Question
Why was what scientists discovered while studying DNA in 1977 scientifically important?
A. It showed that DNA is found within genes.
B. It proved the existence of DNA.
C. It challenged previous thinking about mRNA.
D. It confirmed that mRNA could be found in viruses.
A. It showed that DNA is found within genes.
B. It proved the existence of DNA.
C. It challenged previous thinking about mRNA.
D. It confirmed that mRNA could be found in viruses.
Answers
GPT-5 mini
C.
In 1977 (work by Philip Sharp and Richard Roberts) researchers discovered introns and RNA splicing — that genes are often "split" and pre-mRNA is processed to remove noncoding sequences. That finding overturned the earlier idea that a gene's DNA sequence is a continuous, colinear template for mRNA and protein, so it directly challenged previous thinking about mRNA.
In 1977 (work by Philip Sharp and Richard Roberts) researchers discovered introns and RNA splicing — that genes are often "split" and pre-mRNA is processed to remove noncoding sequences. That finding overturned the earlier idea that a gene's DNA sequence is a continuous, colinear template for mRNA and protein, so it directly challenged previous thinking about mRNA.