Which one among the following biotechnologies is applied to manufacture pharmaceutical products such as insulin, antibiotics and vaccines?
- A.White Biotechnology
- B.Red Biotechnology
- C.Green Biotechnology
- D.Blue Biotechnology
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Red Biotechnology. Red biotechnology is the branch applied to medicine and health care, including the making of insulin, antibiotics and vaccines.
Biotechnology is often divided by colour according to its field of use. Red biotechnology covers medical and pharmaceutical work: recombinant human insulin made by inserting the human gene into bacteria such as E. coli, the production of antibiotics by microbes, new vaccines, gene therapy and diagnostic tests. The colour stands for blood. The first recombinant drug approved for human use was such insulin, Humulin, in 1982.
A is wrong: white biotechnology is industrial, using microbes and enzymes to make chemicals, biofuels and detergent enzymes.
C is wrong: green biotechnology is agricultural, such as genetically modified crops like Bt cotton.
D is wrong: blue biotechnology uses marine and freshwater organisms, for example for products from algae.
Exam tip: red = medical, green = agriculture, white = industry, blue = marine biotechnology.
Practice Questions
View allSyngamy results in formation of
- A.haploid zygote
- B.diploid zygote
- C.non-motile male gametes
- D.motile male gametes
Show answer
Syngamy is the fusion of a male and a female gamete, and since each gamete is haploid, their union gives a diploid zygote.
Read the full explanation →Human insulin molecule is composed of one α-chain having 21 amino acids and one β-chain having 30 amino acids. How many functional insulin genes occur in adult humans?
- A.One
- B.Two
- C.Three
- D.Four
Show answer
Humans have a single functional insulin gene, INS, on the short arm of chromosome 11, and both chains of insulin come from it.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is the value of one nanometer?
- A.10⁻⁷ cm
- B.10⁻⁶ cm
- C.10⁻⁴ cm
- D.10⁻³ cm
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One nanometre is 10⁻⁹ metre, and since one metre is 100 (10²) centimetres, it equals 10⁻⁷ centimetre. The prefix nano means one billionth.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following is the general formula for saturated hydrocarbons?
- A.CₙH₂ₙ₊₂
- B.CₙH₂ₙ₋₂
- C.CₙH₂ₙ₊₁
- D.CₙH₂ₙ₋₁
Show answer
Saturated open-chain hydrocarbons are the alkanes, and every alkane fits the formula CₙH₂ₙ₊₂. In a saturated hydrocarbon every carbon atom is joined to others only by single bonds, so each carbon holds the largest possible number of hydrogen atoms.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is not an epidemic disease?
- A.Cholera
- B.Malaria
- C.Smallpox
- D.Elephantiasis
Show answer
Elephantiasis, or lymphatic filariasis, is an endemic disease: it stays steadily present in certain regions and develops slowly over years, rather than breaking out suddenly in a large number of people.
Read the full explanation →