & 3

C) 1,2,3

D) 1 & 2

Ans. C

DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting, DNA testing, or DNA typing) is a forensic technique used to identify individuals by characteristics of their DNA. A DNA profile is a small set of DNA variations that is very likely to be different in all unrelated individuals, thereby being as unique to individuals as are fingerprints (hence the alternate name for the technique). DNA profiling should not be confused with full genome sequencing. DNA fingerprinting has also been widely used in the study of animal and floral populations and has revolutionized the fields of zoology, botany, and agriculture A common method of collecting a reference sample is the use of a buccal swab, which is easy, non-invasive and cheap. When this is not available (e.g. because a court order is needed but not obtainable) other methods may need to be used to collect a sample of blood, saliva, semen, or other appropriate fluid or tissue from personal items (e.g. a toothbrush, razor) or from stored samples (e.g. banked sperm or biopsy tissue). Samples obtained from blood relatives (related by birth, not marriage) can provide an indication of an individual’s profile, as could human remains that had been previously profiled. Using PCR technology, DNA analysis is widely applied to determine genetic family relationships such as paternity, maternity, siblingship and other kinships. Familial DNA searching (sometimes referred to as “Familial DNA” or “Familial DNA Database Searching”) is the practice of creating new investigative leads in cases where DNA evidence found at the scene of a crime (forensic profile) strongly resembles that of an existing DNA profile (offender profile) in a state DNA database but there is not an exact match.

Q.3 HIMANSH often in the news is :

A) Glaciological research station

B) Submarine vessel

C) Micro satellite

D) Nuclear Vessel

Ans. A

A high altitude glaciological research station in Himalaya called Himansh (meaning a slice of ice) began functioning above 13,500 ft (4000 m) in a remote region in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh. The station houses instruments to quantify glacier melting and its relation to changing climate. It will also serve as the base for Terrestrial Laser Scanners (TLS) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for

undertaking surveys.

Q.4 How recently developed Zika replicon system will be helpful in developing vaccine for Zika virus ?

1. It will deteriorate the structure of the virus by deleting some of its genes

2. Replicons are the segments of viral genome that are dependent of the cellular chromosome

3. They will be used to locate portions of the viral molecule that block or halt viral replication

Select the correct answer using the codes given below :

A) Only 2

B) 2 & 3

C) Only 1 & 3

D) All are correct

Ans. C

Replicons are basically segments of viral genome that can replicate on their own, independent of the cellular chromosome.

It has also become important to deal with Zika virus which is spreading rapidly and behaves differently than other viruses as it can be transmitted sexually and is associated with microcephaly and Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS).

Q.5 In context with the news what is Digishala ?

A) 24 hour government TV channel for cashless lessons

B) TV series to be launched for cashless lessons

C) A short film based on cashless lessons

D) None of the above

Ans. A

Q.6 Jaguar DARIN III often in the news is :

A) Twin seat aircraft

B) Anti tank missile

C) Rocket launcher

D) Submarine vessel

Ans. A

Q.7 What is Urja Ganga, that has been recently in news ?

A) It is a mission to clean holy river by 2020

B) It is a project of Gas pipeline to provide cooking gas

C) It aims to reduce pollutants from Ganga river

D) None of the above

Ans. B

Q.8 Recently in the news there was a term “Selfie Stick”. What is this ?

A) A micro satellite

B) A printer

C) A Graphene transistor

D) A newly launched i-phone

Ans. A

The micro-s\atellite Banxing-2 is roughly the size of a desktop printer and the media has nicknamed “Selfie Stick”. It weighs 47 kilogrammes. Micro satellites weigh around 500 to 100 kilograms. They are usually cheaper, faster and more advanced than traditional satellites. The commercial potential has attracted much attention from businesses.

Q.9 Recently Mitochondrial replacement therapy has been in news, consider the following statements :

1. It involves invitro & invivo fertilization technique to replace defective mitochondria

2. Through this technique embryo remains free from all the defects

Select the correct answer using the codes given below :

A) Only 1

B) Only 2

C) Both are correct

D) Both are incorrect

Ans. D

It involves invitro fertilization technique to replace defective mitochondria

2nd statement is fabricated statement, as it can’t be free from all the defects

Mitochondrial replacement (MRT, sometimes called mitochondrial donation) is a special form of in vitro fertilisation in which the future baby’s mitochondrial DNA comes from a third party. This technique is used in cases when mothers carry genes for mitochondrial diseases. The two most common techniques in mitochondrial donation are pronuclear transfer and maternal spindle transfer.

In 2015 MRT was made legal in the United Kingdom and in 2016 the first regulations were issued there, clearing the way for procedures to begin. In February 2016, the US National Academy of Sciences issued a report describing technologies then current and the surrounding ethical issues

Q.10 In which among the following countries Zika virus was prevalent ?

1. Colombia

2. Equador

3. El Salvador

4. Jamaica

Which among the above are correct ?

A) 1,3,4

B) 2,3,4

C) 1,2,3

D) 1,2,3,4

Ans.D

Zika virus is not contagious but it is mainly transmitted by daytime-active Aedes aegypti mosquitoes after it bites someone infected with the virus and transmit it by biting another human.

Q.11 With reference to the Organ transplantation, consider the following statements ;

1. Domino transplant allows all organ recipients to get a transplant even if their living donor is not a match to them

2. Organ donation  is possible even after brain & cardiac death

3. In organ transplantation brain cannot be transplanted

Select the correct answer using the codes given below :

A) Only 2

B) 2 & 3

C) Only 1

D) All are correct

Ans. D

Organ transplantation is the moving of an organ from one body to another or from a donor site to another location on the person’s own body, to replace the recipient’s damaged or absent organ. Organs and/or tissues that are transplanted within the same person’s body are called autografts. Transplants that are recently performed between two subjects of the same species are called allografts. Allografts can either be from a living or cadaveric source. Organs that can be transplanted are the heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas, intestine, and thymus. Some organs, like the brain, cannot be transplanted. Tissues include bones, tendons (both referred to as musculoskeletal grafts), cornea, skin, heart valves, nerves and veins. Worldwide, the kidneys are the most commonly transplanted organs, followed by the liver and then the heart. Cornea and musculoskeletal grafts are the most commonly transplanted tissues; these outnumber organ transplants by more than tenfold. Organ donors may be living, brain dead, or dead via circulatory death. Tissue may be recovered from donors who die of circulatory death, as well as of brain death – up to 24 hours past the cessation of heartbeat. Unlike organs, most tissues (with the exception of corneas) can be preserved and stored for up to five years, meaning they can be “banked”. Transplantation raises a number of bioethical issues, including the definition of death, when and how consent should be given for an organ to be transplanted, and payment for organs for transplantation. Other ethical issues include transplantation tourism and more broadly the socio-economic context in which organ procurement or transplantation may occur. A particular problem is organ trafficking. Transplantation medicine is one of the most challenging and complex areas of modern medicine. Some of the key areas for medical management are the problems of transplant rejection, during which the body has an immune response to the transplanted organ, possibly leading to transplant failure and the need to immediately remove the organ from the recipient. When possible, transplant rejection can be reduced through serotyping to determine the most appropriate donor-recipient match and through the use of immunosuppressant drugs Autografts are the transplant of tissue to the same person. Sometimes this is done with surplus tissue, tissue that can regenerate, or tissues more desperately needed elsewhere (examples include skin grafts, vein extraction for CABG, etc.). Sometimes an autograft is done to remove the tissue and then treat it or the person before returning it (examples include stem cell autograft and storing blood in advance of surgery). In a rotationplasty, a distal joint is used to replace a more proximal one; typically a foot or ankle joint is used to replace a knee joint. The person’s foot is severed and reversed, the knee removed, and the tibia joined with the femur.

Q.12 With reference to the Bioprinting, consider the following statements :

1. Creation of fabricated structures that are identical to the natural structure that are found in the tissues and organs in the human body , is one of the main approach of bioprinting.

2. Bio-ink is a material made from living as well as non-living cells in order to create a desired shape

3. Combination of both biomimicry and self-assembly approaches are known as mini tissues

Select the correct answer using the codes given below :

A) 1 & 3

B) Only 2

C) 2 & 3

D) 1 & 2

Ans. A

3D bioprinting is the process of creating cell patterns in a confined space using 3D printing technologies, where cell function and viability are preserved within the printed construct.Generally, 3D bioprinting utilizes the layer-by-layer method to create tissue-like structures that are later used in medical and tissue engineering fields.Bioprinting covers a broad range of materials. Currently, bioprinting can be used to print tissues and organs to help research drugs and pills. In addition, 3D bioprinting has begun to incorporate the printing of scaffolds. These scaffolds can be used to regenerate joints and ligaments. The first patent related to this technology was filed in the United States in 2003 and granted in 2006. 3D bioprinting for fabricating biological constructs typically involves dispensing cells onto a biocompatible scaffold using a successive layer-by-layer approach to generate tissue-like three-dimensional structures. *Artificial organs such as livers and kidneys made by 3D bioprinting have been shown to lack crucial elements that affect the body such as working blood vessels, tubules for collecting urine, and the growth of billions of cells required for these organs. Without these components the body has no way to get the essential nutrients and oxygen deep within their interiors The first approach of bioprinting is called biomimicry. The main goal of this approach is to create fabricated structures that are identical to the natural structure that are found in the tissues and organs in the human body This approach relies on the physical process of embryonic organ development then replicates the tissues by using this process as a model The third approach of bioprinting is a combination of both the biomimicry and self-assembly approaches, which is called mini tissues. Organs and tissues are built from very small functional components. Mini-tissue approach takes these small pieces and manufacture and arrange them into larger framework.This approach uses two different strategies. The first strategy is when self-assembling cell spheres are arranged into large scaled tissues by using natural designs as a guide. The second strategy is when designing precise, high quality, reproductions of a tissue and allowing them to self-assemble into large scaled functional tissue. The mixture of these strategies is required to print a complex three dimensional biological structure “Bio-ink is a material made from living cells that behaves much like a liquid, allowing people to “print” it in order to create a desired shape. To make bio-ink, scientists create a slurry of cells that can be loaded into a cartridge and inserted into a specially designed printer, along with another cartridge containing a gel known as bio-paper.”Potential uses for bio-ink include creating sheets of skin for skin grafts and vascular tissues to replace veins and arteries. In bioprinting, there are three major types of printers that have been used. These are inkjet, laser-assisted, and extrusion printers. Inkjet printers are mainly used in bioprinting for fast and large-scale products. One type of inkjet printer, called drop-on-demand inkjet printer, prints materials in exact amounts, minimizing cost and waste.Printers that utilize lasers provide high-resolution printing; however, these printers are often expensive. Extrusion printers print cells layer-by-layer, just like 3D printing to create 3D constructs. In addition to just cells, extrusion printers may also use hydrogels infused with cells. In early 2015, 3-D printing techniques expanded to include materials such as graphene, a material possessing unique properties such as high levels of strength, rather than only plastics.

Q.13 Which of the following is a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime ?

A) India

B) China

C) USA

D) Luxembourg

Ans. B

*The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) is a multilateral export control regime.

*It is an informal and voluntary partnership among 35 countries to prevent the proliferation of missile and unmanned aerial vehicle technology capable of carrying above 500 kg payload for more than 300 km.

*The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) established in April 1987 by the G7 countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Great Britain, and the United States of America.

*The People’s Republic of China is not a member of the MTCR but has agreed to abide by the original 1987 Guidelines and Annex, but not the subsequent revisions.

*Israel, Romania and Slovakia have also agreed to voluntarily follow MTCR export rules even though not yet members.

*In 2002, the MTCR was supplemented by the International Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (ICOC), also known as the Hague Code of Conduct, which calls for restraint and care in the proliferation of ballistic missile systems capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction, and has 119 members, thus working parallel to the MTCR with less specific restrictions but with a greater membership.

*India formally applied for membership to the group in June 2015, with active support from France and the United States, and officially became a member on 27 June 2016 with the consensus of the 34 member nations.

Q.14 Consider the following :

1) Acesulfame potassium

2) Polyethylene glycol

3) Saccharin

4) Sucralose

Which of the above are used as sugar substitutes in foods?

A) 1 & 2

B) 2,3,4

C) 1,3,4

D) 1,2,3,4

Ans. C

Q.15 Biopiracy describes a practice in which indigenous knowledge of nature, originating with indigenous peoples, is used by others for profit, without permission.

Which among the following comes under the Biopiracy ?

1. Rosy periwinkle

2. Neem tree

3. Basmati rice

4. Enola bean

Which among the above is/are correct ?

A) 1,3,4

B) 2,3,4

C) Only 2 & 3

D) All are correct

Ans. D

Q.16 With reference to Chilgoza consider the following statements:

1) They contain high antioxidants that protect the cells from damage.

2) It is the major source of carbohydrates & fats.

Options:

A) only 1

B) Only 2

C) Both are correct

D) Both are incorrect

Ans. A

It is the major source of Carbohydrates & Proteins