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Mirror Life
Mirror life (also called mirror-image life) is a hypothetical form of life with mirror-reflected molecular building blocks. The possibility of mirror life was first discussed by Louis Pasteur. Although this alternative life form has not been discovered in nature, efforts to build a mirror-image version of biology's molecular machinery are already underway. Homochirality Many of the essential molecules for life on Earth can exist in two mirror-image forms, referred to as "left-handed" and "right-handed", but living organisms do not use both. Proteins are exclusively composed of left-handed amino acids; RNA and DNA contain only right-handed sugars. This phenomenon is known as homochirality. It is not known whether homochirality emerged before or after life, whether the building blocks of life must have this particular chirality, or indeed whether life needs to be homochiral. Protein chains built from amino acids of mixed chirality tend not to fold or function as catalysts, but mirror ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, the latter of which was named after him. His research in chemistry led to remarkable breakthroughs in the understanding of the causes and preventions of diseases, which laid down the foundations of hygiene, public health and much of modern medicine. His works are credited to saving millions of lives through the developments of vaccines for rabies and anthrax. He is regarded as one of the founders of modern bacteriology and has been honored as the "father of bacteriology" and the "father of microbiology" (together with Robert Koch; the latter epithet also attributed to Antonie van Leeuwenhoek). Pasteur was responsible for disproving the doctrine of spontaneous generation. Under the auspices of the French Academy of Sciences, his experiment demonstrated that in sterilized ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
L-Ribonucleic Acid Aptamer
An L-ribonucleic acid aptamer (L-RNA aptamer, trade name Spiegelmer) is an RNA-like molecule built from L-ribose units. It is an artificial oligonucleotide named for being a mirror image of natural oligonucleotides. L-RNA aptamers are a form of aptamers. Due to their L-nucleotides, they are highly resistant to degradation by nucleases. L-RNA aptamers are considered potential drugs and are currently being tested in clinical trials. Features Chemical properties L-RNA aptamers, built using L-ribose, are the enantiomers of natural oligonucleotides, which are made with D-ribose. Nucleic acid aptamers, including L-RNA aptamers, contain adenosine monophosphate, guanosine monophosphate, cytidine monophosphate, uridine monophosphate, a phosphate group, a nucleobase and a ribose sugar. Biological characteristics Like other aptamers, L-RNA aptamers are able to bind molecules such as peptides, proteins, and substances of low molecular weight. The affinity of L-RNA aptamers to their targ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ryan North
Ryan North (born October 20, 1980) is a Canadian writer and computer programmer. He is the creator and author of ''Dinosaur Comics'', and has written for the comic series of ''Adventure Time'' and Marvel Comics' ''The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl''. His works have won multiple Eisner Award, Eisner Awards and Harvey Award, Harvey Awards and made The New York Times Best Seller list, ''New York Times'' Bestseller lists. Comics Webcomics North started the webcomic ''Dinosaur Comics'' in 2003, during the last year of his undergraduate degree. ''Dinosaur Comics'' is a fixed-art webcomic which uses the same base art for every strip. North has produced over 3,500 strips. ''Dinosaur Comics'' was named one of the best webcomics of 2004 and 2005 by The Webcomics Examiner. ''Wired (website), Wired'' listed ''Dinosaur Comics'' as one of "Five Webcomics You Can Share With Your Kids" and ''PC Magazine'' included the comic in its "10 Wicked Awesome Webcomics" list. Cracked.com named ''Dinosaur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daniel Suarez (author)
Daniel Suarez (born December 21, 1964) is a former American information technology consultant turned author. He initially published under the pseudonym Leinad Zeraus (his name spelled backwards). Career His career as an author began with a pair of techno-thriller novels. The first novel, ''Daemon'', was self-published under his own company, Verdugo Press, in late 2006. It was later picked up by the major publishing house Dutton and re-released on January 8, 2009. His follow-up book '' Freedom™'' was released on January 7, 2010. ''The Wall Street Journal'' has reported that Walter F. Parkes, who produced the 1983 film ''WarGames'', had optioned the film rights to ''Daemon'' with Paramount Pictures in 2009, but the rights likely reverted to Suarez on 8 December 2012. Suarez announced in November 2011 that he was writing his third novel, "which deals with autonomous drones and next-gen, anonymous warfare" (via his Google Plus Account). That novel, '' Kill Decision'', was release ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James S
James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (other), various kings named James * Saint James (other) * James (musician) * James, brother of Jesus Places Canada * James Bay, a large body of water * James, Ontario United Kingdom * James College, a college of the University of York United States * James, Georgia, an unincorporated community * James, Iowa, an unincorporated community * James City, North Carolina * James City County, Virginia ** James City (Virginia Company) ** James City Shire * James City, Pennsylvania * St. James City, Florida Arts, entertainment, and media * ''James'' (2005 film), a Bollywood film * ''James'' (2008 film), an Irish short film * ''James'' (2022 film), an Indian Kannada-language film * James the Red Engine, a character in ''Thomas the Tank En ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cibola Burn
''Cibola Burn'' is a 2014 science fiction novel by James S. A. Corey (pen name of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) and the fourth book in The Expanse series. It follows the crew of the ''Rocinante'' as they join the flood of humanity out into the galaxy, using the gates built by the ancient civilization that also produced the protomolecule. At the release of ''Cibola Burn'', Orbit Books announced that James S. A. Corey would write three additional books in the series (adding to two that were already planned) to bring the series to nine novels and various short stories. ''Cibola Burn'' serves as the basis for the fourth season of the television series ''The Expanse'', which was released by Amazon Video December 13, 2019. Plot summary After the events of '' Abaddon's Gate'', humanity has gained entry to thousands of new worlds and solar systems through the gate networks. At the start of ''Cibola Burn'' the United Nations, Martian and Outer Planets Alliance governments have thus far re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mass Effect
''Mass Effect'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Casey Hudson, Drew Karpyshyn and Preston Watamaniuk. The franchise depicts a distant future where humanity and several alien civilizations have colonized the known universe using technology left behind by advanced precursor civilizations. The franchise originated in a series of video games developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts. Each installment is a third-person shooter with role-playing elements. The first three games form a trilogy in which the player character, Commander Shepard, attempts to save the Milky Way galaxy from a race of ancient, hibernating machines known as the Reapers. The inaugural video game in the series, ''Mass Effect'' (2007), follows Shepard's investigation of Saren Arterius, one of the Reapers' agents. ''Mass Effect 2'' (2010) begins two years later and sees Shepard's forces battling the Collectors, an alien race abducting human colonies to facilitate the Reapers' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alanine
Alanine (symbol Ala or A), or α-alanine, is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. It contains an amine group and a carboxylic acid group, both attached to the central carbon atom which also carries a methyl group side chain. Consequently, its IUPAC systematic name is 2-aminopropanoic acid, and it is classified as a nonpolar, aliphatic α-amino acid. Under biological conditions, it exists in its zwitterionic form with its amine group protonated (as −NH3+) and its carboxyl group deprotonated (as −CO2−). It is non-essential to humans as it can be synthesised metabolically and does not need to be present in the diet. It is encoded by all codons starting with GC (GCU, GCC, GCA, and GCG). The L-isomer of alanine (left-handed) is the one that is incorporated into proteins. L-alanine is second only to leucine in rate of occurrence, accounting for 7.8% of the primary structure in a sample of 1,150 proteins. The right-handed form, D-alanine, occurs in p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grass (novel)
''Grass'' is a 1989 science fiction novel by Sheri S. Tepper and the first novel from the Arbai trilogy. Styled as an ecological mystery, ''Grass'' presents one of Tepper's earliest and perhaps most radical statements on themes that would come to dominate her fiction, in which despoliation of the planet is explicitly linked to gender and social inequalities. Considered to be among her best works and hailed as "a splendid achievement, one of the most satisfying science fiction novels I have read in years" by ''New York Times'' Book critic Gerald Jones at the time of its publication, ''Grass'' was nominated for both the Hugo Award, Hugo and Locus Award, Locus award in 1990. Interest in the novel continued, and it was included in the SF Masterworks classic science fiction paperback collection in 2002. Setting Much of the novel centers on the cosmic anomaly Grass, the only planet immune to a galaxy-wide plague. Grass is so named because almost its entire surface is covered in multi-co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sheri S
Sheri is a female given name, from the French language, French for ''beloved'', and may refer to: * Sheri Anderson, American TV writer * Sheri Everts, American academic * Sheri Forde, Canadian reporter * Sheri Graner Ray, video game specialist * Sheri L. Dew (born c. 1954), Latter-day Saint leader * Sheri Moon (born 1970), American actress * Sheri Reynolds, author * Sheri S. Tepper (born 1929), American author * Sheri Sam (born 1974), American professional basketball player Sheri is also a term appearing in older documents for Sharia law. It, along with the French variant ''Chéri'', was used during the time of the Ottoman Empire, and is from the Turkish şer’(i).info page on bookat Martin Luther University) // Cited: p. 39 (PDF p. 41/338) // "“Chéri” may sound ambiguous in French but the term, used in our context for Islamic law (Turkish: şer’(i), is widely used in the legal literature at that time." See also Alternative spellings include * Chari (other) * C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doorways In The Sand
''Doorways in the Sand'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Roger Zelazny. Featuring both detective fiction and comic elements, it was originally published in serial form in the magazine ''Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact''; the hardcover edition was first published in 1976 and the paperback in 1977. Zelazny wrote the whole story in one draft, no rewrites and it subsequently became one of his own five personal favorites in all his work. ''Doorways in the Sand'' was nominated to the Nebula and Hugo awards. Plot introduction A galactic confederation of alien civilizations exchanges the star-stone and the Rhennius machine, mysterious alien artifacts, for the Mona Lisa and the British Crown Jewels as part of the process of admitting Earth to its organization. The star-stone is missing, and Fred Cassidy, a perpetual student and acrophile, is the last known person to have seen it. Various criminals, Anglophile zealots, government agents and aliens torture, shoo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spock Must Die!
''Spock Must Die!'' is an American science fiction novel written by James Blish, published February 1970 by Bantam Books. It was the first original novel based on the ''Star Trek'' television series intended for adult readers. It was preceded by a tie-in comic book line published by Gold Key and the novel '' Mission to Horatius'' by Mack Reynolds, all intended for younger readers. Blish aimed to kill off a popular character as a way to surprise readers, and during the novel's production chose Spock, with the aid of his wife, J.A. Lawrence. Reviews of the novel have been mixed. Some reviewers have directed criticism at the structure or tone of the novel, while others have expressed no enthusiasm for the work, overall. ''Spock Must Die!'' was reprinted numerous times with different cover art, including a cover by Kazuhiko Sano. The novel was collected in an omnibus for the Science Fiction Book Club in 1978. Prior to the release of ''Spock Must Die!'', Blish had written three ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
