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Question 1:
Jaguars, Lions and Tigers are all members of which biological genus?
Options: A) Panthera B) Felis C) Tigera D) Pardus
Answer: A) Panthera
Explanation: It is a common misconception that panthers are a species of the Felidae family (often referred to as cats). Panthers are ancient greek mythical creatures. They were believed to emit a sweet smelling door to attract their prey (the dragon being the only creature immune). A ‘black panther’ is therefore not a species in itself, but rather a black cat of the panthera genus, such as a black leopard (found in Asia and Africa) or a black jaguar (found in the Americas).
Question 2:
What is a human's longest bone?
Options: A) Tibia B) Fibula C) Femur D) Humerus
Answer: C) Femur
Explanation: The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone to form the hip joint. Meanwhile, the distal part of the femur articulates with the tibia and the kneecap to form the knee joint.
Question 3:
Which of these animals is not extinct?
Options: A) Saber-Toothed
Tiger B) Dodo
C) Komodo Dragon D) Great Auk
Answer: C) Komodo Dragon
Explanation: The dodo was a flightless bird endemic to Mauritius that became extinct in 1662.
The sober-toothed tiger is thought to have lived in the Americas between 2.5 Million - 10,000 years ago. It most likely became extinct following the extinction of large herbivores, resulting in a shortage of food.
The great auk was another flightless bird that only became extinct in 1852. It resembled the modern penguin in appearance and mainly populated the coasts of The United Kingdom, Greenland and Iceland.
The Komodo dragon is a scary creature you wouldn’t want to stumble across. Komodo dragons live on the island of Komodo, Indonesia, and can measure up to 10ft in length and weigh over 100kg. They cultivate a highly septic bacterium in their teeth, which, following a bite, infects prey and kills it within an hour. The blood plasma of Komodo dragons contains an antibacterial peptide called VK25 that confers immunity to the pathogen.
Question 4: Which of these diseases is not caused by faulty genomic imprinting?
Options: A) Prader-Willi syndrome B) Ehlers-Danlos syndrome C) Angelman syndrome D) Beckwith-Weidemann syndrome
Answer: B) Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
Explanation: Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a disease of the connective tissue associated with loose and painful joints, stretchy skin and abnormal scar formation. It is caused by mutations in the COL12A1 gene, which encodes the collagen alpha-1(XII) chain.
Diploid organisms like humans contain two copies of each gene, one inherited from each parent. However, in ~1% of protein-coding genes, only one of the two copies is expressed. Genomic imprinting is the epigenetic phenomenon by which genes are differentially expressed on a parent-of-origin basis. For example, the gene encoding insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) is only expressed from the allele inherited from the father. The mechanisms by which genes are imprinted are DNA methylation, chromatin remodelling, and non-coding RNA signalling.
Faulty genomic imprinting can cause disease. Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is a disorder characterised by intellectual impairment, behavioural problems and constant hunger, resulting in obesity. This occurs when part of the paternal chromosome 15 if mistakenly imprinted. Faulty imprinting of the maternal chromosome 15 in a similar region causes Angelman syndrome (AS), which mainly affects the nervous system. AS patients have severe intellectual disabilities, speaking problems and often laugh uncontrollably.
Beckwith–Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) is a disease characterised by an increased risk of childhood cancer and certain congenital features. BWS can be caused by maternal chromosome 11 translocations, but also by paternal uniparental disomy of chromosome 11, meaning that the maternal copy is mistakenly imprinted, while expression from the paternal copy is duplicated.
Question 5: Which best describes the genetic disorder Haemophilia A?
Options: A) X-linked B) Dominant C) Recessive D) Chromosomal Translocation
Answer: A) X-linked
Explanation: Haemophilia is a genetic disorder that impairs the body’s ability to efficiently clot blot. This results in excessive bleeding from wounds, easy bruising, and an increased risk of bleeding inside joints or the brain. Haemophilia A is the result of insufficient production of clotting factor VIII. The gene encoding this clotting factor is located on the X chromosome. Therefore, the inheritance patter is sex-linked. Alexei Nikolaevich was the last Tsesarevich of the Russian Empire and was well known for having been cured of haemophilia by the faith healer Grigori Rasputin.
Question 5: Which sex chromosome combination is seen in Turner syndrome (TS) patients?
Options: A) XXY B) XO C) XXY D) YO
Answer: B) XO
Explanation: Most humans have 46 chromosomes; females have an XX sex chromosome arrangement, while males have an XY. During female embryonic development, one X chromosome is silenced at random in each cell by being packaged into transcriptionally inactive heterochromatin. This is called X-chromosome inactivation ensures that each gene is only expressed from one X-chromosome in each cell. Turner syndrome is a genetic condition in which a female is missing an X-chromosome, resulting in a karyotype of 45 chromosomes. If any other chromosome was missing, embryonic development wouldn’t be possible. However, because only one transcriptionally active X-chromosome is needed, the phenotype of Turner syndrome is not fatal. The typical symptoms of TS include a short stature with a short neck, swollen and feet and infertility. Patients are also at an increased risk of having heart defects, diabetes, and low thyroid hormone. Around 0.05% of women suffer from TS.
In contrast, Klinefelter syndrome (KS) patients are males with two (or more) X-chromosomes, resulting in an XXY sex chromosome composition and a total chromosome number of 47. KS patients are infertile and have poorly functioning testicles. Other symptoms may include muscle weakness, reduced body hair, breast growth. Often, Klinefelter syndrome symptoms can be subtle, resulting in diagnosis occurring as late as at the onset of puberty. Around 0.2% of men suffer from KS.
Question 7: Which two planets in our solar system have no moons?
Answer: Mercury and Venus
Earth: 1 moon — Mars: 2 moons — Jupiter: 79 moons — Saturn: 53 moons (+29 more for confirmation = 82) — Uranus : 27 moons — Neptune: 14 moons
Question 8: Which of the following is the only multicellular animal without a nervous system?
Options: A) Jellyfish B) Sea Cucumber C) Sponge D) Sea Urchin
Answer: C) Sponge
Explanation: Believe it or not, sponges are animals. They were first to branch off the evolutionary tree from the common ancestor of all animals, making them the sister group of all other animals. They have no nervous, digestive or circulatory systems. Instead, they rely on maintaining a constant water flow through their bodies to obtain food and oxygen and to remove wastes. Interestingly, the giant octopus actually has 9 brains, 3 hearts and blue blood.
Question 9: Which of the following viruses has been eradicated?
Options: A) Smallpox B) Polio C) Rubella D) Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV)
Answer: A) Smallpox
Explanation: The last recorded case of smallpox was in 1977. The initial symptoms of smallpox included fever and vomiting. This was followed by the formation of sores and painful skin rashes. The smallpox virus killed ~30% of the people it infected. It is estimated that smallpox killed ~300 million people throughout the 20th century. The smallpox vaccine played a role in eradicating the virus, by creating herd immunity.
Question 10: How is flagella rotation powered in E. coli?
Options: A) Sodium-Potassium pumps B) ATP C) Light absorption D) Proton electrochemical gradient
Answer: D) Proton electrochemical gradient
Explanation: Flagella are tail-like protrusions present in some prokaryotic (e.g. Helicobacter) and eukaryotic (e.g. sperm cells) organisms. In bacteria, these can be used to ‘swim’ to the site of infection as through thicker media such as mucus. Flagellar rotation is powered by the movement of protons along an electrochemical gradient through the rotor domain of the flagellar motor.
References
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2) En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Dodo. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodo [Accessed 20 Jan. 2020].
3) En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Femur. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Femur [Accessed 28 Jan. 2020].
4) En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Great auk. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_auk [Accessed 20 Jan. 2020].
5) Horsthemke, B. (2014). In Brief: Genomic imprinting and imprinting diseases. The Journal of Pathology, 232(5), pp.485-487.
6) Spaceplace.nasa.gov. (2020). How Many Moons? | NASA Space Place – NASA Science for Kids. [online] Available at: https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/how-many-moons/en/ [Accessed 20 Jan. 2020].
7) Mayo Clinic. (2020). Klinefelter syndrome - Symptoms and causes. [online] Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/klinefelter-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20353949 [Accessed 20 Jan. 2020].
8) En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Komodo dragon. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon [Accessed 20 Jan. 2020].
9) Manson, M., Tedesco, P., Berg, H., Harold, F. and Van der Drift, C. (1977). A protonmotive force drives bacterial flagella. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 74(7), pp.3060-3064.
10) En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Panthera. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panthera [Accessed 20 Jan. 2020].
11) Paul, Y. (2004). Herd immunity and herd protection. Vaccine, 22(3-4), pp.301-302.
12) Reference, G. (2020). Hemophilia. [online] Genetics Home Reference. Available at: https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/hemophilia [Accessed 20 Jan. 2020].
13) Reference, G. (2020). Turner syndrome. [online] Genetics Home Reference. Available at: https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/turner-syndrome [Accessed 20 Jan. 2020].
14) En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Saber-toothed cat. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saber-toothed_cat [Accessed 20 Jan. 2020].
15) En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Sponge. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sponge [Accessed 20 Jan. 2020].