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DNA Synthesis: Chemical Intuition

Written by Samantha Wong (PEACE Advisor) A) What is the chemical mechanism for how nucleotides joined together during DNA replication? What is the nucleophile and the electrophile? B) What is the leaving group for the reaction described above? Click “Read More” to see the answer.  a) 3’ OH on the ribose sugar is the nucleophile, 5’...

Hershey and Chase: Through the MCB102 Perspective

Written by Samantha Wong (PEACE Advisor) Hershey and Chase labeled bacteriophages with radioactive sulfur and radioactive phosphorus to investigate how viruses use host bacteria to propagate. The bacteriophages are composed of a protein coat and genetic material inside the protein coat. 1a) Let’s say that the radioactive sulfur emitted red fluorescence and the radioactive phosphorus emitted blue...

RNA World Hypothesis

Written by Samantha Wong (PEACE Advisor) What are some functions/features of RNA that support the RNA World hypothesis (the fact that the first origins of nucleic acid polymers was RNA instead of DNA)? a. RNA is single stranded b. RNA can act as enzymes c. RNA can replicate itself d. RNA stores useful genetic information Click “Read...

ATP Synthase Insights

Written by Kevyn Niu (PEACE Advisor)  What is the protein subunit that drives ATP synthesis? Click “Read More” to see the answer.  ​F0F1 ATPase *ATP synthase*

Urea Cycle Insights

Written by Kevyn Niu  ​What are the intermediates for nitrogen shuttling in the urea cycle, starting from bicarbonate? Click “Read More” to see the answer.  ​bicarbonate -> carboxyphosphate -> carbamate -> carbamoyl phosphate.

Midterm Madness: How to Focus on Studying

Written by Amy Wang (PEACE Advisor) With midterms coming up, it’s time to buckle down and do some studying. But with the internet, friends, hobbies, and other extracurriculars, there are often endless distractions that seem much more enticing than that textbook. So how do you get yourself in study mode? Here are several tips...

Spoon University

Spoon University is a student-run online food blog that publishes articles about restaurants, recipes, and interesting tidbits about food to the college campus audience. There are two teams within Spoon that make this all possible: Business and Editorial. By operating on a weekly cycle system, this student organization is able to push three to...