General Knowledge Questions

The artificial kidney is the dialysis machine. Blood from the body is fed into the machine which removes nitrogenous wastes like urea and returns the blood back to the body.People with renal failure have to use this machine.

• A 360-foot-high (110 metres) flag post, said to be the country's tallest, was inaugurated at the Indo-Pak Attari Border, just a stone's throw from Pakistan.
• Punjab Minister Anil Joshi inaugurated the country's largest tricolour on the tallest flag post - measuring 110 metres in length, 24 metres in width and 55 tons in weight. Built at an approximate cost of Rs 3.50 crore, the post was a project of the Amritsar Improvement Trust Authority of the Punjab Government.

The Kerala government has implemented Green Protocol for making weddings more naturally in the state. The purpose of the initiative is to reduce the use of plastic in daily life. With the implementation of the protocol, use of plastic and other non-degradable articles including disposable glasses and plates and thermocol decorations will be discouraged at marriage functions. Inspections will be held at marriage halls, convention centres and hotels and other venues of the wedding ceremony in this regard and action would be taken if the protocol is violated. The state nodal agency for sanitation ‘Suchitwa Mission’ has already launched the initiative in Kannur, Ernakulam, Kollam and Alappuzha on a pilot basis. As per officials, the protocol would be implemented in the rest of the districts soon.

IBM has unveiled the world's smallest computer - a device no bigger than a grain of salt. Presented at the company's Think 2018 conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, the unit measures just 1mm by 1mm but has the same processing power as the x86 chip that ran early Nineties IBM desktop computers.

The World Thalassaemia Day (WTD) is observed every year on May 8 to spread awareness about this deadly disease and the importance of blood donation and how it helps the millions of people suffering from Thalassemia worldwide. Thalassemia is genetic blood disorders characterised by reduction in the synthesis or absence of haemoglobin in the body. According to a WHO report, more than 90% patients with thalassaemia in western countries lead a normal life, whereas in India, roughly half of all patients die before reaching adulthood. Approx 3.9% of India’s population is a carrier for thalassemia. The 2017 theme ‘Together for Humanity’ highlights the need for unity and the efforts that are required to fight this fatal disease.

The time taken for the earth and the solar system to complete one journey round the Milky Way.