Fundamentals of Bioengineering Exam 1 Questions And Answers

Define the term "biomedical engineering" - ANS The application of engineering techniques to the understanding of biological systems, to advance the practice of medicine, and to develop therapeutic technologies and devices Distinguish Biomedical engineering from closely associated fields - ANS (A) List and rank five technical subspecialties of biomedical engineering. (B) Describe which is the most interesting to you. - ANS Biomechanics, Biomaterials, Biomedical imaging, Bioinformatics, Bioinstrumentation (A) What are three common entry level jobs for biomedical engineers with a BS degree? (B) Which of the three sounds most interesting to you? (C) Why? - ANS Product design engineer, quality engineer 1, regulatory affairs associate What is meant by the term "Tissue Engineering"? - ANS Taking cells from the body, expand them, seed them onto a scaffold, expand and condition cells, implant the construct What is meant by the term "Personalized Medicine"? - ANS Medicine that is tailor made for a patient's specific problem and circumstance How are advances in imaging driving improved healthcare? - ANS Being able to see inside the body lets us diagnose easier. Imaging is also used to guide surgeries. (A) List the most common elements found in the human body and (B) the four classes ob biopolymers that they comprise - ANS H, C, N, O, Na, Mg, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Fe, I [DIAGRAM] Draw and label a schematic diagram representing the 10 important systems that are vital to human life. Be sure to indicate which systems interact with each other. - ANS See lecture 3, slide 48 (A) List the various subcompartments where water is distributed in the human body and (B) their approximate percentage of total body water. - ANS Intracellular - 40%, Extracellular 20% (Interstitial fluid 15% and Intravascular fluid 5%) (A) Using a common set of small molecules as examples explain the difference between polar and non-polar molecules. (B) Why is polarity important to living systems? - ANS Water is a polar molecle. Polar molecules have a net dipole moment that causes the molecule to be lopsided. Non-polar molecules have no such net dipole moment. Polarity is important because it allows for acid/base balance and chemical reactions, and the creation of things like lipid bilayers which are caused by the polarity of water and the polarity of lipids What is meant by the term "polymer". - ANS Polymer means many parts. Polymers are networks of chains of repeating monomers. (A) List the four major types of biological polymers (biopolymers) and (B) provide a simple chemical or structural representation of each. - ANS See lecture 3, slide 30 Describe what is meant by the term "condensation reaction" and provide an example. - ANS It means that the reaction releases water, such as during the polymerization of proteins (A) What is a polysaccharide? (B) Where are they commonly found in the human body? (C) What role(s) do they serve? - ANS A carbohydrate whose molecules consist of sugar molecules held together (starch, cellulose). They are commonly found in muscle and liver. The provide structure in cells, as well as energy storage in the form of sugars What is the general chemical structure of a lipid molecule? - ANS A hydrophilic head and a hydrophobic tail composed of fatty acids. What molecules are found in all cell membranes and how are they organized, that is, which end of the molecule faces the extracellular fluid (ECF) and which end is buried inside the bilayer? - ANS Lipid molecules are found in all cell membranes. Lipids, composed of a hydrophilic head group and a hydrophobic fatty acid tail, orient so that the hydrophobic tails are oriented inside the bilayer and the hydrophilic heads toward the outside when in the presence of water. Describe two roles of cell membranes - ANS They separate charged ions to create electrochemical gradients. They protect the cell from foreign molecules and substances that could damage it. {Learning objective 19 omitted from first Exam} - ANS {Learning objective 19 omitted from first Exam} Provide three differences between RNA and DNA. - ANS DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid, meaning no Hydroxyl group on C2, double helix structure, stores genetic information RNA: Ribonucleic acid, meaning C2 is hydroxylated, single stranded, transfers genetic information Describe the basic structure of a nucleotide. - ANS Made of a sugar (deoxyribose), one of the four bases, and a phosphate (A) Describe what is meant by the term "base pairing". (B) Describe the base pairing rules for DNA and RNA. (C) Describe 2 phenomena that stabilize base pairing. - ANS The four bases on the nucleic acids interact with eachother in prescribed ways due to hydrogen bonding. DNA: AT, CG RNA: AU, CG. Pi stacking stabilizes base paring, attractive, noncovalent interactions between aromatic rings If given a sequence of DNA be able to give the complementary strand of DNA and RNA - ANS CGATTGGACTGCATATG GCTAACCTGACGTATAC Describe how DNA is packaged in the nucleus of somatic cells. - ANS Strands of DNA are wrapped around histones to form nuclosomes, which are joined into chains called Chromatin. Chromatin forms loops and condenses into Chromosomes. (A) What is meant by a Karyotype and (B) how is it used in medicine? - ANS Karyotype is the chromosome count of an organism. Abnormal chromosome counts can indicate things like down syndrome How is a germ cell different from a somatic cell? - ANS A germ cell (egg and sperm) have one set. Somatic cells have pairs (46 total chromosomes) What is meant by the term "genome"? - ANS Genome refers to all of the genes that are encoded by DNA Besides the nucleus, what other organelle contains its own DNA? Describe how this is theorized to have happened. - ANS Mitochondria. Theorized that mitochondria used to be its own cell and was absorbed by a Eukaryotic cell. (A) Describe what is meant by the term DNA replication and (B) describe why is it important in biological systems? - ANS DNA replication is the process by which DNA is copied exactly (with occasional mutation). It is important for biological systems because it allows cells to split and maintain all of the original genetic information. [DIAGRAM] Provide a diagram of the DNA replication machinery. - ANS See lecture 4, slide 19 List the names and functions of the enzymes involved in the replication of DNA - ANS See lecture 4, slide 20 With regards to the field of biology what is the "Central Dogma"? - ANS DNA is transcribed into RNA, which is translated into Protein. Compare and contrast the terms transcription and translation. In your answer describe the starting source of information, where the process occurs, the major enzyme used for the process, and what the end product is. - ANS Transcription occurs in the nucleus, performed by RNA polymerase, and transcribes DNA into RNA. Translation occurs in the cytosol, and creates proteins List the 3 most common types of RNA and what they are used for - ANS mRNA (messenger) carries code rRNA (ribosomal) stabilizes the structure of mRNA and tRNA in the ribosomes tRNA (transfer) takes specific amino acids into ribosomes to build proteins. [DIAGRAM] Provide a diagram that outlines each step in the central dogma of biology. Be sure to place each step in the appropriate compartment of the cell. - ANS See lecture 5, slide 1 What is meant by the term "RNA processing". Describe 3 processing steps that occur to mRNA before it is translated into protein. - ANS The modifications that mRNA undergoes before being released from the nucleus. These are splicing (removing introns and keeping exons), capping the 5' end and attaching the 3' tail What is a ribosome made of and what is its function? - ANS Ribosomes are made of complexes of RNAs and proteins called a robonucleoprotein, and catalize the formation of the peptide bond