Consider the structure of the DNA double helix

A. You and a friend want to split a double-stranded DNA molecule so you each have half. Is it better to cut the length of DNA in half so each person has a shorter length, or to separate the strands and each take one strand? Explain.
B. In the original 1953 publication describing the discovery of the structure of DNA, Watson and Crick wrote, "It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairings we have postulated immediately suggest a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material." What did they mean?


A. It is better to separate the strands and each take a single strand, because all of the information found in the original molecule is preserved in a full-length single strand but not in a half-length double-stranded molecule.
B. Watson and Crick meant that the complementary base-pairing of the strands allows a single strand to contain all of the information necessary to direct the synthesis of a new complementary strand.

Biology & Microbiology

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Similarities at the neural circuit level between humans and ____ are easy to detect and therefore are

used in evolutionary studies examining the requirements for neural circuits.

a. rodents b. invertebrates c. fruit flies d. sea hares e. bees

Biology & Microbiology

The species Homo sapiens is thought to be how many years old?

a. 25,000 b. 60,000 c. 95,000 d. 120,000 e. 195,000

Biology & Microbiology

During inhalation

a. the pressure in the thoracic cavity is greater than the pressure within the lungs. b. the pressure in the alveoli is less than the atmospheric pressure. c. the diaphragm moves upward and becomes more concave. d. the chest cavity volume decreases. e. all of these occur.

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The lungs are covered by a membrane called the

a) pericardium b) periosteum c) symphysis d) pleura

Biology & Microbiology