~NEW SP ICER~ L
Volume 2.5 July 2011
In this issue
Topic of the month: “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”
Do plants scream - The Aquaterianism Movment Natures Scientists - Plants Lazy Gardeners - How to grow weeds Gregor Mendel Or why the monks hated pea soup Yggdrasil... and much more!
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Don’t forget to smile
Mutant plant issue...
Foreword
Riding a wooden boat in the jungle, simple, rewarding and sinkable. As I reflect on ideas for this issue, barely floating a high speeds, time comes to mind. Birth and death are a flicker of these things; age and the changing of states, of mind and matter, persist with me now. As life passes by and I try to explore the human condition from smile to a breath, creating, inventing and manipulating the world in my head. All the while absorbing from nature both human and natural. Everything you see in the magazine is that inspiration, that passion from all things I encounter as I travel to my fate in time. It’s not always a smooth ride but its at least worth experiencing once in a lifetime. Having spent a few weeks battling the smaller, creepier, creatures of the Jungle the size of life and lifestyle contents amused me. Even the giant ants of Taman Negara Malaysia are small in comparison to humans; here I need to separate consciousness from the equation of life, as is not a prerequisite for existence. And I start with a quote from E Schrödinger “what is life” (an entirely different question to what is existence, which I will try to question in later issues). The scientist in me would describe this as an organic life form that has the ability to reproduce; however, I don’t believe this fully describes the essence of life. I think it is a little more magical (or at least not yet described fully by science). Born
July 20, 1822 Heinzendorf bei Odrau, Austrian Empire, current Czech Republic
Died
January 6, 1884 (aged 61) Brno, Moravia, Austria-Hungary
Nationality Fields
Empire of Austria-Hungary Genetics
Institutions
Abbey of St. Thomas in Brno
Alma mater
University of Olomouc University of Vienna
Known for
Discovering genetics
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~~~~~~~~~ToPIC of the Month~~~~~~~~
“If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” a philosophical riddle that raises questions regarding observation and knowledge of reality. Yes, allow me to demonstrate here: thhhhhrhrrrrrrrraaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkeeeeeiiiiiiiiiicccccrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaakkkkkkkkkkkSQwwwwwwwwwwwwwooooooooooooooosssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhhhhhh thuuoomm.... rustle rustle rustle... [Animals scream and run.] However, I was present at the time this tree fell so It would not be an accurate retelling of this story. So I will recall my tale of this tree and the one that I never saw fall. Its a mixture of belief and philosophy and assumption and a little like Schrödinger’s cat [proverbially meowing in the box when he is not fed for 6 hours]. I will try to leave god out of this one [I don’t think he pushed the tree and anyway ill get to him in the next few issues of New Splicer], as the tree falls. To begin if there is no one around to hear the tree, then there is also no one around to see the tree fall, did it actually fall? And in the event it did, did it then make a sound [for simplicity we will assume the sound is something like the one I observed and heard above and not a general plea for help and or something like “loooookkkkout belooowwww”]. The scientific answer is yes, as logic would dictate there is no reason why said tree would not make a sound; unless an intervening force was acting upon it [I.e. God said “shusshhh” at the right moment or more likely; an exact mirror of the tree fell in anti-arch and anti-force in opposition to the other tree and the noise simply cancel out]. But how can we prove this? Leaving a recording device under every tree would do the trick but this is financially unfeasible and besides no fun. Now we get into the question of tree personality; some trees are shy and polite [unlikely to make much more than a whimper], while some trees are big yet scared [and will generally scream there ass of and let everyone know they are about - falling or not]. This is entirely possibly within in the philosophical question we are asking, so we can take this even further; generally when a tree falls, with no human intervention, it is dying [perhaps even suicidal but that’s supposition]. Have you heard something make a sound posthumously? At least not an unnatural sound; which leads us to the question is the tree dead? And therefore by opposition is the tree alive to begin with?
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Philosopher George Berkeley, in his work, A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge, proposes, “But, say you, surely there is nothing easier than for me to imagine trees, for instance, in a park [. . .] and nobody by to perceive them. [...] The objects of sense exist only when they are perceived; the trees therefore are in the garden [. . .] no longer than while there is somebody by to perceive them.”Nevertheless, Berkeley never actually wrote about the question. Some years later, a similar question is posed. It is unknown whether the source of this question is Berkeley or not. In June 1883 in the magazine The Chautauquan, the question was put, “If a tree were to fall on an island where there were no human beings would there be any sound?” They then went on to answer the query with, “No. Sound is the sensation excited in the ear when the air or other medium is set in motion.” This seems to imply that the question is posed not from a philosophical viewpoint, but from a purely scientific one. The magazine Scientific American corroborated the technical aspect of this question, while leaving out the philosophic side, a year later when they asked the question slightly reworded, “If a tree were to fall on an uninhabited island, would there be any sound?” And gave a more technical answer, “Sound is vibration, transmitted to our senses through the mechanism of the ear, and recognized as sound only at our nerve centres. The falling of the tree or any other disturbance will produce vibration of the air. If there be no ears to hear, there will be no sound.
A picture of a quiet tree...
The current phrasing appears to have originated in the 1910 book Physics by Charles Riborg Mann and George Ransom Twiss. The question “When a tree falls in a lonely forest, and no animal is near by to hear it, does it make a sound? Why?” is posed along with many other questions to quiz readers on the contents of the chapter, and as such, is posed from a purely physical point of view. Don’t forget to Breathe
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The possibility of unperceived existence Can something exist without being perceived? - Quoted from Pamela Jackson - e.g. “is sound only sound if a person hears it?” The most immediate philosophical topic that the riddle introduces involves the existence of the tree (and the sound it produces) outside of human perception. If no one is around to see, hear, touch or smell the tree, how could it be said to exist? What is it to say that it exists when such an existence is unknown? Of course, from a scientific viewpoint, it exists. It is human beings that are able to perceive it. George Berkeley in the 18th century developed subjective idealism, a metaphysical theory to respond to these questions, coined famously as “to be is to be perceived”. Today meta-physicians are split. According to substance theory, a substance is distinct from its properties, while according to bundle theory, an object is merely its sense data. The tree will not make a sound.
Knowledge of the unobserved world Can we assume the unobserved world functions the same as the observed world? - e.g., “does observation affect outcome?” A similar question does not involve whether or not an unobserved event occurs predictably, like it occurs when it is observed. The anthropic principlesuggests that the observer, just in its existence, may impose on the reality observed. However, most people, as well as scientists, assume that the observer doesn’t change whether the tree-fall causes a sound or not, but this is an impossible claim to prove. However, many scientists would argue as follows, “A truly unobserved event is one which realises no effect (imparts no information) on any other (where ‘other’ might be e.g., human, soundrecorder or rock), it therefore can have no legacy in the present (or ongoing) wider physical universe. It may then be recognized that the unobserved event was absolutely identical to an event which did not occur at all.” Of course, the fact that the tree is known to have changed state from ‘upright’ to ‘fallen’ implies that the event must be observed to ask the question at all - even if only by the supposed deaf onlooker. Don’t forget to Breathe
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The British philosopher of science Roy Bhaskar, credited with developing critical realism has argued, in apparent reference to this riddle, that: If men ceased to exist sound would continue to travel and heavy bodies to fall to the earth in exactly the same way, though ex hypothesi there would be no-one to know it. This existence of an unobserved real is integral to Bhaskar’s ontology, which contends (in opposition to the various strains of positivism which have dominated both natural and social science in the twentieth century) that ‘real structures exist independently of and are often out of phase with the actual patterns of events’. In social science, this has made his approach popular amongst contemporary Marxists - notably Alex Callinicos - who postulate the existence of real social forces and structures which might not always be observable. The dissimilarity between sensation and reality What is the difference between what something is, and how it appears? - e.g., “sound is the variation of pressure that propagates through matter as a wave” Perhaps the most important topic the riddle offers is the division between perception of an object and how an object really is. If a tree exists outside of perception then there is no way for us to know that the tree exists. So then, what do we mean by ‘existence’? Even Disney World, if I say that it exists, independent of the fact that I have never seen, heard, felt, smelled or echo located it, never experienced it, that I ‘know’ it exists because I have heard tales of it, does not the Disney World exist then in my knowledge, in my perception, in my mind, just like a memory would exist in my mind? So then, what is the difference between perception and reality? Also, people may also say, if the tree exists outside of perception (as common sense would dictate), then it will produce sound waves. However, these sound waves will not actually sound like anything. Sound as it is mechanically understood will occur, but sound as it is understood by sensation will not occur. So then, how is it known that ‘sound as it is mechanically understood will occur’ if that sound is not perceived? This riddle illustrates John Locke’s famous distinction between primary and secondary qualities. This distinction outlines which qualities are axiomatically imbibed in an object, and which qualities are ascribed to the object. That is, a red thing is not really red (that is, “red” is a secondary quality), a sweet thing is not really sweet, a sound does not actually sound like anything, but a round object is round. Gardening Tip1: When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant. Don’t forget to Breathe
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Zen and Trees Hui-neng Receives The Dharma One day the monks at Huang-mei monastery were instructed to write a stanza in order that their master Hung-jen might decide who would inherit the dharma throne. All of the monks assumed that a certain senior disciple Shen-hsui would win and thus didn’t even bother writing stanzas. Shen-hsui assumed he would win too, and wrote the following stanza on the monastery wall: The body is a Bodhi tree, the mind a standing mirror bright. At all times polish it diligently, and let no dust alight.
Due to the danger surrounding him if he were to openly challenge the senior monk Shen-hsui, Hui-neng went out one night while it was completely dark and wrote the following stanza in secret: Bodhi originally has no tree. The bright mirror also has no stand. Fundamentally there is not a single thing. Where could dust arise?
Later, master Hung-jen saw this stanza and confirmed that he who had written it had indeed opened his mind’s eye. Finding it was Hui-neng, master Hung-jen then gave Hui-neng the secret dharma teachings of their lineage, which Hui-neng says completely opened his mind, and gave the young Hui-neng the dharma robe and stick, symbolizing his status as Patriarch of the lineage. Hung-jen told Hui-neng that he must then flee the monastery for fear of Shen-hsui and his followers killing Hui-neng. Hui-neng did as he was told and then later returned from living with some hunters to become The Sixth Patriarch and pass on The Dharma in such forms as The Sutra Spoken by The Sixth Patriarch. Hui-neng also started the Sudden School which taught that Mind is realized instantaneously while Shen-hsui started the Gradual School which taught, similar to his stanza above, a sort of dust-wiping meditation. Zen today embodies Hui-neng’s Sudden School style, particularly with Satori..
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Do plants scream - The Aquaterianism Movment TREAD softly in the garden and pluck that rose with care: flowers cry when cut, cucumbers squeal and even healthy fruit gurgles according to new acoustic research on the stressful life of plants. The findings, released by the Institute for Applied Physics at the University of Bonn, could have important implications for farmers since, with the proper eavesdropping device, one can now distinguish between healthy and sick vegetables. Talking to plants, it seems, is not as rewarding as listening to them. The Bonn scientists have developed laser-driven microphones that pick up sounds inaccessible to the human ear. When a leaf or a stem is sliced, the plant signals pain (or perhaps merely dismay) by releasing the gas ethylene over its entire surface. Doctor Frank Kühnemann of Bonn University has been trapping the ethylene in a bell jar. The gas molecules are later bombarded with calibrated laser beams, which makes them vibrate. This produces a soundwave picked up by the microphones. “The more a plant is subjected to stress, the louder the signal we get on our microphone,” he said. The Bonn scientists have tested a range of plants, always in rooms with controlled temperatures and simulated natural light. But they were most surprised by the reaction of the cucumber. The vegetable appeared to be in good shape, yet according to the acoustic measurements it was virtually shouting with agony. A closer study showed that it had developed mildew, yet the symptoms were not visible. This finding is likely to make an impact on agriculture. “We can detect an infection the day after it has set in,” said Dr Kühnemann’s colleague Ralph Gaebler. “Farmers, looking at their plant in the field, have to wait eight or nine days until the mildew spots have visibly broken out before they notice the problem,” he said in an interview with Deutsche Welle radio station.
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By eavesdropping on plants it should be possible to develop an early warning system to detect pests and disease. Knowing the stress level of fruit and vegetables can also be an aid in efficient storing and transporting. Acoustical evidence demonstrates that apples emit higher levels of ethylene, which causes neighbouring plants to wilt. As a result, the scientists urged fruit producers to store apples separately. When ripe fruit is packed with unripe, a substantial amount of fruit often ends up rotting even when the shipments are separated by type. The scientists in Bonn have solved this mystery: differences in ripeness are often invisible, but can be detected acoustically in the form of ethylene. It should therefore be sufficient to measure fruit with laser microphones to separate it into batches of appropriate ripeness before loading it on to ships and trucks. Wolfgang Praetorius, managing director of the German fruit importing company Fruchthansa, agreed. “If the relative ripeness of fruit can be worked out beforehand, it can be intelligently separated. Then we would know which batches to ship together and how long they would stay fresh.” But the Bonn University team believes plants do more than chatter about aches and pains as if passing time in a doctor’s waiting room. The team also thinks plants warn each other about approaching danger. The “alarm signal” is a chemical message transmitted between individual plants: this too can be measured by the new equipment.
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Natures Scientists - nomenclature Locus (sing.) and Loci (pl.): the specific position of a gene on a chromosome Gene: a discrete unit of a DNA sequence that codes for a protein (or polypeptide) or for a characteristic, process, or trait Allele: alternate forms of a gene at a given locus (ex. T and t) Genotype: the genetic makeup of an individual Phenotype: the outward expression of the genotype, as affected by the environment and culture of an individual Dominant allele: an allele that masks the effect of other alleles in the phenotype (ex. in the case of Tt, T masks the effect of t) Recessive allele: an allele that is masked in the phenotype unless present in a double dose (ex. in the case of tt, there is no T to mask the effect of t) Codominant allele: both alleles are expressed in the phenotype (ex. in blood types, A and B are codominant alleles) Homozygous: two of the same alleles at a given locus on homologous chromosomes (ex. TT or tt) Homozygous dominant: both alleles are the dominant allele (ex. TT) Homozygous recessive: both alleles are the recessive allele (ex. tt) Heterozygous: two different alleles (ex. Tt)
Gardening Tip2: Any self-respecting rock will break at least one shovel before accepting its new home. Don’t forget to Breathe
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Lazy Gardeners - How to grow weeds They say anyone can grow weeds and they would be correct! However, in today’s guide we will show you how to fully nurture and care for your weeds for maximum growth and structural devastation. Also do not confuse weeds with weed that is most certainly not for the lazy gardener! [There is no singular for weeds]. Unsightly, depends on which neighbour they are facing; wild, then you’re already doing a great job! The key to proper weed growing is not simply neglect, as weeds can get offended to if left alone, but a constant desire to do something more important or you simply hate/can’t compete with your neighbour. I began growing weeds early on, when asked to “weed” by my grandparents I didn’t understand why one plant should survive over another, after all life is life no matter the aesthetics. I created a little plot of my weeds at the back of the garden re-homing weeds destined for death and oblivion. They were a hardy bunch though, most survived the Diaspora and I discovered that I had a talent for growing. A little bit of sun, hardly any food and my weeds would grow and outlast anything my grandparents would try to plant. Over the next few summers I developed my weed growing skills, with the first lesson being dispersal of weed seeds. Take any long stick (even the end of one’s shoe will suffice) and whack the hell out of your weeds! They thrive on it... The following few months, after several fun whacking sessions, saw my army of weeds take over the garden; with amazing speed and rate of seed dispersal. They sprung up everywhere, with little to no encouragement, taking over my garden with ease. After just two years of this my grandparents gave up growing regular flora and handed over the garden fully to my plants.
What do you get when you cross a potato with a sponge? I don’t know, but it sure holds a lot of gravy.
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I now had reign to fully develop my passion and began with Cuscuta (Dodder) vine which could bring down even the largest of trees, with the simplest of squeezes. No birds of bugs attacked my plants, even viruses and fungus had little to no effect on my green coverage. The more local the weed to the environment the better it grew, they knew a good home but some were travellers and migrated with ease. I had the most bio diverse garden in the entire area, birds and bees and bugs came from miles around to forage in the wilderness, even grass has its own flowers. This was about the time my garden also started attracting the attention of the neighbours and not all the criticism was constructive! They were generally talking of genocide, wiping out not just one race but an entire ecosystem. I could understand there argument for the slight lack of colour [but this was simply down to my naive early attempts at lazy gardening as there is a multitude of beautifully coloured weeds - later] but even in the thousands of shades and hues they could not see the beauty of life, of nature. Divinity in each stinging leaf as a hundred blades of rough grass sang like angels, it was here and then I decided how far you could help the growth of weeds. Beginning with the Buddleia (Butterfly Bush), with its blossoming purple full of lush colour and roots strong enough to destroy buildings, in time. A great novice weed to grow; Buddleia needs little space [to start] and little water, it can be attacked to a stub, decapitated and quartered and it will still, slowly and steadily grow. Through the cracks or creating its own, it prefers earth but will work with concrete, brickwork and pavement.
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Like regular flora weeds will grow well with fertilizer, but that’s hardly the point and requires effort; I have also discovered several interesting psychological effects of speaking to weeds, it appears that ignoring the weeds increases there growth rate. Also, [when left in the care of others during my holiday season] I discovered that wishing weeds to die, even attempting to remove a few increases their desire for survival [and this may be just an observation but the overall aesthetic appearance of the weeds as a whole decreased with each attack!]. Simple steps to growing weeds: 1. Do not feed 2. Do not trim, clip or cut back 3. Choose your seeds well [they will be around for a long time!] 4. If it is taking effort stop doing it 5. The more your neighbours hate them the better your weeds will look [and feel] 6. Weed out all other flora [if it does not conflict with step 4] 7. Start small, the weeds will do the rest 8. Whack your plants like a kid and boot those dandelion blooms with joy! 9. Weeds will travel 10. Weeds will always be there for you if you want them You may think all this is a joke, but try it... If you have ever failed at growing that tomato plant or Venus fly trap, try weeds! I guarantee success and stress free spring/ autumns. Warning Growing weeds my devalue your property, your entire neighbourhood and alienate you from people. If this is your aim - enjoy! ~New Splicer - Anti-crop division~ Don’t forget to Breathe
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Flower Dissection Homework:
www.middleschoolscience.com
Objectives: To learn the parts of the flower. To compare male and female anatomy to determine if the male or female parts are longer and what advantage that might have in fertilization.
Procedure: 1. You and your partner will be given one gladiolus flower. 2. In Figure 1, draw your flower. Note the color and flower position. Label the sepals and petals. 3. Using your scalpel, very CAREFULLY, make a vertical incision to open your flower. 4. Pin the petals and ovary to keep it open. 5. In Figure 2, draw your flower pinned open. Be sure to label: Sepals, Anther, Stamen, Filament, Stigma, Style, Ovary, & Pistil 6. Using your ruler, measure the length of the Pistil (stigma, style, & ovary) in mm. Record in Table 1. 7. Measure the length of the Filament only (mm). Record in Table 1. Repeat for all 3. 8. Measure the length of the Anther only (mm). Record in Table 1. Repeat for all 3. The anthers may be releasing pollen. Look for a powdery residue. 9. Look inside the ovary. See if you can find the ovules. When fertilized, these will become seeds. 10. Record the lengths of the pistil and filament on the class stem and leaf Figure 3. 11. Calculate data, answer questions.
Data: Figure 1: Drawing of Gladiolus Flower (half page) Color __________ Position ________ Label Sepals and Petals Figure 2: Flower Pinned Open (half page) Label: Sepals, Anther, Stamen, Filament, Stigma, Style, Ovary, & Pistil
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Table 1: Table of Anther, Filament and Pistil Lengths in mm. (half page) Flower Part Pistil Anther Filament
#1
#2 none
#3 none
Average (mm)
Figure 3: Double Stem and Leaf of Pistil and Average Stamen (anther + filament) Length. (half page) Table 2: Summary Data Table of Pistil and Stamen Lengths. (half page) Pistil Stamen
n
max
min
range
sum
mean
med
Analysis: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Name the female parts of your flower. Name the male parts of your flower. In your flower, which was longer? According to our class data table, which had the longer lengths? Was your flower mature? (open or closed) Was your flower releasing pollen? How could you tell? Why would having a longer pistil or stamen be an advantage in pollination? Draw the leaf of a gladiolus. Note the margin and vein pattern.
Extension: Using the data from each lab group in your class, create a line graph of length in mm (yaxis) vs. flower position (x-axis). Using 3 lines, graph the average lengths of the anthers, pistils, and stamens. Do you notice any trends?
Conclusion: 2-3 sentences on what you learned.
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Mendelian inheritance Mendelian inheritance describes three laws or basic principals of genetic inheritance documented by creationist Gregor Mendel. The laws specified deal with the transmission of hereditary characteristics from parent organisms to their children and is a fundamental to genetics. In 1866, Gregor Mendel studied the transmission of seven different pea traits by carefully test-crossing many distinct varieties of peas. Studying garden peas might seem trivial to those of us who live in a modern world of cloned sheep and gene transfer, but Mendel’s simple approach led to fundamental insights into genetic inheritance, known today as Mendel’s Laws. Mendel did not actually know or understand the cellular mechanisms that produced the results he observed. Nonetheless, he correctly surmised the behaviour of traits and the mathematical predictions of their transmission, the independent segregation of alleles during gamete production, and the independent assortment of genes. Perhaps as amazing as Mendel’s discoveries was the fact that his work was largely ignored by the scientific community for over 30 years! Inheritance Laws While these laws did not account for polygenic traits, linked traits, or genetic recombination, they still hold true today for the limited number of cases they address. The core in changes can be found in the cell nucleus which is made up of several chromosomes. These laws documented in 1865 and 1866 were then later considered quite controversial in 1900. A little bit more than a decade later in 1915 they were integrated into Thomas Morgan’s work regarding the chromosome theory of inheritance. Law of dominance Each trait is determined by two factors (alleles), inherited one from each parent. These factors each exhibit a characteristic dominant, co-dominant, or recessive expression, and those that are dominant will mask the expression of those that are recessive.
Gardening Tip3: A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows.
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Law of segregation Each of the two inherited factors (alleles) possessed by the parent will segregate and pass during meiosis into separate gametes (eggs or sperm), which will each carry only one of the factors. This specific law has four parts, which are: 1. Alternative versions of genes, or alleles account for variations in inherited characteristics. 2. For each characteristic or trait an organism inherits two alternative forms of that gene, one from each parent. 3. If the two alleles differ, then one, the dominant allele, is fully expressed in the organism’s appearance. The other, the recessive allele has no noticeable effect on the organism’s appearance. 4. The two genes for each character segregate during gamete production. Law of independent assortment In the gametes, alleles of one gene separate independently of those of another gene, and thus all possible combination’s of alleles are equally probable. The emergence of one trait will not affect the emergence of another. Mendel concluded that each organism carries two copies of its expressed phenotype. If one differs from the other on the same phenotype one will inevitably dominate the other. Exceptions to Mendel’s Laws There are many examples of inheritance that appear to be exceptions to Mendel’s laws. Usually, they turn out to represent complex interactions among various allelic conditions. Co-dominant Co-dominant alleles both contribute to a phenotype. Neither is dominant over the other. Control of the human blood type group system provides a good example of co-dominant alleles.
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Pleiotropism Pleiotropism (or pleotrophy), refers to the phenomenon in which a single gene is responsible for producing multiple, distinct, and apparently unrelated phenotypic traits. That is to say, an individual can exhibit many different phenotypic outcomes. This is because the gene product is active in many places in the body. An example is Marfan’s syndrome, where there is a defect in the gene coding for a connective tissue protein. Individuals with Marfan’s syndrome exhibit abnormalities in their eyes, skeletal system, and cardiovascular system. Epistasis Some genes mask the expression of other genes just as a fully dominant allele masks the expression of its recessive counterpart. A gene that masks the phenotypic effect of another gene is called an epistatic gene; the gene it subordinates is the hypostatic gene. The gene for albinism in humans is an epistatic gene. It is not part of the interacting skin-colour genes. Rather, its dominant allele is necessary for the development of any skin pigment, and its recessive homozygous state results in the albino condition, regardless of how many other pigment genes may be present. Because of the effects of an epistatic gene, some individuals who inherit the dominant, disease-causing gene show only partial symptoms of the disease. Some, in fact, may show no expression of the disease-causing gene, a condition referred to as nonpenetrance. The individual in whom such a nonpenetrant mutant gene exists will be phenotypically normal but still capable of passing the deleterious gene on to offspring, who may exhibit the full-blown disease. Multigenic Multigenic traits result from the expression of several different genes. This is true for human eye colour, in which at least three different genes are responsible for determining eye colour. A brown/blue gene and a central brown gene are both found on chromosome 15, whereas a green/blue gene is found on chromosome 19. The interaction between these genes is not well understood. It is speculated that there may be other genes that control other factors, such as the amount of pigment deposited in the iris.
Gardening Tip4: Gardening requires a lot of water - most of it in the form of perspiration.
If I could only grow green stuff in my garden like I can in my refrigerator Don’t forget to Breathe
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This multigenic system explains why two blue-eyed individuals can have a browneyed child. Somatic mosaicism A somatic mosaic expresses two or more different phenotypes in different parts of his body. Somatic mosaicism might produce eyes with two different eye colours (i.e. brown and green). In multicellular organisms, every cell in the adult is ultimately derived from the single-cell fertilized egg. Therefore, every cell in the adult normally carries the same genetic information. But sometimes a mutation occurs in only one cell at the two-cell stage of development. The adult then consists of two types of cells: cells with the mutation and cells without. If a mutation affecting melanin production occurred in one of the cells in the cell lineage of one eye but not the other, then the eyes would have different genetic potential for melanin synthesis. This could produce eyes of two different colours or David Bowie.
Penetrance Penetrance refers to the degree to which a particular allele is expressed in a population phenotype. If every individual carrying a dominant mutant gene demonstrates the mutant phenotype, the gene is said to show complete penetrance. Mendelian Mutation A Mendelian mutation (or trait) is controlled by change in alleles at a single locus and is inherited in a Mendelian fashion or according to Mendel’s laws. In most cases these are single gene mutations such as those that cause sickle-cell anaemia contrasted to those that are located on several loci such as arthritis.
Gardening Tip5: What is the reddest side of an apple? The outside... Don’t forget to Breathe
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Insane short stories by a madman Chapter 5 Gregor Mendel Or why the monks hated pea soup New Splicer and myself, and all of us to some degree, owe Gregor Mendel for his diligent science and excellent gardening. Most of us know that Mendel the monk grew a lot of peas and kept vast records and that his work was lost to science for almost 40 years only discovered after his death. However, what is not known is about a small amount of research that Mendel is believed to have done that did not conform or agree to his laws of inheritance. And this was down to his brother hood and their eventual, and completely expected repulsion [and to some extent allergic reaction] to having a diet almost entirely consisting of peas. Setting the situation, Mendel grew over 16 million peas. Not to put this into context, the entire country of France produces 2.7 Billion Kilos of peas each year. Summary that’s an awful lot of peas to put away...
Burgers, chips, beer, cake imagine all of them with the hyphenated pea-. Now add in a constant and overriding green colour to pretty much everything [I will not go into details but one can imagine]. Fortunately they smell, well of peas, which is not an unpleasant smell but after several years of research left a bitter taste in the mouth... Don’t forget to Breathe
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However, monks are not the most impolite of people, smiling for the first few years, hoping for success in pea experiments, excited with a new hybrid [and the possibility of a new taste - and after so many peas acute taste was all they had left]. I recently spoke to a monk from this time that had this to say “No comment, I couldn’t possibly comment on those peas without breaking several vows”. “Thank you” I said and returned from then, or woke up. I can never remember these things only the details of them.
Fresh Green Pea Soup Ingredients: • 4 cups green peas, fresh or frozen • 1 medium potato • 1/2 medium onion • 1 cup snow peas (edible pods) • 1 (15 ounce) can chicken broth (or equal substitute) • 1 -2 teaspoon butter • salt and pepper Directions: 1 Scrub potato, leaving skin on. 2 Slice to make 1/2” cubes. 3 Peel and dice onion. 4 Sauté potato and onion until onion is lightly browned in medium saucepan. 5 Add peas and chicken broth. 6 Simmer until peas are just tender. 7 Remove from heat, cool. 8 Blend in small batches until mostly smooth. 9 When ready to serve, add snow peas to soup and reheat until peas are crisp-tender. 10 Good served with a dollop of plain yogurt and minced chives. Don’t forget to Breathe
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Pea shoots are delicious and currently somewhat a fad in London salads, but none the less for good reason the hipster supermarkets have adopted them and at some point will make us anti-them. They do taste good... Now imagine, as they did, if the monks knew this, which they did, what they would have done!? Pea shoots where only useful to Mendel to grow peas, so extremely essential if not useless to him at this stage other than getting to the next. Mendel was by reputation [alive and dead] meticulous in his book keeping and records [this is the essence of his genius, which was 99% hard laborious work]. So how would the monks get there hands on the peas? The simple answer was to outsmart Gregor himself, they did this by several ingenious methods: 1. [Pleiotropism, Penetrance, Epistasis and co-dominance] Every chance they got they would suggest a novel experiment I.e. Penetrance, whereby Mendel would need not only to cull entire young crops (as there parents experiments failed) but he would also need to “loose” scientific data and hence records and hence - pea shoots. These counter experiments would not disprove Mendel’s theories but it would make a good simple scientific story messy. Years later, this lost data was rediscovered as we begin to have the complete story of genetic inheritance. One of the brothers at the priory monastery Brother Igor Tohmas Pees began hating the work of Mendel from early on; he never had much interest in science or gardening but this would have to change if taste was to ever be just that again. Tohmas Pees had observed Mendel’s breeding of the peas, he knew all to well wrinkly and yellow tasted just like smooth and green, the interesting science came when Igor had to break a theory, to do this he had to know as well as Gregor the nature of the particle of inheritance [later to be called the gene]. Starting with a simple bit of maths Igor used something like a Punnett square to work out what type of peas they would be having this season. In a simple crossing experiment if you take one plant, human or pea and focus on a particular gene pair [See examples below] you can see how breeding works:
Fig. 1 well more like Pea. 1
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Igor knew that each gene could exist in two types I.e. green or yellow, smooth or wrinkly. And when you breed smooth yellow peas with smooth green peas you will get all smooth shaped peas and a mixture of green and yellow coloured peas. This was something Tohmas called discrete inheritance, in that you would get either yellow or green; but as Friar Pees was also a keen painter [and also sick of painting growing peas] he wondered about shades of colour... Like almost all science and discovery; its a matter of opening your eyes to the world, not ignoring the obvious and quickly dismissing the fantastical. Looking around Igor could see slight variations in hair colour, skin pigmentation and the almost random patters of fur in his pet cat Tabbs. Why could he not see the same patterns in Mendel’s cursed peas? Because, Mendel had chosen peas! Like the curse of many a scientists the choice of model species was a difficult one and Mendel could not go back and change that now, especially when 95% of his experiments worked... This in most cases would be an excellent model... So Tohmas saw his chance and suggested a simple experiment, based on what would become known as incomplete penetrance, whereby one of Mendel’s observed traits is not always fully expressed in the offspring. Sadly, in the end Mendel died thinking Friar Pees has ruined his work, Igor finally tasted a lovely batch of pea shoots but hated the sweet taste and couldn’t understand the hype, he shortly disappeared after that. And several pea generations later Mendelian inheritance was discovered as was its Tohmasiean flaws. But no one ever thinks of the millions of peas who gave there life in all this, and to them I say thanks and I like you, you taste great and make good science...
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Some Interesting Facts about Mendel •As a youth, he frequently took to his sickbed for weeks, even months, at a time. •Before turning his attention to peas, where he would make his most important discoveries, Mendel bred mice. The local bishop found mouse breeding offensive, however, forcing Mendel to find a more genteel area of study. •He had just made one of the most important discoveries in science, but the scientists to whom he sent his reprints apparently didn’t get it. Many of them didn’t even cut the pages (necessary in those days to open papers) to read his work. Only one scientist ever bothered to respond to Mendel’s paper, and he responded with what would ultimately prove to be disastrous advice. Karl von Nageli, of the University of Munich, had previously experimented with hawkweed, a plant that follows a very unusual reproductive pattern. Mendel started experimenting with hawkweed, and lost confidence in everything he had accomplished studying peas. •It’s naive to say that Mendel was just a humble monk who never hoped for fame. In fact, he did hope for recognition, but the only recognition that came during his lifetime was as a local meteorologist. He died never knowing how much his findings would change history. •In 1850 he took the examination for certification as a regular teacher but failed , his lowest marks being given, ironically, in biology and geology. •In 1868 he was elected as the abbot of his monastery.
The research assistant couldn’t experiment with plants because he hadn’t botany. Don’t forget to Breathe
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Yggdrasil...
“The Ash Yggdrasil” (1886) by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine.
In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil an immense tree that is central in Norse cosmology; the world tree, and around the tree existed nine worlds. It is generally considered to mean “Ygg’s (Odin’s) horse”.
Yggdrasil is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In both sources, Yggdrasil is an immenseash tree that is central and considered very holy. The gods go to Yggdrasil daily to hold their courts. The branches of Yggdrasil extend far into the heavens, and the tree is supported by three roots that extend far away into other locations; one to the well Urðarbrunnr in the heavens, one to the spring Hvergelmir, and another to the well Mímisbrunnr. Creatures live within Yggdrasil, including the wyrm (dragon)Níðhöggr, an unnamed eagle, and the stags Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór. Conflicting scholarly theories have been proposed about the etymology of the name Yggdrasill, the possibility that the tree is of another species than ash, the relation to tree lore and to Eurasian shamaniclore, the possible relation to the trees Mímameiðr and Læraðr, Hoddmímis holt, the sacred tree at Uppsala, and the fate of Yggdrasil during the events of Ragnarök.
What do you call a boy with green hair and brownish complexion ? A tree... Don’t forget to Breathe
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The generally accepted meaning of Old Norse Yggdrasill is “Odin’s horse”. This conclusion is drawn on the basis that drasill means “horse” and Ygg(r) is one of Odin’s many names. The Poetic Edda poemHávamál describes how Odin sacrificed himself to himself by hanging from a tree, making this tree Odin’s gallows. This tree may have been Yggdrasil. Gallows can be called “the horse of the hanged” and therefore Odin’s gallows may have developed into the expression “Odin’s horse”, which then became the name of the tree. Nevertheless, scholarly opinions regarding the precise meaning of the name Yggdrasill vary, particularly on the issue of whether Yggdrasill is the name of the tree itself. In the Prose Edda the tree is usually not just called Yggdrasil but askr Yggdrasils. Old Norse askr means “ash tree” and according to e.g. theinflectional system of Icelandic language askr Yggdrasils means “Yggdrasill’s ash”. Icelandic has the best preserved inflectional system of the Norse languages and the Prose Edda was also written in old Icelandic. These etymologies do though rely on a presumed but unattested *Yggsdrasill. A third interpretation, presented by F. Detter, is that the name Yggdrasill refers to the word yggr (“terror”), yet not in reference to the Odinic name, but rather as Yggdrasill as the “tree of terror, gallows”. F. R. Schröder has proposed a fourth etymology according to which yggdrasill means “yew pillar”, deriving yggia from *igwja (meaning “yew-tree”), and drasill from *dher- (meaning “support”).
Next Time... I dare to delve into darkness and death... To play with life and the fabric of the reality of a smile... Our dear miss represented friend the Lemming will be our guide as we follow blindly into love, out of love and over the abyss that is life. Fall in with me; die with me, experience all that life has to offer while surviving a Lemmings daydream... To this end and New Splicer beginnings... See you on the other side... The four seasons are salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar. Don’t forget to Breathe
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~NEW SPLICER~ In this issue Topic of the month:
Volume 2.6 August 2011
You stupid lemming, unless you meant it!? Always look on the bright side of life... Follow the leader Jumping for beginners... Suicide Stories Absolute heartbreak and how not to die! and much more!
Lemmings Daydream...
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ON!
You can be too! Toast Marketing board Don’t forget to Breathe
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