Exploration of Molecular Biology

I began thinking first about when does a species become a species? Then I got stuck with that idea for the rest of my writing. I have asked this question but wanted to look into it for a more solid definition. I consider If we put two identical animals in different terrains and assume they could survive how long would it take for them to become different species? One definition I have heard states that different species cannot mate or breed with each other. My first thought goes to dogs and squirrels. We have so many different kinds of dogs small to large. If you tell someone who has never seen a dog that a Chihuahua and that Great Dang are the same species they would think you are insane. These cannot be the same animal! Then we see on the other spectrum that we have red squirrels (Sciurus Vulgaris) and gray squirrels (Sciurus Carolinensis) which are similar in many aspects but cannot be considered the same species. Obviously, if this has to do with the compatibility of breeding ...

Hello, this topic came in my mind as I tried to donate this Thursday but arrived too late. I try to donate on a regular basis at my regular Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center. I think it just an easy way to give something back without giving money and it is not much of a sacrifice because it only takes about 10-15 minutes. I have never felt any adverse effects so it’s pretty simple every time I go. Anyways I have thought about that just about every two to three months I give about a pint of blood if I am donating whole blood, if not that I donate what they call double red blood cells. I began to wonder what the long-term effects are. Obviously, not many people lose 4 pints of blood a year or on a regular basis. Some have told me it has benefits and some have said it can cause issues . The first thing I consider is red blood cells. We rely on these to give us our oxygen throughout our body and obviously a lack of these would decrease your performance. I believe it is even shown tha...

Imagine a flaming fireball coming out of the sky falling onto a planet with water, methane, ammonia, and hydrogen that filled the atmosphere with levels which made life almost unlivable. This ball could have induced such energy or added its own mixtures which may have allowed organic materials to form and develop. These molecules eventually may have led to other processes which created genetic information, cells and more. Creating organic materials from inorganic was thought to be impossible to some until it was shown otherwise by Miller and Urey in the 1950s. Their experiment contained materials which some would think to be gasses from ancient earth and energy which could simulate the energy which could have forced forward the reaction to occur. After a few days, they were able to extract amino acids and other organic compounds. This of course, obtained the attention of many who may have thought they discovered how the first forms of life began. Some consider that it was aldehyde...

As we learn about DNA we see how many of our genes relate to the way we look are affected by a mix of four nucleic acids. Some want to start using this to change the way certain organisms behave or look. Already much of the food we eat has been influenced to have certain traits which can benefit the population. Sometimes people refer to these as GMOs which are more of a benefit than damaging, based on what I have seen so far. Some of it has been done through breeding but there are also other processes which allow for certain traits which is what I am interested in finding out. Transgenesis will allow for certain genes to be integrated into a host and possibly continue on to its offspring. Some methods used are plasmids, viral vectors, TALENS, and CRISPRs which will allow for integration. I have been looking for information on transgenesis on animals and how it may have begun. The beginning of this research found that even though we have differentiated cells these still contain our...