Daily Quiz 25 September 2023

Explanation:

The U.S. President, Joe Biden, will host a two-day U.S.-Pacific Island Forum summit at the White House.

• Option (1) is correct: In October 1999, the South Pacific Forum (SPF) was renamed as the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). The Pacific Islands Forum is the region’s premier political and economic policy organisation. The Forum’s Pacific Vision is for a region of peace, harmony, security, social inclusion and prosperity, so that all Pacific people can lead free, healthy, and productive lives. The Pacific Islands Forum works to achieve this by fostering cooperation between governments, collaboration with international agencies, and by representing the interests of its members.
• Option (2) is correct: The Forum currently recognises 21 dialogue partners these are Canada, Chile, People’s Republic of China, Cuba, European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Norway, Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Republic of Türkiye, United Kingdom, and the United States of America.
• Option (3) is incorrect: Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is a framework of regional cooperation founded in 1971. It comprises 18 members, Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
• Option (4) is correct: PIF is a United Nations General Assembly observer. The United Nations General Assembly may grant non-member states, international organizations and other entities Permanent Observer Status. The status of a Permanent Observer is based purely on practice, and there are no provisions for it in the United Nations Charter. Observers have the right to speak at United Nations General Assembly meetings, but not to vote on resolutions. The grant of observer status is made by the General Assembly only; it is not subject to a Security Council veto.

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: Galactic tides are the tidal forces experienced by objects affected by the gravitational field of galaxies, such as the Milky Way. They are dependent on the gradient of a gravitational field, rather than its strength. This means that tidal effects are usually limited to the immediate surroundings of a galaxy. When two large galaxies undergo collisions or pass nearby each other, they will be subjected to very large tidal forces. These forces can distort each galaxy along an axis pointing roughly towards and away from its perturber. The gravitational pull from the most massive parts of the galaxy, such as the central bulge and dark matter halo, is stronger than the pull from the less massive parts of the galaxy, such as the disk and spiral arms.
• Statement 2 is correct: Tidal forces can warp and distort galaxies, especially small galaxies with low mass. Tidal forces can compress and heat gas, making it more likely to collapse and form stars.
• Statement 3 is correct: The strength of the tidal force depends on the mass of the galaxy and the distance from the center of the galaxy. Objects that are closer to the center of the galaxy experience a stronger tidal force than objects that are farther away. However, the age and density of stars in different parts of a galaxy are influenced by more factors than just tidal forces. For example, the central bulge of a galaxy typically contains older stars, but this is not solely due to tidal forces. It’s also related to the evolution of the galaxy and the availability of gas and dust for star formation. The stars in the central bulge are more densely packed, but again, this is a result of many factors, including gravitational collapse and the dynamics of galaxy formation.

Explanation:

The implementation of the immunization wheel as part of Mission Indradhanush has proven beneficial in Uttar Pradesh by enabling ASHA workers to monitor and record newborn immunizations effectively.

• Statement 1 is correct: Mission Indradhanush aims to ensure that all children under the age of 2 years and pregnant women are fully immunized. India’s Universal Immunization Programme is the largest in the world, with annual cohorts of around 26.5 million infants and 29 million pregnant women. The mission had also been acknowledged as having one of the 12 best practices globally.
• Statement 2 is correct: The mission initially aimed to immunize unvaccinated and partially vaccinated children of the country against seven vaccine preventable diseases. These diseases were identified as diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis-B. Later, the basket of vaccines was expanded to cover 12 diseases including pertussis, meningitis and pneumonia (Hemophilus influenza type B infections), Japanese encephalitis (JE).
• Statement 3 is incorrect: Mission Indradhanush was launched in 2014, not 2016, by the central government. It aims to rapidly increase the full immunization coverage to 90% and to reduce child mortality. Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) was launched in 2017 by the Central Government to further intensify the immunization programme. It aimed to achieve 90% Full Immunization Coverage (FIC) with focus towards districts and urban areas with persistently low levels.

Explanation:

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft successfully returned to Earth, bringing back samples of asteroid Bennu that it collected in 2020.

• Statement 1 is correct: NASA’s OSIRIS-REx stands for “Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer.” It aims to collect a sample weighing at least 2.1 ounces (59.5 grams) from asteroid 101955 Bennu and then bring the sample to Earth. It is a NASA spacecraft mission designed to study the near-Earth asteroid called Bennu. It was launched in 2016, and it arrived at asteroid Bennu in December 2018. After nearly two years in orbit, it gathered a sample of surface material with its robot arm on October 20, 2020.
• Statement 2 is correct: The mission will aid scientists in studying planetary formation, the origins of life, and enhancing our knowledge of asteroids with potential impacts on Earth. Asteroid Bennu is a B-type asteroid, located about 200 million miles away from the Earth. It was discovered by the NASA-funded Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research team in 1999. It is named after the Bennu, the ancient Egyptian mythological bird associated with the Sun, creation, and rebirth. While both statements are related to the objectives of the OSIRIS-REx mission, Statement II does not explain why OSIRIS-REx was designed to take a sample from Bennu and return it to Earth (Statement I). The primary objective of OSIRIS-REx is to collect a sample from Bennu, but the reasons for doing so are more complex and involve several different scientific goals, not just learning about planetary formation and potentially hazardous asteroids.

Recent scientific studies have observed that Genome sequencing has helped scientists to discover key moments in human history, like population bottlenecks and genetic disease origins.

• Statement 1 is correct: Genome sequencing is figuring out the order of DNA nucleotides, or bases, in a genome, the order of Adenine, Cytosine, Guanines, and Thymine that make up an organism’s DNA. While the sequence or order of base pairs is identical in all humans, compared to that of a mouse or another species, there are differences in the genome of every human being that make them unique. Genome sequencing technology allows scientists to rapidly sequence human genomes and analyze the data using computational tools.
• Statement 2 is correct: The genome sequences provide a snapshot of the molecular clock of human evolution. The molecular clock concept suggests that genetic variations accumulate at a relatively constant rate over time. By examining genetic variations within genomes, researchers can estimate the rate at which these variations accumulate. This rate helps create a timeline of human evolution, revealing when specific genetic changes occurred.