Episode 2: Some of the Things that Molecules Do

Question 1

How did humans live 30,000 years ago?

Answer 1

As hunters an gatherers

Question 2

What was the sky used as?

Answer 2

A storybook, a calendar and an instruction manual

Question 3

How long ago did humans begin the domestication of wolves?

Answer 3

15,000 years ago

Question 4

What is artificial selection also referred to as?

Answer 4

Breeding, Survival of the friendliest

Question 5

Other than dogs what other forms of life have humans used artificial selection to improve their lives?

Answer 5

Birds, Goldfish, Goats, Cats, Farm animals, Wheat, Rice, Tomatoes, Mustard, Corn, Coral and many forms of flowers

Question 6

What does survival of the fittest refer to?

Answer 6

Natural Selection, the success of mutations due to advantages in nature

Question 7

What is a kinesin?

Answer 7

A kinesin is a protein belonging to a class of motor proteins found in eukaryotic cells.

Kinesins move along microtubule (MT) filaments, and are powered by the hydrolysis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) (thus kinesins are ATPases). The active movement of kinesins supports several cellular functions including mitosis, meiosis and transport of cellular cargo, such as in axonal transport.

Question 8

Where is our DNA stored?

Answer 8

In the nuclei of our cells

Question 9

Describe a DNA molecule

Answer 9

DNA molecules are shaped like twisted ladders. Each rung of the ladder is a letter. There are 4 different letter types. The different combinations of these letters define the composition of biological beings. There are as many atoms in a DNA molecule as there are stars in our universe

Question 10

Roughly how many species of beetle have been discovered on earth so far?

Answer 10

1/2 a million types of beetles

Question 11

4 billion years ago forms of life had no what?

Answer 11

Eyes

Question 12

What is it called when a DNA molecule isn’t copied perfectly?

Answer 12

A Mutation

Question 13

How were the first eyes formed?

Answer 13

A mutation in microscopic bacteria developed a protein that absorbed sen light. Another mutation caused the darker bacteria to become sensitive to light and flee in to darker waters. This was an advantage as it protected them from harmful UltraViolet rays that damage bacteria. These bacteria survived in greater numbers. Over time those light sensitive proteins became concentrated in a pigment spot on the now more advanced one cell organism. Multi-cell organisms such as flat worms dimples around pigment spot allowing organisms to distinguish light from shadow and crudely make out objects in its vicinity. Dimples then deepened and evolved into a socket with a small opening. The opening contracted to a pin hole covered by a transparent membrane which sharpened focus. Next the lense formed and the hole enlarged to let in more light allowing organisms to see in HD

Question 14

Why has our eyesight never been as good as our ancestors?

Answer 14

Our eyes evolved from eyes designed to see under water. As light bends through different mediums our eyes were required to evolve to adjust to these distortions.

Question 15

What were the great catastrophes and how many were there?

Answer 15

The 5 great catastrophes were natural disasters that caused mass extinctions.

Question 16

What are the great catastrophes names?

Answer 16

Permian
Triasic
Ordovician
Cretaceous
Devonian

Question 17

Within how many years did the great catastrophes occur?

Answer 17

All occurred within 500 million years of one another

Question 18

When did the permian era end?

Answer 18

250 million years ago

Question 19

What is a Trilobite?

Answer 19

Trilobites were some of the first organisms to form eyes. They roamed the sea floors and had large numbers on earth. They became extinct at the end of the Permian era

Question 20

How many continents were there during the Permian era?

Answer 20

One. Pangea

Question 21

Describe the end of the Permian era

Answer 21

Known as the great dying. Volcanic eruptions occurred in what is now Syria. These eruptions were greater than anything we have experienced in human existence. Lava engulfed an area larger than western Europe and the eruptions continued for thousands of years. The molten rock ignited coal deposits polluting the air with greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide which heated the earth. Noxious bacteria flourished in these conditions but nearly all other life perished. Stagnant waters released deadly hydrogen sulphite into the air suffocating most land animals. 9/10 of all species became extinct

Question 22

How long did the earth take to recover from the end of the Permian era?

Answer 22

The earth took more that 10 million years to recover from the great dying

Question 23

What is a waterbear?

Answer 23

The Tardigrade, a creature as small as a pin head, is also known as the water bear. The Tardigrade can survive in boiling water, in ice, in the vacuum of space and can go 10 years with out water. The Tardigrade has survived all 5 mass extinctions

Question 24

What is Saturn’s largest moon named?

Answer 24

Titan. Titans atmosphere is mostly nitrogen like ours but it is 4 times denser than our atmosphere. The air has no oxygen in it at all and it is far colder than anywhere on earth.

Question 25

What prevents us seeing the surface of Titan?

Answer 25

The hundreds of Kms of smog that surround the moon.

Question 26

What is unique about Titan and the Earth?

Answer 26

They are the only two places in our solar system where it rains. The rain on Titan is made of methane not water.

Question 27

Is there water on Titan?

Answer 27

Yes however it is all frozen and makes up large portions of the landscape on the surface. Titan also has rivers, lakes and coastlines but they are all made of liquid methane