DNA in Train terms.

3 Billion (give or take) base pairs in the Human Genome. Thats 3 Billion GCs or ATs in all 23 and a bit chromosomes.

I was looking at the railtrack today and noticed that each sleeper is roughly 50cm apart. I was thinking, to all purposes, those sleepers are like basepairs and the rail is the deoxyribophospho backbone.

A good estimate would say that the human genome would  be 1.5×10^9 Meters of rail…15million kilometers of rail!

That’s enough rail to go round the earth just over 374 times.

So, if the Helicase enzyme can strip DNA at 100BPPS, that’s a train traveling at 50mps or 180kmh / 112mph. The human gene content of DNA is about 2-2.5% which could be anywhere from 60million-70million base pairs. A train travelling at 112mph would take six and a half years to cover the protein coding parts of the genome from start to finish.

Of course we know proteins are coded in small blocks, but its fascinating to think of it like this. All this is going on right in our cells as we speak.

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White Hole Black Hole White Hole Black Hole

So think of it like this…

Each galaxy has a theoretical super massive blackhole who’s job it is to suck in as much matter and energy as possible. Over time, it sucks in it’s surrounding galaxy and inevitably becomes ingested by a nearby black hole that is much more massive than itself until there are 2 black holes left in the universe. We are talking scales of time that dwarf multiple billions of years.

This final ingestion comes and the largest black hole in the universe is ate and causes instability within the blackhole system that just engulfed it; causing an inversion system where the black hole instantaneously inter-converts to a white hole and blasts out every last quark of matter in the blink of an eye. The universe is born, or should I say, the newest universe is born.

This is a theory to explain how one single quantum point in space time can infinitely contain all the material in the universe at one point and slingshot it out just as fast as it entered.

The next question is, how did the first universe occur?

Creation Science in schools.

So recently, I’ve thought alot about this…

“Does Creation Science have a place in Schools?”

To me, as a Scientist in academia, a Pharmacist proud to be in the field I see Science as the pride of humanity.

It’s our greatest achievement. To be able to crystallize proteins and map their structure, or mathematically calculate the distance to nearby stars from a few simple angles or to catch a snake in order to protect our species from its deadly venom.

We are the only species on this planet of millions to have developed to the point where we can actually manipulate the resources on our planet to the atomic level so that we can gain from it. Our next closest friends are still standing round scratching their heads playing children’s games to win bananas.

I see the fundamental of this science and everything that pushes it forward is to approach it without a predisposition. To enter into an investigation and to allow the results to direct you, rather than the presupposition.

I feel that this country which used to be so coveted by others only has one thing left to offer the world that is of any particular value… Its ingenuity.

If we allow our future minds (and therefor future products to sell to other countries) to practice science in a way which allows anything other than the experimental truth to be expressed, we are in danger of polluting the truth of science that has served us so well until now.

If I conduct an investigation and my results are X, but my faith tells me that it can’t be X, only Y; then I try and find a way to doctor and shape the results to fit Y rather than X. This allows the investigation that was honest to mathematics and science to produce results that allow us insight into an area we did not know to be tailored to fit a view as though not to be at odds with ones faith.

This is not practicing science, this is diluting an polluting it and disrespecting what would otherwise be very good results.

Science can only advance if we are willing to accept that the results we achieve, no matter how unpleasant or surprising they are to a particular view are infact true and must be held and worked upon as such.

If we allow our schools to teach that the overwhelming evidence that the universe is billions of years old, or hide that amino acids can spontaneously structurally reconfigure in the right conditions we ignore years of work and genius and rather than going forward, we take steps back.

This is insulting to the great minds before us who have built the frameworks we continue to build on and better. This is doing us a disservice as a civilization and a society.

Kicking things off

I bought my Adonit Jot Pro for iPad this week.

The primary use is for editing and annotating lecture notes and general stylus activity.

These pens will work on all devices with capacitive screens, like iPhones and the likes as well as some resistive screens like the Nintendo DS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First impressions show it is comfortable to handle, well balanced and very stylish. It’s not too heavy while still maintaining a feel of quality about it. It contains magnets that allow the pen to ‘clip’ to the magnets on iPads, which is a neat feature.

The tip is focused and sharp and looks under the hand just like a pen.

The focal point of the whole pen is a small thin plastic circular disc that has a ball and socket joint which offers a writing angle of just over 40°. It has a small silver cross just below the nib which appears to be where the pen focuses its scribing function.

I do have concerns about the accuracy of the unit, where the plastic capacitance disc already seems to be loosing some of its accuracy. My style of writing is small and sharp with movement from the fingers and not the wrist and this really tests the Jot Pro. Now that the disc has now been used for a week and is a little looser meaning response time on the screen is longer than what it was when I first purchased it.

It’s a great tool but is it worth £25…

Yes, Probably.

Are there other products available with similar performance for a fraction of the cost…

Yes, Definately.