Question

A scientist moves a culture plate of GFP-expressing cells from a 37 deg C incubator into a microscope chamber where he photobleaches a spot of a cells' membrane. However, he forgot to turn the microscope chamber's heating mechanism on, and so the chamber is at room temperature (25 deg C). Not realizing his mistake, he wonders why:

a. the bleached area persists longer than he expected
b. the bleached area vanishes faster than he expected

Answer 1

The bleached area persists longer at 25°C due to slower biochemical reactions, while it vanishes faster at 25°C due to slower diffusion rate of molecules.

Step-by-step explanation:

The scientist is observing GFP-expressing cells in a microscope chamber. He bleaches a spot on the cells' membrane but realizes that he forgot to turn on the heating mechanism in the chamber, causing the chamber to be at room temperature instead of 37°C. This mistake leads to two observations:

a. The bleached area persists longer than expected. This is because at 25°C, the biochemical reactions inside the cells occur at a slower rate compared to 37°C. This slower rate of reaction hinders the recovery of the bleached area, resulting in a longer persistence.

b. The bleached area vanishes faster than expected. At 25°C, the diffusion rate of molecules within the cells is slower compared to 37°C. This slower diffusion rate causes the molecules to disperse more slowly from the bleached area, resulting in a faster vanishing of the bleached area.