[Q]: I read this background article the other day: Pulmonary fibrosis (literally "scarring of the lungs") is a respiratory disease in which scars are formed in the lung tissues, leading to serious breathing problems. Scar formation, the accumulation of excess fibrous connective tissue (the process called fibrosis), leads to thickening of the walls, and causes reduced oxygen supply in the blood. As a consequence patients suffer from perpetual shortness of breath.[1] I am facing a new situation today: Air pollution is a big problem in large industrial cities. New York has its share or air pollution. John is a doctor who works for a New York hospital. Today, he is seeing two patients, patient A and patient B. His diagnosis revealed that patient A has pulmonary fibrosis, but patient B does not have pulmonary fibrosis. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Would patient A have reduced or normal oxygen supply in the blood?
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[A]: reduced

[Q]: I read this background article the other day: As the atoms first begin to interact, the attractive force is stronger than the repulsive force and so the potential energy of the system decreases, as seen in the diagram. Remember that the lower potential energy increases the stability of the system. As the two hydrogen atoms move closer and closer together, the potential energy continues to decrease. Eventually, a position is reached where the potential energy is at its lowest possible point. If the hydrogen atoms move any closer together, a third interaction begins to dominate and that is the repulsive force between the two positively-charged nuclei. This repulsive force is very strong as can be seen by the sharp rise in energy at the far left of the diagram. I am facing a new situation today: Ken is a scientist who studies atomic systems. He is currently responsible for studying two systems that they are referring to as Omega and Alpha. These two systems are essential to the research that is being done to potentially allow humans to travel to Mars in a reasonable amount of time. Little is known about these systems currently, but scientists have observed that Omega has been steadily gaining more potential energy. Alpha has been rapidly losing potential energy. Ken is hoping to discern why this is happening and try to utilize his findings to further space exploration. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which system is more stable?
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[A]: Alpha

[Q]: I read this background article the other day: Klinefelter's syndrome is caused by the presence of one or more extra copies of the X chromosome in a male's cells. Extra genetic material from the X chromosome interferes with male sexual development, preventing the testicles from functioning normally and reducing the levels of testosterone. Triple X syndrome (trisomy X) results from an extra copy of the X chromosome in each of a female's cells. Females with trisomy X have a lower IQ than their siblings. Turner syndrome results when each of a female's cells has one normal X chromosome and the other sex chromosome is missing or altered. The missing genetic material affects development and causes the characteristic features of the condition, including short stature and infertility. I am facing a new situation today: Two brothers born three years apart were very different. Jim had no genetic abnormalities, while Danny had Klinefelter's syndrome. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which brother had reduced levels of testosterone?
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[A]: Danny

[Q]: I read this background article the other day: In many ways, bacterial metabolism provides traits that are useful for ecological stability and for human society. One example is that some bacteria have the ability to fix nitrogen gas using the enzyme nitrogenase. This environmentally important trait can be found in bacteria of most metabolic types listed above. This leads to the ecologically important processes of denitrification, sulfate reduction, and acetogenesis, respectively. Bacterial metabolic processes are also important in biological responses to pollution; for example, sulfate-reducing bacteria are largely responsible for the production of the highly toxic forms of mercury (methyl- and dimethylmercury) in the environment. Non-respiratory anaerobes use fermentation to generate energy and reducing power, secreting metabolic by-products (such as ethanol in brewing) as waste. Facultative anaerobes can switch between fermentation and different terminal electron acceptors depending on the environmental conditions in which they find themselves. I am facing a new situation today: Bob and Andy are two microbiologists. They are studying bacteria: Bob studies nitrogen fixating bacteria, while Andy studies non-respiratory and facultative anaerobes. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which researcher learned more about fermentation to generate energy?
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[A]:
Andy