The Ideal Gas Pressure Equation

"Temperature,  () and pressure of  pascals. IUPAC recommends that the former use of the pressure of 1 atm as standard pressure(equivalent to ) should be discontinued." - PAC, 1990, 62, 2167 (Glossary of atmospheric chemistry terms (Recommendations 1990)) on page 2216  

Designer Babies and Transhumanism Video!

Designer Babies

My name is Caspar Zialor and today I am going to be discussing designer babies. First I would like to read to you the definition of designer baby (below).





Considering that the a designer is someone is whom devises designs; that designer products are contrived. A designer baby must be a baby with contrived attributes.



"The belief or theory that the human race can evolve beyond its current physical and mental limitations, especially by means of science and technology." - The Oxford Dictionary



The first keyword (above yellow) I would like to discuss is evolve. Evolution is the gradual process by which the living world has been developing in time. The processes of evolutionary development can have one of two consequences.

Illustration 1:

Depicts, Anagenesis, the progressive evolution within a species. The characteristics of the population may change, however they remain as one inter-breeding population. Change is to be expect in a species over time. In humans, the genes that govern innate malaria immunity are becoming more and more frequent.

Illustration 2:

Represent divergence,  Each species is a branch in Darwin's drawing "I Think", any branching in the tree shows when one species becomes two non-interbreeding populations. Divergence something we need consider in light of, "haves and have nots", of designer baby technology. Those who can afford the technology may be a at a significant advantage in life.

The second key word is technology (above blue) so let us consider what modern technologies people typically use to create new organisms.

For 10,000 years people have used, artificial selection. Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is a man made selection process. Screening for molecular diseases (e.g. sickle cell anaemia and hemophilia) will select against defective genotypes, the alleles associated with genetic diseases will deplete within the human population.

In more later times genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have been used to fill industrial niches (see below). Recombinant DNA occurs when, original genetic material, is spliced with DNA of foreign origin. Gene cloning occurs when when recombinant DNA is replicated within a living cell.





 How might biotechnology be used to improve human physical fitness?

Muscualr hypertrophy (MH) occurs when the gene that would ordinarily code for the protein myostatin is defective. The resulting organism in lacks the specific protein, myostatin, is an inhibitor of muscular growth. In absence of myostatin muscular tissues are free to develop in excess.

Muscular hypertrophy, also known as muscular doubling, has been observed in naturally and artificially in mammals such as mice, cattle and dogs. Clever scientists have isolated the genotype that causes muscular hypertrophy and have genetically engineered a trout to express the phenotype.

How might biotechnology be used to over come our psychological limitations?

Efforts to consolidate a specific gene associated with intelligence are still in are in development however the impact of heredity on intelligence is also in debate.

If we where to apply engineering to human children we may all be parent children like Richard Sandrak. He was born in 1992 and his country of origin is the Ukrainian-American. He is not genetically engineered and is suspected of taking steroids.

This was created  by Dougal Dixon born in Scotland in 1947. He published the book "Man After Man, An Anthropology of the Future" in 1990.

download slides at: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=e2fd5c3fa4&view=att&th=135c98b6cf6ab0e9&disp=imgs

Casshern a Motion picture Directed by Shochiku Casshern

Casshern in  Japanese science fiction film directed in 2004. The review on the case, from News Of The World, likens the feature to the Matrix, however Casshern completely lacks the gritty realism conveyed in the Matrix trilogy. Casshern has some very blatant plot holes and has tongue and cheek approach to much of its special effects. However the over all cinematic effect keep you up to pace with both the action and the drama. The film is laced with the powerful monologues and philosophical conflicts that the Matrix shares however I fear the English dubbed loses a faire bit of its weight in translation. The set and costume design was executed with style. My incomplete (non-spoiler) synopsis of the film. A scientist, Dr. Azura, appeals for funding for stem cell research in order to extend human life. Their is a wide appeal for this type of  technology because the is so much illness in the ruling stagnating hypocrisy. The steam cells or 'Neo-cells' as their called in the film then conglomerate into power ranger type pseudo-nazi-ninjas. Mean while the research also resurrects the dead son of Dr Azura whom also becomes a power ranger capable of destroying a entire army of giant robot's with no specified origin. It's radical sceptical it wouldn't be shame to miss.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405821/

Installing Fallout 3 on Hp Pavillion, Windows 7 64-bit

On the 29/06/2011 I got the 'Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition' for PC. Running it on a 'Hp Pavilion dv6' with the applicable system requirements, as follows.

• Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU       M 350  @ 2.27GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.3GHz
• Memory: 4096MB RAM
• Card name: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470

The Solution

The nature of my the problem occurred after installation of Disk 1, when I started the game it crashed, after just moments of game play. I managed to get the game working and, special thanks to MissionAvoid and pocho951 from YouTube, the resolution goes as follows.

1. Make sure you are using appropriate resolution quality and try starting it windowed as opposed to full screen (if this resolves the problem this is Windows in error.). 
2.  Download d3d9.dll at http://www.mediafire.com/?am8daeaj1rmc7oe
3. Navigate to folder Fallout3. Drag and drop d3d9.dll into Fallout3 document.
4. Within the folder titled Fallout3 this will be a Fallout3.exe document open it
5. Locate the script that reads- bUseThreadedAI=0
6. Then change this into- bUseThreadedAI=1
7. Create a new line below the change you just made and paste in- iNumHWThreads=2 

I was also having trouble installing Disk 2, the installation wouldn't load I resolved this by installing whilst in Safe Mode.  Safe mode can be accessed by repeatedly tapping F8 before windows had loaded. You can do this when you turn your computer on or by restarting your system. However I am having trouble accessing the additional content from Disk 2.

The Nervous System

The brain contains near one hundred billion cells. Each neuron has one thousand synapses each. A neuron is around 10-100µm wide. The cell body of a neuron is surrounded by dendrites and has an elongated myelinated axon leading to the axon terminals. There are three types of nerve cell the multipolar neurone we have just described, the bipolar neuron where the dendrites are also on an extended vestige and the monopolar neuron both the cell body and axon and dendrite vestige are myelinated. Glial cells help to support, nourish and modulate neurons in the brain. Astrocytes are one type of glial cell. Astrocytes serve as a medium between the neurons and the capillary’s.

Resting potential is an uneven distribution of ions across the neural membrane. The difference in electrical potential causes electro-activity across the neuron. Information is conducted much faster along myelinated axons. Sodium-potassium pumps fire at intervals across the axon and serve to propel impulses to the axon terminals. Neural information travels from dendrite to the axon terminal. The surface of a neuron is rough because it is covered with boutons. Where an axon terminal meets and exchanges neurotransmission via synaptic vesicles to a dendrite is instrumental in information processing, this is known as a synapse.

Neural tissue helps organisms interact with their environment. Afferent sensory neurons carry information into the brain. Information may be electromagnetic e.g. visual by the optical nerve and the retina is part of the brain. The right hemisphere of the brain controls the left side of the body and visual field and vice versa.  Senses may be mechanical e.g. touch and hearing and chemical e.g. taste and smell. Afferent neurons act as thermo-receptors throughout the body. Nociception or pain is processed sensory cortex. Efferent motor neurons tell the body how to respond. Vestibular information, balance and motion are coordinated in the inner ear. Proprioceptive sensory information is the relative position of bodily parts.

At the age of one month the embryonic brain has specialises into three regions the forebrain, the midbrain and the hindbrain. In an adult human, the hindbrain develops into medulla, the pons and the cerebellum. The midbrain associates with the hindbrain to form the brainstem. The brain stem is responsible for automatic survival functions e.g. homeostasis. The medulla drives heart beat and breathing. The cerebellum orchestrates coordination and balance. The embryonic forebrain matures into the diencephalon and the cerebrum. The diencephalon consists of the thalamus, the hypothalamus and the epithalamiums. The thalamus relays messages and may be thought of the brains switch board for the cerebrum. The hypothalamus regulates the pituitary gland (therefore serves to regulate the sleep-wake cycle), hunger, thirst, and pleasure.

The cerebrum constitutes the cerebral cortex, white matter and basal nuclei; the cerebellum is made up of many lobes. The frontal lobe functions for decision making and speech. The partial lobe processes sensory information. The temporal lobe processes audio information and the occipital lobe, positioned at the posterior of the cerebrum, process visual information. The right and left hemispheres of the cerebrum are specialised. The left specialises in symbolic thinking, detailed learning and lateral thinking. The right side deals with spatial perception, context and metaphor.

Characteristics of mammals

Mammals are endotherms they produce body heat by internal means and possess body hair or fur. They have mammary glands to secrete milk for the nourishment of their young. Mammals typically have live births, high metabolic rate, epiglottises, four chamber heart and hypertonic urine

Latent Heat of Fusion

The energy released or absorbed by chemical substance during a change of state, without a change in mean squared velocity. Latent heat if fusion is literally, the enthalpy of a substance when is melted (converted from solid to liquid) without a change in temperature.

Specific Heat Capacity

Specific heat capacity is the joule energy required to heat one gram of substance by one Kelvin. Specific heat capacity changes with the state of matter of a substance.

Hamilton’s Rule rB > C

Quantified altruism, states relatedness multiplied by the potential number of children is greater than the risk taken. Known as kin selection.

The Baldwin Effect

A learnt behaviour that improves fitness for example will become easier learnt by natural selection (assuming those that fail to lean die). Iterated the behaviour becomes instinct.

The Relationship Between Structure And Function In The Liver by Caspar Zialor

The liver is an organ found in all vertebrates. The liver functions as an interface between the digestive tract and the blood. In humans the liver is a large organ that rests below the diaphragm in the abdominal cavity. The liver’s right lobe dominates the right anterior hypochondriac region, and the left lobe takes a fair dividend of the anterior epigastric region.

An organ is a group of tissues that work together to perform a specific function. The liver is a vital organ performing a great variety of different functions. The liver hosts a multitude of biochemical reaction pathways required for metabolisms- including carbohydrate and fat metabolisms. The liver also contributes to the breakdown of erythrocytes and the detoxification of drugs and toxicants in the blood. The liver functions on the deactivation of hormones which are substances secreted by an endocrine gland into the circulatory system. In the liver, enzymes remove the nitrogenous section of unanabolized proteins, catabolising them in a structured reaction pathway yielding urea destined for the kidneys, this process is called deaminiation.

Embryonicly the liver is a gland derived from an outgrowth of the gut epithelium and performs both endocrine and exocrine functions. Structurally the liver is made up of countless lobules. Around the circumference of the lobules are arteries, veins and bile ducts - centripetal to their structure is their central vein. A complex of blood filled sinuids radiate from the central vein within the lobule. The fractal structure of the sinuids gives the liver a large surface area to maximize membrane transport and diffusion.

The liver undergoes three phases of depreciation of oxygen content in the blood as oxygen diffuses into the sinuid tissues; this is called the liver acinus. As blood channels from the hepatic artery into the central vein, the blood travels through three phases: preiportal- high oxygen content, intermediate and central venous drainage; the lowest oxygen content – plays a role in detoxification.

The size of the liver is controlled by metabolic requirements; mature differentiated hepatocytes may proliferate at any stage of their life. In rats transplanted or mutilated livers may grow to accommodate the specific organism very quickly potentially tripling in size within two weeks. Korkut Uygun has stripped the cells off the liver of a rat to its bear collagen structure and reconstituted cells over the old structure. The reformed liver was successfully transplanted into a genetically similar rat.

Hepatic macrophages float within the sinuids and are used for breaking down erythrocytes; this also occurs in the spleen and bone marrow. Heme, derived from heamaglobin, is broken down in the liver by enzymes. Heme oxygenase removes the iron from the heme to produce biliverdin, releasing an iron atom. Ferritin binds the iron atom in a cyclopentadienide anion complex on the catalase tetramer; these proteins are stored in the peroxisome. Preoxisomes are bountiful in the liver hepatocytes. Catalase tetramer has its role in the breakdown of methanol. The enzyme biliverdinase reduces biliverdin into bilirubin. Bilirubin is non-miscible however when conjugated with glucuronic acid - forming sterobilin - it is soluble enough to travel though the bile ducts into the intestines for defecation. Some bilirubin is also absorbed into the neighbouring kidney and synthesized into urobilinogen to be relieved in the urine.

A thin layer of squamous endothelial cells lines the sinuids, however hexagonal-cuboidal hepatocytes form the majority of dense matter in the liver. Between the endothelial cells and the hepatocityes is the space of disse formed from collagen. The hepatocytes apical domain forms a thin extracellular canal called the bile canaliculus.  The bile canaliculus leads into the bile ducts. Bile is the waste product of the hepatocytes metabolism; concentrated by the gall bladder. Bile facilitates the emulsification of lipids in the small intestine. The liver is associative with many other organs including the right kidney, oesophagus, gall bladder and adrenal gland. The falciform ligament separates the liver’s right and left lobes as can be seen in figure (1). The anterior superior right lateral region consists of three impressions: the colic, the duodenal and the right renal. Inferior to this is the right adrenal gland impression. The superior medial anterior of the liver is where the bile ducts, the portal vein and the hepatic artery affix illustrated in figure (1). The inferior medal region of the anterior liver appends the inferior vena cava; to the left is the caudate lobe. The liver is our largest and most metabolically active organ and thus produces the majority of our body heat. At the medial superior anterior is the quadrate lobe. At the inferior anterior of the left lobe is the gastric impression.

The liver receives nutrient rich blood originated from the small intestine from the portal vein leading though the left lobe; unmetabolized glucose carried up from the small intestine may be stockpiled as glycogen. The synthesis of glycogen from glucose monomers is a condensation reaction; this process is regulated by pancreatic hormonal signals received in the blood. Glycogen is a helical branched polymer stored in dense granules associated to the smooth endoplasmic reticulum of the hepatocytes. Glycogen is stored for when the body needs additional energy for catabolism. Glyocogen-debranching enzymes are encrusted in the plasma-cellular membrane of the hepatocytes. Glucose, also known as blood sugar, has a hydroxyl and an aldehyde functional group. Glycolysis is a stratified reaction pathway dictated by enzymes that produces ATP and occurs in the mitochondrion. In the liver, oxygenated blood is received through the right lobe’s hepatic artery to enable the preferable aerobic pathway Krebs cycle; each individual glucose molecule yields six carbon monoxide and thirty-four adenosine 5’-triphosphate molecules.

In hunter-gatherer communities, offal is valued over the animal’s meat. The liver is an extremely nutritious organ especially when eaten raw. The liver contains all the essential vitamins. As well as glycogen and iron, the liver stores fat-soluble vitamins: A, D, E and K, copper and some miscible vitamins, including vitamin B12. However the liver must be eaten quickly and cleaned thoroughly because bile taints the flesh.

Figure 1 posterior and anterior veiws of their liver by Caspar Zialor

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Pg. 17 (New Scientist 19^th of June 2010)