The Genome Lost It's Organelle: Lynn Margulis (1938–2011): In Fond Memories of 1 Of My Idols !

Well...Not a New News, but Enough Dreadful ! Remorseful, as always...these great losses to science are !

Cut2: Back in the Summer of 69...well, in 2003, during 1sy Year's of Master's in Botany, while going through the "Biochemistry by Stryer" or one of those classical books, I came across this name for the first time in life.

"Lynn Margulis"


Why ? Simple...1st person on this earth to concieve the greatest, "our organelles like mitchondria and plastids were free living prokaryotes out-side eukaryotic cells, and during course of evolution have been integrated to us, symbiotically"...and what was famouly known as "Margulis" hypothesis/ Endosymbiotic Thoery ! Awesome.

ENDOSYMBIOTIC THEORY

I felt, shattered, when I read the hypothesis ! Why ? Because, I felt, why this did not strike to any one, until she did it, not all those Biology greats, not to my Professor, or for that matter me !

And thats what most commoners like us, miss out and specials make it even more special, their ways !

And then with her sad demise, was again shattered [this time to more profound effective loss!].

Always used to ponder, to go for the Sigma Awards that is named after her, and in a life time may be see/ meet/ Email her, but not to be, missed out !





And since that day, I was one of her zillion admirers in the sciencitific world.

Why ?

To Quote her: "“If an organelle originated as a free-living cell, it is possible that naturally occurring counterparts still can be found among extant organisms".


Please find more: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v480/n7378/full/480458a.html [Nature's Own Dedication]...
And for the Naive's in Science: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Margulis [Guess, no BlackOut this time !]

And yes, also here: Schaechter, M. (2012). "Lynn Margulis (1938-2011)". Science 335 (6066): 302.

HAT'S OFF

For those, who like it with a bit of spice, once she said she does it: “tell bullshit from ... real authentic experience”, and imagine a Professor in Geosciences, untrained in molecular sciences, giving this once-unacceptable "so-called" "radical" hypothesis.


Ok ...then.....dear fellow-scientists,

Have to go off to hypothesize, something more "sense-making",  well and  a very simple hypothesis.................."Will me proteins denature if I donot store them in glycerol tonight ! Or, go back and start working tomorrow ?"..Awesome ! Lolz!


Catch ya, soon after I get my answers to the "hypothesis".

Ur Science-O-Nomist !

Raise a Toast in 3-Dimension for "Ankylography": New Kid on The Block !

Hello...

Well, for those who are caught unaware of Prof. John Miao, a physicist at the University of California, Los
Angeles, must take a note of "ankylography". Not a revolution in image science, but a method, to "pull out a rabbit in 3D, from a 2D Image of a Hat".

Yes, those of you get it right ! A technique that, according to its creators, could reveal the
structure of scientifically important subjects such as complex proteins that can be glimpsed only once before they are destroyed by the high-powered lasers used to image them.

Raines et al.  have proposed ‘ankylography’ as a three-dimensional tomographic modality with a single monochromatic beam.

For those, who are "dealing in depths", please follow here:

Non-uniqueness and instability of ‘ankylography’: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v480/n7375/full/nature10635.html

and here:


Fundamental limits of ‘ankylography’ due to dimensional deficiency: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v480/n7375/full/nature10634.html

Raines et al propose a method, which they call ‘ankylography’, for three-dimensional structure determination using single-shot diffractive imaging (SSDI).

and here as well ! http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1112/1112.4459.pdf


"Ankylography is definitely an emergent advantage for X-ray technology called diffract and
destroy, which would use X-ray lasers.......take images of objects using a dose of radiation high enough to destroy them, forming an image from the X-rays scattered in the few dozen femto-seconds (10−15 seconds)
before the object explodes !!! The ideal application would be imaging biological samples such as proteins, viruses, cells or tissue that are very sensitive to radiation. Ankylography would allow researchers to extrapolate 3D structures."


 Am no Crystallography-Geek, but still can tell, it would help science, than those who think, otherwise. I am UP for anything, that grows ! Always, positive and to embrace newer technologies included into the mainstream science, without any double thoughts, as tools help grow our ideas with fresh Angles !

Well, and I would not mind loosing the structure of my "pullulanase" burning into pieces, after it's 3D has been exposed ! Huh !

Ok...That's it for now !

Got to stop a few running tools to rest and pack-up for the day !

Your science-feeder, gotcha feed himself !

Science-O-Nomist

Indian science in need of overhaul...BUT, BUT, BUT !!!

Hello,

Back to Bog you !

Came across this story [most of you must have been!]:http://www.nature.com/news/indian-science-in-need-of-overhaul-1.9750

Indian Science in Need of Overhaul !

Question is: How ?

Points to Ponder:

1. Funding of whole R & D of the country is 1/3rd of what and USA University's Good Biological Sciences Laboratory gets.

2. Do our PM/ Politicians/ Establishment have enough time, resource thought for any Improvisations in the Scheme [with Annaji, 3G, Kolaveri, Scams lurking around !].

3. When will the agencies STOP FUNDING for projects like "Exploration of effect of Silicon on Rice yield" or "Biodiversity explorations in Similipal Forests"!

4. Until when our InBred Indian Post Docs will be keeping paid: INR 18-25,000 PM ?

5. When will our Publications not be evaluated by Impact Factor but by real IMPACT ?

6. When the Bosses will grow up, not promote wrong deeds, produce TOILET papers ?

7. What does CSIR/DBT/DST/INSA/ISC do to bring the TRAINED INDIAN back home ?

8. When will the B. Tech [Biotechnology] NOT BE OFFERED with a IT Sector JOB or an M.Sc. [Biology] looks for a BANKING PO/CA/RAILWAYS Job ?

9. When will the PARENTS/ PEERS STOP thinking that POST-DOC is NOT STUDYING and also is not a PERMANENT JOB ?

10. When will the NORMS / GUIDELINES be established for a COMMON CRITERIA for PH.D. ENTRANCE/ TIME FRAME FOR IT'S COMPLETION ?

11. When will the PI/ STUDENTS NOT WASTE CONTIGENCY in FLYING TICKETS/ LAVISH STAYS-DINNERS/ HARD DISKS-PENDRIVES ?

12. When will the CENTRALIZED UNIFIED RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS come into a single umbrella for collborative research ?

13. When will CONTACTS/ BUDDIES/ COUSINS of SCIENTISTS will STOP getting the coveted JOBS/ OFFERS from their own relatives ?

14. Above all how to discard BIAS IN SELECTION [REGIONALISM, Q-FACTOR etc.].

Any ANSWERS ? NO- RIGHT !

So we stop BOTHERING !

Time to grab BREAKFAST and be prepared for a Day's bench Work !

Catch ya soon,

Science-O-Nomist

miniSOG: From the Hauz of Nobel Laureate Roger Tsien who Gave GFP !!

Well, back to square one !

Geniuses cannot stop!

Nobel Laureate Roger Tsien who gave us the tag GFP [green florescent protein] has come up with yet another modified and improved verion of it !

It's now named as “miniSOG” (for mini Singlet Oxygen Generator), ~ half the size of GFP, binds to a suite of  proteins, and can faithfully tag a variety of cells in different organisms !

Read it here:

X. Shu, et al., “A genetically encoded tag for correlated light and electron microscopy of intact cells, tissues, and organisms,” PLoS Biology, 9:e1001041, 2011. Free F1000 Evaluation

Time to grab  a Lunch now !

Catch you sooner with yet-another Gem!


Your

Science-O-Nomist

Publications in 2011

Well the Image, tells the "story" !

Published by Nature, this week, [Title: 365 days: 2011 in review; Link: http://www.nature.com/news/365-days-2011-in-review-1.9684] , this says the following Equations: Just a rough overview:

Publication Number-wise:

USA x 2 = China
China = India x 6
Japan = India x 1.5
UK = Germany= India x 2
India = South Korea = Australia
India= Singapore x 4 [Best scientific Hub in East ?]
India= Malaysia x 6 [Am presently here !!!]


Thus, compared to 2010, India has achieved a 10 % growth in scientific publications, which is the same as of Spain, Korea etc. While the growth is just 5 % in USA and UK [a decline ?]. Unsurprisingly, China registers a 15 % growth ! and Iran, with all issues around, still 20 % growth !!
Food for thought ? But certainly, doe snot reflect on the quality [my freinds would be glad to add on the Cumulative Impact Factor and then measure if India stands, even there or the decline in UK/USA are significant at all, and if Chinese declaration in R and D are really elephantine !].

Science-O-Nomist goes to grab a snack !

Catch ya all soon !

NSF Data: TABLE 56. Statistical profile of doctorate recipients in life sciences fields, by sex and field of study: 2010

Rats Helping Trapped Rats in Cages: Science Article: Peggy Mason's Neurobiology Group

Wonder, why I am attarcted to class acts published in Science and Nature, even though am far....distantly associated in being related to such High Impact Classico Scientific Literary Artciles. However, there is no Harm in praising and reciting such works, is not it ?

So in the process, I end up into another articl "Empathy and Pro-Social Behavior in Rats"[Link: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/334/6061/1427, Bartal et al., Science 18th October, 2011].

To me, I have a single complaint with this: Why on Earth we took so many years to find this out ? On the contrary, we all must be thankful to Professor Mason's  Group to at least perform this kind of study and come out with so-relevant-to-human-life story.

Well, experiments are lucid, addresses very basics of anima [and hence, human] ethical and social behaviours. Loved the study from the abstract it self, at he slightest of the gaze.

Simple experiments were devised to show:

a. a free [noun] rat tends to free [verb] the cage-mate trapped in a restrainer.
b. learning comes quickly, and the rapidity at which it frees the mate, becomes improved.
c. rats end to not open inanimate restrainers.

d. freed cage-mates even if they were not "socially"-linked previously.

e. when chocolate containing restrainers were added to rat restrainers, rats opened both restrainers and shared he chocolate.

There-by leading the study to conclude that, roots of empathically motivated helping behavior is evident in rodents even !!!

Well...well....the cause for this study must be to shed light on the Human Social behaviour, no doubt, but we all know, how much human is ready to do ? Time to learn from rodents on social and empathic behaviours ? Must be...or else grue-some killings, hate-crimes, racism, crimes, death penalty, abuse, stratification of socio-economic statuses of most ethinc groups would not exist, if at all we behaved like animals, i.e., like rodents even !

TIME TO LEARN ANIMAL INSTINCTS !

Until something more thought-provoking comes to me for You.

Singing off.

Yours

Science-O-Nomist