AP Biology students,
Here is our first opportunity to Blog about the wonderful world of biology! Every Thursday I will post a blog promt to get us talking about biology. You will receive a grade at the end of each quarter for your contributions to the blog. Essentially it is a participation grade, so if you respond to my posts and / or respond to other peoples posts you will have met the requirements for this assignment.
So do not stress over this .... let's have fun blogging about biology.
Task find an interesting biology news article on line and provide the link. Next, write a brief statement about why this article is interesting. (No repeating other students articles.)
Science News, November 5, 2013 "Clay may have been birthplace of Life on Earth"
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131105132027.htm
This article suggests a mechanism for how complex organic molecules like DNA or RNA could have been organized with the use of clay particles. This suggests how these molecules necessary for life could have been synthasized before the evolution of the first cell membranes.
Ok, now read and comment on this article (or one your peers posted) or post your own article and comment on it.
This is really interesting, and I think it's also important that we consider how life first originated in addition to where it started. I found an article http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/evo101/IIE2bDetailsoforigin.shtml which details the ways in which the simple original cells went through natural selection and eventually developed into the cells with organelles that we have today. I know that we already talked about this a little when we discussed Stanley Miller's amino acid experiment, but I think that it's very interesting to look more deeply into the subject.
ReplyDeleteNice connection to Miller. Mr. C
DeleteEmma, I think you bring up a great point! Although this article suggests that life may have originated from clay, it is also important to keep previous hypotheses in mind. In fact, it is extremely plausible that life was originated through a combination of Miller's findings and the findings pertaining to clay. I suppose scientists will never really know for sure, but researchers are making more headway every single day finding new and exciting things about how life actually began!
DeleteI found a pretty interesting blog on a potential cure to the disease called "sleeping sickness" that ravages many parts of Africa and is caused by the invasion of tropical parasites. Since there are many harmful side effects of the expensive anti-parasitic drugs that were formerly used to treat the disease, they are not commonly used today, which left no effective therapies for decades. This gap in medical treatment advance caused the WHO (the World Health Organization) to do some digging to find a possible cure. They found out that a specific enzyme responsible for the majority of parasitic lipid metabolism, thiolase, is able to be manipulated by attaching a competitive inhibitor (made of a lipid-like substance) to its active site. This act of blocking the natural ‘signal’ causes the enzyme to not respond normally, which is bad because thiolase was discovered to be the catalyzing agent in the first step of a process that is present in many parasites, which could possibly damage the reproductive process. This information has lead doctors to begin to develop new anti-parasitic medicine using the enzyme thiolase and a man-made competitive inhibitor.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131107123244.htm
Enzymes and cell signaling! Nice job. Mr. C.
Deletehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131107204229.htm
ReplyDeleteThis article is very interesting and weird. A group of scientists from Bristol have made a new robot, EcoBot, that is able to take in human waste and transform that to energy. The robot is able to use a new mechanism that was recently made by the scientists that acts as a heart and pumps the products throughout the robot and allowing it to fulfill tasks that may be too dangerous for humans. This new addition to the robot however has a lot of kinks that need to be worked out to reduce the mechanical failures and blockages.
Robots will increasingly be a part of our world ... teacher robots in the future???? Mr. C.
DeleteHaley,
DeleteI think this article you found is really interesting. It's amazing that scientists can create robots that can function like humans in certain ways. I'm interested to see where and how much further this research goes, good job!
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131108102745.htm
ReplyDeleteI found this article that discusses a potential cancer cure. It is about the enzyme Wip1 phosphatase. Scientists discovered that this enzyme causes mutations that occur in DNA replication to lead to the development of cancer or its defense against treatment. They found that using a drug to inhibit this enzyme could prevent the growth of cancerous tumors.
This also made me think of the material we covered in class, about how protein phosphatases catalyze the dephosphorylation of proteins. This causes protein kinases to be available for the continued response to a signal. The regulation of this system depends on the balance between active kinase molecules and active phosphatase molecules. In cancer, these molecules are not balanced, which affects the cell activity. This leads to the idea that inhibition of the active phosphatase enzymes, as discussed in the article, could contribute to a cure.
Nice article! This is a nice extenstion of our cell signalling study.
DeleteElizabeth, this is very interesting, especially with our study of the cell cycle. I stumbled upon a short video discussing another potential cancer cure. This particular treatment uses HIV to attack the cancer cells. Although this seems to be counterproductive, the HIV cells reprogram the immune system to recognize the cancer cells and attack them. The HIV cells are modified in order to remove the disease from them, yet their reprogramming characteristics remain. These engineered cells can attack over one thousand types of cancer cells.
DeleteThis treatment was used on a young cancer patient. Initially, she had an adverse reaction, but only a couple hours later, the symptoms subsided and the cancer cells were beginning to be attacked. While this treatment is still preliminary, with continued research and work, this treatment could become more much reliable.
While I was reading this article, I found the link to this article on genetic mutations:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131107204241.htm
Similarly to the original clay article, the scientists behind this discovery were searching for one thing and found something much larger. It turns out that humans can have multiple genotypes! This research also revealed a lot about how and why mutations occur, and how mutations like cancer may be a lot less random than we think. This could have huge implications for future research. I'd be interested in following up to see what future discoveries could arise from this.
Nice article! We will be reviewing genetic mutations shortly.
DeleteI think it's interesting to consider that although we might think we know a lot about early life on earth we don't. To still be learning about the origins of life is fascinating. I found this article about bats being killed by wind turbines: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131108091314.htm
ReplyDeleteI've always thought that wind turbines were a good alternative to energy that causes a lot of pollution but in the US millions of birds and bats are killed by the structures every year. I think it's very important that scientists all over the world continue to look for clean methods of energy that are not inflicting harm on other parts of the environment. Bats are very important to ecosystems because they control many insect populations and pollinate some plants. Without them ecosystems could have a dramatic increase in insect population or an extinction of some plants which would ultimately affect other organisms in the area.
I was listening to the radio on my way in this very morning and heard a story on the huge number of bats dying from wind turbines every year.
Deletehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131107093828.htm
ReplyDeleteThis article is about a pediatric brain tumor. The tumor is called a low-grade glioma. Doctors at Johns Hopkins University have discovered that in these low-grade gliomas, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), a genetic pathway, is very active. In 90% of the tumors they studied, mTOR was active. Although this is not considered a highly-aggressive tumor, brain tumors are the leading cancer death in kids in the United States. The doctors have discovered a drug that can greatly decrease the growth rate of these low-grade gliomas by blocking the mTOR. When using the drug, the doctors saw a 73% reduction in cell growth over six days. This drug is a huge advancement in cancer treatment and hopefully could help lead to finding a cure to low-grade gliomas.
I lost my sister in-law a few years ago to a brain tumor. Hopefully advancements like this will extend the lives of many in the future.
Deletehttp://www.macroevolution.net/cultural-evolution.html#.UoGIgiqF_JE
ReplyDeleteAlthough unrelated, I found this article interesting. I guess it fits in with the summer note taking we did. The article talks about how the male Savannah sparrow has changed its whistle due to evolution over the past 30 years. The young birds learn the tune from their elders and use the same tune for the rest of their lives. Significant differences have been observed in the songs today and the songs 30 years ago, although many aspects remain the same. For instance, the song today ends in a low pitch rather than the high pitch of 30 years ago, and studies had shown that birds that sung the low pitch had greater reproductive success. Natural selection played its role and the low pitch ending stuck.
I am always struck at the pace of evolution. 30 years is not a very long time to see such changes.
Deletehttp://www.cnn.com/2013/11/07/health/fda-trans-fats/index.html?hpt=he_c2
ReplyDeleteThis article is about the use of trans fats and hydrogenated oils used in processed foods. Trans fats and hydrogenated oils are most commonly used to add flavor and preserve the lifespan of our foods, unfortunately, the hydrogen found in hydrogenated oils (which causes oils to change from a liquid to a solid form) is negatively affecting our bodies.The FDA is currently working towards making it illegal for food companies to include hydrogenated oils as an additives in their products. The reason behind this possible shift is because hydrogenated oils cause consumers to have an increased risk of getting heart disease. Although many companies, including McDonald's, have cut back or completely eliminated the use of trans fats in their products it is still a health issue.The main problem with trans fat, is that it raises the negative LDL cholesterol which can lead to clogged arteries and heart attacks, the American Heart Association is a big advocate for this shift away from the use of trans fats. The CDC states that by eliminating trans fats from foods, up to 20,000 heart attacks can be avoided yearly. I think it's interesting how one additive can have such a negative affect on the body, I also think it's important to cut back or eliminate the consumption of trans fats so that we can all live healthier lives.
Nice summary. I agree about a need to reduce trans fats, but I wonder about the short time that foods could be preserved without them. Perhaps improvements in shipping will make-up for the shorter "sell by" dates that will need to go along with these changes.
DeleteI think it's surprising that food additives can't be sold without approval, especially since so many foods have high amounts of trans fat. Processed foods we often eat like butter, frozen pizza, and desserts, all have trans fat. The preservatives keep the food fresh for a longer time, so without them food could spoil easier. There are pros and cons to this situation, so I think it's going to be hard for the FDA to restrict trans fat from our diets. Although, if we do, it could save many people's lives and make our bodies healthier.
Deletehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131106084257.htm
ReplyDeleteThis article is about a genetic disease called Hurler's Syndrome, which leads to many mental and physical disabilities that usually lead to an early death. The disease is caused by a defective enzyme that can't break down sugars in the body's cells. Researchers discovered how to use modified stem cells to produce a lot of the enzyme, which replace the defective cells and help to break down the sugars. So far, it's been working.
http://news.sciencemag.org/brain-behavior/2013/10/sleep-ultimate-brainwasher
ReplyDeleteThis article is about new studies that show promising new data about how the brain functions during sleep. As the brain goes to sleep, channels open up between neurons that allow cerebrospinal fluid to flow throughout the brain, carrying with it toxins that would normally be slowly broken down within each neuron. The research suggests that this could be a primary cause for the otherwise unexplained phenomenon of sleep. This is because neurons probably are not able to actively transport or break down waste while also continuing normal functions, which require lots of energy for the active transport of ions across cell membranes. Additionally, this suggests a possible link between sleep and many brain-related diseases such as Alzheimer's, because Alzheimer's patients are known to have large buildups of the same waste products in their brains. This research shows some promise for beginning to treat this and other diseases.
Wow this is a fascinating study. To finally have definitive evidence as to the purpose of sleep seems like a big step forward. It's neat that when people say they are refreshed or rejuvenated after sleeping they are actually referencing a biological process, not just conveying an emotion. It makes sense that animal brains have this system in their rather complex anatomical arsenal while micro organisms can simply expel waste into their environment, although I have to wonder when/where this type of adaptation to a multicellular lifestyle evolved.
DeleteThough a kind of strange article on a topic not too many people think about, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/20/sports/horse-racing-discovers-new-drug-problem-one-linked-to-frogs.html?_r=0 discusses the use of illegal performance-enhancers in horse races. This particular enhancer, dermorphin, is found in the backs of a specific type of South American frog. It is an effective painkiller (stronger than morphine) and prevents the animals from feeling/detecting injuries. In fact, the "frog juice" gives the horses a sense of euphoria and this combined with the inability to feel pain allows the horses to run harder than they normally would. Of course, this could have consequences - the inability to feel pain can lead to greater injury, or even infection. Some suspect that a lot of the dermorphin being used on racehorses is not purely the frog secretion, but has been artificially synthesized.
ReplyDeleteA discovery of this sort always interests me. Even though we as humans know quite a bit about how our world and the life on it was formed, there are still many unanswered questions and countless possibilities. There are always new clues arising that help us understand the formation of biological life on our planet. A discovery of how a simple substance such as clay can help produce proteins, is a concept that ten years ago would have been unheard of. It just goes to show how it is always important for us as humans to keep an open mind when it comes to the study of biology. There will always be things we do not know, so why should we limit ourselves to what we do know? The discovery of clay's hydrogel pockets and how they create proteins through the protection they provide is only a small step on the path to discovering where we all came from.
ReplyDeleteSOURCE: Hughes, Virginia. "How Scientists are Learning to Shape our Memory." Popular Science. 12 Nov. 2013. Popular Science. 17 Nov. 2013. Web. http://www.popsci.com/article/science/how-scientists-are-learning-shape-our-memory?dom=PSC&loc=recent&lnk=1&con=how-scientists-are-learning-to-shape-our-memory.
ReplyDeleteThis article summarizes the progress that has been made thus far in finding ways to treat some of the most common psychological disorders such as addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder through medicine – in other words, by chemically controlling one’s memory to, in turn, make that individual believe something which isn’t true but is ultimately beneficial to them, for their own happiness. It sounds pretty shady, but in the right hands, all things considered, it could be one of the most effective ways of letting millions of people finally get over their pasts and live better lives. In recent years, scientists at Emory University and MIT have successfully identified two drugs – SR-8993 and Lantrunculin A – which, respectively, can essentially eliminate fear and day-to-day memories. Meaning, if these same scientists could ever pinpoint when and where certain memories are fostered in the brain (which they are currently fast in pursuit of) and earn government approval to start human testing, memory control (eek!) could potentially become the next great practice in the field of psychology.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131112163220.htm
ReplyDeleteThis article is about a group of scientists discovering 3.5 billion year old sedimentary rocks in western Australia. These rocks were a microbially induced sedimentary structure, or MISS, which means that they were formed from mats of microbial material. Scientists knew that these MISS formations were much older than anything similar that they had found before once they chemically analyzed a piece of one of the rocks. The findings from the test “extends the geological record of MISS by almost 300 million years.” From these formations, the scientists were able to get a glimpse of what the ancient conditions were like and what some of the organisms around at that time were able to do. This discovery also impacts our studies of the Solar System. For example, the rovers sent to mars are there to look for MISS formations as well. So, by studying some of these formations on Earth, one day we may have a better understanding of anything we find on another planet.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131119082931.htm
ReplyDeleteI found an article about the how researchers from Cornell and NSU looked at a Great White Sharks genome to see what really makes it so distinctive and an apex predator. One finding they made was that a shark's heart transcriptome (RNA sequences expressed by an organism's genes) was more closely related to that of a human than of a zebrafish (which was chosen because it was the most widely studied fish). Another interesting fact they discovered was that sharks had a low level of a certain DNA sequence (when compared to other types of fish), and that the same pattern of these low levels in humans has been connected to neurological disorders. I think that this article is really cool because I love it when scientists can show that humans and animals may be extremely different in many ways, but there are also many strange little similarities that capture and confuse you.
Jane, I found that article really interesting. I was, of course, intruiged by the similarities between humans and sharks, but I was also interrested in the regional endothermy. Also, I found another article pertaining to this: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131205165827.htm in which it discusses the striking similarities between the shark and human proteins are more alike than that of the zebra fish (again used as a control). The study was done by the same Cornell researchers at the NSU complex, however, this article was published about 2 or 3 weeks after the first. What I found interesting was that they studied the proteins of a Great White Shark heart that was confiscated by the government after the shark was illegally hunted. The scientists hope to use these genetic discoveries to help study Great White populations as a whole as well.
Deletehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131121142305.htm
ReplyDeleteThis article discusses a new discovery about the way the flu evolves and adapts to the vaccines by just changing one amino acid in the protein's sequence. The idea behind the flu vaccine is to introduce three mild versions of the flu the body in order to help create the antibodies in the case of a full-blow flu infection. Although considerably effective, every two to three years the outer coat of the flu evolves, making it immune to the previous flu vaccine. Prior to this discovery it was believed the changing of several amino acids in a possible 135 locations caused this mutation, but now this range has been lowered. It is now believed that there may only be one amino acid changed in only 7 possible locations. By understanding this ,scientists may be able to predict the evolution of the flu and help improve the vaccine. I find this article interesting because unlike many of other scientific discoveries, this one seems to have a more applicable result in our lives that could help prevent the flu even more effectivly.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131128141401.htm
ReplyDeleteCoincidentally and conveniently. this article, entitled "Researchers Find Missing Component in Effort to Create Primitive, Synthetic Cells," regards some very relevant topics that we're currently studying. As you might infer from the title, creating synthetic cells requires a very detailed understanding of a cell's inner workings. I don't doubt that scientists, cumulatively, already have a magnificently thorough grasp on cellular processes; however, like the a.p. curriculum emphasizes, evolution introduces many puzzling factors.
Recently, a group of biologists at Mass. General came across an answer to one of these "missing components." The goal of their research was to create synthetic replications of primal cells, labelled "protocells." The precarious difficulty was that the chemical conditions capable of reproducing RNA simultaneously damaged the protocell membrane. As having the potential to solve this dilemma, they decided to shift the focus of their experimentation from building a more resilient and stable membrane to replicating RNA nonenzymatically while using chemical chelators - molecules that bond strongly to ions - to buffer the chemicals that would otherwise damage the protocell membrane. Of course, these biologists know of several possible chemical candidates, all of which are believed to have existed primitively.
I found this article interesting simply because it exemplifies the difficulty of scientific research - really, answers are just new questions. With so many questions and theories, this article is telling of how many uncertainties could be erased with the recognition of a single certainty. For example, these biologists as Mass. General must now scrutinize the abundance of certain chemicals to pin down what was adequately supplied naturally and what wasn't, which they're already guessing will suggest the presence of mimicking peptides. Also, pertaining more closely to this article, I loved how unconventional yet successful the group's diagnoses have proven to be. Nonenzymatic RNA copying? Considering the sequential nature of its modern (enzymatic) variant, to propose that it is even chemically possible to have RNA as some type of basic reactant seems ridiculous. Overall, this finding is current to our class as well as interesting from the evolutionary perspective.
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2013/12/oregon_coast_isolated_from_mys.html
ReplyDeleteI first heard about this on the news a few days ago. Recently it has come to the attention of marine biologists that the starfish living in waters along the West Coast are dying off in droves. The starfish are literally desegregating. This rapid process begins with the loss of the starfish's limbs, slowly falling apart until there is nothing left of the organisms. Entire species that used to occupy the reefs of the West Coast waters have just disappeared. Marine biologist have no idea what is causing this to occur in the starfish community or how it is spreading. They are now calling it sea star wasting disease. This outbreak has resulted in record losses of starfish and little progress has yet to be made on the subject. This isn't the first time a disease has decimated starfish populations. It has happened before in 1983 and 1997 however the death toll was not nearly as high as it is today. For some species upwards of 99% of the species has died off and others are completely gone. Some scientists speculate that the massive die offs are connected to the earthquake in Japan that caused radioactive materials to get into the water, however there is still no evidence to support this. For help local Marine Biologists are asking local divers to report any noticed infected starfish to http://www.inaturalist.org/projects/pisaster-disaster-tracking-starfish-wasting-disease to help aide the ill organisms and help save the starfish.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140113154211.htm
ReplyDeleteEvolution is a part of biology that I really enjoy learning about and that is why I chose this article to share. This article explains how hind legs were evolved from an ancient sea creature called a Tiktaalik roseae. This creature which seems to be a cross between a fish and a crocodile was believed to date back to over 375 million years ago and is the earliest dated creature to have hind legs. Not only does this discovery amaze me because scientists were able to find a fossil this old and in good enough condition to analyze its physiology, but also because today there are thousands of mammals with hind legs and it all stems back to this one creature. It is mind blowing to believe that a single feature that is so common in today's world evolved from a single fish. Personally I believe that this is truly remarkable.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-scotus-abortion-arizona-20140114,0,7908092.story#axzz2qNybGRIl
ReplyDeleteAbortion is such a hot-button issue in the political, scientific, and biomedical ethics communities, the three of which cannot function independent of one another in the 21st century (or so I believe). The issue in this Supreme-Court-case-that-wasn't was Arizona's declaration of when to cut off abortions...18 weeks? 20 weeks? Conception? Roe v. Wade dictates that 24 weeks is the absolute maximum...what do you guys think? Aside from the pro-life v. pro-choice debate, let's assume that abortion ought to be legal in some fashion (for the sake of argument). Where would you, with all of our Baby and AP Bio knowledge of fetal and cell development, "cut off" the abortion-acceptable period? If the baby could survive outside of the womb? When it could feel pain? An interesting debate, for sure.
Reading this I realized I didn't have enough information about the stages of fetal growth to make a well informed decision. So, I found this article (http://my.clevelandclinic.org/healthy_living/pregnancy/hic-fetal-development-stages-of-growth.aspx) that roughly summarizes the development by month. Although still difficult to justify, if absolutely necessary, the 24 week limit seems reasonable as that is around the time the nervous system and senses begin to develop more fully. Past this point, it is much harder to justify as the fetus is almost completely functional.
Deletehttp://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/article/341707/3/UNF-tracking-great-white-sharks-off-the-coast
ReplyDeleteThe shark biology program at University of North Florida has started to track the movement pattern of greats whites that have been caught off the coast of Jacksonville. This recent attempt to track the great whites has picked up on some interesting movement patterns. The trackers that have been placed off the coat of Jacksonville picked up on sharks that had been tagged in Massachusetts, further giving support to the theory of many shark biologist that great whites migrate along the coast, going from the north in the summer to the south in the winter much like the migration of birds. The website also provides a link to see the current GPS location of the tagged sharks.
I think more testing is needed on this hypothesis. The article notes that clay hydrogel is a good protective medium. Clay doesn't conduct electricity well, one source of energy for the formation of biomolecules. Clay is a good conductor of heat and heat denatures protein. Also, biomolecules created in such an environment would have been isolated. What mechanism would have allowed them to escape their “protected bubble” and come together with other biomolecules to form more complex molecules and interactions?
ReplyDeletehttp://phys.org/news/2014-01-genomes-modern-dogs-wolves-insights.html
ReplyDeleteThe domestication of dogs has long been considered one of the more important events in human evolution, and these recent data contribute a great deal to dispelling the rather simplistic assumption that men merely adopted some wolves, who became dogs -instead, they grant us an idea of how complex fluctuations in group populations and geography have contributed to a diverging evolution in both wolves and dogs. This then further provides insight into the evolution of humans over the past thousands of years, and can perhaps yield some unexpected revelations in Ecology and Natural History.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140116130646.htm
ReplyDeleteThis article examines the new knowledge of the Gi tract and especially the symbiotic relationship between digestive bacteria and the absorptive cells of the intestine. This breakthrough research may lead to bigger development surrounding GI tract diseases such as Crohn's, Inflammatory Bowel Disorder, and Gastroenteritis. New treatment options based on these symbiosis of the bacteria and intestine may unlock the key to creating more effective methods for treatment, especially for patients dealing with the effects of these stomach and GI tract illnesses.
This actually reminds me of the Stanley Miller experiment (the validity of which has now been called into question) which explored the possibility that amino acids could have been synthesized from basic primordial chemicals.
ReplyDeleteI think it's very interesting that organic molecules could have come from just the right mixture of inorganic chemicals - what would have happened if the conditions were just slightly too acidic or basic, or the spaces in the clay were slightly too small or large? Life may have been very different from what it is today.
After reading this article, I browsed around a bit on the website and came across a short one on the benefits of drinking tea. As an avid tea fan, I could not help but click on it; I have always been told drinking tea can be good for your health. According to the article, it has properties that allow it to be a natural cancer-deterrent, and at the same time, it boosts metabolism, allowing one to burn more fat, and it can also increase stamina. One downside of the article, however, was its lack of look into the negative sides, if anything major is present, within tea. Of course there is the caffeine, which has ups and downs, but what other positive or negative qualities might this interesting plant possess?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/h/health_benefits_of_tea.htm
http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/01/chemical-process-turns-any-plant-mattereven-treesinto-biofuels/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+arstechnica%2Findex+%28Ars+Technica+-+All+content%29
ReplyDeleteAlthough my articles ventures a little into the realm of chemistry, I found its relation to biology and biofuels interesting and relevant nonetheless. Basically, researchers at U Wisconsin Madison have discovered a new process for converting everyday plant matter and materials into usable sugar biofuels. The article describes that although scientists have known for years that sugars can easily be converted into ethanol as fuel, finding ample amounts of sugar from sources that don't interfere with our food supply was very challenging. What these researchers have discovered is that by using a relatively simple chemical process they can convert cellulose, plant material that is present nearly everywhere on our planet, into these usable sugars. The process begins by breaking down the tightly bound cellulose into a more usable state through gamma-valerolactone. After the first stage, the cellulose is then broken down into usable sugar through an addition of sulfuric acid. After doing some classic moon shine making and adding yeast to this sugar, ethanol gas is produced that can be used as fuel!
I find it astounding how many solutions are coming to address the energy crisis issue facing our society today. Although we have many alternatives to gasoline and other dead end energy sources, the true challenge to solving the crisis will most likely be enacting these new fuel sources globally and conquering the economic stranglehold oil still has on the world.
http://www.npr.org/2014/01/15/262735123/to-save-threatened-owl-another-species-is-shot
ReplyDeleteThis article is especially intriguing because it brings up the hot-button issue of whether we should shoot to save endangered species, or leave it to nature. Across the northwestern territory of the northern spotted owls, biologists are shooting barred owls that have crossed the continent and started populating the west. The northern spotted owl is an endangered species. In the 1990s the federal government gave the species a threatened designation, protecting both the bird and their nesting forest. However, now the bigger barred owls are invading the spotted owl’s historic nesting sites and are outcompeting the spotted owls by disrupting their nesting and eating their food. Since barred owls are not easy to remove and relocating them can be time consuming and tragic for the birds, the only feasible choice is to shoot them. This decision has brought up a large dilemma which conflicts with both the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Endangered Species Act.
While I support the preservation of endangered species, I often question whether preventing Darwinian competition is actually beneficial for the environment and many species. Clearly the dominant species in this situation is the barred owl and according to natural selection this species should be rightfully passing on the best-fit genetic traits. The question remains though, would the spotted owl have become endangered if humans had not disrupted their habitat with extensive logging? Should we protect one species over another?
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140123141742.htm
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting because it shows the evolution of a mutant gene passed on through generations all the while giving rise to new mutations. The cancer also displays how a disease can start in isolation but then spread throughout the world by carriers visiting other places and infecting the natives. It also amazes me that a cancer can live and spread for 11,000 years because usually cancer cells die with the organism. Furthermore, scientists can use the genome of the dog cancer to learn about transmissible cancers in case they arise in humans.
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2013/07/30/antibiotic.reduction.campaigns.do.not.necessarily.reduce.resistance
ReplyDeleteNC State researchers are working on a compound to fight an increasingly common type of staph infection called MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). MRSA is a highly contagious infection that is resistant to the typical treatment of antibiotics. The compound recently developed removes the bacteria’s antibiotic resistance. MRSA is hard to treat with antibiotics because it creates a biofilm or makes genetic chances and the antibiotic isn’t as effective when this happens or has to be used in extremely high doses. This new compound makes it so the antibiotics are not recognized as a threat by the bacteria and therefore they don’t defend themselves against it.
There has been a lot of talk about overuse of antibiotics and the affect it will have in the future on our ability to fight off certain infections. I think we do need to cut down on our use of antibiotics and antibiotic products. It is hard to find soap in the store that doesn’t say “antibacterial” on the label, and I hope this trend will change as people realize that antibacterial products are becoming overused leading to a possible health crisis. I was glad to read that researchers are working on a scientific solution to this crisis, but I still think we need to cut down on our overuse of antibiotics and antibiotic products.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140123142029.htm
ReplyDeleteI found this article particularly interesting because it dealt with a question that came up during class. Namely, why do organisms have so much noncoding DNA? Scientists studying a species of fruit fly have determined that completely new genes were being created from segments of noncoding DNA. This poses a more refined set of questions for scientists, as many dismissed noncoding DNA as useless. I'm curious whether new genes in humans also spring from noncoding DNA, what other functions it may serve, where it came from, and whether or not we can use this information to answer similar questions about other organisms.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/11/131104-giant-platypus-evolution-science-animals-paleontology/
ReplyDeleteAs far as mammals, go platypi are among the most unique and certainly the most interesting. What's more interesting than regular platypi though, are giant, ancient platypi who's predatation was the scourge of ancient lungfish and turtles. Scientists have discovered a tooth belong to such an organism, which has greatly changed affected how scientists view the platypus evolutionary tree. Before this discovery, all of the known platypus species (extinct and extant) were extremely similar to each other, varying only in subtle features. Now though, with the addition of this far out family member, scientists are speculating that the platypus evolutionary tree may not be as narrow as they previously suspected.
Controlling Parasitic Worms With Genetic Selection
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131219131225.htm
Parasitic worms have become a frequent issue in the Canadian sheep market, as the breeds in Canada appear to be more susceptible to the worms than those in other regions. In the past, the industry has relied on drugs to combat the problem, but now there is a push to pursue more permanent and less potentially harmful fixes. Specifically, they've begun to look into using genetic selection to breed sheep that are resistant to the parasites. It's a bit surprising that researchers have only recently come to this conclusion, as simple breeding tactics seem a much more obvious solution than the continuous use of drugs. This is promising though, as it could signal more natural answers to other obstacles in a multitude of scientific fields.
After reading Mr. Clark's article I immediately thought of comets and how there is a theory behind the belief that the earth was seeded with organic materials and and other molecules necessary for life to arise (like water) from comets smashing into the earth's surface. So it made me wonder whether clay was present on comets too.
ReplyDeleteI followed up on my connection to this article: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/10/1002_031002_cometstudy.html.
Even though this article mainly addressed astronomy, I found the connections made to biology relatively interesting.