🕒 5 min
Co-author: Mario Borna Mjertan
Greetings, S3 blog reader! We have prepared something special for you – an interactive quiz! The questions are varied, from physics to medicine, so don’t worry if you are not familiar with some terms, and try to answer anyway.
Each question has only one correct answer. When you choose the answer, you will see whether you got it right and get an additional explanation. Beneath each question there is also a link to the text from our blog that deals more with its respective topic. Have fun!
1. What is the main cholinergic messenger responsible for communication between neurons and information transfer in our nervous system?
Butyrylcholine
Dopamine
Acetylcholine
Noradrenaline
✔️ Correct answer!
Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter involved in neural pathways of memory and learning. Its reduced quantity is associated with the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, one of the possible ways to treat Alzheimer’s is to use medication that inhibits enzymes responsible for degradation of acetylcholine.
❌ Incorrect.
Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter involved in neural pathways of memory and learning. Its reduced quantity is associated with the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, one of the possible ways to treat Alzheimer’s is to use medication that inhibits enzymes responsible for degradation of acetylcholine.
2. When Andrew Wakefield started the antivax movement, he forged links between the MMR vaccine and which disease?
Muscle atrophy
Autism
ALS
Cerebral paralysis
✔️ Correct answer!
Andrew Wakefield, a former British physician, published a study in the renowned journal Lancet back in 1998. He modified patient histories (of 12 children) to link their developmental issues, which he characterized as autism, with the MMR vaccine.
❌ Incorrect.
Andrew Wakefield, a former British physician, published a study in the renowned journal Lancet back in 1998. He modified patient histories (of 12 children) to link their developmental issues, which he characterized as autism, with the MMR vaccine.
3. The principle of CRISPR/Cas9, gene-editing technology, was adapted from the natural defense mechanism of:
Viruses
Green euglena
Humans
Bacteria
✔️ Correct answer!
CRISPR/Cas9 is a defense mechanism of bacteria. When a virus (bacteriophage in this case) attacks the bacteria, the enzyme Cas9 acts like a pair of molecular scissors and cuts the viral DNA.
❌ Incorrect.
CRISPR/Cas9 is a defense mechanism of bacteria. When a virus (bacteriophage in this case) attacks the bacteria, the enzyme Cas9 acts like a pair of molecular scissors and cuts the viral DNA.
From dissections to CRISPR: animal use in biomedical research.
4. What are the first 6 digits of π?
3,14159
3,14195
3,14519
3,14951
✔️ Correct answer!
Although we most commonly round π to 2 decimals, sometimes we need a more precise value, while sometimes even the whole part of the number is enough.
❌ Incorrect.
Although we most commonly round π to 2 decimals, sometimes we need a more precise value, while sometimes even the whole part of the number is enough.
Why it’s sometimes okay to use 3 instead of π
5. Which element of the set of naturals is the only one that is not the successor of any natural number?
18
11
2
1
✔️ Correct answer!
One is the only element of ℕ that doesn’t have a successor, as there isn’t any smaller element from this set.
❌ Incorrect.
One is the only element of ℕ that doesn’t have a successor, as there isn’t any smaller element from this set.
6. Semantic memory is for remembering:
Episodic events
Motor skills
Abstract facts
Sound, smell and touch
✔️ Correct answer!
Semantic memory applies to remembering abstract facts, episodic memory to episodic events (or episodes) from our lives, motor skills are remembered through procedural memory, while sound, smell and touch are connected to sensory memory.
❌ Incorrect.
Semantic memory applies to remembering abstract facts, episodic memory to episodic events from our lives, motor skills are remembered through procedural memory, while sound, smell and touch are connected to sensory memory.
How do we learn and how do we remember?
7. How does blood flow through the body?
Left ventricle – aorta – capillaries – veins – right atrium – right ventricle – pulmonal arteries – capillaries in lungs – pulmonal veins – left atrium
Left ventricle – pulmonal arteries – capillaries in lungs – pulmonal veins – right atrium – right ventricle – aorta – capillaries – veins – left atrium
Left atrium – pulmonal veins – capillaries in lungs – pulmonal arteries – right ventricle – right atrium – veins – capillaries – aorta – left ventricle
Left atrium – veins – capillaries – aorta – right ventricle – right atrium – pulmonal veins – capillaries in lungs – pulmonal arteries – left ventricle
✔️ Correct answer!
Blood always flows through the four chambers of heart in the same direction. The chambers are separated by the heart valves.
❌ Incorrect.
Blood always flows through the four chambers of heart in the same direction. The chambers are separated by the heart valves.
Growth-accommodating implants – a breakthrough in medicine
8. Gravitational waves were proven directly using which modified instrument?
Polarimeter
Interferometer
Accelerator
Spectrometer
✔️ Correct answer!
More than a century after Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves, they were detected using the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO for short.
❌ Incorrect.
More than a century after Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves, they were detected using the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO for short.
Undetectable: On LIGO and the importance of experiment
9. Tumor heterogeneity manifests:
Between different tumor types
Between two people with the same type of tumor
Within one tumor in one person
Through all three above
✔️ Correct answer!
Because tumors vary so much, it is hard to find effective ways to treat cancer.
❌ Incorrect.
Because tumors vary so much, it is hard to find effective ways to treat cancer.
Patient tumor avatars improving treatment outcomes
10. Back in the 18th century, the Dutch explorer Roggeveen intended to find a new continent, the so-called Terra Australis, but ended up on which island in the Pacific Ocean?
New Guinea
Greenland
Easter Island
Bora Bora
✔️ Correct answer!
Roggeveen found an island full of huge head-shaped statues, exactly on Easter day 1722, known today as Easter Island.
❌ Incorrect.
Roggeveen found an island full of huge head-shaped statues, exactly on Easter day 1722, known today as Easter Island.
How did you score? Were you familiar with all the terms, or did you learn something new? Let us know in the comments below if you would like more quizzes like this!