Week 12--Biochemistry: Cell Biology and Radioactivity

Re: Quantum Tunneling

I found this article interesting, largely because I didn't understand how q.t. is affecting finding more complex compounds in outer space.  So, after a little research, I landed on this video, which helps explain the basic principles:

brief explanation of quantum tunneling

That electrons aren't always found in the outer valence shells, which I've been taught and read about for the span of my education, was a new idea.  Also, that they can travel through seemingly solid materials without leaving a "hole in the wall" and appear on the other side is another somewhat incomprehensible idea, but fascinating. Reminds me of Star Trek and the ability to re-materialize in different locations.

Re: Links

Found it helpful to think about bacteria and how they are grouped based on their:

1. response to oxygen: aerobic, anaerobic, and facultative anaerobic bacteria, which like oxygen but don't necessarily need it. (that was a new one to me.)

2. how they obtain energy: heterotrophs and autotrophs, which create their own energy, and reminded me of the exploration of types of jelly fish for creating a light source which could help brain research with paralysis.

The idea of plasmids caught my attention:
Plasmids may carry genes that provide resistance to naturally occurring antibiotics in a competitive environmental niche, or the proteins produced may act as toxins under similar circumstances. Plasmids can also provide bacteria with the ability to fix nitrogen or to degrade recalcitrant organic compounds that provide an advantage when nutrients are scarce. (wikipedia)

Helps me appreciate that Chinese herbal medicine is synergistic vs. targeted antibiotics, which aren't always effective, possibly in connection with bacterial plasmids in that Chinese herbal formulas have more than one mechanism of action.

Archeans

"Even older than the bacteria are the archeans (also called archaebacteria), tiny prokaryotic organisms that live only in extreme environments: boiling water, super-salty pools, sulfur-spewing volcanic vents, acidic water, and deep in the Antarctic ice."

I had never heard of this and appreciate that they are even older than bacteria of 3.5 Billion years. 
"Many scientists now believe that the archaea and bacteria developed separately from a common ancestor nearly four billion years ago." --one of the oldest living organisms on Earth, and quite distinct from bacteria even though they are superficially grouped together.  Learning more about the evolution of our planet and the stuff we're made of.