Daily Current Affairs UPSC: News Based MCQs Quiz | 12th September 2025

Answer: (B) 2 only

Detailed Explanation

• A second-generation biofuel is a liquid, solid, or gaseous fuel produced from non-food sources like agricultural waste, woody biomass, and non-edible crops. Unlike first-generation biofuels (made from food crops like corn), these advanced biofuels aim to avoid the “food versus fuel” conflict and are produced using lignocellulosic biomass.
• Isobutanol is a colorless, flammable liquid with a characteristic odor and finds use in paints, coatings, flavors, and synthetic rubbers. As a biofuel, it has advantages over ethanol, such as a higher energy density and lower tendency to absorb water, making it more suitable for use in internal combustion engines.

Answer: (D) None of the above

Detailed Explanation

• Clostridium botulinum – Clostridium botulinum are rod-shaped bacteria (also called C. botulinum). They are anaerobic, meaning they live and grow in low oxygen conditions.
• The bacteria form protective spores when conditions for survival are poor. The spore has a hard protective coating that encases the key parts of the bacterium and has layers of protective membranes.
• Within these membranes and the hard coating, the dormant bacterium is able to survive for years. C. botulinum is responsible for a disease called botulism.
• Anthrax – Anthrax is a serious, rare infectious disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis, primarily affecting animals and transmissible to humans through skin contact, inhalation, or ingestion of contaminated products or soil.
• It can cause skin sores (cutaneous), difficulty breathing (inhalation), or gastrointestinal symptoms, and prompt antibiotic treatment is crucial, though inhaled anthrax is more difficult to treat and can be fatal.
• Prevention focuses on controlling the disease in animals, including vaccination of livestock.
• Rabies – Rabies is a deadly virus spread to people from the saliva of infected animals. The rabies virus is usually transmitted through a bite.
• Once a person begins showing signs and symptoms of rabies, the disease nearly always causes death.
• For this reason, anyone who may have a risk of contracting rabies should receive rabies vaccinations for protection.

Answer: (A) Only one

Detailed Explanation

• Para menthane diol – Lemon Eucalyptus Plant
• Picaridin –2-undecanone
• IR3535 – Beta- alanine
• Icaridin, also known as picaridin, is an insect repellent which can be used directly on skin or clothing. Undecanone (specifically 2-undecanone) is an organic compound, also known as methyl nonyl ketone, used in flavors and fragrances and as an animal repellent. It is a colorless, oily liquid with the chemical formula C₁₁H₂₂O and is found naturally in some plants like rue, but is often synthesized for commercial use.
• Para menthane diol, also known as PMD or menthoglycol, is a terpenoid and diol that acts as a natural insect repellent against mosquitoes and other insects. It is extracted from Eucalyptus plants or synthesized from citronellal.
• A terpenoid (or isoprenoid) is a diverse class of organic chemicals naturally produced in plants and other organisms, derived from the five-carbon compound isoprene and its repeating units, called terpenes.
• They are integral to many natural functions, like plant defense and signaling, and are widely used in consumer products for their fragrances, flavors, and pharmacological properties, appearing in perfumes, foods, cosmetics, and traditional medicines.
• IR3535 – Beta- alanine
• IR3535 is the trade name for ethyl butylacetylaminopropionate, a synthetic insect repellent developed by Merck KGaA that provides protection against mosquitoes, flies, ticks, and lice.
• It is considered a safe and effective repellent that is biodegradable, gentle on the skin and the environment, and rated as a biopesticide in the US.
• Products containing IR3535 are available in various forms, including lotions, sprays, and aerosols, and are approved for use on all ages.

Answer: (B) Uttar Pradesh

Detailed Explanation

Answer: (C) Both 1 and 2

Detailed Explanation

• Phenylethanoid glycosides (PhGs) are a class of natural compounds found in medicinal plants, composed of a phenylethyl alcohol unit, a sugar moiety (often glucose), and frequently an acylated group like caffeic acid.
• They possess a wide range of beneficial bioactivities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and antibacterial properties, but their poor bioavailability can limit their therapeutic use.
• Electrospinning is a process that uses a strong electrostatic field to draw ultrathin fibers, known as nanofibers, from a polymer solution or melt.
• The basic setup involves a high-voltage power supply, a pump to deliver the polymer, a spinneret (like a syringe needle) with the polymer, and a collector to gather the fibers.