Daily Quiz 10 February 2025

Answer: C
Explanation:
• Statement 1 is correct: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a genetic disease affecting the central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, and voluntary muscle movement (skeletal muscle).
o Most of the nerve cells that control muscles are located in the spinal cord, which accounts for the word spinal in the name of the disease. SMA is muscular because its primary effect is on muscles, which don’t receive signals from these nerve cells. Atrophy is the medical term for getting smaller, which is what generally happens to muscles when they’re not stimulated by nerve cells.
• Statement 2 is correct: SMA involves the loss of nerve cells called motor neurons in the spinal cord and is classified as a motor neuron disease.

Answer: A

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is not correct: There are three kinds. A one-line whip just informs members about a vote but permits them to abstain.
• Statement 2 is not correct: A two-line whip asks them to be present but does not tell them how to vote.
• Statement 3 is correct: The three-line whip, largely the norm these days, directs members to be present and vote as per the party line. A three-line whip to party members by a party’s chief whip carries the heading “Three-Line Whip”. Under each sentence, there are three thick horizontal lines. Largely the norm these days, this kind of whip directs members to be present and vote as per the party line.

An All-India Whips conference has been held since 1952, when the first Lok Sabha was constituted. The first such event was held in Indore on September 13, 1952. Organised by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, the conference provides a forum “to the whips of various political parties – ruling as well as Opposition, at the centre as well as in the states – to sit together and exchange their views,” says the Handbook on the Working of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.

Answer: D

Explanation:

• Option D is correct: Paraquat, also known as paraquat dichloride or methyl viologen, is one of the world’s most-used herbicides. A toxic chemical, paraquat is primarily used to control the growth of weeds and desiccate crops like cotton before harvest.
• The WHO classifies paraquat as Category 2 (moderately hazardous and moderately irritating) chemical. Its sale is banned in over 70 countries, including China and the European Union, due to its potent toxicity. However, it is widely used in the US and in India. The Washington Post reported that paraquat applications across the country doubled to at least 11 million pounds a year in the US between 2014 and 2018.
• Paraquat exposure has been linked by some to the incidence of Parkinson’s Disease, a claim that the EPA has evaluated.
• While ingestion is the most common route of exposure, the chemical may also be transferred and absorbed through prolonged skin contact. Its inhalation can also cause respiratory issues. According to the US Centers for Disease Control, paraquat causes direct damage when it comes into contact with the lining of the mouth, stomach, or intestines. It spreads rapidly through the body and causes adverse reactions to occur in the lungs, liver and kidneys. The CDC noted that cells select how they allow paraquat to enter, through “active transport,” a process that moves molecules in and out of the cell.

Answer: C

Explanation:

• Statements 1 and 2 are correct: Greenland was once a Danish colony and is now an autonomous province of Denmark. It is located in the North Atlantic Ocean, between Europe and North America, across the Baffin Bay from Canada. Its strategic importance rose during the Cold War, and the US has a large air base there, the Pituffik Space Base, earlier the Thule Air Base. From Greenland, the US can monitor and prevent any missile coming towards it from Russia, China, or even North Korea. Similarly, it can launch missiles and ships towards Asia or Europe more easily from Greenland.

Statement 3 is correct: Greenland is rich in rare earth minerals, which are used in mobile phones, electric vehicles and other consumer electronics, but also in bombs and other weapons. At present, China is a major supplier of these minerals. In 2021, Greenland passed a law banning uranium mining.

Answer: D

Explanation:

• Option D is correct: India has, as an observer state, officially joined the Medium Altitude Long Endurance Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (MALE RPAS) or Eurodrone programme, managed by the Bonn-based Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) and led by Taufkirchen-based aerospace company Airbus Defence and Space.

Eurodrone is a four-nation initiative involving Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. The programme, led by Airbus Defence and Space (Germany), includes Leonardo (Italy), Dassault Aviation (France), and Airbus (Spain) as major subcontractors.