jimmydasaint

I thought everyone must have heard the Physics Guy rap. or is this 'old hat' now?

Being a small man, in most senses of the word, I was surprised to hear that the public perceive small men to be more aggressive and power hungry to overcompensate for their lack of height. However, it seems that this story could be a myth from a recent study by the University of Central Lancashire which shows the opposite to be a strong probability - i.e. Tall Man Syndrome. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6501633.stm However, Napoleon, Hitler and Sarkozy are small men. What do you think?

From a quick scan, and this is by no stretch of the imagination complete, it seems that some introns code for snoRNA's as well as the types of RNA's specified by MedGen. A couple of interesting references, though the second is a Letter and seems rushed for publication: Intron-mediated RNA interference and microRNA (miRNA). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17981704 and Fugu lntron Oversize Reveals the Presence of U1S snoRNA Coding Sequences in Some lntrons of the Ribosomal Protein S3 Gene http://genome.cshlp.org/cgi/reprint/6/12/1227 Others can advance the knowledge here. The microRNA seems to interfere with the expression of mRNA with complementary nucleotide sequences. The snoRNA seems to be small nucleolar RNA with the following function: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SnoRNA

From the OP it seems that the question is more about isolation of DNA so I wanted to suggest a method that involved an 'aqueous' aspect to it. It is not quite clear though.

Gels are probably very convenient but you can also use column chromatography for isolation of DNA: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=334703&blobtype=pdf

You have to be careful of making statements with that degree of certitude. I must admit that I had been labouring under the misconception that a large number of bacteria were wiped out with orally administered bacteriocidal antibiotics with a broad spectrum. However, that misconception has been corrected from this thread. Back to the point, is the general use of antibacterial agents in household items causing resistant strains to increase in number. The short answer is that I don't know. However, now that I have read e-coli's blog, it seems that the dosage is quite low and that the issue of resistance was considered prior to the use of antibacterials. Triclosan for example causes no resistance effects to occur. Thanks for the reply.

From what has been written, there is no easy or predictable reason. There is peer pressure, social awkwardness, mob mentality, power play amonst other sociologically complex factors. However, is bullying in school a phenomenon that is restricted for the most part to the UK and America? If so, why can other Europeans develop a cooperative attitude whilst Britain and America turn to violence? Why?

I assume that if a colon is sterilised then careful dietary control would allow recolonisation. However, I have learnt a few new facts here. Very interesting stuff. Have you read anything about the types of antibiotics used generally in toothpastes etc...Are we breeding new strins of antibiotic resistant bacteria or is it a dosage/inhibitor dependent effect?

Of course, heat resistant strains. I know it is unlikely but I wondered, if left long enough, heat resistant strains would survive the temperature variations?

Being a regular drinker of strong mugs of tea, I just wondered if it is posible that by heating and re-heating water, we may encourage the selection of mutations that become thermophilic? Pretty ridiculous, but I wondered if anyone has tested this out?

I did not say all the gut bacteria. You are right, of course, the appendix is a storage facility for bacteria. this then raises another question. What about people with their appenidix removed due to appendicitis? Is there a higher incidence of certain diseases as a result?

I think humans would live for more than 2 hours without gut bacteria. It seems that gut bacteria can be destroyed by bacteriocidal (bacteria-killing, as opposed to bacteriostatic antibiotics which stop bacteria from reproducing) antibiotics use could allow internal body fungi (eg yeast) to proliferate in numbers at the advantage of dying bacteria. However, the bacteria 'bounce back' in large numbers from eating yoghurt and foods. It seems that daily intake of yoghurt may be beneficial. However, I cannot find information which states if ALL gut bacteria are destroyed by antibiotics or not. On a side note, it seems that cattle are fed antibiotcs regularly and we now have loads of antibacterial products in toothpastes, washing up powders etc...This may be worth a separate Thread but is society creating a possible ecological disaster by over-use of antibiotics which may lead to antibiotic resistance being widespread in bacteria?

I don't think Aaron Filler is a creationist or has an agenda. He is just trying to make a point that bipedal behaviour was around 21 million years ago and uses his extensive knolwedge of anatomy to prove his point. I find it astounding that he is not taken seriously and is seen as a 'troublemaker' because he does not concur with the consensus.

This is an intriguing thought from a 'proper' scientist, not a nutcase, who thought that the age of bipedal motility could be pushed back to around 21 million years ago rather than the conventional 6 million years consensus. I don't treat this as speculation but rigorous logic, yet I cannot find another slot for it: http://www.uprightape.net/ Any thoughts, disagreements, agreements?

When you think of something about yourself - it may come true, or your thinking changes about it. For example, how do we explain the amazing placebo effect commonly used by psychiatrists? I have read that when asthmatics were given water in inhalers without their knowledge, it still opened up the airways in exactly the same way as when proper medicinal anti-inflammatory chemicals were used. You are being too universal. Apply the same 'philosophy' to yourself only. I believe it is called the Law of Attraction or something like that. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Attraction

The Modern Synthesis can be thought of as a pulling together of various strands of Biology (hence the 'synthesis' bit) around the Darwinian evolutionary concept of overpopulation --> selection of favourable characteristic--->reproduction (Natural Selection). Population genetics had confirmed that Mendelian genetics showing how genes combined to produce a phenotype was thoroughly consistent with Darwinian theories. Saltationism (from Latin saltus- to leap) which suggested quick drastic genetic changes from one generation to the next, leading to speication was rejected. Paleontology suggested that rate of change in the features or phenotype were not at a constant rate but consistent with the fossil record. Everything was rosy and a central dogma had been suggested for biological evolution. However, remember the date -1942. All I want to do is open up a discussion for why Extended Evolutionary Synthesis is required and to ask if it really adds anything substantial to the Modern Synthesis? http://life.bio.sunysb.edu/ee/pigliuccilab/Papers_files/2007-Evolution-EES.pdf

Got it now. The Dalluge et al paper explains it very clearly and should ameliorate the apparent 'controversy': http://jb.asm.org/cgi/reprint/179/6/1918?ck=nck

Are you not on holiday yet? Anyway, try here and if it does not help, give us a message. http://www.revision-notes.co.uk/revision/271.html I quote: Dude, you have to watch these brilliant animations: http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/biology/archive/animations/hires/a_hiv1_h.html

Charon Y could you please give me some references to papers etc.. online. I want to read up further on this because it seems odd that one or two bases affect the integrity of a crosslinked 3-D structure.

This is a BIG deal and a frightening thought. Bearing in mind that the ozone layer is relatively depleted, do you think that the effect of these charged particles will be increased? Just cross-contextualising but is it possible that such an event occurred when dinosaurs became extinct and the dino's died of massive cancers?

It seems that the Earth may experience a reversal in the Geomagnetic Poles so that the Magnetic North and Magnetic South get reversed. Now, I can see this being a problem for migrating birds and marine animals that may use fields to navigate. However, it is not likely to affect humans to a significant extent, for example to cause large numbers of casualties... or is it? Any thoughts? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomagnetic_reversal from: http://www.mnh.si.edu/earth/text/4_1_5_0.html

Excellent points John B. I think there is controversy about the strongly held views of one important person here - Professor Hapgood- who was convinced that these maps were genuine. you are right in mentioning that the map was a compilation of previous maps. However, the critical point is in showing if the Piri Reis map agrees with the Antactic land mass under the ice. If it does, and it can be confirmed, that would indicate that a civilisation existed which mapped the area at least 6000 years ago and then passed on the information to later generations of sailors. http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_1.htm I wonder if the ancient Harappans had also managed to map the ancient world about 9000 years ago. So Hmmm again... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1768109.stm

Hmmm - thanks for the links to Wiki and I agree with you, the map seems dubious doesn't it and with duplications of rivers etc... would not be accurate to today's standards. Therefore it is a reasonably accurate map for its time but not the most accurate and probably not as mysterious as it seems.

The scientific method uses logic, deductive logic or the hypothetico-deductive method involving hypothesis, experiment, falsification, and then the formulation of a new hypothesis. However, IMHO, there are cases where logic cannot work and a sensible hypothesis cannot be made, leaving only speculation. For example, the map made by a Turkish Fleet Admira, lPiri Reis, seems to include a perfect map of the Northern coast of Antarctica showing the coastline UNDER ICE. A quote from the article indicates the problem: [urlhttp://http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_1.htm[/url] There are a number of other mysteries on this site. Are there cases where pure logic does not prevail or is it just the old chestnut of 'we don't have enough information at this point...' I prefer to believe that mankind is older than our estimates or that intelligent life has arisen before our estimates...What about you?

It may be because I taught in a single sex school recently. However, I think the setting of students helps immensely. For example, the most able are given are placed in classes where they would never have contact with less intellectually able students.