Daily Current Affairs Quiz: July 15, 2023

ANSWER: D

ANSWER: B

ANSWER: B

ANSWER: B

• A new study using data from NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover has found potential evidence of organic molecules on Mars, indicating a complex organic geochemical cycle and the possibility of prolonged habitability.
• Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) instrument on rover was used to detect organic molecules in Jezero Crater.
  • Jezero crater is an ancient lake basin site which has potential for discovering evidence of past life in Mars.
• SHERLOC employs deep ultraviolet Raman and fluorescence spectroscopy to simultaneously measure weak Raman scattering and strong fluorescence emissions, providing crucial insights into the organic composition of Mars.
• SHERLOC, operates day or night, uses ultraviolet laser light to search for organics and minerals.
• It helps in determining which compounds exist in a sample.

ANSWER: A

• Google’s parent company Alphabet is rolling out its artificial intelligence chatbot Bard in Europe and Brazil.
• It is the product’s biggest expansion since its March launch in the US and the UK and heats up the rivalry with Microsoft’s ChatGPT.

ABOUT BARD

• It is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot developed by Alphabet.
• It is an example of generative AI that can respond to questions in a human-like way.
• The Users can interact with the Bard chatbot in 40 languages, including nine Indian languages.
• Users can also change the tone and style of Bard’s responses to either simple, long, short, professional or casual.
• They can pin or rename conversations, export code to more places and use images in prompts.
• New feature include the ability for the chatbot to speak its answers back to user.

ANSWER: D

• The reason for declining reproduction rates of Osprey, a raptor species, is said to be the overfishing of Menhaden, a tiny fish of Atlantic system.

ABOUT ATLANTIC MENHADEN (BREVOORTIA TYRANNUS)

• It is also known as Fatback, Bunker, Pogie, Mossback.
• It is found in coastal and estuarine waters from Nova Scotia to northern Florida.
• They are large in numbers by volume, along the Atlantic Coast of the United States.
• Primarily consume phytoplankton and zooplankton.
• It can feed variety of organisms like –
  • Fish – striped bass and weakfish.
  • Other marine animals – whales and dolphins.
  • Birds – Bald eagles, Great blue herons & brown pelicans.
• They are a major source of omega-3 fatty acids, so they are used to develop human and animal supplements.
• Menhaden isn’t usually sold for food as it has a pungent flavor and is very bony.
• Threats
  • Overfishing by commercial fishing industry for their use in Food products like fish oil, fish meal etc.
  • They are also caught for their use as bait for crabs and lobsters.
• IUCN Status – Least Concern.

ANSWER: A

• It is an annual multinational exercise (India, USA, Italy, UK, Seychelles) conducted by Combined Maritime Forces.
• It was hosted by Seychelles.
• INS Sunayna participated in the exercise from India. It is the second Saryu-class patrol vessel of the Indian Navy.

ANSWER: D

• North Korea tested its latest Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)
• It is the core of its nuclear strike force and a warning to the United States and other adversaries.
• It is the North Korea’s first ICBM to use solid propellants, which can allow faster deployment of missiles during a war.

ANSWER: A

• Archaeologists working in Peru have uncovered a 3,000-year-old sealed corridor dubbed “the condor’s passageway” that likely leads to other chambers inside what was once a massive temple complex pertaining to the ancient Chavin culture.
• The temple complex features terraces as well as a network of passageways.
• The Chavin de Huantar archeological site is among the culture’s most important centers, thriving from around 1,500-550 B.C.
• The Chavin are well-known for their advanced art, often featuring depictions of birds and felines.
  • The condor, one of the largest birds in the world, was associated with power and prosperity in ancient Andean cultures.
• They date back to the first sedentary farming communities in the northern highlands of the Peruvian Andes, more than 2,000 years before the Inca Empire rose to power.

ANSWER: C

• The upcoming International Minjar Fair will be organised with grandeur, highlighting the rich folk art, culture and history of Chamba district.
• The eight-day fair will be organised from July 23 to 30.