About this Study Set
This study set covers Genetics through
20 practice questions.
A challenging collection of questions focusing on the history of genetics, groundbreaking discoveries, and foundational scientific techniques. Every question includes the correct answer so you can learn as you go — pick any format above to get started.
Questions & Answers
Browse all 20 questions from the
Milestones in Genetic Discovery study set below.
Each question shows the correct answer — select a study format above to practice interactively.
1
Who published the first description of the DNA double helix structure in the journal Nature in 1953?
-
A
James Watson and Francis Crick
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B
Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins
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C
Oswald Avery and Colin MacLeod
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D
Erwin Chargaff and Linus Pauling
2
Which scientist is credited with the first successful isolation of 'nuclein' from white blood cells in 1869?
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A
Gregor Mendel
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B
Friedrich Miescher
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C
Theodor Boveri
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D
Walter Sutton
3
What was the first organism to have its entire genome sequenced in 1995 by The Institute for Genomic Research?
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A
Escherichia coli
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B
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
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C
Haemophilus influenzae
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D
Caenorhabditis elegans
4
The first successful instance of gene therapy in humans, conducted in 1990, targeted which enzyme deficiency?
-
A
Adenosine deaminase
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B
Phenylalanine hydroxylase
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C
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase
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D
Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase
5
Who coined the term 'genetics' in a private letter to Adam Sedgwick in 1905?
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A
Thomas Hunt Morgan
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B
Hugo de Vries
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C
William Bateson
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D
Carl Correns
6
In 1944, the Avery-MacLeod-McCarty experiment provided the first definitive evidence that which substance was the 'transforming principle'?
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A
Protein
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B
RNA
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C
Lipids
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D
DNA
7
Which technique, invented by Kary Mullis in 1983, allowed for the rapid amplification of specific DNA segments?
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A
Southern Blotting
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B
Polymerase Chain Reaction
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C
Sanger Sequencing
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D
Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism
8
The first animal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell using nuclear transfer was Dolly the sheep in what year?
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A
1994
-
B
1996
-
C
1998
-
D
2000
9
Who discovered the phenomenon of 'jumping genes' (transposons) in maize, for which they were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1983?
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A
Barbara McClintock
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B
Emmanuelle Charpentier
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C
Jennifer Doudna
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D
Elizabeth Blackburn
10
The first linkage map of a chromosome, detailing the linear arrangement of genes, was created in 1913 for which organism?
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A
Mus musculus
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B
Drosophila melanogaster
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C
Arabidopsis thaliana
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D
Zea mays
11
Which Nobel laureate was the first to determine the amino acid sequence of a protein, specifically bovine insulin, in 1955?
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A
Frederick Sanger
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B
Linus Pauling
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C
Christian Anfinsen
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D
Stanford Moore
12
What was the first commercially available genetically modified food product approved by the FDA in 1994?
-
A
Bt corn
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B
Flavr Savr tomato
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C
Golden rice
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D
Roundup Ready soybean
13
In 1961, which researchers discovered that genetic codons consist of three nucleotides (triplets) by using synthetic RNA?
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A
Marshall Nirenberg and Heinrich Matthaei
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B
Arthur Kornberg and Severo Ochoa
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C
Francois Jacob and Jacques Monod
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D
Sydney Brenner and Francis Crick
14
Which experiment in 1952 provided final confirmation that DNA, not protein, is the genetic material in bacteriophages?
-
A
Meselson-Stahl experiment
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B
Hershey-Chase experiment
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C
Griffith's experiment
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D
Beadle-Tatum experiment
15
Who developed the method for DNA sequencing by chain termination in 1977, now known as Sanger sequencing?
-
A
Walter Gilbert
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B
Allan Maxam
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C
Frederick Sanger
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D
George Church
16
The first draft of the human genome was publicly announced by the Human Genome Project in what year?
-
A
1998
-
B
2000
-
C
2003
-
D
2005
17
Which scientists were the first to demonstrate that one gene corresponds to one enzyme (or polypeptide) in 1941?
-
A
George Beadle and Edward Tatum
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B
Thomas Hunt Morgan and Calvin Bridges
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C
Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase
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D
Joshua Lederberg and Edward Tatum
18
The first transgenic mammal, a mouse created by microinjecting DNA into a fertilized egg, was reported in which year?
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A
1974
-
B
1980
-
C
1982
-
D
1985
19
In 1910, who identified the White-eyed mutation in fruit flies, proving that genes are located on chromosomes?
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A
Thomas Hunt Morgan
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B
Edmund Beecher Wilson
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C
Nettie Stevens
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D
Theodor Boveri
20
Which groundbreaking tool, published in 2012 by Doudna and Charpentier, revolutionized genome editing?
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A
TALENs
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B
Zinc Finger Nucleases
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C
CRISPR-Cas9
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D
Meganucleases
