Question 26: Consider the following statements:

1. Kalapani and Lipulekh are located in Uttarakhand.
2. Limpiyadhura is located in Uttar-Pradesh.

Which of the following statements is/are true?

A) 1 only

B) 2 only

C) 1 and 2 only

D) Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer: A

Explanation

• The disagreements between India and Nepal over the border dispute is over the regions which includes Kalapani, Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura (all three in Uttarakhand) and Susta (Bihar).

Question 27: Consider the following statements:

1. An exit poll asks voters which political party they are supporting after they have cast their votes in an election.
2. An exit poll is held before the elections.
3. An exit polls can’t be telecast from before voting begins till the last phase concludes.

Which of the following statements is/are true?

A) 1 and 2

B) 2 and 3

C) 1 and 3

D) 1, 2, and 3

Correct Answer: C

Explanation

What are exit polls?

• An exit poll asks voters which political party they are supporting after they have cast their votes in an election. In this, it differs from an opinion poll, which is held before the elections.
• An exit poll is supposed to give an indication of which way the winds are blowing in an election, along with the issues, personalities, and loyalties that have influenced voters.
• Today, exit polls in India are conducted by a number of organizations, often in tie- ups with media organizations.
• Currently, exit polls can’t be telecast from before voting begins till the last phase concludes.
• For the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elections, the Election Commission notified that publishing any exit poll would be prohibited between 8am on November 12 and 30pm on December 5. While Himachal Pradesh voted on November 12, Gujarat voted in two phases on December 1 and December 5. Results for both states are out on December 8.

Question 28: Community-conserved sacred spaces known as ‘orans’ is located at:

1. Assam
2. Meghalaya
3. Tripura
4. Rajasthan

Correct Answer: D

Explanation

• Residents from around 40 villages of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan have walked 225 kilometres to protect community-conserved sacred spaces known as ‘orans’.
• The orans are among the last natural habitats of the great Indian bustard. The open stretch of land, which receives long hours of sunlight and brisk winds, has become a hub of green energy with windmills and solar photovoltaic dotting it.
• “The orans are listed as ‘wastelands’ in the revenue records. The Degrai Oran is around 10,000 hectares (60,000 bighas), but only 4,000 hectares are recognised as oran, which are listed as common land. The rest is categorised as wasteland,” said Sumer Singh Bhati of Sanwata village in the Jaisalmer district.
• There are other orans like Mokla, Salkha, Kemde, which also spread across several hectares but are listed as wastelands 

Question 29: Consider the following statements:

1. CAR-T therapy involves adding a gene to T-cells that causes them to seek out and destroy cancerous cells.
2. Through the base editing technique of genetic editing, one donor can supply T-cells to multiple recipients.

Which of the following statements is/are true?

A) 1 only

B) 2 only

C) 1 and 2 only

D) Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer: C

Explanation

What is base editing?

• Alyssa, 13, is the first person in the world to benefit from base editing- experimental cancer treatment.
• According to a BBC report, “Bases are the language of life. Just as letters in the alphabet spell out words that carry meaning, the billions of bases in our DNA spell out the instruction manual for our body.”
• With advances in genetic technology, scientists have been able to zoom into a precise part of the genetic code to alter the molecular structure of just one base, effectively changing its genetic instructions.
• A team at the Great Ormond Street Hospital managed to use base-editing to create a new type of T-cell from a healthy donor that would not attack other cells in Alyssa’s body, not kill each other, survive chemotherapy and finally, hunt down all other T- cells in Alyssa’s body (healthy and cancerous). After this therapy worked in its initial stages, Alyssa was given another bone marrow transplant to restore her immunity.
• Alyssa was diagnosed with a kind of blood cancer known as T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL). T-ALL affects the stem cells in the bone marrow that produce a particular kind of white blood cells (WBC) called T lymphocytes (T cells). These cells provide a person immunity by killing cells carrying infections, activating other immune cells, and regulating the immune response.
• At least 20% of these WBC are atypical– as they accumulate in the bone marrow, they crowd out “good” WBCs and hence weaken the immune system. These unhealthy cells can also accumulate in other parts of the body like the liver, spleen and lymph nodes.
• Traditionally, CAR-T therapy involves adding a gene to T-cells that causes them to seek out and destroy cancerous the modified cells are known as CAR-T cells.
• First, an individual’s own T-cells are removed, which are then modified and reintroduced to the individual.
• The problem with such an approach (besides the expense) is that very often, when an individual is really sick, it is simply impossible to obtain enough healthy T-cells to create CAR-T cells.
• While donors can provide healthy T-cells to an individual, these T-cells from a foreign body are going to attack every single cell in that patient’s body, making the treatment counterproductive.
• Thus, scientists have resorted to what is known as base editing– through this technique of genetic editing, they make it possible for one donor to supply T-cells to multiple recipients, without the traditional risks associated with it.

Question 30: Consider the following statements:

1. Meteors are fragments of comets only.
2. 3200 Phaethon is an asteroid.

Which of the following statements is/are true?

A) 1 only

B) 2 only

C) 1 and 2 only

D) Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer: B

Explanation

• Meteors are usually fragments of comets. As they enter the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed, they burn up, creating a spectacular “shower”.
• NASA describes the Geminids as “one of the best and most reliable annual meteor showers”.
• The Geminids are unique because unlike most meteor showers, they originate not from a comet, but from an asteroid, the 3200 Phaethon.

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