Category: Uncategorized

RUNNING THE GAUNTLET. “During this journey, the pollen tube of Arabidopsis, for example, interacts with at least seven different pistil cell types prior to arrival at its final destination inside the ovule. To add complexity, further layers of recognition exist. These include self-recognition and specialized processes to prevent self-fertilization and consequent inbreeding, as well as interspecific barriers, which are poorly understood at the molecular/cellular level.” http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674205214608996 View in LinkedIn

DISCRIMINATION. “During the various phases of pollination...angiosperms distinguish self from non-self-pollen and direct and control pollen tube growth through the maternal tissues towards the egg apparatus.” http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674205214608996 View in LinkedIn

CONSTANT CROSS-TALK. “During its journey, the angiosperm pollen tube communicates with its environment, allowing the maternal reproductive tissues to recognize and support compatible pollen in order to avoid fertilization failure. The acceptance of compatible pollen and the subsequent steps leading to successful fertilization comprise complex and cooperative processes between the pollen and the receptive pistil.” http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674205214608996 View in LinkedIn

TWO PRODUCTS. “The receptive synergid cell degenerates following this interaction, whereas the other synergid cell persists. After their ejection from the pollen tube, the two sperm cells stay immobile between the two female gametes for several minutes and subsequently fuse with the egg and central cells, respectively. These two fusion events give rise to the embryo and to the endosperm, respectively, and the process is therefore termed double fertilization.” http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms5722?WT.ec_id=NCOMMS-20140829 View in LinkedIn

“IMPLANTED RFID CHIP can then infect any system reading that chip” https://lnkd.in/eJ2WxX9 View in LinkedIn

ACHILLES MOMENT. “As soon as those devices communicate with an external machine, which in most cases is necessary at some point, they become theoretically vulnerable to computer viruses.” https://lnkd.in/ddTvp9R View in LinkedIn

THE QUESTION. “But whether it is possible to make a virus with malicious DNA sequences that could, once transcribed into bits, exploit those vulnerabilities, remains to be seen.” http://www.pcworld.com/article/252103/computer_viruses_could_cross_frontier_into_biological_realm_researchers_say.html View in LinkedIn

SLIPPERY SLOPE. “The frontier between the digital and the biological world is already blurring, the researchers said, citing cybernetic prosthesis as a good example. Some people have several electronic devices in their body, such as pacemakers, deep brain stimulators, and cochlear implants.” http://www.pcworld.com/article/252103/computer_viruses_could_cross_frontier_into_biological_realm_researchers_say.html View in LinkedIn

DIGITAL GENE POOL. “In 2002, scientists were able to synthesize the poliovirus. Since then, biotechnology has moved on, making it possible to synthesize bacteria, and organisms are genetically modified almost every day, the researchers said. In addition, all the code for synthetic DNA is stored on computers.” http://www.pcworld.com/article/252103/computer_viruses_could_cross_frontier_into_biological_realm_researchers_say.html View in LinkedIn

MORE PROVOCATIVE. “Could Human and Computer Viruses Merge, Leaving Both Realms Vulnerable? Gasson, a cybernetics scientist at the University of Reading, was walking around with an implanted microchip he had intentionally infected with a computer virus. If he got too close to a computer, he could in principle infect that machine.” http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/could-human-and-computer-viruses-merge-leaving-both-realms-vulnerable/ View in LinkedIn