Among the most important topics are five unifying principles that can be said to be the fundamental axioms of modern biology:[2]
Cells are the basic unit of life
New species and inherited traits are the product of evolution
Genes are the basic unit of heredity
An organism regulates its internal environment to maintain a stable and constant condition
Living organisms consume and transform energy.
Light used to switch on gene expression. Imagine being able to control genetic expression by flipping a light switch. Researchers at North Carolina State University are using light-activated molecules to turn gene expression on and off. Their method enables greater precision when studying gene function, and could lead to targeted therapies for diseases like cancer. Triplex-forming oligonucleotides (TFOs) are commonly used molecules that can prevent gene transcription by binding to double-stranded DNA.
NC State chemist Dr. Alex Deiters wanted to find a way to more precisely control TFOs, and by extension, the transcription of certain genes. So Deiters attached a light-activated "cage" to a TFO. "In the absence of light, transcription activity is 100 percent," says Deiters. Additionally, Deiters fine-tuned the process by attaching a caged inhibitor strand to the TFO.
"We've created a tool that allows for the light-activation of genetic transcription," Deiters says. National Center for Biotechnology Information. Bonnie Bassler on how bacteria "talk".
Physiology. Ethology. Ecology. Bioengineering. Biochemistry. Astrobiology. Anatomy. Agriculture. Do Plants Have Minds? : 13.7: Cosmos And Culture. Hide captionPlants do seem to have a sense of where they want to go. Brent Stirton/Getty Images Plants do seem to have a sense of where they want to go. In my last contribution to 13.7, I suggested that Watson has the mind of a plant; he just sits there, plugged in, responding to what he is fed.
Watson sees nothing, seeks, hides, wants and fears nothing. He has nothing to think about. Watson, like a plant, I suggested, is without understanding or interest. On reflection — and as readers and colleagues were quick to point out to me — I may have been unfair to plants. For excellent surveys, see here and here. The guiding idea of this literature seems to be, first, that plants do in fact act, and they act in ways which, when animals act that way, we are disposed to think of as signs of intelligence. Granted, by human and animal measures, plants are very slow. Wittgenstein once remarked that it is only of what looks and acts like a human being that we say that it thinks, it sees, it wants.
Trends in Plant Science : Green plants as intelligent organisms. Human Biology. Watching Your Words – How Language Can Heal Or Harm Your Body | The Healers Way. You have healing power within yourself – we all do. And it’s contained within your words. Russian scientists have been studying the connection between language and the body’s DNA, and what they’re finding is the same thing all the spiritual masters have know for, well, as long as there have been spiritual masters! What is it? That language can literally program our bodies. Yes, what you say can heal – or harm – you. DNA can be Influenced and Reprogrammed by Words and Frequencies by Grazyna Fosar and Franz Bludorf The human DNA is a biological internet and superior in many aspects to the artificial one. Only 10% of our DNA is being used for building proteins.
Grammar Rules & Sci-Speak (the technical info) They found that the alkalines of our DNA follow a regular grammar and do have set rules just like our languages. The Russian biophysicist and molecular biologist Pjotr Garjajev and his colleagues also explored the vibrational behavior of the DNA. Repairing Damaged Chromosomes “Phantom” DNA.
Genetics.