1. Who was recently appointed as the new chairman of the ISRO?
2. In 1896, he wrote ‘Niruddesher Kahini’, the first major work in Bangla science fiction and therefore, is regarded as the first science fiction writer in Bengali. Who?
3. It was originally intended to be called 'Aces'. The present name was taken from James Joyce’s' 'Finnegan’s Wake'. Which elementary particle?
4. Niel Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin landed on the Sea of Tranquillity. Who, in fiction, landed on the Hipparchus crater?
5. Switzerland observes its national science day on May 26, in honour of which person, who visited the country in May 2005?
6. The ‘Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay’ is commonly known by what name?
7. It was first observed in China in 240 BC, and subsequent appearances were recorded by Babylonian, Persian, and other Mesopotamian texts. Its last appearance was in 1986. What are we talking about?
8. Frederich Kekule witnessed a snake seizing its own tail in a dream, which was primarily an ancient symbol called Ouroboros. He claimed that this helped him discover the shape of the molecule of an organic chemical compound. Which one?
*9. Which collection of scientific writings by Leonardo da Vinci was bought by Bill Gates at an auction for US$30.8 million and was named after Thomas coke, who purchased it in 1717?
10. The Kármán line, named after Theodore von Kármán, is the internationally designated boundary between?
11. Which element got its name from the Greek word for ‘inactive’?
*12. Which phrase, also the title of a 2004 movie, encapsulates the more technical notion of 'sensitive dependence on initial conditions' in Chaos theory?
13. He took up drawing at one time and enjoyed some success under the pseudonym "Ofey", culminating in an exhibition dedicated to his work. He learned to play drums in a samba style in Brazil, and participated in a samba school. Who?
14. In ‘A Brief History of Time’, Stephen Hawking notes that an editor warned him that for every equation in the book the readership would be halved, hence it includes only one equation. Which is it?
15. This word originated from the Czech play R.U.R by Karel Čapek, in which it means "hard work". Name the word.
*16. Transposons (jumping genes) are sequences of DNA that can move around to different positions within the genome of a single cell, a process called transposition. Name the American scientist who got the Nobel Prize for discovering transposons.
17. This tree was named after the Countess of _________, the wife of a viceroy of Peru, who, in 1638, was introduced by natives to the medicinal properties of the bark. Name it.
*18. This sage was the grandson of Vasishtha, the son of Shakti-muni, and the father of Vyasa. He wrote ‘Vrikshayurveda’, one of the earliest texts on botany and Brihat ________ Horasastra, which is considered a foundational text of astrology. Name him.
19. Who is the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India?
*20. The Americans celebrate this on March 14, Europeans on July 22, and the Chinese, on December 21. The first of such kind of a celebration was held at the San Francisco Exploratorium in 1988. The founder, Larry Shaw is nicknamed ‘The Prince of _____’. What day/celebration?
21. There was a popular saying about this inventor: “God made all Men, __________ _______ made them equal.” Fill in the blanks.
22. Which physicist wrote the Mr. Tompkins series of books, Thirty Years That Shook Physics: The Story of Quantum Theory and One, Two, Three...Infinity?
23. What begins with these words: “I swear by Apollo, the healer, Asclepius, Hygieia, and Panacea, and I take to witness all the gods, all the goddesses, to keep according to my ability and my judgment, the following Oath and agreement”?
24. Name the South African surgeon who performed the world's first successful human-to-human heart transplant in 1967.
25. Name the hormone produced in the human body in emergency situations, which prepares the body for immediate action by increasing the heart rate, dilating the blood vessels and air passages.
Researched and compiled by Arun.A.S of Greycells.
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E-mail: arunnamboothiri@gmail.com
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