Cryptic Biochemistry Trivia Quiz

Answer: Starch

"Concealed" is the indicator word in this clue that hints at the target word being hidden or contained within a part of the sentence itself. In this case, we can find a polysaccharide (starch) within the text that precedes the indicator word, "The firST ARCHbishop of Canterbury".

A polysaccharide is a complex carbohydrate chain made up of simple sugars called monosaccharides. Starch, found in foodstuffs such as bread and potatoes, consists of a chain of glucose molecules.

Answer: Sucrose

A direct definition of our target word is masquerading as an interjection in this clue as "sugar" and "sucrose" are often taken as synonyms in an everyday sense, even if not a scientific one. The indicator word is "spoil" which suggests an anagram is required; "sucrose" is an anagram of "courses".

Sucrose, found in sugarcane, is a disaccharide with chemical formula C12H22O11; when digested, sucrose is broken down into glucose and fructose, both of which are monosaccharides.

Answer: Lipid

"Fat" - a direct definition in this cryptic clue - is used as a general, all-encompassing word for the scientific term "lipid". Our target word can be constructed by combining "lip" (from the Latin, "labium") and "ID" ('brief" indicates the need to abbreviate "identification").

In biochemistry, fatty acids and glycerol are the components of a lipid. As well as finding lipids in everyday produce such as butter and cooking oils, they are also present in steroids and hormones such as testosterone and oestrogen.

Answer: Acid

The first word of the clue, "initially", is a cryptic indicator that suggests that the answer to the puzzle can be found through inspection of leading letters for a number of consecutive words. Taking the first letter from each of the four words in "Adam Collated Interesting Data", we get A, C, I and D which when brought together gives us "Acid" (a substance with a low pH, below the neutral value of seven).

If the concentration of hydronium ions (H+) in a substance is known, the pH value can be calculated with the help of logarithms. The equation that is helpful in this endeavour is pH = -log([H+]), where the square brackets represent concentration.

Answer: Thymine

An "archaic" or poetic form of "your" is "thy" and an example of an explosive is a "mine". Combining these two words provides "thymine", the name of one of the nucleotide bases that make up DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid).

Nucleotide bases are also known as nitrogenous bases and these complex, nitrogen-bearing compounds join together to form base pairs within the double helix structure of DNA. Thymine is one such nitrogenous base present in DNA, the others being adenine, cytosine and guanine. In RNA (ribonucleic acid), a base named uracil is present in place of thymine.

Answer: Urea

"I hear" indicates that the clue is utilising homophones. In this biochemical cryptic, "You, I hear" is searching for a word - or in this case a letter - that sounds like "you"; the letter "U" fits the bill. "Are confused" can be solved by shuffling the letters around into "rea" (a capitalised version of which is the surname of the singer of my favourite Christmas song, 'Driving Home for Christmas').

"U" combined with "rea" gives "urea", an alternative name for "carbamide" which is an organic compound with formula CO(NH2)2 that is excreted from the body during urination.

Answer: Alkali

This cryptic clue relies heavily on the symbols for chemical elements: aluminium (Al), potassium (K) and iodine (I). Ignoring capitalisation, two aluminiums is "alal"; split this with potassium to arrive at "alkal" and add iodine to achieve the target word of "alkali". The adjective "basic" is a synonym of "alkaline", which is not quite the same as "alkali", hence the use of the "almost basic" definition in the clue.

An alkali is a substance that has a pH greater than seven.

Answer: Amylase

This clue is introduced with an indicator that an anagram is required: "Perplexed May" = "Amy". An "endless laser" makes use of the "endless" indicator which hints at the need to take the final letter off the word to which it applies ("laser" becomes "lase"). The use of "acquires" suggests a straightforward combination of words: "Amy" + "lase" = "Amylase".

Amylase is an enzyme that catalyses the digestion of starch into shorter biomolecules such as maltose. In the human body, amylase is predominantly produced by salivary glands and the pancreas.

Answer: Chitin

"Covering" is used in cryptic clues to signal a compounding of words. "Official note" is a "chit" and the chemical symbol for indium is "In" which, when compounded, results in "chitin". Chitin is a polymer, specifically a polysaccharide, with the formula (C8H13O5N)n. It can be found in the cell walls of fungi as well as in the exoskeleton of a number of creatures including insects.

Answer: Secretin

This clue is looking for a "hormone" and it can be found by compounding the decrypted forms of "half a second", "regarding" and "Sn". "Half a second" is "sec" as it is three out of six letters in the word "second", "regarding" is "re" and "Sn" is the chemical symbol for "tin".

These three in combination ("sec" + "re" + "tin") reveals secretin, a hormone found in the small intestine that plays a pivotal role in neutralising stomach acid in order to protect the intestinal lining.