Proteins and Amino Acids as the Origins of life

Scientists have been trying to figure out how life started on earth for quite a while now. One of the more famous experiments and research was conducted by Stanley Miller, where he tried to recreate the atmosphere of pre-life earth, and see if amino acids or complex molecules would arise.

A recent review of the samples from one of his experiments shows that it may have worked much more than was previously believed!

Amino Acids are essencial molecules that help make life possible.

Stanley Miller had believed his experiment a failure mainly due to the fact that 50 years ago we didn't have the technology that we have today. Today Scientists can read our genetic information much more precisely, especially thanks to DNA Testing



http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/10/forgotten-exper.html

Our DNA and Financial Risk Taking

Do you like to gamble or maybe love playing the stock market? Well, a study came out in Scientific American that showed a correlation between the genes that control our hormone levels and the amount of risk that a person takes with their money.

Dopamine, Serotonin, and Testosterone are three hormones that affect our level of risk taking. higher Dopamine and Serotonin levels are apparently common for "risk shunning" subjects, and testosterone is higher in "risk taking" test subjects, based on this study.

They were tested with a buccal swab sample for a genetic sample, and each test subject played a stocks game with $30.

It is amazing what we inherit through genetics.

DNA Profiling clears dead man's name

A news article came out today about the Case to Exonerate Timothy Cole.

Timothy Cole was convicted of rape in 1986, and died in prison in 1999.
He was proven innocent thanks to DNA Testing this February of 2009.

He is one of many cases that are being revised using DNA profiling, thanks in large part to the Innocence Project, which is a non-profit that aims to get innocent people, that have been wrongly convicted, out of jail.

This case has highlighted the need for DNA testing in delicate matters, both legal and personal, and the benefits for not only finding guilt, but also to assure someone's innocence.

Mitochondrial DNA lets us compare Neanderthals and Humans

news from National Geographics

Thanks to the use of Mitochondrial DNA left on the bones of long dead neanderthals, we have been able to shed much more light on our relationship with our evolutionary brothers.

The new analysis suggests the last common ancestor of modern humans (Homo sapiens) and Neanderthals lived between 800,000 and 520,000 years ago

Our mitochondiral DNA shows us our Maternal Ancestry. All human beings inherit their mitochondrial DNA from their mothers, which means that this genetic information passes from mother to children from our ancient past.

Now that we know that Neanderthals did not mate and become modern humans, the big question is still left unanswered: Why did they disapear?