tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130126685334700207.post7693105668281229669..comments2023-09-09T07:55:53.277-07:00Comments on El Pollo Real: H Is For Humble Hydrogenchickelithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10773887469972534979noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130126685334700207.post-41807317617322799532009-07-13T15:43:02.444-07:002009-07-13T15:43:02.444-07:00In retrospect I should have avoided the whole sing...<i>In retrospect I should have avoided the whole single strand/double strand thing<br /><br /></i>No, it's a good example! It's the teleology, the narrative (?), you are adding that causes problems. <br /><br />I was a biology major and I'll be the first one to say that the terminology around chromosomes is a little crazy. <br /><br />A double strand of DNA can be a chromosome, but if you link it with an identical copy, THAT mass can be called a chromosome. And you'll see pictures of a chromosome linked with an identical copy next to a similar, but not identical chromosome (with its own identical copy) all given the same label!<br /><br />There's no room for romance in Biology, and we're probably the single field most antagonistic towards it:<br /><br />We've had the Creationists after us ever since Darwin; tons of people die by our hand (still do); and theories thrown out because of "bad science" (still happens).Jason (the commenter)https://www.blogger.com/profile/16045360562791361484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130126685334700207.post-7506999208263109092009-07-13T12:19:25.312-07:002009-07-13T12:19:25.312-07:00@Jason,
In retrospect I should have avoided the w...@Jason,<br /><br />In retrospect I should have avoided the whole single strand/double strand thing and just noted that the hydrogen bonds in the double helix do an excellent job of protecting genetic information (i.e. family) during the lifetime of the cell. That would have been just as good of an analogy to the Farnsworth quote, which was what I was looking for anyway.chickelithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10773887469972534979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130126685334700207.post-63824914632131775812009-07-13T12:14:21.909-07:002009-07-13T12:14:21.909-07:00@Jason: The problem I have with your excellent re...@Jason: The problem I have with your excellent retort is that the intimate mechanism of chromosomal cross-over--genetic exchange of parental DNA--does involve the two strands unwinding and recombining. See for example <a href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Chromosomal_crossover" rel="nofollow">here</a>.<br />I do apologize for misleading or oversimplify things to the point of absurdity. I’ll give you another example from my post: The sun cannot make helium from hydrogen directly, but rather must go through an intermediate isotope of hydrogen, i.e., deuterium. I thought about including that factoid (because I happen to appreciate deuterium), but decided to leave it out.<br />In any case I’m grateful for your comment because it spurred me to think more about what I wrote.chickelithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10773887469972534979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130126685334700207.post-75162566381787660472009-07-13T08:44:37.836-07:002009-07-13T08:44:37.836-07:00@Ruth Anne: I recall that helium voice change exp...@Ruth Anne: I recall that helium voice change experiment from an undergraduate physics class. The simple answer is that the frequency (pitch) of your voice changes simply because of change in gas density. Helium, being much less denser than air, changes the frequency upwards to higher pitch. In theory, you could go the way and lower your voice by breathing and talking with a heavier than air gas such as Xenon. However I wouldn't recommend it because of the suffocation danger of exhaling a heavier-than-air gas.chickelithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10773887469972534979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130126685334700207.post-91271444544554454832009-07-13T05:13:42.730-07:002009-07-13T05:13:42.730-07:00when the two single strands of DNA, one from the m...<i>when the two single strands of DNA, one from the mother, one from the father, join for the first time, those strands are united by about 3 billion hydrogen bonds.<br /><br /></i>You get many chromosomes from each parent (composed of double strands of DNA), not single stranded DNA. And the two parent's chromosomes don't bind to each other.Jason (the commenter)https://www.blogger.com/profile/16045360562791361484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130126685334700207.post-76442243364082480562009-07-12T21:57:52.733-07:002009-07-12T21:57:52.733-07:00I remember this 8th grade science experiment. We ...I remember this 8th grade science experiment. We dissolved shells in HCl and captured the resulting gas. Then we inserted a glowing wooden stick in the gas and it burst into flames. Very good indicator of why zeppelins fly on Helium and not Hydrogen anymore. Oh, the humanity! <br /><br />Can you explain why Helium affects voices the way it does? <br /><br />Excellent beginning! I never saw the 'generating of water' part, but I'll always remember you for it. 2nd grade son starts chemistry this year at co-op. We're using a new homeschool program: Real Science 4 kids. Mom, a PhD in biochem, didn't like the curricula available, so she wrote her own. Awesome and not dumbed down.Ruth Anne Adamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01936054116421006847noreply@blogger.com