Archive: Aug 2013

Figure 1. Electron flow in Photosystem II. Plants take electrons from water to store energy from the sun. Whether it is the oxygen that we breathe or animals that we eat, our lives are made possible by photosynthesis.  Photosynthesis is the process that…

The basis for the origin of new species is thought to be well-known: new species emerge when two or more subpopulations of (what was formerly) the same species become sufficiently dissimilar in their genetic makeup that they can no longer breed with each…

In 1996, the British government announced that ten suspected cases of Creutzfeld-Jacob disease (CJD), a degenerative brain disorder, were caused by the consumption of beef products that harbor mad cow disease [1]. This news not only prompted the EU and…

Whether we realize it or not, humans, like all organisms, are genetically programmed to reproduce, but today we have many more reproductive choices than our ancestors. Birth control, for example, prevents procreation by those who might otherwise have…