asalamon's blog

Within the development of the individual, a variety of factors goes into their tolerance for spicy foods.  Under the assumption that the receptor for spicy food, TRPV1, functions using similar methods of the PTC receptor, there must be some variable expression of this receptor within the body which results in the varying taste preference.  Another factor which would influence the tolerance to spicy foods within the individual is the environmental and cultural surrounding the individual. At the equator, there a higher intake of spicy foods which could lead to learned tolerance for spicy foods during the development of an individual (Deng et. al., 2016).  Together, the genetics and environment of the individual produces a unique food preference.

In genetics, the central dogma pertains to DNA and its lifecycle within an organism.  DNA is the genetic material within the cell and codes for an amino acid sequence which is used to create protiens.  DNA also can produce regulatory agents within the cell.  DNA starts by being transcribed into RNA.  Depending whether or not the organism is a prokaryote or eukaryote, the process will vary.  In eukaryotes, there is more proteins, origins or replication and processing which goes into transcription becasue there is more DNA which is linear.  After the DNA is trascribed into RNA, the RNA is translated into an amino acid sequence.  The code of amino acids correlates to the codon (order of 2 nucleotides) which is matched up by the tRNA that brings in the amino acid to the chain.  From there, a proteins is produced from DNA.

Taphonomy is the study of factors affecting the decomposition of anything after its death.  This is an assemblage of both biotic and abiotic factors which affect the rate of decomposition which was accumulated both in the lifetime of the thing as well as after its death.  For example, a high quanity of mercury in the diet of an individual could have an effect on the taphonmy of the individual after its death.  Some biotic factors include insects, animal activity and human interferance.  Abiotic factors include the weather, soil acidity and exposure to sun.  

In the United States, there is a high prevelance of breast cancer among women.  What makes women in the United States so vunerable to breast cancer.  Evolutionary medicine has been studying the correlation between the number of menstral cycles with incidence of breast cancer in the population.  Since our early ancestors are not around to see how many times they menstrated, hunting and gathering tribes are used as a modern example of out EEA population.  In these societies, the women only menstrate and average of 92 times in their life while women in the United States will menstrate on average over 400 times in their life.  Breast tissue is not fully matured until a women become pregant.  As part of menstral cycle, the breast tissue will divide via mitosis and expand in the hope the women gets pregant and the breasts will fully mature.  When the women menstrates, the breasts go back to the premature state.  It is theorized that since women in the United States menstrate more, the cells in their breasts will divide more and leave them more vunerable to developing cancerous cells later in life as the more a cell divides, the greater the risk of mutation is.  Women in the hunting and gathering tribes have a later first menarche, longer menstral intervals and longer lactation periods, all of which factor into menstrating less in their life.  In the United States, birth control is used by a majority of women to prevent pregancy as well as regulate their menstral cycle.  Despite the risks associated with birth control, it is still being used therefore it may be beneficial to use birth control to regulate periods and allow for women to menstrate less.  This would lead to less divisions in the breast tissue and possibly less incidence of breast cancer.

In the United States, there is a high prevelance of breast cancer among women.  What makes women in the United States so vunerable to breast cancer.  Evolutionary medicine has been studying the correlation between the number of menstral cycles with incidence of breast cancer in the population.  Since our early ancestors are not around to see how many times they menstrated, hunting and gathering tribes are used as a modern example of out EEA population.  In these societies, the women only menstrate and average of 92 times in their life while women in the United States will menstrate on average over 400 times in their life.  Breast tissue is not fully matured until a women become pregant.  As part of menstral cycle, the breast tissue will divide via mitosis and expand in the hope the women gets pregant and the breasts will fully mature.  When the women menstrates, the breasts go back to the premature state.  It is theorized that since women in the United States menstrate more, the cells in their breasts will divide more and leave them more vunerable to developing cancerous cells later in life as the more a cell divides, the greater the risk of mutation is.  Women in the hunting and gathering tribes have a later first menarche, longer menstral intervals and longer lactation periods, all of which factor into menstrating less in their life.  In the United States, birth control is used by a majority of women to prevent pregancy as well as regulate their menstral cycle.  Despite the risks associated with birth control, it is still being used therefore it may be beneficial to use birth control to regulate periods and allow for women to menstrate less.  This would lead to less divisions in the breast tissue and possibly less incidence of breast cancer.

For the most part, DNA is found in the B-DNA form.  This means the DNA is forming a right handed helical structure with 10 base pairs per turn.  There are other types of DNA like A-DNA and Z-DNA which can be found in certain conditions.  A-DNA is right handed and has 11 base pairs per turn.  This can be found in places of low humidity.  Z-DNA is a left handed helical structure with 12 base pairs per turn.  This condition is favored in cytosine and guanine rich sequences in a high salt environment.  In addition, Z-DNA occurs in cytosine methylated regions in a low salt environment.  Another condition that DNA has been found in nature is a triple helix.  In this case, a synthetic piece of DNA inserts itself into the major groove of the naturally occuring DNA.  It is sequence specific and certain protiens have been discovered which recognize the triple DNA helix.

DNA is a type of macromolecule responsible for genetic material.  It is composed of monomers known as nucleic acids.  Nucleic acids are formed from thre different subunits: pentose sugar, phosphate group, and base.  The pentose sugar is composed of five different carbons starting with the 1'C where the base is attached.  There is no OH group on the 2'C but an OH group on the 3'C.  The phosphate group is attached to the 5'C.  The base of nucleic acids can either be a purine or pyramidine.  Purines have two carbon rings and are Guanine and Adenine.  Pyramidine bases have a single carbon ring and are Thymine and Cytosine.  Between each nucleic acid, a phosphodiester bond betweeen the phosphate group on the 5'C of one nucleic acid and the 3'C of another nucleic acid holds the strand together.  The phosphate and sugar form the backbone of the DNA strand.  Attaching the two strands together are the bases.  Guanine and cytosine pair together and form three hydrogen bonds while adenine and thymine bond together with two hydrogen bonds.  DNA is a double stranding helical molecule which has ten base pairs per turn.  It is negatively charged as well.  During replication, a semiconservative method is used meaning each resulting strand has newly formed strand and a parent strand

Using a pipet, transfer the cooled contents into a centrifuge tube containing water (1 mL) and mix the contents together.  To see the different layers, add saturated NaCl solution (~2 mL).  After the layers are defined, removed the lower aqueous layer and place it in a waste beaker.  To the centrifuge, add saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate (~1 mL), mix the solution and remove the lower waste layer.  Repeat this process needs to be done an additional time.   After adding saturated aqueous sodium chloride (~1mL) to the ester, mix thoroughly and remove the lower layer to waste beaker.  From the centrifuge, move the organic layer into a vial and add anhydrous CaCl2 (5 spheres) to remove any remaining water and let stand for five min.  Using a pipet, move the product to a tarred vial and calculate the mass and yield of the product (0.857g, 59.8%).  In addition, perform an infrared spectrometry test and observe the smell coming from the product. 

In the 1940s, a majority of scientists were under the belief that protiens were the macromolecule of genetic material but this theory was in desperate need of scientific support.  Griffith performed an experiment proving the transformability of bacterial genetic material.  His methods were key in determining which macromolecule made genetic material.  First, he started with the controls of his experiment. A lethal S stain of bateria and injected it into mice which died and a nonlethal R strain was injected into a mice which lived.  He then went on the heat kill the lethal S strain and inject it into a mouse which lived.  Then, he took the heat killed S strain and mixed it with a nonlethal R strain and injected it into a mouse.  The mouse died.  Finally, he isolated the mixed bacteria from the deceased mouse and injected it into another mouse and that mouse died as well.  From these results, the transormability of genetic materialm was proved.  These methods were the base of Avery, McCarthy, and McLeod's experiment to determine which macromolecule of the bacterial was transformed. They used fractional analysis to isolate RNA, DNA, protiens, lipids and carbohydrates in the heat killed S strain and mixed those with the non-lethal R strain.  Whichever macromolecule killed the mouse was the macromolecule of genetic material.  DNA was the only macromolecule to result in the death of the mouse.  Other studies were performed in the next years to confirm this finding.

In the 1940s, a majority of scientists were under the belief that protiens were the macromolecule of genetic material but this theory was in need of scientific support.  Griffith performed an experiment proving the transformability of bacterial genetic material.  His methods were key in determining which macromolecule made genetic material.  First, he started with the controls of his experiment. A lethal S stain of bateria and injected it into mice which died and a nonlethal R strain was injected into a mice which lived.  He then went on the heat kill the lethal S strain and inject it into a mouse which lived.  Then, he took the heat killed S strain and mixed it with a nonlethal R strain and injected it into a mouse.  The mouse died.  Finally, he isolated the mixed bacteria from the deceased mouse and injected it into another mouse and that mouse died as well.  From these results, the transormability of genetic materialm was proved.  These methods were the base of Avery, McCarthy, and McLeod's experiment to determine which macromolecule of the bacterial was transformed. They used fractional analysis to isolate RNA, DNA, protiens, lipids and carbohydrates in the heat killed S strain and mixed those with the non-lethal R strain.  Whichever macromolecule killed the mouse was the macromolecule of genetic material.  DNA was the only macromolecule to result in the death of the mouse.  Other studies were performed in the next years to confirm this finding.