Många karriärshungriga liv går ofta från väldigt nödiga till helt onödiga

Does Dinosaur DNA still exist? - Part II

Iron saved soft tissue in Dinosaur fossils?

The iron nanoparticles, however, may be doing more than just preserving tissues.

Despite what happens in the science fiction world of “Jurassic Park”, no dinosaur DNA has yet been found. The reason for this is that DNA is thought to have a half-life of 521 years, so what could be left after the 65 million years or so that stand between humanity and dinosaurs? But could the iron-based preservation process might allow DNA to bypass its typical half-life and last a lot longer.

To find that out, Dr Schweitzer and the team used an iron-removal compound to delicately pull iron away from the dinosaur tissues without damaging them. They then added four different stains that react only with either DNA itself, or with proteins closely associated with it in organisms other than microbes. Remarkably, in all cases, these specific stains lit up inside the ancient cells in the tissue samples. This hints that something chemically very similar to DNA can remain in a fossil and might yet be hidden precisely where it had resided during life.

As to whether any DNA strands can ever be read remains to be determined because of the complex knots that they have been tied into by the iron. But Dr Schweitzer and Dr Goodwin plan to try. Many things other than iron tie proteins into knots. One is sugar which, when exposed to tissues in high enough concentrations, can also cause abnormal bonds to form. This process damages tissues in diabetics. Some doctors suspect the process might be reversible by using drugs, like N-phenacylthiazolium bromide, that selectively cleave abnormal bonds while leaving normal ones alone. With this in mind, the researchers are considering trying some of these drugs on their dinosaur proteins to see if they can untangle them.

In the end, such tactics will not be quite as poetic as Hollywood’s notion of collecting dinosaur DNA from bloodsucking mosquitoes preserved in tree sap. But if it results in sequencing even part of the genes of a T. rex to determine more about these and other prehistoric animals, then no one is going to mind.

Source: The Economist

Does Dinosaur DNA still exist? -Part I

Iron from haemoglobin saved soft tissue in Dinosaur fossils?

As you know, fossils are actually a replica of the tissue once buried. So how can it be that scientist now find traces of soft tissue in the fossils?

When most animals die, nature likes to tidy up by making their bodies disappear. Very occasionally, though, the destructive processes get disrupted. This usually happens when the corpse is quickly buried by sediment deposited by a river or blown in by the wind. Then begins a slow process in which minerals precipitate from groundwater into the encased organic material, eventually replacing it with a stony replica: a fossil.

In recent years traces of soft tissue, such as blood vessels and bone cells, have been found in some dinosaur fossils. Now researchers have come up with an explanation for how these tissues were preserved for millions of years, which just might make it possible to extract some elements of prehistoric DNA.

 

 

In 2005 Mary Schweitzer, a palaeobiologist at North Carolina State University, found something unusual from a fossilised piece of Tyrannosaurus rex bone. Left behind were some fibrous tissue, transparent blood vessels and cells. Many argued that this material must have come from modern bacteria and not a T. rex, since nothing organic could possibly survive the 68 million years since the creature had walked the Earth.

 

 
In 2012, however, Dr Schweitzer and her colleagues went a step further, revealing the presence of proteins in a dinosaur fossil that had been freshly dug up and carefully protected from any potential contamination.

 

Moreover, one of the proteins the researchers identified could be found only in birds. Since dinosaurs were the ancestors of modern birds, the discovery made it hard to argue that soft-tissue material in the fossil could have come from bacterial contamination. Still, many scientists wondered how such a thing was possible.

 

Dr Schweitzer and her colleagues collaborated with a team led by Mark Goodwin, at the University of California, Berkeley, to seek an explanation. When sudiyng organic material from dinosaur with micro x-ray absorption spectroscopy, they notice something remarkable. The organic material in the samples was thickly laced with iron nanoparticles. In animals, iron is most commonly found in blood and this led the researchers to wonder if the iron had come from blood cells that had once flowed through their dinosaur’s veins.

 

Could this iron have played a part in the preservation of the tissues?

 

The researchers designed an experiment using freshly slaughtered ostriches which seemed to be a reasonable modern equivalent to dinosaurs. They extracted blood vessels from the bones of the birds and soaked them in a haemoglobin solution obtained from ruptured ostrich blood cells for 24 hours.

The samples were then placed in both a saline solution and sterile distilled water. As a control, some of the blood vessels were put straight into saline solution or water without being pre-soaked in blood.

 

As expected, the ostrich tissues that went directly into the water and the saline solution fell apart rapidly and were entirely consumed by bacteria or heavily degraded in just three days. The same thing happened to the tissue soaked in haemoglobin and placed in water.

But the treated sample in the saline solution remained intact and has stayed that way for two years now, with no signs of bacterial growth.

 

Dr Schweitzer and Dr Goodwin believe that highly reactive ions known as free radicals, produced by iron as it is released from the haemoglobin, interact with the organic tissue causing abnormal chemical bonds to form. These bonds effectively tie proteins in knots at the molecular level, much as the preservative formaldehyde does. This knot-tying makes the proteins unrecognisable to the sorts of bacteria that would normally consume them. This, they theorise, is how the soft tissues manage to survive for millions of years without rotting away.

 

Stratification threatens the Arctic Ocean's recycling system

Stratification threatens the Arctic Ocean recycling system by suppressing the vertical movement of water. And global warming encourages stratification because it turns the ice into a layer of fresh water that sits on the surface. (You can read more about it in my older posts covering the strength of the Gulf Stream) .

The Arctic Ocean’s ice sheet covers in 2012 half the Area it used to cover in 1979. This is causing alarms among the environmental organisations and hope for those who want to gain access to new natural resources and new sea routes. Some people hope for a fishing bonanza, but they may be disappointed.
 

The waters around the Arctic account for a fifth of the world’s catch. The ice melt might lead to too much change to the eco systems and decrease productivity. But how can this be? As the ice melts, more light can reach the water, and that means more photosynthesis by marine algae supporting, directly or indirectly, the fish and mammals that live in the Arctic Ocean.

The most important reason why the ice melt might decrease productivity in the Ocean is that global warming may increase ocean stratification. Stratification is the tendency of seawater to separate into layers, because fresh water is lighter than salt and cold water heavier than warm. The more stratified water is, the less nutrients in it move around.

Most free-swimming sea creatures are pelagic. When they die, all these organisms sink to the bottom, where they become food for benthic creatures. Once they have been consumed their component molecules, including nutrients such as nitrates, phosphates and iron, are stuck in Davy Jones’s locker. For the surface to be productive, the locker must be opened and the nutrients lifted back up, so that they can feed the growth of phytoplankton.

One of the most important ways this happens is by upwellings of water from the bottom—great churning columns caused by the collision of cold and temperate waters. Two of the most important are in the Arctic: south of Greenland on the Atlantic side and south of the Bering Strait on the Pacific side. Nitrates are abundant at the surface in both places, which is why they are among the world’s richest fishing grounds. There are few upwellings in the tropics, which are thus nutrient-poor.

Stratification threatens this recycling system by suppressing the vertical movement of water. And global warming encourages stratification because it turns the ice into a layer of fresh water that sits on the surface.

Parts of the Arctic seem to be getting badly stratified. In winter, there is almost no density difference in the North Atlantic and the Barents Sea—as you would expect given the upwelling there. But in summer, the northern part of the Barents Sea is even more stratified than the tropical Atlantic and Pacific. And the Beaufort Sea’s stratification is high in both summer and winter.

A warming Arctic will not, in other words, be full of fish. It will simply be an ice-free version of the desert it already is

Source: The Economist

If the whole World had U.S average weight

If every country in the world had the same weight distribution as in the U.S., it would mean an increase in biomass of 20%. Or expressed more simple If the whole world had the same weight distribution as in the U.S., it would mean a body mass equivalent to an additional 1 billion people with a normal BMI.

Large parts of the world is moving in the same direction as the United States. If it becomes real, we will erode hard on the earth's food and nutrition resources, although the total amount of people possibly will decrease.


Source: BMC Public Health

10 ways to become tired and fat - 10

10. Avoid physical activity.

When you move you body, glucose and fatty acids are released as fuel and hunger signals are attenuated. Increased body temperature leads to reduced appetite. By not moving your body you help the body to store fat.

10 sure ways to gain weight - 9 - Over intake of calories

9. Make sure to have a daily over intake of calories



Eat more than you burn! When you're up to 6000 extra calories you have formed one kilogram adipose tissue. So-so 100 extra calories a day for two months is enough.




100 calories is equivalent to either 2 ounces of beer, 1.5 cups of wine, 2 sodas, 1 tablespoon cooking oil or 50g chocolate pudding. Sad but true.

10 sure ways to gain weight - 8 - Eat plenty during fall and winter

8. Eat plenty during fall and winter

Let the body think it needs to store up power when daylight shrinks and cold, hunger and misery awaits. 

Give in to the drowsiness that comes with reduced insolation and chill out instead of being on the move!

Add with plenty of Christmas food over the weekends. I guarantee that you will gain some weight that will be difficult to starve away next year.








Drought, rain and cold affect the availability of food. In the past, we had to store the food supply and body fat to withstand starvation periods. Today, many of us have an abundance of food year round. Despite this, the body clock is stubbornly directing us to stock up before starvation.



We know that the mammals in the north will increase their blood cholesterol and fat deposits during the fall. The same is true for humans?

Many of us put on weight during the autumn and winter. A north Swede weigh more in average than swedes more south does. Some are lucky enough, or determined enough, to go down during the spring and summer. Other adds on layers of fat. Christmas dinner, food at the wrong time and irregular eating habits accelerates the process .

The word Bankruptcy means?

One of the most common theories on the origin of the word "bankruptcy" comes from a mixing of the ancient Latin words bancus (bench or table) and ruptus (broken). When a banker, who originally conducted his public marketplace transactions on a bench, was unable to continue lending and meet obligations, the bench was broken in a symbolic show of failure and inability to negotiate.

As a result of the frequency of this practice in Medieval Italy, the current term bankrupt is commonly believed to spring specifically from the translation of banco rotto, Italian for broken bank. Although Italy today has a very weak economy you can perhaps say that the market economy theories come from here, through Machiavelli's outrageously perceptive feats during the late 1400s.

The word broke that is commonly used in the English speaking countries might well have the same origin.

(Others have speculated that the word's origin actually stems from the French expression banque route, table trace. This phrase relates to the metaphorical practice of only a sign left at the site of a banker's table once there and now gone. This practice involved those who fled quickly­ escaping with money that had been entrusted to them.)

Source Wikipedia and bankruptcydata.com

How many countries are there?

Skriv text, ange adressen till en webbplats eller översätt ett dokument.

Avbryt

Since the late 1800s, virtually all livable country in the world has benn broken up into states. Prior to that, large areas without pretension or uninhabited, or inhabited by nomads without an organized state.

Currently there are more than 200 political associations which either claim to be or are recognized as states. 193 countries are full members of the United Nations, and 194 is often referred to as a number for how many states there are in the world. Aside from the 193 Member States, United Nations also accepts the Vatican as a state that does not have a vote in the UN, but only has observer status. The independence of the Vatican, is internationally recognized since 1929 and it also has authority over Italy in religious matters.

An interesting detail is that there are more than 200 states that claim to be recognized as a state. Australia has a list of no less than 240 countries and trading partners. And as curiosities, the international football federation, FIFA has 208 member countries!

Source: Wikipedia

10 sure ways to gain weight - 7 - Skip meals

7. Believe that you burn fat by skipping meals.

Well you start to burn stored fat if you skip meals in more than nine hours.

Skipping meals within 9 hours does not take body energy from stored fat, but uses carbohydrates from the liver and protein from body tissues in the first place. When you miss a meal, chances that you will be extra hungry increases as well as eating too much at the next meal.

10 sure ways to gain weight - 6 - Eat irregularly

6. Eat irregularly

Your body will be confused and increases the enzymes that help storing body fat. It will act as if it never knows when the food will come next time.

By eating irregularly, you also become more angry and distracted because your body puts food search before anything else.

Why is it called Cappuccino?

The word " cappuccino " originates from the Italian word for hood; "cappuccio", with particular reference to the brown color on the hood of the Capuciner monks dress.
Cappuccino is made ​​with equal parts espresso, steamed milk and milk foam and is originally a breakfast drink in their home country Italy

Cappuccino Scuro (dark in Italian) is a stronger version of cappuccino and is almost a mix between caffè macchiato and cappuccino, chiaro meaning light is a cappuccino with more milk and less coffee. Freddo cappuccino is a cappuccino with ice. If you order cappuccino con panna you will get a cappuccino with whipped cream.

In Italy Coffee with milk means breakfastDo you love cappuccino , you can get problems. Now, if you necessarily need to have milk in your coffee, you should drink it i the morning, before 10 am, and at the breakfast table. Already at 11 o'clock, the Italians will raise their eyebrows if you order a cappuccino.

Café Latte also contains milk,pretty much even . Accordingly, please be so kind and drink your latte before 10 in the morning.

Macchiato is an Espresso with a little warm milk.And the weird is that this one, you can drink at any time of the day, despite the fact that it contains milk. Who said you have to be consistent ?

Drink espresso in two gulps
During the day you drink espresso when you want, often quite frequent . The espresso is served in a small cup and should be drunk with two sips , preferably on the spot if you want to act really cool . In Italy they do not serve double espressos like all over the rest of the World. Here they drink "un Caffé" , but more often instead. Keep in mind that in the evening, at dinner, you should drink the coffee last. Thus you should not insist on getting the coffee with your dessert . The coffee should be drunk after dinner. In Italy "un Caffé " sets the point after a good meal

10 sure ways to gain weight - 5 - Eat all the time

5. Eat constantly

Eating many small meals a day is a good ground for weight gain.

Sure, you can spread out the eating how many times over the day, but then you have to eat the same amount of calories that you eat three times a day.

And that is what we rarely are capable of.

To feel full, you must first feel hungry. But when eating often you set satiety signals out of order because it becomes impossible to achieve a true state of hunger between meals.

Do you eat often, you achieve not the same feeling of satisfaction as when you eat infrequently. The risk is great that you take in a little extra and will therefore eat a lot more than if you eat reasonable amounts at regular times.

10 sure ways to gain weight - 4 - Skip breakfast

4. Skip the breakfast.

The body needs to replenish it's supply of carbohydrates after sleep. Skipping breakfast is contrary to what your body is tuned to. As the body is set to take in and store carbohydrates it has a hard time to shift and begin to burn stored energy efficiently in the morning.

 

And you also risk to become too hungry and eat too mych at lunch instead.

Global Warming strengthens the Gulf Stream?

If the theories I have read and communicated in the previous posts are correct, the picture is different than many horror movies about a stalling Gulf Stream showes. Is the conclusion that global warming overall, rather contribute to an increase in salinity in the North Atlantic, despite the melting of the Greenland ice sheet?

Global warming could thus create conditions for the trade winds to remove fresh water from the Atlantic Ocean?

 

Calculation made ​​by the researchers suggest that the increase in global warming increases water transport to the Pacific Ocean through the atmosphere at a higher tempo than matched by the increase in the supply of fresh water from the Greenland ice sheet.

With an increasing global warming, we can in this case assume that the Gulf Stream is strengthened rather than weakened in the future.

But what happens in the Pacific when the salinity drops there? Even more El Niño? It's an all too confusing question to answer for me.

10 sure ways to gain weight - 3 - Eat at night

3. Eat at night

At night, the body's metabolic is set to burn intercalated energy instead to replenish the supply. A lot indicates that



You can help to raise the level of dangerous blood fats and increase the weight by eating at night.

Will a Warmer climate stop the Gulf Stream part III

One thing that complicates the whole argument about the melting of ice sheets and lower salinities in the North Atlantic is something so unexpected as winds. There is is a constant westerly wind blowing, a so-called TRADE WIND , at the same latitude as the Panama Canal. In that part of the Atlantic much fresh water naturally evaporates because of the heat. The Tradewind then transports this water westward to the Pacific Ocean. This increases the salinity of the Atlantic and decreases it instead in  the Pacific !

 

The trade winds help to keep up the salinity of the Atlantic. The question is whether the increased supply of fresh water in the North Atlantic, by melting ice, may over- compensate for the wind borne removal to the Pacific Ocean so that the salinity of the North Atlantic is still dropping and mixing operations cease (read previous posts).

The data reported by the UN climate commission shows that the surface layer in the Pacific have become fresher in recent years while the surface of the Atlantic Ocean has become more saline . The calculations show that salinity reduction in the Pacific represents a loss of freshwater from the Atlantic which are significantly larger than the contributions by the melting of the Greenland ice sheet . What do they really mean? The salinity may well be increasing instead of decreasing in the Atlantic!

10 sure ways to gain weight - 2 - Eat a lot in the evening

2. Eat a huge meal late in the evening

In the evening the body's metabolism and energy expenditure falls.

A hearty meal effectively prevents the body's desire to burn stored body fat during the night.

10 sure ways to add weight - 1 sleep irregularly

1. Sleep irregularly

Sleep too little and then take a nap during the day instead. Then the body's rhythm get out of order. You'll guaranteed be tired and angry and maybe eats some in order to get refreshed. Sleep Debt also makes you a little less smart.

We depend on the body clock for our survival. Sleep is needed to repair the body and soul. Anyone who does not sleep eventually die.

The environment helps us to set the body clock , primarily through alternation of light and darkness.
If we isolate from the outside world the clock continues to tick - but in a different tempo. It is different compared to the watch and calendar. NAturally, you would create a sleep/activity-cycle that is longer than 24 hours.
The more an evening person you are, the longer day you create. The majority create a cycle that is 25 hours, some still up to 28 hours

Humans are diurnal, born to be active during the day. We have poor night vision. Our circadian wants to control us to be alert, active and eating during the day. At night we should sleep and fast.

 

Läs mer bl.a. på http://www.vetenskaphalsa.se/den-biologiska-klockan/