Venue: The beautiful amphitheater of Casagrand Luxus
My son,Thushar, fielding questions on cell biology.
Here is a summary of the second edition of Khoj that took place on 8 January 2023. Those who missed first edition of Khoj, click here for a summary
Does light lose energy after traveling vast distances?
Light does lose energy as it travels across vast distances in space due to cosmological expansion of space. As the space expands, light waves get stretched and it gets shifted to the red end of the spectrum (frequency reduces and wavelength increases). This reduces the energy the light waves carry.
How does the cell nucleus know what is good and bad?
The cell nucleus has signaling pathways that act similar to neurotic signals which help in detecting and identifying external objects and it can figure out whether it needs to be taken in or not. In most cases when it comes to humans, these signals reach the brain cells and are sent back, for example: immediate reflex after touching a hot pan
- answered by Thushar
How did the genetic code form?
The more important question would be how it evolved because how it was formed is like asking how were humans formed. We weren't formed, we evolved. It mainly is because of the environment/surroundings around us which makes us adapt.
- answered by Thushar
Why does the Cell lose information as it multiplies?
Cells retain majority of the information while multiplying, in fact, us humans are very similar to each other (99.5%), this goes to prove that the small mutations (or mistakes) that occur during the formation of the subsequent is natural and a way of life. Somewhere deep within, we can say that these so called mistakes are good as it majority of the time helps the individual. There is no clear-cut answer but it's safe to say that everybody makes mistakes, so do our cells.
- answered by Thushar
What is RNA?
RNA is a single-stranded molecule which has a shorter chain of nucleotides as compared to DNA which is a double-stranded molecule that has a long chain of nucleotides.
- answered by Thushar
Do we have a cell limit?
No we don't, but a human is known to have 37 billion cells in their body that are continuously getting created and destroyed.
- answered by Thushar
Does the DNA die?
Eventually, after a few 100 years yes. Not immediately after the human dies.
Do we all have the same DNA?
As mentioned, each human has a 99.5% similarity when it comes to the genetic code. Although, there is no chance that two people have the same DNA, not even twin siblings.
- answered by Thushar
What is dark matter?
When scientists observed the galaxies, they realised that the amount of matter visible is not enough for the galaxies to retain its structure. That means there should be lot of invisible matter that is holding these structures togethers. This matter is known as dark matter. It is called dark because it is neither visible nor it reacts to electromagnetism.
Link to Khoj Edition #1: https://www.earthreimagined.org/post/khoj-edition-1-on-11-dec-2022
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