🕒 6 min
Co-author: Mario Borna Mjertan
Greetings, S3 blog reader! Our interactive quiz strikes again! As with our first quiz (check it out if you haven’t already), the questions are varied, this time from literature to pharmacology. Once again, don’t worry if you are not familiar with some terms, 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 a link to the text from our blog that deals more with its respective topic. Have fun!
1. Who wrote “A Short History of Nearly Everything”?
Richard Holmes
Zehra Husain
Bill Bryson
Daniel J. Boorstin
✔️ Correct answer!
Bill Bryson is an American-British author of books on travel, the English language, science, and other nonfiction topics. In his most famous book, “A Short History of Nearly Everything”, he promises to (briefly) cover the biggest, broadest subjects of all.
❌ Incorrect.
Bill Bryson is an American-British author of books on travel, the English language, science, and other nonfiction topics. In his most famous book, “A Short History of Nearly Everything”, he promises to (briefly) cover the biggest, broadest subjects of all.
2. Which of the following is a radiation diagnostic technique?:
X-ray scanning
Scintigraphy
CT scan
All of the above
✔️ Correct answer!
X-ray scanning, scintigraphy and CT scanning are all types of radiation diagnostic techniques in medicine.
❌ Incorrect.
X-ray scanning, scintigraphy and CT scanning are all types of radiation diagnostic techniques in medicine.
From Röntgen to Damadian: demystifying radiation and explaining radiology and nuclear medicine
3. The absorption of active substances from the periphery is NOT affected by the:
Concentration of the active substance
Alkalinity of the medium in which we want the absorption to take place
Size and chemical composition of the active substance
Presence of food when medication is administered through inhalation
✔️ Correct answer!
Substance absorption is commonly affected by the very nature of the active substance, the pH of the medium in which we want the absorption to take place, by the presence of food when medication is applied orally, respiration rate when administered through inhalation, tissue blood flow when applied intravenously and intranasally, as well as skin damage for transdermal medication.
❌ Incorrect.
Substance absorption is commonly affected by the very nature of the active substance, the pH of the medium in which we want the absorption to take place, by the presence of food when medication is applied orally, respiration rate when administered through inhalation, tissue blood flow when applied intravenously and intranasally, as well as skin damage for transdermal medication.
4. In the gene-editing technology CRISPR/Cas9, Cas9 serves as:
Nuclease
Telomerase
RNA polymerase
Methyltransferase
✔️ Correct answer!
Cas9 is a nuclease, an enzyme that can cut nucleic acids, DNA and RNA. That is why we call Cas9 “molecular scissors”.
❌ Incorrect.
Cas9 is a nuclease, an enzyme that can cut nucleic acids, DNA and RNA. That is why we call Cas9 “molecular scissors”.
The Story of CRISPR: Discovery and the origin of the name
5. In the book “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat”, Oliver Sacks writes about:
A man who married a hat
A patient whose perception was gone and he saw his own wife as a hat
A man who packed his wife in a suitcase instead of a hat
A man who bought hats for his wife
✔️ Correct answer!
In this book, neurologist Oliver Sacks describes in details some of the most interesting psychiatric patients he encountered during his career. the book itself, for example, got its name after a patient whose perception was gone, so he started thinking of objects as people, even seeing his own wife as a hat.
❌ Incorrect.
In this book, neurologist Oliver Sacks describes in details some of the most interesting psychiatric patients he encountered during his career. The book itself, for example, got its name after a patient whose perception was gone, so he started thinking of objects as people, even seeing his own wife as a hat.
6. What is Dune?
A planet
A book by Frank Herbert
A formation of sand
All of the above
✔️ Correct answer!
“Dune” is the title of the Frank Herbert book which has been all the rage recently due to its long-awaited new film adaptation being released. The eponymous “Dune” is a planet also known as Arrakis. Dunes occupy many places on Earth in the form of sand dunes.
❌ Incorrect.
“Dune” is the title of the Frank Herbert book which has been all the rage recently due to its long-awaited new film adaptation being released. The eponymous “Dune” is a planet also known as Arrakis. Dunes occupy many places on Earth in the form of sand dunes.
7. In which part of the cell is energy generated?
Mitochondria
Lysosome
Nucleus
Golgi apparatus
✔️ Correct answer!
All eukaryotic cells contain mitochondria, a special part of the cell where many chemical reactions occur. For example, that’s where all the energy is generated from glucose.
❌ Incorrect.
All eukaryotic cells contain mitochondria, a special part of the cell where many chemical reactions occur. For example, that’s where all the energy is generated from glucose.
Ultrasound, magnetic fields and brain tumors – only fiction or a possible reality?
8. What do bacteria need to cut foreign DNA?
Cas9
tracrRNA
crRNA
All of the above
✔️ Correct answer!
Only one nuclease, Cas9, along with tracrRNA and crRNA, is all that is needed to cut foreign DNA, and this – amazingly enough – holds true for all bacteria.
❌ Incorrect.
Only one nuclease, Cas9, along with tracrRNA and crRNA, is all that is needed to cut foreign DNA, and this – amazingly enough – holds true for all bacteria.
The Story of CRISPR – Part Two: Bacterial immunity
9. The first clinical trial was described:
By a physician James Lind
In Ancient Greece
By a monk Gregor Mendel
In the Bible
✔️ Correct answer!
Many would be surprised to discover that the first clinical trial was described in The Bible, in the Book of Daniel. According to the text, king Nebuchadnezzar unintentionally conducted an uncontrolled medical experiment.
❌ Incorrect.
Many would be surprised to discover that the first clinical trial was described in The Bible, in the Book of Daniel. According to the text, king Nebuchadnezzar unintentionally conducted an uncontrolled medical experiment.
Clinical Trials – Part One: Medical Research
10. What is “junk” DNA?
A portion of a gene that codes for amino acids
The end of a chromosome
Highly repetitive heterochromatin section, poor in genes and scattered throughout the genome
Gene section that contains the code necessary to begin the process of transcribing the DNA message into mRNA
✔️ Correct answer!
“Junk” DNA are highly repetitive heterochromatin sections, poor in genes and scattered throughout the genome, also known as transposons.
❌ Incorrect.
“Junk” DNA are highly repetitive heterochromatin sections, poor in genes and scattered throughout the genome, also known as transposons.
Jelena Tica: “Don’t be afraid to dream big and keep trying no matter what!”
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 like doing our quizzes!