We respect Dr. Trudeau and all those earlier scientists who did the best they could within the contemporary understanding of the problem they addressed and utilizing the materials and technology they had at hand. Modern-day biologists like to talk about resistance/susceptibility genes and patterns of inheritance, rather than family blood. They think about infectious disease in terms of microbes and pathogenicity, rather than speaking of bad humors. They have identified vitamins and other nutrients that are abundant in some foodstuffs and lacking in other that are essential for optimal immune function. Without the benefit of such modern formulations, Dr. Trudeau, by a disciplined application of scientific curiosity and careful, clever methodology, shed light on each of these concerns, light that helped to illuminate the minds of scientists who came after. Still, a look at his original paper leaves us wondering, were the rabbits genetically identical? Probably not! Why? Were they all of the same sex and age? Couldn’t he have given the animals kept on short rations just a smaller amount of the same varieties of food available to the animals fed abundantly—after all, there might be some important nutrient missing in potatoes. In light of the title of the paper, why not measure bacterial numbers in the rabbits on post mortem rather than just survival time? (In a subsequent paper, he did exactly that.) Once you start critiquing an experiment from 100 years ago, or 10 years ago, or sometimes even last year, it’s hard to stop. Can you think of anything else you would have changed about the Rabbit Island Experiment?

Explain what epigenetics is. Give examples of specific molecular mechanisms at play

Briefly summarize the central dogma and indicate where gene expression can be controlled along the way.

Explain the regulation of the trp operon by the 5' end of the mRNA when tryptophan is low vs high.

Which is common feature shared between the GG-subunit of a G-protein complex and the c-ras protein?

Select one:

a. intrinsic GTPase activity

b. membrane associated protein

c. signal transduction

d. All of these

e. None of these.

Compare and contrast the polymerization of actin and tubulin in vitro and in vivo.

Discuss homeostasis, both negative and positive feedback and provide examples:

Describe the structural hierarchy of the human body.

What would happen if:

1. I plugged the leads for the DNA gel in the wrong way? I was going too fast and I plugged the positive lead into the negative and the negative lead into the positive on the power supply?
2. I forgot one of my primers in the PCR tube? Would the PCR reaction work?
3. When I was extracting plasmid, I added the P3 buffer before adding the P2 buffer? Would the reaction still work?
4. After eluting the mtDNA, my partner and I mixed our samples together. We sent that mixed sample to be sequenced. Do you think we would get a sequence back?

Describe the 3 different polymers that make the cytoskeleton and explain their differences and similarities

One of the central principles of Biology is the relationship between structure and function. Discuss structure/function relationship in biological membranes. Describe what they are made of, what are their functions and use examples to make the link between structure and function. Emphasis should be placed on aspects of membrane permeability

What is gene control and why is gene control important?