Daily Quiz 28 August 2023

Explanation:

• Option (4) is correct: The inner layers of the Sun are the Core, Radiative Zone and Convection Zone. The photosphere is the deepest layer of the Sun that we can observe directly. It reaches from the surface visible at the center of the solar disk to about 250 miles (400 km) above that. The chromosphere is a layer in the Sun between about 250 miles (400 km) and 1300 miles (2100 km) above the solar surface (the photosphere). The corona is the outermost layer of the Sun, starting at about 1300 miles (2100 km) above the solar surface (the photosphere). The picoflare jets emanate from structures on the corona called coronal holes where the sun’s magnetic field stretches into space rather than back into the star. They are called “picoflare jets” due to their relatively small size. It is being speculated that magnetic reconnection may be creating picojets in coronal holes.

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is incorrect: The Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) has been recently ratified in July this year and launched at the Seventh Assembly of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in Vancouver, Canada. The GBFF is launched to support goals and targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) formulated by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) by 2030.
• Statements 2 and 3 are correct: It aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and guide nature towards recovery by 2050. Contributions from countries, non-profits, and the private sector are welcome. Use of Funds:
• 20% will be allocated to Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs)
• 25% to GEF agencies
• 36% to SIDS (Small Island Developing States)
• 3% to LDCs (Least Developed Countries)
• The allocation for IPLCs will be reviewed for two years and the allocations for SIDS and LDCs will be reviewed for three years.

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is incorrect: Activists and organisations around the world have been advocating for the right of consumers to be able to repair their own electronics and other products as part of the ‘right to repair’ movement. The Right to Repair Movement traces its roots back to the very dawn of the computer era in the 1950s.
• Statement 2 is correct: The goal of the movement is to get companies to make spare parts, tools and information on how to repair devices available to customers and repair shops to increase the lifespan of products and to keep them from ending up in landfills. Recently, Apple has penned a letter to a California state senator supporting California’s ‘right to repair’ bill and has endorsed the proposed legislation in its current form as it sees the law would benefit users and protect their privacy and security.

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: Somatic mutations are a change to a person’s DNA that occurs after conception to any cell that is not a germ cell (egg or sperm cell).
• Statement 2 is incorrect: Somatic mutations do not pass from parents to their children (not hereditary) and happen sporadically or randomly, without the mutation existing in a person’s family history. Sometimes, a somatic genetic mutation can render a cell fitter than others, which leads to the formation of tumours. So, these mutations are called driver mutations.
• Statement 3 is correct: Somatic genetic variants are important for a number of normal physiological processes. For example, the immune cells in our body, which produce antibodies, undergo an enormous amount of somatic changes to create diverse proteins. These proteins recognise and bind to specific pathogens, forming a ‘library’ of cells, each with a specific protein. During an infection, the body selects cells from this library, depending on which can bind to a pathogen better, and uses them to make antibodies. In other cases, somatic changes may cause certain diseases. Early somatic mutations can cause developmental disorders, whereas the progressive accumulation of mutations throughout life can lead to cancer and contribute to aging.

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: The Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. It is a unique partnership of 18 agencies — including United Nations agencies, multilateral development banks, national entities and international NGOs — working with 183 countries to address the world’s most challenging environmental issues.
• Statement 2 is correct: The GEF is a family of funds dedicated to confronting biodiversity loss, climate change, pollution, and strains on land and ocean health.
• Statement 2 is correct: Its grants, blended financing, and policy support helps developing countries address their biggest environmental priorities and adhere to international environmental conventions. Over the past three decades, the GEF has provided more than $23 billion and mobilized $129 billion in co-financing for more than 5,000 national and regional projects.