Gertrude Elion — Questions and answers
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What kind of path did Gertrude Elion want to take for discovering new medicines?
Choices
- One based on precise biochemical understanding, not just guessing. ✓
- One that only used trial-and-error, like before.
- One that made therapies more dangerous than the illness.
- One that focused on making drugs for the AIDS epidemic right away.
Answer: One based on precise biochemical understanding, not just guessing.
From page 1
What important building blocks of life did Gertrude Elion study closely?
Choices
- Fats and sugars.
- Purines and pyrimidines, which make up DNA and RNA. ✓
- Vitamins and minerals.
- Muscles and bones.
Answer: Purines and pyrimidines, which make up DNA and RNA.
From page 3
What does 'differential metabolism' mean for how Elion's drugs worked?
Choices
- They only helped cells with slow metabolic rates.
- They were equally harmful to all cells.
- They became active only in sick cells, attacking them while leaving healthy cells alone. ✓
- They made all cells start building more nucleic acids.
Answer: They became active only in sick cells, attacking them while leaving healthy cells alone.
From page 6
Besides leukemia, what other medical problems did Elion and Hitchings' drug design principles help with?
Choices
- Only skin rashes and headaches.
- Gout and preventing organ transplant rejection. ✓
- Making people run faster.
- Improving eyesight.
Answer: Gout and preventing organ transplant rejection.
From page 7
What major award did Gertrude Elion receive for her work in 1988?
Choices
- An Oscar for best scientist.
- A medal for bravery.
- The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. ✓
- A certificate for learning by herself.
Answer: The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
From page 10