Q: I have a new situation: Two gardeners started their planting season at the same time. Bill used mycorrizal fungi compost for the garden, while Hank used regular top soil. Bill was very happy with the harvest. But I can use this background: A mycorrhiza (Greek for "fungus roots") is a symbiotic association between a fungus and the roots of a plant. In a mycorrhizal association, the fungus may colonize the roots of a host plant by either growing directly into the root cells, or by growing around the root cells. This association provides the fungus with relatively constant and direct access to glucose, which the plant produces by photosynthesis. The mycelia of the fungi increase the surface area of the plant's root system. The larger surface area improves water and mineral nutrient absorption from the soil. What is an answer for this question: Which gardener had less fungus colonize the roots of a host plant?
A: Hank
Question: I have a new situation: Tom and Jerry are two friends who have always had competitions with one another throughout their whole lives. Yesterday, they just finished their most unique competition so far. Each man was given a room to sit in that had several highly radioactive objects in it. The challenge was to see who would stay in the chamber longer. Tom didn't stay in his room for very long, but Jerry felt determined to win and stayed in his chamber almost the entire day. But I can use this background: Ionizing radiation has many practical uses in medicine, research and construction, but presents a health hazard if used improperly. Exposure to radiation causes damage to living tissue; high doses result in Acute radiation syndrome (ARS), with skin burns, hair loss, internal organ failure and death, while any dose may result in an increased chance of cancer and genetic damage; a particular form of cancer, thyroid cancer, often occurs when nuclear weapons and reactors are the radiation source because of the biological proclivities of the radioactive iodine fission product, iodine-131. However, calculating the exact risk and chance of cancer forming in cells caused by ionizing radiation is still not well understood and currently estimates are loosely determined by population based data from the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and from follow-up of reactor accidents, such as the Chernobyl disaster. The International Commission on Radiological Protection states that "The Commission is aware of uncertainties and lack of precision of the models and parameter values", "Collective effective dose is not intended as a tool for epidemiological risk assessment, and it is inappropriate to use it in risk projections" and "in particular, the calculation of the number of cancer deaths based on collective effective doses from trivial individual doses should be avoided." What is an answer for this question: Will Tom or Jerry be less likely to be getting cancer treatment two years from now?
Answer: Tom
[Q]: I have a new situation: John is interested in the history of science. He went to a science museum to learn more about microscopes. First he saw a Leeuwenhoek microscope, which was labeled as item A, then he saw a compound microscope of Leeuwenhoek's time, which was labeled as item B. At the very end of his museum tour he saw a modern compound light microscope, which was labeled as item C. But I can use this background: During the 1670s, the Dutch tradesman Antony van Leeuwenhoek, shown in Figure below , used microscopes to observe many microbes and body cells. Leeuwenhoek developed an interest in microscopy and ground his own lenses to make simple microscopes. Leeuwenhoek was so good at making lenses that his simple microscopes were able to magnify much more clearly than the compound microscopes of his day. His microscope's increased ability to magnify over 200x is comparable to a modern compound light microscope. Compound microscopes , which are microscopes that use more than one lens, had been invented around 1595 by Zacharias Jansen, a Dutch spectacle-maker. Several people, including Robert Hooke, had built compound microscopes and were making important discoveries with them during Leeuwenhoek's time. What is an answer for this question: Which microscope's ability would be more comparable to item C, item A or item B?
****
[A]: item A
Question: I have a new situation: 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. But I can use this background: 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. What is an answer for this question: Which friend doesn't take a drug that decreases blood levels of cholesterol?
Answer:
Henry