Thursday, December 4, 2008

Simple questions, are they???

Here are some very simple….brain storming questions…??

• Everyone of us have traveled in a bus…and most of us prefer to have a window seat…at least I do…!
So when at the window and the windows full open and air rushing inside and is continuously being bombarded on face….an amazing feeling leaves…. a simple question…all that air that is coming inside the bus from all the windows, from where does it move out??? It must be going out…from somewhere???…its not that its just coming in…right??? So from where exactly does all this air move out????

• Somewhere in those childhood days…used to cycle day-in and day-out…those early days of learning to ride a bi-cycle were full of fear of a fall and bruises on all possible places on the body…I even managed to land up in a gutter once (thankfully it was dry…!) So…what now I can ride bicycle quiet well…but am unable to answer a simple…real simple question…at least it looks simple…why does a bicycle or take just one Tyre of bicycle can balance itself well when in motion….but not in absence of motion??? One would realize that if you go on balancing forces(in order to justify the phenomenon) that are acting on the moving Tyre…same are applicable for a vertically placed motionless Tyre…but still it falls off…!


(Questions …discussed at Tuesday’s group discussion sessions!!!)

Zooming in: tube light zone!!!

The hundreds of miniature insects on your tube light…or on TV or computer screen in a dark room!!! Always wondered why the hell they are attracted towards light!!! I mean during the day they don’t seem to be moving towards the sun…(real stupid thought!!!)….neither is there some food that they feed on, at the tube light…!

A major question that always aroused…discussed with friends, but we all never got an answer to it!!!


Supposedly many people have tried answering it and the most convincing way out to these widely observed phenomenon is that…usually if you see the natural sources of light they are practically at infinity…e.g.-sun…so all the rays that are coming from the sun are parallel to each other. Now for tracking a linear path the simple logic is to make constant angle with the rays of light…! Now back on earth we have various other artificial sources of light tube lights, bulbs etc. and the rays that are coming out of such sources are given out in all directions and are basically not parallel to each other!!! Now for an insect in order to follow a linear path as it always does…it is constantly trying to maintain a constant angle with the rays…and since the rays are not parallel and radiating from a single point…the angle keeps on changing…due to which they follow a spiral path and finally land up at the source of light!!! The reason our tube lights are full of insects!!!


BUT, since generations of these insects end up at the source of light and seem to get nothing out of it…why don’t they learn to avoid such situations??? Another obvious question…and the reason for this behavior lies in the fact that…it’s a place for aggregation of so many insects…so it might be acting as mating grounds…wherein you can look out and choose for your mates and mate!!!(a very important part of life cycle)


BUT, as I mentioned in one of previous blogs about such areas being feeding grounds of lizards (strategic locations)…there is a risk involved in landing up in such areas from an insects point of view!!!


Again, usually if observed there is just a single lizard at such location …showing territorial dominance and thus benefiting the insects..owing to the fact that the probability of getting eaten by a lizard decreases tremendously when hundreds and thousands of your type are present…to be eaten up! Also..the fact that since there is a single lizard and it has a limited appetite…and the number of insects are always in large excess… such that a lizard is satisfied…much before not more then half of them are eaten up (may be? coz half to me seems a large extrapolation…but still in spite of it the insects seem to be benefited!!!)


Everyday phenomenon…simple observation…logical analysis…complex interactions!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Obama...victory speech!

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

Its the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

Its the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

Its the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

Its been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and hes fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nations promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nations next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy thats coming with us to the White House. And while shes no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what youve sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didnt start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington - it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generations apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.

I know you didnt do this just to win an election and I know you didnt do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how theyll make the mortgage, or pay their doctors bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who wont agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government cant solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way its been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, its that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, We are not enemies, but friends…though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you. And to all those who have wondered if Americas beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one thats on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. Shes a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing - Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldnt vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that shes seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we cant, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when womens voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that We Shall Overcome. Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we cant, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

.....makes me feel....will we ever have an INDIAN President like this!!!!

Will the Indian government ever have its good golden days...when the representative of the people will work for the people for achieving something for the country which is beyond votes beyond communal or regional or self upliftment!!!

Will ever our leaders have plans and stratergies and a foresight for a better india???

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Bio-diversity...

today(23rd Oct 2008) was a knowledgeable day...it changed the way i looked at many things!!!

The topic was Biodiversity and the venue was NCL (auditorium) Pune.
The day was as pleasant as it could be...the air refreshing and the ambiance enthusiastic...greeted with excellent photographic lobby of birds,snails and flowers...they really couldn't have appeared better than these! The auditorium was filled with students, teachers, research fellows and eminent scientists belonging to varied fields...it was the very first encounter with diversity for the day!!!

“you look at that river gently flowing by. You notice the leaves rustling with the wind. You hear the birds’ you hear the tree frogs. In the distance you hear a cow. You feel the grass. The mud gives a little bit on the river bank. It is quiet; it’s peaceful. And all of a sudden, it’s a gear shift inside you. And it’s like taking a deep breath and going….. Oh’ yeah, I forgot about this” (An inconvenient Truth)

The first talk was by Dr. H.N.Gour...he gave an full-fledged introduction to bio-diversity...also impressed the Puneites...with introductory Marathi lines! A very important point that he put across was of GMO's and issues related to them, also truly quoted biodiversity as GLOBAL WEALTH.

The next to come was the best of all I feel...Dr. Hema Sane, she grabbed the attention of every pair of eyes...right from the moment her name was announced and she was on the podium...a real simple down to earth lady she is...in her late 60's may be! A botanist, had focused her lecture on "Wild is Beautiful" part of plant diversity!
Doing justice to the title...she actually showed the true beauty of the wild, excellent pictorial representations and her precise perfect descriptions...completely changed the way i looked at botany as a subject and plants in specific! During her talk she conveyed a very important message...Conserve plants and other life forms not for humanly benefits...but for them..The plants themselves... because you are no one to decide their fate but you need to respect their rights!!!

Aditi Pant took us to Antarctica, she really did!!! With million dollar pics of the Antarctic biodiversity...she explained the food webs there and gave a precept of microbial, fungal, algal, plant, animal and aquatic biodiversity at the Antarctic!
Her good sense of humour was evident during the talk and she convincingly showed "humans are the real problematic creatures on this planet"

Dr.M.V.Deshpande enlightened about the fungal-insect interactions which i never even thought of...the various aspects and the questions posed by him were actually challenging. The journey from pathogenecity to non-lethal parasitism was truly commendable!

Next in line was the topic most hyped these days in microbiology "the unculturables" basically it was “Molecular Approaches for Exploring Uncultured Bacterial Diversity in Extreme Environment” It was an excellent comparison of various techniques used in molecular methods and the boon they are in studying bacterial diversity without culturing!!!(Wow!)

Have you ever thought cockroaches were beautiful...or rather can ever look beautiful? And they show parental care? And insects were the most dominant life forms? This was exactly what Dr. Hemant Ghate shed light on...! He really changed the way we all looked at those creepy creatures!

This was the most impressive man; btw most impressive was his CV...A radiologist by profession and also an ornithologist and photographer!!! Dr.Satish Pande
He had got all his statistics right, right from avian food preferences to their nesting periods to their clutch size to their cultural significance from conservation angle(phew!)
Best were his recommendations for conservation of avian diversity!

Dr. Sawarkar had a collection of excellent quotes...he gave an overall picture of Indian biodiversity and statistics of the endangered one’s and also a word of caution about the wrongly put forward exaggerated figures of the actually non existing wildlife!

All in all the workshop was truly an eye opener..it made quite a few things evident...


  1. mimicking is a very successful strategy employed by diverse life forms!
  2. presence of mind is the most important facet of life everyone should adorn(all speakers had excellent presence of mind and related their talks to fellow speakers quite well)

Something to think on...
“Darwin gave us the first glimpse of the origin of species. We know now what was unknown to all the preceding caravan of generations: that men are only fellow voyagers with other creatures in the odyssey of evolution. The new knowledge should have given us, by this time, a kinship with other fellow creatures; a wish to live and let live; a sense of wonder over the magnitude and duration of the biotic enterprise” -----Aldo Leopold

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Noble prize 06-07-08

Still remember the day quite well…though not the exact date…it was back in the first week of October 2006. I was doing my fav job of the day…reading TOI…and on the Trends page I came across an article on RNAi…mentioning the phenomenon, which fetched A. Fire and C. Mello, a noble in medicine that year. The phenomenon was mentioned quite in brief in layman’s tongue…! After reading the article my curiosity was at its peak and I went ahead reading voraciously about it…how fascinated and amazed I was then!!!
From that particular year I started waiting for the noble prize announcements quite eagerly…!
Had heard about the noble prize for the first time I don’t even remember when…it is quite early in your childhood that you come across the noble prize thing…
But the same curiosity the same fascination and the same amazement did not continue to happen for the following years i.e 2007 and 2008(last yr and this year resp.)
If I am not wrong the noble prize in medicine for the year 2007 was given to the founders of gene knockdown technology…wherein you can knockoff a particular gene and look at its function…!
No doubt it was a great discovery that had revolutionized way research took place in terms of deciphering gene function!!!
But then what disturbed me most was that the discovery was quite old…I mean in today’s context this p’cular tool has been exploited for quite some years now…! I mean its quite surprising that RNAi which provided one of the methods for gene knockdown, which was new…fetched noble prize even before gene knockdown thing itself…!
Even this year when the noble prize in medicine and chemistry were declared…the same thought struck…
Noble prize in medicine went for the discovery of HIV replication cycle and
Noble prize in chemistry went for discovery and use of GFP
Both again were great discoveries…but then both of them are well exploited and established for years now!!!
What I intend to convey here is that …the noble prize that are announced every year should go in for recent discoveries…this in no way means that the discovery made in the past decades were not significant…but then I think there shouldn't be a lag between a great discovery and its corresponding noble…!
I think that level of foresight…should definitely be there which recognizes the implications of significant discoveries and its effect in a short term…!
According to me 15-20 years of time…its pretty long for recognizing a noble!!!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

An intresting evolutionary finding...

Completely forgot, the existence of the following pile of words...
i stumbled upon this while going through my desktop folder...
reviving an older creation...

Evolving Evolution…


Evolution the magic word
To me it first sounded absurd…

Apes, Neanderthal and Sapiens
By heart I learned…
Cranial capacity, physiology and backbone
This was the evolution I was made to know!!

Thank god Darwin did not face this
Otherwise he would not have proposed the natural selection thesis!!!

Evolution I know is a brainy business
But works according to one’s interest!

Darwin and Lamarck with their theories start
And you think both are equally right on their part!!!
(though darwin most of the times and the later rarely)

Many questions keep hovering around
Archea, bacteria, virus, eukaryotic cell
Tell me which one has evolved well???

Understanding, learning, imbibing it
Evolution for me is evolving bit by bit…

Evolution can sometimes be confusing…
One might seem to understand what he’s actually not understanding!!!
To understand the point I mention
Try answering this question

Is perfection evolution’s intention???
OR
Is evolution unintentional perfection???

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

The Three Golden Years

it is just another day...
but you understand its importance later someday...!

a lot of chaos a lot of confusion
cause it is the day of admission...
with the formalities done...you become part of a well known institution
RUIAITE now becomes your recognition!!!

the aura here is just amazing
studies and extra curriculars here, are balancing!!!

many guest lectures to attend
there are many new things to comprehend...

boards around the gate are always full
announcing auditions and activities handfull!!!

inside the classroom the teachers enlightening
in the lab the mama's so helping...

everything around is so perfect
bunked the college, did you ever tell...
on holidays got bored staying home
because of college-the second home!!!

Ruia Micro Dept....the name itself is enough
to get the feel of atmosphere it develops...

this is the place...you make good friends
Also,with teachers books and scientific trends!

this is the place...were you start thinking
and get a feel of scientific happenings...

this the place... you start discussing
btw this is actual learning!

its amazing, the way the dept works
nothing here is forced on, even a jerk!
the greatest strength are the teachers for sure...
cause the training they give is pure!

what you attain here in three years...
Is something difficult to explain
Is something...extremely precious and of importance immense...
I guess it is the satisfaction of being educated in true sense!!!

it is just another day...
but you understand its importance later someday...!

Saturday, September 20, 2008

times change...

walking down the memory lane
i see quite a few things change...

friends, parents, teachers, relatives
they are the one's who always keep me positive!

personal touch:is lost from communication
it is now just a two way voice recognition
the never ending enjoyable discussions
now merely get cramped in few call sessions!

life has taken a really weird turn
and here my feelings and sentiments are vigorously churned...!

life was fast...now its slow
life was hot...now its cold !!!

the transition experienced is really weird...
many new things have got a beginning here!!!
things taken for granted...now show their worth
you value things when there's dearth!!!

the situation today is quite dicey
but such situations make life spicy!

today its difficult sailing in the storm
but the sun is waiting to shine brighter after few hours long...!

the smarter one's!!!

just a few old observations...

mosquitoes..! they are a real menace in India...cause of malaria and its dangerous types!
so in every household you generally employ one or the other ways of taking care of them...
at my place we have got nets on the sliding windows...which prevent them from entering in...!
so in the evenings when usually they take a tour at your place,you put on the netted sliding...

now one fine evening at around 8pm...I was at the window and noticed one lizard on the net...
it was,i thought lazing around there on the outer side.
frankly speaking i being really scared of lizards and wanting to zero on the chances of it entering the
house...i just gave a jerk on the net...and it fell off!!! ooh...how relieved i was!
this sequence of events took place for few more days that followed...
sometimes it was me or my bro otherwise on the remaining days...!
one day i was at the window for quite sometime then...completely bugged of doing this core everyday to find the lizard again there after sometime...was really curious...

y? the hell was the lizard always there only in the evenings???
...was she trying to terrorise me???
she wanted a breakthrough into the house??? if it was so y? was she doing it only in the evenings???
did she give it a shot, of trying to enter the house from other ways???

the answers to all this were just there...
OK...this was the time in the late Aug..when you actually experience attack of variety of insects at
your tube lights!!!
so here was this lizard strategically located at a checkpoint from which every damn insect attracted towards light would go...and she would easily feast upon them...those innocent notorious creatures!!!
wow!!! Wat a strategy...you feast...by just lazing around at the right place at the right time!

moreover...y? the hell she would bother..when creatures like me were trying to shoe her off...
i mean you don't leave your feast for such silly reasons...naah..never!
the lizard had a smarter way of taking care of us...!
when she would feel our presence by the jerk we applied...the lizard was intelligent enough and would go and hide herself in between the steel non-netted region of the slide....from where she was not visible to us from the inside...in short she pretended that she was off her way home after our act...making us fell happy and relieved!!!
would come back after a while and continue with her feast!!!

from that day i never even tried to shoe her off from there...i really did not mind her being there coz she was even benefiting me from her act...the number of insects that hovered over my tube light and were quite troublesome,reduced because of the lizard's presence!!!
had it not being for this observations...i would have missed a real smart and intelligent strategy which was employed right at my window!!!

Monday, September 1, 2008

http://scienceblogs.com/loom/2008/06/02/a_new_step_in_evolution.php

summary of work carried out by richard lenski... just chk out his web page...its really awesome and the work carried out by him is mind boggling..!!!

http://myxo.css.msu.edu/index.html

chk out AVIDA...!

my first paper ppt...

had my life's first paper presentation...!!!
have given many ppt before this...but this one was really special one... was waiting for this since my B.Sc years...and really wanted this to happen in my M.Sc....and here it was on 30th Aug 2008...

i have already posted the abstract here...and if anybody interested in reading the paper its freely available online(just type the title on Google...!!!)
OK this paper was on evolution....and it is "the" thing for me.... so the excitement of presenting it was, i seriously cant explain at what levels...!!!
actually looking at the paper...i was cautioned to take a simpler one...this one being interdisciplinary and this being my very first paper ppt!
but was quite adamant on this particular paper...after all it was on evolution and RNA!!!(ribozyme)

btw all the things required for the seminar i.e the abstract and the actual ppt... as usual did it at the 11th hr....mind well not at the 11.59th....
for a change wasn't tensed at all about the whole thing...was the first one in the whole batch of the first yr M.Sc students to present...
And let me tell you the whole thing went really well....i mean right from the intro....till the concluding line...it was just too good...at least i was satisfied...after the ppt!!!
Still the most dreaded part of the seminar was left...the viva questions and let me tell you there were real intelligent questions asked by both the teachers in the panel and also by my seniors!!! real good questions...and i was most delighted after answering all of them....convincingly!!!
i mean i presented for 20mins and was there at least for another 10-15mins answering the audience...it was fun!!!

hmm...was really happy about the whole thing...it went so well...really wasn't expecting it to be this way...really cool...a wonderful experience....a lifetime experience i would say!!!
now eagerly waiting for my next paper ppt...in the next sem...that time there will be many expectations too....!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

abstract to my seminar ppt...

Darwinian Evolution on a Chip

Brian M. Paegal, Gerald F. Joyce

PLoS Biol 6(4):e85. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060085-

Abstract

Darwinian evolution in nature has led to development of many sophisticated enzymes. Recapitulation of Darwinian evolution in vitro has emerged as chemical tool for optimizing functional ribozymes in the lab. A ribozyme that catalyzes template-directed ligation of oligonucleotide substrate was made to evolve continuously under the selective pressure of reducing substrate concentration. A micro-chip based automated serial dilution circuit was developed which carried out serial 10-fold dilution after exponential growth phase, this was repeated for 500 log-growth iterations. Evolution of the ribozyme was observed during the 70h evolution process on the chip. The ribozymes adapted and achieved progressively faster growth rates over time. The final evolved ribozyme contained 11 mutations which conferred 90-fold improvement in substrate utilization, coinciding with the applied selective pressure. The constellation of mutations that aroused during this evolution process and the corresponding phenotypic changes that were responsible for the adaptation were analyzed. The system thus, aids in accelerating evolution and also allows the experimenter to observe and manipulate adaptation.

References-

  1. Joyce GF (2004) Directed evolution of nucleic acid enzymes. Ann. Rev. Biochem.73:791-836

  1. Bartel D. P., Szostak J. W. (1993) Isolation of new ribozymes from a large pool of random sequences, Science 261: 1411-1418

  1. Cadwell R. C., Joyce G. F. (1992) Randomization of genes by PCR mutagenesis. PCR Methods Applications 2: 28-33

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

fun filled family...

family meetings are always fun...
the best of those ...was the one when we had gathered for my aunt's 50th b'day n my uncle's 61st...
i guess all my cousins and the family as a whole was together for 3-4 days!!!
this family meet was special coz inspite of a major plan flop show...we had hell lot of fun!!!!
right from playing fire in the mountain to the silliest card game(bhikar-savkar) we played everything...(unfortunately did not know hi-jack then..)...we played cards for the whole night...!!!
even had excellent time on beach...aaahhh i treasure those days!!

family gatherings are always fun...they are just filled with laughter...lots of card games and quality time with everyone in the family...
though plans don't workout often...there's no reason we stop having or have less of fun...!

now eagerly waiting for the ganpati's....its a fun season to experience..right from the preparations...to the chanting of the aarti...and screaming on the top of the voice.."ganpati bappa morya"....completely filled with enthusiasm...its the time you definitely cant afford missing....

with limited family gatherings happening each year... on top of it you tend to miss a few of them... let me tell one thing...learn't it a hard way...it really hurts to miss those...and you really feel.....y? i had to miss it...

its truly khedkar mania that rules!!!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

http://www.allaboutthejourney.org/theory-of-evolution.htm

a good read...(continue for the next pages...)

gaia hypothesis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis

sounds weird....
guess...got the fact-reason relationship all wrong..very difficult to digest!

something on my mind...questions?

questions???
we are so much associated with them...i mean they are the thing in our life!!! though usually when one hears the word...what first comes to the mind....are the questions asked in the exam!!!
but here i m not referring to those...definitely not!

our mind is the place where they arise...some are answered there itself..some take time to be answered...some remain unanswered and some we just ignore...
there are other aspects to questions ... as in what are they referring to a person a phenomenon a behavior or something else...i know there must be many more aspects...but at present i can only think of these...

i intend to use this post as a repository of questions...any question that comes to my mind...or anyone's mind here...and whoever feels to comment on the question or answer it or wishes to post a new question...is free to do so...

so, here i begin-
  • what is intelligence??? how do you define it??
  • how does a pen drive store data...for that matter even a Cd???
  • what is time???( i mean..this question sounds silly...but i really don't know....)

....ohkk.... i mean they are so damn varied n random...anyways i don't care..these were the first few that came on my mind at this point of time!!!

i think...it's just a matter of posting what's on your mind...!

relationships..interactions..generalizations..

quite recently have engaged myself in reading blogs...mostly posted by my friends!!! thought that should give it a try...though not sure will continue...????

i always thought of relationships as something unique..as in any relationship u talk of...the ppl involved, the duo or the trio involved are mutually exclusive... what i mean here is the image of the person u r in relationship with...is an exclusive set of characters that u define for yourself based on the experience and interaction with that person....u also tend to improve upon those characters or add on to the existing ones.... this is a dynamic process!!!

according to me ... or rather i enjoy keeping this interactions (with all those whom i have met till date) exclusive...!but what i observe today and it also does seem to happen is that, things like blog or scrapping on orkut or even if u take testimonials for that matter, make the whole thing quite generalized...

i mean i don't like judging a person or being conclusive enough on certain characters based on someone Else's views or experiences or interactions with that person...and watever u say but once u come across a certain feature abt a person frm someone else...there is bound to be a bias abt it...

...here i m writing this blog...this may seem to b a very complex or rather pretty faltu thought to some... i personally wont like to discuss this with althose whom i know are not intrested in such discussions...but still here i m generalizing !!!
n i hate doing that...