18 results found.
... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 130: JUL-AUG 2000 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Midi-Chlorians are with Us!Whoops! We meant to write "mitochondria" in that title. In the movie Star Wars, Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, Jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn explains the origin of the supernatural powers possessed by Jedi knights. It arises, he says, from microscopic lifeforms called chlorians" that dwell within all living cells and reveal the will of the Force. Mitochondria are popularly seen as mere powerhouses within cells, with little influence on the organisms they inhabit. They are, it is believed, just the distant progeny of bacteria that invaded complex cells hundreds of millions of years ago. With only 37 genes in their arsenal, human mitochondria would not seem to pose any threat to humanity. After all, we have about 100,000 genes per cell. Of course, mitochondria do evolve separately from us, and this is a bit disconcerting. Could they be more than mere symbionts? The midi-chlorians of the Jedi knights were "good guys", but our mitochondria sometimes seem to be working for an insidious alien Force. There is good evidence that they: Selected which of your mother's germ cells matured to produce you; Have decided your odds of living to be 100; and May influence your being afflicted with Parkinson's and Alzheimer's , as well as rarer disorders. The first item (or "force") is the most ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 13: Winter 1981 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Alien Presence Hidden behind an obscure technical title is a most curious discovery. I.C . Eperon and his coworkers at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, England, have shown that "human mitochondria did not originate from recognizable relatives of present day organisms." The authors go even further, describing human mitochondria as a "radical departure." (Eperon, I.C ., et al; "Distinctive Sequence of Human Mitochondrial Ribosomal RNA Genes," Nature, 286:460, 1980.) Comment. The inferences above may be far-reaching. Mitochondria are vital components in the cells of the so-called higher organisms. Apparently possessing their own genetic material, they are suspected of being descendants of an cient bacteria that invaded and took up residence in cells. If human mitochondria are radically different, could changes in mitochondria be the source of the purported wide gap between humans and other animals? Did the mitochondria change (" evolve") in existing ancient mammals, converting them suddenly into humans? Or did a new "species" of mitochondria infect terrestrial cells, perhaps coming to earth on cosmic debris, as Fred Hoyle has suggested? From Science Frontiers #13, Winter 1981 . 1981-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 25: Jan-Feb 1983 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Promiscuous Dna The cells of plants (photosynthetic eukaryotes) are genetically the most complex that biologists have discovered. Each cell has three genetic systems: its own, that of the chloroplasts; and that of the mitochondria. It is supposed that the chloroplasts and mitochondria were once free-living cells that linked up with the embryonic plant cell to form a symbiotic partnership, with the host "plant" cell being the dominant member. Up until now, the three genetic systems were thought to be discrete, each going down its own pathway. But chloroplasts genes have now been found inside plant mitochondria, overturning conventional wisdom. To sum it all up, DNA seems promiscuous -- no respecter of privacy and breaking down all isolating genetic barriers. This discovery at once raises a dozen questions. For example, are mitochondria genes in chloroplast cells? How far does this promiscuity go? Can the same thing happen in higher organisms; say, with humans and symbiotic microorganisms or even not-so-symbiotic disease organisms? Is there no stopping this DNA? (Ellis, John; "Promiscuous DNA -- Chloroplast Genes inside Plant Mitochondria," Nature, 299:678, 1982.) From Science Frontiers #25, JAN-FEB 1983 . 1983-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 34: Jul-Aug 1984 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Dna Even More Promiscuous It was a surprise when DNA sequences from mitochondria in yeast cells were discovered setting up shop in the nuclear genomes (i .e ., the normal genetic endowment of the cell nucleus). Now biologists find that DNA sequences in many species regularly and frequently hop from one genome to another. Genetic material from cell chloroplasts mix with that of the mitochondria and that of the normal nucleus in what seems to be a free-for-all. This genome hopping has earned DNA the adjective "promiscuous." The significance of DNA promiscuity is to be found in the general belief that the cell's mitochondria and chloroplasts were once independent biological entities that, in the course of life's development, invaded or were captured by cells and have led a symbiotic life ever since. The mitochondria and chloroplasts perform certain important functions in the cell but were thought, until now, to retain considerable genetic independence. (Lewin, Roger; "No Genome Barriers to Promiscuous DNA," Science, 224:970, 1984.) Comment. The promiscuity of DNA raises speculation that other DNA-bearing entities that invade the body, especially the viruses, may transfer their DNA to the host, and conceivably vice versa. With DNA apparently much more promiscuous than believed earlier, the role of disease in the development of life takes on a new importance. In other words, all species can potentially exchange genetic ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 91: Jan-Feb 1994 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Dna Undermines Key Paradigms Lately, the Wall Street Journal has expanded its coverage from stocks and bonds to the Marfa lights and other scientific anomalies. Now, it is challenging archeological sacred cows using mitochondrial DNA. Quite a switch from pork futures! Of course, the WSJ is not a recognized scientific source, but its reporter did get his information directly from D.C . Wallace, a well-known professor of genetics and molecular medicine at Emory University and a champion of the African Eve theory. Surely an unusual illustration for the archeology section, but the DNA in these mitochondria may upset long-held theories of human migration. Anyway, Wallace has been studying mitochondria, those little energizers in human and animal cells. Strangely, mitochondria have their own DNA, which is separate and distinct from the nuclear DNA that directs other biological processes. Mitochondrial DNA has had its own history of evolution and is different for various human populations. Wallace has used this fact to trace the origins of American Indians by comparing their mitochondrial DNA with that from Asians, Africans, etc. His conclusions are controversial to say the least. The Amerinds, who comprise most of the Native Americans, arrived in a single migratory wave 20,000-40,000 years ago -- not merely 12,000 years ago! Native Siberians lack a peculiar mutation of mitochondrial DNA that appeared in the Amerinds 6,000-10,000 years ago ...
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... , Igor V., et al; "Molecular Analysis of Neanderthal DNA from the Northern Caucasus," Nature, 404:490, 2000. Bower, B.; "Salvaged DNA adds to Neandertals' Mystique," Science News, 157:213, 2000. Donn, Jeff; "Neanderthal DNA Has Little Human Link," Austin American-Statesman, March 29, 2000. Cr. D. Phelps.) Comment. From among many possible comments, we settle for just one: It is relevant that mtDNA is not the nDNA (nuclear DNA) that is the primary determinant of an animal's morphology and other attributes. Scientific consensus now holds that mtDNA comes from bacteria that invaded complex cells (eukaryotes) and set up housekeeping in them eons ago. The mitochondria are called "endosymbionts," but we must wonder how symbiotic they really are. Not only does mtDNA mutate much faster than nDNA (" our" DNA), but the mitochondria the mtDNA serves must have different evolutionary goals from us; that is, mitochondria might really be parasites and we are their hosts! See next item. From Science Frontiers #130, JUL-AUG 2000 . 2000 William R. Corliss Other Sites of Interest SIS . Catastrophism, archaeoastronomy, ancient history, mythology and astronomy. Lobster . The journal of intelligence and political conspiracy (CIA, FBI, JFK, MI5, NSA, etc) Homeworking.com . Free resource for people thinking about working at home. ABC dating and personals . For people looking for relationships. Place your ad free. ...
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... Andover Foundation for Archeological Research, has charted a 30,00040,000-year-old paleonotological record of ancient camels, horses, tapirs, and other fauna found while excavating this cave. Intermixed with the animal bones are layers of charcoal (easily carbondated) and hints of human occupation. But don't we all know that humans did not arrive in the New World until 12,000 years ago? Nevertheless, there they are: (1 ) rude human tools; and (2 ) a possible human palm print. Mainstream archeologists are stonewalling again; there must be some mistake! (Appenzeller, Tim; " A High Five from the First New World Settlers?" Science, 255:920, 1992.) Scene: Inside Amerind cells. DNA analyses of the mitochondria present in the cells of North American Indian populations indicate that the Eskimo-Aleut and Nadene populations arrived about 7,500 years ago. The more geographically widespread Amerind population, however, seems to be descended from two separate influxes; the first about 30,000 years ago, the second about 10,000 years ago. D. Wallace, from Emory University, surmises that the sharply defined rise of the Clovis culture, conventionally dated from 12,000 years ago, may have resulted from the second Amerind immigration. (Lewin, Roger; "Mitochondria Tell the Tale of Migrations to America," New Scientist, p. 16, February 22, 1992.) Comment. The 30,000-year date, however, is consistent with MacNeish's discoveries at the ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 132: NOV-DEC 2000 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Unidentified Cellular Object The multitudinous cells that make up our bodies are miniscule factories humming with activity. The microscope reveals mitochondria, chromosomes, centrioles, granules, and a host of entities doing their own things. But even after generations have scrutinized our cells, new objects are discovered. The latest, only recognized in 1986, look like a miniature hand grenades. Called "vaults" these objects are composed of proteins and ribosomal DNA. They exist only in the cells of the higher organisms -- like us. Biologists surmise that they are important in some way but have no idea what they do. (Anonymous; "Cell Biology Mystery," Science, 289:355, 2000.) A "vault," a mammalian cellular object of unknown purpose. From Science Frontiers #132, NOV-DEC 2000 . 2000 William R. Corliss Other Sites of Interest SIS . Catastrophism, archaeoastronomy, ancient history, mythology and astronomy. Lobster . The journal of intelligence and political conspiracy (CIA, FBI, JFK, MI5, NSA, etc) Homeworking.com . Free resource for people thinking about working at home. ABC dating and personals . For people looking for relationships. Place your ad free. ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 51: May-Jun 1987 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Evolution Through Mergers The overview in Natural History describes how, in theory, the mitochondria in cells were created by bacterial invasion. The presence of chloroplasts in plants, too, may have come about in this way. A case also exists for the alliance of spirochetes with cells to form flagella and cilia. These three "mergers" provided cells with metabolism, photosynthesis, and mobility. Margulis and Sagan obviously do not believe that the "bacterial connection" ended there. They bring their article to a close with an almost poetic manifesto that we now quote in part. The context of the quotation is their assertion that plant and animal evolution would never have taken place unless one life form attacked another and the latter defended itself, all this followed by accomodation and the development of a symbiotic relationship. "Uneasy alliances are at the core of our very many different beings. Individuality, independence -- these are illusions. We live on a flowing pointillist landscape where each dot of paint is also alive. Earth itself is a living habitat, a merger of organisms that have come together, forming new emergent organisms, entirely new kinds of 'individuals' such as green hydras and luminous fish. Without a a life-support system none of us can survive. It is in this light that we are beginning to see the biosphere not only as a continual struggle favoring the most vicious organism but also as an endliess dance of diversifying ...
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... entirely different Eve. These data, if confirmed, demolish the African Eve theory and support the often-reviled multiregional theory of humans origins. (Pennisi, Elizabeth; "Genetic Study Shakes Up Out of Africa Theory," Science, 283:1828, 1999. Bower, B.; "DNA Data Yield New Human-Origins View," Science News, 155:181, 1999.) Genetic Clocks Are Fickle. mtDNA clocks have implied that modern birds and mammals were contemporaneous with dinosaurs, and that some animals evolved millions of years before their first fossils. For good reasons, evolutionists are becoming wary about these molecular clocks. It is fast becoming obvious that: "Clocks tick at different rates in different lineages and at different times. And new work on the biology of mitochondria suggests that their evolution may be more complicated than researchers had suspected." (Strauss, Evelyn; "Can Mitochondrial Clocks Keep Time?" Science, 283:1435, 1999.) From Science Frontiers #123, MAY-JUN 1999 . 1999-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... can lock onto and destroy. The "fittest" defensive cells are those that have just the right characteristics to knock off invaders, and only they survive permanently in the body's defensive arsenal, giving it acquired immunity. The Lamarckian part of this story occurs when the RNA of the selected defensive cells gets passed on to the organism's progeny. (Tudge, Colin; "Lamarck Lives -- In the Immune System," New Scientist, 89:483, 1981.) Comment. The picture evolving here is one of a hierarchy of evolutionary struggles -- say, humans on one level and their contained defensive cells on another level. The levels are not completely independent. The question that arises next is whether there are other evolutionary struggles going on, possibly in the mitochondria and chloroplasts, which possess their own genetic material. Or, waxing speculative, are there hierarchies of evolutionary struggle above humanity of which we know nothing except for perhaps a few anomalies representing cross talk between levels? From Science Frontiers #15, Spring 1981 . 1981-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... were described, have we persued the idea that minerals, including crystal forms, might be biogenic. We now have at hand a survey of biogenic minerals. It turns out that biogenic minerals are quite common - so common, in fact, that the Gaia concept is recalled, in which biological processes preside over much that happens upon this planet. Here follows a sampler of some biogenic minerals: Much, if not all, travertine (calcite and/or aragonite) and silicious sinter (opal) are deposited through algal action. Much pyrite and marcasite in sedimentary rocks comes from bacterial sulfate reduction. Bacterial breakdown of oil produces organic complexes that dissolve, transport, and precipitate quartz. The reknowned Herkimer "diamonds" may be of biological origin. Living cells synthesize isometric crystals of magnetite. Mitochondria manufacture crystals of hydroxylapatite. Better known are the apatite in bones and teeth and the aragonite, calcite, or fluorite in the vestibular systems of vertebrates. (Dietrich, R.V ., and Chamberlain, Steven C.; "Are Cultured Pearls Mineral?" Rocks and Minerals , 64:386, September/October 1989. Cr. R. Calais) From Science Frontiers #66, NOV-DEC 1989 . 1989-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... . Doerfler and R. Schubbert, at the University of Cologne, fed the bacterial virus M13 to a mouse, snippets of the M13's genes turned up in cells taken from the mouse's intestines, spleen, liver, and white blood cells. Most of the alien DNA was eventually rejected, but some was probably retained. In any event, alien DNA in food seems to make its way to and survive for a time in the cells of the eater. (Cohen, Philip; "Can DNA in Food Find Its Way into Cells?" New Scientist, p. 14, January 4, 1997.) Comment. We are only half-kidding when we ask if food consumption could affect the evolution of a species. After all, our cells already harbor mitochondria, which are generally admitted to have originally been free bacteria that were "consumed" by animal cells. The process even has a name: "endosymbiosis." See: SF#47/189. From Science Frontiers #112, JUL-AUG 1997 . 1997-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... the same. Caterpillars may yield a family tree different from that inferred from the butterflies. Which is correct, or are they all correct? Back to the review. Waxing heretical, Williamson points out that an organism may have more than one phylogeny ! Larvae may have ancestries different from the adults. How heretical can one get? But in the ocean, spermatozoa often cannot find an egg of the correct species. They may then fertilize eggs of a distantly related species. In such "wide hybrids," the larvae may resemble one parent and the adults the other. There is much more. The gist of it all is that evolution has been much more than random mutation and natural selection. Hybridization and outright mergers (endosymbiosis) have played important roles. Even our own cells harbor mitochondria that have their own DNA. They are probably bacterial invaders that long ago settled down in the cells of our ancestors. (Van Valen, Leigh M.; "Anomalous Larvae and the Burning of Heretics," Evolutionary Theory , 10:279, 1994. Cr. K.L . Partain.) From Science Frontiers #100, JUL-AUG 1995 . 1995-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Universal Urge To Join Up Take a mouse cell and place it in contact with a human cell. The two separating membranes will dissove and the cell contents will mix. The once-independent and widely different cell nuclei will fuse, forming a single hybrid cell with a common membrane. Even more astonishing, this totally new biological entity will often divide and produce an endless line of the new hybrid. As might be expected, some hybrids do not remain true and revert to one or the other of the original species. Although cell fusion has been observed only under laboratory conditions, it seems to represent a near-universal cell phenomenon that might be realized rarely under natural conditions. The implications for the history of life are far-reaching. For example, the mitochondria in human cells that help our bodies use oxygen to obtain energy may well be descendants of bacteria that once fused with primitive cells. The same may be true for the chloroplasts in plant cells. (Thomas, Lewis; "Cell Fusion: Does It Represent a Universal Urge to 'Join Up'?" Science Digest, 86:52, December 1979.) Comment. Natural cell fusion might make large evolutionary steps possible and be much faster than endless small genetic changes. Are we all composite creatures? From Science Frontiers #10, Spring 1980 . 1980-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Will mtDNA Trump C14 and Projectile Points?Do not imagine for a minute that the Clovis Police are successfully suppressing all radical notions in archeology. Revolutionaries are everywhere. Not the least of these are studying the mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA) of Native American peoples and comparing it with the mtDNAs of Asians and Europeans. The geographical distribution of mtDNA haplogroups can trace out the migratory routes of early humans in the New World and, in addition, provide rough times-of-arrival. Some of this mtDNA evidence will undoubtedly attract the attention of the Clovis Police. But do these law enforcers -- mostly archeologists -- dare to challenge genetic data? Can mtDNA lie? There are in the cells of North American Native Americans mitochondria that seem to divide these peoples into four major "haplogroups." These four groups can be readily traced back to Siberia and northeast Asia. No trouble from the Clovis Police here! But there is also a "haplogroup-X " that does not fit the Clovis paradigm. In North America, haplogroup-X is found frequently among the Algonkian-speaking tribes, such as the Ojibwa. This same haplogroup occurs in Europe and the Middle East, especially Israel. It is notably absent in Asia. Furthermore, the data suggest that haplogroup-X was resident in North America thousands of years before the Vikings and Columbus made landfall. (Schurr, Theodore G.; "Mitochondrial DNA and the Peopling of the New World," American Scientist, 88:246, 2000. ...
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... of DNA. This theme is not the subject of this paper by Doolittle and Sapienza. Rather, they wonder about those nonsense DNA sequences that do not code for protein. The presence of these "useless" bits of genetic material is often explained in terms of gene "expression." Emphasis is always on maximizing the "fitness" of the organism (phenotype). Perhaps this seemingly excess genetic material actually maximizes the fitness (survivability) of the DNA itself. Evolution thus occurs at DNA and gene (genome) levels, despite what transpires at the organism (phenotype) level. (Doolittle, W. Ford, and Sapienza, Carmen; "Selfish Genes, the Phenotype Paradigm and Genome Evolution," Nature, 284:601, 1980.) Comment. We know that mitochondria and chloroplasts have their own genetic material; evolution may be occurring at this level, too, independent of pressures for change on the organisms. Waxing speculative, may there not be other hierarchies where systems are trying to maximize their own survivability, even at molecular, atomic, and subatomic levels? Don't laugh! Is not all life implicitly encoded in the properties of the most fundamental particles? If not, reductionism is a lie. From Science Frontiers #11, Summer 1980 . 1980-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... of Life after Menopause Decline in Sperm Counts Fetus Signals Timing of Birth How Embryo Development Is Controlled and Effected Cycles in Autistic Births Rhythms in Growth Evolution of Lactose Tolerance Twins and Occurrence of Nightmares Timing of the End of Sleep BHG HUMAN GENETICS BHG1 Human Chromosomes Less Evolved Than Ape Chromosomes BHG2 The Presence of Introns in Human Chromosomes BHG3 Human Chromosomes Lack the "Baboon Marker" BHG4 Y-Chromosome Analysis Suggests First Humans Were Pygmies BHG5 Human and Ape Chromosome Numbers Differ BHG6 Identical Twins May Have Different Genomes BHG7 Gene Imprinting: Parental Influence on Genes BHG8 The Accentuation of Inherited Traits in Succeeding Generations BHG9 Higher Variability of Mitochondrial DNA in Subsaharan Africans BHG10 Mitochondrial DNA Evolves Much Faster Than Nuclear DNA BHG11 Disparity between Human and Ape Phenotypes and Genotypes BHG12 Chimpanzee Mitochondrial DNA More Diverse Than That of Humans BHG13 Human Mitochondria Radically Different from Those of Other Organisms BHG14 Paternal Mitochondrial DNA can Be Inherited BHG15 African Nuclear DNA Is Distinct from That of Other Populations BHG16 Chromosome Banding Analysis Incompatible with DNA Analysis BHG17 Involucrin Analysis Conflicts with Mitochondrial DNA Analysis BHG18 Human Molecular Clocks Run More Slowly Than Those of Apes BHG19 Absence of Transitional Forms of Cytochrome C DNA Analysis and the Origin of Modern Populations High Deleterious Mutation Rates in Hominids Fetal DNA in Mother's Blood Epigenetic Inheritance Unique Human Lack of Retroviruses Neanderthal mtDNA Different Persistence of Cystic Fibrosis Gene Humanity's "Missing" Mutations Persistence of ITD Gene Overall Human Mutation Rates Very Low "Junk" Genes and Human Evolution Curious Genetic Homologies HIV-Like Gene in Human DNA BHH HEALTH BHH1 Health and Environmental Electricity BHH2 Health and Weather BHH3 Disease Epidemics Correlated with Solar Activity BHH4 ...
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