Answer: B

Exp: 

The Alzheimer’s Association welcomes U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee’s unanimous finding that donanemab (Eli Lilly) is effective for the treatment of early Alzheimer’s disease.

• Statement 1 is not correct: Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disorder that gets worse over time. It’s characterized by changes in the brain that lead to deposits of certain proteins. 
  • Alzheimer’s disease causes the brain to shrink and brain cells to eventually die. 
  • Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia — a gradual decline in memory, thinking, behavior and social skills. These changes affect a person’s ability to function.
• Statement 2 is correct: Donanemab is considered as an effective for the treatment of early Alzheimer’s disease. 
• • Donanemab is a monoclonal antibody that targets amyloid beta protein plaques in the brain, one of the defining features of Alzheimer’s disease that can be seen on imaging. 

Answer: D

Exp: 

A rare four-horned antelope has been sighted for the first time in Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh.

About Four Horned Antelop:

• The four-horned antelope, also called Chousingha, is a small bovid antelope.
• They are the smallest antelopes found in Asia.
• It is endemic to India and Nepal. In India, they inhabit regions spanning from the foothills of the Himalayas to the deccan plateau in the South.
  • Normally, four-horned antelopes are found in Pench, Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Sanjay Tiger Reserve, which are moist areas. Hence, option (d) is correct.
• The four-horned antelope is the only bovid with four horns (only males have horns). 
• They are classified as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List with an estimated population of 10,000 animals, a majority of which are found in India.

Answer: A

Explanation:

Context: A new research by Japanese scientists has found. The snow leopard, the iconic predator of the snows of High Mountain Asia, lives in areas above the tree lines eat plants.

• They particularly eats plants of the Myricaria genus. These plants are mostly shrubs and are found across the temperate parts of Europe and Asia.

Statement 1 is Incorrect: The snow leopard is not the first cat to be found consuming plants. There are 41 species of living felids or cats in the world today. Researchers have previously found plants in the faeces of 24 species..

Statement 2 is Correct: One of the most interesting facts about snow leopards is that, unlike big cats, they cannot roar. This is because they have different vocal cords that aren’t designed to make that sound.

Statement 3 Is Correct: According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, the snow leopard is classified as “Vulnerable.” 

• The Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI) Program, reveals a snow leopard population of 718 individuals in India.
• According to Global Snow Leopard & Ecosystem Protection Programme (GSLEP) roughly 4000-6500 Leopard Populations worldwide, majorly in 12 snow leopard-ranging countries around 18 lakh sq km. estimated.

Answer: D

Explanation:

Context: Recently, Global Gender Gap Report 2024 released by World Economic Forum. Thus, statement 1 is incorrect.

Statement 2 is Incorrect: The Global Gender Gap Index annually benchmarks the current state and evolution of gender parity across four key dimensions: Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment.

Statement 3 is Incorrect :India ranked 129 out of 146 countries, two ranks lower than the previous year with a marginally lower score (0.17 points), India closed 64.1% of its gender gap in 2024.

• Within South Asia, India ranked fifth after Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan, with Pakistan ranked last.

Statement 4 is incorrect: Iceland retained its top position in the rankings, Iceland was followed by Finland, Norway, New Zealand and Sweden in the top five.

Answer: C

Explanation:

Context: According to a global assessment of N2O emissions published in the journal ‘Earth System Science Data, India is the world’s second largest source of nitrous oxide (N2O).

Statement 1 in Correct: Nitrous Oxide (N2O) is greenhouse gas and have a higher global warming potential (GWP) than carbon dioxide (CO2).

• Nitrous Oxide (N2O) has a GWP 273 times that of CO2 for a 100-year timescale. 

Statement 2 is Correct: Agricultural production using nitrogen fertilizers, such as ammonia, and animal manure contributed 74% of the total anthropogenic N2O emissions in the last decade.

• The growing demand for meat and dairy products has also contributed to an increase in emissions through the increase in manure production, which also causes N2O emissions. 
• Increased nitrogen fertilizers used in the production of animal feed have also contributed to the increase.

Statement 3 is Correct: The top five country emitters by volume of anthropogenic N2O emissions in 2020 were China (16.7%), India (10.9%), the United States (5.7%), Brazil (5.3%), and Russia (4.6%).