DNA Sequencing + color = pony bead necklace

Next abstract, yes? I haven't painted horses yet... life and friends and school are a bit busy. But this is after the horses!

Before Sun Sinks by Yangyang Pan

And a lecture slide blew my mind yesterday, I'm going to try to explain this:

credit to Dr. Matthew Sachs and Dr. Joseph Sorg,
taken from BIOL 351 lecture slides

The dATP, dGTP, dCTP, and dTTP are nucleotide bases. If you take off the hydroxyl group, you get the corresponding ddATP, ddGTP, ddCTP, and ddTTP, which are chain-terminating nucleotides because the 5' phosphate of the next nucleotide can't bond without that 3' hydroxyl. Researchers marked the dd's with flourescent markers.  If you make many single-strand sequences from the original strand's pattern using the d-nucleotides and flourescent dd-nucleotides, the chains will always end with the chain-terminating dd-nucleotides at random lengths. And these dd's are the nucleotides that fluoresce! So you use electrophoresis to order the synthesized strands by weight (corresponding to length), and you get a colorful sequence. How ingenious is that? I hope you were able to follow.

This sequencing technique can't separate larger fragments due to computer-reading errors, so it isn't as useful for large projects. I'm more interested in the logic behind the process. It makes sense. It deals with chemistry. And it processes genomes. "How neat is that?"

Serve only the Lord your God and fear Him alone. Obey His commands, listen to His voice, and cling to Him.  Deuteronomy 13:4

Have you seen the stars at night?

I would rather be here:

The McDonald Observatory

Looking at these:

photo credit: Zach Schrock Photo Blog

But nonspecific host resistance and intraepidermal lymphocytes are cool too. Thank you, Joel, for making sure I am in tip top studying shape and ready to conquer some tests. And thank you, Mama Russell, for buying good green tea. (I term-dropped the intraepidermal lymphocytes for sympathy, but my real hidden agenda is to make you jealous. I am so positive that everything I am studying is way cooler than whatever you have to study.)

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. Psalm 139:7-12.

Long live Yossarian

I wouldn't recommend Joseph Heller's Catch-22 to everyone. But I recommend it to myself every ten years and I can't wait for that time to come.
     "Death to all modifiers, he declared one day, and out of every letter that passed
      through his hands went every adverb and every adjective."
     "Clevinger really thought he was right, but Yossarian had proof, because
      strangers he didn't know shot at him with cannons every time he flew up
      into the air to drop bombs on them, and it wasn't funny at all."

And watch out, all you who frequent Oregon.  There is a giant fungus.
It is old news, but interesting nonetheless.

Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise His holy name. Psalm 103:1

Agape invite, for you

Agape is tonight! Come! All two of you! Hi mom, hi hailie. I love you both. Mom you get a pass on this one because you live far away. You haven't seen this one yet because I did it last weekend, and so I will show you here:

Reproduction of Claude Monet's Bulbfield and Windmill 
Near Leyden by Bailey Jones.

It is more of a simpleton in comparison to Monet's original. But it is also in a different medium and a smaller size. You won't get to see my version in person. Hopefully. Because if you never see it, this means someone has bought it at the auction and that would be wonderful.



And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18

Only the classy horses, please.

I want my next painting to be one of these. At least one of them is a pastel, so I get to play around a little  more than usual in making it into a painting.

Which one? (hailie...)

The Start of the Hunt by Edgar Degas, 1863-1865.

Racehorses at Longchamp by Edgar Degas, 1871.

Racehorses at Longchamp by Edgar Degas, 1873.

Before the Race by Edgar Degas, 1882-1884.

Race Horses by Edgar Degas, 1885-1888.

I'm really excited. I have never tried horses in a medium besides colored pencil. And any of these would look southern classy in the front sitting room, yes? I love how Degas seems to outline his subjects, and almost colors in the lines. It boosts contrast and keeps things from the overworked look. Because his style is a bit unique- the sketches show the varied speeds and motives of the subjects- it might be hard to emulate. But my version of his work probably won't get this lifeless...

The Fallen Jockey by Edgar Degas, 1896-1898.

Heh heh heh. Sorry Degas. That one wasn't your best.


Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the Lord.
Psalm 31:25

Call your mom!

Good morning!!

These things are on my mind:

The house is wonderful for putting out blueberries and blackberries
   in the morning.
Let's call beth "bburfever" because she suggested it in her sleep.
Ochem really is tough, but so so so cool.
I turned in paperwork for a double major and minor, so now that's official.
Saturday is parent's weekend and I hope there is a beautiful sunset.
Joel gave me a long-sleeve barely-cream A&M polo club shirt and I did a
   load of whites last night. But I forgot to throw the shirt in.... so today I'm
   reppin' Spencer
Camp comes in five weeks? also Parker's wedding. Also two graduations.
   Also finals.
And all the thoughts that come with reading:
     The Four Loves, by C.S. Lewis
     The Bible
     Alzheimer's Disease: the Changing View, by Katzman and Bick
     Better, by Atul Gawande

For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. Isaiah 43:19

It's film day.

It is friday!! Movie day!

This one is eighteen minutes.

This one is also eighteen minutes, but only 

because you hit replay seventeen times.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17

Kind of secret

This may be too secretive for the internet because it concerns my two favorite passwords and two financial accounts, but it is noteworthy enough and nothing will be compromised. My two favorite passwords are uniquely edited versions of the silliest last names I could find in the ten-year files of my old job. The fact that these two silly last names (for example, Johnson and Graham) were found in those files means that they are distinctly wealthy. And because they most likely live in Houston, it would be creepy and interesting to know what they do, right? I thought so. From an investigative standpoint, it should be easy as well. Even in the South's largest city, silly last names should stand out.  Last night I googled "Graham" and every result on the first page referenced a "Graham Johnson"! Crazy! Two bizarre last names, famous on the internet in a combined name. He isn't the client from the files. He's more fascinating. He took up an entire google search page with only half his name! Turns out the guy is notably famous in both Eastern Europe and Ohio.

And the One sitting on the throne said, "Look, I am making everything new!" And then He said to me, "Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true." And He also said, "It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega- the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life.  All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be My children." Revelation 21:5-7

Enantiomers

Today I learned that we can estimate fossil age by determining the fraction of amino acid that has transformed into the D enantiomer in a fossil.  Amino acids don't have enough vapor pressure for the GC, so you make a volatile derivative and send that through. I love it when ochem mixes with quant. Enantiomers are mirror-image compounds that cannot be superimposed. They have the same constituents, yet they have ways of being organized that can completely change the function and abilities of the molecule. The best example of this is your hands. They cannot be placed on top of one another and match up, yet they can high-five with all the fingers aligned. In the same way, amino acids are in the "L" conformation, and by switching two constituents attached to the chirality center, they can be changed into "D".  If all your fingers were the same, this would be like moving your thumb to the other side of your hand.

Ibuprofen is sold in a racemic mixture, so the dose has equal parts of its enantiomers. Half of your ibuprofen pill doesn't do anything for you. In fact, it slightly slows the effects of the good half. But it is expensive to isolate the active enantiomer. It's ok, the "lame" enantiomer doesn't hurt you.

Also, someone in my small quant class taught us how to make napalm. My friend says it makes good Molotov cocktails. I'm not going to burn anything. I promise.

This is also interesting.  Robert Barron must have been the gadget-guy on the block.  Imagine having the only locked house in all of England!

And this is the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Ah!

Shout to the LORD, all the earth; break out in praise and sing for joy! Psalm 98:4

Have you not heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth.  He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of His understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Isaiah 40:28-29

McKinzie is coming to visit!! And this is what I am painting:

Twilight the Lake by Isaak Levitan, 1900.

Grandiose but calming, yes? It has been somewhat of a challenge, which is wonderful for developing my painting style and exploring the techniques. I'll get creative and churn out an original once I have the tools. Really I'm convincing myself that painting reproductions isn't cheating because it's just so much fun, especially with Keaton Simons in the background.

I thought this was a humorous presentation of human biology to children, specifically the illustration of our mouths fighting bacteria ants. Those silly super-smart Russians are mixing culture with scientific education.