Daily Current Affairs Quiz: May 11, 2023

ANSWER: D

ANSWER: C

ANSWER: B

ANSWER: B

• An international team of researchers, including from the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bengaluru, has reported a new kind of molecular motor.

About Molecular Motor

• Molecular motors are a class of proteins that drive intracellular movement by converting chemical energy to mechanical work along cytoskeletal filaments.
  • The cytoskeleton of a cell is made up of microtubules, actin filaments, and intermediate filaments.
  • These structures give the cell its shape and help organize the cell’s parts.
• They are very important as cells need to move things, such as pull two organelles together, move cargo towards and away from the nucleus, and power the movement of molecules inside cells.
• Disruption or deregulation in these processes can lead to different diseases.

ANSWER: A

• The ongoing fighting in Sudan is forcing thousands to flee. The humanitarian emergency is spreading, creating a dangerous security situation in the Sahel region.

About:

• The Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition in Africa between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south.
• Having a semi-arid climate, it stretches across the south-central latitudes of Northern Africa between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea.
• The name is derived from the Arabic term for “coast, shore”; this is explained as being used in a figurative sense in reference to the southern edge of the vast Sahara.
• The Sahel part includes from west to east parts of northern Senegal, southern Mauritania, central Mali, northern Burkina Faso, the extreme south of Algeria, Niger, the extreme north of Nigeria, the extreme north of Cameroon and the Central African Republic, central Chad, central and southern Sudan, the extreme north of South Sudan, Eritrea and the extreme north of Ethiopia.

ANSWER: D

• Union Minister recently said that Blue Economy will be a major contributor to India’s overall economy in the years to come and the Deep Ocean Mission will be the core component of it.
• He chairing the first-ever high-level Steering Committee Meeting of Deep Ocean Mission in New Delhi.
• The Committee consisted of Union Ministers of State for Environment, External Affairs, Defence, and Finance in addition to Vice Chairman NITI Aayog.

About Deep Ocean Mission:

• Deep Ocean Mission was first proposed by the Ministry of Earth Sciences in 2017.
• Aim– To explore deep ocean for resources and develop deep sea technologies for sustainable use of ocean resources.
• The estimated cost of the Mission will be Rs. 4077 crore for a period of 5 years to be implemented in a phase-wise manner.
• Ministry of Earth Sciences is the nodal Ministry implementing this multi-institutional ambitious mission.
• Six major components:
  • Development of technologies for manned submersible and integrated mining system
  • Development of ocean climate change advisory services
  • Technological innovations for exploration and conservation of deep-sea flora and fauna
  • Deep ocean survey and exploration for hydrothermal minerals
  • Energy and freshwater from the ocean- OTEC powered Desalinisation plants
  • Advanced marine station for ocean biology

ANSWER: A

• Maharana Pratap, one of the greatest warriors and rulers in medieval India.
• Maharana Pratap was born on May 9, 1540, in Kumbhalgarh, Rajasthan, and his bravery and valour are still celebrated today.
• He was a Rajput King who belonged to Sisodiya clan of Rajputs.
• He was the ruler of Mewar, a province in modern day Rajasthan.
• He was the eldest son of Uday Singh II, founder of Udaipur.
• The Battle of Haldighati was fought between the forces of Maharana Pratap and Akbar’s army on June 18, 1576, which he lost.
• Chetak was the loyal horse of Rana Pratap with whom he shared a deep bond.

ANSWER: C

• Neeraj Chopra clinched the top spot in the javelin event of the Doha Diamond League with a throw of 88.67 m.
• The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field competitions.
• It was started in 2010 as a replacement for the previous IAAF Golden League and IAAF World Athletics Final events.
• The Diamond League is organised by World Athletics (formerly IAAF or International Association of Athletics Federations), the international governing body for athletics.

ANSWER: A

• Watsonx, launched by IBM, is a new artificial intelligence (AI) and data platform to help companies integrate AI in their business.
• It provides self-service access to high-quality, trustworthy data, enabling users to collaborate on a single platform.
• It helps facilitate the entire data and AI lifecycle, from data preparation to model development, deployment and monitoring.

ANSWER: B

• Recently, India and Myanmar jointly inaugurated the Sittwe Port in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, marking an important milestone in enhancing bilateral and regional trade while also contributing to the local economy of the state.
• The port’s operationalization is expected to provide greater connectivity and leads to employment opportunities
• Aims to provide an alternative connectivity route for Mizoram with Indian ports through the Kaladan River in Myanmar.
• It includes segments such as shipping from Haldia to Sittwe port, inland water transport from Sittwe to Paletwa via the Kaladan River, road transport from Paletwa to the Indo-Myanmar border, and further road transport to NH.54 in India.
• The Sittwe Port is part of the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project, funded by the Indian government, and will play a crucial role in linking India’s East Coast to the North-eastern states through waterways and roads.

ANSWER: D

• Chief Minister has recently said that that the cancer prevalence rate in Himachal was 2.2 per cent against the national average of 0.6 per cent, which was very worrisome.
• He added that his government would make efforts to provide best cancer treatment facilities as around 8,500 cases were detected in the state every year.
• CM held a meeting with prominent oncologist Dr GK Rath, Prof Emeritus, Department of Radiation and Oncology and Head of the National Cancer Institute, (NCI), AIIMS, New Delhi.