Posts Tagged ‘dna double helix’

A Nice Gift Idea for Your Favorite Molecular Biologist

 :: Posted by avi_wener on 06-24-2010

My birthday is coming up and I have already told my family that I have everything a person could ask for and that I don’t need any gifts. But…in case they read my blog posts, here’s something that I would really enjoy having in my back-yard.

Jay Jackson is the CEO of the design firm British Conservatories in Reading PA and has created beautiful double helix fountains that can truly be appreciated by any respectable molecular biologist.

Below is a sample of his work, but it’s definitely worth checking out DNA Fountain’s Photostream on flicker.

Life Began With the Help of a Molecular Midwife

 :: Posted by avi_wener on 03-09-2010

Ever wonder how life really began? I mean the really basic building blocks of life?

Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have discovered that small molecules could have acted as “molecular midwives” in helping the building blocks of life’s genetic material form long chains and may have assisted in selecting the base pairs of the DNA double helix. The research appears in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences beginning March 8, 2010.

The video below nicely illustrates the published theory.

See the Georga Tech website for the full article.