Daily Current Affairs MCQ- December 28, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

A recent study from Oregon State University found that a warming climate is negatively impacting the chances of long-term survival of aardvarks in sub-Saharan Africa.

• It gets its name from a South African word meaning “earth pig.”
• Appearance: They look like a pig, especially with its body and snout.
• They actually share common ancestors with elephants and golden moles. 
• They are nocturnal mammals, most active at night and tend to live alone. During the day, they sleep curled up in a ball in their burrows. 
•  This species has been assessed as having the highest score for evolutionary distinctiveness,
• This is because it does not have many close relatives and has been evolving independently for millions of years.
• The Aardvark is the sole surviving species of its order, Tubulidentata, and its closest relatives have been extinct since the Pleistocene era (2 million years ago).
• Diet: The aardvark’s diet consists almost entirely of ants and termites. 
• Habitat: Aardvarks are found over much of the southern two-thirds of Africa and their habitat is savannah and semiarid areas.
• Ecosystem Roles: Aardvarks are important in their ecosystem because the holes they dig are used by a variety of other animals for shelter.
• Conservation Status
• IUCN :Least Concern
• The recent study concluded that the genetic structure of aardvarks is strongly shaped by climate, with arid areas limiting gene flow and reflected apparent isolation by adaptation associated with temperature.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, the Nanomaterials and Nanoelectronics Laboratory, Department of Physics, Guwahati University, Assam has developed a cost-effective formalin sensor that can effectively detect the presence of formalin in adulterated fishes.

• Materials used: Tin oxide-reduced graphene oxide composite (rGO- SnO2).
• While reduced graphene oxide (rGO) has been used to detect various toxic gases and VOCs, tin oxide (SnO2) has been extensively investigated for formaldehyde detection in pristine form and by incorporating it with various compounds, including graphene, due to its high stability and high sensitivity toward low concentrations of formaldehyde.
• Process: The Graphene oxide (GO) was processed through wet chemical approach and tin oxide-reduced graphene oxide composite (rGO- SnO2) was synthesized by hydrothermal route followed by calcination of the obtained product.
• They found that the sensor made of tin oxide decorated reduced graphene oxide effectively sensed formaldehyde vapor at room temperature.
• The sensor shows long-term stability with a low detection limit.
• A new low-cost sensor made of metal oxide nanoparticles reduced graphene oxide composite can detect formalin adulteration in fishes at room temperature in a non-invasive way.
• The research for this supported by DST-PURSE (Promotion of University Research and Scientific Excellence).

What is Formaldehyde?

• It is a colourless, pungent gas that is used in a variety of industrial processes, including as a preservative in some foods, commonly in fish in developing countries.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, Japan’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) spacecraft entered into orbit around the moon after a months-long journey.

• It is a spacecraft built and launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on September 7, 2023, from the Tanegashima spaceport.
• It weighed only 590 kg.
• It was launched together with XRISM, a next-generation X-ray space telescope, onboard an H-2A rocket. 
• It entered into an elliptical orbit around the moon over three minutes or so.
• Its apogee (farthest point) in this orbit is 4,000 km and perigee (closest point) is 600 km above the lunar surface.

What will SLIM do on the moon?

• Just before it lands, SLIM will deploy two small rovers called Lunar Excursion Vehicle (LEV) 1 and 2. LEV-1, LEV-2, and SLIM will together study the lunar surface near the landing point, collect temperature and radiation readings, and attempt to study the moon’s mantle.

Hence option d is the correct answer.

Researchers from the University of Szeged, in Hungary, have taken some important strides by studying fruit flies to understand more about the Huntington’s disease.

• It is a rare, inherited disease that causes the progressive breakdown (degeneration) of nerve cells in the brain.
• It has a wide impact on a person's functional abilities and usually results in movement, thinking (cognitive) and psychiatric disorders.
• There are two types of Huntington’s disease:
• Adult onset: This is the most common form. Symptoms usually begin after age 30.
• Early onset (juvenile Huntington’s disease): Early onset affects children and teenagers. It’s very rare. When Huntington's develops early, symptoms are somewhat different and the disease may progress faster.
• Cause
• A genetic change (mutation) of the HTT gene causes Huntington’s disease. The HTT gene makes a protein called huntingtin. This protein helps your nerve cells (neurons) function.
• The normal HTT gene contains a stretch of DNA that specifies the number of times the amino acid glutamine is repeated in the HTT protein. This number varies from 11 to 31.
• In the mutant versions of the HTT gene, this stretch is expanded to encode 35 or more repeats. 
• As the number of repetitions increase, the severity of Huntington’s disease increases and its debilitation begins at an earlier age.
• Symptoms
• Huntington's disease usually causes movement, cognitive and psychiatric disorders with a wide spectrum of signs and symptoms.
• The patient suffers mood swings, has difficulty in reasoning, shows abnormal and uncontrollable jerky movements, and experiences difficulty in speaking, swallowing, and walking.
• Treatment: Medications are available to help manage the symptoms of Huntington's disease. But treatments can't prevent the physical, mental and behavioral decline associated with the condition.

Hence both statements are correct.

A team of researchers recently discovered a Eurasian otter in the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary in Idukki, a first in Kerala. 

About Eurasian Otter:

• It is a semi-aquatic carnivorous mammal native to Eurasia.
• Scientific Name: Lutra lutra
• Distribution:
• It has one of the widest distributions of all Palearctic mammals, from Ireland to China and down to Southeast Asia.
• It lives throughout Europe, North Africa, and Asia.
• In India, it occurs in northern, northeastern, and southern India.
• Habitat:
• It inhabits streams, rivers, lakes, freshwater and peat swamp forests, ocean shores, rice fields, fjords, caves, and other terrestrial habitats close by waterways.
• In the Indian subcontinent, it is found in cold hills and mountain streams.
• Features:
• It has a long body with a thick tail and short legs.
• It is brown above and cream below.
• It has sensitive whiskers around the snout to help detect prey.
• It has two layers of fur: a thick, waterproof outer one and a warm inner one.
• It has an acute sense of sight, smell, and hearing.
• It is an elusive, solitary otter, but sometimes it is seen in family groups, composed of a mother and her offspring.
• It has a varied diet, which includes fish, crustaceans, amphibians, and sometimes reptiles, birds, eggs, insects, and worms.
• Conservation Status:
• IUCN: Near threatened
• Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule II
• CITES:  Appendix I

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

A new reptile species was recently discovered in China and has been called Wang’s Garden Lizard.

About Wang’s Garden Lizard:

• It is a new species of iguana.
• Scientific Name: Calotes wangi
• Distribution: It is found in subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests and tropical monsoon forests in southern China and northern Vietnam, mostly in mountainous areas, hills and plains on forest edges, arable land, shrub lands, and even urban green belts.
• It is not threatened at present. However, in some areas, their habitat was being fragmented.
• Features:
• It is less than 9 cm long, and one of its distinguishing features is its orange tongue.
• It is active at the edge of the forest, and when it is in danger, it rushes into bushes or climbs tree trunks to hide.
• It lies on sloping shrub branches at night, sleeping close to the branches.
• It eats a variety of insects, spiders, and other arthropods.
• It is active from April to October every year, while in the tropics it is active from March to November or even longer.
• In addition, their bodies are used medicinally and the lizards are also eaten.

What are iguanas?

• Iguanas are stout lizards mainly living in the tropical parts of the western world.
• They are identified from their bulky appearance, scaly skin covered in warts, spines on their back, and a flap of flesh under their necks.
• They have shown various color morphs, the common ones being green, blue, and grey.

Hence option c is the correct answer.

Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased the cost of funds for banks and non-bank financial companies (NBFCs), by increasing the risk weight of such loans.

• It is the every rupee lent by the bank is a cost or has an implication on its capital position. 
• Risk-Weighted Assets: These are used to determine the minimum amount of capital a bank must hold in relation to the risk profile of its lending activities and other assets.
• The Reserve Bank of India decided in April 1992 to introduce a risk asset ratio system for banks (including foreign banks) in India as a capital adequacy measure in line with the Capital Adequacy Norms prescribed by Basel Committee.
• Impacts
• Lower the risk weight, lower the rate of interest. Therefore, risk weights impact borrowers indirectly and is felt through the pricing of loans.
• The increase in risk weights by the RBI will elevate funding costs for NBFCs and impact capital requirements.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, various government and non-governmental organisations in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Punjab have released Gambusia fish into local water bodies to address a mosquito menace.

• It is known as mosquito fish, is widely used as a biological agent for controlling mosquito larvae.
• It is native to the waters of the south-eastern United States.
• It has been a part of mosquito-control strategies for over a century in various parts of the world, including India.
• A single full-grown fish eats about 100 to 300 mosquito larvae per day.
• Also, it has been part of various malaria control strategies in India since 1928, including the Urban Malaria Scheme.
• The International Union for Conservation of Nature declare Gambusia one of the 100 worst invasive alien species in the world. 

Key points about Malaria

• It is a disease caused by the Plasmodium parasite.
• The parasite can be spread to humans through the bites of infected mosquitoes.
• Transmission
• The plasmodium parasite is spread by female Anopheles mosquitoes, which are known as "night-biting" mosquitoes because they most commonly bite between dusk and dawn.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is set to launch the Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) to study ‘air glow’ to understand space weather.

• It is a first-of-its-kind NASA experimental attempt aimed at studying the interactions between terrestrial and Space weather.
• It is planned under NASA’s Heliophysics Explorers Program, this mission will study the links between how waves in the lower layers of the atmosphere impact the upper atmosphere, and thus, Space weather.
• It will be launched and mounted on the exterior of the Earth-orbiting International Space Station (ISS).
• From the vantage point, it will look down at the Earth and record the colourful light bands, commonly known as airglow.
• The new NASA mission will try to understand the combination of forces that drive the Space weather in the upper atmosphere.
• It will measure the airglow at mesopause (about 85 to 87 km above the Earth’s surface), where the atmospheric temperatures dip to minus 100 degrees Celsius.
• At this altitude, it is possible to capture the faint airglow in the infrared bandwidth, which appears the brightest enabling easy detection.
• It will be able to resolve waves at finer horizontal scales than what satellites can usually see at those altitudes, which is part of what makes the mission unique.
• The health of the ionosphere, whose lower layers sit at the edge of Space, is important for maintaining seamless communication.

What will NASA’S AWE do?

• It will perform focused mapping of the colourful airglows in the Earth’s atmosphere.
• Onboard AWE is an Advanced Mesospheric Temperature Mapper (ATMT), an instrument that will scan or map the mesopause (a region between the mesosphere and thermosphere).
• Using the four identical telescopes comprising an imaging radiometer, scientists hope to obtain the brightness of light at specific wavelengths. 
• This information can then be converted into a temperature map, which could reveal the airglow movement and ultimately, give clues on their role in the upper atmosphere and Space weather.

Hence both statements are correct.

Trade in precious timber and sharks and conservation of elephants and big cats were among the many critical matters reviewed during the 77th Meeting of the Standing Committee (SC77) of the CITES in Geneva recently.

About Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES):

• It is an international agreement between governments that aims to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
• CITES was adopted in 1973 and entered into force in 1975.
• There are 184 member parties, and trade is regulated in more than 38,000 species.
• Although CITES is legally binding on the Parties – in other words, they have to implement the Convention–it does not take the place of national laws.
• The CITES Secretariat is administered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and is located in Geneva, Switzerland. 
• Representatives of CITES nations meet every two to three years at a Conference of the Parties (or COP) to review progress and adjust the lists of protected species, which are grouped into three categories with different levels of protection:
• Appendix I:
• It includes species threatened with extinction and provides the greatest level of protection, including a prohibition on commercial trade.
• Appendix II:
• It includes species that are not currently threatened with extinction but may become so without trade controls. 
• Regulated trade is allowed if the exporting country issues a permit based on findings that the specimens were legally acquired and the trade will not be detrimental to the survival of the species or its role in the ecosystem.
• Appendix III:  
• It includes species for which a country has asked other CITES parties to help control international trade. 
• Trade in Appendix III species is regulated using CITES export permits (issued by the country that listed the species in Appendix III) and certificates of origin (issued by all other countries).
• Countries may list species for which they have domestic regulations in Appendix III at any time.
• CITES also brings together law enforcement officers from wildlife authorities, national parks, customs, and police agencies to collaborate on efforts to combat wildlife crime targeted at animals such as elephants and rhinos.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.