Comments on: Find your inner geek at LHS’ “Geek Out” http://www.berkeleyside.com/2010/03/10/find-your-inner-geek-at-lhs-geek-out/ News and notes on our city Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:51:00 +0000 hourly 1 By: Frances Dinkelspiel http://www.berkeleyside.com/2010/03/10/find-your-inner-geek-at-lhs-geek-out/comment-page-1/#comment-2198 Frances Dinkelspiel Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:20:55 +0000 http://www.berkeleyside.com/?p=4648#comment-2198 You do a much better job explaining then "Biology Online." And yes, I think you fit the "geek" category. Better check out the "Geek Out" night. You do a much better job explaining then “Biology Online.” And yes, I think you fit the “geek” category. Better check out the “Geek Out” night.

]]> By: Thomas Lord http://www.berkeleyside.com/2010/03/10/find-your-inner-geek-at-lhs-geek-out/comment-page-1/#comment-2197 Thomas Lord Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:40:50 +0000 http://www.berkeleyside.com/?p=4648#comment-2197 In case your *not* joking about not getting the nucleotide sequence joke, I just want to say that you almost certainly *do* get it, just not quite in the (strange) way it's phrased. You know your cells have DNA - your "genes", right? You've got (probably) 23 chromosomes -- big long molecules of DNA. Like, "girls" usually have two X chromosomes (two out of those 23) and "boys" usually one X and one Y. There are variations on this general pattern, of course. Those chromosomes - those molecules - are that spiral-ladder thing that's now basically an icon for DNA. The famous Watson/Crick breakthrough was figuring out how those big long molecules of DNA were structured. Each "rung" of that ladder is a pair of complementary nucleotides. There are four nucleotides in typical DNA: A, C, G, and T. You can read down one side of the ladder and get sequences like ACCCCGTTACGT. (that's a nonsense sequence I just made up but you've probably seen stuff like that as an iconic representation of what a genetic sequence looks like). The particular sequences present in *your* DNA determine how *your* cells work. Everyone in the world has quite a lot in common but there are differences. So maybe you have brown eyes and I blue. And maybe I have an oddly shaped yet unusually strong jaw since I come from an evolutionary line selected for its ability to survive bar fights. That's all different sequences: ATTCGT where someone else has ATTCAT -- that kind of thing. That bit about amino acid expression? Well, your DNA (somewhat) controls how your body works but kind of indirectly. It's a little bit like getting a bunch of peons to build you a castle but the the only way to direct them is by telling them what shape bricks to make next. The cell as a whole is constantly "asking" the DNA: "hey, what kind of bricks should we use next?" And the DNA "looks" at who is asking, matches that to right portion of the ATTCCCGT-blah-blah sequences, and says "this one". And, in the context of the question, the peons usually do something useful with a brick of that specification. The slogan of the event is trying to say: "So many unique people, so little time -- let's socialize." (And, amen to that.) The slogan is kind of sloppy the way it uses the terms. I think it should be more like "So many homo sapien phenotypes and such short lifespans" or something more like that, at least. Oh, gawd, listen to me. I should probably go to one of these things. I can bring the slogan issue up to the plenary committee or something... :-) In case your *not* joking about not getting the nucleotide sequence joke, I just want to say that you almost certainly *do* get it, just not quite in the (strange) way it’s phrased.

You know your cells have DNA – your “genes”, right? You’ve got (probably) 23 chromosomes — big long molecules of DNA. Like, “girls” usually have two X chromosomes (two out of those 23) and “boys” usually one X and one Y. There are variations on this general pattern, of course.

Those chromosomes – those molecules – are that spiral-ladder thing that’s now basically an icon for DNA. The famous Watson/Crick breakthrough was figuring out how those big long molecules of DNA were structured.

Each “rung” of that ladder is a pair of complementary nucleotides. There are four nucleotides in typical DNA: A, C, G, and T. You can read down one side of the ladder and get sequences like ACCCCGTTACGT. (that’s a nonsense sequence I just made up but you’ve probably seen stuff like that as an iconic representation of what a genetic sequence looks like).

The particular sequences present in *your* DNA determine how *your* cells work. Everyone in the world has quite a lot in common but there are differences. So maybe you have brown eyes and I blue. And maybe I have an oddly shaped yet unusually strong jaw since I come from an evolutionary line selected for its ability to survive bar fights. That’s all different sequences: ATTCGT where someone else has ATTCAT — that kind of thing.

That bit about amino acid expression? Well, your DNA (somewhat) controls how your body works but kind of indirectly. It’s a little bit like getting a bunch of peons to build you a castle but the the only way to direct them is by telling them what shape bricks to make next. The cell as a whole is constantly “asking” the DNA: “hey, what kind of bricks should we use next?” And the DNA “looks” at who is asking, matches that to right portion of the ATTCCCGT-blah-blah sequences, and says “this one”. And, in the context of the question, the peons usually do something useful with a brick of that specification.

The slogan of the event is trying to say: “So many unique people, so little time — let’s socialize.” (And, amen to that.)

The slogan is kind of sloppy the way it uses the terms. I think it should be more like “So many homo sapien phenotypes and such short lifespans” or something more like that, at least.

Oh, gawd, listen to me. I should probably go to one of these things. I can bring the slogan issue up to the plenary committee or something… :-)

]]>