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Vocabulary
How To
Genie Genes
Don't Get It
100
The debate over whether this is a form of life rages on, but the consensus is that it is not alive.
What are viruses?
100
The process in which a bacterium splits into two daughter cells to reproduce.
What is binary fission?
100
All living things have this at their cores. It provides the instructions for building the proteins that build life. Viruses also contain this.
What is genetic material?
100
This group of viruses is very quick to mutate. Every year, scientists have to decide which strains will be most common in the area and create a new set of vaccines against them. Most people view these shots as a large nuisance as they happen so often.
What is influenza? (AKA the flu)
200
A prokaryote with a cell wall but no organelles.
What is bacteria?
200
Two bacteria connect and the donor transfers genetic material to the recipient.
What is conjugation?
200
Some viruses have this simpler, more primitive and unstable version of DNA (DeoxyriboNucleic Acid) as their genetic material.
What is RNA (deoxyRiboNucleic Acid)?
200
This infectious disease is really just that, a dis-ease. It is caused by many different types of virus. In most people, the symptoms are not serious. It is extremely common, and is incurable and cannot be vaccinated against. The symptoms can be treated apart from the virus, and the primary method of prevention is simple hand washing.
What is the common cold?
300
A whiplike structure on a cell that allows the cell to move.
What are flagella?
300
A pathogen is weakened, killed, or has parts of it removed. It is then placed inside of a recipient (injection, oral pill, etc.) to elicit an immune response that builds immunity to the virus.
What is vaccination?
300
A circular loop of genetic material that holds an arbitrary number of genes. They are mobile and are separate from the main genome, and facilitate horizontal gene transfer, transmission of genes from one host to another without reproduction. Mostly found in bacteria.
What are plasmids?
300
This disease was what pushed Edward Jenner to develop the first vaccine. While humans were dying of it, Jenner noticed that another version of the disease was infecting cows, and the infection by the lesser disease caused protection from the greater disease. He then proceeded to inoculate a 8-yro test subject with the lesser disease and demonstrated his immunity to this disease.
What is smallpox?
400
Proteins on a cell's surface that receive chemical signals from the environment. Upon receiving a signal, they cause some sort of response. Many viruses have proteins on their surface that exploit this to let themselves enter a host.
What are receptors?
400
This class of drug is useful for killing bacteria, however using it when not needed can result in drug-resistant bacteria, and it does not act against viruses.
What are antibiotics?
400
To facilitate the transfer of genes, bacteria may express these structures on the capsule. These structures seek out other bacteria and attempt to copy genes into them.
What are pili?
400
This disease is the cause of many parents asking their children if their injuries came from rusty metal. There is no real link between rust and the infection, however any injury that creates dead skin (e.g. frostbite) can give way to infection. This is mostly because the environment around such a wound is devoid of oxygen, which is fatal to the bacteria that causes this disease.
What is tetanus?
500
The part of a virus that holds the genetic material for replication.
What is a capsid?
500
A virus enters a host cell and releases its genetic material. The host then proceeds to create more viruses in this process.
What is replication?
500
This class of virus uses a protein called "reverse-transcriptase." These viruses contain single stranded RNA. The reverse-transcriptase is responsible for reverse-transcribing this RNA into DNA, and then another protein is responsible for injecting this into the host genome, where the host inadvertently makes more viruses.
What is retrovirus?
500
These bacteria are very common in the human gut. They help the body digest food, generating vitamin K2 and protecting the gut from pathogenic bacteria. They compose .1% of the normal gut flora. But, if a pathogenic strain comes along, it can cause all kinds of food poisoning.
What is E. coli?