Month: September 2022

NEW INFO #3. "The core concept of DNA biology, that DNA determines protein information and some remnants of former evolutionary stages remained as useless junk DNA in the genomes of cell-based organisms is also outdated. The genes coding for proteins in the human genome represent 1.5% of the total, whereas the number of noncoding DNA reaches 98.5%. Noncoding RNAs are actively engaged in nearly all cell processes for both evolutionary and developmental needs." https://lnkd.in/eUYvi8e View in LinkedIn

PROFOUND EFFECT. "It appears that as a whole these sequences, once regarded as “junk DNA,” have had a profound effect in shaping our genome." Hardly junk. https://lnkd.in/eW3mbzE View in LinkedIn

JUNK DNA. "Because pseudogenes are generally thought of as the last stop for genomic material that is to be removed from the genome, they are often labeled as junk DNA." https://lnkd.in/euq3niU View in LinkedIn

PSEUDOGENES. "Abundant pseudogenes are a feature of mammalian genomes. Processed pseudogenes (PPs) are reverse transcribed from mRNAs." https://lnkd.in/e22WJfQ View in LinkedIn

COUSINS. "Pseudogenes are copies of protein-coding genes that are thought to no longer produce the same functional product as their parental gene, but still share a high sequence similarity and can therefore regulate their parental genes through the generation of lncRNAs. Not all pseudogenes are actively transcribed, but when transcribed they can be functional." (lncRNA = large non coding RNA). https://lnkd.in/eBig_Gi View in LinkedIn

NONCODING RNA. "A major surprise arising from genome-wide analyses has been the observation that the majority of the genome is transcribed, generating noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs). It is still an open question whether some or all of these ncRNAs constitute functional networks regulating gene transcriptional programs." https://lnkd.in/ejESV5H View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT FROM NATURE for the next two weekends is concerned with biocrystals. These structures have attracted much attention from biologists for a long time. These elaborate and durable creations are produced by a wide variety of creatures from molluscs to squid. In many cases, proteins are involved in their shape formation, and in this regard differ from ordinary crystal formation. And they play critical roles in material cycles on planet earth. View in LinkedIn

COCCOLITH video that is a must watch. A major player in planetary cycles, this ancient creature is complex and sophisticated. https://lnkd.in/eftV7Ci View in LinkedIn

MORPHOLOGICAL TEMPLATES. "The placolith morphology allows the coccoliths to interlock closely on the coccosphere, forming a robust structure. This morphology has evolved repeatedly, but many other coccolith morphologies also occur." (Stunning SEM images). https://lnkd.in/eUUB9pU View in LinkedIn

ALGAE SPACE SHIPS. "Unicellular phytoplanktonic algae make elaborate and beautiful calcite plates called heterococcoliths, which constitute the largest carbonate sink in oceanic biogeochemical cycles and are major sediment formers. E. Huxleyi is one of these that assembles the calcite plates from complex photo-crystals in a highly complex manner, to construct a plate that resembles our images of space ships." https://lnkd.in/e7TYvqy View in LinkedIn