I read this background article the other day: Currently, millions of individuals with high cholesterol take a similar type of drug, known as a statin. The drug, an inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase (3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase), the rate limiting enzyme in cholesterol biosynthesis, decreases blood levels of cholesterol by induce the expression of low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors in the liver. The increased levels of the LDL-receptors stimulate the catabolism of plasma LDL, removing cholesterol from plasma, which is an important determinant of atherosclerosis. You may know of people who take a statin to help with their cholesterol levels. However, these drugs probably work slightly differently in many of those people. In some, it lowers their cholesterol significantly; in others it may lower it only moderately; and in some, it may have no significant effect at all. (Luckily for those individuals, there are multiple versions of the statins, so different drugs can be tested to find the proper combination for that individual.) Why the difference? Because of the genetic background of all people; the different single nucleotide polymorphisms that make us all different. Pharmacogenomics, a combination of pharmacology and genomics (the study of the genome) that refers to the study of the relationship between pharmaceuticals and genetics, may explain and simplify this problem. I am facing a new situation today: Brad and Henry were two old friends in their 70's. Brad had very high levels of cholesterol, while Henry was healthier and had normal levels of cholesterol. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which friend takes more statins?
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Answer: Brad
Q: I read this background article the other day: Around 5.4 billion years from now, the core of the Sun will become hot enough to trigger hydrogen fusion in its surrounding shell. This will cause the outer layers of the star to expand greatly, and the star will enter a phase of its life in which it is called a red giant. Within 7.5 billion years, the Sun will have expanded to a radius of 1.2 AU256 times its current size. At the tip of the red giant branch, as a result of the vastly increased surface area, the Sun's surface will be much cooler (about 2600 K) than now and its luminosity much higherup to 2,700 current solar luminosities. For part of its red giant life, the Sun will have a strong stellar wind that will carry away around 33% of its mass. During these times, it is possible that Saturn's moon Titan could achieve surface temperatures necessary to support life.As the Sun expands, it will swallow the planets Mercury and Venus. Earth's fate is less clear; although the Sun will envelop Earth's current orbit, the star's loss of mass (and thus weaker gravity) will cause the planets' orbits to move farther out. If it were only for this, Venus and Earth would probably escape incineration, but a 2008 study suggests that Earth will likely be swallowed up as a result of tidal interactions with the Sun's weakly bound outer envelope.Gradually, the hydrogen burning in the shell around the solar core will increase the mass of the core until it reaches about 45% of the present solar mass. At this point the density and temperature will become so high that the fusion of helium into carbon will begin, leading to a helium flash; the Sun will shrink from around 250 to 11 times its present (main-sequence) radius. Consequently, its luminosity will decrease from around 3,000 to 54 times its current level, and its surface temperature will increase to about 4770 K. The Sun will become a horizontal giant, burning helium in its core in a stable fashion much like it burns hydrogen today. The helium-fusing stage will last only 100 million years. Eventually, it will have to... I am facing a new situation today: Keith was playing a simulation game. In the game he could travel around the Sun in the future. He started the game in present time, which was denoted as time A. Then he traveled 5.4 billion years into the future, which was denoted as time B. Finally, he reached 7.5 billion years into the future, which was denoted as time C. He was amazed to find how the Sun would change over time. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: When would the Sun be brighter, time A or time C?
A: time C
Question: I read this background article the other day: As time passes, the number of HIV copies keeps increasing, while the number of helper T cells keeps decreasing. The graph in Figure below shows how the number of T cells typically declines over a period of many years following the initial HIV infection. As the number of T cells decreases, so does the ability of the immune system to defend the body. As a result, an HIV-infected person develops frequent infections. Medicines can slow down the virus but not get rid of it, so there is no cure at present for HIV infections or AIDS. There also is no vaccine to immunize people against HIV infection, but scientists are working to develop one. I am facing a new situation today: Jacob recently contracted the HIV virus and is going to his first support meeting. While there, he meets Dan and strikes up a conversation with him. Dan says that he has had HIV for over a decade at this point and has learned ways to live with it. He is able to give Jacob some good advice on how to handle things and Jacob is very grateful to have someone to talk with. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Who will develop infections more frequently?
Answer: Dan
[Q]: I read this background article the other day: Protozoa generally feed by engulfing and digesting other organisms. As consumers, they have various roles in food chains and webs. Some are predators. They prey upon other single-celled organisms, such as bacteria. In fact, protozoa predators keep many bacterial populations in check. Other protozoa are herbivores. They graze on algae. Still others are decomposers. They consume dead organic matter. There are also parasitic protozoa that live in or on living hosts. For example, the protozoan that causes malaria lives inside a human host. For their part, protozoa are important food sources for many larger organisms, including insects and worms. I am facing a new situation today: An astronaut has just landed on a new martian planet and encounters two different protozoa. The first protozoa he finds, protozoa X, is eating algae that is floating on top of water. The second protozoa, protozoa Y, is found eating bacteria. Upon further study, it is found that these are the only foods these two specific protozoa eat. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which protozoa is a predator?
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[A]: protozoa Y
I read this background article the other day: The particles of soup have greater average kinetic energy than the particles of water in the tub, explaining why the soup has a higher temperature. However, the mass of the water in the tub is much greater than the mass of the soup in the pot. This means that there are many more particles of water than soup. All those moving particles give the water in the tub greater total kinetic energy, even though their average kinetic energy is less. Therefore, the water in the tub has greater thermal energy than the soup. To compare the thermal energy of some other materials, go to the following URL and click on the interactive animation "Temperature and Thermal Energy." I am facing a new situation today: Tim is trying to boil two pots of water, pot A and pot B. Tim has a device which lets him see what the average kinetic energy is of the particles in each pot is. After examining each pot, Tim discovers that pot A has particles with a very high average kinetic energy, and pot B's particles have a low average kinetic energy. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which pot is closer to boiling?
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Answer:
pot A