Science

[ayarella]

Hey! Ok, I found it and I am posting before I forget.

http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0073031208/

The great thing about this biology site is that you don't have to have a code to use it (meaning you have to buy a new book usually). Enjoy!

[Lizra]

Gee...I loved biology! When I said "photosynthesis Rules" I meant, it rules the earth. I always loved drawing pictures of all things botanical. Palmate, pinnate....oooh, stomata!

Nothing like a boring teacher to ruin it though. Or a bad textbook I suppose.

[Insidious Rex]

Originally posted by HOBBIT
Can anyone give me simple definitons of what Carbohydrates are? What lipids are, proteins, phosphates, etc..........

Ah my dear child welcome to 5 minutes of biochem on the moot.

A carbohydrate is an organic compound that consists of carbon and hydrogen and oxygen in a chain or ring. They are often called sugars and the most simple have as few as 3 carbon atoms. But they can also be extremely complex polymers with gigantic chains. This is why they are an efficient energy storage unit (and one of the reasons why low carb diets are all the rage…).

A lipid is a hydrophobic (water hating) molecule composed of fats or oils. Its made up of long non-polar hydrocarbon groups arranged in chains. But forget all that. The easy definition is a lipid is a fatty substance in the blood.

A protein is a large molecule composed of one or more chains of amino acids. the order is determined by the base sequence of nucleotides in the gene that codes for the protein. Proteins are multifunctional. They just do so many things its hard to even start.

Phosphate is a salt of phosphoric acid. Phosphates play important roles in cells. Things like energy storage and genetic material transmission. I think it also has something to do with metabolism if I remember correctly.

[Grey_Wolf]

Originally posted by zinnite
WELL... Science, as a broad subject encompassing many different areas of study, and as a simple concept, does not require technology. Modern science employs technology to refine and enhance research and obtain more accurate and precise data.

Biology (outside of gen bio classes) makes use of lots of technology, as does geology and geography. Sheeana mentioned GIS--geographic information systems--and that's about as high-tech as one can get.

Of course, it all depends on how you would define technology--the equipment Newton and Galileo used was just as technological as today's particle accelerators and satellite imagine systems, if more primitive.

Thank you. Info assimilated.

[Millane]

best damn science i did was in year 10 when they let us do lots of different science and i got to do forensics... our teacher made it into a really interactive subject and she would set up the classroom into a crimescene and leave us to figure out the criminal... went into quite a bit of detail for year 10. anyway thats been and done so its just chem but its not that bad. i decided to pick up psych for next year which should be allright.

[Earniel]

Originally posted by HOBBIT My problem was: ok, I know that ATP is chemical energy, but ADP, NADP, NADPH, RuBP, PGA, PGAL - I never really got what those were......

Nononononono! Not the NADP and family! I NEVER managed to get those chemical equasions of photosynthesis in my head! Noooooooo!

*is dragged away in a straitjacket*

[brownjenkins]

Does anybody have favourite scientific authors? My favourite author is Carl Sagan. A Demon Haunted World changed my life.

great book...

a good one on physics for the non-scientist (even better than hawkins, i think):

ABOUT TIME: Einstein's Unfinished Revolution
by Paul Davies

[Varda Oiolosseo]

Yeah...I love science! Best subject by far at school.
Nearly finished school and then i'm going onto college and then University to become a Geologist!!!

[ayarella]

Hey Varda! Awesome...good luck with that...Geology is awesome. Do you have any idea what field you want to specialize in? Also, any people out there who know about geology or have experience in the field? Drop me a line

[Varda Oiolosseo]

yeah i been looking around and want to do a degree in Earth science and possibly become something like a Volcanologist. I'm really into it lol but my mates think i'm mad

[Ruinel]

Originally posted by The Gaffer
OK, here's a pet gripe about how we treat science in general, and science graduates in particular.....

I wonder if others have had the same... experiences.

Yes.

Originally posted by The Gaffer
Hydrogen bonds are very cool. You get them in booze too.

Ah, yes, the conversion of sugar to ethanol via yeasts... Gotta love your Organic Chem classes.
CH3CH2OH

[The Gaffer]

Originally posted by Varda Oiolosseo
yeah i been looking around and want to do a degree in Earth science and possibly become something like a Volcanologist. I'm really into it lol but my mates think i'm mad

If you can arrange it, you should get on a plane to Iceland. I went there for a long weekend a few weeks ago with the Gammer. Completely awesome! No need to do a degree: it's all right there in front of you. Lava flows, tectonic plates, geysirs, glaciers, massive waterfalls pouring into cracks in the group; volcanoes go off UNDER glaciers

Just remember to bring in your own supply of CH3CH2OH cos it's 5 quid for a half litre of beer

[Lizra]

I've got to go there! Lava and tectonic plates make me HOT! (well, they make my brain hot ) Everybody in our house knows, if there is a show on about lava.....the TV is MINE! I was thinking of taking Prince's old song..."Oh Sheila" and changing the lyrics to "Oh Pangia", certainly a project worthy of some of my attention..

......315 to 285 million years ago: During the Mississippian movement of the earth's crust resulted in the collision of continents to produce the supercontinent, PANGIA. The resulting interruption in air and ocean currents resulted in a global ice ace.

[Linaewen]

Originally posted by Lizra
I've got to go there! Lava and tectonic plates make me HOT! (well, they make my brain hot ) Everybody in our house knows, if there is a show on about lava.....the TV is MINE! I was thinking of taking Prince's old song..."Oh Sheila" and changing the lyrics to "Oh Pangia", certainly a project worthy of some of my attention..

Personally, it's the half-lives of radioactive substances that interest me, but whatever makes you tick, dear. Even if it may be xylem and phloem. (There was a question about them on the exam and I'm sure I got it right).

'Oh Pangia'? What's that? Do you mean 'Pangaea'? Well, if so, I'll write an 'Oh Gondwanaland' or sommat.

[Lizra]

"Oh Gondwanaland" doesn't have quite the beautiful lyrical flow, now does it? Geez, which name would Tolkien have used....Pangia (Pangaea) or Gondwanaland? Hmmmm, actually that might be a hard call!

http://webspinners.com/dlblanc/tectonic/pangea.shtml

[Linaewen]

I think neither would be very Tolkien-ish. Tolkien would have probably used Laurasia instead, don't you agree?

What about 'Oh Sulphur'?

[Linaewen]

Originally posted by cassiopeia
P.S I agree with the Gaffer. And it's hard to get a job.

Especially if you've only done a Science degree. It's good to combine it with an Arts degree etc. The scientists I've talked to say it's best to do your Honours and even your PhD, because otherwise finding employment is difficult. Actually, they said the best thing to do is Medicine if you can; stay away from Science since you get lousy pay etc. But BioMed is just so interesting!

[Jonathan]

Originally posted by Ruinel
Ah, yes, the conversion of sugar to ethanol via yeasts... Gotta love your Organic Chem classes.
CH3CH2OH

Booze And the condensation reaction between booze and acetic acid. You'll get a substance which you can put on your mosquito bites

[The Gaffer]

Originally posted by Lizra
I've got to go there! Lava and tectonic plates make me HOT! (well, they make my brain hot ) Everybody in our house knows, if there is a show on about lava.....the TV is MINE!

Not half, mate.

There's a cinema in a back street in Reykjavik called the Volcano Show, run by this filmmaker who does nothing but chase after volcanoes and make films of them. He was completely deranged, as you'd expect, but he put on a show just for us.

That's where the "volcano going off under a glacier" bit came from. He'd some footage of that, taken from the air. What happens is that the glacier melts from the underneath until, eventually, the water finds a weak spot in the ice and all bursts out at the same time!!! Imagine a river as fast-flowing as..er .. Sarn Gebir (--), except a couple of kilometres wide, bursting out in a random location and totally wiping the slate clean.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

The only science I have much interest in is theology.