Daily Current Affairs MCQ- March 9, 2024 - UPSC MCQ

Japanese architect Riken Yamamoto was declared winner of the 2024 Pritzker Architecture Prize.

• It is the highest international award in the field, which is sometimes referred to as the “Architecture Nobel” and “the profession’s highest honor.”
• The prize has been awarded every year since its founding in 1979.
• It is awarded to a living architect/s for significant achievement.
• It was established by the Pritzker family of Chicago through their Hyatt Foundation.
• Objective: To honour a living architect whose built work demonstrates talent, vision and commitment, who has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture”.
• The laureate receives $100,000 and also a bronze medallion. 

Works of Riken Yamamoto

• Yamamoto is the ninth laureate from Japan.
• His famous works are the Hiroshima Nishi Fire Station (2000) has a transparent façade and glass walls and floors that allow passersby to look inside. 
• The Koyasu Elementary School (2018), spacious, open terraces not only make learning the arts — dance, music, painting but also encourage students to interact.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

A groundbreaking development in education has emerged from Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram, where a school has introduced India's first AI teacher robot, Iris.

• It is powered by Robotics and Generative AI technologies. Iris boasts a dedicated Intel processor and coprocessor for seamless performance.
• Its Android App interface allows users to control and interact with the robot, ensuring a personalized learning experience.
• It is not just a passive presence in the classroom but a dynamic voice assistant and interactive learning tool.
• It acts as an AI voice-controlled assistant, responding to user queries, providing explanations, and delivering educational content.
• It engages users in interactive learning experiences through personalized content generation, quizzes, and interactive activities.
• Equipped with a 4-wheel chassis, Iris can move freely within its environment, facilitating interaction with users and navigating through learning spaces.
• Its hands, featuring 5 DoF each, enable Iris to manipulate objects, perform demonstrations, and engage in hands-on learning activities.
• The robot can teach subjects from nursery to Class 12.
• The robot currently speaks three languages - English, Hindi and Malayalam.
• It is created by the Maker Labs.

Hence only statement 1 is correct

Recently, the Blue Leaders High-Level Event on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction was held in Belgium.

• The Blue Leaders are an ambitious group of countries calling for urgent action to save the global ocean in the face of the climate crisis, overfishing, pollution, and other threats.
• ​The Blue Leaders are committed to two major goals: 
• Securing a new international target to protect at least 30% of the global ocean through a network of highly and fully protected marine areas by 2030.​​
• The rapid and successful conclusion of a new High Seas Treaty that provides for the establishment of fully and highly protected marine areas in the high seas and strengthens management of human activities outside protected areas.
• The first Blue Leaders event took place in New York on the margins of the 2019 United Nations General Assembly and the second in Madrid, Spain during the 2019 UN Climate Change Conference, ‘The Blue COP.’
• At each of these events, the Blue Leaders have championed the call to realize the protection of 30% of the ocean by 2030 (30x30) in that they are focused on calling for 30% to be fully and highly protected.
• “Fully protected” means that no extractive or destructive activities are allowed and “highly protected” means only light extractive activities, such as subsistence or small-scale fishing with minimal impact, are allowed.
• Fully protected ocean parks where extractive, polluting, and destructive human pursuits are banned provide sanctuaries for ocean wildlife.
• Member countries: The group of Blue Leaders has 24 countries as its members.
• India is not a member of this group.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Coral Reef Watch Programme has warned that the Earth is on the brink of experiencing a fourth global mass coral bleaching event.

• It is a free online tool that provides a global analysis of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and outlooks to identify coral reefs that are at risk of bleaching. 
• It is offering the world's only global early-warning system of coral reef ecosystem environmental changes.
• It remotely monitors conditions that can cause coral bleaching, disease, and death; delivers information and early warnings in near real-time to extensive and diverse user community; it uses operational climate forecasts to provide outlooks of stressful environmental conditions on coral reefs worldwide.
• Its products are primarily Sea Surface Temperature (SST)-based but also incorporate light and ocean color, among other variables.
• It has been using remote sensing, modeled, and in situ data to operate a decision support system to help all stakeholders around the world prepare for and respond to coral reef ecosystem stressors, predominantly resulting from climate change and the warming of the Earth's oceans.
• This online tool was developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

On the eve of the fourth anniversary of the border conflict with China in eastern Ladakh, Prime Minister is all set to inaugurate the long-awaited Sela Tunnel.

About Sela Tunnel:

• It is the longest bi-lane road tunnel in the world, at an altitude above 13,000 feet.
• Location: It is located in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh.
• It will connect Tezpur, in Assam, with Tawang, in Arunachal Pradesh.
• It was built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) under Project Vartak, and the tunnel's construction commenced on April 1, 2019.
• Features:
• The project comprises two tunnels: Tunnel 1 is 1,003 meters long, and Tunnel 2 is a 1,595-meter twin-tube tunnel. 
• The project also includes two roads measuring 8.6 km. 
• The tunnel has been designed for a traffic density of 3,000 cars and 2,000 trucks per day, with a maximum speed of 80 kmph.
• Need:
• Located near the Sela Pass, this all-weather tunnel was needed because the Balipara-Charidwar-Tawang Road remains closed for a long time every year, courtesy of snowfall and landslides caused by heavy rainfall. 
• The tunnel is significant as it will provide all-weather connectivity to Tawang, bordering China. 
• The tunnel will cut down the travel time between Tezpur and Tawang by over an hour.
• It will also provide for faster deployment of weapons, soldiers, and equipment to forward areas near the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Hence option c is the correct answer.

Researchers recently identified the key transcription factors that regulate the development of light organs and bioluminescence in the firefly.

About Fireflies:

• Fireflies, also known as lightning bugs, are beetles. 
• They get the names “firefly” and “lightning bug” because of the flashes of light they naturally produce. This phenomenon is called bioluminescence.
• There are about 2,000 firefly species.
• Distribution: They are found in temperate and tropical regions on every continent except Antarctica. 
• Features:
• They are soft-bodied beetles that range from 5 to 25 mm (up to 1 inch) in length. 
• Fireflies use their light, called bioluminescence, to light up the ends of their abdomen to communicate with their fellow fireflies. (Animals that produce light are called luminescent).
• They have special organs under their abdomens that take in oxygen. Inside special cells, they combine the oxygen with a substance called luciferin to make light with almost no heat.
• Each firefly species has its own pattern of light flashing, and males use this pattern to attract females of the same species. 
• Bioluminescence in fireflies is nearly 100 percent efficient, meaning little energy is wasted to produce their light. 
• Lifespan: From egg to adulthood, fireflies can live up to a year.
• Most fireflies are nocturnal, although some species are diurnal. 
• They mostly feast on plant pollen and nectar. 

Hence both statements are correct.

The Supreme Court, while denying the plea of juvenility preferred by a convict in a murder case, observed that to determine age, the ossification test stands last in the order of priorities.

About Ossification Test:

• Ossification is the process of bone formation that occurs in humans from infancy until the end of adolescence. 
• During this time, various bones in the body undergo calcification, or hardening, as minerals such as calcium and phosphorus are deposited in the bone matrix.
• As a person ages, the rate of bone formation slows down, and eventually, the bones become more brittle and prone to fracture. 
• Due to the predictable nature of this process, scientists have been able to develop methods for estimating a person's age based on the degree of bone ossification in specific bones.
• One such method is the ossification test, also known as the epiphyseal fusion test.
• This test involves examining x-rays of certain bones in the body, specifically the clavicle, sternum, and pelvis, to determine the degree of ossification.
• These bones are chosen because they tend to undergo the most dramatic changes in structure as a person ages. 
• Based on the degree of ossification, the professional can estimate the person's age within a certain range. 
• Drawbacks:
• It only provides an individual’s ‘estimated’ age rather than their actual age.
• Even when testing several joints, the ossification test allows a buffer of at least six months on either side. It occasionally displays a four-year fluctuation.
• There can be significant individual variation in the rate and pattern of bone ossification. 
• Additionally, factors such as disease, injury, and malnutrition can all affect the degree of bone ossification, making it more difficult to accurately estimate a person's age.

Hence option d is the correct answer.

International Women’s Day was recently celebrated globally.

About International Women's Day:

• It is an annual event celebrated on March 8.
• The day raises awareness on a number of issues, including violence and abuse against women, women's reproductive rights, gender equality, and women's achievements in various fields.
• On this day, several events take place globally to respect and acknowledge the achievements of women.
• March also marks the start of Women's History Month around the world. It begins on March 1 and ends on March 31. 
• The campaign theme for International Women's Day 2024 is "Invest in women: Accelerating Progress". 
• History:
• First celebrated in the United States on February 28, 1909, in New York City, the event was organised on the suggestion of activist Theresa Malkiel.
• In August 1910, German delegates of International Socialist Women's Conference, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, drew inspiration from American activists, and proposed to establish an annual 'Women's Day'.
• On March 19 of the following year, more than a million people in Austria-Hungary, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland celebrated Women's Day.
• Since then, International Women's Day has evolved into a worldwide day of acknowledgment and festivity.
• As the women's liberation movement swept around the world in the 1970s, the United Nations designated 1975 International Women's Year and celebrated the holiday for the first time. Two years later, in 1977, it designated March 8 International Women's Day.

Hence option c is the correct answer.

Recently, India and Japan kicked-off a two-week military exercise ‘Dharma Guardian’ in Rajasthan's Mahajan field firing range to foster deeper cooperation in confronting common security challenges.

• It is an annual exercise and conducted alternatively in India and Japan.
• It is the 5th edition of joint military exercise between the Indian Army and the Japan 
• Aim of the Exercise is to foster Military Cooperation and enhance combined capabilities to execute joint operations in semi-urban environment under Chapter VII of United Nations Charter.
• The Exercise would focus on high degree of physical fitness, joint planning, joint tactical drills and basics of special arms skills.
• Significance
• It will enable the two sides to share their best practices in Tactics, Techniques and Procedures of conducting tactical operations.
• The Exercise will also facilitate developing inter-operability, bonhomie and camaraderie between troops of both the sides.
• This will enhance the level of defence cooperation, further fostering bilateral relations between the two friendly nations.

Bottom of Form

Hence option b is the correct answer.

Researchers have reported chromosomal disorders discovered from prehistoric skeletal remains, dating up to approximately 5,500 years old — including six cases of Down syndrome and one case of Edwards syndrome.

• It is also known as trisomy 18.
• It is an autosomal chromosomal disorder due to an extra copy of chromosome 18. 
• It is a very severe genetic condition that affects child’s body development and growth.
• Symptoms: Children diagnosed with trisomy 18 have a low birth weight, multiple birth defects and defining physical characteristics.
• There are three types of Edwards syndrome
• Complete trisomy 18:
• It is the most common form (94%).
• In this type, every cell contains three complete copies of chromosome 18.
• The extra chromosome is most often of maternal origin.
• Mosaic trisomy 18:
• It is the second most common type (less than 5%).
• In this type, both a complete trisomy 18 and a normal cell line exist.
• Partial trisomy 18:
• In this type, only a partial segment of chromosome 18 is present in triplicate.
• The partial triplicate often results from a balanced translocation or inversion carried by one of the parents.
• Treatment: There are no specific treatments for trisomy 18. Treatment will focus on the symptoms of the condition, such as heart conditions, breathing difficulties and infections.

Hence both statements are correct.