Molecular Biology of the Cell – Albert’s Questions & Correct
Answers 2024-2025 Update.
How many species are there? - Answer-> Around 8.7 Million
Most living organisms have how many cells? - Answer-> Most are single celled organisms
Others, such as ourselves, are multicellular organisms in which groups of cells perform specialized
functions and are linked by intricate systems of communication.
How many cells does a human body have? - Answer-> 10¹³
How are human cells generated? - Answer-> The whole is generated from cell division
What is the "vehicle" for hereditary information for organisms? - Answer-> The cell, which carries
the hereditary information that defines the species.
And specified by this information, the cell includes machinery to gather raw materials from the
environment and to construct out of them a new cell in its own image.
How long have living cells been evolving? - Answer-> 3.5 Billion years
Where do all living cell store their hereditary information? - Answer-> In DNA.
What is DNA's Structure? - Answer-> Double stranded molecules - long unbranched paired
polymer chains, called strands, twisted into a double helix made from the same four monomers -
A, T, C and G - and they are strung together in long linear sequences that encodes the genetic
information, just as the sequence of 1s and 0s encode the information of a computer file.
Parts of a nucleotide? - Answer-> sugar (dioxyribose) with a phosphate group attached to it, and
a nitrogen-containing base, which may be either adenine, guanine, cytosine or thymine.
, Each strands are liked via sugar-phosphate group linkages, creating a polymer chain composed of
repitive sugar-phosphate backbone with a series of bases protruding from it.
Concept: A single isolated strand, can be, in principle added in any order, because each links in
the same way. - Answer-> Basically, A will always go to T, C always to G and the phosphates will
always link to the sugar, etc.
What are the bond between nucleotides on opposite strands? - Answer-> Weak hydrogen bonds -
This allows the two DNA strands to be pulled apart without breakage of their backbones.
Each strand can then serve as a template for the synthesis of a fresh DNA strand complementary to
itself
- a fresh copy, that is, of hereditary information.
The bonds between nucleotides on individual strands? - Answer-> Strong covalent bonds
DNA Replication - Answer-> The process by which a copy of DNA ia made
What are the rates of cell replication in cells? - Answer-> They are different and depend on the
type of cell With different controls to start it or stop it, and different auxiliary molecules to help it
along.
How does DNA polymerization work? - Answer-> DNA is the information store, and templated
polymerization is the way in which this information is copied throughout the living world.
Transcription - Answer-> Strands of DNA sequences are used as a template for the synthesis of
shorter molecules of the closely related polymer RNA;
Copying of one strand of DNA into a complementary RNA sequence by the enzyme RNA
polymerase.
Later in the process of translation, many of these RNA molecules direct the synthesis of polymers
of a radically different chemical class - proteins.
Answers 2024-2025 Update.
How many species are there? - Answer-> Around 8.7 Million
Most living organisms have how many cells? - Answer-> Most are single celled organisms
Others, such as ourselves, are multicellular organisms in which groups of cells perform specialized
functions and are linked by intricate systems of communication.
How many cells does a human body have? - Answer-> 10¹³
How are human cells generated? - Answer-> The whole is generated from cell division
What is the "vehicle" for hereditary information for organisms? - Answer-> The cell, which carries
the hereditary information that defines the species.
And specified by this information, the cell includes machinery to gather raw materials from the
environment and to construct out of them a new cell in its own image.
How long have living cells been evolving? - Answer-> 3.5 Billion years
Where do all living cell store their hereditary information? - Answer-> In DNA.
What is DNA's Structure? - Answer-> Double stranded molecules - long unbranched paired
polymer chains, called strands, twisted into a double helix made from the same four monomers -
A, T, C and G - and they are strung together in long linear sequences that encodes the genetic
information, just as the sequence of 1s and 0s encode the information of a computer file.
Parts of a nucleotide? - Answer-> sugar (dioxyribose) with a phosphate group attached to it, and
a nitrogen-containing base, which may be either adenine, guanine, cytosine or thymine.
, Each strands are liked via sugar-phosphate group linkages, creating a polymer chain composed of
repitive sugar-phosphate backbone with a series of bases protruding from it.
Concept: A single isolated strand, can be, in principle added in any order, because each links in
the same way. - Answer-> Basically, A will always go to T, C always to G and the phosphates will
always link to the sugar, etc.
What are the bond between nucleotides on opposite strands? - Answer-> Weak hydrogen bonds -
This allows the two DNA strands to be pulled apart without breakage of their backbones.
Each strand can then serve as a template for the synthesis of a fresh DNA strand complementary to
itself
- a fresh copy, that is, of hereditary information.
The bonds between nucleotides on individual strands? - Answer-> Strong covalent bonds
DNA Replication - Answer-> The process by which a copy of DNA ia made
What are the rates of cell replication in cells? - Answer-> They are different and depend on the
type of cell With different controls to start it or stop it, and different auxiliary molecules to help it
along.
How does DNA polymerization work? - Answer-> DNA is the information store, and templated
polymerization is the way in which this information is copied throughout the living world.
Transcription - Answer-> Strands of DNA sequences are used as a template for the synthesis of
shorter molecules of the closely related polymer RNA;
Copying of one strand of DNA into a complementary RNA sequence by the enzyme RNA
polymerase.
Later in the process of translation, many of these RNA molecules direct the synthesis of polymers
of a radically different chemical class - proteins.
