Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Reading

Go to this site http://www.sciencenews.org/ read one of the articles and write a brief summary. Choose an article that has not been summarized by someone else. Post your summary to the blog so everyone can read it. Free points will be provided.
Posted by at

11 comments:

  1. AllenOctober 13, 2009 at 4:02 PM

    http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/48166/title/New_view_reveals_how_DNA_fits_into_cell


    The question of how the nucleus fits all of the DNA into itself without getting tangled and becoming completely useless has been around for a very long time. But October 9th in Science new jumps in knowledge of how the DNA actually fit into the nucleus have been made and they can potentially lead to further understanding of the cell itself.Researchers have been confused as to how the nucleus, an area about one hundredth of a meter wide can fit DNA which at its longest is about two meters long and how it can all fit without getting tangled and useless, no less.

    Physicist and polymer expert Gene(lol his name is Gene... get it? Aww never mind)Stanley states that this paper and research is outstanding because it answers old questions. He also states that it answers questions that any child would ask, which I think is absolutely dumb to say--no child is concerned with how DNA fits into the nucleus.

    True knowledge of the scope of DNA previously remained a mystery because the tools that needed to be used were unavailable. But now new ideas of understanding the distance of each piece DNA was from each other, and using computers discovered a general idea of how the nucleus actually fits all of the DNA in. Now there is a 3-D model of DNA in it's compacted form for reference. This was accomplished by Erez Lieberman-Aiden of Harvard University and MIT, Nynke L. van Berkum of University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester and colleagues.

    Coauthor and molecular biologist Job Dekker of the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester says that this new technology adds a totally new view and unbiased idea of the chromosomes and their structure. Once the method of visualization was applied to human cells it has been noticed that the DNA is highly organized. Small pieces fold in a pattern onto itself and stays in the same pattern and gains no knots no matter how dense or large it gets. This structure was earlier predicted by Alexander Grosberg, a theoretical physicist at New York University, and now is confirmed.

    These studies have also found one distinct trait of the DNA's pattern of folding; it folds and twists but still remains in two halves. One half is bade up of woven, active DNA and the other half is made up on inactive DNA for storage.
    More study and work may soon allow the researchers to answer newer questions. Specifically questions on how to manipulate genes. In due time, answers will be attained but for now “We simply don’t know,” Dekker says.

    It is still untrue at to whether the same patter is consistent along all of the cells or not. Dekker says that there may be “a tremendous amount of variation.”

    ReplyDelete
  2. Matthew PhillipsOctober 13, 2009 at 4:09 PM

    About 1.8 billion years ago, evolution "stagnated,' that is, nothing really new happened for about a billion years (known as the "Boring Billion"). This may have been caused by certain bacteria that photosyntesize using sulfur, not water, which kept oxygen levels low, thus stagnating the evolution of large multicellular organisms. However, this period ended about 800 million years ago, when, some scientists say, Iron began entering the oceans, which ate up all the sulfur, thus starving all the sulfur loving microbes. This resulted in the autotrophs that used water and produced oxygen to grow in population at a huge rate, thus oxygenating the atmosphere and oceans at a much higher rate than before. Article: Earth's 'Boring Billion' Years Blamed on Sulfur-Loving Microbes

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kori HaysOctober 13, 2009 at 4:15 PM

    Article: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/47981/title/Mitochondria_behind_life_span_extension

    Summary:
    According to the article, mitochondria, with a low-protein diet, may have an effect on how long animals live. Or basically, the effect of restricted diets on the body and life span. The reserchers already kew that cutting out calories expands life span, as well as, from past studies, that with fewer calories, the cells change the rate at which DNA from life-extending genes to RNA through transcription. They tested this on fruit flies by giving them a low protein diet and studying the RNA response. This led to the discovery that hundreds of life-expanding genes increased the rate which transcription occurred. As well as acknowledging other, previously regarded as not important life-expanding genes as importan and an increase in activity from the mitochondria (as well as the importance of mitochondria in the aging process). It was also discovered that a protein 4E-BP is important for mitochondria function.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownOctober 13, 2009 at 6:05 PM

    Moon crash delivers no obvious plume, by Ron Cowen
    October 9, 2009

    Scientists have revealed on October 9 that the mission has gathered enough data to determine, finally, if there is any water on the moon. On that day, at 7:31 AM, an empty rocket booster landed on the south pole of the moon where water is suspected to be. No plumes were discovered through the rocket's visible light camera or the telescopes. The plumes were supposed to rise above the crater rim and become visible from earth but that was not the case. After the rockets impact on Cobeus, the southern pole of the moon, LCROSS took a roamed the surface and found invaluable evidence of frozen water on the moon. LCROSS has reported a small amount of infrared light coming from the crater and that the crater had brightened at both infrared and visible wavelengths. Astronomers only seek any signs of frozen water or at least the Hydroxyl radical. Even though the rocket launched from America caused no plume, the rocket launched from Japan did show a plume, which could be seen by a 4-meter ground based telescope. NASA has announced late on October 9 that there was no signs of hydroxyl on the crater, which should show if frozen water were vaporized by the impact. There is still a lot of work to go and only time will tell if there truly is water on the moon.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Heinrich von Wyn (AKA Henry Nguyen)October 13, 2009 at 8:14 PM

    http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/48166/title/New_view_reveals_how_DNA_fits_into_cell

    Scientists have been puzzled by how DNA is packed into a cell because they've lacked the tools to investigate. However, Erez Lieberman-Aiden of Harvard University and MIT, Nynke L. van Berkum of University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester and their colleagues developed methods of manipulating the DNA while it is still in the nucleus. This method ultimately allows scientists to calculate and reconstruct a more accurate model of the 3D shape of the genome. They've found that genome is separated into active, and inactive compartments.

    ReplyDelete
  6. JVOctober 14, 2009 at 5:38 AM

    Getting to the Core of H1N1 Flu Deaths

    Recently studies are leading to the hypothesis that lung failure and respiratory problems are the major causes of the fatal effect of swine flu: death. Because the lungs are the organs that are most visibly affected when a person gets H1N1, problems arise when oxygen tries to reach the blood through the passageway. This leads to oxygen deprivation in the blood, which then results in the death of the patient.
    Studies have been further conducted to theorize that older people have a less likely chance of getting swine flu, due to some sort of natural immunization found in their body. The deaths in H1N1 patients are found to be within people who are in the prime of their life. Very few young people and old people are found within the critically ill group of patients.
    There is a claim that the data collected will help in preparing hospitals and clinicians for the following months. The amount of data already found provides a positive outlook for the present researchers.

    Janna

    ReplyDelete
  7. AllenOctober 14, 2009 at 3:13 PM

    Hey, I have a question that is kinda irrelevant but it hit me on my way home. What, in the molecular structure of something makes it sticky? Why does it have those attributes?

    ReplyDelete
  8. lakinOctober 14, 2009 at 5:05 PM

    Studies show that lung inflammation and respiratory failure are generally responsible for the fatal scenerio of H1N1 (swine) flu. Three new studies have been practiced in parts of Canada, Mexico and Australia and New Zealand.
    Its also a proven fact that some of the symptoms that pertain the inflammatory/respiratory issues can be compared to influenza which occurs more commonly in young adults. However, all can be avoided with antiviral pharmaceuticals. The new studies introduce proof of how the H1N1 flu can permit life-threatening situations. "All three reports find a consistent pattern of oxygen deprivation in the blood of critically ill patients..." Very worst possibilities can be death.
    These studies also show that H1N1 causes massive inflammation in the lungs,leading to fluid build-up,lung tissues and bleeding in lung tissues, (*says physician and epidemiologist Robert Fowler of the University of Toronto...coauthored the studies in Canada and Mexico).A majority of patients in Canada and Mexico used mechanical ventilation, which typically lasted 10 to 12 days but the ventalation didn't help. Several patients at various moments attempted to breathe, obtaining little air but still cannot get enough air. The studies unfortunately have not found a major cure for this predicument however it is now more apparent as to what H1N1 is capable of.

    ReplyDelete
  9. BrookeOctober 14, 2009 at 6:35 PM

    H1N1 flu is back and found in 37 states, CDC reports, by Nathan Seppa
    October 9, 2009

    After largely disippating in the United States over the summer, the H1N1 flu virus has reached it's peak spreading to 37 of the 50 states so far. This is compared by an official from the Center of Disease Control and Prevention to a mere 27 states just weeks earlier. However, vaccines that are said to protect against the deadly flu have begun leaving factories targetting those needing it most including pregnant women and health care workers first. This new vaccine is said to be effective when injected at the same time as the normal flu vaccine. Results from a test in which a total of 800 adults and elderly indiviaduals participated showed that injecting the H1N1 vaccine and regular flu vaccine at the same time do not impair the immunity response to either vaccine. Also being destributed to cure H1N1 virus is a nassal spray to be used in addition to the vaccine. Seventy six children in the US have already died from H1N1 infection, however this new vaccine is proven through trial on adults and elderly to be effective in a single injection. Meanwhile, earlier reports and studies conducted in Canada have claimed that individuals that have been injected with the normal influenza vaccine are more likely to catch teh H1N1 virus. This has not yet been proven in the United States.

    ReplyDelete
  10. JordanOctober 15, 2009 at 3:27 PM

    Paralyzed, then unparalyzed, by the light


    Scientists have stopped a tiny worm like a deer in the headlights, paralyzing it with a stream of light. The mechanism that induces the incapacitation isn’t yet clear, but the paralysis occurs after the nematodes, C. elegans, are fed a molecule known to react to light. While toxic to some of the worms, the reaction appears to be reversible in others,
    By using light to trigger changes in molecules, scientists can spy on a cell’s activity, witnessing what happens when messenger molecules speak with their target cells. “Light-driven reactions can be a powerful tool for studying biological processes. Such approaches are already shedding light on the biochemistry underlying addiction, Parkinson’s and other diseases in which brain circuitry goes awry.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Marissa BOctober 20, 2009 at 5:44 PM

    Solar System's Edge Surprises Astronomers

    http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/48456/title/Solar_systems_edge_surprises_astronomers

    Astronomers have recently discovered that the edge of the solar system is not as they had predicted. Neutral atoms, which are the atoms that give us the image, are more dense along the fringes of the solar system, creating a ribbon-like shape.
    The density of the atoms in this band is two and three times the density of the atoms in the surrounding area. NASA'S IBEX discovered this "ribbon".
    The life span of this ribbon is not known, however theories about the structure of the heliosphere are being questioned as a result of this discovery.
    The ribbon runs perpendicular to the direction of the galaxy’s magnetic field at the interstellar boundary, an indication that the field has a much stronger than expected influence on the sun’s environs.
    Many researchers assume that pressure from the solar wind could compress in the heliosphere in the direction that the solar system was moving through space and create a tail in the opposite direction.
    IBEX has also generated the first maps of neutral hydrogen and oxygen atoms entering the solar system from interstellar space. Previously, only incoming helium atoms had been traced. The sensitivity of the IBEX instruments allowed researchers to record oxygen atoms that travel from beyond the termination shock, about 16 billion kilometers from Earth, to the spacecraft.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)