Ascaris nematodes shed their eggs in the feces of their hosts (including pets, farm animals, and humans). Behavioral observations on humans suggest that young boys eat dirt more frequently than young girls. Additionally data on public sanitations indicate that some parts of the southeastern United States lack public sanitation, thus the people of the area simply urinate and defecate outside.

   Hypothesis

   Prediction:

Which one of the following is a protein deficiency disease?

(a) kwashiorkar

(b) night blindness

(c) eczema

(d) cirrhosis.

Enzymes are generally proteins. Proteins are sensitive to extreme changes in their environment and if they lose their structure, (are denatured), do not function properly anymore. The metabolism reactions that keep a human organism alive is driven and supported by countless enzymes. What then, is the risk of a person running a high fever for a prolonged period of time?

Briefly define the ecological concepts of productivity and diversity and explain two views of how these variables might be related to each other.

Compare and contrast spores and seeds as dispersal mechanisms for plants, including descriptions of each. What taxa of plants utilize each method of dispersal? What adaptive advantages do seeds possess?

Explain how the practice of biodiversity conservation can benefit from an understanding of (i)

the genetics of individuals within populations, (ii) the mechanisms of speciation, and (iii) the

major climatic changes of the past 65 million years. For each of (i), (ii) and (iii), give examples

to explain how and why knowledge in each area is important to conservation

Describe a model of prokaryotic gene regulation that was discussed in class, or a part of your readings for this semester. How are genes in this “model” turned on, turned off, or how the rate of transcription can be slowed down.

Which of the following is a difficulty in getting prokaryotic cells to express eukaryotic genes?
a. The signals that control gene expression are different for prokaryotes, thus requiring prokaryotic promoter regions to be added to the vector.
b. The genetic code differs because prokaryotes substitute the base uracil for thymine.
c. Prokaryotic cells do not recognize eukaryotic stop and start codons.
d. The ribosomes of prokaryotes are not large enough to handle long eukaryotic genes.

Describe the process of transcription and translation. In your answer include the major molecules involved in both the transcribing of genes and translation from nucleotide language to amino acid language. What are the major differences between transcription and translation between prokaryotes and eukaryotes?

Using basic principles of animal form and function, explain why it is not surprising that flightlessness is strongly associated with large body size in birds.

Auks, such as Razorbills and Murres, are birds that breed in the cold latitudes of the northern hemisphere. Auks tend to have a plumage that exhibit “countershading”, being dark on the top (dorsal) and white on the bottom (ventral). We find this color pattern repeated in many other organisms on Earth, such as sharks, zebras, and other birds. Physically, Auks have short rounded wings that they are able to use as flippers when pursuing prey underwater, they are “pursuit divers”. Most species of auk are also able to fly, but the largest species, the Great Auk, was flightless. Auks are related to gulls (order Charadriiformes). In the colder latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere we find Penguins. Penguins share many of the physical and behavioral characteristics that Auks possess, such as counter-shading, short, flipper-like wings used in pursuit diving. Penguin species tend to be larger than auks, and none are able to fly. Penguins are related to petrels (Order Procellariiformes). Considering other orders of birds, note that flightlessness is strongly associated with large body size (Ostriches, Kiwis, Dodos). Discuss why organisms, such as auks and penguins, that are unrelated and occupy completely different ranges on the planet, can be so similar in structure and behavior.

Salmonella bacteria can cause two different types of disease. What is the disease called that is accolated with ingestion of salmonella from water of food, and where he results often a systemic infection? Describe methods that can clarify weather salmonella isolates from a given food suspected of being a source of outbreak are identical to salmonella from patients who have become ill as a consequence of the outbreak

describe some reasons why raw minced and aerobically stored meat spoils faster than 1) cut, raw pieces of meat stored anaerobically. In which of the three products do lactic acid bacteria not play a role as spoilers

pathogenic bacteria present in e.g a blood sample can be identified by culture independent methods. Describe these methods within each of these categories

What is phage therapy e.g in the fight against diseases