jimmydasaint

MedGen, they are intelligent questions. Do you mean that you are looking for less associations of haplotype and disease than these strong correlations in this reference which looks at Ashkenazi Jewish patients and that that these confounding factors can be taken into account? Just trying to clarify what you meant... http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=54807

It doesn't affect progeria or shortening of telomeres but I am suggesting that if you look at all the factors that are affected during ageing, there may be one factor that will caue age to elongate - e.g. a restricted calorie intake. I think I have read that restricted calorie intake contributed to the delayed senescence of laboratory animals but someone would have to find a suitable reference for me.

Progeria seems to be due to accelerated ageing and I wondered if an elucidation of the molecular processes taking place in accelerated ageing could be slowed down to decrease ageing in others. I know this is simplistic but in the factors that affect ageing, I am sure that all do not have an equal bearing on the ageing processes. http://www.progeriaresearch.org/about_progeria.html http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hutchinson-Gilford_Progeria_Syndrome.png

Now that is interesting. Presumably what you are saying here is that cancer cells induce immortality by preserving the length of their telomeres. I wonder if immortalised cell lines show the same features as cancer cells? Also, can the time come when humans can also use the correct chemical cocktail to extend their lives? After all, who really wants to consider their own death?

I think that this is a fascinating subject that needs opening up for further discussion. If it is true (and I may be wrong here) that telomeres are often shortened more as cells age, is it not possible to extend the life of these cells by using telomerase enzymes?

And the animal would be still warm enough to be skinned easily. Sorry guys but how can you NOT believe the video evidence? It did not look faked and it is probably some of the most horrific and inhumane footage that I have ever seen. We have a responsibility to the planet - to humans and all other living things herein. We also have a responsibility to allow humans, these cats and dogs a right to live a life without torture imposed upon them. The question from the OP is invalid because of the inadequacy of techniques to measure the perception of pain in animals. However, the intention is absolutely clear. Profit is made from the suffering of others and no-one has a right to gain from these horrific practices. As Mokele has mentioned, there are easier ways to skin these animals. I feel like signing the online petition.

I just wondered if the Mods could set something up which will enable members of this Forum to participate in an experiment where the results can be displayed online? I can think of an experiment: all members of the Forum should try to influence the outcome of a coin tossing exercise. Each person tosses a coin in the air twenty times and tries to focus their attention on "Heads" as an outcome each time. The results are then totalled and sent to the Mods for compilation. We can then examine the probability of the outcome and list it as an online experiment. Obviously there will be problems with extenuating factors that would involve the outcome of the experiment but it is very simple. Any ideas on this, or other Forum experiments?

OK, there are a number of different views on human evolution. This is a theory that is not new but seems quite attractive in terms of the hypothesis that is presented. I would like to stimulate discussion on this topic. Please read the following: (emphasis is mine - jimmy) http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,329958141-117780,00.html

I had to look this up and found it in an urban dictionary: http://http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=verklempt Verklempt - choked with emotion (German verklemmt = emotionally inhibited in a convulsive way) Anyway, the main thought that came into my mind was first uttered by Gandhi - I find that these holidays are often made for me not from the noise of family and friends but by the moments of silence and contemplation in their company. I hope all of you find some tranquility, peace and moments of silence in these holidays. Best Wishes guys

So, in answer to the OP, you would have to say that some reflex responses do involve the brain. Would I be correct also when thinking of the ducking response and the response of salivary glands etc...to a nicely prepared meal?

OK guys, what about the blinking response?

The closest I have personally seen is the History of Science course that I did not actually take at University. Karl Popper was a polymath who did not only define the parameters of the hypothetico-deductive method. Personally I have found that the "Aha!" moment comes from a subconciously understood model of how a particular phenomenon works which then emeerges from the subconcious as an apparent moent of inspiration. For example, stuck for months at extracting a suitable culture medium for some cells that I was growing in culture, I had an "Aha!" moment and found the correct combination as I was driving home. I think philosophy examines and encompasses what we mortals hold as truths in their entirety rather than examining them through the window of logic and rationality in a piecemeal and sometimes unfulfilling manner. People like Hegel would interest you in their particular "Theory of Everything" but which philosophers would you consider as particularly important to Science? Descartes, Wheeler? Even Einstein had his own particular philosophy...

I think this is a start: http://http://www.bookrags.com/research/major-histocompatibility-complex-mh-wmi/ I have found you two genetic methods - one is restriction fragment length polymorphisms much beloved by Medical Geneticists http://http://ps.fass.org/cgi/reprint/80/8/1109.pdf and the other is PCR using oligonucleotide primers http://http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/gte.2005.9.93 I would guess that you would be also required to give a serological method (using antibodies). Good luck

I have grown up believing that Avogadro's number is a constant like the speed of light. However, there must have been attempts to get more accurate figures. Just out of interest, I wonder what the number is now and how it is calculated?

Thank you for the reply guys. I just got thinking again and wondered where the ice on the land came from in the first place. Is it from glaciers melting and re-freezing? Or from mountain waters freezing up? Also, I wonder if it possible that vegetation would also play a role in absorption of water? Just trivial points though - the Wiki article about a 120m rise in sea levels is a pretty frightening scenario. Lance suggests a negative feedback mechanism where snow over the melting poles would reflect more radiation off the ice masses causing a theoretical drop in temperature. Interesting contributions guys.

If this has been touched on before, I apologise. However, I have a dumb question to ask. If global warming continues, so the story goes, low lying nations will be swamped by the rising sea levels etc... However I seem to remember an examination question many years back where an ice cube was floating in a glass of water full to the brim and the students were asked to calculate the amount of water that would accumulate under the glass if the ice melted. The answer was that the glass would stay exactly as before because the ice had already displaced its own mass. The question - doesn't this happen on a global scale if large parts of the ice cap melt? Why are we told that there will be a significant increase in the levels of the Oceans etc...? I would appreciate any light shed on this matter.

From looking at the liver symptoms and the pale stools and dark urine symptomatic of a liver disorder, I would have guessed at yellow fever or hepatitis which both damage the liver causing necrosis of tissue. Yellow fever seems more common in Africa though. The serology is also important because it will also help to lead you to the correct answer. All you need is a good search engine. Good luck.

I am sorry to say that I am also a boring old fart like you and actually agree with most of what you say mate. I am also sick of the superficiality of most of modern day life and would be quite content with a large warm tent to live in. I think you have seen beyond the curtain of modern day living and seen nothing there, and you are so right. All we are for is to consume, consume and consume. However, there is some sexual frustration also showing through. You need to get some good loving my friend.

I think you have to make your own choice. Teaching is a spiritual activity. Done correctly, it can touch the very soul of another human being and is therefore very rewarding. However, in the wrong school, you will face 30 students who prefer socialising instead of listening to you and you have to find strategies to engage them. If you do choose to teach, please go to a good school (65% or above A*-C) and then ease yourself into the profession that way. You also have to remember to take nothing personally and go home unstressed at the end of the day. Do not mind if the 5 hours of preparation for a lesson have gone unheeded. You can catch up another day. Good luck, whatever decision you make.

Is there a predisposition for your characteristics which is hard-wired into your genes? From studying twins there seems to be a genetic link for certain aspects of personality including the degree to which a person is an extrovert etc... However, is there a Gay gene? If there is then heterosexual people can be as guilty as racists if they show 'homophobia'. However, if being gay is purely a lifestyle choice then it is on a different ethical platform. Scientists appear to consider that there is no Gay Gene: http://http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/mar/07032003.html I wonder what others think on this subject.

I will start this off. As a young boy in Scotland I used to dream of having exceptional powers much like Billy the Cat in the comics I used to read. However, this ambition changed to being a lecturer or professor. I got close but left the scientific profession. My new ambition is to be a shepherd of some sort with full Internet access. How about you guys?

Reading about accounts of Near Death Experiences it is difficult to be rational and scientific about the anecdotes of what people claim to have experienced. For example, this account is quite interesting and apparently occurred when brain activity was at a 'standstill': http://www.near-death.com/experiences/evidence01.html Is this evidence for a soul? However, I want to hear other views about it and also for suggestions about experiments that can be performed to provide evidence for NDE's.

It would make sense to precipitate the reducing sugars in Coke with Benedicts including the monosaccharides and also some disaccharides as others have already mentioned. You could ask for access to a colorimeter to measure the percentage absorbance of the precipitate. You would then use a series of dilutions of a known concentration of glucose to compare to the precipitate from the Coke. Even if you did not have access to a colorimeter, you would still be able to weigh precipitates. I had better stop here in case I give too much away...Good luck.

I don't think Hameroff's model is widely accepted is it? It is an attractive theory but there does not seem to be much real scientifically provable evidence for it although there is a lot of theoretical modelling - much of which I struggle to understand without a grounding in quantum physics. http://www.quantumconsciousness.org/ CreigUSA is there any empirical evidence for what you say?

So let's continue with writers using 'enhance' when they actually want to write 'increase'; 'prevarication' when they mean 'procrastination'; 'atavistic recidivism' when they mean to say 'high re-offending rates'; 'ameliorate' when they mean 'attenuate'; 'ablate' when they mean 'degraded by enzymes''.... I can see the consensus, sadly, is to continue with the status quo. Glider, I agree with your point about specificity in the context of what you have written. However, there may be inter-generational differences in approaches to understanding of text by students. I do see a difference in the present generation from my generation, with no Internet and 3 TV channels. As a teacher I use analogy and models quite often with High School students. I would suggest that you use both examples as stated above; the first example helps with a general understanding in simple terms and the second gives specific terms which are required learning for the students who are lectured by you. I think I have said all I can about communication. If the consensus indicates that papers are mostly perfectly adequately written, I won't argue. So be it - the majority have spoken. As for linguistic differences, I offer the following: http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/4110/whorf.html