ExonIntron

Teaching tips

2011-12-09T19:49:00.000-08:00

A treasure trove for a -teacher-to-be

Lord or Destiny ?

2011-09-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

Ramamurthi isn't conflicted about being a man of science who is also a man of fervent faith. “Yes, I am a religious person,” he says, and adds that you can use any word — “Lord” or “destiny” — but you cannot deny that there are things that happen over which we have no control. “What you ascribe it to is another matter. Why should I be born in a family that gave me a comforting cocoon and a good education and why should the kid on the street be born in that family? You have to say that you owe something. I don't care what logic you use beyond that. I use the Lord; it's simple for me. But I'm perfectly comfortable with any explanation

- Bhaskar Ramamurthi , the new IIT director on THE HINDU

What makes an exemplary teacher?

2011-09-03T13:30:00.000-07:00

Here in THE HINDU

What makes an exemplary teacher?

In a study on creativity, psychologist Csikszentmihalyi finds that while a “school itself rarely gets mentioned as a source of inspiration, individual teachers often awaken, sustain, or direct a child's interest”. Teachers who kindle a spark in their students, first and foremost, notice them as individuals, believe in their abilities and genuinely care about their charges. Further, these teachers challenge students without making lessons too boring or frustrating. Another study by Marica Gentry and colleagues indicates that a teacher's enthusiasm, ability to give concrete feedback and knowledge of a subject are essential for motivating students. Most importantly, an exemplary teacher coaxes the high-performers to straddle great heights while also encouraging those who struggle to maximise their potential. Finally, an outstanding teacher leads by example. As the American psychiatrist Karl Menninger says, “What the teacher is, is more important than what he teaches.”

A good teacher

2011-08-24T18:10:00.000-07:00

What students like /hate in a teacher : Here at kiruba

WHAT WE HATE IN A TEACHER
————————————————

Talking only theoretically about a subject.
Showing partiality to select students
Thinking students are Morons and does not respect their intelligence.
The ‘I am the boss here’ kind of attitude
Not presenting oneself interestingly to the students.
Being arrogant
One who demotivates back-benchers
Not having real work experience and practical experience in the field
Being bookish
One who is judgmental about students based on their academic scores
Too much focus on notes and attendance
Spits when they talk
Not dressing smartly
Can’t take criticism
Not providing examples or case-studies
Not having command or presence in the class
Without passion for teaching
Teachers who preach rather than teach
Teachers who harass emotionally

WHAT WE LIKE IN A TEACHER
————————————————-

One who shares all his knowledge without holding anything back
Who is practically interactive
Having an ‘I’m going to rock this class’ attitude.
Showing equal importance to all students
Uses easy methods of teaching
Sharing their own experiences
One who prepares well for the classes
Practical knowledge sharing – Treating class as a forum for discussion
Flexibility in terms of generational change
High involvement with the students
Good presentation skills
Being Punctual
A good relationship beyond teaching

Go with the flow

2011-08-18T19:12:00.000-07:00

How can a man's life keep its course

If he will not let it flow ?

Those who flow as life flows know

They need no other force:

They fell no wear,they fell no tear,

They need no mending, no repair

- Lao-TZU,Tao Te CHING

Wisdom Walk

2011-08-10T16:50:00.000-07:00

from HINDUISM : Create a home altar
from BUDDHISM : Meditate and find peace
from ISLAM : Surrender to prayer
from CHRISTIANITY : Forgive yourself and others
from JUDAISM : Make time for sabbath
from NATIVE AMERICAL SPIRITUALITY : Let nature be your teacher
from TAOISM : Go with the flow

from NEW THOUGHT : Catch God's vision of your life

from ALL TRADITIONS : Offer yourself in service to others

--- FROM " Wisdom walk " Nine practices for creating peace and balance from the world's spiritual traditions BY SAGE BENNET

The Gist of Bhagavat Gita

2011-03-05T09:12:00.000-08:00

With nice pictorial details.

Rajaji's MAHABHARATHA in pdf

2011-01-21T18:46:00.000-08:00

Here is the pdf of the book issued by American Gita society

Hat tip : HINDU BLOG

How Indian Spirituality Changed the West

2011-01-07T19:52:00.000-08:00

I am reading this book after I stumbled on an article by the author in Huffington post.

This book explores about great yogis and gurus of past and present - from Swami Vivekananda, Ramana Maharishi, Jiddu krishnamurthi, Yogananda,Maharish yogi, Neemli Baba and others who made efforts to spread vedantic annd yogic prinicples of Hinduism in the West.

More about the book,with photos,videos here at AMERICAN VEDA,and of course a face book page

I wish the Hindu religion as practiced in India today stand for its high ideals.

Top 10 most inspiring convocation/graduate commencement speeches of all time.

2011-01-07T17:01:00.000-08:00

Truly inspiring words from the Giants ,Steve Jobs, J.K.Rowling, Micheal Dell, Oprah Winfrey,Larry Page, Arnold, Ele, Prof Randy etc..

Don't miss.

Get rid of clutter in life

2010-11-28T09:45:00.000-08:00

Here is an excellent article.

The Last Lecture - Gems of Prof Randy

2010-06-17T19:55:00.000-07:00

Today I experienced an intense feeling after I finished reading " The last lecture " by late Dr.Randy Pausch,Professor, Carnegie Mellon.

To ruminate ,here are some gems from the book.

1. It is importance to have specific dreams in your life

2. The Brick walls are there for a reason.They are not there to keep us out.The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.

3. Not all fairy tales end smoothly

4. The truth can set you free

5. Time is all you have.And you may find one day that you have less than you think

6. A professor's job is to teach students how to see their minds growing in the same way they can see their muscles grow when they look in a mirror

7. Earnest is better than hip

8. Don't complain,work harder

9. Treat the disease ,not the symptom

10 Don't obsess over what people think

11. Watch what they do,not what they say.

Survival guide- when you fall from an air plane.

2010-02-25T17:47:00.000-08:00

Interesting. Obviously scary too.

Switch to teaching

2010-02-25T17:00:00.000-08:00

Yes. I agree.

You reach a certain age when money is not the primary driver of your life, especially when you have a child or two. Still, you have to decide what you can live with. If you enjoy what you’re doing, it helps compensate for a lower salary.. "

It is rewarding.

Eroding Life support systems-navagrahas

2010-02-24T16:46:00.000-08:00

Navagrahas ?

Stories and Chromosomes

2009-09-13T09:47:00.000-07:00

Have a look at this Human Genre Project- Fabulous

Monoamine oxidase genotype ,gang membership and weapon use

2009-06-10T09:43:00.000-07:00

Via Gene Expression

Great video on PCR

2009-01-25T11:38:00.001-08:00

RNA interference - Video on Google Tech talk

2009-01-17T21:43:00.001-08:00

Rosalind franklin and Double helix

2009-01-11T17:23:00.001-08:00

I just found out this article in Physics today. Wonderful

The Benefits of Failure -Harvard commencement speech by J.K.Rowling

2008-08-02T13:31:00.000-07:00

This is inspiring.Don't miss

The Periodic table of videos

2008-07-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

Wonderful.There are videos for each element.Take a look

Hat tip- Science Roll

Videos on Cancer

2008-07-15T06:53:00.001-07:00

Inside Cancer has a wonderful collection of educational videos on various aspects of cancer.

The Value of Science - Richard Feynman

2008-07-10T12:16:00.000-07:00

Ages on ages ... before any eyes could see ... year after year ... thunderously pounding the shore as now. For whom, for what? ... on a dead planet, with no life to entertain.

Never at rest ... tortured by energy ... wasted prodigiously by the sun ... poured into space. A mite makes the sea roar.

Deep in the sea, all molecules repeat the patterns of one another till complex new ones are formed. They make others like themselves ... and a new dance starts.

Growing in size and complexity ... living things, masses of atoms, DNA, protein ... dancing a pattern ever more intricate.

Out of the cradle onto the dry land ... here it is standing ... atoms with consciousness ... matter with curiosity.

Stands at the sea ... wonders at wondering ... I ... a universe of atoms ... an atom in the universe.

AMAZING... Go read here

IIT Video Lectures on Biochemistry -II ( Amino acids)

2008-06-28T17:20:00.000-07:00

AMINOACIDS -I (from IIT,India)

AMINOACIDS-II (from IIT,India)

IIT and UC Bekeley video Lectures on Biochemistry-I (Carbohydrates)

2008-06-28T17:00:00.000-07:00

These videos are excellent. Do spend time to go through these lectures. These lectures are given by a professor of IIT Karagpur,India.

CARBOHYDRATES-I from IIT,India

CARBOHYDRATES-II from IIT,India

CARBOHYDRATES -I from UC Berkeley

CARBOHYDRATES-II from UC Berkeley

The first ever video footage of Human Ovulation

2008-06-26T07:30:00.000-07:00

At newscientist

Lab on a postage stamp

2008-06-07T07:44:00.001-07:00

It's the magic of Microfluidics.

Too little home cooking puts the entire planet at risk

2008-06-05T16:55:00.000-07:00

Yes it is. Listen to this fabulous TED talk.

Wonderful chemistry is a real fun

2008-06-05T16:46:00.001-07:00

Source : Ted blog

Scientists killed by their experiments

2008-06-05T16:26:00.000-07:00

Seed magazine has given the list of top 10 scientists killed by their experiments.

History of Internet

2008-06-05T16:22:00.000-07:00

Go get it Here

Life changing books recommended by Scientists

2008-05-23T20:29:00.000-07:00

Find out what books have inspired scentists on this Newscientist article

Women in Science- 2008 awards by L'Oreal & UNESCO

2008-03-14T19:38:00.000-07:00

L'Oreal with UNESCO has been rewarding women for their excellence in science since 1998. Five Laureates from five continents, every year: a unique award that has recognized 52 exceptional women scientists in 10 years.

I am happy that a Prof at his site in tamil has written a wonderful report on the awardees.

An ant's sacrifice

2008-03-14T19:30:00.000-07:00

Amazing

Women are scientists

2008-03-09T07:25:00.000-07:00

Office of Science Education of NIH offers series of FREE Video presentations on women scientists.

Go get it

Rishi Scientists of India

2008-01-26T11:56:00.000-08:00

Get to know Nagarjuna(wizard of chemical science),Acharya charak (father of medicine),Acharya sushrut (father of plastic surgery),Acharya patanjali(father of ayurveda),Acharya bharatwaj (father of aviation technology),Acharya kapila(father of cosmology) here

Via Desipundit

h-index for science in India

2008-01-24T15:42:00.000-08:00

Hirsch Index for science in India here

Science Women's Law

2008-01-09T13:55:00.001-08:00

More WORTHY SCIENTIFIC EPONYMS here

Nobel laureate Davind Baltimore in India-January 2008

2008-01-09T13:12:00.000-08:00

Dr.David Baltimore's lectures will be at Delhi,Bangalore and Chennai.More Details at Cell magazine

Hollywood Physics

2008-01-09T12:31:00.000-08:00

Here at Popular science for scientific inaccuracy ,plus a few rare films that manage to get things right.

Indian graduates are slow in becoming productive

2008-01-08T15:19:00.000-08:00

If you hire a graduate of an Indian university, it takes between 3 and 6 months for them to become productive says this article in Science

Manjunath N.Swamy at Scientific american 50

2008-01-05T13:05:00.000-08:00

Manjunath.N.Swamy of Harvard medical school is at Sciam 50 for his work on ways to break the blood brain barrier to get drugs into brain for neurological diseases.

New organisms of 2007

2008-01-05T12:44:00.000-08:00

Wired magazine lists the Top 10 organisms of 2007 which incules bitanol producing bacteria, Fluorescent tadpoles,Glow in the dark cats etc

2007-12-18T19:31:00.000-08:00

YUmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmy story of coffee here

The first biologically produced Nanotubes

2007-12-16T15:35:00.000-08:00

Semiconducting nanotubes produced by bacteria Shewanella .

More details at The Biotech weblog

Rare documents and photographs of Einstein-A feast

2007-12-16T15:24:00.000-08:00

New scientist's short sharp science recommends some excellent illustrated science books ,one of which is on Einstein.

Zooming into DNA

2007-12-13T15:03:00.000-08:00

Look here for amazing images of cells, chromosomes and DNA from 100X to 900,000X.

Biotechnology Jobs in India-Bridging skill gaps

2007-12-11T19:38:00.000-08:00

Biospectrum has comeout with a report of study conducted by IIM Bangalore on Biotech jobs and shortage of manpower for the same. One of the reasons for talent crunch according to the study is

The content being taught at the various institutes was also found to be obsolete and not in sync with industry needs. There was no national task force focusing on constant upgradation of the curriculum to meet industry needs

Will this situation change ? Why is Biotechnology taking a backseat ?

Top 10 discoveries of 2007

2007-12-11T18:59:00.000-08:00

Time magazine has listed the top 10 discoveries.

Frog with fluorescent purple markings,legless amphibian, human heart valve out of stem cells... wow..amazing.

Don't miss

Amazing talk-A journey to the center of your mind

2007-12-10T08:18:00.001-08:00

Dedicated to education - A site for teachers.

2007-12-10T06:48:00.000-08:00

Science roll points to a webpage called Pageflakes for teachers.
Have a look at it.

Awesome video - Wasps injecting venom into cockroach brain

2007-12-01T13:22:00.000-08:00

As Carl zimmer at The Loom puts it,it is an awesome parasitic manipulation.

Don't miss the Newscientist update and video of jewel wasps attack on Zombie cockroaches

Menstrual stem cells - monthly miracle???????????????

2007-12-01T13:02:00.000-08:00

Weird Science.

The Scientific activist points to a report in the Journal of Translational medicine on isolation and characterisation of stem cells from menstrual blood.

Take a look at the site for how a company has rushed to give details of the promising research and its benefits.

Are these Endometrial Regenerative Cells (ERCs ) going to help?

Textbooks-Essential or Superfluous?

2007-12-01T12:38:00.000-08:00

CBE-Life Science Education has an article on the relevance of textbooks in this mordern era.The author shares his experience of teaching with and without a textbook.

Are textbooks just for reference and not learning tools?

Take a look.

The author has given some webpages containing course materials

1. Biofundamentals (http://www.colorado.edu/MCDB/MCDB1111)

2.Flash based virtual laboratories (http://bioliteracy.net/)

US falling behind the technology curve ?

2007-11-01T16:54:00.000-07:00

Mike ,the mad Biologist points to Tom Watkin's thought in the Guardian.

The 100 colors of Brainbow

2007-10-31T19:49:00.000-07:00

There is an interesting article on creation of colors in neurons by Harvard University to have a clear view of the neuronal circuits.Get to know the Cre-lox P site specific system from Neurophilosophy.

Have a close look at the colors in neuronal circuits.It is amazing.

X ray computed tomography and Digital dissection of spider

2007-10-29T17:16:00.000-07:00

Over at BBC to have a look at how a 53 million old amber-locked spider was dissected.

Fall trees are beautiful because......

2007-10-29T17:11:00.000-07:00

Professor in his Sandwalk has given the science behind the colour of fall leaves.

Polymerase stops ...Dr Arthur Kornberg-- RIP

2007-10-28T07:59:00.000-07:00

The discoverer of DNA polymerase ,dies at 89.and worked in his laboratory at Stanford University until a few days before his death.

Here is an article on life and discoveries of this passionate Biochemist

Isolation of DNA from anything living

2007-10-21T19:56:00.000-07:00

Here is an excellent learning source of extracting DNA from green spilt peas ,cauliflower,Broccoli, Chicken,strawberry .

Thanks to Science Roll for the pointer

FORMULAE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY at Edge

2007-10-18T15:48:00.000-07:00

Formula for life by Richard Dawkins, Craig Ventor and other intellectuals. Here at edge.

Meet the Einsteins of the 21st century .

2007-10-18T15:42:00.000-07:00

The hottest 10 nerds in Biological sciences speak out their views on the future of Biological sciences and where they think the revolution is taking us at Newsweek.

Winner of Ig Nobel prize- Vanilla from cow dung

2007-10-10T16:24:00.000-07:00

Environmental Graffiti has a detailed post on Ig Nobel prize on Improbable research

Aminoacid Poem

2007-10-10T16:10:00.000-07:00

Here is a poem by Greg Crowther on A is for ALANINE.

An easy way to remember aminoacids and their functions.

A Book on " Career Opportunities in Biotechnology" from CSHL

2007-10-10T15:55:00.000-07:00

Biotech weblog has a post on Career Opportunities in Biotechnology and Drug Development.

An index to quantify an individual's scientific output

2007-10-10T15:48:00.000-07:00

Recently I came across an article on the topic "An index to quantify an individual's scientific output " in 2005November issue of PNAS.

The author proposed the index h, defined as the number of papers with citation number greater than equal to h, as a useful index to characterize the scientific output of a researcher.

Carbon Nanotubes exhibit Antibacterial properties

2007-09-30T09:34:00.000-07:00

Nano Today (October 2007)features a research news that highly purified single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) exhibit strong antibacterial activity [Kang et al., Langmuir (2007) 23, 8670]. The research on biotoxicity of SWNTs on E.Coli K12 was done at Yale University.

Videos on Tissue engineering and immunology protocols

2007-09-29T17:53:00.000-07:00

Biotech Weblog mentions about JOVE (Journal of Visual Experiments) that has these videos.

National Punctuation day

2007-09-26T18:10:00.000-07:00

Ananda Vikatan (a tamil magazine) made a brief mention about this day in its latest issue.
There is a website dedicated to National Punctuation day (September 24th)
which mentions that

" it is a celebration of lowly commas,correctly used quotes and other proper use of periods,semi-solons and ever mysterious ellipsis"

It gives information on all the punctuations.

Have fun reading about Punctuations and find out why Semicolon is not a surgical procedure.

Hats off to Prof P. N. Rangarajan.

2007-09-26T17:24:00.000-07:00

Prof Abinandhan of Indian Institute of Science in his blog Nanopolitan has posted a good news today. It is about winners of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awards for the year 2007.

One of the them is Prof Pundi.Narashiman Rangarajan of Department of Biochemistry,IISc. He is well known for his works on DNA vaccines. Earlier he was awarded the Biotech Product and Process Development and Commercialization Award-2005 by DST for transferring recombinant Hepatitis B vaccine technology to Biological E. Ltd., Hyderabad leading to production of BEVAC. Prof PNR and Dr.G.Padmanabhan have developed the first combined DNA-based rabies vaccine for the control of rabies in dogs .

Prof P.N.Rangarajan's article on DNA VACCINES in Resonance is here

I found this intersting communication of Prof PNR on Waiting for the Nobel: Has IISc sacrificed experiment for research? to IISc faculties of Biochemistry,MCBL, MRDGand CES . He expressed that " Individual aspirations and institutional goals have been in conflict atmany of our national research organisations for far too long"

Bridging the Gap between Indian academia and Industry in Biotechnology

2007-09-26T16:46:00.000-07:00

BioSpectrum CEOs Summit 2007 held on August 2007, discussed ways of bridging the gap.

"The primary challenge in terms of recruitment has been essentially the challenge of finding highly skilled computer scientists. It is very difficult as essentially we are competing with the Googles and Yahoos (IT majors) of the world. We need to find out the underlying interests potential candidates have in the life sciences and then rope them in. Purely trying to attract them with big salaries would be very hard. Says Vijay Chandru ,Chair man of Strand Lifesciences

.Prof. C Kameswara Rao, executive secretary, Foundation for Biotechnology Awareness and Education (FBAE), said,

The industry does not require students with a very high academic background. It requires people who have competence in thinking, planning a product, a few great managers and the rest of the employees are worker bees. It requires a biotechnologist, a biochemist and so many other people put together.

Take a look at the article here

Health Hazards of Nanoparticles

2007-09-26T16:41:00.000-07:00

Here comes a different view on Nanoparticles and their threat to health. It seems Silver nanoparticles are most toxic of all

Improving our prospects for a Nanotech jobs

2007-09-26T16:36:00.000-07:00

Science magazine has an article" STARTING SMALL" which gives the current scenario and the skills for Nanotech jobs.

An interactive flash timeline on The History of Human race

2007-09-23T12:17:00.000-07:00

Take a look at the timeline here. All through the time line,,overview of the details are provided.

"Mommy "Gene in Women ??

2007-09-23T12:06:00.000-07:00

Science daily has an article on Is There Really A 'Mommy' Gene In Women?

“Only in recent times have women acquired significant control over their own fertility, and many are preferring not to be saddled with the burden of raising children.

"The question is whether this is just a result of economic factors and socio-cultural conditioning, as most analysts claim, or whether the choices that women are making about parenthood are influenced by genetic inheritance from maternal ancestors that were dominated by paternal ancestors.”

Take a Look.

The article ends with “The bottom line from a biology viewpoint is: in order to have your genes live on, you’ve got to have kids. If you don’t, then they’re going to disappear,”

Electron micrograph art

2007-09-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

Look here for the amazing electron micrograph photos.

Don't miss the " Nano-meter scale toilet" and "Artifical nano Phage"

Thanks to Good Math,Bad Math for the pointer.

Video Lectures of great thinkers of Genetics and Medicine

2007-09-22T13:00:00.000-07:00

Over at Science roll.

Enjoy listening .

Making Powerpoint presentations

2007-09-19T17:26:00.000-07:00

Guru at Entertaining research recommends a video on How NOT to use powerpoint.

Anandam Anandam Anandame----Everybody's High -Anandamide

2007-09-19T16:50:00.000-07:00

Anandam in Tamil language means -- Happiness .. In sanskrit it is BLISS. What it has to do with Anandamide, a brain Molecule.Discovered at Hebrew University,Jerusalem,Israel ,the name is taken from the Sanskrit word "ananda" meaning INTERNAL BLISS.

Anandamide (arachidonylethanolamide ) is an endogenous Cannabinoids (Cannabinoids are Psycoactive compounds /drugs from the plant cannabis sativa that causes euphoria, enhancement of sensory perception,difficulties in concentration and impairment of memory -- a chemical responsible for the narcotic effect of marijuana)

Anandamides are natural cannabinoid present in the brain.Researches point out that they play important roles in the regulation of mood, memory, appetite, and pain perception.

A 1994 Interview with Professor Dr. Raphael Mechoulam,discoveror of this moecule is here.

What do chocolate cravings, forgetful mice, and blissful pigs have in common? The answer is anandamide says this article.

Enjoy reading

Seeing heaven in a grain of sand -Mandalas and Nanotech

2007-09-13T17:14:00.000-07:00

Image source :The Metropolitan museum of art.

Nature (13 september 2007)has an intersting article on Science in culture.It mentions the ongoing collaboration between a nanoscientist and tibetian monks to explore Chakrasamvara mandala.The article mentions that these tibetian mandalas are made of colored,tiny loose grains of sand.

The article says

The mandala, called the 'wheel of great bliss', encircles the palatial residence of the deity Heruka Chakrasamvara. It places particular emphasis on the female ideal of wisdom.

Gimzewski has used optical and scanning electron microscopy to delve into progressively smaller features of the sand mandala, right down to the molecular level. Microscopic images across this range were then blended with a sequence of zoomed photographs to produce a continuous visual journey from the whole mandala into ever-finer details of its physical composition. The result is a seamless 15-minute sequence that is projected onto a circular bed of flat, unpatterned sand.(http://nano.arts.ucla.edu/mandala/)

The original sand mandala was two-and-a-half metres in diameter and took four monks working for eight hours a day four weeks to complete in Gimzewski's laboratory. The final computer output comprised 30,000 individual frames containing 900 gigabytes of data. Thirty-six computers were pressed into service to render the images over the course of two days, and nine computers completed the recomposition of the continuous sequence

It is interesting.

Manjal Magimai

2007-09-12T16:46:00.000-07:00

Manjal Magimai- The greatness of Turmeric. The Power of yellow is discussed in detail in The colour of Yellow.

Via Desipundit

The first person awarded with a patent for a gene -Dr Ananda Mohan Chakrabarty

2007-09-10T16:53:00.000-07:00

Dr.Ananda Mohan Chakrabarty is a distinguished Indian-American Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine.

His most notable creation is a biology-based solution for cleaning up toxic oil spills using the generically engineered bacteria-Pseudomonas (today classified as Burkholderia cepacia or B. cepacia).

Listen to his interview about his great work here at BiotechNation.

It is great hearing from a renowned Professor.

Don't miss it.

Thanks to Deepak singh at bbgm for the pointer

Spiderman Suit from Nanotechnology

2007-08-30T18:31:00.000-07:00

Carbon nanotube-based technology could be used to develop nano-molecular hooks and loops that would function like microscopic Velcro.

A physicist at Polytechnic of Turin, Italy, has formulated a hierarchy of adhesive forces that will be strong enough to suspend a person's full body weight against a wall or on a ceiling, while also being easy to detach.

Here are the details of the news Item.

Cleopatra and Venom enzymes

2007-08-30T18:15:00.000-07:00

My favorite Biochemistry Professor,in his popular blog has written a post on enzymes of Snake venom.Have a look at it to see where cleopatra comes into the picture.

Don't miss it.

"We love swapping genes "- Bacteria

2007-08-30T18:09:00.000-07:00

Science has an article on results of experiments on lateral gene transfer in Bacteria Get Promiscuous.

List of medical/scientific video sites

2007-08-29T18:59:00.000-07:00

Science Roll gives the complete list of video sites here

AEP is a sex specific compound

2007-08-22T11:33:00.000-07:00

AEP -2-aminoethyl phosphonate is a metabolite found only in male crabs. It is supposed to be the first metabolite to have discovered to be sex specific. Find out more from this article in Science Daily

Improving male sexual performance by eating the male head-Macabre cannibalism of female mantises

2007-08-18T08:46:00.000-07:00

The female praying mantises improves the male's sexual performance by eating his head.

Both the term "Praying" and "Mantis" (Greek: "prophet") refer to the distinctive way these creatures tend to hold up their front legs (as if "in prayer",

Mantises are large carnivorous insects.They normally eat small insects,but they will attack anything that moves.When they mate,the male cautiously creep up on the female,mounts her and copulates.If the female gets a chance,she will eat him,begining by biting his head off,either as the male is approachingor immediately after he mounts or after they seperate.It might seem more sensible for her to wait until copulation is over before she starts to eat him.But the loss of head does not seem to throw the rest of the males's body off its sexual stride. Indeed,since the insect head is the seat of some inhibitory nerve centres,it is possible that the female improves male's sexual performance by eating his head.

From the book The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins.

A NewDelhi teacher -Beyond Islands of excellence

2007-08-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

Science Magazine ,June Issue had an article on Nandula Raghuram's [a molecular biologist at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) ] hands-on approach gives students a solid foundation for a biotech career.

Hope more such teachers reform science teaching in schools and colleges across India.

Blue Roses

2007-08-14T11:54:00.000-07:00

It is possible to modify the color of the flowers by mordern molecular breeding technologies.It is the anthocyanin pigments and its pattern that gives colors to the flowers.

The blue hues in flower is because of the presence of the pigment Delphinidin (Purple anthocyanin).It is a anthocyanidin.The precursor of the purple anthocyanin is dihydroflavonols (anthocyanin dihydrokaempferol -DHK.) Flavonoid 3',5'-hydroxylase (F3'5'H) is a cytochrome P450 enzyme (Cyt P450) that catalyzes the 3',5'-hydroxylation of dihydroflavonols.Roses lack this enzyme.

Earlier attempts to replace the gene for Delphinidin in roses had failed .Delphinidin gene cloned from petunia and expressed in roses created a dark burgundy rose ,not blue. So instead of modifying the color,scientists were looking for a genes/proteins involved in pathways before any color formation in roses. They found an enzyme dihydroflavinol reductase (DFR) which modifies the pigmentation from white to another color. In other words,until this enzyme acts, all the pigment molecules are colorless.

The solution to create a blue rose is obtaining a DFR mutant white rose. How to knock out the gene for the enzyme? The answer is in RNAi technology.

Using RNAi,they suppressed the DFR gene and cloned a new verson of Delphinidin in roses.

Bruce Alberts

2007-08-13T08:32:00.000-07:00

Image source : http://www.nature.com/

A leading textbook and a bible for any Biosciences is "MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF THE CELL" by Bruce Alberts, Alexander Johnson, Julian Lewis, Martin Raff, Keith Roberts, Peter Walter .You can have a full access to the entire textbook here at NCBI

Bruce Alberts is an Amercian Biochemist known for his extensive study of the protein
complexes that allow chromosomes to be replicated.

The Work of Bruce Alberts on DNA Polymerase and Leading and Lagging Strand
Synthesis is well explained in this JBC classics.

Profile of Bruce Alberts as an Education President when he was the President of the National Academy of Sciences states

Alberts found the companion laboratory sections to be even more frustrating than the assigned textbooks. Laboratory assignments consisted of following a set of instructions, he says, then comparing answers with a friend, fudging data to get the right answer, and turning in a pointless notebook. "Cooking classes," he calls them.

All of us who are professors did well with lecture-style teaching and tests," he says, "and so we think that everybody else should be able to learn well in exactly the same way."

I admire him as a teacher than a researcher.Salutations to this great Educationist.

Careers for Lifescience Graduates

2007-08-13T08:20:00.000-07:00

More Avenues for Lifescience Graduates at THE HINDU

Leading and Lagging

2007-08-10T07:54:00.000-07:00

All biology students must be aware that DNA replication ( The process of making an identical copy of a section of duplex (double-stranded) DNA, using existing DNA as a template for the synthesis of new DNA strands) takes place through Leading and Lagging strand synthesis.

Leading strand refers to a process by which one of the new strand is synthesised by adding nucleotides one by one using a parent strand as template,whereas in lagging strand sysnthesis,nuclotides are added as chunks.Replication can occur easily in leading strand as the enzyme moves along in 3' to 5' direction continously,whereas the lagging strand synthesis is discontinous and takes place in the direction opposite to that the leading strand.

Anyone understanding these feautures think why lagging strand synthesis appears so nonsensical,while there is easy continous way to synthesise strands.

Lagging strand synthesis takes place with a purpose.The need for error correction during DNA replication.A good explanation is given inKleinsmith, LJ. and Kish, VM. Principles of Cell and Molecular Biology, 2nd ed.

Given the complexity of this model, one may wonder why cells don't simply produce an enzyme that synthesizes DNA in the 3' to 5' direction. One possible answer is related to the need for error correction during DNA replication. About one out of every 10,000 nucleotides incorporated during DNA replication is incorrectly base-paired with the template DNA strand. Such mistakes are usually corrected by a proofreading mechanism, which utilizes the same DNA polymerase molecule that catalyzes DNA synthesis. Proofreading is made possible by the fact that the DNA polymerase exhibits a 3'-exonuclease activity, which catalyzes the removal improperly base-paired nucleotides from the 3' end of the polynucleotide chain. This proofreading capability improves the fidelity of DNA replication to the point where an average of only one error occurs for every billion base pairs replicated. If cells did contain an enzyme capable of synthesizing DNA in the 3' to 5' direction, proofreading would not work because a DNA chain growing in the 3' to 5' direction would contain a nucleotide triphosphate at its 5' end. If this 5' nucleotide were an incorrect base that needed to be removed during proofreading, its removal would eliminate the triphosphate group that provides the free energy that allows DNA polymerase to add nucleotides to a growing DNA chain. Hence no further elongation of the DNA chain could take place.

It was Bruce Alberts who gave explanation of how DNA polymerase can replicate both the leading and lagging DNA strands simultaneously. (My next post will be on Bruce Alberts)

Everything has a purpose.

Oh,my wife ?.Sorry I don't recognise your face

2007-08-08T07:48:00.000-07:00

Forgetting your loved ones or unable to recognise them can be due to a delusional misidentification syndrome.People with this syndrome have a delusional belief that a person/persons close to them as imposters.Mistaken for insanity,this syndrome is called Capgras syndrome.

The Capgras' patient identifies his or her spouse as being an imposter - identical in every possible way, but an identical replica. The patient will accept living with these imposters but will secretly "know" that they are not the people they claim to be.

The official portal of Capgras syndrome is here

The bizarre misperception of body doubles is named after French psychiatrist Jean Marie Joseph Capgras, who in 1923 with colleague Jean Reboul-Lachaux described the case of a Madame M,claimed to have had eighty husbands.

"Invasion of the Body Snatchers " and "I married a monster from outer space " are the two science fiction films based on Capgras syndrome.

The case has been well portrayed by Dr.V.S Ramachandran in his popular book"Phantoms in the Brain"He reported that connections from the face processing areas in the temporal lobes to the limbic system(involved in emotions) have been damaged in these patients. The online format of the 1997 paper by Dr.Ramacandran on neural mechanism behind capgras is available here.

A novel on The Echo maker based on this fascinating syndrome by Richard Powers makes a good summer reading

Expressing your passion for science

2007-08-08T07:31:00.000-07:00

Express yourself by having a tattoo of your science passion onto your skin. It is real fun to note people tattooing themselves with DNA,with mathematical equations etc.

Carl zimmer has more photos of people branded with science.

Kumbakarnan sleep -revisited genetically

2007-08-01T09:44:00.000-07:00

Before I get into the genetic stuff,let me tell you who is Kumbakarnan and what is great in him.
Kumabakarna is a demon (a Rakshasha) and a brother of Ravana.U who slept for six months nonstop Usually, Kumbhakarna means a person who is fond of sleeping. The person who spends most of the time in sleeping is consider as Kumbhakarna.

The story of kumbakarna sleeping is here

Sometime back in Feruary 2007,Aranthangi Tamil Sangam organised a lecture on Kumbakarnan,where a tamil scholar remembered him as the epitome of virtues, integrity, gratitude, valour and bravery.

Now to the genetic angle ,scientists have recently revealed that low expression of MX2 gene exists in White blood cells of Narcoleptics.(people with a sleep disorder who sleep uncontrollably all through the day)[via Scientific blogging]

MX2 is an intracellular protein that plays a role in immunity.

Is it that MX2 is completely lost or some other genes implied in kumbakarna's sleep for six months?

The Story of DNA

2007-07-31T12:25:00.000-07:00

Get to know the story behind the discovery of DNA and its basics in Sandwalk

A must read for any biology student.

Science Can't Thrive in Ivory Tower

2007-07-18T07:34:00.000-07:00

"On the one hand, we are living in the best of scientific times," he said. "Advances are coming at a tremendous pace. The ability to sequence the genome has produced advances in our own field, and the ability to look into the brain and watch the brain in action is responsible for quantum jumps in understanding mental and addictive disorders. On the other hand, other issues within science are not going well and are eroding the relationship with society."

Scientists and clinicians concerned about the welfare of the scientific endeavor need to engage in a new way with the American public to reverse a deteriorating relationship between society and science.

Says Alan Leshner, Ph.D., chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and executive publisher of the prestigious journal Science, told psychiatrists at APA's 2007 annual meeting in San Diego in May.

Warm up with "the worm"

2007-07-18T07:10:00.000-07:00

Certain organisms offer greater advantages for experimental research and one such organism is Caenorhabditis elegans (nematode worm). While there are lot of webpages dedicated to the research aspects of the organism,there are very few pages that are of interest to undergraduate education as an educational tool

Laboratory for Optical and Computational Instrumentation, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, and Department of Curriculum and Instruction, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison has come up with a new educational web site on C.elegans .

For C. elegans resources, the site includes the following sections:
1) About C. elegans: background and why it is studied;

2) C. elegans research: research data organized by the five discipline groupings - Cell Biology,Developmental biology,Genetics,Evolutionary biology and Neuroscience;

3) C. elegans people: listing of C. elegans researchers with contact information;

4) C. elegans education: teaching protocols, materials, and learning modules; and

5) More resources: relevant external resources organized and made accessible for learning.

More on this website by the authors here

Take a look.