“cool molecular biology hacks.. optigenetics, folding, etc - Salon” plus 4 more |
- cool molecular biology hacks.. optigenetics, folding, etc - Salon
- For Vince Huntsberger, adrenaline rush still matters - Montana Standard
- Local girls crowned in Auburn pageant - MLive.com
- ASU and NSA Drum Louder Than Ever - New University Newspaper
- Medical colleges to be made Centres of Excellence - Hindu Business Line
| cool molecular biology hacks.. optigenetics, folding, etc - Salon Posted: 25 Dec 2009 01:41 PM PST hi all, molecular biology is one of the very cool fields that has a lot of potential to "explode" in significance in the near future, say the next decade. we've already seen stunning advances in the ability to analyze (sequence)/manipulate dna etcetera. the drug/pharmaceutical industry is starting to lose its luster. it had a lot of promise years ago but now its looking like there just arent that many drugs out there. the successful ones, after billions of dollars of research, are toy/gimmick-like stuff such as viagra. do you want your drugs invented, mfgd and marketed by the hollywood-industrial complex? that seems to be the reality.... the big problem with drugs is the lack of specificity. they rarely pass various barriers in the body and when they do, tend to just flood the whole system indiscriminately. overall, a very low-tech approach to medicine. I just read this amazing article in wired re molecular biology and this new technology of "optigenetics". [1] it inspired me to write a few words. basically over the last few years, researchers have been experimenting with a molecular switch that can be found in algae. it helps them move when light shines on them. (I am not sure the evolutionary purpose of this.. maybe it helps them swim to the surface or something?) this switch has been isolated, and then someone had the brilliant idea of maybe hooking it up to neurons. the short story-- it works, and it can be used to control neurons in an astonishing way. the delivery system is really incredible and scifi sounding.. they load the switch into viruses and then the viruses dump the switch payload into the neurons. theres also a targeting system where the switch is hooked up to a molecular "key" that only fits in certain neurons. they are already plugging this into monkey brains to turn on neurons in a very selective way. and it apparently has no deleterious effects so far. (I am sure that longterm use would probably have some side effects.) it has also been used to successfully treat parkinsons disease models in mice!! amazing stuff man. ok, so here's the scenario. this could be the pathway to a matrix-like interface as the wired article/cover picture hints at. scientists are already talking about this for hearing and vision implants. now, the matrix implant is just a sort of implant into a working person, where one could use a device to bypass the normal neuronal signals to the ears/eyes with a generated signal. could it happen in my lifetime? maybe if Im lucky. probably just barely. * * * another cool area of molecular biology Ive been following for many years is the protein folding problem. the basic question is this. the dna goes into the ribosome which is the protein mfging plant of the cell. the robosome strings amino acids together as dictated by the dna. these strings then fold up magically into a protein. the dynamics of this protein folding is still poorly understood. there are some models. quantum mechanics probably plays some role. there are some simulations that do a good job of predicting the 3d "conformations" but there is still a lot of mystery and room for innovation in this area. scientists are using supercomputers and inventing new algorithms all the time. a remarkable recent finding is [2] that shows that the proteins have some sort of similarity property, where all the proteins are not so dissimilar from each other. ie the building blocks are not so distantly related, but more like close neighbors in what might be called "conformation space". * * * another amazing article I read recently is [3] that shows that a laser, precisely tuned, could be used to literally "blow up" a virus by hitting it with its resonant frequency. it shatters in much the same way that an opera singer can break a wine glass by singing at the resonant frequency.
there is a remarkable book on his life [4] that says he figured out a cure for cancer by using a similar system. he would shoot something like weak microwaves into a human body tuned at precisely the right frequency to break up cancer cells. he believed that cancer was caused by a very small disease entity, he could actually filter it using very fine filters. a virus? it seems possible. and how come you've never heard of Rife? [5] his life shows some similarity to another brilliant inventor farnsworth [6] who doesnt get much credit. in short though, Ive concluded long ago that history is imperfect at best, and corrupt at worst in recognizing accurately the great heroes of an age. history and fame is, and has always been, subject to marketing dynamics/pressure. I guess thats the topic of a whole other conspiracy rant. but because its xmas, I guess Ill save it for later. I really dont know much about jesus or how much of the story of his life is true, but I guess Im willing to pretend a little or act "as if" sometimes. oh yeah that reminds me of something else. my dad got intestinal cancer recently and they cut out about 1/3 of his intenstine, and he's currently on chemotherapy for 6mos. add that to my fraternal twin brother probably being schizophrenic for about 1/2 decade, well my family feels like its kinda falling apart sometimes. killer, man. the forces of entropy applied to biology, I guess. topic for another post I guess. cancer really forces a rethink of reality. what the heck is it? could it be caused by a virus? [some forms are...] why has it persisted so long as a disease? its probably as old as humanity, I would guess, and maybe far older, because cancer in other animals like mice is not all that different than the version in humans.
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | |
| For Vince Huntsberger, adrenaline rush still matters - Montana Standard Posted: 26 Dec 2009 02:41 AM PST Ex-Griz strong safety an emergency medicine physician | BY BILL SCHWANKE of missoulian.com - 12/26/2009 MISSOULA — When it came time for Vince Huntsberger to settle on a medical specialty during his long run through medical school, it was all about the adrenaline. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Local girls crowned in Auburn pageant - MLive.com Posted: 26 Dec 2009 05:04 AM PST By Krystal Kozuch | The Bay City TimesDecember 26, 2009, 8:00AM
Sydney Learman was crowned Miss Auburn-Midland 2010 during a recent pageant at Western High School in Auburn. Learman, 21, is a student at Albion College, majoring in biology and chemistry with a minor in communication. Her parents are Lindsay and Michael Learman of Linwood. Learman performed the piano piece "Nola" for the talent portion of the competition. As Miss Auburn-Midland, Learman has the opportunity to compete for the Miss Michigan title next June in Muskegon. This year's first runner-up was Ashley LaForest of Saginaw. She is the daughter of Tracie Webb and Jerome LaForest. Second runner-up was Alyssa Bedford of Saginaw. She is the daughter of Terri Ginter and Russ Bedford. The Auburn-Midland junior title holders were crowned recently during an afternoon pageant held at Western High School in Auburn. The winners are: • Miss Auburn-Midland Outstanding Teen, Abbey Hemingway, 16, of Columbiaville. Her parents are Cyndi and Mark Hemingway. As Outstanding Teen, Hemingway has the opportunity to complete for the Miss Michigan Outstanding Teen title in Muskegon next June. • Junior Miss Auburn-Midland, Alex Herrera, 10, of Saginaw. She is the daughter of Sheri and Amilcar Herrera. • Little Miss Auburn-Midland is Madison Seliskar, 9, of Bay City. She is the daughter of Diane and Jim Seliskar. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | |
| ASU and NSA Drum Louder Than Ever - New University Newspaper Posted: 26 Dec 2009 04:57 AM PST Over 200 people showed up to celebrate the culture of Africa for the third annual African Cultural Night held at the UCI Student Center on Friday May 28. The night was comprised of music, dancing, poetry, a panel discussion and an authentic African dinner. Popularity: unranked [?] Related posts: Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | |
| Medical colleges to be made Centres of Excellence - Hindu Business Line Posted: 26 Dec 2009 05:33 AM PST
Update at 1900 hrs (IST)
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General Medical colleges to be made Centres of Excellence COIMBATORE: As part of taking newer technologies to masses, Union Health Ministry is focusing on turning medical colleges into centres of excellence across the country, a top government official said on Saturday. Eighty per cent of the medical colleges, including the state-run, were still functioning under the conventional and traditional wards, without adopting the changing technologies, V M Katoch, Secretary, Health Research, Government of India said. With about 140 State-run medical colleges, the government wanted them to adopt modern biology, sophisticated equipment and newer techniques in treatment and surgery, as part of becoming centres of excellence, Katoch, who also the Director General of Indi an Council of Medical Research, said. On other Health ministry initiatives, Katoch, who here to inaugurate National Continuing Surgical Education Programme, as part of 69th national conference of the Association of Surgeons of India (ASICON-2009), said it would encourage Indian innovation in the field of manufacturing medical equipment, since majority of the hospitals were having imported machines. Disputing the argument that India was slow in research trials and making prototypes, he said India was one of the advanced countries as far as medical field was concerned. The problem, however, is we have to change the mindset of the people and also of the doctors, who still believed and preferred imported ones, he said. - PTI
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that reminds me of a famous scientist that nobody's heard of named royal rife, possibly one of the greatest of the 20th century. he was a brilliant microscope designer. 
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