"...As we use our intellect to gain new knowledge about Creation, we come to see even more profoundly the depth and breadth of its mysteries. We explore unknown regions beneath the seas – and in outer space. We reach back over hundreds of millions of years in time. Extra-ordinary fossilised geological specimens seize our imagination – palm leaves, amethyst flowers, hedgehog quartz, sea lilies, chrysanthemum and a rich panoply of shells. Indeed, these wonders are found beneath the very soil on which we tread – in every corner of the world – and they connect us with far distant epochs and environments.
And the more we discover, the more we know, the more we penetrate just below the surface of our normal lives – the more our imagination staggers. Just think for example what might lie below the surfaces of celestial bodies all across the far flung reaches of our universe. What we feel, even as we learn, is an ever-renewed sense of wonder, indeed, a powerful sense of awe – and of Divine inspiration"(Aga Khan IV, Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat, Ottawa, Canada, December 6th 2008)For the full version of this quote see:http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2008/12/21/easy-nashs-blogpost-four-hundred-updated-with-quotes-from-the-opening-of-the-delegation-of-the-ismaili-imamat/
“Muslims believe in an all-encompassing unit of man and nature. To them there is no fundamental division between the spiritual and the material while the whole world, whether it be the earth, sea or air, or the living creatures that inhabit them, is an expression of God’s creation.”(Aga Khan IV, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA, 13 April 1984)
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/09/400blogpost-four-hundred-knowledge.html
March 22, 2010
For Extinct Monsters of the Deep, a Little Respect
By SEAN B. CARROLL
Here is a quick paleontology quiz. Which group of animals included large, air-breathing predators up to 50 feet long that bore live young, dominated their world for more than 100 million years and were ultimately exterminated by an asteroid 65 million years ago?
Easy, right?
Did you say dinosaurs? Sorry, wrong answer. But it was a trickier question than it may have appeared.
The correct answer is marine reptiles, which at the time of the last great extinction included mosasaurs, plesiosaurs and pliosaurs. The key clue in my question was “bore live young.” Unlike the dinosaurs, which were terrestrial and laid eggs, marine reptiles were fully aquatic and bore live young. This latter combination was no coincidence.
Despite their awesome size and abundance in the fossil record — their bones were among the first to be recognized as fossil remains of extinct creatures — marine reptiles have long played second fiddle to their much more famous saurian cousins.
But if we humans were aquatic creatures, we would have a whole lot more respect for these other reptiles. They were the top predators of Cretaceous seas. Thanks to their prevalence, scientists have figured out a lot about them, particularly recently. This includes, most remarkably, insights into their genetics — something that is not even preserved in the fossil record — and what it took to transform ordinary lizards into extraordinary sea monsters.
The first scientific description of a fossil marine reptile was of a beast discovered in 1764 by workmen in an underground limestone quarry near Maastricht, in the Netherlands. It took a long time for the identity and significance of the bones to be realized. At first mistaken for a crocodile, fish or whale, the creature was pilfered by the French Army when it seized Maastricht in 1795. The fossil was eventually recognized as something entirely different and named Mosasaurus (“Mosa,” Latin for the Meuse River, near Maastricht, and “saurus,” meaning lizard).
Mosasaurs and other marine reptiles were center stage in the growth of the fossil record in the early 19th century. Ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs like those discovered by young Mary Anning in the Lyme Regis area of Dorset, in southern England, were displayed in museums across Europe. Marine reptile fossils have been found across the globe, from Africa to Australia, and even Antarctica, a distribution that documents their long success. The first report of the creatures in the American West was from the Lewis and Clark expedition, which encountered a large skeleton in 1804 while voyaging up the Missouri River in Sioux country. It, too, was initially misidentified as a fish, even though at a reported 45 feet long, that would have been one heck of a fish.
Indeed, the name ichthyosaur means “fish lizard” and describes the streamlined body form that resembled large fish and sea mammals like dolphins.
Extinct marine reptiles also exhibited another important similarity to all sea mammals: they bore live young. We know this because among the plethora of fossil skeletons that have been unearthed are specimens of female ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs and other extinct marine reptiles preserved in the act of giving birth, with their young emerging tail-first, just as baby whales, dolphins and manatees do; doing so prevents the air-breathing young from drowning.
The bearing of live young distinguishes the marine reptiles from many other reptiles that lay eggs, like lizards and snakes, as well as dinosaurs. Even reptiles that spend most of their time in water, like crocodiles, sea turtles and marine iguanas, must come to land to lay eggs. This is because gas exchange through the eggshell is too slow underwater to allow the young to develop.
Interestingly, the only living reptiles that spend their entire lives in water, the 60 or so species of sea snakes, all bear live young. So there appears to be a simple requirement for reptiles to be fully aquatic: to bear live young.
But that precludes another common reptilian trick, the control of the determination of the sex of their young by the temperature at which eggs are incubated. In crocodiles, the majority of sea turtles and some lizards, the temperature of the environment surrounding their eggs governs whether the hatchling is male or female, as opposed to the presence of distinct sex chromosomes as in many other species.
Since live-bearing reptiles are not able to regulate sex through incubation temperature, this fact raises the question of whether there is a link between the evolution of giving birth to live babies, and the control of sex by genetic means. Chris Organ and Daniel Janes of Harvard, and Andrew Meade and Mark Pagel of the University of Reading, in England, recently examined 94 living species of reptiles, birds and mammals and found that, indeed, there was a very strong link. The genetic control of sex appears then to be a crucial prerequisite to evolving live birth.
Given that link, the scientists then investigated whether they could infer how sex was controlled in ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs and other lines of extinct marine reptiles, each of which evolved from a different ancestor and at different times. Using sophisticated statistical tests, they concluded that, indeed, genetic control of sex was likely to have operated in each group.
The point of the study was not so much the feat of inferring the genetics of long-extinct creatures, but of understanding the steps involved in evolving a fully aquatic lifestyle. Once the genetic control of sex evolved, so could live birth. And with live birth, these animals were freed of the obligation to return to land to nest. That freedom allowed them to evolve large body size, and the fins and fluked tails that made them efficient swimmers. They dominated the open seas.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/23/science/23creatures.html?ref=science
Easy Nash
http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/science_and_religion_in_islam_the_link/
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/08/500blogpost-five-hundred-is-blogpost.html
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/03/453a-blog-constructed-within.html
In Shia Islam, intellect is a key component of faith. Intellect allows us to understand the creation of God: Aga Khan IV(2008)
The Qur'an itself repeatedly recommends Muslims to become better educated in order better to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
The Quran tells us that signs of Allah's Sovereignty are found in the contemplation of His Creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
This notion of the capacity of the human intellect to understand and to admire the creation of Allah will bring you happiness in your everyday lives: Aga Khan IV(2007)
Islam, eminently logical, placing the greatest emphasis on knowledge, purports to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2006)
The Holy Qu'ran's encouragement to study nature and the physical world around us gave the original impetus to scientific enquiry among Muslims: Aga Khan IV(1985)
The first and only thing created by God was the Intellect(Aql): Prophet Muhammad(circa 632CE)
Thursday, 25 March 2010
585)Ann Coulter Is Right About These Muslims At Least: They Should Be Allowed To Use Flying Carpets And Camels Only, Definitely Not Airplanes.
Radicals' deadly 'booby trap'
By RHODRI PHILLIPS
Published: 23 Mar 2010
FEMALE suicide bombers are being fitted with exploding breast implants which are almost impossible to detect, British spies have reportedly discovered.
The shocking new al-Qaeda tactic involves radical doctors inserting the explosives in women's breasts during plastic surgery — making them "virtually impossible to detect by the usual airport scanning machines".
It is believed the doctors have been trained at some of Britain's leading teaching hospitals before returning to their own countries to perform the surgical procedures.
MI5 has also discovered that extremists are inserting the explosives into the buttocks of some male suicide bombers.
Lethal
Terrorist expert Joseph Farah claims: "Women suicide bombers recruited by al-Qaeda are known to have had the explosives inserted in their breasts under techniques similar to breast enhancing surgery."
The lethal explosives called PETN are inserted inside plastic shapes during the operation, before the breast is then sewn up.
The discovery of these methods was made after London-educated Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab came close to blowing up an airliner in the US on Christmas Day.
He had stuffed explosives inside his underpants.
Hours after he had failed, Britain's intelligence services began to pick up "chatter" emanating from Pakistan and Yemen that alerted MI5 to the creation of the lethal implants.
A hand-picked team investigated the threat which was described as "one that can circumvent our defence".
Top surgeons have confirmed the feasibility of the explosive implants.
One claimed: "Properly inserted the implant would be virtually impossible to detect by the usual airport scanning machines.
"You would need to subject a suspect to a sophisticated X-ray.
"Given that the explosive would be inserted in a sealed plastic sachet, and would be a small amount, would make it all the more impossible to spot it with the usual body scanner."
Explosive experts allegedly told MI5 that a sachet containing as little as five ounces of PETN could blow "a considerable hole" in an airline's skin, causing it to crash. Read more:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2903793/Radicals-deadly-booby-trap.html?OTC-RSS&ATTR=News
Related Posts:
David Frum: England made Abdulmutallab
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2010/01/09/david-frum-england-made-abdulmutallab.aspx
Salim Mansur Speaks My Mind With A Clarity That Is Astonishing: "Target The Terrorists, Not The Public"; Quote Of Easy Nash
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2010/01/541salim-mansur-speaks-my-mind-with.html
Easy Nash
Self-righteous politically-correct jamal public pinkos will end up destroying the world not saving it: Easy Nash(2010)
By RHODRI PHILLIPS
Published: 23 Mar 2010
FEMALE suicide bombers are being fitted with exploding breast implants which are almost impossible to detect, British spies have reportedly discovered.
The shocking new al-Qaeda tactic involves radical doctors inserting the explosives in women's breasts during plastic surgery — making them "virtually impossible to detect by the usual airport scanning machines".
It is believed the doctors have been trained at some of Britain's leading teaching hospitals before returning to their own countries to perform the surgical procedures.
MI5 has also discovered that extremists are inserting the explosives into the buttocks of some male suicide bombers.
Lethal
Terrorist expert Joseph Farah claims: "Women suicide bombers recruited by al-Qaeda are known to have had the explosives inserted in their breasts under techniques similar to breast enhancing surgery."
The lethal explosives called PETN are inserted inside plastic shapes during the operation, before the breast is then sewn up.
The discovery of these methods was made after London-educated Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab came close to blowing up an airliner in the US on Christmas Day.
He had stuffed explosives inside his underpants.
Hours after he had failed, Britain's intelligence services began to pick up "chatter" emanating from Pakistan and Yemen that alerted MI5 to the creation of the lethal implants.
A hand-picked team investigated the threat which was described as "one that can circumvent our defence".
Top surgeons have confirmed the feasibility of the explosive implants.
One claimed: "Properly inserted the implant would be virtually impossible to detect by the usual airport scanning machines.
"You would need to subject a suspect to a sophisticated X-ray.
"Given that the explosive would be inserted in a sealed plastic sachet, and would be a small amount, would make it all the more impossible to spot it with the usual body scanner."
Explosive experts allegedly told MI5 that a sachet containing as little as five ounces of PETN could blow "a considerable hole" in an airline's skin, causing it to crash. Read more:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2903793/Radicals-deadly-booby-trap.html?OTC-RSS&ATTR=News
Related Posts:
David Frum: England made Abdulmutallab
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2010/01/09/david-frum-england-made-abdulmutallab.aspx
Salim Mansur Speaks My Mind With A Clarity That Is Astonishing: "Target The Terrorists, Not The Public"; Quote Of Easy Nash
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2010/01/541salim-mansur-speaks-my-mind-with.html
Easy Nash
Self-righteous politically-correct jamal public pinkos will end up destroying the world not saving it: Easy Nash(2010)
Saturday, 20 March 2010
584)Large Hadron Collider Back Online To Incrementally Achieve Highest Energy Yet:Half Of The Maximum Possible;Goal To Find Most Fundamental Particles
"Islamic doctrine goes further than the other great religions, for it proclaims the presence of the soul, perhaps minute but nevertheless existing in an embryonic state, in all existence in matter, in animals, trees, and space itself. Every individual, every molecule, every atom has its own spiritual relationship with the All-Powerful Soul of God"(Memoirs of Aga Khan III, 1954)
"Every particle of the Creation has a share of the Command of God, because every creature shares a part of the Command of God through which it has come to be there and by virtue of which it remains in being and the light of the Command of God shines in it. Understand this!"(Abu Yakub Al Sijistani, 10th century Fatimid Ismaili cosmologist, d971, Kashf al-Mahjub("Unveiling of the Hidden"))
"The God of the Quran is the One whose Ayats(Signs) are the Universe in which we live, move and have our being"(Aga Khan III, April 4th 1952, Karachi, Pakistan)
"Indeed, one strength of Islam has always lain in its belief that creation is not static but continuous, that through scientific and other endeavours, God has opened and continues to open new windows for us to see the marvels of His creation"(Aga Khan IV, Aga Khan University, 16 March 1983, Karachi, Pakistan)
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/09/400blogpost-four-hundred-knowledge.html
"The machine was designed to accelerate protons to 7 trillion electron volts and crash them together in search of particles and forces last seen in the Big Bang....."(New York Times)
"Even at 7-TeV, experts say, the LHC could discover long-sought partners of known subatomic particles, evidence of new dimensions, or even the Higgs boson—aka the God particle—a theoretical particle that physicists think is responsible for mass in the universe.
CERN physicists will also be preoccupied with what Gillies calls "bread-and-butter physics."
This will include reconfirming the standard model of physics with the LHC by trying to create elementary particles that have already been seen in other machines—such as top quarks, the most massive of the elementary particles that have been observed so far.
Elementary particles are not made up of anything else and therefore are considered the building blocks of everything else, including the protons and neutrons inside the nucleus of an atom.
"That's a big deal for us, to find top quarks," Gillies said. "They're popping out of the Tevatron [particle accelerator at Fermilab in Illinois] all the time, but we haven't found them yet" with the LHC."(National Geographic Daily News)
BBC News
March 19th 2010
LHC smashes energy record again
The Large Hadron Collider, the world's biggest physics experiment, has broken its own particle beam energy record.
On Friday morning, the machine created two beams of protons, each with an energy of 3.5 trillion electron volts.
The effort breaks the prior record, set by the LHC in December, of just over a trillion electron volts in each beam.
The LHC will now aim to smash those two beams together, hoping to create new particles that give insight into the most fundamental workings of physics.
The experiment, housed in a 27km-long tunnel under the outskirts of Geneva in Switzerland, has only been back online since November 2009.
A breakdown and helium leak in 2008, shortly after the machine was first switched on, took some 14 months to repair.
"Getting the beams to 3.5 TeV is testimony to the soundness of the LHC's overall design, and the improvements we've made since the breakdown in September 2008," said Steve Myers, director for accelerators and technology at the Swiss laboratory Cern, where the LHC is based.
"It's a great credit to the patience and dedication of the LHC operation team."
Since coming back online, the machine has exhibited performance that was "remarkable", according to Cern director general Rolf Heuer.
In an announcement of the 3.5 TeV result, he congratulated the LHC team and stressed the cutting-edge nature of its work.
"We must not lose sight of the fact that the LHC is new, and it wasn't bought off the shelf," he wrote.
As with all particle accelerators, the LHC will be periodically shut down for maintenance, but LHC officials recently decided to significantly lengthen the shutdown period.
This is in part because the machine takes so long to reach and return from the low temperatures required for its experiments.
But the shutdown scheduled for late 2010 will also address the joints between the machine's superconducting magnets, which must be strengthened before the LHC can run at even higher energies.
"It is a state of the art prototype that is pushing the limits of technology across a wide range of disciplines, and as such it needs to be treated with the greatest respect," Professor Heuer wrote.
"It takes time, but as we've seen this week, patience pays dividends."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8576545.stm
Related Posts:
Higg's And His Particle, The One Postulated To Bestow The Property Of Mass On All Other Elementary Particles In Nature, Prove Elusive
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2010/03/575higgs-and-his-particle-one.html
Powerful Large Hadron Collider Set To Smash Protons To Uncover The Tiniest Particles Of Matter And Creation;Quotes Of Aga Khan IV And Aga Khan III
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2010/02/563powerful-large-hadron-collider-set.html
Easy Nash
http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/science_and_religion_in_islam_the_link/
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/08/500blogpost-five-hundred-is-blogpost.html
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/03/453a-blog-constructed-within.html
In Shia Islam, intellect is a key component of faith. Intellect allows us to understand the creation of God: Aga Khan IV(2008)
The Qur'an itself repeatedly recommends Muslims to become better educated in order better to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
The Quran tells us that signs of Allah's Sovereignty are found in the contemplation of His Creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
This notion of the capacity of the human intellect to understand and to admire the creation of Allah will bring you happiness in your everyday lives: Aga Khan IV(2007)
Islam, eminently logical, placing the greatest emphasis on knowledge, purports to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2006)
The Holy Qu'ran's encouragement to study nature and the physical world around us gave the original impetus to scientific enquiry among Muslims: Aga Khan IV(1985)
The first and only thing created by God was the Intellect(Aql): Prophet Muhammad(circa 632CE)
"Every particle of the Creation has a share of the Command of God, because every creature shares a part of the Command of God through which it has come to be there and by virtue of which it remains in being and the light of the Command of God shines in it. Understand this!"(Abu Yakub Al Sijistani, 10th century Fatimid Ismaili cosmologist, d971, Kashf al-Mahjub("Unveiling of the Hidden"))
"The God of the Quran is the One whose Ayats(Signs) are the Universe in which we live, move and have our being"(Aga Khan III, April 4th 1952, Karachi, Pakistan)
"Indeed, one strength of Islam has always lain in its belief that creation is not static but continuous, that through scientific and other endeavours, God has opened and continues to open new windows for us to see the marvels of His creation"(Aga Khan IV, Aga Khan University, 16 March 1983, Karachi, Pakistan)
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/09/400blogpost-four-hundred-knowledge.html
"The machine was designed to accelerate protons to 7 trillion electron volts and crash them together in search of particles and forces last seen in the Big Bang....."(New York Times)
"Even at 7-TeV, experts say, the LHC could discover long-sought partners of known subatomic particles, evidence of new dimensions, or even the Higgs boson—aka the God particle—a theoretical particle that physicists think is responsible for mass in the universe.
CERN physicists will also be preoccupied with what Gillies calls "bread-and-butter physics."
This will include reconfirming the standard model of physics with the LHC by trying to create elementary particles that have already been seen in other machines—such as top quarks, the most massive of the elementary particles that have been observed so far.
Elementary particles are not made up of anything else and therefore are considered the building blocks of everything else, including the protons and neutrons inside the nucleus of an atom.
"That's a big deal for us, to find top quarks," Gillies said. "They're popping out of the Tevatron [particle accelerator at Fermilab in Illinois] all the time, but we haven't found them yet" with the LHC."(National Geographic Daily News)
BBC News
March 19th 2010
LHC smashes energy record again
The Large Hadron Collider, the world's biggest physics experiment, has broken its own particle beam energy record.
On Friday morning, the machine created two beams of protons, each with an energy of 3.5 trillion electron volts.
The effort breaks the prior record, set by the LHC in December, of just over a trillion electron volts in each beam.
The LHC will now aim to smash those two beams together, hoping to create new particles that give insight into the most fundamental workings of physics.
The experiment, housed in a 27km-long tunnel under the outskirts of Geneva in Switzerland, has only been back online since November 2009.
A breakdown and helium leak in 2008, shortly after the machine was first switched on, took some 14 months to repair.
"Getting the beams to 3.5 TeV is testimony to the soundness of the LHC's overall design, and the improvements we've made since the breakdown in September 2008," said Steve Myers, director for accelerators and technology at the Swiss laboratory Cern, where the LHC is based.
"It's a great credit to the patience and dedication of the LHC operation team."
Since coming back online, the machine has exhibited performance that was "remarkable", according to Cern director general Rolf Heuer.
In an announcement of the 3.5 TeV result, he congratulated the LHC team and stressed the cutting-edge nature of its work.
"We must not lose sight of the fact that the LHC is new, and it wasn't bought off the shelf," he wrote.
As with all particle accelerators, the LHC will be periodically shut down for maintenance, but LHC officials recently decided to significantly lengthen the shutdown period.
This is in part because the machine takes so long to reach and return from the low temperatures required for its experiments.
But the shutdown scheduled for late 2010 will also address the joints between the machine's superconducting magnets, which must be strengthened before the LHC can run at even higher energies.
"It is a state of the art prototype that is pushing the limits of technology across a wide range of disciplines, and as such it needs to be treated with the greatest respect," Professor Heuer wrote.
"It takes time, but as we've seen this week, patience pays dividends."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8576545.stm
Related Posts:
Higg's And His Particle, The One Postulated To Bestow The Property Of Mass On All Other Elementary Particles In Nature, Prove Elusive
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2010/03/575higgs-and-his-particle-one.html
Powerful Large Hadron Collider Set To Smash Protons To Uncover The Tiniest Particles Of Matter And Creation;Quotes Of Aga Khan IV And Aga Khan III
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2010/02/563powerful-large-hadron-collider-set.html
Easy Nash
http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/science_and_religion_in_islam_the_link/
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/08/500blogpost-five-hundred-is-blogpost.html
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/03/453a-blog-constructed-within.html
In Shia Islam, intellect is a key component of faith. Intellect allows us to understand the creation of God: Aga Khan IV(2008)
The Qur'an itself repeatedly recommends Muslims to become better educated in order better to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
The Quran tells us that signs of Allah's Sovereignty are found in the contemplation of His Creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
This notion of the capacity of the human intellect to understand and to admire the creation of Allah will bring you happiness in your everyday lives: Aga Khan IV(2007)
Islam, eminently logical, placing the greatest emphasis on knowledge, purports to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2006)
The Holy Qu'ran's encouragement to study nature and the physical world around us gave the original impetus to scientific enquiry among Muslims: Aga Khan IV(1985)
The first and only thing created by God was the Intellect(Aql): Prophet Muhammad(circa 632CE)
Thursday, 18 March 2010
583)Massive Chilean Earthquake Of 27/2/10 Propelled More Crustal Material Towards Earth's Center And Away From Its Periphery,Altering Its Fundamentals
Sura 27, Ayat 88: "Thou seest the mountains and thinkest them firmly fixed: but they shall pass away as the clouds pass away: (such is) the artistry of God, who disposes of all things in perfect order: for he is well acquainted with all that ye do."
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/01/276no-3-ayatssigns-in-universe-series.html
Chilean quake sped up Earth's rotation, tipped planet's axis
By Sid Perkins
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
EnlargeShaken, stirred, tiltedThe magnitude 8.8 quake that struck central Chile February 27, one of the six largest temblors that have occurred since 1900, caused Earth's rotation to speed up by 1.26 microseconds each day and tilted the planet's axis about 8 centimeters.US Geological Survey
The magnitude 8.8 quake that slammed central Chile February 27 knocked the entire planet for a loop — literally. The sudden, large-scale movement of tectonic plates that triggered the quake shifted immense masses of rock a few meters closer to Earth’s core, tilting the planet’s axis a few centimeters and imperceptibly shortening the day, analyses indicate.
Disaster struck just after 3:34 a.m. local time, when seismic stresses that had been building for decades, if not centuries, let loose. Rocks along the interface between two tectonic plates slipped past each other a distance of seven to 11 meters, says Jian Lin, a geophysicist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.
Those pieces of Earth’s crust — the South American plate and the Nazca plate, a continent-sized slab of seafloor that lies just west of South America — are colliding at an average speed of about 8 centimeters per year. “This is one of the fastest plate convergence rates on Earth,” Lin notes. Rather than moving steadily, the plates can remain locked in place for long intervals and then slide past each other in quick bursts.
The early-morning temblor, which involved slippage along a 400-kilometer stretch of the tectonic interface, is among the strongest ever recorded: Only four quakes since 1900 — including the largest on record, a magnitude 9.5 shock that shook southern Chile in May 1960 — have been larger, Lin says.
“The new quake picked up where the 1960 rupture ended,” he notes.
That 1960 quake shifted stress northward to a part of the tectonic interface that remained locked. The redistribution of stress probably caused this year’s quake to occur earlier than it otherwise would have, says Lin. Such effects aren’t unknown — just three months after a magnitude 9.1 quake rocked northern Sumatra in late December 2004 (SN: 1/8/05, p. 19), a magnitude 8.6 temblor on an adjacent segment of the same subduction zone shook southern portions of the island (SN: 4/2/05, p. 211).
The death toll from the February 27 quake stands at 799, Chile’s National Emergency Office reported March 3. That tally is still climbing but won’t rise to anywhere near the 200,000-plus death toll of the magnitude 7.0 quake that struck Haiti on January 12. This dramatic difference probably stems from several factors, Lin speculates.
First, even though the Chilean temblor released about 500 times more energy than the Haitian quake, it originated deeper within the Earth and farther from densely inhabited regions. And Chile’s long experience with large quakes and the strong, well-enforced building codes that have been developed as a result also saved lives, Lin says. “The contrasts between the aftermaths of these quakes remind us, once again, that ‘earthquakes do not kill people, buildings do,’” he notes.
In a mere six days, the Chile quake has spawned more than 180 aftershocks, including seven above magnitude 6.0. One aftershock, a magnitude 6.9 quake centered about 125 kilometers off the Chilean coast, was almost as large as the Haiti quake of January 12.
The movement of tectonic plates in Chile February 27 has triggered glitches in Earth’s rotation, a new analysis suggests. Sudden subduction of the Nazca plate carried large amounts of mass closer to the center of the Earth — which, conceptually but on a vastly different scale, works like spinning skaters bringing their arms closer to their bodies, says Richard Gross, a geophysicist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. As a result, Earth’s day is now about 1.26 microseconds shorter than it was before the massive quake, Gross estimates.
And because the quake’s shift in mass occurred deep in the Southern Hemisphere, Earth was slightly tipped off balance — a result similar to a spinning skater bringing in one arm but not the other. The planet’s “figure axis,” the line about which the Earth is balanced, shifted about 8 centimeters, Gross notes.
Earth’s axis is constantly wobbling at various frequencies, with some oscillations measuring several meters and taking months to unfold (SN: 8/12/00, p. 111). Forces driving those cycles, including those resulting from winds and ocean currents, act continually across Earth’s surface and often are about a thousand times larger than those generated during the Chilean quake
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/56903/title/Earth_knocked_for_a_loop_
Easy Nash
http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/science_and_religion_in_islam_the_link/
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/08/500blogpost-five-hundred-is-blogpost.html
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/03/453a-blog-constructed-within.html
In Shia Islam, intellect is a key component of faith. Intellect allows us to understand the creation of God: Aga Khan IV(2008)
The Qur'an itself repeatedly recommends Muslims to become better educated in order better to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
The Quran tells us that signs of Allah's Sovereignty are found in the contemplation of His Creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
This notion of the capacity of the human intellect to understand and to admire the creation of Allah will bring you happiness in your everyday lives: Aga Khan IV(2007)
Islam, eminently logical, placing the greatest emphasis on knowledge, purports to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2006)
The Holy Qu'ran's encouragement to study nature and the physical world around us gave the original impetus to scientific enquiry among Muslims: Aga Khan IV(1985)
The first and only thing created by God was the Intellect(Aql): Prophet Muhammad(circa 632CE)
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/01/276no-3-ayatssigns-in-universe-series.html
Chilean quake sped up Earth's rotation, tipped planet's axis
By Sid Perkins
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
EnlargeShaken, stirred, tiltedThe magnitude 8.8 quake that struck central Chile February 27, one of the six largest temblors that have occurred since 1900, caused Earth's rotation to speed up by 1.26 microseconds each day and tilted the planet's axis about 8 centimeters.US Geological Survey
The magnitude 8.8 quake that slammed central Chile February 27 knocked the entire planet for a loop — literally. The sudden, large-scale movement of tectonic plates that triggered the quake shifted immense masses of rock a few meters closer to Earth’s core, tilting the planet’s axis a few centimeters and imperceptibly shortening the day, analyses indicate.
Disaster struck just after 3:34 a.m. local time, when seismic stresses that had been building for decades, if not centuries, let loose. Rocks along the interface between two tectonic plates slipped past each other a distance of seven to 11 meters, says Jian Lin, a geophysicist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.
Those pieces of Earth’s crust — the South American plate and the Nazca plate, a continent-sized slab of seafloor that lies just west of South America — are colliding at an average speed of about 8 centimeters per year. “This is one of the fastest plate convergence rates on Earth,” Lin notes. Rather than moving steadily, the plates can remain locked in place for long intervals and then slide past each other in quick bursts.
The early-morning temblor, which involved slippage along a 400-kilometer stretch of the tectonic interface, is among the strongest ever recorded: Only four quakes since 1900 — including the largest on record, a magnitude 9.5 shock that shook southern Chile in May 1960 — have been larger, Lin says.
“The new quake picked up where the 1960 rupture ended,” he notes.
That 1960 quake shifted stress northward to a part of the tectonic interface that remained locked. The redistribution of stress probably caused this year’s quake to occur earlier than it otherwise would have, says Lin. Such effects aren’t unknown — just three months after a magnitude 9.1 quake rocked northern Sumatra in late December 2004 (SN: 1/8/05, p. 19), a magnitude 8.6 temblor on an adjacent segment of the same subduction zone shook southern portions of the island (SN: 4/2/05, p. 211).
The death toll from the February 27 quake stands at 799, Chile’s National Emergency Office reported March 3. That tally is still climbing but won’t rise to anywhere near the 200,000-plus death toll of the magnitude 7.0 quake that struck Haiti on January 12. This dramatic difference probably stems from several factors, Lin speculates.
First, even though the Chilean temblor released about 500 times more energy than the Haitian quake, it originated deeper within the Earth and farther from densely inhabited regions. And Chile’s long experience with large quakes and the strong, well-enforced building codes that have been developed as a result also saved lives, Lin says. “The contrasts between the aftermaths of these quakes remind us, once again, that ‘earthquakes do not kill people, buildings do,’” he notes.
In a mere six days, the Chile quake has spawned more than 180 aftershocks, including seven above magnitude 6.0. One aftershock, a magnitude 6.9 quake centered about 125 kilometers off the Chilean coast, was almost as large as the Haiti quake of January 12.
The movement of tectonic plates in Chile February 27 has triggered glitches in Earth’s rotation, a new analysis suggests. Sudden subduction of the Nazca plate carried large amounts of mass closer to the center of the Earth — which, conceptually but on a vastly different scale, works like spinning skaters bringing their arms closer to their bodies, says Richard Gross, a geophysicist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. As a result, Earth’s day is now about 1.26 microseconds shorter than it was before the massive quake, Gross estimates.
And because the quake’s shift in mass occurred deep in the Southern Hemisphere, Earth was slightly tipped off balance — a result similar to a spinning skater bringing in one arm but not the other. The planet’s “figure axis,” the line about which the Earth is balanced, shifted about 8 centimeters, Gross notes.
Earth’s axis is constantly wobbling at various frequencies, with some oscillations measuring several meters and taking months to unfold (SN: 8/12/00, p. 111). Forces driving those cycles, including those resulting from winds and ocean currents, act continually across Earth’s surface and often are about a thousand times larger than those generated during the Chilean quake
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/56903/title/Earth_knocked_for_a_loop_
Easy Nash
http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/science_and_religion_in_islam_the_link/
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/08/500blogpost-five-hundred-is-blogpost.html
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/03/453a-blog-constructed-within.html
In Shia Islam, intellect is a key component of faith. Intellect allows us to understand the creation of God: Aga Khan IV(2008)
The Qur'an itself repeatedly recommends Muslims to become better educated in order better to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
The Quran tells us that signs of Allah's Sovereignty are found in the contemplation of His Creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
This notion of the capacity of the human intellect to understand and to admire the creation of Allah will bring you happiness in your everyday lives: Aga Khan IV(2007)
Islam, eminently logical, placing the greatest emphasis on knowledge, purports to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2006)
The Holy Qu'ran's encouragement to study nature and the physical world around us gave the original impetus to scientific enquiry among Muslims: Aga Khan IV(1985)
The first and only thing created by God was the Intellect(Aql): Prophet Muhammad(circa 632CE)
582)The Right Honourable Stephen Harper,22nd Prime Minster Of Canada,Takes Your Questions As A Guest Of Google's YouTube,Addressing Canadians Directly
Your Interview With Prime Minister Harper On YouTube's Talk Canada Channel:
The Prime Minister answered 12 broad-based questions from more than 1800 questions posed by Canadians on the burning issues of the day. The interview lasted 40 minutes 31 seconds. It was an excellent interview and a clear and concise preview perhaps of the Conservative Government's platform in the next Canadian election. I have noted the titles and times of each discussed topic below and mixed it up with music from a well-known Beatles song performed by......the Prime Minister himself:
The Discussion:
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
The Music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
1)THE RECESSION AND THE BUDGET: 0 min to 5.33 min
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
I get by with a little help from my friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
2)FOREIGN AID: 5.33 min to 8.02 min:
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
I get by with a little help from my friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
3)SENATE REFORM: 8.02 min to 10.33 min
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
I get by with a little help from my friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
4)AFGHAN DETAINEES: 10.33 min to 13.47 min
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
I get by with a little help from my friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
5)THE ENVIRONMENT: 13.47 min to 18.28 min
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
I get by with a little help from my friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
6)THE SEAL HUNT: 18.28 min to 21.31 min
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
I get by with a little help from my friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
7)PENSION FUND PROTECTION FOR EMPLOYEES: 21.31 min to 25.02 min
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
I get by with a little help from my friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
8)THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: 25.02 min to 28.10 min
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
I get by with a little help from my friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
9)CHILD CARE: 28.10 min to 31.30 min
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
I get by with a little help from my friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
10)STUDENT ASSISTANCE: 31.30 min to 33.19 min
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
I get by with a little help from my friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
11)QUEBEC SOVEREIGNTY AND SEPERATION: 33.19 min to 35.43 min
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
I get by with a little help from my friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
12)MARIJUANA AND THE ILLEGAL DRUG TRADE: 35.43 min to 40.31 min
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
I get by with a little help from my friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
Easy Nash
Orestes Brownson's noble hope: "that we have reached the term of our downward tendency; that radicalism has had its day; that a reaction has commenced, and that the mass of our people will recover from their folly, and henceforth not fear to be conservative."
http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm?frm=4846&sec_id=4846
The Prime Minister answered 12 broad-based questions from more than 1800 questions posed by Canadians on the burning issues of the day. The interview lasted 40 minutes 31 seconds. It was an excellent interview and a clear and concise preview perhaps of the Conservative Government's platform in the next Canadian election. I have noted the titles and times of each discussed topic below and mixed it up with music from a well-known Beatles song performed by......the Prime Minister himself:
The Discussion:
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
The Music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
1)THE RECESSION AND THE BUDGET: 0 min to 5.33 min
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
I get by with a little help from my friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
2)FOREIGN AID: 5.33 min to 8.02 min:
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
I get by with a little help from my friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
3)SENATE REFORM: 8.02 min to 10.33 min
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
I get by with a little help from my friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
4)AFGHAN DETAINEES: 10.33 min to 13.47 min
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
I get by with a little help from my friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
5)THE ENVIRONMENT: 13.47 min to 18.28 min
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
I get by with a little help from my friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
6)THE SEAL HUNT: 18.28 min to 21.31 min
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
I get by with a little help from my friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
7)PENSION FUND PROTECTION FOR EMPLOYEES: 21.31 min to 25.02 min
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
I get by with a little help from my friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
8)THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: 25.02 min to 28.10 min
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
I get by with a little help from my friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
9)CHILD CARE: 28.10 min to 31.30 min
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
I get by with a little help from my friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
10)STUDENT ASSISTANCE: 31.30 min to 33.19 min
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
I get by with a little help from my friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
11)QUEBEC SOVEREIGNTY AND SEPERATION: 33.19 min to 35.43 min
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
I get by with a little help from my friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
12)MARIJUANA AND THE ILLEGAL DRUG TRADE: 35.43 min to 40.31 min
http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada
I get by with a little help from my friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
Easy Nash
Orestes Brownson's noble hope: "that we have reached the term of our downward tendency; that radicalism has had its day; that a reaction has commenced, and that the mass of our people will recover from their folly, and henceforth not fear to be conservative."
http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm?frm=4846&sec_id=4846
581)National Geographic's Health And Human Body Series: The Brain, Command Central; Quotes From Blogpost Four Hundred
"The God of the Quran is the One whose Ayats(Signs) are the Universe in which we live, move and have our being"(Aga Khan III, April 4th 1952, Karachi, Pakistan)
"......The Quran tells us that signs of Allah’s Sovereignty are found in the contemplation of His Creation - in the heavens and the earth, the night and the day, the clouds and the seas, the winds and the waters...."(Aga Khan IV, Kampala, Uganda, August 22 2007)
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/09/400blogpost-four-hundred-knowledge.html
http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/health-and-human-body/human-body/brain-article.html
Making sense of the brain's mind-boggling complexity isn't easy. What we do know is that it's the organ that makes us human, giving people the capacity for art, language, moral judgments, and rational thought. It's also responsible for each individual's personality, memories, movements, and how we sense the world.
All this comes from a jellylike mass of fat and protein weighing about 3 pounds (1.4 kilograms). It is, nevertheless, one of the body's biggest organs, consisting of some 100 billion nerve cells that not only put together thoughts and highly coordinated physical actions but regulate our unconscious body processes, such as digestion and breathing.
The brain's nerve cells are known as neurons, which make up the organ's so-called "gray matter." The neurons transmit and gather electrochemical signals that are communicated via a network of millions of nerve fibers called dendrites and axons. These are the brain's "white matter."
The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain, accounting for 85 percent of the organ's weight. The distinctive, deeply wrinkled outer surface is the cerebral cortex, which consists of gray matter. Beneath this lies the white matter. It's the cerebrum that makes the human brain—and therefore humans—so formidable. Whereas animals such as elephants, dolphins, and whales have larger brains, humans have the most developed cerebrum. It's packed to capacity inside our skulls, enveloping the rest of the brain, with the deep folds cleverly maximizing the cortex area.
The cerebrum has two halves, or hemispheres. It is further divided into four regions, or lobes, in each hemisphere. The frontal lobes, located behind the forehead, are involved with speech, thought, learning, emotion, and movement. Behind them are the parietal lobes, which process sensory information such as touch, temperature, and pain. At the rear of the brain are the occipital lobes, dealing with vision. Lastly, there are the temporal lobes, near the temples, which are involved with hearing and memory.
Movement and Balance
The second largest part of the brain is the cerebellum, which sits beneath the back of the cerebrum. It is responsible for coordinating muscle movement and controlling our balance. Consisting of both grey and white matter, the cerebellum transmits information to the spinal cord and other parts of the brain.
The diencephalon is located in the core of the brain. A complex of structures roughly the size of an apricot, the two major sections are the thalamus and hypothalamus. The thalamus acts as a relay station for incoming nerve impulses from around the body that are then forwarded to the appropriate brain region for processing. The hypothalamus controls hormone secretions from the nearby pituitary gland. These hormones govern growth and instinctual behavior such as eating, drinking, sex, anger, and reproduction. The hypothalamus, for instance, controls when a new mother starts to lactate.
The brain stem, at the organ's base, controls reflexes and crucial, basic life functions such as heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure. It also regulates when you feel sleepy or awake.
The brain is extremely sensitive and delicate, and so requires maximum protection. This is provided by the surrounding skull and three tough membranes called meninges. The spaces between these membranes are filled with fluid that cushions the brain and keeps it from being damaged by contact with the inside of the skull.
http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/health-and-human-body/human-body/brain-article.html
Easy Nash
http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/science_and_religion_in_islam_the_link/
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/08/500blogpost-five-hundred-is-blogpost.html
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/03/453a-blog-constructed-within.html
In Shia Islam, intellect is a key component of faith. Intellect allows us to understand the creation of God: Aga Khan IV(2008)
The Qur'an itself repeatedly recommends Muslims to become better educated in order better to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
The Quran tells us that signs of Allah's Sovereignty are found in the contemplation of His Creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
This notion of the capacity of the human intellect to understand and to admire the creation of Allah will bring you happiness in your everyday lives: Aga Khan IV(2007)
Islam, eminently logical, placing the greatest emphasis on knowledge, purports to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2006)
The Holy Qu'ran's encouragement to study nature and the physical world around us gave the original impetus to scientific enquiry among Muslims: Aga Khan IV(1985)
The first and only thing created by God was the Intellect(Aql): Prophet Muhammad(circa 632CE)
"......The Quran tells us that signs of Allah’s Sovereignty are found in the contemplation of His Creation - in the heavens and the earth, the night and the day, the clouds and the seas, the winds and the waters...."(Aga Khan IV, Kampala, Uganda, August 22 2007)
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/09/400blogpost-four-hundred-knowledge.html
http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/health-and-human-body/human-body/brain-article.html
Making sense of the brain's mind-boggling complexity isn't easy. What we do know is that it's the organ that makes us human, giving people the capacity for art, language, moral judgments, and rational thought. It's also responsible for each individual's personality, memories, movements, and how we sense the world.
All this comes from a jellylike mass of fat and protein weighing about 3 pounds (1.4 kilograms). It is, nevertheless, one of the body's biggest organs, consisting of some 100 billion nerve cells that not only put together thoughts and highly coordinated physical actions but regulate our unconscious body processes, such as digestion and breathing.
The brain's nerve cells are known as neurons, which make up the organ's so-called "gray matter." The neurons transmit and gather electrochemical signals that are communicated via a network of millions of nerve fibers called dendrites and axons. These are the brain's "white matter."
The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain, accounting for 85 percent of the organ's weight. The distinctive, deeply wrinkled outer surface is the cerebral cortex, which consists of gray matter. Beneath this lies the white matter. It's the cerebrum that makes the human brain—and therefore humans—so formidable. Whereas animals such as elephants, dolphins, and whales have larger brains, humans have the most developed cerebrum. It's packed to capacity inside our skulls, enveloping the rest of the brain, with the deep folds cleverly maximizing the cortex area.
The cerebrum has two halves, or hemispheres. It is further divided into four regions, or lobes, in each hemisphere. The frontal lobes, located behind the forehead, are involved with speech, thought, learning, emotion, and movement. Behind them are the parietal lobes, which process sensory information such as touch, temperature, and pain. At the rear of the brain are the occipital lobes, dealing with vision. Lastly, there are the temporal lobes, near the temples, which are involved with hearing and memory.
Movement and Balance
The second largest part of the brain is the cerebellum, which sits beneath the back of the cerebrum. It is responsible for coordinating muscle movement and controlling our balance. Consisting of both grey and white matter, the cerebellum transmits information to the spinal cord and other parts of the brain.
The diencephalon is located in the core of the brain. A complex of structures roughly the size of an apricot, the two major sections are the thalamus and hypothalamus. The thalamus acts as a relay station for incoming nerve impulses from around the body that are then forwarded to the appropriate brain region for processing. The hypothalamus controls hormone secretions from the nearby pituitary gland. These hormones govern growth and instinctual behavior such as eating, drinking, sex, anger, and reproduction. The hypothalamus, for instance, controls when a new mother starts to lactate.
The brain stem, at the organ's base, controls reflexes and crucial, basic life functions such as heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure. It also regulates when you feel sleepy or awake.
The brain is extremely sensitive and delicate, and so requires maximum protection. This is provided by the surrounding skull and three tough membranes called meninges. The spaces between these membranes are filled with fluid that cushions the brain and keeps it from being damaged by contact with the inside of the skull.
http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/health-and-human-body/human-body/brain-article.html
Easy Nash
http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/science_and_religion_in_islam_the_link/
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/08/500blogpost-five-hundred-is-blogpost.html
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/03/453a-blog-constructed-within.html
In Shia Islam, intellect is a key component of faith. Intellect allows us to understand the creation of God: Aga Khan IV(2008)
The Qur'an itself repeatedly recommends Muslims to become better educated in order better to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
The Quran tells us that signs of Allah's Sovereignty are found in the contemplation of His Creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
This notion of the capacity of the human intellect to understand and to admire the creation of Allah will bring you happiness in your everyday lives: Aga Khan IV(2007)
Islam, eminently logical, placing the greatest emphasis on knowledge, purports to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2006)
The Holy Qu'ran's encouragement to study nature and the physical world around us gave the original impetus to scientific enquiry among Muslims: Aga Khan IV(1985)
The first and only thing created by God was the Intellect(Aql): Prophet Muhammad(circa 632CE)
581)Opiates For The Masses May Not be That Far Off: Chemists Pin Down Poppy's Tricks For Making Morphine;A Feat Of Cellular Workhorses(Enzymes)+Genes
"Nature is the great daily book of God whose secrets must be found and used for the well-being of humanity"(Aga Khan III, Radio Pakistan, Karachi, Pakistan, February 19th 1950)
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/09/400blogpost-four-hundred-knowledge.html
Chemists pin down poppy's tricks for making morphine
Identifying enzymes involved in opiate synthesis could mean better ways to make painkillers
By Rachel Ehrenberg
Sunday, March 14th, 2010
EnlargeFlower powerResearchers have unraveled the critical final steps in the opium poppy’s biochemical pathway for producing morphine. The discovery could help overcome economic and social barriers to making painkillers in many parts of the world.
Opiates for the masses may not be far off. Scientists have figured out two of the final steps in the chain of chemical reactions that synthesize morphine in the opium poppy.
Pinpointing the cellular workhorses and the genes involved in making morphine may lead to new production methods for the drug and its chemical cousins such as codeine, oxycodone and buprenorphine, scientists report in a paper published online March 14 in Nature Chemical Biology.
Morphine and its relatives, widely used as painkillers in developed countries, are fairly expensive and are often taken for extended periods of time. The new research may lead to better ways of engineering yeast or other microbes to make these painkillers — perhaps skirting the social and political morass of agricultural poppy production, the source of heroin.
“Moving production of morphine and its metabolites such as codeine into a microbial system — if you could get yields up — could help lower costs,” says bioengineer Christina Smolke of Stanford University, who was not involved in the research. Instead of having to purchase these opiates from other nations, “maybe countries could even do local synthesis,” she says.
The new work identifies two enzymes — the proteins that cells use to build molecules and make reactions go — involved in turning the chemical precursors thebaine and codeine into morphine. Study coauthors Jillian Hagel and Peter Facchini of the University of Calgary in Canada also pinpointed the genes encoding each enzyme and verified this genetic role with poppy plant experiments.
“This is really terrific work,” says Philip Larkin, head of the plant product metabolic engineering program at Australia's national science agency CSIRO in Canberra. “Having these genes in the hand gives you much greater versatility.” For example, scientists could engineer high-yield plants by cranking up the activity of the morphine synthesis genes, Larkin says.
Scientists could also block morphine production with engineered viruses that shut down the genes. In theory, such viruses might be used to eradicate opium poppy crops in places such as Afghanistan. But narcotic control experts question the wisdom of such a maneuver.
“There are formidable tactical obstacles that would have to be addressed,” says Charles S. Helling, former senior scientific advisor to the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. “But the even bigger problems are political,” he adds. “It’s a very difficult situation that is further complicated by the military situation.”
Morphine is an alkaloid, a class of compounds characterized by a ringed molecular structure incorporating a bit of nitrogen. “Among all the natural products, alkaloids tend to display the most potent pharmacological effects,” Facchini says. Plants produce roughly 12,000 kinds of alkaloids, including nicotine, strychnine, caffeine, mescaline, quinine and atropine.
A handful of very old plant groups, including the poppy and buttercup families, produce the class of alkaloids that morphine belongs to, called benzylisoquinoline alkaloids. The main building block for the roughly 2,500 alkaloids in this class is the amino acid tyrosine. A 15- to 20-step reaction pathway turns tyrosine into morphine. While questions remain about some of the very early reactions, pinning down the final morphine production steps is the key to unlocking a host of practical applications.
Years of research, gift plants, a bit of luck and the “Herculean effort” of then graduate student Hagel led to the discovery, says Facchini.
The researchers began with three high-morphine varieties of opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, and a mutant plant that makes the morphine precursors thebaine and oripavine but can’t make morphine itself. Hagel constructed an enormous DNA library from these plants, which the team used to determine which genes were turned on in the morphine-making poppies. She then compared this activity to that of the mutant plant that couldn’t put morphine together.
After determining the genetic blueprints of the genes that differed, Hagel and Facchini checked those DNA sequences against a database to reveal the enzymes’ identities. To verify the enzymes’ role in making morphine, Hagel stuck one of the genes into the bacterium E.coli, put the critter in a flask with some thebaine, and left it overnight.
“When she came back the next morning, the thebaine was all gone,” says Facchini. “That’s when her eyes got big…. Finding it all had been turned into morphine — that gives a grad student a great sense of power, when they can make morphine.” The scientists dubbed the enzymes thebaine 6-O-demethylase and codeine O-demethylase.
Both of the newly identified enzymes are in charge of the same structural task — removing a methyl group, a common chemical ornament comprising a carbon and three hydrogen atoms. But in the hunt for these morphine-synthesis enzymes, many scientists were led astray. There was an assumption that poppies used a methyl-removing enzyme similar to the one that the human liver uses to remove methyl groups. But poppies use enzymes from an entirely different class, the researchers report.
“These are enzymes that have eluded discovery for a long time,” says MIT biochemist Sarah O'Connor. And they turned out to be enzymes that weren’t really on the radar. “In plants, it’s very hard to figure out the enzymatic steps of a pathway,” she notes. “This is a beautiful example of how you can use modern molecular biology tools to solve this problem.”
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/57257/title/Chemists_pin_down_poppys_tricks_for_making_morphine
Easy Nash
http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/science_and_religion_in_islam_the_link/
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/08/500blogpost-five-hundred-is-blogpost.html
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/03/453a-blog-constructed-within.html
In Shia Islam, intellect is a key component of faith. Intellect allows us to understand the creation of God: Aga Khan IV(2008)
The Qur'an itself repeatedly recommends Muslims to become better educated in order better to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
The Quran tells us that signs of Allah's Sovereignty are found in the contemplation of His Creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
This notion of the capacity of the human intellect to understand and to admire the creation of Allah will bring you happiness in your everyday lives: Aga Khan IV(2007)
Islam, eminently logical, placing the greatest emphasis on knowledge, purports to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2006)
The Holy Qu'ran's encouragement to study nature and the physical world around us gave the original impetus to scientific enquiry among Muslims: Aga Khan IV(1985)
The first and only thing created by God was the Intellect(Aql): Prophet Muhammad(circa 632CE)
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/09/400blogpost-four-hundred-knowledge.html
Chemists pin down poppy's tricks for making morphine
Identifying enzymes involved in opiate synthesis could mean better ways to make painkillers
By Rachel Ehrenberg
Sunday, March 14th, 2010
EnlargeFlower powerResearchers have unraveled the critical final steps in the opium poppy’s biochemical pathway for producing morphine. The discovery could help overcome economic and social barriers to making painkillers in many parts of the world.
Opiates for the masses may not be far off. Scientists have figured out two of the final steps in the chain of chemical reactions that synthesize morphine in the opium poppy.
Pinpointing the cellular workhorses and the genes involved in making morphine may lead to new production methods for the drug and its chemical cousins such as codeine, oxycodone and buprenorphine, scientists report in a paper published online March 14 in Nature Chemical Biology.
Morphine and its relatives, widely used as painkillers in developed countries, are fairly expensive and are often taken for extended periods of time. The new research may lead to better ways of engineering yeast or other microbes to make these painkillers — perhaps skirting the social and political morass of agricultural poppy production, the source of heroin.
“Moving production of morphine and its metabolites such as codeine into a microbial system — if you could get yields up — could help lower costs,” says bioengineer Christina Smolke of Stanford University, who was not involved in the research. Instead of having to purchase these opiates from other nations, “maybe countries could even do local synthesis,” she says.
The new work identifies two enzymes — the proteins that cells use to build molecules and make reactions go — involved in turning the chemical precursors thebaine and codeine into morphine. Study coauthors Jillian Hagel and Peter Facchini of the University of Calgary in Canada also pinpointed the genes encoding each enzyme and verified this genetic role with poppy plant experiments.
“This is really terrific work,” says Philip Larkin, head of the plant product metabolic engineering program at Australia's national science agency CSIRO in Canberra. “Having these genes in the hand gives you much greater versatility.” For example, scientists could engineer high-yield plants by cranking up the activity of the morphine synthesis genes, Larkin says.
Scientists could also block morphine production with engineered viruses that shut down the genes. In theory, such viruses might be used to eradicate opium poppy crops in places such as Afghanistan. But narcotic control experts question the wisdom of such a maneuver.
“There are formidable tactical obstacles that would have to be addressed,” says Charles S. Helling, former senior scientific advisor to the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. “But the even bigger problems are political,” he adds. “It’s a very difficult situation that is further complicated by the military situation.”
Morphine is an alkaloid, a class of compounds characterized by a ringed molecular structure incorporating a bit of nitrogen. “Among all the natural products, alkaloids tend to display the most potent pharmacological effects,” Facchini says. Plants produce roughly 12,000 kinds of alkaloids, including nicotine, strychnine, caffeine, mescaline, quinine and atropine.
A handful of very old plant groups, including the poppy and buttercup families, produce the class of alkaloids that morphine belongs to, called benzylisoquinoline alkaloids. The main building block for the roughly 2,500 alkaloids in this class is the amino acid tyrosine. A 15- to 20-step reaction pathway turns tyrosine into morphine. While questions remain about some of the very early reactions, pinning down the final morphine production steps is the key to unlocking a host of practical applications.
Years of research, gift plants, a bit of luck and the “Herculean effort” of then graduate student Hagel led to the discovery, says Facchini.
The researchers began with three high-morphine varieties of opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, and a mutant plant that makes the morphine precursors thebaine and oripavine but can’t make morphine itself. Hagel constructed an enormous DNA library from these plants, which the team used to determine which genes were turned on in the morphine-making poppies. She then compared this activity to that of the mutant plant that couldn’t put morphine together.
After determining the genetic blueprints of the genes that differed, Hagel and Facchini checked those DNA sequences against a database to reveal the enzymes’ identities. To verify the enzymes’ role in making morphine, Hagel stuck one of the genes into the bacterium E.coli, put the critter in a flask with some thebaine, and left it overnight.
“When she came back the next morning, the thebaine was all gone,” says Facchini. “That’s when her eyes got big…. Finding it all had been turned into morphine — that gives a grad student a great sense of power, when they can make morphine.” The scientists dubbed the enzymes thebaine 6-O-demethylase and codeine O-demethylase.
Both of the newly identified enzymes are in charge of the same structural task — removing a methyl group, a common chemical ornament comprising a carbon and three hydrogen atoms. But in the hunt for these morphine-synthesis enzymes, many scientists were led astray. There was an assumption that poppies used a methyl-removing enzyme similar to the one that the human liver uses to remove methyl groups. But poppies use enzymes from an entirely different class, the researchers report.
“These are enzymes that have eluded discovery for a long time,” says MIT biochemist Sarah O'Connor. And they turned out to be enzymes that weren’t really on the radar. “In plants, it’s very hard to figure out the enzymatic steps of a pathway,” she notes. “This is a beautiful example of how you can use modern molecular biology tools to solve this problem.”
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/57257/title/Chemists_pin_down_poppys_tricks_for_making_morphine
Easy Nash
http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/science_and_religion_in_islam_the_link/
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/08/500blogpost-five-hundred-is-blogpost.html
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/03/453a-blog-constructed-within.html
In Shia Islam, intellect is a key component of faith. Intellect allows us to understand the creation of God: Aga Khan IV(2008)
The Qur'an itself repeatedly recommends Muslims to become better educated in order better to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
The Quran tells us that signs of Allah's Sovereignty are found in the contemplation of His Creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
This notion of the capacity of the human intellect to understand and to admire the creation of Allah will bring you happiness in your everyday lives: Aga Khan IV(2007)
Islam, eminently logical, placing the greatest emphasis on knowledge, purports to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2006)
The Holy Qu'ran's encouragement to study nature and the physical world around us gave the original impetus to scientific enquiry among Muslims: Aga Khan IV(1985)
The first and only thing created by God was the Intellect(Aql): Prophet Muhammad(circa 632CE)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)