Almost Human with OSUZ504

Exciting things are afoot! Today we start the first class of the new Bioengineering 101 class (with labs!) that will include fungal and bacterial culturing, CRIsPR 9 gene selection and all manner of interesting things. 

Environmental Organic Chemistry continued - chapter 12. I am interested in this for PFAS sequestration application for a project at work that I'm experimenting with so I wanted to brush up on some sorbing details. [joke alert. I made a chemistry pun. go team.]

Schwarzenbach et. al Environmental Organic Chemistry

Very good review of processes, systems, compartments, media and some basic governing equations. I skipped the math bits (mostly) because they are annoying to read but did try and do a verbal walk through of the equations' salient uses. A good review of modeling was also included in the next chapter, but we'll skip that (math/graph heavy) and focus on partitioning and transport for the next episode. 

Chapter 4 review, Schwarzenbach's Environmental Organic Chemistry. 

Schwarzenbach et. al Chapter 3: Environmental Organic Chemistry. 

Nice guys finish last. Except when they don’t. Phaistos is a good person, a kind person and he just can’t get over his no-good, immature, loser of a cosmic crush. It’s the story of what happens when love doesn’t work out the way it’s supposed to and the sweet success of gay toxicity.

Introduction to Plant Physiology, 4th ed. Chapter 8.

Calvin cycle, enzyme function, chloroplast function, Rubisco preferential binding.

An Introduction to Genetic Engineering, Chapters 4-5.

Plasmids, restriction enzymes, gene manipulation techniques, mode of action, type II restriction enzymes, DNA modifying enzymes, selecting viable hosts and vectors.

Introduction to Genetic Engineering, chapter 3.

Electrophoresis, DNA/RNA isolation, gene sequencing, cellular preparation, biochemical considerations.

Buddha

Translation: Thomas Byrom, 1976

Plant Physiology, chapter 7.

Photosynthetic biochemical processes review: protein structures, organs, efficiency. Understanding of evolutionary basis for oxygenic and anoxygenic photophosporylization.

Introduction to Plant Physiology, 4th Ed.

William G. Hopkins and Nathan P.A. Huner

A basic description of the role of light in developing biochemical processes and triggering plant morphology and nutrient uptake.

An Introduction to Genetic Engineering, 3rd ed.

Desmond S. T. Nicholl

Cellular structure, Central Dogma, functions of DNA/RNA, living system organization, organization of genes and genomes, processes involved in gene expression and regulation.

Bioindication, phytoremediation, biophilicity, translocation v. bioaccumulation. Factors for selection in remediation projects.

Buddhism, evolutionary biology, quantum field theory. A little string theory, just because I can.

We're trying something a little new. We'll see how it goes.

Giant Reed. Good for salt, good for metals. Good for industrial uses. Go Giant Reed.

All done. Happy ending. Author's perspectives and review of the work.

Meet Chiyoko. Chiyoko has problems. Lots of problems. And a strong hunger for power. I'm sure it will go well for everyone.

Hunters. Self-actualization. Healing. Stuff happens.

Meet Kas. Kas has problems. Lots of problems. Meet Hoshi. Hoshi also has lots of problems. Behold a series of poor choices culminating in murder and mayhem. 

This week, we are looking at the mechanisms for bacterial metabolisms, the rise of an oxygen atmosphere, and the importance of photosynthesis in developing an understanding of life. I get all excited about a ‘second generation’ of alien life on earth and present a good reason why there was a couple billion years difference between cyanobacteria arising on earth and the actual development of a high oxygen atmosphere.

Human colonization. The "Great Filter." The application of human standards of civilization, intelligence, and evolutionary theory to a whole universe. Survivability of the most insane. 

Life forms. Life biochemistry. Life commonalities.

Fluid statics. Determine pressure at various locations in a fluid at rest. Explain concepts of manometers and apply appropriate equations. Calculate hydrostatic pressure force on a plane or curved surface. Calculate buoyant force and determine stability of floating/submerged objects.

Rise of extraterrestrial life. Definition of life. Question what alien life is and how it relates to terrestrial assumptions.

Chapter 1. Discussion of historical terms, development of planetary zeitgeist, understanding and Earth and Space sciences related to our own survival. 

Fluid characteristics, definitions of dimensions, introduction to dimensional analysis. 

Nucleic acids, recombinant DNA, virus mechanisms

Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, enzymes. Test review. 

Endocrine, circulatory, cardiac rhythms, WBC/RBC types, cell differentiation.

Bromination, hydrocarbon (flammability, solubility), amines/amine salt reactions, oxidation reactions (including acid-alcohols+solubility).

Skeletal, muscular, neural, special senses. 

Season finale! 

Blood. Guts. One of the few times recycling is NOT a good idea. Prions. Chaos is back. Konrad is back, with a vengeance. Welcome to the origin story of the SCREAM (more of that in Book 3 of Sensitives Series). 

Eli makes new friends. Saves Luke...sort of. Kunihiro comes through. We meet Jia. Don't worry, she's cute and not traumatized yet. It's going to go great.

Meet Eli. He's sassy. Anti-clone. Desperate to get off BFE nowhere planet. 

TK gets memory jacked. Evil is afoot. Freedom calls. 

Field prep

Meet TK-0454675. Half computer, half-almost human. All confused. TK finds a personality and gets killed for it, a couple times. TK makes friends with a ghost and has an adventure involving cannibalism, Corporate greed, and a whole mess of weirdness. Enjoy.

Singh and Konrad get blown up. Shay is not what she seems. Series finale, end of all things.

Module 1 - terms, definitions, basic concepts, body directionality

Singh goes dark. Konrad gets a job, well, another one and is downright pissy about it. Both of them get gaslit.

Singh and Daniels make peace. Sol goes boom. Konrad and Singh go hunting.

Konrad and Singh get famous. Bad things happen. Mac is back. 

Also, Beta Reader 3 mistakenly calls this episode 9. Ignore her. She's tired.

Konrad comes through. Magic happens. A beautiful friendship is born.

MCAT preparation

MCAT preparation

Meet Konrad. Konrad is annoying. Konrad is charming. Konrad is going to ruin Singh's life...well, more than it already is.

MCAT preparation

MCAT review

Singh goes back to Chaos. Speed in the Deeps gets a new parent. Singh meets her past, unpleasantly.