Question

1a- The new coronavirus is rapidly developing. Why can viruses evolve this quick, compared to other organisms such as humans?

1b-To precipitate DNA, you need to add one chemical at the end. what is that?

Answer 1

a. The major reason that viruses evolve faster that is, the "gene pool" of a virus population can change over time is that they multiply faster than other organisms. And that means every new individual is an opportunity for new mutations as they make a copy of their genetic material. In general, RNA viruses tend to have high mutation rates, while DNA viruses tend to have low mutation rates. RNA viruses instead use enzymes called RNA polymerases, which don't proofread and thus make many more mistakes.

b. Ethanol precipitation is a commonly used technique for concentrating and de-salting nucleic acids (DNA or RNA) preparations in aqueous solution. The basic procedure is that salt and ethanol are added to the aqueous solution, which forces the precipitation of nucleic acids out of solution.