Q 01/05

Taq polymerase, the heat-proof enzyme behind PCR, came from bacteria found in which national park?

A) Yosemite

B) Yellowstone

C) Everglades

D) Grand Canyon

Answer · why

B) Yellowstone

Yellowstone's Mushroom Spring gave science Thermus aquaticus, whose enzyme survives 95 °C. That let PCR copy DNA through repeated heating without fres...

Q 02/05

Adults who cannot digest the sugar in milk make too little of which enzyme in the small intestine?

A) Sucrase

B) Maltase

C) Lactase

D) Peptidase

Answer · why

C) Lactase

Lactase splits milk sugar into two simpler sugars that the gut can absorb. In most of the world's population, the body makes far less of it after wean...

Q 03/05

Which painkiller, first sold by Bayer, permanently disables the COX enzymes that make prostaglandins?

A) Ibuprofen

B) Acetaminophen

C) Codeine

D) Aspirin

Answer · why

D) Aspirin

Aspirin shuts the enzyme down for good, while ibuprofen only blocks it for a while. In platelets the block lasts for the cell's whole life of 8 to 9 d...

Q 04/05

PETase, an enzyme from bacteria found near a Japanese recycling site, breaks down which material?

A) Plastic

B) Glass

C) Aluminum

D) Cardboard

Answer · why

A) Plastic

Plastic of the PET type, used in drinks bottles, is what PETase cuts apart. The bacteria that make it were found in sludge and can feed on the carbon ...

Q 05/05

Many meat tenderizers get their protein-cutting enzyme from the latex of which tropical fruit?

A) Mango

B) Guava

C) Papaya

D) Lychee

Answer · why

C) Papaya

Papaya latex is dried to make papain, the active ingredient in many commercial tenderizers. People who are allergic to latex may react to the fruit an...