Deck 24: The New Science of Life: Can We Cure Cancer

Question 1

Strawberries have been genetically engineered

A) as hybrids with blueberries.
B) in a variety of colors.
C) to resist frost.
D) for faster growth.
E) for medical research.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Genetic diseases are usually caused by

A) the presence of a particular enzyme.
B) the lack of a particular protein.
C) an incorrect sequence of bases in a gene.
D) a defective gene on chromosome 7.
E) the lack of a particular protein and an incorrect sequence of bases in a gene.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) sequences
1) do not code for a specific amino acid.
2) are repeated "nonsense" phrases of DNA bases.
3) repeat up to 256 times, depending on the individual.
4) all of these are correct.

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4
E) Only 2 and 3

Answer 3

4

Question 4

What is cancer?

A) a potentially fatal bacterial infection
B) a disease characterized by rampant cell growth
C) a genetic defect expressed in bone or tissue
D) a condition in which cell membranes disintegrate
E) a disease caused by an injury to the mitochondria

Question 5

A cancerous cell

A) is ingested when a person consumes genetically engineered tomatoes and corn.
B) is a natural occurrence in most people.
C) is a normal cell that has experienced chromosomal damage.
D) is not common in persons with genetic defects.
E) all of these are correct.

Question 6

What is distinctive about the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)?

A) This virus destroys the body's main defense system.
B) Research on the Human Immunodeficiency Virus is at the molecular level and on a global scale.
C) The HIV has two protein coats with different functions.
D) Research to block the HIV life cycle has led to the successful development of protease inhibiters.
E) all of these are correct

Question 7

DNA can be found in all samples except

A) saliva.
B) blood.
C) semen.
D) hair shaft.
E) skin.

Question 8

What has affected the preliminary results from some recently initiated gene therapy trials?

A) The laboratories have not had enough time to develop a gene-therapy protocol.
B) Congress is hesitant to fund any more experimental programs at the National Institutes of Health.
C) Cells into which corrected genes are introduced cannot find and copy these genes to make new proteins.
D) There is a voluntary moratorium on gene therapy research because of the fear of introducing a toxic gene into the environment.
E) Drug companies are stalling the research projects until they can get assurances about development patents.

Question 9

How do most modern medicines work?

A) When patients have faith in their doctors, medicines will bring about desired physical changes.
B) Medicines are molecules shaped in a way that can alter cell chemistry.
C) All medicines are essentially placebos; patients ultimately heal themselves.
D) All of these describe how medicines work.
E) None of these describes how medicines work.

Question 10

The "accurate but cumbersome" method of DNA fingerprinting of the 1990s was replaced by a new method called STR, the database for which was established by

A) a group of defense attorneys.
B) lawyers in a well-publicized murder trial.
C) the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
D) people concerned that some ethnic groups share key DNA characteristics.
E) people who can afford DNA testing, which is only the rich.

Question 11

DNA fingerprinting works to identify criminals because

A) all individuals have the same DNA.
B) no two individuals, except for identical twins, have the same DNA.
C) all individuals have unique DNA.
D) DNA samples are readily available from suspects.
E) DNA can be used to create a criminal profile.

Question 12

Which of the following can damage DNA?

A) the byproducts of cellular respiration
B) several varieties of oxidants
C) molecules from some processed foods
D) high energy radiation
E) all of these are correct

Question 13

What does a protease inhibitor do?

A) dissolves the virus wall in HIV
B) enhances the body's auto immune system
C) blocks the enzyme that controls insertion of HIV material into the cell
D) protects the organism from infection
E) cuts the HIV into many pieces

Question 14

Since the advent of gene therapy for genetic diseases, some

A) general practitioners have been more successful in curing some inherited diseases.
B) physicians have disregarded symptom-based treatment in favor of biotechnology.
C) Health Management Organizations have funded most of the experimental treatments and genetic research projects.
D) clinics have reported positive results doing in vitro gene therapy research.
E) new medical techniques for widespread diseases have been perfected.

Question 15

Which procedure would forensic scientists use when the laboratory needs a larger sample of DNA to run an analysis?

A) radioactive isotope tagging
B) variable number tandem repeats (VNTR)
C) cloning
D) polymerase chain reactions (PCR)
E) gene splicing

Question 16

What is a point defect?

A) the byproduct of cellular respiration
B) a mistake in the order of DNA bases
C) a slip in the DNA strand
D) an enzyme patrolling the cytoplasm
E) a mismatch in the double helix at a site

Question 17

Computer Assisted Drug Design is expanding because of

A) environmental efforts to save the tropical rain forests.
B) early success in the development of protease inhibitors.
C) better "cork" and "bottle" analogies.
D) advances in the search techniques for natural molecules.
E) tighter quality control in the computer industries.

Question 18

What is the underlying principle of biotechnology?

A) All life is based on the same genetic code.
B) Plant and animal genes are not interchangeable.
C) Bacteria are the "workhorses" of the molecular world.
D) Scientists need a strong moral code to work as genetic engineers.
E) Selective breeding must be carefully controlled.

Question 19

What is a marketed use of genetic engineering?

A) crops that manufacture natural insect repellents
B) insulin
C) controlling weeds through no-plow agriculture
D) cleaning up oil spills
E) all of these are correct

Question 20

According to recent scientific research, how many times a day does the DNA in each body cell need to be repaired?

A) 10
B) 100
C) 1,000
D) 10,000
E) 100,000

Question 21

Outline the arguments and controversy about stem cell research.

Question 22

What is the difference between in vitro and in vivo gene therapy?

A) In vivo is a computer-designed procedure that has never been tried while in vitro has been in practice for two decades.
B) In vivo is a process completed outside the human body and in vitro takes place inside the human body.
C) In vitro is a process completed outside the human body and in vivo takes place inside the human body.
D) In vitro is a computer-designed procedure that has never been tried while in vivo has been in practice two decades.
E) These procedures are the same.

Question 23

How does a protease inhibitor control the virus that causes AIDS?

Question 24

How is the anthrax spore made into a weapon?

Question 25

What three agencies in the U.S. control the manufacture of genetically modified organisms?

Question 26

How many times would you have to go through the PCR process to multiply the original supply of DNA by a million?

A) 10
B) 20
C) 30
D) 40
E) 50

Question 27

In the U.S., are a significant number of crops genetically engineered? Cite some examples.

Question 28

What is therapeutic cloning?

Question 29

How does a cell repair itself in a natural system?

Question 30

How is a cancer cell different from a normal cell?

Question 31

What kind of clinical trials work best to validate the results of a medical experiment?

Question 32

What is Computer Assisted Drug Design (CADD)? How does it work?

Question 33

Why are genetic researchers not worried about the bacteria E. coli escaping into the natural environment?

A) E. coli is a harmless bacteria outside the human intestine.
B) The research strain of E. coli bacteria is dependent on a laboratory environment to survive.
C) Researchers have developed an antibiotic spray for any and all possible E. coli mutations.
D) Laboratory researchers have a triple fail-safe protocol for containing E. coli bacteria.
E) E. coli has a gene that causes it to be sterile in a natural environment.

Question 34

Describe the procedure used to clone "Dolly," the sheep.

Question 35

An example of an animal that has cells that can dedifferentiate at the site of an injury is

A) monkey
B) human
C) dog
D) newt
E) kangaroo

Question 36

What is the common feature of all DNA fingerprinting techniques?

Question 37

Stem cells are called __________ cells.

A) chromosomes
B) gastrula
C) pluripotent
D) Parkinson's
E) therapeutic

Question 38

How is a molecule's geometry used to an advantage in Computer Assisted Drug Design?

Question 39

What is the definition of genetic engineering?

Question 40

Explain the statement "Whenever fundamental new insights into the workings of nature have been gained in the past, major changes in the human condition have followed."

Question 41

What does it mean when geneticists say "daughtering out" or "son out"?

Question 42

How long does the human embryo possess stem cells?

Question 43

What is the danger of commercial and natural pesticides?

Question 44

Regarding cells in the developing human embryo, what is differentiation?

Question 45

Describe a double-blind clinical trial.

Question 46

What is SCID and what is its origin as a disease? What is the result of SCID?

Question 47

What is the medical potential for use of a regenerative medicine process called dedifferentiation?

Question 48

Briefly describe the field of regenerative medicine.

Question 49

How do genetic defects promote cancer in many individuals who were born with these defects?

Question 50

Can cells repair damaged DNA? Explain.