Biology quiz

1. Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) is a genetic disorder in which the adaptive immune system is defective. The victims are extremely vulnerable to infections, hence they have to be in a controlled environment. In 1976, a film was made with John Travolta playing a person who suffers from SCID. The title of the film alludes to how he has to live his life under constant control. What was the name of the film?

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2. According to researchers working on ‘Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis’ (ALS), a neurological disorder, the millions of dollars donated through this unlikely ‘challenge’ has given them the financial freedom to pursue ‘high-risk, high-reward’ experiments. Their risk paid off when this freedom allowed them to perform an experiment where they introduced a protein designed to mimic TDP-43 into the neurons of ALS patients, which resulted in the cells coming back to life and becoming fully restored. This could have the potential to slow down or even stop the ill effects of ALS, something that is currently not possible. What challenge was taken by thousands of people and shared on social media in 2014 that brought about the awareness and funds for this research?

3. Zbtb7 is a gene that acts as a master switch for cancer, and is responsible for the proliferation of cancer throughout surrounding cells. The gene was first written about in the January 2005 issue of Nature. It was originally called ‘X’, which referred to its full description, ‘POK erythroid myeloid ontogenic factor’, but it was changed after a lawsuit was threatened by an entertainment company. What is X, of which an augmented reality game version became a rage in 2018?

4. Gattaca is a 1997 American science-fiction film starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Jude Law. The film presents a dystopian future of discriminatory eugenics, where children are genetically modified to ensure they possess the best hereditary traits of their parents. What does the title Gattaca refer to?

5. In cell and molecular biology, the GFP gene is frequently used as a reporter of expression in organisms. Since its discovery by Roger Y Tsien, Osamu Shimomura, and Martin Chalfie, it has been expressed in many species, such as bacteria, yeasts, fungi, fish and mammals, and even in human cells. The discovery led to the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. What does GFP stand for, and from which animal, in which it can be clearly visualised, was it first isolated?

6. In 1970, Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard and Eric Wieschaus isolated mutations in genes that control development of the segmented anterior-posterior body axis of the fly, for which they got a Nobel in 1995. These genes code for intercellular signaling molecules, which are denoted by ‘Hh’. Hh gets its name from a (very cute) animal which the fruit fly embryo resembles when it lacks that gene. Fittingly, the gene is found in three types-Desert, Indian and Sonic. What does Hh stand for?

7. In zebrafish, this genetic mutation results in very small ears; in fruit flies the same mutation causes the wings to develop in a swirly pattern. The name of the mutation is a reference to a famous painter who had a troubled life. In case of the zebrafish gene, it subtly references an important event in the person’s life, while the fruit fly gene creates a wing pattern reminiscent of one of his most famous works. What is the name of the mutation?

8. A ‘borborygmus’ is produced by movement of the contents of the gastro-intestinal tract as they are propelled through the small intestine by a series of muscle contractions. They can usually be heard through a stethoscope, but sometimes can be loud enough to be heard outside. It is usually referred to as a sign of a particular condition, but in fact it points to proper functioning of the digestive system. How do we know the borborygmus more commonly, and what is the condition usually affixed to it?

ANSWERS:

1. The Boy in the Plastic Bubble

2. Ice-bucket Challenge

3. Pokemon

4. The four DNA bases-G, A,
T and C

5. Green Fluorescent Protein, Jellyfish

6. Hedgehog

7. Van Gogh mutation

8. Stomach grumble, hunger