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Thursday, July 26, 2007

Boson of Higgs:Blogs and High Energy Physics.

Left. Drawing taken from Nature.


Certain fundamental aspects of physics have begun to be debated in blogs. Tommaso Dorigo (July,21), of the University of Papua/Italy : A Quantum Diaries Survivor., comments the possible discovery (0-10% of possibilities), of the boson of Higgs, according to experiments made the 2000, in the collider Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory/USA, according to which, the boson of Higgs, has been discovered. Jacobo Konigsberg, of Florida University of, says that " blogs are now, a powerful weapon in the mouth of a few”. The Nature magazine, by its side comments that the boson of Higgs is too heavy to be detected by the european collider CERN, in as much it has a mass considered in 114.000 million electron-volts (GeV), equivalent to 1 billion electron-volts. Whenever the weight of the boson does not surpass the 170-180 GeV, the LHC (Great Hadron Collider), would guarantee the discovery of bosons of Higgs, that could only exist during a brief period initiated 10-35 seconds after the explosion of the Big Bang. Its decay had produced an excess of particles of matter on those of antimatter. Its discovery would explain the mechanism by which elementary particles acquire mass. The model proposed by the physicist Peter Higgs is evolutionary: it goes from but simple to the most complex thing (from the photon massless to the relatively heavy bosons W and Z). The mass of a boson of Higgs is little diferent from the empty space. In fields of low energy (empty space) these paradoxically, do not exhibit zero energy. The level but under energy exhibits a particle crown (without own energy), that shortly after the Big Bang, had interacted with other particles, doing them to gain mass. A boson near 1 electron, would make that this develops a force between the 2. If the particles do not gain mass interacting with the boson, then the boson of Higgs, exists, although single we will be certain if we found it. The group D-Zero that analyzes the evidences, will give its opinion when it is verified that registered fluctuations are not a statistical fluctuation at random.

The Standard Model accepts that all particles are born equal and without mass. Soon some of them will wander by the fields of Higgs, acquiring mass. As the model does not say how much weights the boson, the physicists try to calculate it hitting subatomic particles each other, quantifying their by-products. If the boson is present, this will decay in small jets of quarks or other identifiable particles (depending on its mass). The more heavy is the boson, it will have more particles. According to Dr. Dorigo, in quantum mechanics always it is possible to identify unusual fluctuations phenomena, not always corresponding to elementary particles, adding that to determine the meaning of these fluctuations are the barren part but of the Standard model. Despite it , the reserachers has a standard of gold : a 5-sigma has been determined (measurement of standard deviation). With it, Konigsberg predicts that the boson must have a right mass over 14 billion electron volts, with which the American Tevatron has chances to find it. If the boson is very heavy it will be difficult to see it. At the most light, better. When John Conway, professor of the Californian University, found a suspicious fluctuation in the data of Fermilab, wrote in the blog Cosmic Variance that he and his colleagues of Rutgers University, have found an excessive number of pairs of taus (heavy relatives of the electron), by-product of proton collisions. If taus, were by-products of the boson of Higgs, it will have a mass of 150 billion electron volts (2-sigma, even far from the 5-sigma). Dr. Dorigo asks himself in his blog if the group D-Zero, had analyzed an excess of b-quarks descovered in the Tevatron (4-5 sigma, being conceived a boson with a mass of 180 billion electron volts). By his side, Gordon Watts (blog: Life as a Physicist), physicist of the University de Washington criticized to Dr. Dorigo for speculate on the basis of rumors. Around b-quark, Dr Konigsberg, says that this is a by-product of 1 of 5 possible bosons of Higgs, predicted by Supersymmetry (unifiying theory of nature). Supersymmetry predicts the existence of but elementary particles, one of which will be the component of dark matter, that unites the galaxies in the universe.

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Tuesday, July 24, 2007

SEARCH OF HIDDEN WATER: FROM DOWSING to GPS.

http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=HhoV5iF3TiM








From top/down:French Dowser, Alain Gachet with mobil GPS, Darfur´s Lake with hidden water, satellite radar imagen of hidden water.
For Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Earth degradation, global overheating, desertificatión, diminution (1/3), of northern Darfur's rains, exponential growth of the population and conflicts maintained by political, tribal or ethnic differences, are the conditioners of the warlike crisis of Darfur (Sudán). Concept extended to other conflicts: Congo/Liberia, Uganda/Angola, etc., also, difficult to solve. The presence of the international community in the confrontation aspires to a cease of fire by means of a reversion of the environmental degradation by technified irrigations. Although the history of Sudan is full of chronic civil wars, famine, coup d'etats, despotism, etc, generates skepticism. In Darfur since 2001 (according to Alex de Waal) or, since 2003 according to other international analysts, the Sudanese government of Arab Muslim majority, comes militarily facing south populations from Darfur, composed by African black (ethnic groups: fur, zaghawa and masalit, represented by the MJI: Justice and Equality Movement), disputing natural resources and power. Although by means of tactics type guerrilla, the MJI and other supporting groups, won initial battles, the Sudanese government soon reverted its partial defeat, modernizing its Air Force, intelligence services and incorporating to the Janjaweed (militians of tribes abbala -owners of camels, of Arab ethnic group and agriculturists not baggara).

According to International Coalition for Justice, 400 000 Sudanese of both sides have died already in these 4 years and at least 2 500 000 Sudanese of fur ancestry have left their homes. USA accuse from genocide to the Sudanese government, being based on the atrocities committed by the Janjaweed. In the middle of the conflict, where many Sudanese die by lack of foods and water, the technological applications developed by the French geologist Alain Gachet (explorer of water and minerals by but of 20 years), stand out and those coming from investigators of Boston University (Farouk El-Baz, who just finishes receiving authorization of the government of Sudan, to perforate water of a vast underground lake recently discovered located in the north of Darfur :30 750 km2- that does 25 000 years fed the river Nile), giving hopes of solution to the conflict. The methodology to find the water hidden in this lake, was obviously not based on dowsing (hidden water detection made interpreting movements or vibrations generated by an apparatus of wood in form of Y, or through a pendulum). Gachet (petroleum ex--explorer of a French company), rather used terraqueous superficial maps built in space shuttles, satellite images elaborated by exploratory radars ERS and JERS-1 of up to 20 ms of depth of the subsoil and localizers of channels of underground watery drainage. When Gachet finally walking on sandy areas of the campings, maintaining a mobil GPS (that replaces to dowsing Y), says: here, then underground water exists. The effectiveness of Gachet´s technology oscillates between 90-100%. It does not work when the surrounding rocks lack storage water capacity. Useful technology in barren campings, where a person needs in average 4 gallons daily (according to UN), to drink, to wash and to cook. Recently, a team of geologists (Center for Remote Sensing), has showed its desire to perforate 1.000 wells. Alex de Waal says that the water of the lake could be happen in a curse, depending on how the resource is handled. If the Sudanese government decides to control the water, there will not be solution to the warlike conflict. In Sudan, lack of fairness exists, because this rich country has: fuel, fertile earth and water. The government always has favored the mechanization and irrigation of great properties controlled by them, in decline of small agriculturists (fed by rains), backbone of rural economy of Sudan.

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Monday, July 23, 2007

UTILITY of SATURN`S MOONS



Now that that the moon No. 60 (located between Methone and Pallene), has been discovered (May/2007/with the wide-angle camera of the probe Cassini), orbiting around Saturn, one asks oneself for the meaning and utility of this discovery. The Cassini-Huygens is a joint mission between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency) and ASI (Agenzia Spatiali Italiana), to explore the Saturnian system, since 1997.

1) The moons that orbit Saturn vary in size, forms, age and origin. Some exhibit rocky, porous or ice surfaces. Others have crater, valleys and a few :tectonic activity. Carl Murray (Queen Mary, University of London: QMUL), a Cassini Imaging Professor, says that it is posible find more moons compose of ice and rocks.
2) Placing mirrors in the surfaces of certain moons, would be possible to set to Saturn always by day.
3) Excepting Titan (the saturnian but great moon, atmosphere with NH3 and methane, able to lodge life and Enceladus: possessing of geysers with water), some small moons like: Franz, Mimas, Hyperion, Pallene, Methone, Polydepsus, Svadi, Erriapo, Narva, Ymir, Yjiraq, etc., could be transported to other places, equipping them with mirrors, turning Earth always by day. Although one does not know if this kind of transfer can cause severe energetic changes in our Solar System.
4) To be used like perennial Saturn’s observatories and trasmissors of data.
5) With installed reflectors of solar light in these moons -directed towards the ring of ice and rocks of Saturn- the planet could work like a gigantic space light.

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Sunday, July 22, 2007

SOKOTRA : EXTREME BIOSPHERE

http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=fU9Rl63_DAA


Valleys of Titan, venus prairies, Martian forests?. Not, the pictures correspond to natural landscapes of Sokotra, a terraqueous island, part of a small archipelago of 4 islands, in the Indian Ocean to 400 km of the south coast of Yemen, in front of the horn but big of Africa. The island, of 130 km long, 40 km wide, area of 3650 km2 and 80 000 inhabitants (shepherds, merchants, fishermen, farmers), is administered by the government of Aden/Yemen. Commercial Airplanes lead daily toward its capital Hadibou, a peaceful and picturesque place, with houses covered by palms and built with coral. The strange of their endemic fauna and flora, owes it -according to specialists- to its long isolation of Main Africa, motivated by its separation from the same one, 60 millions years ago.

Sokotra harbors but of 815 species of plants, of which 250 are endemic (7 species correspond to resinous trees). It also harbors but of 100 new species of birds. During the monsoon of April/October, all natural vegetation is pruned completely, emerging naked granite mountains, of up to 1519 m of high, bushes, líchens and unusual resinous trees of until 5 m of height: alive fossils in form of inverted bottle trees (Boswellia spec, dragons blood), mounted on rocks, defending their growth with toxic and inedible thorns and whose resin is used as perfume, healing and tint. In dry seasons these strange trees (with great content of water), become vital oasis for nomadics, being given the luxury of germinating roses (Adenium obesum socotranum), in their apexes. These trees have similar properties of american cacti which are adapted to extremely arid and hot environments showing a wide range of anatomical and physiological features which conserve water. Sokotra also harbors big nutritious lizards and to other greasy species from which its oil is extracted. The natives say that the heave of endemic chameleons can steal the voice to the man. Their seas have dolphins and whales. Great part of the island is surrounded by a ring of fine cliffs of 500 m of height disposed like a blown out globe. Sokotra that has the coastal but big dunes of the earth, is world candidate to Biosphere reservation.

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Friday, July 20, 2007

WE NEED ONLY 10% OF OUR BRAINS

NORMAl BRAIN SCAN. Compare with C image -below- in which LV=Left Ventricule.



IMAGE C. A thin layer of brain tissue run paralell to the inner part of the cranium.

What will say now, doctors and judges who ordered the retirement (1990), of the nasogástric tube that during some years served to feed and to maintain with life to Terry Schiavo, an adult american woman who remained many years in bed as a result of a severe brain damage that led her to a PVS (persistent vegetative state). The arguments to retire her the nasogastric feeding tube, was based on images provided by a brain scan (cerebral atrophy : brain mass : 641 grs =40%, cerebral ventricles very expanded). Retrospectively the subject interests, because this week the Lancet (Friday, July/20/2007), magazine displays the case of a French adult male, married with 2 daughters, employee of a state office, with social conduct and motor activity relatively normal, throughout his 44 years of life and a brain scan, exhibiting a cerebral mass of hardly 10% (in relation to adult usual standards), to consequence of a progressive neonatal hydrocephalus.

Showing that much brain mass is not needed in order that a human being will function normally (only if the brain be completely developed when being born), as in cases of hidrocephalus, event that does not happen in anencephaly (defect in the closure of the neural tube = non-developed brains), or in acrania where the cerebral mass is quickly deteriorated, by absence of armored decks (skull and others). Obviously these small brains, must have sufficient neural circuits to be connected to all human body. In the medical praxis, it is usual to see patients (to whom a kidney or a lung is extirpated), compensating their deficiencies enlarging to the maximum their non-extirpated kidneys or lungs, opening new physiologically routes non-used normally. It is hipothetized that these small brains must have circuits and neurons densely packed. That is right. The event gives opportunity to see the possibility of seeding with focused stem cells, niches of brains widely damaged with the aim to establish sufficient neuronal circuits.

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Thursday, July 19, 2007

WATER in GIANT EXOPLANETS.

http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt3L71uI4nc


Although some astronomers think that results are consequence of instrumental faults, Giovanna Tinnetti and colleagues (UCLA, Institute d'Astrophysique of Paris, ESA, University College London), said they have obtained the most convincing test of presence of water steam in the atmosphere of a hot planet: HD 189733b (giant planet, orbiting very close around its star -in this case- To = 930 oC, by day/427 oC at night, located in the Constellation of Vulpecula, to 64 years light of our Solar System). The news has 2 commentaries from us: 1) Sean Carey, coauthor of the study (published in Nature), says that previously they had developed spectrographic fingerprints of the atmosphere of several exoplanets, with help of NASA's Spitzer Spatial Infrared Telescope, obtaining almost always a vertical isothermal profile in hot planets. Also, Jonathan Tensión and colleagues developed models and formulas to signal water presence in the spectral analysis. Tinetti and colleagues who study atmospheric signatures, have more than 500 000 individual data of absorption of light, with which they calculated the basic parameters of absorption for temperature and atmospheric water. The researchers concentrated themselves in certain dark areas (of the atmosphere of the hot planet), while it journeyed nearly its star. The variations of the effective radius of the hot planet, dependent of different wavelengths (3,6 ms - 5,8 ms and 8, 5 ms), were interpreted as secondary to water steam presence in the atmosphere of the hot planet. In these cases, the effective radius of the planet shines but great to wavelengths compatible with atmospheric water presence. Now it is said that water steam is common in: Jupiter, Saturn, Urano and Neptune, with which the possibility of extrasolar life is not dead.


2) On the other side impress us, the quality of data caught by the Spitzer, that cooled cryogenically (5.5 K), follows an heliocentric orbit, persecuting the Earth, with which is possible to study the most distant objects of universe. The Spitzer weighs 950 kgs, stores 360 liters of liquid Helium, measures 0,85 m and reads images of between 3 to 180 microns. Sent in August of the 2003, it has an average life of 5 years. With some angular limitations the Spitzer is able to provide a great instantaneous vista of the sky. Their mirrors and structures of support, are made almost in their totality of Beryllium. 3) The third thing is the maximization of the potential of the human eye, expanded every time at incommensurable levels. From the initial inverted natural images rearranged in our brain, one has gone to do without this sense, replacing it with thermal, luminance, chemical, physical perceptions, interpretations of oscillations of wavelengths, etc –like in this case- or others, that in the end provide similar perceptions to the human eye. Although at the end, the impressive thing is the use of the logic, statistic, valuation of evidences collected by our humble brains, etc., to make the respective correlations and the final interpretation.

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Monday, July 16, 2007

SLEEP TOGETHER or in SEPARATE BEDS.

http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=LI8M0NuOxPc



For the psychiatrist Samuel Dunkell, the body language associated to sleeping, can reveal intimacies of marriages. To sleep hugged and curled up with the man behind, with his genital tight against his wife's buttocks, provides maximum physical proximity, expressive of a happy couple. To sleep closely together is the usual thing during the first 3 - 5 years of the marriage. The opposite: to sleep with a lot of empty space between both, can mean matrimonial waste. A recent study reported in Health magazine found that 2 of each 10 young adults slept in separate beds, as long as 5 of each 10 couples, above the 65 years, made the same thing. Nevertheless other reasons exist to sleep in separate beds. Sergei Agarkov, boss of the Regional Public Movement for Support Sexual of Culture, says that for habit or preference reasons some people like to sleep turned up or tummy, while others constantly turns to one or another side and others ugly snore. Beside this, the near personal contacts force millions of microbes to migrate from a body to other, to support poor ventilations and to absorb increased levels of dioxide of carbon. The only beneficial thing among couples seems to be the exchange of heat. Finally to sleep in separate beds and join together in certain hours of the day or the week can be renovating and a powerful sexual energyzer. It is that to sleep together daily can dilute the love because this way the mystery is vanished. By the way it is difficult that young couples sleep separately because the strong existent sex desire. To sleep in separate beds seems to work better in older adults. Nevertheless strong unions will always sleep in the same bed until advanced ages.

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Saturday, July 14, 2007

BABY MAMMOTH and the NEW JURASSIC PARK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdjW-fWzYEc


What foretells the recovering of complete congealed mammoths (1997/Taimir/Siberia, 2007/Yamal/Siberia and others) -announced officially- although it is anticipated that exist many more?. With complete certainty, the return of mammoths to life (more soon than the anticipated thing) and the development of a renewed Jurassic Park. Previously, Japanese scientists obtained newborn mice with sperm maintained congealed during 15 years. Recently a human girl was conceived, from a non-fertilized ovum maintained congealed during 6 months. With greater reason in the case of the baby mammoth (10 000 years, conserved in the Siberian permafrost), recently discovered in the peninsule of Yamal/Siberia/Russia, that according to Alexei Tikhonov, shines perfectly preserved (with exception of its tail). Larry Agenbroad, Director of the Mammoth Site of Hot Springs Research Centre in South Dakota, U.S., says that the important thing now, is: I) To insert sperm coming from prehistoric congealed mammoths, in ova of asian or African elephants, generating an hybrid, being expected that later copulation between hybrids and present elephants generates a mammoth at some time. On the matter, an article published in Plos gave account that mammoths are genetically but related (according to mitochondrial DNA), to Asian elephant than to African. These 3 species would descend of a common ancestor from which they began to be different, 6 million years ago (Michael Hofreiter/Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology/Leipzig/Germany). However, Hendrik Poinar of the McMaster University/Ontario/Canada and colleagues who examined part of the nuclear DNA of the jaw of another Siberian mammoth, assure that these, are but related genetically (98.5%), with African elephants than with Asians, adding that which determines the physiology and the appearance of an organism are located in the nucleus and not in mitochondrias. II) The second objective (now within reach) is to insert the nucleus of a somatic cell of a mammoth into an enucleated ova coming from a African or Asian elephant (clonation). The greater difficulty to clonate dinosaurs :to have full genomes, does not exist in the case of mammmoths, reason why it is hoped to attend in the course of the following 2 years to the birth of the first cloned mammoth.

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Thursday, July 12, 2007

AND NOW, WE HAVE EMBRYOIDS.


The severe regulatory controls that George Bush has implanted in USA against the indiscriminate employment of stem cells coming from human embryos, is forcing the inventive of many American scientists with the purpose of generating something similar to embryonic stem cells, without infringing the law. In this way, researchers of Lifeline Cell Technology/Maryland, (Click :Cloning and Stem Cells Scientific paper), have developed a method that induced parthenogenetic activation (using FSH, gonadoliberina and hCG), in a non-fertilized egg (parthenogenetic human embryonic stem cell: phESC), stimulating it to generate an embryoid (or blastocyst, morfologically equal to usual stem cells, 46 XX, usual F. Alkaline and telomerasa activity, appropiate markers, differentiated derivatives of all 3 germinal layers, that give embryoids in suspension cultures and teratomas in inmunodeficient animals), from which embryonic stem cells (hESC), are extracted. For it, ES Rezanova, NA Turovets, Jeffrey Janus et al, used oocytes coming from 5 sterile women. The work that for the first time is carried out in human beings is genetically a significant step in matching transplants tissues. It doesn't work in men. The study appears in the Journal Cloning and Stem Cells (Vol. 3.Number : 9). Kent Vrana, of the Pennsylvania State University that has carried out similar works in monkeys, assures that the aim is to create stem cells genetically compatible between donor and host and not to create babys. The advance suggests that some day a woman that wants a transplant to treat her diabetes or an affection of her spine could donate eggs to a laboratory that would create tissues that her body would not reject (histocompatible cell-based cell therapy).

George Daley, a scientist of Harvard Stem Cell Institute, said that these, are variants of embryonic stem cells coming from something different to a normal embryo. Not yet we know if these cells, will be as good as those coming from fertilized mature embryos. It exists the possibility that father's lack will deteriorate the performance of these new stem cells. The DNA of the sperm carries particular markers that differ from those carried out in an oocyte’s DNA, being affected the activity of specific genes. For Ronald M. Green, ethicist of Dartmouth College, the processes are ethically acceptable, as long as a human being are not developed and embryos are not destroyed. Nevertheless, the opposition centers their critics against any type of embryonic stem cells producer of specialized tissues, because the process always finishes generating and destroying embryos. The reverend Tad Pacholczyk, of the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia, says: if these organized cells growths forming embryos (in the first days and then they stop), they are always human of short life, therefore these embryos should not be created for then to be destroyed.

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Wednesday, July 11, 2007

ALIEN LIFE: A REAL POSSIBILITY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWtWwN6HATk

A group of prominent american scientists, under protection of the National Research Council, considers viable the existence of alternating life (with small or, great biochemical differences) u, others variants non-based on metabolisms or structures bound to Carbon, biodisolvents (similar to water) or systems similar to earth molecular found buildings ; ideas and definitions suggested years back, by other scientists (life, is all semiopened material system, able to accumulate energy of the surroundings, to store it, to modify it, generating self-replicates of its structure with capacity or not, of random variability). The committee that advises first to look for early earth life forms in deserts, subsoil of marine bottoms), of our own planet, adds in: “The Limits of Organic Life in Planetary Systems”, published yesterday by the National Research Council: 1) Planets and moons exist, with water or, other biosolvents sign tracks: Hydrogen fluoride (H2F, although little), liquid NH3 or, formalin (able to dissolve substances to the interior of an organism). The NH3 or the CH4, has predisposition to act well in cold planets, feeding organisms with little energy of activation. The probe Huygens who visited Titan (2005), found CH4 bathing its surface, as well as mixtures of H2O-NH3 pouring from its interior. It matters not to hope to find similar life to ours. In as much the existence of great number of abundant active water geysers in Enceladus exists, this moon can lodge life. 2) Although our earth DNA uses Phosphorus (P), in their structure, the possibility exists of replacing it, with Arsenic :As (Adenosine tri-arsenite, instead ATP). 3) Although organic life is potentially easiest to build in the universe, the N (abundant in certain planets), can replace the C.
4) Single, non-metals (H, B, C, N, O, S, Si, P, S.As), can form long chains of great solidity, despite, to be later hidrolized. 5) By its smallness and great capacity of connection the H, is seen as an essential element in any form of exobiológic life. 6) Where S abounds, it can replace to O. 7) The C can be replaced by (Silicon: Si), that has 4 points for different connections, although by their greater size these unions will not be so stable. In prebiótic atmospheres nevertheless the emergency of SiH4 is possible. In silicon structures, the H can be replaced by carbon groups or alquilos, in cold. Unlike CO2, the SiO2 is a solid and not a gas which will complicate the metabolism. The SiO2 can form long chains adaptable warm up environments being possible to connect to these HC or FC. One does not hope that Si-Si structures exhibit great variety or manage to conform great chains and rings. The book exposes also the discrepancies of Dr. Michael Meyer, who thinks that astrobiólogists must be limit their search to forms of life based on C (abundant element in the Universe). 7) Although our earth DNA consists of 4 compound chemistries (nucleótides), some experiments in synthetic biology have managed to create structures with 6 or but nucleótides able to lodge genetic information and potentially to bear darwinian evolutions. 8) Certain chemical studies, that demonstrate that an organism can use alternating forms of energy (sodium hidroxide or, hydrochlorate acid), sustain the thesis of the possible existence of organisms with metabolisms non-based on C. 9) Most scientists, assumes that in early stages, life based on RNA existed, of a single chain. The present DNA could have eliminated these forms of life, by competition. Today, could exist life forms based on RNA in the subsurface of marine oceans or in extreme areas, says Dr. John A. Baross. 10) The scientists are urged to build new biodetectors able to locate life accurately (components of light, C, H, Or, C, P, As, S and organic Carbon). It would be tragic not to find life in planets, because astronauts will not be able to recognize it.

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Sunday, July 08, 2007

ZEBROIDS ARE HERE.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-MXzhA2RiA


The small zebroid :Eclyse (zebra mule, crossing of a Shetland brown-white horse with a female zebra (Equus burcelli) coming from a German safaripark (Westphalia), is one of those cases where birth questions to that recommended by nature. It is known about some few zebroids gestated at natural, in the grasslands of Mount Kenya, with the purpose of obtaining supposedly resistant crossings to the illness transmitted by the fly Tse Tse. For it, it is suspected that the crossing that originated Eclyse finds been achieved in fact by means of artificial insemination. Although in general most of hybrid males, exhibit weakness and lower weight and size, Eclyse (1 year old), shines well. Although one doesn't know well it, it seems that hybrid females harbor genes but compatible among them. It is also known that because of a problem in their seminal glands, all hybrid males are sterile. Now that a pony is looked for to cross it with Eclyse, suits to remember the reasons for which this enterprise could require long time: a) horses possess 64 chromosomes and zebras: 62 (some zebras has 44). b) during the fertilization, the genetic mixtures of both parents, produce sterile ova. Alone some few ova (with genetic recombination, at random), formed with exclusively inherited DNA from the zebroid or from the male pony, are fertile and able of being fecundated.
"
One understand then that the percentage of fertile ova is extremely low and that an alternating form, of reproducing zebroids exist : clonation (Already achieved in mules, like part of the Project Idaho/2003). If in one of the few fertile ovulatións the zebroid is covered by a horse, a pony will be born and if she is covered by a male zebra a zebra he will be born. Cases are not known in that a zebroid gave birth to a hybrid one similar to her. And, when the zebroid gestates, it is difficult that she take to term the gestation, being born a weak and feeble breeding, in general. Some believe that in these cases, the product, is born with reduced telómeres condition of premature aging. The case remembers to male Rama (crossing of camel sperm with llama ova), gestated after 1 year, by means of assisted fertilization. Llama shows mixed characteristics : llama body and camel face, lack hump and he doesn't spit. The parents of Rama are a female llama of 75 kilos and a male camel of 450. The other case corresponds to the mules (hybrid sterile resultants of crossing a mare : female horse with male donkeys) and to burdéganos (male horse with female ass).

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Saturday, July 07, 2007

EVOLUTIONARY DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY (Evo-Devo).


The basic postulate of Darwin is that natural selection selects effectively small individual differences (of generation in generation), originating in the necessary time, great evolutionary changes. I) The first critics against this theory was constructed on the basis of fossil finding that demonstrated the opposite: instead of continuous progressive changes, the common thing was the emergency of new species through steep especiatives changes (phyletic gradualism or punctuate equilibrium: evolution of species is not given of uniform form, but in periods of fast evolution, deduced by the shortage of intermediate animal forms fossils). When defending his theory, Darwin said that intermediate fossil absence was due to : a) an imperfect fossil registry -intermediate forms- would be in sediments of marine bottoms b) Some organic forms were reasonable to be preserved c) frequently dominant species widely distributed are single recovered, the same that to being found in distant places give the impression of to be created of sudden d) within multiple intermediate gradations, few had undergone the pressure of evolutionary changes. Today, epigenetic amplification (a small change during the morphogénesis: epithelial invaginación or, others, can create great phenotypic changes) and heterocronia (change in the rate of the processes of development of taxon, so that an event that happens before, does later at a different speed in comparison with that same process from development in its predecessor), can explain the macroevolutionary jumps. II) Between 1930-1950, some genetiticists studied the genetic variation, on which the natural selection acts. Unifying paleontological-genetic findings, a new evolutionary vision was forced (modern synthesis), the same one that argued that mutations of the DNA, were the true creative forces of the new adaptive genetic variants, the same ones that with time, will become in common. He was sure that natural selection did not develop, single gave form to new adaptations. For that reason, some present geneticists, have proposed that mutations and not natural selection handle the intimate aspects of the evolution or, at least the main innovatives episodes, like the origin of the greater animals groups. Observation that matters, because as mutations are produced at random (independently of the necessities of the species), they will turn irrelevant many aspects of natural selection. III) The third critic to Darwin’s postulate, come from works in ecology emphasizing the effort of many organisms to construct his own environment. Eric H. Davidson, recently discovered an interactive network of buildings genes in sea urchins and sea star organisms, during their development. The novel thing is that the center of the network was constituted by a nucleus of 5 genes -preserved during 500 million years- with essential interactions for the formation of intestines. When the other genes (environmental genetic surroundings, constructed by the network), were removed, the developing embryo found the way to replace them. However if the nucleus of 5 genes were removed it was impossible the formation of the embryo. It also happens to the termites that build their own environment with masses of earth in hundreds of years in a luck of ecological inheritance to successive generations of thermites. The First cyanobacteria that turned CO2 to O, established a revolution that completely changed the chemistry of oceans and the atmosphere. Most species modifies its environment influencing the selection, that as also affects them, again.

IV) The fourth criticism to modern synthesis (or, NeoDarwinism), happens from the fact that this primarily deals with the transmission of genes from a generation to another, but not of as how the genes produce the bodies. Recent advances in evolutionary Biology development (evo-devo: comparison of the development of different organisms in order to determine its phylogenétic relations), has shown that gene Pax-6 controls the formation of eyes in mice and humans, the gene Nkx2.5, the heart formation and a set of other genes the formation of the nervous system, providing a weapon to investigate the genetics and development mechanisms that influence the evolution of the forms. A barren problem in this area is the knowledge that different morphologic newness that we observed in clades are not always reflected in the genome. Some biologists argue that this could be explained by genetic duplication (fixation of a cellular or biochemical function in a locus, so that duplicated locus be free to perform a new function) or, by changes in genetic regulation (resulting of interaction and rate of activity of genetic networks, with properties different from the operation of individual genes of the network). Of some way, the discovery of the Homeobox genes allowed to evaluate previous things. Changes in the genetic cis-regulatory systems, would be more significant than changes in the number of genes or the function of proteins (Sean B.Carroll, 2000). The evo-devo theory, maintains that combinatory nature of the regulation of the genetic transcription provides a rich substrate for morphologic diversity, in as much the variations in these level, pattern or rate of genetic expression can provide more variation when natural selection acts on them. Ephigenétics changes include modification of genetic material due to reversible methilatión and other chemical alterations (Eva Jablonka and Marion Lamb, 1995), as well as nonprogrammed remodelling of organism by environmental causes, are due to inherent phenotypic plasticity of developing organisms (Mary Jean West-Eberhard,2003). For some authors, the origin of evo-devo as a consolidated disciplines has to do with Biology transformation undergone by developments made in molecular Biology. Also it has contributed the discovery of unexpected similarities in the genetic regulation of phylogenetically related species of which few genetic regulators are implied in the embriológic foundation of all corporal plans (M. Akam, 1989; Holland, 1992, Holland et. al, 1996).

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Thursday, July 05, 2007

A CHALLENGING INTEGRATED MOBIL PHONE.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgW7or1TuFk


The sale of 700, 000 iPhone devices in hardly 7 days in USA and Canada push some hypotheses. I) Confirms that computer science, the sector of greater growth and commercial technological innovation, is able to be self-renewed constantly supplying products that turn obsolete to others in short periods, guaranteeing to fullness the law of Gordon Moore (1965) : the number of transistors -chips- per square inch on integrated circuits will be doubled every year and this trend would continue for the foreseeable future. In that sense new users have not had repairs to buy Iphones (to 500/600 dollars and monthly payments of between 60 to 220 dollars). Several institutes, affirm that Apple will sell 3 million iPhones the 2007 and according to Steve Jobs: 10 million units in the 2008, although some users complain activation problems of their subscriptions at the time of acquiring the service of iPhone. The technological innovation that this little device carry out (mobil telephone, iPod video, Internet: customized/explorer, e-mail terminal, Web browser, camera, alarm clock, palm, organizer type), has contributing to open a new technological era, at the same time that to bury a generation of phone cells, which until recently were the best that we had.

II) It also confirms, the predicted thing (made by techno-futurologists): increasing tendency to concentrate in comfortable and/or small devices :style, enjoyment and all possible information. iPhone -object of cult- in the new generations of humans beings, is a small hand computer, thin and portable, with screens of glass activated by human touch, 4/gigabytes of storage, 825 to 1,825 songs. To a cost of 60 dollars monthly it is possible to talk 450 minutes and to receive limitless information by Internet. Password is not required. In order to respond to calls, Answer or a microscopic microphone is pressed in the screen. E-mail messages full of graphics, are displaced and enlarged putting single the fingers on screen. Photos, films and YouTube are caught with great clearness. Apple says that the load of the battery allows 8 hours of calls, 7 hours of video or, 24 hours of audio. Some problems exist however: although its camera of 2 megapixels takes great photos, does not capture videos, the typing area is nonperfect and narrow, defects that push us to propose an alternative model (see drawings : integrated computer mobil notebook).
Besides it, the NYTimes takes 55 seconds in appearing, Amazon.com: 100 seconds and Yahoo, 2 minutes.

III) The competition has not remained motionless. By the end of year, Samsung/South Korea's biggest cellphone maker,will launch its Extreme Smart F700, with a sensible touch screen full of icons, the korean LG Electronics, has begun to sell a cellular in Italy, with full Internet, Pantech, will soon run a cellular with a sensible screen. Sony Ericsson will launch his Walkman phone :W960i, with sensible screen to touch, and space for 8.000 songs. Nokia/Finland, will sent its Aeon N95, close similar to iPhone, Motorola, will launch this year a cellphone with full Internet. Asian competitors (with tendency to sell cheap products), had now a little advantage because Apple probably will not sell his iPhone in Asia this year, unless the merging with Vodafone and Telekom function well. Finally Samsung glides to sell this year, its SCH-B450, that fits in the palm of the hand, carries a camera of 2 megapixel, a MP3 for players, a satellite TV receiver and a English-Korean dictionary with 330.000 words. In Europe, some companies like T-MOBILE or VODAFONE think of a different way. They are looking for to be dream partners of Apple. T-Mobile considers that Apple has an atractive technical network and a strategy of compatible Internet.

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Wednesday, July 04, 2007

CHALLENGING CERTAIN BIOLOGICAL DOGMAS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iNE5nu6D0I


Now we comment an article appeared in the NYT, because it faced fundamental problems of biological investigation: everything and its parts, determinism against undeterminism. Almost all recent biomedical investigation, sinks its roots in the deterministic study of the parts. To study the brain -for example- the human being has not found better method to study it that by parts, step by step : a nerve and their function here, a gene related with the vision and their function over there, etc and at the end the final associations, tending to explain the function at all, completely. Epistemologists and philosophers of the science, of another side, have always tried to study (to understand), the brain (or other organ), like an everything, more than for its parts. They estimate ridiculous, to extract conclusions from the study of isolated parts. They even consider possible to study the everything and to contrast the results with other everythings. Being the everything more than the sum of parts, it should have emergent properties non perceived in isolated parts. Although studying the functions of a single gene, certain knowledge is acquired; the integrated everything (genome), sure doesn't have the added functions of isolated genes. A genome, able to generate such a complex organism as the human being has to act in coordinated form with all and each one of its genes. A scientific consortium (United States National Human Genome Research Institute + 35 groups belonging to 80 organizations from all over the world), has just arrived to similar conclusions: The human genome is not an orderly collection of independent genes, with each sequence of DNA, bound to a single function, that’s to say : predisposition to diabetes or a cardiac illness).

The consortium postulates but well that genes interact closely among them, by means of complex nets. That is to say, although somebody has genes inclined to diabetes development, he could not develop the illness if the full genome is influenced by other factors (environmental, dietary or other), cancelers of deleterious effects of these illnesses. These concepts are important because much of current biotechnology works on the base of 1 gene/1 function. Since 1960 it is accepted that a gene that produce a protein type, will produce a quasi similar protein in another organism. This way, the industry has created, patented and defined the industrial gene, like one “that sells and is effective”, says Jack Heinemann, professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. In USA, the Patent and Trademark Office allows that new genes be patented on the base of this definition : “orderly sequence of DNA that codes a specific functional product". If each gene is functionally independent -self-questioned the article’s author : could it be a dispute object when somebody implies it for collateral damage, because gene net’s effect?. The processes of genetic engineering and patents that are defined in terms of genes that act in an independent way, begin to be questioned.

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Tuesday, July 03, 2007

BRAVE NEW WORLD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPZFptfTde4



I) Under protection of Aldous Huxleys' visions, within 20 years, a generation of independent women combined with others inserted in feminist movements will force a cultural revolution guaranteed by improvements in techniques of fertilization in vitro (IVF). Many of them, will have children: 1 or 10, to any age –at or not the same time- without necessarily jeopardizing their bodies, nor needing the consent of their masculine pairs or spouses. They will choose sex and characteristic of his lineage. Single they will be born healthy babies, without genetic defects. Conserved oocytes will be transferred of grandmothers and mothers to daughters or sisters and vice versa. The social parity between men and women will be smoothed, with which the women will equal to the men in all fields.
Proposal nonmoved away of the truth in as much Hananel Holzer and colleagues of the McGill Reproductive Center/Montreal/Canada, finish announcing before the 23 th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) the sucesfully pregnancies of 4 women previously infertile carriers of policystic ovaries (PCOS, diagnosed by ultrasound), by means of freezing/defrost methods of oocytes. The event began with the thawing of 296 immature óocites (preserved by 6 months), maturation/fertilization and final transference of 64 viable embryos to the uteri of 20 infertile women. Each woman received more than 2 embryos in as much the success of the IVM (maturation of oocytes), is of low rate. It is important the concept of immature oocytes because before only obtained mature oocytes were congealed after hormonal induction that sometimes (3-8%), gives a feared side effect known as syndrome of ovarian hiperstimulación (OHSS). II) The real thing is that all women cannot be put under ovarian hormonal stimulations, because they lack time, are attacked by cancers of fast growth or, because they suffer of cancers sensible to hormonal stimulation (breast cancer). By the way, not only the chemoterapic treatment, also the cancer itself produces infertility, reason by which some women congeal parts of their ovaries (including, óocytes). III) the technique developed in the McGill Center, without doubt will be perfected in as much an important heading of their next users will be the crew of future space trips of long reach which can be affected by diseases and unexpected deaths.

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Sunday, July 01, 2007

PLANT DOMESTICATION ANTIQUITY



Left: Picture taken from El Mundo Online.



Until recently it was laid down that the origin of the agriculture took place in fertile areas of the Middle East (10 000 years B.C.). Nevertheless, the archaeobotánists: D. Piperno and Deborah Pearsall, sustained during years, the existence of crops of domesticated plants of Manihot esculenta (yuca, caloric, carbohydrates, faulty in essential amino acids) and Ipomoea batatas (yam, caloric), in areas tropical Latin Americans areas, by means of the presence of phytolites (conglomerates of vegetable cells that incorporating silica of the surrounding humid earth, acquired special conformations), of wild plants like : Cucúrbita moschata (10 000 years B.C. vitamin A, fatty, caloric), in tropical areas of Ecuador, C. pepo, in Mexico and Zea mays (carbohydrates, small quantities of proteins, and fatty, faulty in essential AA), in Panama (7700 years B.C.. Now Tom Dillehay and collaborators of the University of Vanderbilt, have confirmed the above-mentioned, showing the presence of seeds of C. moschata (pumpkins, rich in vitamin A), domesticated, peanuts skins (Arachis sp, rich in vitamin C and other) and cotton fibers (Gossypium barbadense, industrial textile fiber), in the western hillsides of the valley of Ñanchoc (northern Peru), with data of 10 000, 8500 and 6000 years B.C., respectively, demonstrating that the the development of agriculture in Latin America occurred so early as in the Middle East.

Surprisingly, the scientists have suggested that pumpkins, peanuts and cotton are not natives of the area of Ñanchoc. The peanut would come from tropical areas and savannas of any place of South America and that the ancestor of pumpkins is possibly located in Colombia. The evidences of Ñanchoc -according to Dillehay- indicate that agriculture played a major role in the development of the Andean civilization. The buildings structures, furrows and fields sowed in Ñanchoc, indicate that Andean culture was mobilized from horticulture toward agricultural societies. The addition of Phaseolus (8,000 years B.C, rich in essential AA), to peanuts, pumpkins and maize, would finish endowing the precerámic diet to one of exceptional quality. Eve Emshwiller, etnobotánist of the University of Wisconsin, points out that recently cultivated seeds of pumpkins have been identified in Mexico, jointly with domesticated maize of 10 000 and 9,000 years of antiquity respectively and that these plants would have been tamed independently in at least 10 origin centers (Africa, southwestern India China, New Guinea and others). For then, between Middle East, Syria and Turkey was sowed corn/barley (10,000 years B.C.) and domesticated rye (13,000 years B.C.).

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BIOLOGICAL SCISSORS AGAINST AIDS.


3 articles appeared last week in Science, are possible candidates to scientific breaktroughs of the year. 1) the first one (already, commented by us), is the genomic bacterial transplants, carried out by C. Venter and colleagues 2) total eradication of the HIV-1, virus and its genotype in the laboratory, by means of biological scissors (we comment it today) and a but deep article that we will comment tomorrow :3) related with what is given in calling EVO-DEVO (questions to natural selection`s postulates and organic evolution, settled down by Darwin).

Up to now the therapies to combat the virus of the AIDS don't achieved their final goals (total eradication and/or death of the virus). For that reason when - for some reason - the medication is interrupted (that is of for life), the illness reappears. Some scientists even speak of failure to eradicate this viral epidemic. We believe that the total cure of the AIDS should be based on immunologic mechanisms (vaccination) or others, inside them a more appropriate study of certain affected people (African prostitutes, previously sick) – self-cured - without medications of for half. The paraphernalia of current medications try to impede: a) the union of the virus to the cellular membrane b) the generation of double viral chains (with antiretrovirals), annulling the action of the enzyme reverse transcriptasa c) putting obstacles to the action of the integrase enzyme impeding the entrance of the virus to the cellular nucleus or: d) annulling the action of cellular proteases (that normally conducts protein proteolysis by hydrolysis of the peptide bonds that link amino acids together in the polypeptide chain), an then the adequate shaping of the virus, etc. That´s to say the drugs alone achieve palliative goals. The illness is stopped, but not eliminated. Inside the new therapies against the virus, we find interesting to mention the work of German researchers (Hamburg AIDS, Heinrich-Pette-Institute for Experimental Virology and Immunology and Dresden Max-Planck-Institut for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics), who have eradicated (killed the HIV-1 integrated provirus and its genotype in the laboratory, in hardly 10 weeks). For it, during 2 years they modified (created an evolved variant), of the enzyme recombinase (usually in charge of to recognize and to cut accurately certain areas of the human normal genotype :DNA). After 129 improved generations of the enzyme recombinase, they were able to obtain a tailored recombinase, the same that after recognizing an asymmetric sequence within the HIV-1 LTR, slowly went eliminating it in cellular cultures, disappearing it with it genotype, until finally to expel virus´remains of affected cells (limphocytes). Nevertheless, Hauber is conscious that his recombinase could also cause damage to normal DNA. For that reason, he says that after 3 years of experiments with animals, they will be clever to begin the clinical tests.

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