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A Genetically Modified World...?
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Genetic modification is one of the most controversial topics in all of modern science and with the advancement of synthetic biology over the last decade or so it is sure to become even more of a talking point in the future. Genetic modification is a subject that most people seem to have an opinion on, but I must say that a great deal of those opinions are built upon misconceptions or influenced by the charm of organic propaganda. I cant help but find such misunderstandings quite ironic, for example, the man who strongly opposes the consumption of genetically modified foods, yet requires the injection of insulin produced via genetically modified micro-organisms to keep his diabetes under control, to name just one such example. It seems that ...
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3615 |
Chapman333 |
11 years ago |
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8 |
3331 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Flowers that look like monkeys
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These are monkey orchids ( Orchis simia). This species can be found in Europe, the Mediterranean, Russia, Asia Minor, and Iran.
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4 |
3675 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Shark fin soup
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A new estimate suggests 100 million sharks are slaughtered worldwide every year, numbers that are completely unsustainable according to researchers. The majority of the time, the fin is the only part of the body used. The rest is simply thrown away.
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3350 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Could dietary salt be the reason for increased incidences of autoimmune diseases?
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Researchers at Yale School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and the Broad Institute have identified a prime suspect in the mystery of an increased incidence of autoimmune diseases in the past few decades—dietary salt. In the paper, researchers showed that salt can induce and worsen pathogenic immune system responses in mice and that the response is regulated by genes already implicated in a variety of autoimmune diseases.
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3336 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
What really causes an 'ice age'?
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I learned about something called axial precession in astronomy class several years ago, which is the idea that as something rotates along its axis, it will slowly trace out a cone if the weight of the object isn't equally distributed. In the case of Earth, Earth isn't a perfect sphere as many of us may think it is -- it actually bulges out in the middle enough for it to allow this phenomenon to occur. At the time, all I really took from this concept was how fascinating it is for the north axial pole to move 1° every 72 years from where it is now, and complete one full cycle every 26 000 years. However, I never managed to understand how this concept could fit in to my understanding of why ice ages [1] occur, and why they too follow a specific ...
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2759 |
bio_man |
11 years ago |
Potential treatment for Down's syndrome?
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Down syndrome is caused by a triple copy of chromosome 21, which leads to a number of cognitive and physical delays. Now researchers from the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in La Jolla, California, have found a protein that restores the some of the cognitive and behavioral disorders found in the disease. Mice who were deficient in the SNX27 protein exhibited similar characteristics to mice with Down syndrome—namely, they had fewer glutamate receptors, which are important for learning and memory, the team reported in Nature Medicine on Sunday (March 24). The researchers also showed that in mice with Down syndrome, the protein is blocked by a molecule encoded on chromosome 21, and produced in excess in Down syndrome mice as a re ...
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5606 |
bio_man |
11 years ago |
What would happen if you didn't get stitches?
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I have a big scar on my leg from when I was a kid. I often wonder what would have happened if we let it heal on its own without using stitches. Here's what happens when you do get stitches: Here's what happens without stitches: And finally, this scenario often leads to contamination. In this case, you'd get this: ...
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6574 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Curvy trees
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This is a remote forest in Western Poland, where 400 pine trees have grown with a curvature in their trunk structure and it turns out that no one really knows exactly what caused it. There are, however, a few theories: 1) The main theory seems to suggest that this is the result of human interference. It is believed that this is a tree farm and the trees were forced to grow horizontally in their youth to make a carpenters life easier. The curved shape can be induced by laying a heavy object over a young tree stem. Phototropism will cause the stem beyond the heavy object to grow toward the sky, while the growing stem beneath and behind the heavy object will develop what is called morphogenetic compression wood - which ultimately makes the curv ...
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3267 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Look at this larva that resembles an adult snake
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This is the larva of the Hemeroplanes triptolemus moth. In its larval form it is capable of expanding its anterior body segments to give it the appearance of a snake, complete with simulated eyes. It's mimicry extends even to the point where it will harmlessly strike at potential predators.
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3507 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Gastric brooding frogs
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Gastric brooding frogs went extinct thirty years ago - but today, scientists announced that they have taken a massive step forward in bringing this extinct creature back to life. A team of Australian scientists succeeded in cloning one of these frogs and taking it to the stage of an embryo, and they have now announced that they plan to go all the way and resurrect the gastric brooding frog using cloning technology.
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2825 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
What causes the brown staining of some childrens teeth?
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The brownish staining of a child's tooth enamel is due to excessive ingestion of fluoride. Fluoride is a mineral compound that is useful in preventing dental caries. It is thought to work by strengthening the mineral composition of tooth enamel making it more resistant to acid attacks. It may also reduce the acid-producing ability of microorganisms in dental plaque. The water supply may naturally provide fluoride, or it may be added. Mild fluorosis causes white mottling of the teeth; severe cases show brown staining and usually occur in areas where the level of fluoride in the water is many times greater than the recommended level of 0.7 to 1.2 parts per million. ...
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3731 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Epigenetics - Regulating the Code...
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‘’These patterns of gene expression are governed by the cellular material — the epigenome — that sits on top of the genome, just outside it (hence the prefix epi-, which means above). It is these epigenetic "marks" that tell your genes to switch on or off, to speak loudly or whisper. It is through epigenetic marks that environmental factors like diet, stress and prenatal nutrition can make an imprint on genes that is passed from one generation to the next.’’ Time Magazine (2010) The quote above may well be a few years old now, but its importance is abundantly obvious. Although, three years may have passed since that issue of Time magazine was distributed, a great deal of people have still never heard of epigenetics and those that have know v ...
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2645 |
Chapman333 |
11 years ago |
The kiwi bird
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The kiwi is a flightless bird found only in New Zealand. They're around the size of a chicken, and lay the largest eggs in relation to their body size of any bird in the world. Their eggs can be up to 20% of the females body weight - the equivalent of a 130 pound woman giving birth to a 26 pound baby. ...
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5492 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
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3013 |
bio_man |
11 years ago |