Studied by 22 people
What is bioinformatics?
Computational techniques for solving biological problems
What is biotechnology?
the use of biological agents for technological advancement.
What are the fields of biotechnology?
Medicine, agriculture, fermentation, oil spill treatments, production of biofuels
What are proteomics
The study of entire set of proteins in a given organism
What is genomics?
the study of entire genomes
Why was the discovery of DNA so important?
understand DNA replication, allows scientists to find genetic diseases
Why clone DNA?
target genes and find cures
What type of diseases has technology led us to study? (cloning)
Pulmonary Fibrosis
How do you interpret a BLAST output?
Give info on all sequences that have been found and stored in NCBI; most (top to least)
What does the percent sequence identity mean?
How identical the two strands are across the nucleic and amino acid sequence
How are protein and gene sequences represented in Computational Biology?
Amino acids represented using strings of alphabets; DNA = ATCG
What is the plasma membrane?
phospholipid bilayer/fluid mosaic model; defines borders and keeps cells functional by being selectively permeable; allows some materials to enter
What are the principal components of plasma membrane?
Lipids, carbohydrates, proteins
Why is the cell surface important?
It provides protection by controlling what enters and leaves the cell like recognizing foreign cells (like facial features); glycoproteins and glycolipids found
What is active transport?
require the cell’s energy, low to high concentration, works against diffusion
What is passive transport?
does not require cell energy, high to low concentration, diffusion
What is endocytosis?
cell membrane engulfs external substances and brings them into the cell
What are the different types of endocytosis?
Phagocytosis (cell "eating" = large) and pinocytosis (cell "drinking" = small )
What is exocytosis?
vesicles containing substances fuse with the plasma membrane and the contents are released to the exterior of the cell
How many cells are in the human body?
37.2 trillion
What is the difference between integral and peripheral proteins?
Integral proteins integrate into membrane structure vs peripheral proteins found on the exterior and interior surfaces of the membrane (attach)
What are examples of integral proteins?
Transport proteins, channel proteins, carrier protein, aquaporins
What are examples of peripheral proteins?
Glycoproteins
What is cell signaling and why is it important?
part of any communication process that governs basic activities of cells and coordinates all cell actions.
Errors in signaling interactions and cellular info processing are responsible for diseases (cancer, diabetes, autoimmunity)
Diseases treated more effectively and theoretically, artificial tissues maybe created
What is the process of cell signaling as it occurs in receptor tyrosine kinases?
Signaling molecules bind to receptor
Receptors dimerize
Tyrosine resides are phosphorylated
Triggers a downstream cellular response
What is phosphorylation?
addition of a phosphate group
What are second messengers?
molecule that helps activate something (specific termination)
What is phospholipase C?
an enzyme that facilitates the breakdown of PIP2 and DAG, which are both second messengers
What are some responses to cell signals?
Gene expression (transcription of RNA), increase in cellular metabolism (muscle cells), cell growth (cell divison ), cell death (apoptosis), termination of signal cascade
What is Respiration?
molecular process that breaks down glucose, produces waste products, and energy
What is ATP and how is it used by the cell as an energy source?
makes energy and provides fuel for the body
What is glycolysis?
breakdown of glucose by enzymes, releasing energy and pyruvic acid
What are the two phases of glycolysis?
Step 1: (energy required) uses two ATP molecules in the phosphorylation of glucose, which is then split into three-carbon molecules Step 2: (energy releasing) involved phosphorylation without ATP investment and produces two NADH and four ATP molecules per glucose
What is the outcome of glycolysis?
4 new ATP molecules and 2 molecules of NADH
What is a rate-limiting enzyme?
an enzyme that regulates the rate of a metabolic pathway
What are some examples of a rate-limiting enzyme?
phosphofructokinase, pyruvate kinase
What is the electron transport chain?
series of electron transported embedded in inner mitochondrial membrane that shuttles electrons from NADH and FADH2 to molecular oxygen
What is lactic fermentation?
method used by animals and certain bacteria like yogurt
What is metabolism?
All the chemical reactions that take place inside cells including those that use energy and release energy
What is a metabolic pathway?
Series of interconnected biochemical reactions that convert a substrate molecule(s), step-by-step, through series of metabolic intermediates, eventually yielding a final product(s)
What happens during the glycolysis cycle?
breakdown of glucose in order to obtain ATP
What happens during the oxidative phosphorylation cycle?
disposal of electrons released by glycolysis and citric acid cycle
What happens during the krebs cycle / citric acid cycle?
acetyl-CoA oxidation in order to obtain GTP and valuable intermediates
What is an enzyme?
substance that lowers the activation energy of a reaction, but does not change the free energy of the reaction
What is a coenzyme?
small organic molecule which enhances activity of an enzyme; ex: vitamins
What is a cofactor?
non-protein channel chemical compound / metallic ion that is required for an enzymes activity
What is a substrate?
chemical reactants to which an enzyme binds
What is energy coupling?
transfer of energy from catabolism to anabolism / transfer of energy from exergonic process to endergonic process
What is activation energy?
energy required for a reaction to proceed, and it's lower if reaction catalyzed
What is kinetic energy?
energy associated w/ objects in motion; ex: airplane in flight
What is potential energy?
potential to do work
What is chemical energy?
providing living cells w/ energy from food; the release of energy is brought by breaking molecular bonds w/in fuel molecules (stored)
What are some examples of kinetic energy?
Moving water from a waterfall, an airplane in flight, a speeding bullet, a walking person, rapids molecule movement in the air, and electromagnetic radiation
What are some examples of potential energy?
suspended wrecking ball, water behind a dam
What are some examples of chemical energy?
The molecules in gasoline
What are the primary functions of the respiratory system?
deliver oxygen to cells of the body's tissue and remove carbon dioxide, a cell waste product
What are the structural components of the respiratory system?
nasal cavity, the trachea, and lungs
Why is hemoglobin so important?
carries oxygen to cells and carbon dioxide to lungs
What is the role of circulation within the immune system?
carries immune cells to destinations
What are examples of obstructive lung diseases?
COPD, Asthma, Bronchiectasis
What are examples of restrictive lung diseases?
Intestinal lung disease, scoliosis, neuromuscular cause, marked obesity
What is the difference between obstructive and restrictive lung diseases?
obstruction is reduction in airflow vs restrictive is reduction in lung volume
What is the process of blood flow to the heart and to the body?
Blood is pushed through by pumping the heart. First the aorta --> blood travels ---> arteries --> arterioles --> capillary beds
What are the differences between arteries, veins, and capillaries?
Arteries take blood away from the heart. Veins are blood vessels that bring blood black to the heart. Capillaries connect veins and arteries and smallest.
Which organisms use diffusion as a means of obtaining oxygen?
Human circulatory system
What are the types of circulatory systems?
systemic, pulmonary, and coronary circuits
What are examples of organisms that have circulatory systems?
Fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals/birds
All of the DNA within a genome encodes protein.
False
What major development in 1988 became the starting point for curating bioinformatic resources?
NCBI
For the purposes of Bioinformatics, a single strand of DNA can be thought of as a string of bases comprised of A, T, C, and P.
False
Cells build their protein from __ different amino acids.
20
Books and articles are considered important types of databases.
False
An organism's genome contains genes
True
Which of the following contains instructions for making proteins?
Genes
Which plasma membrane component can be either found on its surface or embedded in the membrane structure?
Protein
Which of the following is not an example of an energy transformation?
Turning on a light switch
Which transport mechanism can bring whole cells into a cell?
phagocytosis
What happens to the membrane of a vesicle after exocytosis?
It fuses with and becomes part of the plasma membrane.
Which of the following statements about the control of enzyme activity by phosphorylation is correct?
Phosphorylation of an enzyme results in a conformational change.
In what important way does receptor-mediated endocytosis differ from phagocytosis?
It brings in only a specifically targeted substance.
Which of the following enzyme catalyzes the first step of glycolysis?
Hexokinase
Which of the following is not true about enzymes:
They increase delta G of reactions.
Which of the following statements about the regulation of a metabolic pathway is correct?
Most metabolic pathways are regulated.
Which of the following statements about the control of enzyme activity by phosphorylation is correct?
Phosphorylation of an enzyme results in a conformational change.
Which type of metabolic fuel is utilized for generating glucose under conditions of severe starvation?
Amino Acids
Which of the following plasma membrane receptors activate signaling pathways usually by forming molecular dimers that result in protein phosphorylation reactions upon binding of their specific ligand?
Receptor tyrosine kinases
Enzymes lower the reaction's activation energy but do not change the reaction's free energy.
True
In the capillaries and veins, the blood pressure continues to decrease but velocity increases.
True
What condition was discussed in class as arising during prolonged exposure to high altitude such as in aviation?
hypoxia
Boyle's law states that pressure and ratio are inversely related.
False
Which of the following correctly lists the 3 circuits of the mammalian circulatory system?
systemic, pulmonary and coronary
Cilia move mucus and particles out of the bronchi and bronchioles back up to the throat where it is swallowed and eliminated via the esophagus.
True
Animals and Fungi have specialized connective tissues.
False
Arteries and capillaries consist of three layers, while veins consist of a single layer.
False
As we discussed in lecture and based on your understanding of the relationship between animal body size and activity level, which animal has the fastest metabolic rate?
Mouse
What is ATP?
Source of energy for use by cells
Pulmonary fibrosis is an obstructive disease.
False
Asthma is a restrictive disease.
False
Which of the following is not a feature common to most animals?
asexual reproduction
Which of the following animal has the simplest circulatory system?
Fish
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