Week 12: Biochemistry




Class Discussion
Just wanted to follow-up on our conversation concerning low-dose radiation, and Obama's support of the US nuclear program:

FACT SHEET: Obama Administration Announces Actions to Ensure that Nuclear Energy Remains a Vibrant Component of the United States’ Clean Energy Strategy

Low-dose radiation from A-bombs elongated lifespan and reduced cancer mortality relative to un-irradiated individuals (this article is also interesting because it mentions the fossil fuel industry's involvement in legislating against nuclear power)

 Impressions of Links on Cell Biology:

Viruses are weird entities, somewhere between living and non-living.

Consider the following quotes from the link on Virus Structure:

"...viruses are not living organisms in the strict sense of the word." 

"Some scientists speculate that viruses started as rogue segments of genetic code that adapted to a parasitic existence."

Also, viruses are geometric:


"There are predominantly two kinds of shapes found amongst viruses: rods, or filaments, and spheres. The rod shape is due to the linear array of the nucleic acid and the protein subunits making up the capsid (the protein shell that encloses the nucleic acid). The sphere shape is actually a 20-sided polygon (icosahedron)."
Image result for icosahedron

Here's examples of the two basic shapes:



Image result for virus structure












                                  









Comments

  1. Nucleus NutritionJuly 30, 2019 at 3:10 PM

    The nuclear energy programs that people around the planet have bought into are serving people's desire for relatively short term comfort (50 to 100 years) at the expensive of long term consequences that could be quite problematic for a lot of life forms on this planet.
    Whether people realize it or not, most human beings on this planet are still
    solipsistic. Not because they are evil, but because they feel disempowered.

    ReplyDelete

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