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HOSA Biotechnology Questions and
Answers (Expert Solutions)
Q: Abstract, 🗹🗹: summary of a scientific article, usually appearing after the title
Q: Actin, 🗹🗹: major muscle protein organized into thin filaments
Q: Adherent cultures, 🗹🗹: Cell cultures that adhere or stick to a solid surface such as
a tissue culture disk or flask
Q: Aerobe, 🗹🗹: organism (e.g. bacterium) that grows only in the presence of oxygen
Q: Aerosol, 🗹🗹: Suspension/dispersion of find particles of solid, liquid, or gas
Q: Affinity chromatography, 🗹🗹: chromatographic technique that separates
molecules based on afinfity for a specific binding partner
Q: Agar, 🗹🗹: Jelly-like substance made of linked sugars (polysaccharides) from
seaweed; used in media for growing bacteria
Q: Agarose, 🗹🗹: uncharged polymer typically used to make agarose gels for the
separations by size of nucleic acids and other biomolecules through electrophoresis
Q: Aliquot, 🗹🗹: to divide a quantity of material into smaller, equal parts;
alternatively, the smaller part itself
Q: Allele, 🗹🗹: one of a pair or more alternative DNA sequences (usually genes) that
occupy a specific position on a specific chromosome
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Q: Allele frequency, 🗹🗹: proportion of an allele in a population
Q: Alu, 🗹🗹: short interspersed, repetitive DNA elements (SINEs) of around 300 bp
found in the human genome that contain the Alul restriction site
Q: Amino acids, 🗹🗹: molecules with a central carbon attached to an amino group, a
carboxyl group, and a side chain (or R group); the building blocks of proteins.
Q: Ampicillin, 🗹🗹: antibiotic related to penicillin that inhibits the synthesis of
peptidoglycan necessary for bacterial cell walls
Q: Amplicon, 🗹🗹: Target DNA amplified in a PCR reaction; also called a PCR product
Q: Anaerobe, 🗹🗹: organism (e.g. bacterium) that does not require oxygen for
survival and may die in the presence of oxygen
Q: Anneal, 🗹🗹: In PCR, to bind single-stranded DNA to complementary sequences.
E.g. oligonucleotide primers anneal to denatured, single-stranded template DNA
Q: Anode, 🗹🗹: positive electrode in electrophoresis chamber
Q: Antibiotic, 🗹🗹: chemical that prevents or reduces the growth of microorganisms
Q: Antibody, 🗹🗹: protein formed in response to a challenge of the immune system
by a foreign agent. Antibodies bind to specific antigens
Q: Antigen, 🗹🗹: foreign molecule or cell that elicits an immune response
Q: Aseptic technique, 🗹🗹: set of methods that prevents microbial contamination of a
specific environment
Q: Assay, 🗹🗹: procedure that tests or measures a property of a sample
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Q: Autoclave, 🗹🗹: piece of equipment that sterilizes liquids, containers, and
instruments by exposing them to high pressure and temperature for a defined period of
time
Q: Bacteriophages, 🗹🗹: Bacterial viruses
Q: Base pairs, 🗹🗹: complementary nucleotides held together by hydrogen bonds
Q: Biofuel, 🗹🗹: fuel produced from renewable biological resources
Q: Biological safety cabinet, 🗹🗹: ventilated cabinet that filters air to protect
personnel, reagents, or the environment against particulates or aerosols from
biohazardous
agents
Q: Bioremediation, 🗹🗹: use of microorganisms for the removal of pollutants from
the environment
Q: Biosafety levels, 🗹🗹: classification system for biological laboratories
Q: Biosensor, 🗹🗹: device that uses biological materials to monitor the presence of
chemicals in a sample or environment
Q: Biuret test, 🗹🗹: test for the presence of peptide bonds. Copper ions in a basic
environment change from blue to purple in the presence of peptide bonds
Q: BLAST, 🗹🗹: Suite of computer programs used to compare DNA and protein
sequences to those in libraries of databases
Q: Blot, 🗹🗹: In molecular biology, a flexible, solid support such as nitrocellulose
membrane that has had DNA, RNA, or proteins transferred onto it
HOSA Biotechnology Questions and
Answers (Expert Solutions)
Q: Abstract, 🗹🗹: summary of a scientific article, usually appearing after the title
Q: Actin, 🗹🗹: major muscle protein organized into thin filaments
Q: Adherent cultures, 🗹🗹: Cell cultures that adhere or stick to a solid surface such as
a tissue culture disk or flask
Q: Aerobe, 🗹🗹: organism (e.g. bacterium) that grows only in the presence of oxygen
Q: Aerosol, 🗹🗹: Suspension/dispersion of find particles of solid, liquid, or gas
Q: Affinity chromatography, 🗹🗹: chromatographic technique that separates
molecules based on afinfity for a specific binding partner
Q: Agar, 🗹🗹: Jelly-like substance made of linked sugars (polysaccharides) from
seaweed; used in media for growing bacteria
Q: Agarose, 🗹🗹: uncharged polymer typically used to make agarose gels for the
separations by size of nucleic acids and other biomolecules through electrophoresis
Q: Aliquot, 🗹🗹: to divide a quantity of material into smaller, equal parts;
alternatively, the smaller part itself
Q: Allele, 🗹🗹: one of a pair or more alternative DNA sequences (usually genes) that
occupy a specific position on a specific chromosome
, Page | 2
Q: Allele frequency, 🗹🗹: proportion of an allele in a population
Q: Alu, 🗹🗹: short interspersed, repetitive DNA elements (SINEs) of around 300 bp
found in the human genome that contain the Alul restriction site
Q: Amino acids, 🗹🗹: molecules with a central carbon attached to an amino group, a
carboxyl group, and a side chain (or R group); the building blocks of proteins.
Q: Ampicillin, 🗹🗹: antibiotic related to penicillin that inhibits the synthesis of
peptidoglycan necessary for bacterial cell walls
Q: Amplicon, 🗹🗹: Target DNA amplified in a PCR reaction; also called a PCR product
Q: Anaerobe, 🗹🗹: organism (e.g. bacterium) that does not require oxygen for
survival and may die in the presence of oxygen
Q: Anneal, 🗹🗹: In PCR, to bind single-stranded DNA to complementary sequences.
E.g. oligonucleotide primers anneal to denatured, single-stranded template DNA
Q: Anode, 🗹🗹: positive electrode in electrophoresis chamber
Q: Antibiotic, 🗹🗹: chemical that prevents or reduces the growth of microorganisms
Q: Antibody, 🗹🗹: protein formed in response to a challenge of the immune system
by a foreign agent. Antibodies bind to specific antigens
Q: Antigen, 🗹🗹: foreign molecule or cell that elicits an immune response
Q: Aseptic technique, 🗹🗹: set of methods that prevents microbial contamination of a
specific environment
Q: Assay, 🗹🗹: procedure that tests or measures a property of a sample
, Page | 3
Q: Autoclave, 🗹🗹: piece of equipment that sterilizes liquids, containers, and
instruments by exposing them to high pressure and temperature for a defined period of
time
Q: Bacteriophages, 🗹🗹: Bacterial viruses
Q: Base pairs, 🗹🗹: complementary nucleotides held together by hydrogen bonds
Q: Biofuel, 🗹🗹: fuel produced from renewable biological resources
Q: Biological safety cabinet, 🗹🗹: ventilated cabinet that filters air to protect
personnel, reagents, or the environment against particulates or aerosols from
biohazardous
agents
Q: Bioremediation, 🗹🗹: use of microorganisms for the removal of pollutants from
the environment
Q: Biosafety levels, 🗹🗹: classification system for biological laboratories
Q: Biosensor, 🗹🗹: device that uses biological materials to monitor the presence of
chemicals in a sample or environment
Q: Biuret test, 🗹🗹: test for the presence of peptide bonds. Copper ions in a basic
environment change from blue to purple in the presence of peptide bonds
Q: BLAST, 🗹🗹: Suite of computer programs used to compare DNA and protein
sequences to those in libraries of databases
Q: Blot, 🗹🗹: In molecular biology, a flexible, solid support such as nitrocellulose
membrane that has had DNA, RNA, or proteins transferred onto it
