Railway Science (Biology – Miscellaneous)

Secondary consumers: The organisms that eat the primary consumers are meat eaters (carnivores). Trophic levels in a food chain: First trophic level - Producers. Second trophic level - Herbivores (Primary consumers). Third Trophic level - Carnivores (secondary consumers). Fourth trophic level - Predators (Tertiary consumers).

Food poisoning - Mostly caused by the consumption of food that is contaminated with bacteria/microorganisms (Salmonella, Listeria, or E.coli). Symptoms - Nausea, Bloody stool, Fever and Abdominal pain.
Chemical food preservatives - substances added to food to prevent spoilage and extend its shelf life. Example - Sodium benzoate, benzoic acid and potassium sorbates.

Genetic engineering (genetic modification) is the direct manipulation of an organism's genes using biotechnology. It is the application of biotechnology in food production.

They are those plants and animals that exist only in one geographical region. Endemic species in India - Asiatic Lion (Gir Forest), Kashmir Stag (Kashmir Valley), Lion-Tailed Macaque (Western Ghats), Sangai Deer (Loktak Lake), Nilgiri Tahr (Nilgiri Hills).
Rare species (Red panda, musk deer, snow leopard). Extinct species (Pink-headed duck, The Indian Auroch, Golden Toad). The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Categories - System for classifying species at high risk of global extinction.

Galapagos Islands - The islands are known for their famously fearless wildlife and as a source of inspiration for Darwin's Theory of Evolution. Carl Linnaeus (The Father of Taxonomy) - Introduced the binomial system of naming and classifying organisms. Ernst Haeckel coined the word ‘Ecology’ in 1866.

Cochlea is a fluid-filled, spiral-shaped cavity found in the inner ear that plays a vital role in the sense of hearing. Parts of the Eye - Cornea (clear outer part of the eye's focusing system located at the front of the eye); Iris (colored part of the eye that regulates the amount of light entering the eye); Pupil (opening at the center of the iris); Lens (clear part of the eye behind the iris that helps to focus light, or an image, on the retina); Optic nerve (carries impulses for sight from the retina to the brain).

Cyclone - 30 Became Operational at Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC), Kolkata. Cyclotrons are used to produce radioisotopes for diagnostic and therapeutic use for cancer care. It is a device used to accelerate charged particles like protons, α-particles, etc to very high energies.

Nobel prize: First awarded - 1901, Reward(s) - A gold-plated green gold medal, a diploma, and a monetary award of 10 million SEK (Currency of Sweden), Awarded for - Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Economics and Peace (Given in Norway).
Alfred Nobel - a Swedish chemist, engineer, and industrialist most famously known for the invention of dynamite.

The genetically engineered form of brinjal, known as the Bt-brinjal. Brinjal is a genetically modified (GM) crop created by inserting Cry1Ac gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis into Brinjal. Bt - brinjal was developed by Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company.

Antibiotics: Used to treat or prevent some types of bacterial infection. It kills bacteria or prevents them from spreading. They don't work against viral infections such as cold or flu. Types of antibiotics: Penicillins, Cephalosporins, Macrolides, Fluoroquinolones, Sulfonamides, Tetracycline.