Solvers are presented with eight sets of two or three clues, and a “sequence library” containing 26 numbered 13-nucleotide sequences. The first clue in each set begins “Number of . . .”; the second or third in each set looks initially like a biological trivia question, but ends in a citation to an unknown reference from a given year. The portion of the trivia clue that’s given is woefully underspecified; clearly, you need to know what the reference is to solve the clue.
Path to solution:
Resolution | Clue | Sequence in library | As base 4 | As base-10 PMID | Answer |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
3.3Å | Number of ATP produced (theoretical maximum, to the nearest integer) per respiratory NADH oxidation | 3 | |||
Chirality of amino acids incorporated into proteins by ribosomes | L | ||||
Homozygous allele in ref. 16 (2015) | CGATCGTTTGCAC | 1203123332101 | 26066833 | 4G | |
2.05Å | Number of carbons transferred to THF by EC 6.3.4.3 | 1 | |||
Method of approximation applied to rare events in ref. 21 (2018) | CTAGTCAACTTTG | 1302310013332 | 30097918 | WKB | |
1.45Å | Number of net positive charges transferred to the extracellular space by the Na+/K+ ATPase | 1 | |||
rRNA region sequenced in ref. 2 (2018) | CTATGTGGGATCT | 1303232220313 | 30337591 | V4 | |
Heaviest atom in the moiety transferred by a kinase | P | ||||
2.9Å | Number of pyruvate produced per glucose entering glycolysis | 2 | |||
Enzyme studied in ref. 13 (2015) | CGAAGGTTGGTAA | 1200223322300 | 25345712 | PME | |
3Å | Number of CO2 molecules released in each turn of the Krebs cycle | 2 | |||
Plant gene studied in ref. 15 (2012) | CCCTAGAGCCGTT | 1113020211233 | 22841711 | ZR3 | |
2.85Å | Number of residues whose sidechains contribute to serine protease catalysis | 3 | |||
Type of damage found to promote HK2 pyroptosis in ref. 4 (2016) | CGGGTCCGCGAAC | 1222311212001 | 28006785 | HRI | |
1.8Å | Number of ATP required per DNA ligase turnover | 1 | |||
First base of the amber, ochre, and opal codons | U | ||||
Brain region whose connectivity is found to be reorganized in ref. 9 (2013) | CCGGAAAAATATG | 1122000003032 | 23593166 | DZ | |
1.9Å | Number of carbons in either product of the second Calvin cycle reaction catalyzed by transketolase | 5 | |||
Mammalian chromosome whose activity is modulated by dosage compensation | X | ||||
Family of genes whose 18 and 1β forms’ response to a microRNA is measured in ref. 4 (2016) | CGGGTCCGCGAAC | 1222311212001 | 28006785 | IL |
PDB ID | Enzyme | Amino acid code |
---|---|---|
3L4G | phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase | F |
1WKB | leucyl-tRNA synthetase | L |
1V4P | alanyl-tRNA synthetase | A |
2PME | glycyl-tRNA synthetase | G |
2ZR3 | seryl-tRNA synthetase | S |
3HRI | histidyl-tRNA synthetase | H |
1UDZ | isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase | I |
5XIL | prolyl-tRNA synthetase | P |