Cell biology and TCM

I remember our earlier discussion of structure and pattern.

Watching how the cell divides definitely reminds me of how our own physical structure is built upon patterns. Look at any structure and you would see an underlying pattern. Cell divisions are patterns. Patterns are in everything--the way cell divides, or how our heart beats, how the pulse feel, how chords progress in a music composition, how the sun rises and set every day, how history repeat itself....

It is not a this vs. that world. The more we understand the body the better. It is not good to get caught up in the mechanistic details and ignore the whole big picture. At the same time, having knowledge of how thing works at a cell level (the foundations our structure) can greatly enhance our appreciation and understanding of our beings.

Mitosis and Meiosis

It is nice to see the processes in juxtaposition. However, my eyes could go to one at a time. Also, it would be nice it moves a little slower. I wonder what is the time frame of a real cell division.

Link review

Virus Structure

The image of virus on the page looks more like a mechanical thing than a living organism. According to the article, unlike bacterias, viruses are actually not living organisms in the strict sense of the word, because they cannot carry out teir life-sustaining functions or reproduce without a host cell.

So these little guys' sole reason for existence is to hijack the cells and functions of their host, without even having a life of their own--born to kill without conception of life.

It is all very bizarre.

Diversity of species in my immediate environment

In my household, the only moving beings are me and my rabbit. When I first moved here in January, there were a lot of ants, which i have trouble getting rid of. Now they just disappeared. Must be because it is warmer now.

I have a few potted plants. It would be nice to have more greens in and around my home too.

I live in apartment building with 20+ units yet I rarely see the other inhabitants.

It is a very disconnected, isolated place...right at the heart of Berkeley.

Ethics of Gene therapy

On "Scientists guilty of 'hyping' benefits of gene research"

I certainly can't agree with how some scientists are exaggerating the progress and usability of stem cells research in order to gain support. Lord Winston said that "it is unlikely that embryonic stem cells are likely to be useful in health care for a long time." Well, if that's true for using 100% human stem cells, then what's the likelihood that using non-100% human stem cells would work?

General, Organic and Biochemistry links review

I especially like the "Electrolyte" animation. It walked us through the whole experiment and illustrated that NaCl is a stronger electrolyte than ethyl alcohol and acetic acid. It was pretty cool to see the light bulb going off.

My other favorites are "Osmosis" and "Leak Detection."

Definition of Biochemistry

I think the Wikipedia page has a more in-depth explanation of what biochemistry is. I ended up reading about alternative biochemistry.

" Since humans are carbon-based beings and have never encountered any life that has evolved outside the earth’s environment, excluding the possibility of all other elements may be considered carbon chauvinism."

It would be really interesting to see if non carbon-based life forms are possible.

Semi-conductor of the Week

A soft, heavy, toxic and malleable poor metal, lead is bluish white when freshly cut but tarnishes to dull gray when exposed to air. Native lead does occur in nature, but it is rare. Currently lead is usually found in ore with zinc, silver and (most abundantly) copper, and is extracted together with these metals.

Lead is used in building construction, lead-acid batteries, bullets and shot, and is part of solder, pewter, and fusible alloys. Like mercury, another heavy metal, lead is a potent neurotoxin which accumulates in soft tissues and bone over time.


Fun Facts:

-Lead's symbol Pb is an abbreviation of its Latin name plumbum. The English word "plumbing" also derives from this Latin root.

-The largest current source of lead is recycling, primarily of automobile batteries.

-Transmutation of lead into gold isn't just theoretically possible - it has been achieved! There are reports that Glenn Seaborg, 1951 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, succeeded in transmuting a minute quantity of lead (possibly en route from bismuth, in 1980) into gold.

-There is an earlier report (1972) in which Soviet physicists at a nuclear research facility near Lake Baikal in Siberia accidentally discovered a reaction for turning lead into gold when they found the lead shielding of an experimental reactor had changed to gold.

Chemistry online games Results

Chembalancer

This site is great. I like the games. I got 9 out of 10 right on the "Review Chembalancer" and 4 out of 5 on the "Brain Boggle Chembalancer."

Wished I had rescources like this when I had high-school science. Not fair!

Science Education Tutorials and Practice Exercises
For some reason, I only see a blank white box where the tutorial should be. Maybe I am missing a plug-in?