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General ScienceMediumAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2021, GS Paper I

With reference to recent developments regarding 'Recombinant Vector Vaccines', consider the following statements : 1. Genetic engineering is applied in the development of these vaccines. 2. Bacteria and viruses are used as vectors. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A.1 only
  2. B.2 only
  3. C.Both 1 and 2
  4. D.Neither 1 nor 2

Correct answer

C. Both 1 and 2

Explanation

The correct answer is C, Both 1 and 2. Recombinant vector vaccines are made by genetic engineering, and both viruses and bacteria serve as their vectors.

In a recombinant vector vaccine, scientists take a harmless or weakened carrier, the vector, and insert into it the gene for an antigen of the disease-causing germ. When the vector enters the body, it makes that antigen, and the immune system learns to recognise and fight the real pathogen without the person ever being exposed to it. Viral vectors such as adenoviruses are the most common; the Covishield vaccine used a chimpanzee adenovirus and Sputnik V used human adenoviruses to carry the coronavirus spike protein gene. Weakened bacteria such as Salmonella and the BCG strain have also been engineered as vectors.

A is wrong because statement 2 is also true. B is wrong because statement 1 is also true. D is wrong because both statements are correct.

Exam tip: viral vector vaccines: Covishield (chimpanzee adenovirus) and Sputnik V (human adenovirus).

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Q1.General ScienceAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2016, GKEasy

The pressure exerted by a 760 mm column of mercury at 0 °C is known as

  1. A.1 pascal
  2. B.1 atmosphere
  3. C.1 bar
  4. D.1 poise
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 1 atmosphere

Standard atmospheric pressure at sea level is defined as the pressure of a 760 mm column of mercury at 0 °C. In 1643 Evangelista Torricelli showed that air pressure holds up a column of mercury about 760 mm (76 cm) tall in a glass tube, inventing the mercury barometer.

Q2.General ScienceAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2023, GKEasy

Sound and light waves are

  1. A.respectively longitudinal and transverse in air
  2. B.respectively transverse and longitudinal in air
  3. C.both longitudinal in air
  4. D.both transverse in air
Show answer
Correct answer: A. respectively longitudinal and transverse in air

Sound travels as compressions and rarefactions, while light is a transverse electromagnetic wave. In a longitudinal wave the particles of the medium vibrate back and forth along the direction in which the wave moves.

Q4.General ScienceAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2018, GATMedium

A planet has a mass M₁ and radius R₁. The value of acceleration due to gravity on its surface is g₁. There is another planet 2, whose mass and radius both are two times that of the first planet. Which one of the following is the acceleration due to gravity on the surface of planet 2?

  1. A.g₁
  2. B.2g₁
  3. C.g₁/2
  4. D.g₁/4
Show answer
Correct answer: C. g₁/2

Surface gravity is g = GM/R², so doubling the mass doubles g while doubling the radius divides it by four, leaving g₁ × 2/4 = g₁/2.