Hy-Brasil and the Court of King Breasal
In Irish mythology and folklore, Hy-Brasil was the island where the
legendary Breasal, the High King of the World held his court. It was
said to be situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Ireland and was
a kind of island paradise where all good things were bountiful and
people lived in peace and happiness. All who dwelt there were bestowed
with the gift of immortality.
Hy-Brasil was a difficult place to find because the island was said to
be shrouded in mist. It could only be seen once every seven years when
the mist lifted which was the time when Breasal held his court on the
island. It was during these brief times when the island was visible
that the court was believed to be in session. Although the island could
be seen at such times, it could not be reached and King Breasal was said
to have the power to make the island sink below the waves or rise
above them at his command.
From the elusive island of Hy Brasil, King Breasal had a safe place to
rule the world ensuring the natural order was kept.
And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy
bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out,
behold, his hand was leprous as snow.
7 And he said, Put thine hand into
thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked
it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other
flesh.
Study finds that protein puts the brakes on melanin
The study in the Nature journal Scientific Reports shows that pigmentation
is reduced by the activity of "TPC2," a protein that channels the flow
of positive sodium ions out of the melanosomes, compartments that
produce melanin in cells. When TPC2 lets those ions out, the inside of
the melanosomes become more acidic, the researchers found, and that
shuts down the enzyme that drives melanin production.
A lack of melanin production can be associated with albinism, visual
impairment and a greater susceptibility to skin and eye cancer. Melanin
protects DNA from ultraviolet radiation. For years, however, scientists
have had little insight into how pigmentation is governed. In late 2014,
Oancea's team discovered that melanosomes employed an ion channel,
"OCA2," whose activity increases melanin production by reducing their
acidity. OCA2 is named for the disease caused by mutations in the
protein, oculocutaneous albinism type II.
The new study, therefore, finds that TPC2 and OCA2 counterbalance.
"Having more than one ion channel regulating the pH allows for
complex regulatory mechanisms that can be fine tuned to regulate the pH
under diverse conditions," Oancea said.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/themis/auroras/sun_earth_connect.html The Sun's plasma is so hot that the most energetic charged particles can escape from the Sun's gravity and fly away, out into space. We call this plasma the solar wind because it blows out away from the Sun and past the planets, interacting with their magnetic fields and/or atmospheres.
Convalescent plasma is the liquid part of
blood that is collected from patients who have recovered from the novel
coronavirus disease, COVID-19, caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19
patients develop antibodies in the blood against the virus.
Antibodies
are proteins that might help fight the infection. Convalescent plasma
is being investigated for the treatment of COVID-19 because there is no
approved treatment for this disease and there is some information that
suggests it might help some patients recover from COVID-19.
In coordination with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the
Red Cross is seeking people who are fully recovered from the new
coronavirus to sign up to donate plasma to help current COVID-19 patients.
People who have fully recovered from COVID-19 have antibodies in
their plasma that can attack the virus. This convalescent plasma is
being evaluated as treatment for patients with serious or immediately
life-threatening COVID-19 infections, or those judged by a healthcare
provider to be at high risk of progression to severe or life-threatening
disease.
If you have fully recovered from COVID-19, you may be able to help
patients currently fighting the infection by donating your plasma.
Because you fought the infection, your plasma now contains COVID-19
antibodies. These antibodies provided one way for your immune system to
fight the virus when you were sick, so your plasma may be able to be
used to help others fight off the disease.
What is Convalescent Plasma?
Convalescent plasma is the liquid part of blood that is collected
from patients who have recovered from the novel coronavirus disease,
COVID-19, caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19 patients develop
antibodies in the blood against the virus. Antibodies are proteins that
might help fight the infection. Convalescent plasma is being
investigated for the treatment of COVID-19 because there is no approved
treatment for this disease and there is some information that suggests
it might help some patients recover from COVID-19.
Detection of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus RNA in Plasma during the Course of Infection
We examined severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus
(SARS-CoV) RNA in plasma of 32 patients (probable SARS cases) by a
quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR assay and reported that
the highest detection rate, 75%, was found between day 5 and day 7 of
illness, followed by rates of 64, 50, and 38% found between day 8 and
day 11, day 2 and day 4, and day 12 and day 16, respectively. Analysis
of sequential SARS-CoV load in plasma from six cases revealed different
patterns of viremia, with the peak between day 4 and day 8. Our findings
of the high detection rate of SARS-CoV RNA in plasma before day 11,
together with the relative convenience of collecting and handling
plasma, suggest that plasma can be used for early diagnosis of SARS.
"Our findings
of the high detection rate of SARS-CoV RNA in plasma"
"The Sun's plasma is so hot that the most energetic charged particles can escape from the Sun's gravity and fly away, out into space. We call this plasma the solar wind because it blows out away from the Sun and past the planets, interacting with their magnetic fields and/or atmospheres."
"Many viruses and other pathogens are unable to survive in the alkaline environment."
Genesis 1
29 God
said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the
face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall
have them for food. 30 And
to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to
everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of
life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.
“Right now the World Health Organization remains intimately involved
working with a number of groups, working with an international vaccine
group, working with GAVI for procurement of vaccine,” Dr. John
Mascola, the director of the Vaccine Research Center at National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National
Institutes of Health, said Friday.
Study finds that protein puts the brakes on melanin The study in the Nature journal Scientific Reports shows that pigmentation is reduced by the activity of "TPC2," a protein that channels the flow of positive sodium ions out of the melanosomes, compartments that produce melanin in cells. When TPC2 lets those ions out, the inside of the melanosomes become more acidic, the researchers found, and that shuts down the enzyme that drives melanin production.
The RNA world is a hypothetical stage in the evolutionary history of life on Earth, in which self-replicating RNA molecules proliferated before the evolution of DNA and proteins. The term also refers to the hypothesis that posits the existence of this stage.
Ribonucleic acid, or RNA is one of the three major biological macromolecules that are essential for all known forms of life (along with DNA and proteins). A central tenet of molecular biology states that the flow of genetic information in a cell is from DNA (hijacks code) through RNA to proteins: “DNA (hijack) makes RNA makes protein”.
(the second strand is hijack code aka double helix)
The RNP world is a hypothesized intermediate period in the origin of life characterized by the existence of ribonucleoproteins.[1] The period followed the hypothesized RNA world and ended with the formation of DNA and contemporary proteins.[2] During this time, RNA molecules continued to perform many esential functions, but began to synthesize peptides, which eventually assumed most of the function of those RNA molecules, leading to life as we know it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RNP_world#/media/File:RNPWorld.png
The RNA world hypothesis suggests that life on Earth began with a simple RNA molecule that could copy itself without help from other molecules. DNA, RNA, and proteins are central to life on Earth. DNA stores the instructions for building living things—from bacteria to bumble bees. And proteins drive the chemical reactions needed to keep cells alive and healthy. Until recently, RNA was thought of as little more than a messenger between DNA and proteins, carrying instructions as messenger RNA (mRNA) to build proteins. However, RNA can do far more. It can drive chemical reactions, like proteins, and carries genetic information, like DNA. And because RNA can do both these jobs, most scientists think life as we know it began in an RNA world, without DNA and proteins.
Just when we thought octopuses couldn't be any weirder, it turns out that they and their cephalopod brethren evolve differently from nearly every other organism on the planet. In a surprising twist, in April 2017 scientists discovered that
octopuses, along with some squid and cuttlefish species, routinely edit
their RNA (ribonucleic acid) sequences to adapt to their environment.
This is weird because that's really not how adaptations usually
happen in multicellular animals. When an organism changes in some
fundamental way, it typically starts with a genetic mutation - a change
to the DNA.
Those genetic changes are then translated into action
by DNA's molecular sidekick, RNA. You can think of DNA instructions as a
recipe, while RNA is the chef that orchestrates the cooking in the kitchen of each cell, producing necessary proteins that keep the whole organism going.
But
RNA doesn't just blindly execute instructions - occasionally it
improvises with some of the ingredients, changing which proteins are
produced in the cell in a rare process called RNA editing.
When
such an edit happens, it can change how the proteins work, allowing the
organism to fine-tune its genetic information without actually
undergoing any genetic mutations. But most organisms don't really bother
with this method, as it's messy and causes problems more often that
solving them.
"The consensus among folks who study such things is
Mother Nature gave RNA editing a try, found it wanting, and largely
abandoned it," Anna Vlasits reported for Wired.
But it looks like cephalopods didn't get the memo.
In 2015,
researchers discovered that the common squid has edited more than 60
percent of RNA in its nervous system. Those edits essentially changed
its brain physiology, presumably to adapt to various temperature
conditions in the ocean.
The team returned in 2017 with an even
more startling finding - at least two species of octopus and one
cuttlefish do the same thing on a regular basis. To draw evolutionary comparisons, they also looked at a nautilus and a gastropod slug, and found their RNA-editing prowess to be lacking.
"This shows that high levels of RNA editing is not generally a molluscan thing; it's an invention of the coleoid cephalopods," said co-lead researcher, Joshua Rosenthal of the US Marine Biological Laboratory.
The researchers analysed hundreds of thousands of RNA recording sites in these animals, who belong to the coleoid subclass of cephalopods. They found that clever RNA editing was especially common in the coleoid nervous system.
"I
wonder if it has to do with their extremely developed brains,"
geneticist Kazuko Nishikura from the US Wistar Institute, who wasn't
involved in the study, told Ed Yong at The Atlantic.
So
it's certainly a compelling hypothesis that octopus smarts might come
from their unconventionally high reliance on RNA edits to keep the brain
going.
"There is something fundamentally different going on in these cephalopods," said Rosenthal.
But
it's not just that these animals are adept at fixing up their RNA as
needed - the team found that this ability came with a distinct
evolutionary tradeoff, which sets them apart from the rest of the animal
world.
In terms of run-of-the-mill genomic evolution (the one
that uses genetic mutations, as mentioned above), coleoids have been
evolving really, really slowly. The researchers claimed that this has
been a necessary sacrifice - if you find a mechanism that helps you
survive, just keep using it.
15 And it was at the expiration of a few years, that they brought an approximating offering to
the Lord, and Cain brought from the fruit of the ground, and Abel brought from the firstlings of
his flock from the fat thereof, and God turned and inclined to Abel and his offering, and a fire
came down from the Lord from heaven and consumed it.
16 And unto Cain and his offering the Lord did not turn, and he did not incline to it, for he had
brought from the inferior fruit of the ground before the Lord, and Cain was jealous against his
brother Abel on account of this, and he sought a pretext to slay him.
17 And in some time after, Cain and Abel his brother, went one day into the field to do their
work; and they were both in the field, Cain tilling and ploughing his ground, and Abel feeding
his flock; and the flock passed that part which Cain had ploughed in the ground, and it sorely
grieved Cain on this account.
18 And Cain approached his brother Abel in anger, and he said unto him, What is there
between me and thee, that thou comest to dwell and bring thy flock to feed in my land?
19 And Abel answered his brother Cain and said unto him, What is there between me and
thee, that thou shalt eat the flesh of my flock and clothe thyself with their wool?
20 And now therefore, put off the wool of my sheep with which thou hast clothed thyself, and
recompense me for their fruit and flesh which thou hast eaten, and when thou shalt have
done this, I will then go from thy land as thou hast said?
21 And Cain said to his brother Abel, Surely if I slay thee this day, who will require thy blood
from me?
22 And Abel answered Cain, saying, Surely God who has made us in the earth, he will
avenge my cause, and he will require my blood from thee shouldst thou slay me, for the Lord
is the judge and arbiter, and it is he who will requite man according to his evil, and the wicked
man according to the wickedness that he may do upon earth.
23 And now, if thou shouldst slay me here, surely God knoweth thy secret views, and will
judge thee for the evil which thou didst declare to do unto me this day.
24 And when Cain heard the words which Abel his brother had spoken, behold the anger of
Cain was kindled against his brother Abel for declaring this thing.
Comments
A lack of melanin production can be associated with albinism, visual impairment and a greater susceptibility to skin and eye cancer. Melanin protects DNA from ultraviolet radiation. For years, however, scientists have had little insight into how pigmentation is governed. In late 2014, Oancea's team discovered that melanosomes employed an ion channel, "OCA2," whose activity increases melanin production by reducing their acidity. OCA2 is named for the disease caused by mutations in the protein, oculocutaneous albinism type II.
The new study, therefore, finds that TPC2 and OCA2 counterbalance.
"Having more than one ion channel regulating the pH allows for complex regulatory mechanisms that can be fine tuned to regulate the pH under diverse conditions," Oancea said.
The Sun's plasma is so hot that the most energetic charged particles can escape from the Sun's gravity and fly away, out into space. We call this plasma the solar wind because it blows out away from the Sun and past the planets, interacting with their magnetic fields and/or atmospheres.
Antibodies are proteins that might help fight the infection. Convalescent plasma is being investigated for the treatment of COVID-19 because there is no approved treatment for this disease and there is some information that suggests it might help some patients recover from COVID-19.
In coordination with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Red Cross is seeking people who are fully recovered from the new coronavirus to sign up to donate plasma to help current COVID-19 patients.
People who have fully recovered from COVID-19 have antibodies in their plasma that can attack the virus. This convalescent plasma is being evaluated as treatment for patients with serious or immediately life-threatening COVID-19 infections, or those judged by a healthcare provider to be at high risk of progression to severe or life-threatening disease.
https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/donate-covid-19-plasma#:~:text=Convalescent plasma is the liquid,from COVID-19.
What is Convalescent Plasma?
Convalescent plasma is the liquid part of blood that is collected from patients who have recovered from the novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19 patients develop antibodies in the blood against the virus. Antibodies are proteins that might help fight the infection. Convalescent plasma is being investigated for the treatment of COVID-19 because there is no approved treatment for this disease and there is some information that suggests it might help some patients recover from COVID-19.
Detection of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus RNA in Plasma during the Course of Infection
29 God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.
The study in the Nature journal Scientific Reports shows that pigmentation is reduced by the activity of "TPC2," a protein that channels the flow of positive sodium ions out of the melanosomes, compartments that produce melanin in cells. When TPC2 lets those ions out, the inside of the melanosomes become more acidic, the researchers found, and that shuts down the enzyme that drives melanin production.
DNA, RNA, and proteins are central to life on Earth. DNA stores the instructions for building living things—from bacteria to bumble bees. And proteins drive the chemical reactions needed to keep cells alive and healthy. Until recently, RNA was thought of as little more than a messenger between DNA and proteins, carrying instructions as messenger RNA (mRNA) to build proteins. However, RNA can do far more. It can drive chemical reactions, like proteins, and carries genetic information, like DNA. And because RNA can do both these jobs, most scientists think life as we know it began in an RNA world, without DNA and proteins.
In a surprising twist, in April 2017 scientists discovered that octopuses, along with some squid and cuttlefish species, routinely edit their RNA (ribonucleic acid) sequences to adapt to their environment.
This is weird because that's really not how adaptations usually happen in multicellular animals. When an organism changes in some fundamental way, it typically starts with a genetic mutation - a change to the DNA.
Those genetic changes are then translated into action by DNA's molecular sidekick, RNA. You can think of DNA instructions as a recipe, while RNA is the chef that orchestrates the cooking in the kitchen of each cell, producing necessary proteins that keep the whole organism going.
But RNA doesn't just blindly execute instructions - occasionally it improvises with some of the ingredients, changing which proteins are produced in the cell in a rare process called RNA editing.
When such an edit happens, it can change how the proteins work, allowing the organism to fine-tune its genetic information without actually undergoing any genetic mutations. But most organisms don't really bother with this method, as it's messy and causes problems more often that solving them.
"The consensus among folks who study such things is Mother Nature gave RNA editing a try, found it wanting, and largely abandoned it," Anna Vlasits reported for Wired.
But it looks like cephalopods didn't get the memo.
In 2015, researchers discovered that the common squid has edited more than 60 percent of RNA in its nervous system. Those edits essentially changed its brain physiology, presumably to adapt to various temperature conditions in the ocean.
The team returned in 2017 with an even more startling finding - at least two species of octopus and one cuttlefish do the same thing on a regular basis. To draw evolutionary comparisons, they also looked at a nautilus and a gastropod slug, and found their RNA-editing prowess to be lacking.
"This shows that high levels of RNA editing is not generally a molluscan thing; it's an invention of the coleoid cephalopods," said co-lead researcher, Joshua Rosenthal of the US Marine Biological Laboratory.
The researchers analysed hundreds of thousands of RNA recording sites in these animals, who belong to the coleoid subclass of cephalopods. They found that clever RNA editing was especially common in the coleoid nervous system.
"I wonder if it has to do with their extremely developed brains," geneticist Kazuko Nishikura from the US Wistar Institute, who wasn't involved in the study, told Ed Yong at The Atlantic.
It's true that coleoid cephalopods are exceptionally intelligent. There are countless riveting octopus escape artist stories out there, not to mention evidence of tool use, and that one eight-armed guy at a New Zealand aquarium who learned to photograph people. (Yes, really.)
So it's certainly a compelling hypothesis that octopus smarts might come from their unconventionally high reliance on RNA edits to keep the brain going.
"There is something fundamentally different going on in these cephalopods," said Rosenthal.
But it's not just that these animals are adept at fixing up their RNA as needed - the team found that this ability came with a distinct evolutionary tradeoff, which sets them apart from the rest of the animal world.
In terms of run-of-the-mill genomic evolution (the one that uses genetic mutations, as mentioned above), coleoids have been evolving really, really slowly. The researchers claimed that this has been a necessary sacrifice - if you find a mechanism that helps you survive, just keep using it.