Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Sept 14, 2015

ANSWER: 108 m

Explanation:
A 108 m tall Buddha statue will be set up near Dev ni Mori in Shamiaji, north of Ahmedabad. This will be the second tallest Buddha statue in the world. The first tallest is the 153 m statue in China’s Spring Temple. It will also be the tallest statue of a sitting Buddha beating a 92m statue in Thailand. The historic site will cost INR 700 crores to build. The 100 acre site will have stupas, parks and monasteries as well.

ANSWER: Clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeats

Explanation:
CRIPR is a gene editing technique for human embryo modification. Developed by Sun Yat sen University in Guangzhou, this gene editing technology was used to edit 86 single cell embryos from fertility clinics. The gene editing tool can provide humans with the power to edit, add, replace, delete, activate or suppress specific genes. This can lead to editing of disease causing mutated genes and trait determining genes. CRISPR is used as a site specific DNA scissor where RNA is created for unzipping DNA strand which is then lodged in protein called Cas9 and the complex then chip away the DNA. The debate centers around whether CRISPR should be allowed because it can be used for editing germline or pluripotent stem cells.

ANSWER: Construction Waste

Explanation:
China will open its first express highway created from construction waste which will open in Shaanxi Province in China. This expressway is 122 km long and has a designed speed of 120 kmph. Total of 5.7 million tonne of construction waste was used for constructing the expressway. An average of 46,700 tonnes was used in each km. Use of recycled waste helped the project to avoid 3.4 million cubic meters of sand and combustion of 32,000 tonnes of coal. Land saved has created USD 47.07 million in benefits for the economy.

ANSWER: Gayatri Gopichand

Explanation:
Gopichand’s daughter Gayatri has created a new national record as the youngest shuttler to represent the nation in a prestigious tournament. She will represent India in the Asian Youth Badminton Championship held from October 7 to 11 in Indonesia. She won the U-13, U-15 singles and doubles title recently. Gayatri will represent India in the U-15 and U-17 singles and U-17 doubles with partner Vaishnavi Reddy.

ANSWER: Lin Dan-China

Explanation:
Chinese badminton legend Lin Dan has won the men’s singles title, prevailing over Viktor Axelsen of Denmark. Lin has won the Olympic medal 2 times and the world championship 5 times. He defeated the 21-year-old Dane 21-19, 16-21, 21-19. He looks to break the record of a third title at the 2016 Rio Olympics for which he has qualified.

ANSWER: Flavia Pennetta

Explanation:
Flavia Pennetta won her maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open. The 26th seeded player won 7-6, 7-4, 6-2 to become the second Italian to win a tennis major tournament. The 33 year old player from Brindisi beat fellow Italian player Roberta Vinci and announced her retirement following the victory.

ANSWER: Brad Smith

Explanation:
Microsoft has provided executive Brad Smith with a new leadership position as a president and chief legal officer. He was the executive VP of Microsoft since 2011. The 56 year old joined the company in 1993 and has held several positions including that of company secretary. He has been Microsoft’s General Counsel since 2002.

ANSWER: Neon

Explanation:
The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer NASA spacecraft has found neon which is a gas commonly used in electric signs in the thin lunar atmosphere. Its existence on the moon has been speculated since the Apollo Mission, and scientists have now solid proof of the existence of neon in relatively abundant qualities in the lunar atmosphere. The neon is not sufficient to make the moon glow as the latter’s atmosphere is around 100 trillion times less dense at sea level than earth’s atmosphere. A dense atmosphere results in gravity and it is rare in our solar system.

ANSWER: 5 Star Movement

Explanation:
The 5 Star movement/Movimento Cinque Stelle or M5S was founded six years ago by 67 year old maverick comedian Beppe Grillo and Gianroberto Casaleggio, a web strategist, on 4 October 2009. It gave way for the rise of anti-system parties across EU including Podemos in Spain and Syriza in Greece. The leader and candidate for 2018 elections will be chosen by ballot of online nature conducted among the members of this movement. In the European Parliament the M5S is under the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD) group. Its slogan is “One is worth one” and its headquarters are in Genoa.