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Example

Final Examination
Horticulture and Crop Science 597, from Spring 2004
Issues in Biotechnology
Professor John J. Finer

FROM YOUR CLASS PRESENTATIONS (2.5 pts each)

1)   In the “pox vaccine” article, vaccines are being developed for all of the following reasons except:
a)   in preparation for a bioterrorist attack
b)   one vaccine could possibly provide resistance to 4 different pox viruses
c)   chickenpox caused thousands of deaths last year in the US
d)   international travel and exotic pets can cause rapid spread of monkeypox to non-native regions

 2)   In the “New biotech food crop” article, which of the following companies was not mentioned as being involved in food biotechnology:
a) Monsanto
b) Seminis
c) Ventria
d) Glaxo

 3)   In the “New gene testing method” article, a rapid test has been developed for
a)   BRCA, which stands for Breast Cancer gene
b)   RRSB, which stands for Roundup-Ready Soybean gene
c)   ECK12, which stands for E. coli K12
d)   ATED, which stands for Athletic Endurance gene

 4)   In the “new drugs for cancer” article, the new class of drugs leads to
a)   pro-iodinization, which causes extensive buildup of iodine in the cancerous cells, leading to cell death
b)   Viagraphilia, which forces blood into cancerous cells, resulting in hyperextension and death of the affected cells
c)   tumerotoxia, where cancerous cells act as liver cells, filtering and storing the body’s naturally-occurring toxins.
d)   anti-angiogenesis, which prevents the growth of blood vessels to cancerous cells

5)   In the “new cloning debate” article,
a)   fears of Jurassic Park arose when an Australian scientist cloned an endangered blue Iguana
b)   scientists from Seoul National University generated human embryonic stem cell lines
c)   parents of 6-year old James McKeowan conceived a baby brother, who possessed stem cells, used to cure his liver disease
d)   human embryonic stem cells were generated using fertilized Rhesus monkey egg cells for nuclear transplantation

6)   In the “Research tries to plant new heart cells” article,
a)   a pig heart was transplanted successfully into a human following the use of the new anti-rejection drug, Scept-it.
b)   Edward Gibbons had stem cells injected into his heart in an attempt to rejuvenate the heart muscle
c)   embryonic stem cells from mice were used to re-grow parts of their physically damaged hearts
d)   heart cells, cloned in the laboratory, were used to repair defective heart valves.

7)   In the “spending soars on pills for kids”, the pills were primary used for
a)   MSDS or multiple sclerosis - developmentally silenced
b)   OH-IO, an Ohio-based intelligence-stimulating growth factor
c)   birth control
d)   ADHD/hyperactivity

8)   In the “motherless eggs created in the lab” article,
a)   it was suggested that two men could have a child
b)   Fritz Neuenschwander, from the University of Leipzig, generated Frog eggs from a male frog
c)   isolated testes were able to form egg cells when mixed with ovary cells
d)   egg cells were cloned but only when using a newly established rabbit mutant cell line.

 9)   In the “Olympics-Genetic engineering is next doping threat” article, use of EPO led to a scandal in 1998 in the
a)   1998 Summer Olympics
b)   NCAA Final Four Basketball tournament
c)   Tour de France

d)   1998 Winter Olympics

10)  In the “Natural Arsenic Fighter Created” article,
a)   an algae was developed to remove arsenic from contaminated water
b)   transgenic Arabidopsis was produced to remove arsenic from contaminated soils
c)   an arsenic tolerant slug was produced to eat arsenic-containing plants, growing on dump sites
d)   a bacterium which converted arsenic to gold was created by the “Buy-Some-Land-on-the-Moon Corporation”

 11)  In the “Orchid sends a not-so-subtle message” article
a)   bees were encouraged to pollinate the same orchid by staying at the same plant
b)   bees were trapped in the flower as a means of getting them to give up the pollen sac
c)   the orchid flowers were stingy with nectar, forcing the bees to go elsewhere
d)   the pollen is irritating to the bee, forcing them to rub it off on the stigma of another flower

12)  In the “cord-blood storage firms growing” article
a)   the recommendation is to use private banking because there is nothing like your own cord cells
b)   about half of the people that privately banked their blood used it within one year of banking
c)   about half of the people that privately banked their blood used it within one week of banking
d)   use of private banking was minimal and not worth the money

 13)  In the “plants could detect landmines” article,
a)   gentle planting of seeds/plants was not a problem
b)   plants close to landmines turned blue due to chlorophyll b production
c)   plants on top of the landmines senesced and died
d)   plants were able to detect nitrogen dioxide but were never actually tested with landmines

14)  In the “Monsanto wins patent case on plant genes”,
a)   Monsanto was awarded ten million dollars in litigation with duPont
b)   Monsanto was able to successfully patent all plant genes associated with drought tolerance
c)   terminator technology was awarded to Monsanto after extensive litigation with DeltaPine
d)   Monsanto sued and won against Percy Schmeiser, a Canadian canola farmer

15)  In the “Biotech’s for the Birds” article
a)   starling populations increased after feeding on transgenic mealworms, containing avian growth factor
b)   sales of transgenic yellow finches with enhanced coloration increased by 141% over the past 12 months
c)   wild songbird populations increased apparently due to less insecticide application in transgenic cotton fields
d)   a new hybrid called a “turcken” was made by fertilizing a chicken egg with and turkey sperm, following treatment with FSH

16)  In the “growing evidence of widespread GMO contamination” article, who ultimately pays if GMO contamination is found?
a)   the farmer
b)   the company that owns the gene
c)   the seed salesman
d)   no one – contamination is common, widespread and beyond recall

17)  In the “targeted cancer treatment” article,
a)   a particle gun with a microtargeting device was used to specifically target breast cancer
b)   an intestinal virus, variant KZ29-04, which is feces-transmissible, was modified to primarily infect stage I colon cancer cells
c)   8 out of 10 lymphoma patients died, following treatment with ScorbanEN, but the 2 that did survive went into complete remission
d)   lung cancer patients, who were responsive to chemotherapy, were responsive because they had a mutated receptor protein

18)  In the “Risky experiment ahead for teenager with Crohn’s disease” article
a)   an intestinal transplant was performed using porcine intestines
b)   Eric Page received his own stem cells after they were removed and purified
c)   1/3 of the intestinal track from Rebecca Nomad was removed, repaired using synthetic polymers, and reintroduced.
d)   a heart/lung transplant was needed to stabilize the patient prior to liver reconstruction

19)   In the “Uganda’s push for GM” article,
a)   biotechnology is seen as another method to improve traditional crops
b)   Ugandan scientists are hoping that Monsanto will fund research on genetic engineering of coffee to make it caffeine-free
c)   Ugandan farmers are anxious to start growing roundup ready soybean on their farms
d)   Uganda does not want to import anything generated outside of its borders

20)  In the “a new way to kill cancer” article, a cold virus was modified to
a)   weaken the immune system so that chemotherapy would be more effective against cancer
b)   kill lung and colon cancer in Petri dishes
c)   deliver a new anticancer vaccine to large populations of humans in isolated areas
d)   outcompete a wild type variant of a cold virus, which has been associated with mouth cancer.

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