Pioneers and Milestones in Biological Discovery

Biology

A collection of hard-level questions focusing on the origins of biological concepts, technical inventions, and foundational discoveries.

science history discovery biology

12 Questions Hard Ages 15+ Aug 3, 2026

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About this Study Set

This study set covers Biology through 12 practice questions. A collection of hard-level questions focusing on the origins of biological concepts, technical inventions, and foundational discoveries. Every question includes the correct answer so you can learn as you go — pick any format above to get started.

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1 Who was the first researcher to coin the term 'cell' in his 1665 publication 'Micrographia' after observing cork tissue?

A Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
B Robert Hooke
C Marcello Malpighi
D Theodor Schwann

2 In 1869, which Swiss biochemist first isolated 'nuclein' (now known as DNA) from the nuclei of white blood cells?

A Friedrich Miescher
B Oswald Avery
C Phoebus Levene
D Albrecht Kossel

3 The first synthetic life form, Mycoplasma laboratorium, was created by researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute in what year?

A 2005
B 2008
C 2010
D 2012

4 Which scientist is credited with the first experimental demonstration of the 'Central Dogma' flow of genetic information using the bacteriophage T4?

A Francis Crick
B Sydney Brenner
C James Watson
D Arthur Kornberg

5 What was the first organism to have its entire genome sequenced in 1995?

A Escherichia coli
B Haemophilus influenzae
C Saccharomyces cerevisiae
D Caenorhabditis elegans

6 Who was the first to use the term 'genetics' in a private letter written to Adam Sedgwick in 1905?

A Gregor Mendel
B Hugo de Vries
C William Bateson
D Thomas Hunt Morgan

7 The first successful report of an organism being cloned from an adult somatic cell (Dolly the sheep) occurred in which year?

A 1994
B 1996
C 1998
D 2000

8 Which naturalist first proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection in a joint presentation with Charles Darwin to the Linnean Society in 1858?

A Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
B Alfred Russel Wallace
C Thomas Malthus
D Erasmus Darwin

9 The first person to document the existence of microorganisms, which he called 'animalcules', using his self-built single-lens microscopes was:

A Robert Hooke
B Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
C Jan Swammerdam
D Robert Brown

10 In 1952, the Hershey-Chase experiment provided definitive evidence that DNA, not protein, is the genetic material by using which method?

A X-ray crystallography
B Radioactive labeling of bacteriophages
C Gel electrophoresis
D Density gradient centrifugation

11 Who was the first person to describe the process of phagocytosis, identifying the role of white blood cells in the immune system?

A Ilya Mechnikov
B Paul Ehrlich
C Emil von Behring
D Robert Koch

12 The first complete map of the nervous system of a multicellular organism was published for which species in 1986?

A Drosophila melanogaster
B Caenorhabditis elegans
C Danio rerio
D Hydra vulgaris

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