Q 01/05

Which amino acid is wrongly blamed for the drowsiness that follows a big Thanksgiving turkey dinner?

A) Tyrosine

B) Tryptophan

C) Phenylalanine

D) Glutamine

Answer · why

B) Tryptophan

Tryptophan takes the blame, yet turkey holds about as much of it as any other poultry. The body does turn it into serotonin and the sleep hormone mela...

Q 02/05

Which amino acid, identified in kelp broth by a Tokyo chemist, gives food its savory umami taste?

A) Glutamate

B) Aspartate

C) Arginine

D) Cysteine

Answer · why

A) Glutamate

Glutamate is the G in MSG: Kikunae Ikeda crystallized it from kombu broth in 1908 and named its taste umami. Aged cheeses and soy sauce are naturally ...

Q 03/05

In Jurassic Park, the dinosaurs are engineered to die without supplements of which amino acid?

A) Proline

B) Serine

C) Lysine

D) Histidine

Answer · why

C) Lysine

Lysine was the kill switch, known as the lysine contingency. Humans have no way of making it either, and simply get it from everyday foods such as egg...

Q 04/05

Which energy drink ingredient, a cousin of the amino acids, is named after the ox bile it came from?

A) Carnitine

B) Creatine

C) Inositol

D) Taurine

Answer · why

D) Taurine

Taurine comes from taurus, Latin for bull or ox, because two German scientists first isolated it from ox bile in 1827. Cats must get it from their die...

Q 05/05

Diet sodas sweetened with aspartame carry a warning for people with PKU about which amino acid?

A) Phenylalanine

B) Aspartic acid

C) Hydroxyproline

D) Glutamic acid

Answer · why

A) Phenylalanine

Phenylalanine is released as the body digests aspartame, and people born with phenylketonuria cannot break it down. Left unchecked it harms the brain,...