Structure of DNA
Structure of DNA DNA is the code for life, the key to unlocking this code lies in the structure of DNA. Many different people have been involved in the discovery of the structure of DNA, and many different ideas have been discussed. Francis Crick and James Watson have made a momentous discovery about the structure of DNA, but where did their ideas originate and where will they lead? Early ideas about DNA came in 1951 from Rosalind Franklin who was an X-ray crystallographer. She suggested that DNA had a helical structure and that the phosphate groups of the nucleic acids were positioned on the outside of the chain. She also thought that each helical unit had 2,3 or 4 nucleic acid chains. In 1951/1952 Francis Crick an English physicist and James Watson an American biologist began their work to discover the structure of DNA. They set about finding how many polynucleotide chains were in the DNA molecule. Using X-ray data they decided that DNA was made up of three chains twisted about each other. They also thought that the forces that held the chains together were salt bridges in which cations such as Mg++ held two or more phosphate groups. In 1952 Franklin responded to Watson and Crick's findings by dismissing the helical structure that she had initially proposed. She also dismissed the way in which the phosphate groups were held together. If they were held together with Mg++
Is attention merely a matter of selection?
Is attention merely a matter of selection? Attention is "the act of concentration on any one of a set of any subjects or thoughts". (Collins dictionary). Selective attention is "the process by which a person can selectively pick out one message from a mixture of messages occurring simultaneously" (Collins dictionary). As the two definitions suggest, only in the case of selective attention the person selects where to direct his attention. But attention is not always selective; it is often automatic, instinctual, conditioned or biased. This essay rejects the statement that "attention is merely a matter of selection" by looking at several attentional processes in which no selection takes place. It is structured as follows: First it looks at selective attention. It then examines the role automatic attention plays in divided attention. Following that it will determine the hindering effects that instinctual attention, conditioned attention and attentional biases have on being able to selectively attend to something. Finally it presents disciplines, in which increased control over the capability to use selective attention is sought after. It concludes that although in some situations selective attention is applied, in most situations what people attend to is determined by automatic attention, conditioned attention, instinctive attention and attentional biases. Selective
Social Psychology
Social Psychology Before answering this question it is important to set out clear definitions of the key terms 'social psychology´ and 'scientific.´ According to the Collins English Dictionary for something to be scientific it has to: '...conform with the principles or methods used in science.´ In this essay we will determine whether social psychology is scientific by answering two questions. Firstly, we will need to ask whether social psychology has been able to use the principles or methods used in science in the study of social psychological phenomenon. However, it would be unreasonable to classify social psychology as scientific simply because it uses these methods, for social psychology to be classified as a science we will need to look at the way in which these methods are used. Based on this, the second question we will be asking is whether the goals science are appropriate to the study of social psychological phenomena. Malim et al.(1992) state that there are four goals to any science: to describe events as objectively as possible, to use such descriptions to predict future events and propose hypotheses, to gain greater knowledge through hypothesis testing and finally, to give us a greater understanding of the world around us through understanding cause and effect. Scientific method is the means by which a scientist develops theories and collects data. A
Should animal testing be banned?
Vivekan Brunschwig IGCSE - argumentative essay, 2nd Draft ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Should animal testing be banned? Slavery, murder, and rape are considered among the worst crimes imaginable, however thousands of innocent animals die everyday in labarotories, Why? Throughout the centuries, scientists have searched for methods to treat and prevent disease in humans. Every new discovery must be tested to prove its reliability, because experimental results vary according to with the circumstances and the physiology of the animals used. Since animals are the closest living organisms to human beings, scientists have traditionally tested their new products on animals. However, over time better methods, which do not involve animal suffering, are available. Nevertheless, the debate continues between supporters of animal research, who believe that animal research is vital to medicine, and opponents, who are convinced that animal research is wasteful and misleading. "Experiments using animals have played a crucial role in the development of modern medical treatments, and they will continue to be necessary" states Adrian R. Morrison (University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine) in the Scientific American. Some people, like Morrison,
Outline what is meant by trait psychology, illustrating and explaining its contribution to the study of personality.
Outline what is meant by trait psychology, illustrating and explaining its contribution to the study of personality. Many theories have been postulated in an attempt to clarify personality. One approach is known as individual differences research, which seeks to not only explain personality but to identify its biological and genetical basis. Within this individual differences framework is trait psychology. This essay will give an overview of this approach and give examples of its main contributions to the study of personality. My position, however, is that while trait psychology has provided substantial data about behaviour, it has not contributed to a better understanding about personality or its causation. Outline of trait psychology In brief, trait psychology attempts to examine the differences (and similarities) of personality traits within a given population in order to determine the root causes of such differences. Its basic premise is that traits are organic in origin and consistent over time. Traits are defined as 'dimensions of individual differences in tendencies to show consistent patterns of thoughts, feelings and actions' (McCrae & Costa, 1990) and are described using adjectives from everyday language that 'label' aspects of an individual's personality. For example, a person might be considered 'easy-going', 'good-natured' or 'fun-loving'. Further definitions
Argumentative Essay
Katie Raffensperger April 4, 2005 Comp. 200 - Dr. Lee Argumentative Essay - #4 Sports. Baseball, Basketball, Tennis, Golf; what athletes do you think of when you hear these sports? Barry Bonds, Michael Jordan, Andrew Roddick, and Tiger Woods? Those are just to name a few of the most famous athletes, but as you may notice there are no females listed there. What about Jennie Finch, the world's best softball pitcher? Or Betty Lenox, MVP on the championship team for the Seattle Stars, or the Williams sisters? What about the greatest golfer of her time, Annika Sorenstam? Many of these women athletes have the skills that men maintain and barely ever get recognized for it. The media is finding it very difficult to support the women athletes because they do not have the sponsors the men have. When a group of friends are together, how many times have you heard them say "Hey the women's basketball game is on tonight, let's watch it!"? It just barely happens. Women who play a team sport are viewed as aggressive and I agree with Kate Rounds when she states in her essay, Why Men Fear Women's Teams, that men find it intimidating to watch. Women who are strong, aggressive, sweaty and awesome at their team sport can be intimidating to a man. The sports where women play individually, golf and tennis, originated in Britain where the women wore skirts and make-up, but were
Are people rational?
Are people rational? The idea that "man is a rational animal" goes back to Aristotle, and rationality has often been described as a defining human trait. However, humans can also act irrationally and many researchers have demonstrated our faulty reasoning habits. To reconcile these conflicting viewpoints, we need a clear understanding of what 'rationality' refers to. 'Following the laws of formal logic' is one way of defining rationality, but as we shall see later, this is not the only way, and probability theory provides an alternative normative theory of rationality to logic that seems to work better on a descriptive level of how we actually reason too. Taking formal logic as a starting point for defining rationality, there has been much research showing that people often use faulty logic on reasoning tasks, indicating that they are not very rational. For example, Marcus & Rips (1979) found that participants presented with conditional rules (of the format "If A, then B") often made illogical inferences, such as inferring A from the presence of B (affirmation of the consequent) or when told A is false, inferring that B is false also (denial of the antecedent). These invalid inferences were not endorsed by participants as often as valid inferences were, but were still endorsed 20-30% of the time, rather than the expected 0% if participants were making entirely rational
Nucleic Acids, DNA Replication and Protein Synthesis.
Jasmeet Singh Bhambra Nucleic Acids, DNA Replication and Protein Synthesis In side the nuclear membrane is the nucleoplasm. The nucleoplasm consists of two main substances, which are nucleic acids and proteins. There are two nucleic acids, which are ribonucleic acid (RNA) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). RNA translates the genetic code into instructions for making proteins in the cytoplasm of the cell. Making these proteins is a process called protein synthesis - a production line that turns out enzymes to carry out the instructions and build a new cell. DNA is the basic genetic material, the blueprint for the cell to be passed on when it divides. This makes up the chromosomes in the nucleus of the cell. DNA carries a code in its molecules, which is read by RNA. DNA replicates itself to be sure that the genetic code is passed on to each new cell - it needs to produce another molecule exactly the same as itself. Protein Synthesis - What's it all about? Firstly, the genetic code of the nucleus is transcribed onto messenger RNA. This RNA moves out of the nucleus into the cytoplasm and becomes attached to a ribosome. Molecules of tRNA carry individual amino acids to the surface of the ribosome. The process translation now occurs, which is when tRNA molecules complementary to the codons in the mRNA strand line up, and enzymes link the amino acids together. When this is done,
Nature - Nurture Debate.
Question: "The age old nature-nurture controversy about the underlying causes of the course of development continues today, with some theorists attributing the course of development to genetic influences while others believe that the complex forces of the environment are responsible." Discuss the evidence for each of these positions and indicate how this debate will influence your future work. The nature versus nurture controversy about the underlying causes of developmental progression continues to be debated. There are many theories for both genetic influence and learning environment, there are also theories about the interaction of nature and the environment, each with its own theory of relative influence. As an educator, it is useful to have knowledge and understanding of why children develop the way they do and how teachers can help children to reach their full potentials. "Developmental psychology has a relatively recent history, with different theoretical approaches based on philosophical thought as well as well as a tradition of research that began in the 1800s." (Berk, 1997 Cited in Vialle, Lysaght and Verenikina, 2002. Page 7.) Hence theories on developmental psychology are relatively brand new. Consequently there is no genuine proof that any individual theory is accurate or erroneous. Lefrancios (1973) published a book about child development. In it was a
Native Americans
Joey Greene Minority Groups 11/23/04 Native Americans In this paper, I plan to talk about Native Americans, the struggles they have had, their beliefs and customs, and some problems they are still facing today. Native American's have always had it rough. When Whites started to come over to America, they didn't think twice about taking over the Native American's land. As it says in Strangers to These Shores, "Columbus's first impressions of the Arakawa Tribe in the Caribbean reflected ethnocentrism... His words were..."I knew they were a people who would better be freed and converted to our Holy Faith by love than by force... they are all generally of good height, of pleasing appearance and well built...They must be good servants and intelligent...and I believe that they would easily become Christians, as it appeared to me that they had no sect." Whites were the minority for several years, yet they still tried to sell the idea that there way was better. Whites were viewed by the Native Americans as liars, cheaters, and hostile people. These two groups had a hard time trying to mix cultures. The Native Americans couldn't understand the Whites way of treating the land, animals, and each other. The Whites couldn't understand why the Native Americans didn't want to be Christian, and why they didn't want to join their "enlightened" way of life. A bit later, violent wars
