Tag: science

Einstein Lost Hypothesis

any potential technology based on low-energy neutron production would be the first exploitation by mankind of the weak force, one of the 4 fundamental forces of nature. “I can’t imagine that there’s a whole force of nature out there, 1 of just a few, that is boring, disinteresting, and not of any use.”

Glycans

There’s a reason why genomics and proteomics have leapt ahead of glycomics: The sheer complexity of sugars makes them more difficult to study. DNA, RNA and proteins are linear molecules built according to defined sets of rules, and scientists have the tools to sequence, analyze and manipulate them. But glycans are branching structures that assemble without a known template. The same site on 2 identical proteins might be occupied by very different glycans, for instance. Glycans also have exponentially more potential configurations than DNA or proteins: 3 different nucleotides can make 6 distinct DNA sequences; 3 amino acids can make 6 unique peptides; 3 glycan building blocks can form more than 1000 structures. Glycans are flexible, wobbly and variable; intricate, dynamic and somewhat unpredictable. Their analysis demands greater technical expertise and more sophisticated equipment.

Solar System Black Hole

A possible alternative is to probe the gravitational field of this object using small, laser-launched spacecraft, like the ones envisioned in the Breakthrough Starshot project. With a velocity of 0.001c, such spacecraft can reach Planet 9 10 years after launch and can discover it if they can report timing measurements accurate to 10^-5 seconds back to Earth.

Why Sex?

The pervasiveness of sex would make a lot of sense if the act increases reproduction both directly and indirectly, such as by increasing longevity

2022-02-16:

Research suggests the molecular machinery that makes this part of sexual reproduction possible may have existed 2 ga BP in the simple prokaryotic cells called archaea, perhaps 1 ga before eukaryotes and sex evolved. But the new findings also hint at an explanation for why this kind of cell fusion for sexual reproduction didn’t appear earlier in life’s history, when it seemingly could have. Fusexins that may once have been used for limited genetic transfer between archaeal cells may then have seeded the evolution of sexual reproduction. “The downside of lateral gene transfer is that it becomes less and less good if you have a bigger genome. If you’re just picking a bit of DNA out of the environment, what’s the probability it’s going to match up? It’s a decreasing function of genome size.” Cell fusion — made possible with repurposed ancestral fusexins — may have been instrumental in the transition to eukaryotes by allowing more coordinated, large-scale genetic exchange: sexual reproduction. Such a radical shift may have been more appropriate for maintaining the fledgling eukaryotic genome.