jimmydasaint

Thanks for that beecee. I do recall that glycine was found in the corona of certain new stars and this finding reinforces my opinion that life is meant to occur all over the Universe. However, there is a caveat, and a serious one, IMHO, the basis of life on Earth requires nucleotides (the building blocks of DNA) which are far more complicated than the complex molecules discussed in the abstract and could require a number of steps to reach the necessary complexity to form DNA. The other issue involves how basic molecules could be transported to Earth for abiogenesis to occur.

Hi SJ, I took the point of biological molecules being ubiquitous, but I thought the OP was only asking for Physics experts and I am a hundred feet wide in interests but one inch deep in actual knowledge. I didn't want to get in the way of experts.

Are you only calling for experts in the field? And are you supporting the idea of panspermia? Basically what are you calling for?

Thanks for the replies guys (nice to hear from you Cap'n). I am just being over-lazy.

Mate, I still end up at the person's account and the status is interspersed with their replies to threads. It's a lot tidier if a little box appeared on the home screen where we could write instant answers. Unless I am getting this wrong!

Really! I'll try again.

When someone changes their status or announces, please have a small box where we can insert our comments. The current way of answering status comments is too long-winded.

Please define what you mean by germs.

IMHO I consider that the apparent altruism is not inadvertant but, significantly, posits a theory of mind in cetaceans. This is not a new proposition - there may be a sense of self-awareness that also involves some emotion. Although controversial, I would further suggest that the presence of spindle neurons in the anterior cingulate cortex (https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10661-whales-boast-the-brain-cells-that-make-us-human/) allow cetaceans to have a sense of empathy towards other animals in their community which then manifests as a protective behaviour from a perceived enemy. It is difficult not to anthropomorphise elements of the whales' behaviour but I don't see an alternative. I see the protective behaviour with the seals as deliberate and empathetic. Cetaceans have been on the Earth for longer than humans and may have developed these behaviours for longer than us "sentient" beings.

Destroyer quotes and so funny! Like it iNow.

Wow. Well I have a PhD in Immunology and have forgotten more than you will ever know about Immunology (wink). I don't mean to be rude of course but did you not understand the clear explanation given? (wink again). In animal models, to be precise, mouse models, RhoC is over-expressed only in metastatic cells. That means that it seems to be essential in freeing up cells from the original parent tumour and allowing them to escape in the bloodstream to form secondary tumours. However, these are animal models of disease and there is no guarantee that there will be success in treating humans. Also, you were correct, the primary treatment will be surgical or chemotherapeutic but then, if caught early, the vaccine will be administered to "catch" cancer cells with over-expressed RhoC and for them to be destroyed by cytotoxic T cells. This is not a treatment for all cancers but, for a significant number of cancers, it represents real hope. Is it good news from an immunological point of view? Yes. Treatment with siRNA has already stopped significant metastasis apparently. If you want to invest money with these guys and your clients are rich, then go with the investment.

You seem quite determined to do a PhD and I would never discourage you. Once you do well at your degree, I would apply to do a Masters in Science. In the UK, you get a small amount of funding for an MSc and you can taste what it is like to make an original contribution to Science. After that, if you are liked you can stay with your lab to do a PhD or move to another lab to start a new PhD. You have to keep your private life on hold and your supervisor starts off with a God-like status which soon deteriorates until you think he/she is a complete idiot by the time you finish your PhD. I don't know if that is a universal experience but it did seem quite common when I was a PhD student....

You are so silly, with your formula for making beer - pouring root beer into a square glass.............................

Tedor, my friend, get a job and make some money then hire a tutor in your own country who will help you study Physics. You may have to go to college in the evenings and work hard every day but your ambitions will help you through every day. Always keep them in your mind. Good luck.

How human were H naledi? They buried their young, apparently, but there is no description of tools or other features of e.g. H habilis. Is it possible that it was a tribe with serious mutations that existed alongside H sapiens and have then become a footnote in history? There is a family of people who walk on all fours but are definitely human and have serious cognitive difficulties. Imagine if they decided to bury these people in a cave and it was discovered 400,000 years later. Is it possible to call them a distinct tribe of hominins? https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/07/17/the-family-that-walks-on-all-fours-and-why-they-cant-stand-up/?utm_term=.40b9a7e7b1dd

Once again, thank you for stepping in and clarifying matters Function. I actually had a post-doctoral position to examine relationship of viral DNA and some cancers, but never saw the chemotherapy or radiotherapy side of the research - another danger of over-specialisation in research - everyone is seeing an elephant from a different point of view.

I read an article today, which is relatively recent, but which touched me as a human. Humpbacked whales apparently save seals by fending off killer whales and it seems as if the behaviour is deliberate. I have copied parts of the article below and I would expect the Darwinian reply, but is there an alternative? First, excerpts from the article (bold emphasis is mine): https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23230950-700-i-saw-humpback-whales-save-a-seal-from-death-by-killer-whale/ The scientist involved, Robert Pitman ( a marine ecologist) offered a Darwinian approach to the apparently altruistic behaviour of the humpbacked whales. Pitman believes that the behaviour is designed to chase off the killer whales from attacking humpbacked calves, which may be related to them genetically, and therefore they are acting in their overall self interest with the seal-saving being an offshoot to the self preservation of the humpbacked whale community. Now, is there an alternative explanation for why humpbacked whales actively save the seals? I would volunteer a couple of alternative explanations. Cetaceans might have an emotional sense of community and are preserving the lives of other animals in their community which are not food, or a threat. Alternatively, they are actively preventing the killer whales from feeding in their communities, thereby removing the threat of the killer whales feeding on humpbacked calves. However, do the humpbacked whales have a form of deductive logic similar to other limited numbers of species? Do others have opinions on this touching behaviour?

You did not answer the question my friend. I asked which cancers involve damage to both strands of DNA? As prolonged X-rays in Western society would come from exposure to X-ray generators in hospitals why is this relevant to cancer therapy generally?

Well, if progress involves working like a rat in a luxury trap and a primitive existence involves being more in tune with Nature, then it is definitely the primitive existence for me. I dream of simplicity - a caravan on a remote beach or a remote, simple existence where communities are smaller and actually care for each other.

Thank you Function. I support what you say. Oncology references need to be recent - I must confess that I did not see the reference properly. However, I did search it up and I have copied the abstract here: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v412/n6847/full/412607a0.html The abstract refers to a protein, Ku made of two polypeptide chains bonded together that stabilises damaged DNA by encircling it, IIRC. The question must be asked from the writer of the OP, which cancers involve damage to both strands of DNA? How widespread are these? What is the possibility of using Ku as cancer treatment.

References please.

You lucky sod. I am going grey everywhere and now estimate that I (at almost 55 years old) am now 80% grey. The worst thing is grey eyebrow and nose hairs. What do you do? Pluck? Leave them? Help.

I think these were light and camera effects meant to show purity. It was a bit OTT. Nevertheless, I am a bit frightened of this stuff if I am honest: http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/006/freemasons.htm