Q: I read this background article the other day: Another example of incomplete dominance is with sickle cell anemia, a disease in which a blood protein called hemoglobin is produced incorrectly. This causes the red blood cells to have a sickle shape, making it difficult for these misshapen cells to pass through the smallest blood vessels. A person that is homozygous recessive ( ss ) for the sickle cell trait will have red blood cells that all have the incorrect hemoglobin. A person who is homozygous dominant ( SS ) will have normal red blood cells. I am facing a new situation today: Terry and Jake are currently at a dinner party of a mutual friend. They are having a conversation while enjoying a glass of wine when suddenly on the TV there is a commercial about a new disease. This prompts Terry to mention that he actually has sickle cell anemia. Jake, not having the disease, is curious to learn more and asks Terry to explain more about it. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which person is homozygous recessive for the sickle cell trait?
A: Terry

Q: I read this background article the other day: Once again, a mutation is the change in the DNA or RNA sequence. In multicellular organisms, mutations can be subdivided into germline mutations and somatic mutations. Germline mutations occur in the DNA of sex cells, or gametes, and are therefore potentially very serious. These mutations can be passed to the next generation. If the zygote contains the mutation, every cell in the resulting organism will have that mutation. If the mutation results in a disease phenotype, the mutation causes what is called a hereditary disease. Somatic mutations , which occur in somatic, or body, cells, cannot be passed to the next generation (offspring). Mutations present in a somatic cell of an organism will be present (by DNA replication and mitosis) in all descendants of that cell. If the mutation is present in a gene that is not used in that cell type, the mutation may have no effect. On the other hand, the mutation may lead to a serious medical condition such as cancer. I am facing a new situation today: Dan studied multicellular organisms that presented mutations. Group A presented gemline mutations, while group B presented somatic mutations. He was fascinated by these organisms. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which group had fewer organisms having mutations in the DNA of sex cells?
A: group B

Q: I read this background article the other day: Distance decay is a geographical term which describes the effect of distance on cultural or spatial interactions. The distance decay effect states that the interaction between two locales declines as the distance between them increases. Once the distance is outside of the two locales' activity space, their interactions begin to decrease. With the advent of faster travel, distance has less effect than it did in the past, except where places previously connected by now-abandoned railways, for example, have fallen off the beaten path. Advances in communications technology, such as telegraphs, telephones, broadcasting, and internet, have further decreased the effects of distance.[1] I am facing a new situation today: Two neighboring countries with similar economies, followed different political and economical agendas. Niger developed its infrastructure and communications technology, while Nigeria didn't. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which country experiences more interaction between locales?
A: Niger

Q: I read this background article the other day: For example, a radioactive isotope of iodine (I-131) is used in both the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid cancer. The thyroid will normally absorb some iodine to produce iodine-containing thyroid hormones. An overactive thyroid gland will absorb a larger amount of the radioactive material. If this is the case, more and more radioactive iodine can be administered, where it will cluster in the diseased portion of the thyroid tissue and kill some of the nearby cells. Cancer treatments often cause patients to feel very sick, because while the radiation treatment kills the unwanted cancer cells, it causes damage to some healthy cells in the process. I am facing a new situation today: John is a doctor in a local hospital. Today, he is seeing two patients, patient A and patient B. Patient A has thyroid cancer, but patient B does not have thyroid cancer. John is trying to see the difference between these two patients' reports. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which patient's diagnosis would require radioactive isotope of iodine, patient A or patient B?
A:
patient A