Some POSSIBLE questions for practice Scientific Article 2011. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

Define the term gene What is the role of oxygen in aerobic respiration? How does a mutation affect the structure of a protein like IGF-1? Explain how erythropoietin has an affect on cells. (p1 paragraph 6) (2) (3) (4) (3)

Using the epo receptor as an example, explain the type of control that the body uses to maintain the oxygen levels in the blood. (page 1, paragraph 6) (4) How would you produce recombinant bacteria containing the epo gene? Describe the structure of viruses. (5) (2)

How are viruses recognised and destroyed by the immune system? (p2, paragraph 4) (7) Describe the process by which cells pump out the protein? (p3, paragraph 5) Explain how viruses can be used in gene therapy. Explain what would be involved in clinical trials (p4, paragraph 1) Explain how high blood pressure leads to a heart attack. (p4, paragraph 1) Describe the structure of a muscle fibre. What proteins are found in muscle fibres and what is their structure? (2) (3) (6) (4) (2) (4)

IGF-1 exists in 5 forms whose parts are spliced together in different ways. How is this possible? (page 4 paragraph 3). (3) (2) (4)

16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

How could IGF-1 be turned on? (page 4, paragraph 3) Discuss the ethics of athletes using performing enhancing drugs.

How will your body build up antibodies against the virus? (page 5 paragraph 6) (3) Why would using an alternate virus overcome the problem? (p5, paragraph 6) Compare and contrast the methods of action on cells of steroid hormones and protein hormones. (3) (2)

21.

What reaction is involved in the breakdown of proteins into their component amino acids. (1) Page 1

22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37.

Describe the structure of an amino acid.

(2)

Describe the method of action of the enzymes ubiquitin ligase (p7, paragraph 7) (3) Compare cardiac and striated muscle. (p8, paragraph 1) Describe the rhythm of the heart. (p8, paragraph 1) How is the rhythm of the heart controlled? Why does potassium need to travel through channels? (p8, paragraph 1) Describe what happens in the process of repolarisation. (p8, paragraph 1) (2) (3) (4) (2) (2)

Draw and ECG of a normal patient and one with long QT syndrome. (p8, paragraph 1) (2) How could RNA interference occur? (p8, paragraph 5) Describe the process of transcription. What are the roles of transcription factors? (p8, paragraph 6) Suggest a way in which IGF-1 could suppress FOXO. (p8, paragraph 7) (1) (3) (2) (1)

Why do muscle cells need more energy supplying mitochondria? (p9, paragraph 5) (5) What are the side effects of prolonged steroid use? (p9, paragraph 4) (3)

Using information in the article, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of further research into muscle building. (4) Using your own knowledge and information from the article, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using animals for medical research. (4)

A lesson on the article

It will test the Unit 5 work (Run for Your Life, Grey Matter) and will also test your comprehension of the pre-release article. This section is worth 30 marks - a third of the whole exam. A few suggestions for preparing for this section of the exam. Read through the article completely once. Use a highlighter to highlight key terms/scientific words within the article. Pay particular attention to keywords which you don't immediately know the meaning of. Using your highlighted keywords, construct your personal glossary. Find out the meanings of the words. Read the article a second time and this time annotate the work by using a highlighter of a Page 2

different colour, to highlight any key phrases such as key theories, opinions and conclusions. Then look at the glossary we have created and try and answer the questions we have written. Can you think of other exam-style questions? Gene therapy Aerobic exercise Mutation Erythropoietin Recombinant bacteria Anaemia Adenoviruses Hematocrits IGF-1 Mechano growth factor (MGF) Clinical Trials Atherosclerosis Muscular Dystrophy Drug Testing Protocol Muscle biopsy Atrophy Anabolic Steroids Ubiquitin-proteasome pathway (UPP) Proteasome Atrogenes Ligase Channel Protein Long QT Syndrome Astemizole Transcription Factors Page 3

Myostatin Antibody Therapy Stem Cell Some more PRACTICE Questions 1. Why does the continued use of EPO have the potential for heightened risk of high blood pressure and atherosclerosis? 2. Why does increasing EPO levels allow and athlete to improve their performance? 3. What is gene therapy and how could it be used by "drug cheats" in the future to enhance their oxygen carrying capacity? 4. Why is the use of AVV as a vector for the EPO gene more successful that using adenoviruses? 5. Why would there be a problem with repeated dosing of gene therapy using the same adenovirus? What are the risks associated with using adenoviruses as vectors? 6. What is the normal role of IGF-1 in muscle tissue? Why is it important that the effects of IGF-1 are localised in the muscles it is applied to? 7. a) What is muscle atrophy and what circumstances may cause it to develop? b) How is the proteasome involved in the process? c) Why is there no atrophy in normal active muscle? d) How can muscle wasting occur and still leave the same number of muscle cells in place? 8. Why would a "long QT" caused by a mutation in the erg1 gene potentially lead to sudden death? 9. The drug astemizole showed great promise in preventing muscle atrophy yet it was withdrawn in 1999. Why was it withdrawn? 10. "Foxo" is a Transcription Factor that controls gene switching. What effect would suppressing "Foxo" have on atrophy in muscle cells? 11. Explain why both IGF-1 and insulin are banned in sports. 12. What is the role of 'transcription factors?' 13. Why is NASA interested in research into stopping muscle atrophy? 14. How has myostatin inhibition led to the growth of a "superbaby" in Germany?

Page 4