Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon (Science & Technology) – May 14, 2020

The Patent Information Initiative for Medicines (Pat-INFORMED) provides a service to the global health community, particularly those involved in procurement of medicines, by facilitating easy access to medicine patent information. The data is provided directly by the biopharmaceutical companies and hosted by WIPO.

All States party to the Nairobi Treaty are under the obligation to protect the Olympic symbol – five interlaced rings – against use for commercial purposes (in advertisements, on goods, as a mark, etc.) without the authorization of the International Olympic Committee.

During the 1970s, the DRDL started two other missile programs Project Valiant and Project Devil. Project Valiant attempted to develop a long-range ballistic missile and Project Devil tried to reverse engineer a Soviet SA-2 surface-to-air missile.

India’s civil nuclear accords aim to develop mutually beneficial economic, scientific and technical cooperation for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. There are 14 countries with which India has forged such agreements: Argentina, Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Namibia, Russia, South Korea, United Kingdom, US and Vietnam. A central tenet of these agreements is the focus on the “peaceful purposes” of nuclear power; this entails the “use of information, nuclear material, equipment or components in such fields as research, power generation, medicine, agriculture and industry.

Heavy water is nothing but D2O. Its uses are as a coolant as well as moderator in Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs). India is the largest producer of best quality Heavy Water in the world and is not only meeting in-house Heavy water requirements for the Indian Nuclear Power Program but is also exporting to various countries.

Using radiation induced mutations and/or hybridization, Sesbania rostrata crops is being carried out by Baba Atomic Research Centre (BARC). A late flowering mutant (TSR-1) in Sesbania has been developed with the potential to produce more biomass before flowering and offers an excellent material for green manuring.

MELISA is an optimized, clinically validated blood test which establishes allergy to a number of different metals from a single blood test. MELISA can also diagnose active Lyme disease.

The Shaurya is a hypersonic surface-to-surface ballistic missile, developed by Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) of India. It is one of the top 10 missiles in its class with advanced navigation systems, propulsion system and control technologies. The Shaurya is actually a land variant of Indian K-15 submarine launched missile. The Shaurya is 6.2 t canister launched missile, with a 10 m length, and 0.74 m diameter. It boasts an intermediate operational range of 700 to 1900 km and a payload weight of 180 to 1000 kg.

Hanson Robotics’ most advanced human-like robot, Sophia, personifies our dreams for the future of AI. As a unique combination of science, engineering, and artistry, Sophia is simultaneously a human-crafted science fiction character depicting the future of AI and robotics, and a platform for advanced robotics and AI research. The character of Sophia captures the imagination of global audiences. She is the world’s first robot citizen and the first robot Innovation Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme.

Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act.

Statement 1 is correct: India enacted the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act in 2001 for the protection of plant varieties, the rights of farmers and plant breeders and to encourage the development of new plant varieties.

Statement 2 is correct: Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority was established in New Delhi in November, 2005 as per provision under the Act. The Authority has made landmark achievement in last ten years. Registration of plant varieties was started by the Authority with twelve crop species in 2007 and now 114 crop species are covered under the umbrella of PPV&FRA for granting IPR.