UPSC EXAM QUIZ 31.12.2024

Explanation:

• University of East Anglia (UEA) researchers have identified three distinct subtypes of a rare type of bone cancer, osteosarcoma, for the first time. The discovery could lead to significant changes in clinical trials and patient care.

Key points

• Nature of osteosarcoma: This cancer starts in the bones and mainly affects children and adolescents. It has been treated with untargeted chemotherapy and surgery since the 1970s.
• Subtypes identified for the first time: UEA researchers discovered three distinct subtypes. The discovery could open up new possibilities in clinical trials and treatment methods.
• Technical approach: In this study, the researchers used a more advanced method called Latent Process Decomposition (LPD), which takes into account differences within individual tumors.

Explanation:

• US-China Bilateral Science and Technology Agreement has been agreed to be renewed for five more years.

US-China Bilateral Science and Technology Agreement

History of the Agreement

• Since then, it has been renewed every five years.

Co-Chair and Executive Agent Appointment

• Both the US and China appoint their respective co-chairs.
• One agency from each country is designated as the ‘Executive Agent’.

Additional Protocols and Sub-Agreements

• There are additional protocols between different agencies.
• 40 sub-agreements have been made in various fields, such as agriculture, nuclear fusion, etc.

Explanation:

• President of India has appointed former Supreme Court judge Justice V. Ramasubramanian as 9th Chairperson of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for a term of three years.
• Along with this, Priyank Kanoongo and retired Justice Vidyut Ranjan Sarangi have also been appointed as members of NHRC.

Key Points

• NHRC Chairperson post: The post of NHRC Chairperson was vacant since June 1, 2024, when the term of Justice Arun Mishra ended. Since then, Acting Chairperson Vijaya Bharti Sayani was heading the Commission.
• Justice Ramasubramanian: Justice Ramasubramanian, who is the second Chairperson of NHRC till date, has never served as Chief Justice of India.
• Opposition's disagreement: The high-level committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recommended the chairmanship of Justice Ramasubramanian, but opposition leaders in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha expressed disagreement.

Explanation:

• Scientists discovered the carcass of a 50,000-year-old baby mammoth named Yana in melting permafrost in Russia.
• Mammoths are members of an extinct group of elephants, found as fossils in Pleistocene and Holocene deposits (the two epochs that make up the Quaternary period) on several continents. They became extinct about 4,000 years ago.
• About Yana: She was found in Siberia's Batagaika crater, known as the "Gateway to the Underworld" because of its increasing depth from melting ice due to global warming.
• She died at the age of one, making her an extraordinary discovery, one of only seven mammoth remains found worldwide.
• The crater also contains remains of other ancient animals such as bison, horses and dogs.
• Permafrost: Soil or underwater sediment that remains frozen below 0°C for more than two years, ranging in depth from one metre to 1,500 metres.
• Permafrost is common in Arctic regions and mountain peaks and may contain frozen remains more than 700,000 years old.

Explanation:

• An agreement signed between India and ISA for solar projects in four Indo-Pacific countries.
• The Ministry of External Affairs and the International Solar Alliance (ISA) signed a Project Implementation Agreement to execute new solar projects in Fiji, Comoros, Madagascar and Seychelles.
• On September 21, the Wilmington Declaration issued at the Quad leaders' summit in Delaware, USA said that the Quad countries will work together through policy and public finance.
• This enables it to deliver on its commitment to catalyze complementary and high-standard private sector investment in collaborative and partner clean energy supply chains.
• For this purpose, India has committed to invest USD 2 million in new solar projects in Fiji, Comoros, Madagascar and Seychelles.
• On November 26, a Project Implementation Agreement (PIA) was signed between the Ministry of External Affairs and ISA to implement the projects in these Indo-Pacific countries.
• As the project implementing agency, ISA will provide programmatic assistance to Comoros, Fiji, Madagascar and Seychelles with financial assistance from India.
• The successful implementation of these projects is expected to increase energy access, create employment and provide reliable and quality power supply in these Indo-Pacific countries.