Thread: Biochemistry "critical-thinking" questions

Hey guys! I'm trying to prep myself for the open university course and this biology guide I was given has "critical-thinking" questions but I can't figure them out. Maybe you can help me? The book only taught me the basics of biochemistry (lipids, sugars, DNA) and then it asks these complex questions like I'm supposed to know them (but I would like to know them):


1) Some green vegtables have yellow pigment called xanthophyll, when rabbits eat such vegtables, the xanthophyll is accumulated in their body fat, but not in their muscles. What molecular chemical qualities may cause such picky accumulation?

2) Rely on the structure of actin to explain why does a vest made out of wool shrink irreparably when you wash it or dry it in a high-heat dryer?

Help would be appreciated,

-nerd_girl

For the first question.
I am not sure but xanthophyll is lipophilic, as a result, it will go into animal fat when they eat plants contain xanthophyll. this may be the reason why rabbit have yellow fat . Because it is absolutely non toxic, it will go on accumulation
Its molecular structure can be easily found on wiki

Lipophilic - gotcha!

Thanks,

-nerd_girl