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Biology trivia questions are a great way to test your understanding of the living world around you.
From plants to animals, biology covers a wide range of topics, and these trivia questions are sure to challenge your knowledge.
Straight off the bat, here is a warm-up question to get you started:
Question: What type of virus at a Chipotle near the Boston College campus sent over 80 students, including much of the men's basketball team, to the hospital in the fall of 2015?
Answer: Norovirus
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1. What “E” astronomical event, during which the moon blocks Earth’s sunlight, can also affect the flight patterns of certain birds?
Answer: Eclipse
2. What creature with an equine name has no teeth or stomach, mates for life, and is one of the only species on Earth where the male carries the unborn offspring?
Answer: Seahorse
3. An average human performs what basic eye function about 20 times a minute, or over 10 million times a year? At year's end, your eye must be really moist.
Answer: Blink
4. Twenty percent of the oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere is provided exclusively by what large rainforest?
Answer: The Amazon
5. Though it's not as sinister as its name suggests, the eastern hellbender is the largest kind of what 10-letter “S” amphibian within the Americas, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute?
Answer: Salamander
6. The prevalence sexual cannibalism in which after mating the female consumes the male inspired the name for what type of spiders? There are theories that this behavior may increase the survival odds of eventual offspring.
Answer: Black widow spiders
7. An anoxic environment wouldn’t be great for humans, but certain organisms thrive in them. Anoxic means that which element needed by most life to survive is absent?
Answer: Oxygen
8. The rare condition of a dorsal cutaneous appendage on a human being is more commonly known as what four-letter vestigial body part?
Answer: Tail
9. A microscopic organism that is a microaerophile is most stable at a very low level of what atmospheric element, atomic number 8?
Answer: Oxygen
10. What largest extant bear species, and largest extant land carnivore, species U. maritimus, is difficult to see on infrared cameras, due to blubber and fur blocking their heat?
Answer: Polar Bear
11. What bacterium, better known in its partially abbreviated name, is Gram-negative and rod-shaped? It had a famous outbreak in 1993 when “Jack In The Box” inadvertently spread it across four states.
Answer: E. Coli
12. A freaky fungus called ophiocordyceps is also known by what “Walking Dead”-esque name, since it changes the behavior of the ants it infects (almost like it’s controlling them)?
Answer: Zombie
13. Also called a "molecular machine," what organelle found in the cytoplasm of living cells builds proteins from amino acids?
Answer: Ribosome
14. Beginning with L are which molecules that are the primary building blocks of the plasma membrane in cells?
Answer: Lipids
15. Sometimes, foxes are able to pounce upon small prey because they can sense what kind of fields that are naked to the human eye? The foxes can sense changes in the electrostatic attraction between objects.
Answer: Magnetic fields
16. Borrelia burgdorferi is a bacterial species known for causing what infectious disease that is spread by ticks in the genus Ixodes?
Answer: Lyme Disease
17. Omphalophobia is the specific fear of what body part biologically classified as the umbilicus?
Answer: Navel
18. What dozy treetop mammal can hold its breath underwater for a whopping 40 minutes, even longer than dolphins?
Answer: Sloth
19. In eukaryotic cells, the citric acid cycle, also known as the Krebs cycle, takes place in which double-membrane bound organelle discovered in 1857?
Answer: Mitochondria
20. The most common DNA test used for paternity testing is performed by collecting buccal cells, which are found in what specific body part?
Answer: Cheek
21. There are non-image-forming ganglion cells in the human eye (and other mammals) that are still photosensitive and receive light signals that can help regulate and suppress the production of what "M" hormone that helps regulate the sleep-wake schedule?
Answer: Melatonin
22. The term "ctDNA" refers to DNA from cancerous cells that is found in the bloodstream. What does "ct" stand for in this context?
Answer: Circulating Tumor
23. The two subunits of the organelle known as the endoplasmic reticulum are typically abbreviated RER and SER. What do the "R" and "S" stand for in these abbreviations?
Answer: Rough, Smooth
24. All amino acids contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and what other element that starts and ends with the same letter?
Answer: Nitrogen
25. Announced in 2020, the program AlphaFold 2 program became record-settingly good at using AI algorithms to accurately predict the structure of what biomolecules?
Answer: Proteins
26. The goal of any operating room is what “A” term, the state of being free from contamination from bacteria, viruses, or other microorganisms?
Answer: Aseptic
27. TMV, the first virus to ever be identified, is a "mosaic" virus that strikes what New World cash crop--represented by the "T" in "TMV?"
Answer: Tobacco
28. Adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T) are the four nucleobases that DNA is comprised of. The first three are also components of RNA, however instead of thymine the fourth companent of in RNA is what nucleobase represented by the letter U?
Answer: Uracil
29. Which C-term refers to all the “stuff” that’s encased in a cell membrane except the nucleus? (Hint: “Stuff” here could be organelles and the gel-like fluid around them)
Answer: Cytoplasm
30. By what process do cyanobacteria, species of bacteria which are ubiquitous in marine environments, obtain energy? Some species can produce powerful toxins, called cyanotoxins, that can harm people and animals.
Answer: Photosynthesis
31. What iron-containing protein makes up 96% of the dry weight of a red blood cell, and 12 to 20 grams of every 100 mL of healthy human blood?
Answer: Hemoglobin
32. Although extreme cases have been known to attack other organs such as the liver and skin, Berger's disease (also known as IgA nephropathy) is a disease that chiefly affects what organ of the body?
Answer: Kidneys
33. A Latin word for a type of cake gives us the name of what temporary, nutrient-rich fetal organ?
Answer: Placenta
34. Waxy buildup in the human ear is actually a form of what type of wet skin excretion?
Answer: Sweat
35. What “P” term refers to a virus, bacteria, or other agent that causes disease?
Answer: Pathogen
36. What five-letter word means a single-celled reproductive unit that is capable of giving rise to a new organism without sexual fusion, such as those found in fungi?
Answer: Spore
37. With exclamations that can travel as far as 5km, one of the loudest land animals is what aptly named monkey group?
Answer: Howler monkeys
38. With well over 50 million downloads, it is one of the most popular science podcasts around. Which show hosted by Allie Ward has episodes entitled “Food Anthropology”, “Molecular Neurobiology” and “Potterology”?
Answer: Ologies
39. Which infectious disease that’s spread to humans by mosquito bites is caused by Plasmodium spp?
Answer: Malaria
40. In undertaking one of the first ever clinical trials, Scottish doctor James Lind developed the theory that citrus fruits cure what disease?
Answer: Scurvy
41. The ontological precedence between Gallus domesticus and the ovum remains a contentious enigma within evolutionary biology and developmental genetics. Positing a temporal primacy necessitates an intricate dialectic involving phylogenetic emergence, ontogenetic developmental trajectories, and the epistemological nexus of reproductive strategies. Say what?!? Scientists sound something like this when analyzing whether what predated what?
Answer: The Chicken and The Egg
42. Measuring up to 23 feet long when spread out from end to end, what “petite” gastrointestinal organ has three regions called the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum?
Answer: Small intestine
43. The phenomenon of cryptophasia is a language developed between which type of relatives that can be described as monozygotic or dizygotic?
Answer: Twins
44. What "P" word refers to an individual organism's observable traits, such as eye color and body size, which result from both genomic and environmental factors?
Answer: Phenotype
45. Drosophila melanogaster is perhaps the world's most famous "model organisms" used in scientific research. What's the better known alliterative name of this "common" insect?
Answer: Fruit fly
46. Which “ology” comes from the Ancient Greek words for “study” and “house,” and focuses on how organisms relate to the environment they live in? (Hint: You’ll hear it often in environmentalism but it actually belongs to the field of biology)
Answer: Ecology
47. Methanogens are archaea that produce methane as a byproduct, and are found in locations (including wetlands and the digestive tracts of humans and ruminants such as cows) that are low in or lack what element?
Answer: Oxygen
48. What is the name for extremophiles that flourish in a pH of 8.5 to 11, which would be too high for other organisms?
Answer: Alkaliphile
49. The last widely-accepted sighting of a certain bird species was in 1662 on the island nation of Mauritius. Intriguingly, due to the bird's remote home, the creature was considered mythological for a period of time. What is this bird?
Answer: Dodo
50. A person is about 1 cm taller in the morning, compared to when they go to bed. This is because what “C” tissue that connects bones is squished over the course of a day?
Answer: Cartilage
51. Often appended with "tea" to distinguish it from a culture of bacteria and yeast, what is the fermented, slightly effervescent, sweetened tea drink that is often consumed for purported health benefits? Although its origins are not fully known, it is believed to have originated in China.
Answer: Kombucha
52. A unicellular eukaryote called Plasmodium, which develops in blood-feeding insects like mosquitoes and then spreads to vertebrate hosts, is the cause of what deadly disease?
Answer: Malaria
53. A widespread system for classifying viruses is named for a researcher with what last name, which also happens to be the city where John Hopkins University and its prestigious medical school is located?
Answer: Baltimore
54. A company called Mycorrhiza Biotech's products include pine seedlings inoculated with the bianchetto variety of what fungus that is highly valuable to chefs?
Answer: Truffle
55. The presence of an abnormal number of chromosomes in a cell, such as 45 or 47 instead of the usual 46 for a human, is known by what "A" word?
Answer: Aneuploidy
56. Metabolic reactions can be described as "anabolic," meaning energy is consumed to build up compounds, or what other term, which refers to reactions in which energy is released by the breaking down of compounds?
Answer: Catabolic
57. What classic 1976 book by Richard Dawkins is known for presenting a view of evolution based not on the organism, but on sequences of nucleotides that attempt to replicate themselves?
Answer: The Selfish Gene
58. Zymology or zymurgy is the name of the science that studies the use of yeasts and bacteria to conduct what process, important to human culture?
Answer: Fermentation
59. Also known as the Brazilian Treatment, what alternative moniker (named after the protein it uses which is naturally found in hair shafts) describes the hair straightening method where the namesake protein is added to the hair and then run over with a hot flat iron? This treatment is known to add shine to hair and lasts for approximately 6 months.
Answer: Keratin
60. Amino acids are organic compounds that unsurprisingly contain the amine functional group, and what other functional group do they always contain?
Answer: Carboxyl
61. What four-letter word, now commonly used in microbiology, was coined by Robert Hooke after looking at some cork through a microscope and seeing what looked to him like small rooms found in monasteries?
Answer: Cell
62. Though zymology spreads out to all sorts of stuff, "Zymurgy Magazine" caters to home hobbyists playing around with yeast to produce what potable stuff?
Answer: Beer
63. If you want to distinguish a spirochaete from other bacteria, you can ask "Are you a spirochaete?" or just look for what whippy F-word appendages?
Answer: Flagella
64. What "A" word in cell biology means the period in mitosis or meiosis in which chromosomes move away from one another to opposite poles of the spindle?
Answer: Anaphase
65. What is the name of the process in which one germ cell divides twice, and the result is four “daughter” cells that each have just one copy of the “parent” cell’s chromosomes?
Answer: Meiosis
66. The general appearance of a complete set of chromosomes for a species or organism is known by what "K" term?
Answer: Karyotope
67. What is the name of the biological phenomenon that allows certain living organisms, like fireflies, to emit light?
Answer: Bioluminescence
68. The bacterium Acetobacter Aceti is used in the production of which acidic condiment?
Answer: Vinegar
69. Sarah Bernhardt and Ben Harrison were the oddly human-sounding names of two creatures that were first brought to Golden Gate Park in 1890 and have become a fixture ever since. Or, their descendants have. What type of animal were Sarah and Ben?
Answer: Bison
70. Koplik’s spots are the nasty little white abrasions from what contagious airborne disease that's repped by the first Ms in an MMR vaccine?
Answer: Measles
71. 5-HTP: 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) is a naturally occurring amino acid that is a precursor to which neurotransmitter that helps regulate your mood?
Answer: Serotonin
72. In perhaps the first feature length biopic of a microbiologist, Paul Muni starred as what French scientist in a 1936 film about major advances in microbiology?
Answer: Louis Pasteur (in The Story of Louis Pasteur)
73. When a spermatozoon and an ovum love each other very much, they come together to form what alphabetically-disadvantaged cell with a full set of chromosomes?
Answer: Zygote
74. If a bacterium is described as "pyogenic," it means that an infection with that bacterium will lead to the production of what icky substance?
Answer: Pus
75. Carbon fixation, reduction, carbohydrate formation, and regeneration are the four basic phases of what photosynthesis cycle that's presumably pretty good friends with a comic strip tiger?
Answer: Calvin cycle
76. A gigaannum is a term that represents a very long time. One billion years in fact. About 3.5 gigaannumms ago was when what critical process used to convert light energy into chemical energy is estimated to have begun?
Answer: Photosynthesis
77. Hemolysis describes the destruction of erythrocytes, which are also known as what type of colored cells?
Answer: Red blood cells
78. Bismuth sulfite agar is a type of agar media used to isolate species of what gram-negative bacteria, which is named after an American veterinary surgeon, rather than a fish?
Answer: Salmonella
79. "Osteoclasts" are a type of cell in the human body that breaks down what kind of tissue, allowing for repair?
Answer: Bone
80. Yeast extracts, which are used as food additives or flavorings, consist of the cell contents of yeast without which structural layer? This structural layer is absent from animal cells.
Answer: Cell wall
81. Paternity testing by DNA is considered 99.9% accurate. However, there are rare instances in which individuals have at least two different set of genes rather than one set, which can lead to a false negative test. What is the "mythological" term for these folks?
Answer: Chimera
82. Vascular plants have two kinds of transport tissue: xylem, which transports water from roots to stems and leaves, and what other kind of tissue, which you can remember by imagining nutrients "flowing" from leaves to roots?
Answer: Phloem
83. A famous square diagram used to predict the genotypes of a particular cross or breeding experiment is named for what British geneticist?
Answer: Reginald C. Punnett
84. At about the size of a soccer ball, the eyes of the "colossal" species of what invertebrate are the largest of any animal?
Answer: Squid
85. There are three conventional groups of mammals. The monotremes (including the platypus and echidna) are the oldest and the placentals (including humans) are the most recent to evolve. What third group evolved in between these two other groups?
Answer: Marsupials
86. What’s the term for an organism that loves and thrives in an environment with a pH under 4?
Answer: Acidophile
87. Since they lead a more aquatic life than other salamanders, the wild-looking axolotl don't shed what external respiratory organ?
Answer: Gills
88. Separating bacteria into 'positive' or 'negative' groups based on their cell wall composition is what 2-word testing method beginning with G?
Answer: Gram stain
89. Though their stinging tentacles aren't actually snakes, jellyfish are part of a subphylum named for what Gorgon?
Answer: Medusa
90. What 10-point Scrabble letter is used when DNA’s structure is “left-handed” instead of right (e.g., A-DNA and B-DNA)?
Answer: Z
91. What four-letter jelly-like substance obtained from the cell walls of red algae is often used as a substrate in Petri dishes?
Answer: Agar
92. A dermatophyte is a fungus that needs what protein found in skin to grow? (Hint: It’s also great for your hair and nails!)
Answer: Keratin
93. "It’s Every Monkey for Themselves: A True Story of Sex, Love and Lies in the Jungle" is a memoir by what well-known Australian scientist about her time in Costa Rican jungles?
Answer: Vanessa Woods
94. There is a small area at the base of the brain consisting of several groups of nerve cell bodies that is considered the most important part of the brain for sexual functioning. What is this brain portion?
Answer: Hypothalamus
95. What is the Latin "C" word that is used in English to refer to either an eyelash (when speaking anatomically) or an organelle on eukaryotic cells that projects from a much larger cell body (when speaking microbiologically)?
Answer: Cilium
96. Dubbed "Stereo Sue" in a New Yorker article from 2006, who is the professor of neurobiology at Mount Holyoke that maintains a blog on the topic on the neuroplasticity of the brain? Quite literally, that is her writing on the topic of the changing physical shape of the brain.
Answer: Susan Barry
97. Pathogenicity means the ability of an infectious organism to cause disease; what V-word means the severity of the symptoms it causes?
Answer: Virulence
98. An assay using Salmonella typhimurium bacteria to identify carcinogens by measuring bacterial mutagenicity is known by what A-name?
Answer: Ames
99. The highly poisonous blue-ringed octopus warns people to "buzz off" by lighting up super bright rings powered partly by what G-word nucleobase that's in DNA and Monster energy drinks?
Answer: Guanine
100. What “A” term refers to a microorganism that requires oxygen to live and grow?
Answer: Aerobe
101. What “V” is the name of the infectious entities affecting plants that are smaller than viruses and consist only of nucleic acid without a protein coat?
Answer: Viroids
102. Svedbergs, a non-SI unit for sedimentation coefficients, are commonly used to distinguish between which macromolecular machines found within cells? These macromolecular machines are sometimes called Palade granules.
Answer: Ribosomes
103. What is the five-letter name of the neurotoxin produced by the Gram-positive bacterium Clostridium botulinum? This neurotoxin is used for cosmetic purposes?
Answer: Botox
104. Martin Chalfie, an American scientist who got his PhD in neurobiology from Harvard in 1977 , was a co-winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering a fluorescent protein of what color? It is a color often associated with envy, and also Kermit The Frog.
Answer: Green Fluorescent Protein
105. Which body of water in Brooklyn is too polluted for humans, but a perfect breeding ground for new microbes?
Answer: Gowanus Canal
106. If an infectious microbe is pyrogenic, that means that it causes what condition that's defined by the CDC as a body temperature of more than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit in humans?
Answer: Fever
107. What “I” refers to the attachment between a newly born organism and its caretaker? Nobel Prize winner Konrad Lorenz was known for his research into this behavior.
Answer: Imprinting
108. In which subdiscipline of microbiology would you study marimo, giant kelp, and other algae?
Answer: Phycology
109. Which type of lymphocyte has enzyme-filled particles inside it that get released during an allergic reaction? (Hint: Their name implies that they stain well—a dark purple—with a basic dye).
Answer: Basophil
110. Hydrolysis is the process of using which substance to break down polymers into smaller molecules? (Hint: The chemical name is H2O!)
Answer: Water
111. Which C-term describes the protective protein coating or “shell” around a virus?
Answer: Capsid
112. What fungal microorganism, thanks to its associations with bread and beer, was likely the first organism "domesticated" by human beings?
Answer: Yeast
113. What kind of gene transfer, which is abbreviated HGT and is the primary cause of antibiotic resistance in bacteria, is the movement of genetic material between organisms that are not parent and offspring?
Answer: Horizontal Gene Transfer
114. Which group of organisms in the Eurkaryote domain often do not have mitochondria, but have a somewhat alternative organelle instead (for example, mitosome)? (Hint: The name sounds a bit like a piece of construction equipment or something you’d do at an archeological site.)
Answer: Excavata
115. You’ve got your organisms with many cells (multicellular) and just one cell (unicellular), so what do you call an organism with no cells?
Answer: Acellular
116. What proteins, found in eukaryotic cell nuclei, act as "spindles" around which DNA is wound to create structures called nucleosomes?
Answer: Histones
117. What "A" word means the fetal membrane formed in many vertebrates that, in placental mammals, is intimately associated with the chorion in formation of the placenta?
Answer: Allantois
118. What substance causes an immune response in the body that leads to the production of antibodies?
Answer: Antigen
119. Which term describes a specific gene variant that can be dominant or recessive?
Answer: Allele
120. Macrophages are an example of which type of white blood cell that can engulf a pathogen?
Answer: Phagocytes
121. Which subfield of biology involves studying the structures of cells, tissues, and organs by looking at them with a microscope? (Hint: It’s sometimes called microanatomy)
Answer: Histology
122. What is the term for the non-protein molecules that an enzyme needs to be a catalyst?
Answer: Cofactor
123. What term is used for genes that are required for the maintenance of basic cellular function? In a different context, this term is used to refer to the maintenance of a domestic establishment.
Answer: Housekeeping
124. What cellular structure consists of liquid or cytoplasm within a lipid bilayer?
Answer: Vesicle
125. Some animals eat only plants, some only eat meat. What’s the name for animals (including some humans) who can eat both—plus other stuff like fungi? (Hint: According to Michael Pollan’s 2006 book, those of us who fall into the category may face a “dilemma” since we have so many foods to choose from.)
Answer: Omnivore
126. Which term applies to pathogens that have to eat living plant tissue from a host to survive (rather than killing the host’s cells)?
Answer: Biotrophic
127. Austrian pediatrician Theodor Escherich is credited with discovering what disease-bearing bacterium, which still bears his name?
Answer: E. Coli
128. Diffusion involves the movement of particles from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration. A semipermeable membrane which allows only solvent particles through turns this into a process with what name?
Answer: Osmosis
129. Including the G1, S, and G2 stages, what "I" period of cell cycle development is the time during which the cell is not in a dividing state?
Answer: Interphase
130. What single-cell organisms comprise the third taxonomic domain, along with Bacteria and Eukaryota? Many of these are extremophiles, living in conditions that would not support other life, such as in hot springs and geysers.
Answer: Archaea
131. What German scientist founded the field of bacteriology in the 19th century? He also developed a classification system for bacteria and discovered endospores.
Answer: Ferdinand Cohn
132. Microorganisms called what are responsible for fixing nitrogen in the soil, in the form of ammonia? This process is vital to allow nitrogen to be available to plants and animals.
Answer: Diazotrophs
133. If it’s got a nucleus in its cells but it’s not an animal, plant, or fungus, what is it? (Hint: Algae and flagellates fall into this category of organism)
Answer: Protist
134. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) uses to metals to stain objects to be scanned. One of them is gold. What is the other?
Answer: Palladium
135. What type of infection is caused by the host’s own microbiome rather than coming from the outside (exogenous)?
Answer: Endogenous
136. What two German scientists invented the first electron microscope in 1931, although the microscope was not sufficiently capable to be sold commercially until 1940?
Answer: Max Knoll and Ernst Ruska
137. What is the name for dinoflagellates that live in symbiotic relationships with various forms of aquatic life, such as corals and jellyfish?
Answer: Zooxanthellae
138. What subdivision of archaea contains both the smallest living cell (1/100th the size of E. coli) and the smallest known genome?
Answer: Nanoarchaeota
139. What portmanteau describes an assemblage of viruses that are associated with a particular ecosystem--for example, the human body?
Answer: Virome
140. When you think about the seasonal symptoms associated with viruses under its umbrella, it makes sense that Orthomyxoviridae would come from the Greek word for “mucus.” Among the genera are A, B, C, and D viruses that infect birds and humans?
Answer: Influenza
141. The genome of a virus is surrounded by a protein coat called a capsid; by what name are the individual protein molecules that make up the capsid known?
Answer: Capsomere
142. Yoshinori Ohsumi won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Medicine for work in uncovering the mechanisms of what process by which the cell degrades and recycles its contents, the name of which comes from the Greek for "self" and "eating"?
Answer: Autophagy
143. What word describes a cluster of genes, including operator and structural genes, under the control of a single "promoter?"
Answer: Operon
144. Although they may also be abundant in fresh waters, Actinomycetota are best known for being found in what environment, where they are vitally important to human life?
Answer: Soil
145. What "D" word refers to bacteria and archaea, like rhizobia and Frankia, that fix atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia and other bioavailable forms?
Answer: Diazotroph
146. A microbiologist at UC Berkeley discovered DNA that had aspects of multiple species of bacteria, and named it after what cybernetic villains of “Star Trek: The Next Generation?” They similarly build their race by assimilating other species into their own.
Answer: Borg
147. When speaking in English, the name of this animal shares its name with a country. In French and Russian, the animal has a name meaning "from India" or "bird of India." And in Portuguese, the animal is named "peru" deriving from the eponymous country. What is this confusingly named animal?
Answer: Turkey
148. What word means a female dairy animal that has not yet given birth and therefore does not produce milk?
Answer: Heifer
149. Eddie Murphy plays Dr. Sherman Klump, the titular university teacher of biology in what 1996 Disney live-action comedy, itself a remake of a 1963 film with the same name?
Answer: The Nutty Professor
150. Used as a biological maker, green fluorescent proteins (GFPs) were first isolated from what type of marine creature?
Answer: Jellyfish
151. A monotrichous organism has only one of what “F” hairlike appendage that protrudes on the side of a microorganism?
Answer: Flagellum
152. “Micrographia” is the title of a ground-breaking 1665 book written by which English scientist? A law of elasticity is named after this man, a rival of Isaac Newton.
Answer: Robert Hooke
153. It sounds like something you’d bring on a plane, but which term actually refers to dead animal matter that makes a tasty meal for scavengers? (Hint: It’s what comes before detritus)
Answer: Carrion
154. Sounding like it might be made of a shiny metal, what is the name of the substance found in chromosomes that is a complex mixture of proteins, DNA, and RNA?
Answer: Chromatin
155. In mycology, what is the term for the threads that make up the mycelium of a fungus, which grow apically—that is, at their tips?
Answer: Hyphae
156. Which subfield of biology studies the structures of cells, tissues, and organs by looking at them with a microscope? (Hint: It’s sometimes called microanatomy)
Answer: Histology
157. The citric acid cycle, by which respiring organisms release energy stored in fats and proteins, is most often named for what German-British biologist?
Answer: Hans Krebs
158. Robert Hooke was the first person to see cells when he examined what kind of plant tissue under a microscope? These days, you might find it most easily in a wine shop.
Answer: Cork
159. Since they don't have lips to blow on them, Bassian thrushes draw worms out via moving leaves with what kind of expulsion?
Answer: Farts
160. What “L” disease is a form of atypical pneumonia caused by its namesake bacteria? It is somewhat unique in disease nomenclature with its use of the “’s” and the word “Disease” in its full name.
Answer: Legionnaires' Disease
161. Separating humans and some primates from other animals by allowing a specific type of movement, the Trapezium, one of the carpal bones, is found in which human appendage?
Answer: Hand
162. Which “-phile” would you call an extreme organism that just loves livin’ it in up hot springs and those deep-sea, super-hot vents?
Answer: thermophile
163. “Brille” is the name of the transparent, immovable disc-shaped skin or scale comprising part of which organs of some animals, particularly snakes?
Answer: Eyes
164. Microbiologists were hired by Warner Bros. Pictures Canada to create a billboard made of growing bacteria in Petri dishes, which spelled the name of what 2011 pandemic-themed movie directed by Steven Soderbergh?
Answer: Contagion
165. In contrast to Gram negative bacteria, Gram positive bacteria have a cell wall with a thicker layer of what substance, which consists of sugars and amino acids?
Answer: Peptidoglycan
166. What is the name of the genetic structure in a cell, typically circular in bacteria, that can replicate independently of the chromosomes and which is commonly used as a vector in genetic engineering?
Answer: Plasmid
167. Often used to measure the mechanical properties of cells, which type of high-resolution microscopy is commonly abbreviated to AFM?
Answer: Atomic force microscopy
168. Which term describes the breaking down of a cell’s membrane after the outer protection has been damaged?
Answer: Lysis
169. Molecules are produced from smaller units by anabolic reactions; what opposite type of metabolic pathway breaks molecules down into smaller units, often oxidizing them to produce energy?
Answer: Catabolic
170. Dutch microbiologist Martinus Beijerinck is credited with the discovery of what microorganisms? In 1898, he showed that tobacco mosaic disease was caused by an infectious agent that was smaller than a bacteria.
Answer: Virus
171. Aptly named for its ghastly odor while in bloom, what gargantuan flower notoriously takes nearly 10 years before blossoming?
Answer: Corpse Flower
172. A unique mix of fatty tissues can cause dead bodies to mummify into what useful household substance?
Answer: Soap mummies
173. What “T” eight-legged segmented micro-animals can actually survive in the vacuum of space?
Answer: Tardigrade
174. What is the name of the taxonomic domain of single-celled organisms that lack cell nuclei, and are distinct from the other two domains of Bacteria and Eukaryota?
Answer: Archaea
175. The opposite of the placebo effect, which effect is said to occur when a negative medical outcome results from a patient’s belief that medical intervention will be detrimental?
Answer: Nocebo effect
176. A team of scientists investigates the effects of a deadly extraterrestrial microorganism in what 1969 Michael Crichton novel with a constellation in its name?
Answer: The Andromeda Strain
177. Which E-term describes an organism that gets heat from its environment (as opposed to one that creates heat for itself)?
Answer: Ectotherm
178. Because it processes proteins and sends them to different destinations, which organelle found in most eukaryotic cells is sometimes refered to as the “post office of the cell?"
Answer: Golgi apparatus
179. Born in 1822, which French chemist has a type of food preservation process (typically used for items like milk and juice) named after him and is recognized by many as the “Father of bacteriology” and the “Father of microbiology?”
Answer: Louis Pasteur
180. What is the name of the process by which a substance is surrounded by a portion of cell wall, which then "buds" off to bring that substance into the body of the cell?
Answer: Endocytosis
181. What “P” word describes a group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, which feed on organic matter? Historically they were known as “once celled animals” because of their predatory behavior and because they lack plant-like cell walls.
Answer: Protozoa
182. What is the hybrid fictional creature in Dungeons & Dragons that is a cross between an owl and one other animal? This creature attacks with its beak and also "hugs" its enemies.
Answer: Owlbear
183. Due to the cultural insensitivity and unclear nature in which the source of the disease originated, monkeypox was officially renamed by the World Health Organization in 2022 to what abbreviated four-letter term?
Answer: Mpox
184. Now placed in the Chlorophyceae class, Xanthophyta is also known as algae that is colored green and what bright color?
Answer: Yellow
185. In molecular biology, "mRNA" stands for "messenger RNA." What does the lowercase t in "tRNA," which is involved in bringing amino acids for protein synthesis, stand for?
Answer: transfer
186. Which organelle found in most eukaryotic cells is named after an Italian physician with the first name Camillo who discovered it in 1897?
Answer: Golgi apparatus
187. In ecosystems, the way different animals eat each other can be represented in a chart. Different from a food chain, name this chart made up of all the food chains in an ecosystem.
Answer: Food Web
188. If you wanted to blame a microbe for causing a disease outbreak in the 19th century, you might have used Koch's postulates to prove it. What was the first name of the German doctor the criteria were named for?
Answer: Robert
189. The founder of the National Home Education Research Institute, whose curriculum vitae includes a PhD in science education, and MS in zoology, and a B.S. in biology?
Answer: Brian D. Ray
190. What “B” condition describes the presence of viable bacteria within the blood?
Answer: Bacteremia
191. An overturned carnival truck near the home of a certain Mr. Black is one origin story for Brevard, North Carolina's weird squirrels with coats of what color?
Answer: White
192. What 17th century English scientist was the first person to visualize a microorganism, using a microscope?
Answer: Robert Hooke
193. What trapping agent is used in Gram staining to inhibit the decolorization of stained bacteria?
Answer: Lugol's iodine
194. Also known as water bears or moss piglets, what eight-legged micro-animal has a name that means "slow stepper" in Latin?
Answer: Tardigrade
195. Halophiles are bacteria that need high concentrations of what mineral to survive? They are examples of extremophiles, capable of living under conditions that would not support most life.
Answer: Salt
196. What German scientist, who discovered the causative agents of tuberculosis, cholera, and anthrax, is known (along with Louis Pasteur) as the "Father of Microbiology?"
Answer: Robert Koch
197. Free floating colonial tunicates, pyrosomes are free floating cylinders that sometimes wash up on the shore and are often referred to as the sea version of what common sandwich accompaniment?
Answer: Sea Pickles
198. What tube-like organ (generally more ball shaped on a human) makes up one to five percent of an owl's bodyweight, depending on species?
Answer: The eye
199. Based on a 1962 short film called "La Jetée", what 1995 sci-fi film revolves around a man being sent back in time to help discover a cure for a deadly virus known as Kalavirus?
Answer: 12 Monkeys
200. Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and kuru are nasty diseases believed to be caused by what misfolded P-word proteins?
Answer: Prions
201. What taxonomic word describes a group of monophyletic organisms—meaning a common ancestor and all of its linear descendants?
Answer: Clade
202. Which bacterium can survive refrigeration temperatures, is often linked to foodborne illness outbreaks involving raw milk, ice cream, cheese, and deli meats, and is especially dangerous for pregnant people because it can cross the placenta and infect a fetus?
Answer: Listeria
203. Diazotrophs are microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea, that conduct nitrogen fixation in soil, turning it into what colorless gas?
Answer: Ammonia
204. Frequently used in research laboratories, roundworms are also known by what name derived from the Greek for "thread?"
Answer: Nematode
205. Kopi luwak is coffee made from coffee cherries that have been eaten, partly digested, and defecated by what Asian mammal?
Answer: Civet
206. What is the only part of the human body to have absolutely no blood supply? Due to the lack of blood vessels, it is virtually transparent.
Answer: Cornea
207. What is the term for bacteremia that develops into a potentially life-threatening invasion of the bloodstream by bacteria and their toxins, accompanied by acute systemic illness?
Answer: Septicemia
208. The EPV virus is named after Yvonne Barr and a British pathologist. What is the surname of this pathologist? This pathologist shares his surname with the manager of The Beatles.
Answer: Epstein
209. What "S" word means the body's severe and overactive inflammatory response to infection, which can be a life-threatening medical emergency?
Answer: Sepsis
210. Also known as bacterial sex, what gene transfer mechanism involves transfer of DNA from a donor to a recipient bacterium by direct contact?
Answer: Conjugation
211. What genus of anaerobic bacterium, whose name comes from a Latin word for "spindle," causes both botulism and tetanus?
Answer: Clostridium
212. Pathogenic species of what genus of bacteria are responsible for African tick-bite fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and typhus?
Answer: Rickettsia
213. What fungal mold was named by an Italian priest and chemist in 1729, because under a microscope it reminded him of a holy water sprinkler, whose Latin name he gave to the mold?
Answer: Aspergillus
214. Coming after the discovery of viruses affecting tobacco plants and livestock, what disease was caused by the first virus to be discovered that affected humans?
Answer: Yellow fever
215. Complete and independent viral particles, when not inside an infected cell or in the process of infecting a cell, are known by what name?
Answer: Virions
216. Often found in freshwater habitats, what is the name of the type of single-celled protist known for its slipper shape and covering of short hairy structures called cilia?
Answer: Paramecium
217. What kind of “-ation” uses ultrasonic sound to make a cell’s membrane easier to permeate? For example, it can be used to help get big molecules like drugs and DNA into a cell.
Answer: Sonoporation
218. The three smallest bones in the human body are in the ear. They are the stapes, the incus, and what other hammer-like ossicle?
Answer: Malleus
219. What “P” “-ology” describes the study eukaryotic organisms that do not classify as plant, animal or fungus? Its prefix sounds like it is in favor of things.
Answer: protistology
220. What neuropeptide, produced by the hypothalamus, increases the frequency of contractions during childbirth, among other functions?
Answer: Oxytocin
221. In the 1920s, researchers named what genus of bacteria, which can cause meningitis and sepsis in humans, after the "father of sterile surgery?"
Answer: Listeria
222. Micropia, a museum that houses exhibits focused on microbes, is located in which city Benelux city? The museum is adjacent to the city’s zoo, Artis.
Answer: Amsterdam
223. Diatoms, amoebae, and dinoflagellates are examples of which type of simple eukaryotic organisms that don’t fit into the classification of plants, animals, or fungi?
Answer: Protists
224. Copepods are small marine crustaceans found in nearly every saltwater and freshwater environment. Somewhat uniquely, these organisms have three of what part of the eye?
Answer: Lens
225. Which Scottish physician and microbiologist won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945 for the discovery of a fungus that has been called the "single greatest victory ever achieved over disease"?
Answer: Alexander Fleming
226. Different fungi reproduce by different means. Which type reproduces by means of budding?
Answer: Yeasts
227. What is the part of the cell cycle in which chromosomes which have replicated themselves separate to form two new nuclei? This is followed by the division of the cell into two identical daughter cells.
Answer: Mitosis
228. Thiomargarita magnifica is the largest of what kind of microorganism (truly a misnomer) scientists have ever seen? (And it really was SEEN when they discovered it in 2022—the single cell is about as big as a housefly!)
Answer: Bacteria
229. In 2013, there was an animal shot in Hart County that was the first verified sighting of the species in Kentucky in modern times. What was the animal?
Answer: Gray wolf
230. Which light-producing enzyme can occur naturally in organisms such as fireflies?
Answer: Luciferase
231. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, the "father of microbiology," is among other things credited with being the first person to use a histological stain, using what yellow spice?
Answer: Saffron
232. Slime molds are organisms that have characteristics of molds and what other microorganisms? Under certain circumstances, slime molds can exist as cytoplasm, resembling amoebas.
Answer: Protozoa
233. In what “G” French speaking West African nation, whose capital is Libreville, do chimpanzees use insects to treat their wounds?
Answer: Gabon
234. What is the common two-word name of the carnivorous marsupial, the world’s largest until its extinction in the first half of the 20th century, associated with the island of Tasmania? This marsupial was characterized by transverse stripes along its back and is also known as a Thylacine or Tasmanian wolf.
Answer: Tasmanian Tiger
235. Dating back to 3600 BCE in Persia, water-filled "bladder" mattresses were made from an oft-discarded organ of a particular domesticated animal. What is this animal?
Answer: Goat
236. The first published photograph of bacteria was made in 1877 by German physician and microbiologist Robert Koch. The bacteria in question causes what disease?
Answer: Anthrax
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