Heredity and genetics (Modules 5 and 6) quiz

Half of every parental strand is enzymatically broken down and discarded once replication is complete

Only half the genome is copied each cell cycle while the remainder is held back

Replication conserves energy by skipping non-coding regions

Each new double helix contains one parental strand and one newly synthesised strand

DNA polymerase

Helicase

DNA ligase

RNA polymerase

A single nucleotide in mRNA that specifies one whole amino acid

Three nucleotides in mRNA coding for one amino acid

A pair of nucleotides forming the anticodon on tRNA

Three consecutive amino acids joined within a polypeptide

1:1 dominant to recessive phenotypes

9:3:3:1 across four phenotype classes

3:1 dominant to recessive

1:2:1 dominant to recessive phenotypes

The Y chromosome carries a matching dominant copy of every X-linked allele that masks the disorder

These disorders are inherited exclusively through maternal mitochondrial DNA

Recombination occurs far more frequently along the male Y chromosome

Males have only one X chromosome, so a single recessive allele is expressed

New combinations of alleles on the same chromosome through homologous recombination

Four genetically identical diploid daughter cells with no shuffling of alleles whatsoever

A permanent doubling of the chromosome number in each gamete produced

Heritable point mutations arising within the mitochondrial genome

Intact living cells to host the reaction in vivo

A heat-stable DNA polymerase such as Taq

A continuous supply of glucose as the reaction's energy source

Restriction enzymes to cut the template before each cycle

It directly catalyses the formation of every peptide bond within the ribosome

It serves as the cell's permanent long-term archive of genetic information

It carries the genetic message from nucleus to ribosome for translation

It ferries individual amino acids to the ribosome during synthesis

Always lethal to the developing organism without exception

Consistently more disruptive to the phenotype than any coding-region mutation

Always inherited in a strictly dominant Mendelian pattern

Often silent at the protein level but may affect splicing or regulation

Phenotypic differences that affect survival and reproduction

Genotypes directly, sorting hidden alleles before they are ever expressed

Individual mutations at the moment they first arise in the DNA

Allele frequencies as they shift within a single organism's lifetime

Diagnosing bacterial and viral infections in the bloodstream

Identifying somatic mutations and guiding targeted therapy

Predicting regional weather patterns from genomic data

Completely replacing the need for any surgical intervention

Biotechnology is a very complex and interesting topic with many different sides, and in this essay I will try to look at quite a few of them in a general way as best I can.

In the following paragraphs I will discuss several different biotechnologies one after another.

Recombinant DNA technology has transformed both medicine and agriculture, with insulin production and Bt crops illustrating the social and ethical trade-offs of the field.

Biotechnology has always existed in some form throughout human history.