scientists are... interesting creatures

This email was sent to the entire biology department today:

To: [Bio Dept]

Subject: chainmail and helm for sale

Full chainmail shirt $300

Spangen helm $200

Seriously? I guess next time I need to sell my ridiculously overpriced medieval memorabilia I'll use the bio dept listserv.

Sweet deliverance

Be at rest once more, O my soul,
for the LORD has been good to you.

For you, O LORD, have delivered my
soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before the LORD
in the land of the living.

Psalm 116:7-9

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Refocusing

I'm in dire need of an attitude adjustment today...

The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.
John 3: 29-30

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Homework...

The program that makes these structures took me a ridiculous amount of time to figure out. Lo and behold, the program functions better on a Mac than a PC. This is a transcriptional activator (swirly green helices) that binds to DNA (orange) under oxidative stress. I like biochemistry, but I am not a biochemist. At least it's pretty... :)

Just for clarification...

In light of recent misconceptions of students about yeast (we use Saccharomyces cerevisiae in lab), I feel the need to educate others. Here are a few necessary basics:

Yeast is NOT bacteria.
Yeast is NOT bread.
Yeast does NOT grow into bread.
Yeast do NOT, in and of themselves, rise.


Yeast is a fungus.
Baker's yeast (S. cerevisiae) is added to bread and through its fermentation process it emits carbon dioxide gas which causes the bread to rise.
Yeast are used as a model system to study cell biology and genetics.

And now you know... :)

Scripture in Scientific Lit!

I was reading through a paper on sex-determination (all that X and Y chromosome stuff) that was assigned for one of my classes today and was pleasantly surprised to find scripture cited right within the text. A little shocked I must say. I think they use it here for the purposes of clever allusion, but still scripture IN scientific literature... that's pretty cool. Check it out:

"Since testis determination appears to be a conserved function of the mammalian Y, we would search for 1A2 sequences having homologs on the Y chromosomes of a wide range of animals. To this end, we prepared 'Noah's ark blots." Onto these genomic DNA transfers "went one pair, male and female, of [many] beasts, clean and unclean, of birds and of [many things] that crawl on the ground, two by two" (Genesis 7:8-9), including humans, great apes (e.g., chimpanzee, gorilla), Old World monkeys (e.g., rhesus monkey), New World monkeys (e.g., owl monkey), rodents, rabbits, dogs, goats, horses, and cattle."

Page et al. (1987) The sex-determining region of the human Y chromosome encodes a finger protein. Cell 51 (Dec 24): 1091-1104.
(Btw, their findings were rejected a few years later in light of a mistake they made. oops.)

For He has said...

For He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]
Hebrews 13:5 (Amplified Bible)

Hannah's Prayer: The Lord remembered her

"My heart rejoices in the LORD;
in the LORD my horn is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
for I delight in your deliverance.

"There is no one holy like the LORD;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.

"Do not keep talking so proudly
or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
for the LORD is a God who knows,
and by him deeds are weighed.

"The bows of the warriors are broken,
but those who stumbled are armed with strength.

Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
but those who were hungry hunger no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children,
but she who has had many sons pines away.

"The LORD brings death and makes alive;
he brings down to the grave and raises up.

The LORD sends poverty and wealth;
he humbles and he exalts.

He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
and has them inherit a throne of honor.
"For the foundations of the earth are the LORD's;
upon them he has set the world.

He will guard the feet of his saints,
but the wicked will be silenced in darkness.
"It is not by strength that one prevails;

those who oppose the LORD will be shattered.
He will thunder against them from heaven;
the LORD will judge the ends of the earth.
"He will give strength to his king
and exalt the horn of his anointed."

1 Samuel 2:1-10

Moses' Song: Who is like You?

"The enemy boasted,
'I will pursue, I will overtake them.
I will divide the spoils;
I will gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword
and my hand will destroy them.'

But you blew with your breath,
and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
in the mighty waters.

"Who among the gods is like you, O LORD ?
Who is like you—
majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?

You stretched out your right hand
and the earth swallowed them.

"In your unfailing love you will lead
the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them
to your holy dwelling.
Exodus 15: 9-13