Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon – December 21

A cell may be defined as the structural and functional unit of living organisms which is capable of independent existence.

Whether DNA of the cell lies in the cytoplasm or is enclosed within a nuclear membrane, cells may be termed prokaryotic are eukaryotic

• Prokaryotic cell: These cells do not have a well-organized nucleus. The genetic material is a single molecule of DNA lying in the cytoplasm. Not only is the nuclear membrane absent, cell organelles like mitochondria, lysosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, chloroplast, nucleolus, etc are also not present in prokaryotic cells. Examples: Bacteria and blue-green algae.
• Eukaryotic cell: DNA is enclosed in a nuclear membrane forming a nucleus. The genetic material is made of two or more DNA molecules, which are present as a network of chromatin fibres when the cell is not dividing. Membrane-bound organelles, such as mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, lysosome, chloroplast, nucleolus, etc. are present within the cytoplasm. Examples: Cells of plants, fungi, protozoa and animals.

The organisms, which depend on other organisms for their food, are called heterotrophs and their mode of nutrition is heterotrophic nutrition.

Heterotrophic nutrition is of various types

(i) Holozoic nutrition: Holozoic nutrition includes ingestion, digestion and absorption of food as in Amoeba, frogs and human beings.

(ii) Parasitic nutrition: Have you ever been bitten by a head louse or a bed bug or had worms inside the body? These organisms that live on or inside other living organisms, and derive their food from them are called parasites and the nutrition is called parasitic nutrition. Cuscuta or Dodder plant (Amar bel) is a parasite on green plants.

(iii) Saprotrophic nutrition: You must have seen a white cottony growth developing on your wet leather shoes or belts especially when they get wet during rainy days. This is a fungus. The fungus grows and feeds on substances, which were once part of the living organisms, such as stored food, wood, leather and rotten plant products. Some common examples are mushrooms, bread mould, yeast, etc. Organisms that derive their food from dead and decaying organisms are called saprotrophs.  Saprotrophs help in cleaning the environment by decomposing the dead and decaying organic matter.

Government has launched Noxeno, a nasal foreign body removal device developed by start-up InnAccel Technologies Private Limited, Bangalore. It was developed by fellow trained under Biodesign program. Noxeno is It is first dedicated tool for anterior nasal foreign body (NFB) removal that allows doctors in any setting to quickly and safely remove objects that people (mostly children aged 2 to 10 years) put into their noses.

It is reusable device and is also both easy to use and cost-effective. InnAccel Technologies is hoping to deploy this device across primary health care centres (PHCs), community health care centres (CHCs), clinics and smaller hospitals nationwide by 2020.

Both the statement are correct.

Important note:

The United States believes the Syrian government employed a sarin-like nerve agent in recent deadly attack in the country’s northwest. The name sarin comes from the chemists who discovered it by chance: Schrader, Ambros, Ruediger et Van der Linde.

Originally conceived as a pesticide, sarin was used by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime to gas thousands of Kurds in the northern town of Halabja in 1988.

Inhaled or absorbed through the skin, the gas kills by crippling the respiratory center of the central nervous system and paralysing the muscles around the lungs.

The combination results in death by suffocation, and sarin can contaminate food or water supplies, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Symptoms of exposure to the agent include nausea and violent headaches, blurred vision, drooling, muscle convulsions, respiratory arrest and loss of consciousness.

Sarin is 26 times more deadly than cyanide gas. Even when it does not kill, sarin’s effects can cause permanent harm —damaging a victim’s lungs, eyes and central nervous system.

The Thor experiment aims to investigate electrical activity from thunderstorms. Between 10 and 100 kilometres in the atmosphere, the interaction between charged particles produces a variety of dazzling electric phenomena from blue jets to red sprites.

The Thor experiment will look at them with a thundercloud imaging system from the vantage point of the International Space Station. The key aims of the study include understanding how these discharges influence water vapour levels, cloud formation, and eventually changes in climate.

The chickpea variety, NBeG 47, is the first machine harvestable variety released in Andhra Pradesh suitable for the state’s variable climate. It is tolerant to herbicides.

It will also adress the issues like labour shortage & reducing hard work of farmers.

Investor: Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, National Food Security Mission, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.

Partners: Indian Council of Agricultural Research – Indian Institute of Pulses Research (ICAR-IIPR), Kanpur, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya (RVSKVV), Gwalior, Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU), Hyderabad, University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Dharwad, and ICRISAT

CGIAR Research Program: Grain Legumes

Statement 1 is correct. NKN is a state-of-the-art Pan-India network and is a revolutionary step towards creating a knowledge society without boundaries. It will provide unprecedented benefits to the knowledge community and mankind at large. Using NKN, all vibrant institutions with vision and passion will be able to transcend space and time limitations in accessing information and knowledge and derive the associated benefits for themselves and for the society. It will facilitate the development of India’s information infrastructure, stimulate research, and create next generation applications and services.

Statement 2 is correct. The purpose of NKN goes to the very core of the country’s quest for building quality institutions with requisite research facilities and to create a pool of highly trained professionals.

The participating institutions at the edge would seamlessly connect to NKN at gigabit speed. NKN shall be a critical information infrastructure for India to evolve as a knowledge society. NKN is a significant step which will enable scientists, researchers and students from across the country to work together for advancing human development in critical and emerging areas. NKN is designed to provide high availability, Quality of Service, security and reliability.