Monday's Molecule #34

 
Today's molecule is very simple. It is well-known to all biochemistry undergraduates—or at least it was well-known at the time they wrote the exam. Let's see how many of you remember it today.

Today we need the formal IUPAC name in order to win the prize. There's an extremely obvious connection between this Monday's Molecule and Wednesday's Nobel Laureate. You will owe me a lunch if you guess the molecule correctly but can't figure out who the Nobel Prizewinner(s) is/are.

The reward (free lunch) goes to the person who correctly identifies the molecule and the Nobel Laureate(s). Previous free lunch winners are ineligible for one month from the time they first collected the prize. There are no ineligible candidates for this Wednesday's reward since many recent winners haven't collected their prize. The prize is a free lunch at the Faculty Club.

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Vienna Papyrus Collection (Austrian National Library) Online

KATALOG der PAPYRUSSAMMLUNG, ÖNB

Bibliography for each volume can be found at the Publications page for the Collection.
The format has is more-or-less the same as APIS: scans of varying sizes, links to the DDBDP (although updates for the more current volumes have not been forthcoming), planned links to the BL (Berichtigungsliste, suggested corrections to texts on papyri etc.) but without translations.
Volumes available are:
CPR XIII,
CPR XVIIB,
CPR XIX
CPR XXII,
CPR XXIII,
CPR XXIV,
CPR XXV,
CPR XXVI
MPER XXII
SPP III2 (Faszikel 1 u. 2)
P.Bad. V
Grohmann, A., Texte zur Wirtschaftsgeschichte Ägyptens in arabischer Zeit, Archiv Orientální VII (1935)
Grohmann, A., Ein Qorra-Brief vom Jahre 90 d. H., in: E. F. Weidner (Hg.), Aus fünf Jahrtausenden morgenländischer Kultur (Festschrift Oppenheim), Berlin 1933
Grohmann, A., From the World of Arabic Papyri, Cairo 1952
P.Count
P.Jahn


Source: Papy-L (Dr. Römer).

Stop the Press!!! ... Genes Have Regulatory Sequences!

Ira Flatow interviews John Greally (see photo) on Science Friday. Greally talks about the ENCODE project and junk DNA. You might be surprised to learn that the expression of genes is controlled by ... wait for it ... REGULATORY SEQUENCES! According to Greally the discovery of these regulatory sequences reveals that junk DNA isn't junk at all. Greally says,

It would be a very brave person who would call it junk at this stage.

Count me as a very brave person. I claim that most of the human genome is junk and I'm not alone.

This is just one more example of the hype surrounding the ENCODE project. Read Ryan Gregory's summary at More about ENCODE from Scientific American for a good summary of what the study really says about junk DNA. The study does not say that all junk DNA has a function in spite of what you might gather from the podcast (below). The study does not say that the discovery of regulatory sequences in noncoding DNA is a breakthrough in our understanding of how genes work. In fact, as almost all of you know, the existence of regulatory sequences that control gene expression has been known for four decades. John Greally misses a good opportunity to educate the public about science and instead uses inappropriate framing to hype his own interest in gene expression. Shame.


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John Greely is the author of the News & Views article that described the original ENCODE work published in the June 14th issue of Nature. In that review he mentioned the role of regulatory sequences but focused much of his attention on the fact that large parts of the genome were transcribed. He expressed some appropriate skepticism of the results in the Nature piece but not when being interviewed on the radio. Is this appropriate? Is it what Nisbet and Mooney are talking about when they say that scientists should do a better job of framing?

[Hat Tip: Eye on DNA]

Mendel's Garden #16

 
The 16th version of Mendel's Garden has just been posted on Eye on DNA [Mendel’s Garden Genetics Blog Carnival #16M].

Socialized Medicine Will Make America Vulnerable to Terrorists

 
Americans are probably confused about socialized medicine after seeing Michael Moore's Sicko. Don't worry. Fox News explains why highly efficient, profit-based. corporate health care will protect America from those Jihadist Muslim doctors who are taking over the anonymous, highly bureaucratic systems in Europe.

Listen for the part about your family doctor. In America you can't have doctors who believe in stupid things because they'll be exposed by their patients and their colleagues. Apparently in socialist countries you don't have family doctors (news to me) so patients never find out what their doctors are really thinking. That's why jihadist doctors can hide out in Europe.

Why isn't there more outrage when idiotic things like this are broadcast on network television?



[Hat Tip: Canadian Cynic]

Close, but no cigar.

 
Over on Post-Darwinist Denyse O'Leary is whining about the fact that so many scientists are non-believers. She quotes from a poll of evolutionists showing that 78% don't believe in God. Having been sensitized to misuse of the word "evolutionist" she adds this at the end of her blog.

(Note for the record: "Evolutionists" here means scientists who believe that gradual Darwinian processes completely account for every aspect of life and that no design whatever is required. It does not mean scientists who merely accept that evolution occurs or that Earth is billions of years old.)

Denyse, it's the word "Darwinian" that's being misused. I'm an evolutionist but I do not believe that "gradual Darwinian processes completely account for every aspect of life." Instead I believe that evolution accounts for life and this evolution includes strict Darwinian processes as well as non-Darwinian processes.

Why do you find this so hard to understand?

I'm a Skeptic

 
I'm a Skeptic and a member of the Board of Consultants of Skeptics Canada. But it's nice to have confirmation ...

You Are Very Skeptical

Your personal motto is: "Prove it." While some ideas, like life after death, may seem nice... You aren't going to believe them simply because it feels good. You let science and facts be your guide... Even if it means you don't share the beliefs of those around you.

How Skeptical Are You?

[Hat Tip: GrrlScientist]