The redundant male

The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins,  is an intriguing, popular-science book; as I was crawling my way through it yesterday, I came across a brief blurb concerning the female greenfly; a species that can produce asexually:

“Female greenflies can bear live, fatherless, female offspring, each one containing all the genes of its mother … … an embryo in the mother’s ‘womb’ may have an even smaller embryo inside her own womb. So a female greenfly may give birth to a daughter and a grand-daughter simultaneously, both of them being equivalent to her own identical twins…” (from Chapter 3; Immortal coils, p. 43 in the 30^th anniversary issue).

For any and all ultra-feminists out there, you may want to delve into a book cited by Dawkins (in his excellent Endnotes, on p. 275): The Redundant Male, by Jeremy Cherfas and John Gribbin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Slime mould and bio-computers

Slime moulds germinate from a spore and begin life as a haploid (one set of chromosomes) amoebae organism, flowing along the floor of a forest, eating bacteria. When food supply becomes scarce, a chemical (cAMP) is released, which induces the individual amoebae to congregate into a mass: they form streams of cells, referred to as pseudoplasmodium, and the separate streams congregate to form a mass as large as one-hundred thousand cells. The individual amoeba secrete adhesion molecules; they bond together, and develop a slime sheet ‘cap’ that envelops the mass. The mass then behaves as a single organism, gliding across the forest floor, leaving a trail of slime in its wake.

It is a brainless, primeval organism, yet Japanese scientists have studied the slime mould colonies for years as the colonies have navigated mazes. The scientists believe that the behavior of the slime mould may facilitate the design of complex problem-solving bio-computers.

[Image by Toshiyuki Nakagaki].

According to Toshiyuki Nakagaki (at Hokkaido University’s Research Institute for Electronic Science), slime mold colonies use a form of information-processing to optimize a path through a maze (toward a food-source, which is signaled by a higher concentration of ammonia); and, at the same time, the organism avoids stressors that would damage it. They are able to adapt to environmental variations and can develop resistance to new stimulus. 

Nakagaki’s research of slime mould garnered an Ig Nobel  prize (Ig Nobel prizes are a spoof of Nobel Prizes and are awarded to scientists who “first make people laugh, and then make them think.”).

Apparently, slime moulds are able to develop more efficient networks than our most advanced technology. Masashi Aono, a researcher at Riken (in Waka, Japan) would like to develop a bio-computer: his lofty plan is to eventually duplicate the human brain with slime moulds.

For some reason the movie The Blob just burbled into consciousness.

 

 

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Higgs boson

[image fron CERN]

I’ve been ill for the past few days (thankfully, nothing serious), and I’m just catching up with the news about the ‘God’ particle; more scientifically referred to as the Higgs particle, or Higgs boson.

Scientists haven’t quite claimed that it is the Higgs boson they’ve been hoping to find since 1964, but they believe it very well might be; or, it may be a Higgs boson, and they might find more if they keep looking.

It’s easy to get bogged down in theory, but from what I can understand, a boson is a subatomic particle that permits multiple particles to exist in the same state. The experimentally observed elementary bosons are: photons, the force carriers of electromagnetic fields; the W and Z bosons, the force carriers of the weak force (responsible for radiation); and gluons, the force carriers of the strong force (the force that holds an atom’s nucleus together).

The Higgs boson (after Peter Higgs) was postulated as the particle that enables other particles to have mass (the graviton, a particle that enables gravity, has also been postulated, but is not within the sphere of particle physics). In the world of particle physics, the Higgs boson is massive; additionally, it decays extremely quickly (and is no longer there to observe), so a very high-energy particle accelerator is required to create and document its existence.

The Higgs boson is the final experimental piece of the puzzle that would confirm the Standard Model of particle physics, which is why physicists are so excited (well, maybe not the ones who have postulated other theories).

The possibility that Particle Physicists have found the Higgs boson is no immediate boon to mankind, although it would push the frontier of knowledge further, and may lead to other long-sought discoveries, like supersymmetry, other dimensions, or other theories that were postulated that reach beyond the Standard Model. It should help scientists to delve further into the big questions, such as, what are we made of? It will certainly help explain how the universe developed.  Perhaps this discovery, like the theory of quantum mechanics, will lead to a cornucopia of future inventions.

It’s all pretty darned exciting, but it’s just one more step on the path of knowledge.

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The Mpemba Effect

The Royal Society of Chemistry is offering £1000 (~ $1550 US) to anybody who comes up with the best explanation for why hot water freezes faster than cold water, a conundrum that has baffled scientists for centuries.

The reward will go “… to the person or team producing the best and most creative explanation of the phenomenon, known today as The Mpemba Effect.” The deadline for submissions is July 30, 2012, and submissions must be made here.

For this contest, it seems to me that a non-scientist may stand a good chance of winning the prize (after all, scientists have been unsuccessful for over two-thousand years!), so I thought I’d throw a few factoids about water into the Webosphere as basic background for any creative geniuses that might like to try their hand at submitting, but would like somewhere to begin their far-flung theories (which, the website notes, must be “…scientifically sound and arresting in presentation and delivery”).

The following factoids are all interconnected characteristics of the substance that is the basis for most life on our planet. If the characteristics of water were different, none of us would be here; or, at the very least, we would be far different beings*…

Water, or H₂o, is a polar molecule

[image found at sguforums.com]

Oxygen is more electronegative than hydrogen and the molecule forms an ‘electrical dipole’, with the oxygen end more negative, and the hydrogen end more positive; therefore, water molecules are attracted to one another and readily form connective bonds, which gives water some of its interesting characteristics, such as its ability as a ‘universal’ solvent, and its high surface tension (this is why there is a meniscus at the surface, and why insects can walk on water). To be more specific, water molecules form a ‘V’ shape (some people call it a ‘U’ shape), with the hydrogen atoms at the two top tips of the ‘V’ pointing away from the oxygen (oxygen has extra valence electrons which ‘push’ the electropositive hydrogen atoms away, and the hydrogen atoms repel each other — they are both electropositive — thereby forming the ‘V’ shape).

The melting point of water decreases as a function of pressure. The triple point is a certain temperature and pressure at which all three phases of a substance — solid, liquid and gas — occur in a stable equilibrium (for water, the triple point is 0.01 °C and 611.73 pascals).  For most substances, the triple point is the minimum temperature at which the liquid phase can occur; however, for water, the melting point decreases as a function of pressure.

[image found at SWE.org]

The volume of water increases from liquid to gas and from liquid to solid. Conventionally, molecules disperse into gaseous form when heated, condense into a liquid phase when cooled, and condense to a greater density when cooled further. These phase changes, or changes in state, correspond to energy changes; from high energy (gas) to medium energy (liquid) to low energy (solid). Water, however, is a bit of an individualist. When water vapor is cooled, it condenses into a liquid, but when water is cooled to 4°C (39 °F), its volume begins to increase slightly; further, when it reaches 0°C (32 °F), it begins to expand radically, becoming less dense (this is why ice cubes float in a glass of water). This odd characteristic of water is related to its shape and how molecules bond together (see above: Water is a polar molecule). As a liquid, water molecules move about quite readily; the individual molecules form bonds, bonds are broken, and bonds are re-formed, thereby giving water its fluidic properties. When water is cooled to 4°C, the energy of the molecules decreases until they become very closely packed, but at 0°C, the molecules begin to align in a hexagonal, crystal lattice that increases the volume of a given sample of water (e.g.: water in an ice-cube tray) because individual molecules are held farther apart, with more empty space between them.      

For your submission, you may want to thow in some  psycho-babble regarding quantum states (in particular, Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle), Schrödinger’s cat though-experiment (the observer is part of the experimental system: you don’t know the water is frozen until you actually observe it), chemical kinetics (e.g.: does the higher temperature of water act as a catalyst, creating more collisions or larger spaces between molecules, thereby yielding more bonding potential for ice’s hexagonal, crystal lattice structure?), and maybe even some hand-waving about sublimation (transformation directly from gaseous to solid form).

Best of luck with your submission!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*I found this cartoon in an old  textbook; Biology, IV Ed., by Helena Curtis

 

 

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of cow belches, whale poo, and the environment

A colleague of mine enjoys challenging my views with humorous jabs; recently, when I was decrying the fact that our society (myself included) is apathetic in regards to the pollution effects of fossil fuels, he suggested that the world’s one-and-a-half billion cows are to blame for the greenhouse gas problems.

[Image found at Science Hax]

“A cow,” he informed me, “farts out as much pollution as a car.”

I looked it up; he was almost correct, but it is cow burps (scientific types, and other straight-laced characters, prefer the term eructation), not flatulence, that releases the bulk of the methane — a significant greenhouse gas component — from cows into the atmosphere.

In fact, ruminant animals (cows, sheep and water buffalo in particular) account for almost thirty percent of the methane in the environment. It is a big enough problem that there are even plans to add antibiotics to cattle feed to impede the production of methane. Personally, I’d prefer that we decrease our consumption of beef, which would reduce the population of cows required on the planet, thereby lowering the eructation of ruminant-methane. Our planet maintains a natural balance, but humanity has a nasty tendency to push past the level that the environment can correct for.

When I reported my findings back to the colleague who had prompted my research, he nodded; I was thus encouraged, and went on to explain that the real problem was our diet: apparently, in Canada and the United States, animal consumption accounts for about seventy percent of our dietary intake, and we could reverse the methane-eructation problem if we  reduced our livestock herds by modifying our eating habits. The carbon footprint of vegetables, beans and grains is a fraction of that created by animal husbandry. And, if our society reduced its consumption of animals, we would receive the added bonus of a healthier population.

“Okay,” my esteemed colleague said; “but what about the whales?”

“Huh?” I replied.

And then he began to (humorously) malign whales for their colossal contribution to global warming due to their excessive exhalation of carbon dioxide (CO2), a familiar greenhouse gas pollutant. “There have been estimates,” my colleague informed me, “that whales contribute the equivalent of forty-thousand CO2-belching automobiles.”

So I did some more research…

And he was correct, as far as he went; however, he hadn’t looked at the big picture.

Australian researchers, while studying baleen (krill eating) whales, have discovered that although whales exhale huge quantities of CO2, their feces are responsible for the reduction of greenhouse gases.

Whales move their bowels at the surface and, because their feces are rich in iron, this acts as a fertilizer for phytoplankton, the wonderful marine plant that uses CO2 from the atmosphere to drive photosynthesis. In fact, it turns out that the reduction of CO2 by phytoplankton, as powered by the iron from whale feces, is twice the amount exhaled by the whales; therefore, the net contribution of whales is beneficial in the battle against greenhouse gasses and global warming.  This is an example of how nature — if we take humans out of the equation — performs its own checks and balances.

So, when I was back at work again, I reported the findings to my colleague.

He nodded, accepting my research, and said, “Okay, but what about…”

But I didn’t hear the rest because I’d stuck a finger in each ear and walked away, humming loudly…

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The world’s fastest punch

[image found at Space Oddity’s Spore Blog]

The peacock mantis shrimp (aka the harlequin mantis shrimp and the painted mantis shrimp) is not a true shrimp, but a species of crustacean (Odontodactylus scyllarus). Their habitat is in the Indo-Pacific, from Guam to East Africa.

The peacock mantis shrimp range in length from about three to eighteen centimeters (1.2 – 7 inches) and their most unusual feature is small appendages, called dactyl clubs, that they use to smash through mollusk shells, the heads of small fish, bivalves, and even glass aquarium walls (they make interesting and colorful aquarium specimens, but they must be kept separate from other creatures, and the walls of their aquaria must be constructed of shatter-proof acrylic).

The dactyl club appendages have been studied by chemical and material engineering scientist David Kisailus and his associates at the University of California, Riverside.

The striking surface of the club is highly crystallized hydroxyapite (a variety of calcium carbonate (bone material)), which provides superior compressive strength. Beneath the calcium carbonate, chitin is cross-layered in a dense array to prevent the formation of fractures. The sides of the club are also constructed of chitin, which places the club under compression. The club’s structure allows it to endure incredible impact forces. The animal’s punching velocity of 80 km/h (50 miles/h) is the fastest ever recorded and the punch acceleration is equivalent to a .22 caliber handgun.

David Kisailus and his colleagues have plans to use their findings to create materials for synthesis and engineering use in protective sporting equipment, crash-resistant vehicles, and body armor.

The combination of intriguing colors (predominant shades of green, with orange legs and anterior spots) and super-human punching abilities begs for a new comic-book super-hero…

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Venus in Transit

 Depending where in the world you are, a rare astronomical event will occur either June 5, or June 6. In the western hemisphere, the transit of Venus will begin in the afternoon on June 5, but in the eastern hemisphere, the transit can be observed starting at sunrise on June 6 (and, unfortunately, there are places in the world from which it can’t be viewed).

Venus will pass across the sun and will appear as a dark spot that will take almost seven hours to journey across the face of the sun [image from TopNews.in].

The transit of Venus will not occur again until 2117.

But, please, don’t try to view the event with the naked eye. To view the transit safely, use either Solar eclipse glasses, or Welder’s glass (#14 or darker).

Venus will appear as a rather smallish speck; so, if you don’t have excellent eye-sight, it may be better to view the event at a local astronomy club, park, or nature center.

The event can be viewed on-line at:

Slooh.com

The Exploratorium, from San Francisco

The Bareket Observatory in Israel

Astronomers Without borders, from the Mount Wilson Observatory in California

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Chlorophyll (and a couple of cousins)

When a metal ion is bonded in the center of an organic molecule, it is referred to as a chelate. Chlorophyll, the green pigment in plants, is one of the most important naturally-occurring chelates. The central ion in chlorophyll is magnesium, which is bonded to an organic molecule called a porphyrin, which contains four nitrogen atoms that bond with the central magnesium (to be overtly pedantic, they bond in a square planar arrangement).

[image credit: Learn for knowledge]

Chlorophyll absorbs in the red and blue-violet spectrum and reflects yellow-green, hence its name (from the Greek, chloros, for yellow-green).

Chlorophyll’s most extraordinary feature, of course, is its ability to absorb the energy of our sun and, through the process of photosynthesis, use the sun’s energy to transform carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates and oxygen. The carbohydrates produced (designated below as the empirical formula (CH₂O)) are the energy that fuels biochemical reactions in almost all living organisms on our planet.

CO₂ + H₂O  → (CH₂O) + O₂

Chlorophyll is the catalyst in the electron transfer, oxidation-reduction reaction between carbon dioxide and water (and isn’t it grand that one of the by-products of photosynthesis is oxygen for us to breathe?).

As with many things regarding life on this planet, designs are repeated: blueprints are used over and over. For example, there are molecules with similar structures to chlorophyll that are essential in other biochemical electron-transfer (oxidation-reduction) reactions.

Heme is a close-cousin to chlorophyll with a similar porphyrin structure, but heme is bright red and has an iron(II) ion in its center.  In our red blood cells, heme is bound to proteins and forms hemoglobin; which, in turn, combines with oxygen in our lungs and releases the oxygen into our tissues through the flow of blood.

Vitamin B₁₂ (also called cobalamin), another close-cousin to chlorophyll, has a cobalt ion at the center of the porphyrin structure. B₁₂, like heme, is bright red and is required for cellular metabolism, the formation of DNA, and energy production. B₁₂ is not produced by higher plants, so vegetarians and vegans must ensure they consume other sources or their diet can lead to a B₁₂ deficiency.

It never ceases to amaze me that the underlying patterns of life on this planet are so similar, or that all life on Earth is intrinsically interconnected. It’s the reason I studied bio-sciences at university (though I can’t quite explain my years studying and working with electronics and mechanical systems), and I’ll never forget Cyril, my first-year biology Professor at SFU, who, when I stared at him with the wide-eyed disbelief of thunderstruck knowledge, smiled and said to me: “So; do you believe in God?”

Thank you Cyril (and the many others), for opening my eyes to the light of knowledge.

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Darwin and Giant Armadillos

Luiz Claudio Marigo/naturepl.com

“In the course of his geologic studies, Darwin came across many fossils of extinct mammals.  Among the most interesting to him were those of giant armadillos. Nowhere else in the world were surviving species of these strange armored mammals found. Was it only a coincidence that extinct armadillos were also found buried in these same South American plains? Here again Darwin encountered tangible evidence of change and history.”

from Biology, by Helena Curtis (Worth Publishers, Inc., 4th edition, pg. 882-883)

The giant armadillo is the largest existing armadillo species (it grows up to 1.5 meters in length (~ 5 feet), with a weight up to 25 kg (~ 60 lbs)), although the extinct glyptodont — which  evolved during the Miocene era in South America — was considerably larger (close to the size of a Volkswagen beetle). At one time, the giant armadillo was spread over most of the tropical forests and grasslands east of the Andes, from Venezuela to Argentina; currently, due to over-hunting and the loss of habitat to human development and agriculture, the species is at risk of extinction.

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