0
POPSBiofuels Breakthrough: Making Fuel From Air With Engineered Microbes Although the process sounds similar to algae-produced biofuels, the Joule process is incredibly (and beneficially) different for several reasons: * Doesn’t produce biomass * No agricultural feedstock needed * Can be conducted on non-arable land * Doesn’t need fresh water * Produces fuel directly without the need for extraction or refinement Apparently Joule has discovered some unique genes inside these microbes that produce the enzymes responsible for directly making the molecules found in diesel. From there, engineering organisms to make other fuels was a simple step. At this point, production of the fuels has only been done in the lab, but Joule has plans to open a pilot plant in early 2011.
19
POPSStudy Finds Humans Still Evolving, and Quickly Human evolution has been increasing at a stunning rate since our ancestors began spreading through Europe, Asia and Africa, quickening to 100 times historical levels after agriculture became widespread, according to a study published today.
0
POPSGMO foods Like it or not, GMO foods have made there way into our food supply. We have no way of knowing how they will affect us and no way to identify these foods at our local supermarket. Frankenfood!
6
POPSGenome-wide study of autism published in Nature "The biggest challenge to finding the genes that contribute to autism is having a large and well studied group of patients and their family members, both for primary discovery of genes and to test and verify the discovery candidates," said Aravinda Chakravarti, professor of medicine, pediatrics and molecular biology and genetics at the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins, and one of the study's senior authors. "This latest finding would not have been possible without these many research groups and consortia pooling together their patient resources. Of course, they would not have been possible without the genomic scanning technologies either."
0
POPSAre you happy with your IQ?
Prepare for the speculation, which is something that I sometimes do, sorry, you have the sources linked so you can draw your own conclusions. High levels of dopamine seem to be associated with contentment, so anxiety is probably related with low levels of dopamine, with is related with high IQ and memory. Once again intelligence and happiness seem to be contrary. The second part is more tricky. It is stated that self-confidence in intelligence may be unrelated with real IQ but is related with grades. What is the cause and the consequence between the high grades and self-confidence? May that mean that IQ tests are in fact not measuring intelligence? It is in fact tricky, but now take the first part again. Self-confidence seems related with high levels of dopamine, which is related with not-so-good IQ, but good grades. So if you are happy with your IQ chances are that it is not so high. Well, that made sense. However the brain is a complex system, a small change may have
2
POPSTainted nightmare
The main focus Let's switch to another aspect of vaccines, the real focus of this article, which is the plan to destroy our intellect, our health and our sexuality via a mass world wide vaccination campaign. With the use of special additives called adjuvants, manufacturers are able to increase the number of possible doses that can be made on time for the fall flu season. But though there are many safe adjuvants which can be added, they are adding one - squalene, which has been shown to cause prolonged systemic immune response against the squalene itself, which results in reduced fertility, reduced intellect and reduced life span. Squalene is an important molecule in the body. It is a precursor to many different oils and hormones, and is needed for proper brain function, fertility and also plays an important role in protecting cells from aging and mutation. Anything which affects your natural squalene can have a major negative impact on your health. Because the squalene will be
16
POPSYour Brain On Words There is no one brain part which when taken away would suddenly rob you of your ability to read. We rely on the same old brain — the same brain that we inherited from our Homo Sapiens ancestors 200,000 years ago when they appeared in Africa. This means that the same brain that hunted wildlife and walked thru Ice Ages is the same brain that can now read a book a day.
1
POPSNanodiamonds Advance Anticancer Gene Therapy Dr. Ho and his research team engineered surface-modified nanodiamond particles that successfully and efficiently delivered DNA into mammalian cells. The delivery efficiency was 70 times greater than that of a conventional standard for gene delivery. That's just great! :D
0
POPSMemory in a single neuron fascinating theory that memory is refined and consolidated to a single neuron gradually and can be manipulated by genetic signals.
26
POPSThe DNA Mystery: Scientists Stumped By "Telepathic" Abilities Even so, research published in ACS’ Journal of Physical Chemistry B, shows very clearly that homology recognition between sequences of several hundred nucleotides occurs without physical contact or presence of proteins. Double helixes of DNA can recognize matching molecules from a distance and then gather together, all seemingly without help from any other molecules or chemical signals. This recognition effect may help increase the accuracy and efficiency of the homologous recombination of genes, which is a process responsible for DNA repair, evolution, and genetic diversity. The new findings may also shed light on ways to avoid recombination errors, which are factors in cancer, aging, and other health issues.
23
POPSImmortality only 20 years away says scientist No thanks, I don't want to live forever. "Ultimately, nanobots will replace blood cells and do their work thousands of times more effectively. "Within 25 years we will be able to do an Olympic sprint for 15 minutes without taking a breath, or go scuba-diving for four hours without oxygen. "Heart-attack victims – who haven't taken advantage of widely available bionic hearts – will calmly drive to the doctors for a minor operation as their blood bots keep them alive. "Nanotechnology will extend our mental capacities to such an extent we will be able to write books within minutes. "If we want to go into virtual-reality mode, nanobots will shut down brain signals and take us wherever we want to go. Virtual sex will become commonplace. And in our daily lives, hologram like figures will pop in our brain to explain what is happening. "So we can look forward to a world where humans become cyborgs, with artificial limbs and organs."