31 MAY 2015 by ideonexus
Summary of "Sirius"
Fifty years ago, the philosopher Olaf Stapledon published
a novel, Sirius, which explores some of the
depths of loneliness and alienation to which genetic
engineering might lead. Stapledon knew nothing of
DNA and molecular biology, but he foresaw the possibility
of genetic engineering and saw that it would give
rise to severe dilemmas. His hero, Sirius, is a dog endowed
with a brain of human capacity by doses of
nerve-growth hormone given to him in utero. His creator
raised him as a member of...Folksonomies: science fiction
Folksonomies: science fiction
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notes
notes24 JAN 2015 by ideonexus
Life with Metabolism VS Replication
It is logically possible to postulate organisms composed of pure hardware, capable of metabolism but incapable of replication. It is possible to postulate organisms composed of pure software, capable of replication but incapable of metabolism. And if the functions of life are separated in this fashion, it is to be expected that the latter type of organism will become an obligatory parasite upon the former. This logical analysis of the functions of life helps to explain and to correct the bias... 1 notes
notes24 JAN 2015 by ideonexus
Science Communication: Definitions VS Metaphors
A hundred years ago, Charles Darwin could write books discussing the central problems of biology in language which was scientifically precise and still accessible to the general public. In those days the subject matter of biology was plants and animals. The language of Darwin was intelligible to experts and non-experts alike. One did not need a degree in {55} botany to understand the difference between a fern and a flower. Darwin could assume that his readers were familiar with the world of...Folksonomies: science communicatoin
Folksonomies: science communicatoin
1 notes
notes24 JAN 2015 by ideonexus
Science Unifiers
Now it is generally true that the very greatest scientists in each discipline are unifiers. This is especially true in physics. Newton and Einstein were supreme as unifiers. The great triumphs of physics have been triumphs of unification. We almost take it for granted that the road of progress in physics will be a wider and wider unification bringing more and more phenomena within the scope of a few fundamental principles. Einstein was so confident of the correctness of this road of unificati...Folksonomies: science unification
Folksonomies: science unification
1 notes
notes17 MAR 2012 by ideonexus
Chance Favors, but Ambition is Crucial
The major credit I think Jim and I deserve ... is for selecting the right problem and sticking to it. It's true that by blundering about we stumbled on gold, but the fact remains that we were looking for gold. Both of us had decided, quite independently of each other, that the central problem in molecular biology was the chemical structure of the gene. ... We could not see what the answer was, but we considered it so important that we were determined to think about it long and hard, from any ...Folksonomies: discovery
Folksonomies: discovery
1 notes
notesFrancis Crick admits his discovery was something of chance, but emphasizes the fact that he was looking for the discovery in the first place and willing to dedicate a great deal of time to it.
16 SEP 2011 by ideonexus
Hen's Teeth
Some atavisms can be produced in the laboratory. The most amazing
of these is that paragon of rarity, hen’s teeth. In 1980, E. J. Kollar and
C. Fisher at the University of Connecticut combined the tissues of two
species, grafting the tissue lining the mouth of a chicken embryo on top
of tissue from the jaw of a developing mouse. Amazingly, the chicken
tissue eventually produced tooth-like structures, some with distinct roots
and crowns! Since the underlying mouse tissue alone could not prod... 1 notes
notesAn experiment from 1980 that stimulated hens to grow teeth by triggering a gene holdover from their ancient reptilian ancestors.
14 SEP 2011 by ideonexus
Molecular Biology is More than Just Morphology
It [molecular biology] is concerned particularly with the forms of biological molecules and with the evolution, exploitation and ramification of these forms in the ascent to higher and higher levels of organization. Molecular biology is predominantly three- dimensional and structural—which does not mean, however, that it is merely a refinement of morphology. It must at the same time inquire into genesis and function.Folksonomies: molecular biology morphology
Folksonomies: molecular biology morphology
1 notes
notesQuoting William Thomas Astbury concerning the need for Molecular Biology to be concerned with Genesis and Function.
04 JUN 2011 by ideonexus
We value throwing a ball through a hoop more than science
That we have come so far in the enterprise of understanding nature, far enough to pry open the nucleus of the atom, to sail through interplanetary space, to lose ourselves in the Internet, and perform medical surgery with laser beams, all of this is cause for great celebration, not fear, and it's time we quit hiding all this under the covers and let these people come out of the shadows into the light of day and take accurate stock of their accomplishments and their failures and make an attemp...
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1 It's unfortunate that we live in a society where professional sports are valued over enlightening endeavors.
04 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
Science Saves Lives
Even at its best, pre-modern medical practice did not save many. Queen Anne was the last Stuart monarch of Great Britain. In the last seventeen years of the seventeenth century, she was pregnant eighteen times. Only five children were born alive. Only one of them survived infancy. He died before reaching adulthood, and before her coronation in 1702. There seems to be no evidence of some genetic disorder. She had the best medical care money could buy.
Diseases that once tragically carried off...You can pray over a sick person, or give them medicine. All the ways medical science has reduced mortality.
11 APR 2011 by ideonexus
Microscopic and Macroscopic Perspectives in Science
In science, simultaneous macroscopic and microscopic exploration is quite customary, especially in biology. Molecular biology, for example, which derived from the application of chemical analysis to biological problems and led to the discovery of DNA and its function as the carrier of information for every form of life, has developed independently from physiology, which concerns the whole animal and the way it functions as an integrated living system. In like manner, the difference between th...Folksonomies: science perspectives
Folksonomies: science perspectives
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notesSeeing the trees for the forest and forest for the trees.
