{"id":1779,"date":"2011-05-03T18:51:37","date_gmt":"2011-05-03T18:51:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/2018\/11\/29\/1010-revision-v1\/"},"modified":"2019-07-11T12:25:07","modified_gmt":"2019-07-11T12:25:07","slug":"defining-molecular-biology-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/2011\/05\/03\/defining-molecular-biology-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Defining molecular biology"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"padding: 2px 6px 4px; color: #555555; background-color: #eeeeee; border: 2px solid #dddddd; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>Editorial notes<\/strong>: <em>This Essay was found as a &#8216;draft&#8217; entry in Everything<sub>2.<\/sub> It was last updated on 03\/05\/2011.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">To\u00a0<a class=\"populated\" title=\"What am I?\" href=\"https:\/\/everything2.com\/title\/What+am+I%253F\">me<\/a>,\u00a0molecular biology is that part of\u00a0biology\u00a0that is concerned with the\u00a0molecules\u00a0that make up biological systems. It is concerned with those molecules&#8217; lives, and the way they interact with each other. It manipulates molecules to test\u00a0hypotheses. Although it may look at larger effects, like cell growth or animal development, it tries to connect those things with molecular events.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Introducing molecular biology<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This write-up is an index to some of my writings on molecular biology. The writeups listed below offer step by step introductions, going from atoms to cells, to cell function.<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><a class=\"populated\" title=\"Atom\" href=\"http:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/2010\/12\/12\/thinking-about-atoms-in-biology\/\">Everything is made of atoms<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"populated\" title=\"Central dogma\" href=\"http:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/2011\/03\/14\/dna-as-the-mastercode\/\">DNA is the mastercode<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"populated\" title=\"The Inner Life of the Cell\" href=\"http:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/2011\/05\/03\/the-inner-life-of-a-cell\/\">The secret life of cells<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This short series was written with the following in mind: Knowledge is foundational and disciplines are jargons.<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li>It&#8217;s often difficult to grasp ideas when you have to take simpler ones for granted without understanding them. Hence I begin this series from the very bottom &#8211; atoms &#8211; not because you\u00a0<em>need<\/em>\u00a0to know what atoms are to understand more complicated biological systems, but rather because it removes one gap. You might understand an explanation of what a protein is but then not understand how that relates to atoms. Knowing how it relates to atoms may\u00a0<em>not<\/em>\u00a0be necessary, but in your mind it is helpful.<span class=\"\" style=\"display:block;clear:both;height: 0px;padding-top: 20px;border-top-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;\"><\/span><\/li>\n<li>Similarly, ideas in foreign fields can often overwhelm due to their language. Certain words often don&#8217;t seem to make sense or are never explained. While you know that you don&#8217;t\u00a0<em>need<\/em>\u00a0to understand them in order to understand the topic at hand, once again it removes a blind spot and makes the learning easier.<span class=\"\" style=\"display:block;clear:both;height: 0px;padding-top: 20px;border-top-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;\"><\/span><\/li>\n<li>You might understand something well enough to explain it sufficiently to an expert, but be unable to explain how it relates to other things. I can know that something is a protein, but then get confused by what that means in relation to other proteins, not to mention other\u00a0<em>stuff<\/em>\u00a0in the cells. There are words I&#8217;ve heard &#8211; from\u00a0infomercials,\u00a0high school biology, and\u00a0the strange denizens of the internet\u00a0&#8211; which I&#8217;m not sure how to relate to the new knowledge. For this reason, it&#8217;s important to get rough overviews or at least a surplus of brief examples in order to properly be comfortable with something taught.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is hoped that the above three writeups will achieve the following: (1) an understanding of the building blocks of biology; (2) seeing how those building blocks come together to make biological\u00a0<em>stuff<\/em>, and (3) getting a feel for how that stuff\u00a0actually interact.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Editorial notes: This Essay was found as a &#8216;draft&#8217; entry in Everything2. It was last updated on 03\/05\/2011. To\u00a0me,\u00a0molecular biology is that part of\u00a0biology\u00a0that is concerned with the\u00a0molecules\u00a0that make up biological systems. It is concerned with those molecules&#8217; lives, and the way they interact with each other. It manipulates molecules to test\u00a0hypotheses. Although it may [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[159,206,204,16],"tags":[],"metadata":[101],"class_list":["post-1779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-posts","category-biology","category-everything2","category-science","metadata-editor_notes"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1757,"url":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/2010\/12\/12\/thinking-about-atoms-in-biology-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1779,"position":0},"title":"Thinking about atoms in biology","author":"Pala","date":"December 12, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"This is not an introduction to chemistry or even to atomic theories. It's an introduction to what atoms are with the aim of providing enough background to be useful for understanding\u00a0molecular biology. Introduction \"Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is opinion.\"\u00a0(Democritus\u00a0c. 400\u00a0BCE) Atoms are the building blocks\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;All Posts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"All Posts","link":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/all-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2397,"url":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/2012\/07\/20\/molecular-biology-of-lithium-treatment-for-bipolar-effective-disorder-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1779,"position":1},"title":"Molecular biology of lithium treatment for bipolar effective disorder","author":"Pala","date":"July 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Bipolar is often treated with lithium... If the\u00a0bipolar lifestyle\u00a0is a rollercoaster ride, then lithium is one of the more established seatbelts available.\u00a0Lithium is considered the\u00a0gold standard\u00a0treatment for bipolar. While it is not as effective in the treatment of acute\u00a0depression, it is very effective for acute\u00a0mania\u00a0as well as for maintaining\u00a0stability. Technically\u00a0lithium\u00a0is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;All Posts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"All Posts","link":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/all-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":139,"url":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/2014\/10\/09\/an-expedition-into-photosynthesis-setting-forth\/","url_meta":{"origin":1779,"position":2},"title":"An Expedition Into Photosynthesis &#8211; Setting Forth","author":"Pala","date":"October 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Sitting with Lucretius in the garden There are moments when the jungle before me implodes under the weight of its own complexity. Every stone is a mountain writ small, and the invisible air conceals\u00a0a maelstrom of atoms and vacuums. The appearance of stability\u00a0dissolves: reality rearranges itself into a catalogue of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;All Posts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"All Posts","link":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/all-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2484,"url":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/2013\/04\/29\/greenblatt-the-swerve\/","url_meta":{"origin":1779,"position":3},"title":"Science Review: Molecular biology facts","author":"Pala","date":"April 29, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Background: GPCRs known to signal from surface and to be internalized. Fact: Prove that GPCRs signal from endosomes. Interest: Adds complexity to particulars (ie. location) of GPCR signalling. Source: Research Highlights in Nat Rev MCB\u00a0(May 2013) on Nature\u00a0article (2013). Fact: RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription kinetics are modulated by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;All Posts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"All Posts","link":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/all-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2433,"url":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/2014\/02\/13\/neurobiology-of-love\/","url_meta":{"origin":1779,"position":4},"title":"Neurobiology of love","author":"Pala","date":"February 13, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"This is\u00a0for\u00a0you. I\u00a0love\u00a0you. Love\u00a0is the quintessential\u00a0romantic,\u00a0irrational,\u00a0human\u00a0experience. It is in the first place the domain of its\u00a0clients, although readily owned by the\u00a0poets. As for others. The philosophers are permitted access, though they often regress into poets too; describing love as sacred,\u00a0profound, and utterly existential. In the penultimate place in the line\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;All Posts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"All Posts","link":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/all-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2162,"url":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/2011\/05\/03\/the-inner-life-of-a-cell\/","url_meta":{"origin":1779,"position":5},"title":"The Inner Life of a Cell","author":"Pala","date":"May 3, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Editorial notes: This scientific analysis was found as a 'draft' entry in Everything2. It was last updated on 03\/05\/2011. In 2006 Harvard presented a short movie they'd contracted called\u00a0The Inner Life of a Cell. This eight and a half minute production was a\u00a03D\u00a0animation of (ostensibly) what a cell could look\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;All Posts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"All Posts","link":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/all-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/padotI-sH","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1779\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1779"},{"taxonomy":"metadata","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/metadata?post=1779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}