WKU Biology
Synthetic biology could be big boost to interplanetary space travel
Genetically engineered microbes could help make manned missions to Mars, the moon and other planets more practical, according to a new analysis by UC Berkeley and NASA scientists. In the cover story of today’s issue of the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, four bioengineers describe how synthetic biology – what some have termed “genetic engineering on steroids” – could allow space travelers to use microbes to produce their own fuel, food, medicines and building materials from raw feedstocks readily available on Mars or the moon, instead of carrying all supplies aboard the spacecraft or making them at the destination with conventional non-biological methods. “Our analysis indicates that (synthetic biology) has a good chance of being a disruptive space technology by providing substantial savings over current techniques,” said first author Amor Menezes, a postdoctoral scholar in UC Berkeley’s California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3). Supplies for a 916-day mission
Antibiòtics, fins quant?
Ja ho diu la dita. "No t'adones del que tens fins que ho perds". I potser és farà realitat aviat amb el tema de les malalties infeccioses. Avui, al diari es comentava la publicació d'un parell d'articles a la revista The New England Journal of Medicine on es descriu l'aparició d'una nova soca de bacteris particularment resistents als antibiòtics. Es tracta d'un bacteri intestinal anomenat Clostridium difficile (el nom ja és indicatiu) que, normalment no hauria de portar massa problemes, però que recentment s'ha tornat intractable. En realitat, un 3% de la població sana (i un 40% dels que estan a l'hospital) presenta aquest bacteri als budells. Així doncs, perquè ara causa problemes? Doncs sembla que es tracta d'una variant amb una especial toxicitat i resisténcia (les dues coses). Els antibiòtics van ser un dels majors avenços que va fer la humanitat en temes de salut. Però van aparèixer els antibiòtics i tot va cambiar. Cap problema. I no penseu que n'hi ha tants d'antibiòtics.
Pharmacology Vaults : Neuropharmacology of Hallucinogens : a technical overview, by BilZ0r (v3.1 Aug 2005)
Please note that this subject is extremely technical and this article requires a background in brain science to fully understand. Some definitions of some key terms are included in the Definitions section of this artice. What are hallucinogens? # In common usage, the word "hallucinogen" has become a catchall term for a wide variety of psychoactive substances, including such pharmacologically different chemicals as cannabinoids; NMDA receptor antagonists such as ketamine; 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine; kappa-opioid agonists such as salvinorin A, and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). The term hallucinogen is often used in medical and research journals, but is rarely given a precise definition. How do hallucinogens work? The history of mechanistic hallucinogen research # Once serotonin's (5-HT) presence was demonstrated in the brain in 1953 (Twarog & Page, 1953) it was not long until the chemical similarity between LSD and 5-HT was noted. -- Connelly B 5-HT2A receptor localization #
Kimball's Biology Pages
Ways to Search These Pages Search Engine. Enter desired term(s) in box above right and click on "GO". (Advantage: finds all occurrences; disadvantages: may return trivial hits, your choice of term may not match mine). Suggestion: Click on search tips link to help you get the most useful results. About These Pages The pages represent an online biology textbook. It has always seemed to me that the many parts that make up the subject of biology are related to each other more like the nodes of a web than as a linear collection of independent topics. Another disadvantage of printed textbooks is the inevitable delay between the time that new advances in biology are reported and the time that they can become incorporated in a printed book (often several years). So although some of this information has been drawn from the sixth edition of the author's text Biology published in 1994 by Wm. Your comments, criticisms, and suggestions are always welcome. About the Author John W. Return to top of page
Controlling genes with your thoughts
Thoughts control protein quantity The implant was initially tested in cell cultures and mice, and controlled by the thoughts of various test subjects. The researchers used SEAP for the tests, an easy-to-detect human model protein which diffuses from the culture chamber of the implant into the mouse’s bloodstream. To regulate the quantity of released protein, the test subjects were categorised according to three states of mind: bio-feedback, meditation and concentration. Test subjects who played Minecraft on the computer, i.e. who were concentrating, induced average SEAP values in the bloodstream of the mice. When completely relaxed (meditation), the researchers recorded very high SEAP values in the test animals. New light-sensitive gene construct “Controlling genes in this way is completely new and is unique in its simplicity,” explains Fussenegger. The system functions efficiently and effectively in the human-cell culture and human-mouse system.
Top 10 Strange Phenomena of the Mind - Top 10 Lists | Listverse
Humans The mind is a wonderful thing – there is so much about it which remains a mystery to this day. Science is able to describe strange phenomena, but can not account for their origins. While most of us are familiar with one or two on this list, many others are mostly unknown outside of the psychological realm. We have all some experience of a feeling, that comes over us occasionally, of what we are saying and doing having been said and done before, in a remote time – of our having been surrounded, dim ages ago, by the same faces, objects, and circumstances – of our knowing perfectly what will be said next, as if we suddenly remember it! Déjà vu is the experience of being certain that you have experienced or seen a new situation previously – you feel as though the event has already happened or is repeating itself. Déjà vécu (pronounced vay-koo) is what most people are experiencing when they think they are experiencing deja vu. Jamie Frater Jamie is the founder of Listverse.
Biology Project U. of Arizona
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