Answers 3rd Dec 2010

Q1. DRDO recently created what was described as the world's most powerful non-nuclear explosive material. Name it.

A: CL-20. It's full name is Octa-Nitro-Cubane, is a Nitramine class of explosive 15 times as powerful as HMX that is currently used by the Indian armed forces. Ajai Shukla on CL-20 at Broadsword: http://ajaishukla.blogspot.com/2010/11/move-over-china-drdo-reverse-engineers.html

Correct answers: @Karmasura, @kirankarlmarx, @vikhrakula

Q2. Which drug is considered to be the main reason Africa ceased to be known as "white man's grave" & led to its colonization?

A: Quinine. It is an anti-malarial drug naturally extracted from the bark of the cinchona tree. Its medicinal properties were known to the Queccha Indians in Peru, and this knowledge was brought to Europe by Jesuit priests. It was first used to treat malaria in Rome in 1631 and later helped Europeans overcome the risk of malaria in Africa. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinine#History

Correct answers: @Karmasura, @prashanthkpp, @kirankarlmarx, @g_upadhyay, @quietist, @dubash

Q3. Which computer was the first to use a graphical user interface (GUI) ?

A: Xerox Alto. It was followed by Xerox Star, Apple Lisa and Macintosh 128k, all of which were among the first to use GUI commercially http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_graphical_user_interface#Xerox_PARC

Q4. Unscramble FRAROMNTEGIR -Hypothetical process of altering the environment of an alien planet to make it habitable for life

A: Terraforming, also called Planetary Engineering. It belongs very much to the realm of science fiction today (in James Cameron's "Aliens", for instance) and is quite impractical but in the distant future, it may prove important for the continuation of human civilization http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraforming

Correct answers: @prashanthkpp, @sashikanthd, @kirankarlmarx

Q5. The 1st use of the concepts in nanotechnology was in a 1959 talk There's Plenty Of Room At The Bottom by which physicist?

A: Richard Feynman. About the talk: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There's_Plenty_of_Room_at_the_Bottom#Impact | The transcript of the talk: http://www.zyvex.com/nanotech/feynman.html

Correct answers: @Karmasura, @prashanthkpp, @sashikanthd

Scores

@Karmasura 30
@prashanthkpp 30
@kirankarlmarx 30
@sashikanthd 20
@g_upadhyay 10
@quietist 10
@dubash 10
@vikhrakula 10