Emerging Scholars Blog

InterVarsity's Emerging Scholars Network

genome

Science Corner: I-9, Two Forms of Identification, and Your Genome

Photo of a hand composited to show it holding a twisted ladder DNA schematic.
“I’ll just make a copy of this for our records and then you can have it back.” (Photo by geralt)

“Of course he became a supervillain; his name was Victor von Doom.” Such sentiments are common about (and among) fictional characters; naturally Remus Lupin is the one who got bit by a werewolf, not James Potter, and of all people only Otto Octavius would wind up with four extra limbs. In real life, our future choices and the events that transpire around us aren’t so easily foretold–but that doesn’t always stop us from trying. We believe we could use our time and money so much more efficiently if we only knew from day one which people will be loyal friends, productive employees, or healthy patients. And so we search for the factors and metrics that might give us, if not a complete view of the future, at least a glimpse.
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Science Corner: You’ve Got A Lot of Nerve(s)!

octopus photo
Photo by Morten Brekkevold

It’s been a while since we had some real science news in this space. My favorite recent story is the sequencing of the octopus genome. I’ve shared previously my fascination with ants; octopuses (not octopi, as it turns out, since octopus is Greek, not Latin) are rapidly joining them among my favorites. Did you know that octopus tentacles are capable of independent sensory processing, even if they are severed? The genome sequence reveals a number of interesting genes involved in nerve cell function, including genes not seen in vertebrates. There’s lots to learn there for sure.
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Science Corner: Viral Frenemies

virus photo
The invisible nature of viruses only makes it easier to fear them. (Photo by AJC ajcann.wordpress.com )

It’s hard not to think of viruses as our enemies in some fashion. Whether it’s fictional pathogens like the one in Contagion or real ones like ebola, most of us only encounter or think about viruses when they are making us sick. And viruses do make lots of people sick, sometimes fatally, so that impression is not entirely unjustified. As a result, a finding like this one about a virus making a constructive contribution to human embryonic development may be difficult to accept. Admittedly, the “puppet master” language in the news item doesn’t help matters either. [Read more…] about Science Corner: Viral Frenemies

Science Corner: Genome Shuffle

Microscope image of unicellular Oxytricha trifallax
Oxytricha trifallax, reigning contender for most convoluted genome (Public domain)

Usually I try to pick items with broader philosophical or theological implications, or something with a practical application, in the hopes that everyone can find something they can connect with. But there are days when you just need to stare directly into the mind-melting bizarreness of the world and go ‘huh.’

Meet Oxytricha trifallax. Where you and I have 23 chromosomes (in duplicate), these guys have 16,000. Then they have a second copy of their genome that’s scrambled in some way; the article describes it as encrypted but I don’t really understand what that would mean in this context. That scrambled copy is for trading, so that new gene variations can be obtained during stressful times when new solutions are needed. At a high level, it’s not too different from what any other organism does, but the details of the implementation are very far removed from anything else.

If our exploratory observations are still finding novelties like this, what other marvels await? Anyone else find this sort of thing fascinating? How do you respond to examples of life’s boundless diversity?