...Introduction The profound importance for microorganisms to operate at a maximum efficiency has lead to adaptations allowing for groups of processes to be functional when resources are available, while on the contrary remaining “dormant” when not in need. This has been accomplished at the molecular level by configuring clusters of genes together on the genome into operons that elicit a processive response in the presence of a specific metabolite. The Lac operon is responsible for the cleaving of the disaccharide lactose into two products. A myriad of components control the expression of the Lac operon when two conditions are met. First, the substrate, lactose, must be present. Second, no better substrate for example, glucose, is present (2). The three structural genes in the Lac operon are lacZ, lacY, and lacA. The gene lacZ encodes the tetramer, ß-galactosidase, which is responsible for hydrolyzing the ß-1,4 glycosidic linkage between galactose and glucose in lactose. The transport of lactose into the cell via the enzyme lactose permease is encoded by the gene lacY. The lacA gene encodes the enzyme, galactoside transacetylase, a trimer that transfers an acetyl group from acetyl-CoA to galactosides. Activation of these genes is dependent on the activity of a promoter and three operators based on the nutritional and environmental conditions available to the cell. The lac operon is a negatively controlled inducible operon that utilizes the product of the regulator gene lacI, to...
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...Introduction: The purpose of this experiment was to successfully transform pGLO plasmid into E.Coli cells. In the first segment of this laboratory exercise, one had to carry out a restriction digest. Restriction digestion is the process of cutting DNA molecules into smaller pieces with special enzymes such as, BamH1 and EcoR1. One had to determine which of the two plasmids, A or B, were pGLO or pWEB. A plasmid is a small circular DNA strand in the cytoplasm of a bacterium (Isite, 2013). In order to determine that, one had to use BamH1 and EcoR1 on two tubes each one with plasmid A and the other with plasmid B to observe the cuts made by each enzyme. The hypothesis for this segment of the laboratory exercise states that pGLO was plasmid B, and pWEB was plasmid A. PGLO is a plasmid which contains green fluorescent protein (GFP). GFP is found in the Aquarius Victoria jelly fish. These jelly fish have a bioluminescent protein that emits blue light. GFP converts the blue light into green light, and that is why these jelly fish emit green light. The pGLO was inserted into E.coli by using transformation. Transformation is the process of transferring genetic material between microbial cells (Tu 2008). Bacterial cells need to be in a state of competency prior to transformation (Isite 2013). Some bacteria naturally achieve this stage when nutrients and oxygen are low (Isite 2013). In the laboratory, bacteria were artificially induced with calcium chloride to be competent for transformation...
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...in American politics. “The term “gun control” refers to any government policies that influence the availability and use of firearms among the general public or distinct subsets of the population” (Chapman & J. Ciment, 2013). Gun control groups would like to initiate additional restrictions on firearms, but also to eliminate legal limitations on the right to possess and carry firearms. Gun control laws should be strengthened because it will reduce crime rates, would decrease crime due to concealed carrying, and is not a constitutional right. Gun policy at the state and federal levels need to strengthen gun laws because violent crime rates are high. Initiate additional restrictions on firearms to reduce crime. “One of the more emotional arguments for greater control of firearms is the number of gun-related accidental deaths that occur each year, especially among children” (G. Carter, 2012). “Supporters of gun control argue that firearms restrictions are reasonable measures that reduce injury and death” (R. Chapman & J. Ciment, 2013). “Passions run deep on the issue of gun control, indicating highly distinct and conflicting attitudes toward firearms in American culture” (R. Chapman & J. Ciment, 2013). However, a regenerated boost in the violent crime rate could ensue in more forceful pressure for additional legislative restrictions on firearms (G. Carter, 2012). A majority of American states have now implemented laws that allow the public possession of a concealed...
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...Senator Robert F. Kennedy, gun control became a major subject of public passion and controversy. To some people gun control is a crime issue, to others it is a rights issue. Gun control is a safety issue, an education issue, a racial issue, and a political issue, among others. Within each of these issues there are those who want more gun control legislation and those who want less. On both sides of this issue opinions range from moderate to extreme. Guns are not for everyone. Certain individuals cannot handle a firearm safely, and some individuals choose to use firearms inappropriately. Our society has passed laws regulating the ownership and use of firearms, and more legislation is being considered. Most of this legislation restricts, to some degree, the rights of individuals to possess or use firearms. Some restrictions may be necessary, but some recent legislation has gone too far. Society benefits from firearms in the hands of responsible citizens. Attempts to keep firearms away from these citizens do more harm than good. The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution states: “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” The Founding Fathers included this in our bill of Rights because they feared the Federal Government might oppress the population if the people did not have the means to defend themselves as a nation and as individuals. This idea was not new. The Founding...
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...Jr., Edmund. (2007). California Firearms Laws 2007. Retrieved October 25, 2009 from http://ag.ca.gov/firearms/forms/pdf/Cfl2007.pdf The California Firearms Laws 2007 pamphlet is an informative resource for my argument in opposing gun laws. This reference serves as a tool to look up the actual laws and restrictions that California residents must follow. The pamphlet contains a general summary of California laws that govern common possession and use of firearms by persons other than law enforcement officers, firearms dealers, or members of the armed forces. It is not designed to provide individual guidance for specific situations, nor does it attempt to summarize federal law. A special interest in the actual definitions of “assault weapons”, “sawed off shotguns”, and “firearms”, is taken in consideration because it specifies the schematic descriptions of these illegal firearms. The information in the pamphlet will be used as a reference for what is considered the strictest restrictions on firearms that exist out of all the United States. Kopel, David. (1998). Second Amendment in the Nineteenth Century. Retrieved October 27, 2009 from http://www.davekopel.com/2A/LawRev/19thcentury.htm This article dissects the Second Amendment of the United States of America and explains the true intent of the James Madison and his reasoning to include it into the Bill of Rights. The article explains the actual text: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of...
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...highly debated topics of all time. A variety of government regulations such as background checks, and firearm restrictions left many wondering whether or not the laws of the government are in the best interest of the people. Although this topic is very controversial, there is a high supply of guns flowing in and out of America and a solution to the increase of gun violence is very much needed. These new laws not only affect people who oppose firearms, but it can especially hurt the people who rely on it for protection. Gun violence isn’t an issue that can be easily eradicated however, by informing people of new ideas and options pertaining to guns, America will realize that it can prevent many of these violent events from actually happening. With that being said many people are thinking more radical and some even blame certain mass shootings on mental illness, which in some cases may be true however, its often a cop out to receive a reduced sentence. Although many countries have implemented strict gun control laws, they have proven to not be as effective as lawmakers thought they would be in reducing crime. According to an article, “there is some common ground in the gun-control debate; many on both sides agree that there is a clear distinction between those who are “mentally ill” and those who are dangerous. Yet recently there have been renewed calls for gun-ownership restrictions based purely on mental-illness diagnoses” (Dulan, 1). Ignoring the fact that citizens will obey the...
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...Gun deaths are a very big deal in America. They need to be lowered and we all know that. That is why I think that the age to buy guns should NOT be lowered to 18. That is because firearms are very dangerous, 21 year olds are more mature and they are more responsible, and the death rates in America will lower. If the age restriction to buy guns stays at 21, then the death rates will lower. According to USA Gun Violence statistics, there are more than 30,000 people killed by firearms in America every year. That is a lot of people that are killed by guns that could lower if there is a better age restriction on firearms. Also, homicide is the second leading cause of deaths among 15-24 year olds. That is a lot of teens dying....
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...the Sikh Temple massacre in Wisconsin in August that claimed six lives, the September Minneapolis sign-plant slaughter of five, and most recently, the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut that took the lives of 26 students and teachers. Cases like these have prompted the Obama Administration as well as the entire nation to reconsider what laws and restrictions need to be placed with regard to gun access and control without interfering with the constitutional rights of citizens. It is a known fact that America was produced into a nation based on the ideologies of freedom and democracy; with the constitution as the heart of its central government. The basic rights of citizens stated in the amendments are not only unambiguous but also eminently conserved by the Judicial System and Supreme Courts, which makes it a crucial challenge to modify, despite having national catastrophes that leave the government questioning their responsibilities with regard to public safety. Guns are a huge presence on the American landscape, no doubt. With an estimated 300 million firearms privately owned in the U.S., we practically have a weapon for every citizen. In 1994, President Clinton signed a ten year assault weapons ban into law but industries continued to manufacture civilian versions of military rifles. According to author Paul Berrett, “The prohibition actually helped transform what had been a marginal product for most manufacturers into a gun-rights poster...
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...professionals and the public due to its user-friendliness and accessibility. Both guns and gun parts have been one of the successful test subjects in the 3D printing market. Consequently, the new gun production method can lead to threats towards multiple groups of people, including the police, people who grant access to the printing equipment and most importantly the lives and safety of the public. 3D printing is currently unrestricted which gives any individual the ability to build their own gun from the multiple models spread over the internet. Additionally, the current model's abilities have given other countries reasoning to take action against the production the 3D printed guns. Overall, from the 21st century into the future, laws, and restrictions will be implemented to restrain the accessibility of 3D printing, due to the rising popularity of 3D printed guns and how they can disrupt North American gun control systems and legislation. 3D printing is a service that lets the user design any object that they want, including gun parts which can affect the gun control system. Therefore, if an individual has access to a 3D printer and files to produce the parts, that individual can then produce their own guns. The first 3D printed gun that successfully fired a bullet was named the Liberator (Blackman 2014). The digital documents for the Liberator were posted online in 2013 granting everyone access to download and print their own guns until a few days later when the files were removed...
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...According to CNN News, citizens in the U.S own around 270 million guns. When you take this immense number into account, Americans slightly have more guns than the amount of people in Indonesia (the fourth most-populated country in the world), that’s crazy! In addition, America comes in at number one in firearms per capita. In blatant terms, this means that people in the U.S. own more guns than any other country in the world. “Even though the number of homicides in the United States has decreased in the last 50 years, handguns are the main weapon used in roughly 7 in 10 killings” (Simon). With so many guns around, it's no surprise that the number of gun background checks tend to increase exponentially especially after mass shootings. For example in 2015, the number of background checks for firearms surpassed a previous record that was set in 2012 after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The only reason the record was broken is because another mass shooting occurred at the Conference Center in San Bernardino, California. Mass shootings such as those mentioned above serve as a catalyst to make people want to buy a gun for their safety and protection. As a result, this leads to easier access to a gun which poses a threat to each and every single American if...
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...The Effects of Calorie Restriction on Aging by Jessica Swantek Introduction For ages, humans have been searching for ways to counteract the aging process. The legendary fountain of youth generated much attention in the past, and more recently, thousands of dollars have been spent each year on creams, pills, plastic surgery, and various forms of therapy designed to make one look and feel younger. So far nothing has been proven to reverse or even retard human aging, but scientists are finally catching a glimpse as to a dietary manipulation technique that might work. Preliminary Experimentation In the 1930s, Clive McCay, a scientist at the laboratories at Cornell University, experimented on his rats by feeding them less than they would ordinarily take for themselves, but without depriving them of nutrition to the point of starvation. He found that the food-deprived rats lived considerably longer than expected for a standard rat's life span, and about 33 percent longer than his control group of rats, which were fed as much as they wanted to eat (Weindruch 46). McCay didn't fully understand his results, and although published, they were generally disregarded by the science world (Man Immortal). Years later, Roy Walford, a nutritionist working at the University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center, came across the documentation of McCay's experiments, and, using modern technology and mice instead of rats, picked up where McCay had left off (Man Immortal). Walford found...
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...The Effects of Calorie Restriction on Aging by christiano Introduction For ages, humans have been searching for ways to counteract the aging process. The legendary fountain of youth generated much attention in the past, and more recently, thousands of dollars have been spent each year on creams, pills, plastic surgery, and various forms of therapy designed to make one look and feel younger. So far nothing has been proven to reverse or even retard human aging, but scientists are finally catching a glimpse as to a dietary manipulation technique that might work. Preliminary Experimentation In the 1930s, Clive McCay, a scientist at the laboratories at Cornell University, experimented on his rats by feeding them less than they would ordinarily take for themselves, but without depriving them of nutrition to the point of starvation. He found that the food-deprived rats lived considerably longer than expected for a standard rat's life span, and about 33 percent longer than his control group of rats, which were fed as much as they wanted to eat (Weindruch 46). McCay didn't fully understand his results, and although published, they were generally disregarded by the science world (Man Immortal). Years later, Roy Walford, a nutritionist working at the University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center, came across the documentation of McCay's experiments, and, using modern technology and mice instead of rats, picked up where McCay had left off (Man Immortal). Walford found that...
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...calories are minimalized to a couple hundred calories and on the other day you would eat as normal. This diet is particularly best for weight loss due to longer periods of food restriction. The next fasting approach is called the Warrior Diet, which is based on the concept of fasting for 20 hours and promotes eating one large, healthy meal at the end of the day (Simmons). “It claims that this pattern of eating is in sync with humans’ circadian rhythm and will promote general health while ‘removing harmful toxins from the body’” (Simmons 2014). The fasting period allows you to consume small snacks such as fruits and veggies and some high protein snacks or shakes. The common factor among each one of the fasting diets is calorie restriction, which eventually leads to weight loss. Because meals are limited to a certain timeframe, ideally the calorie consumption is going to be less when following a proper diet. Eliminating multiple meals throughout the day until mealtime or “feeding” time is going to reduce added calories to one's diet. The restrictive diet helps reduce the risk factors associated with being overweight and obese such as certain cancers and diabetes (Patterson 2015). Overall fasting is not going to be the most beneficial way to lose weight by itself. Other factors such as calorie restriction and increased metabolism contribute to weight loss. For individuals who are looking for significant weight loss fasting may not be the best plan. In fasting, reducing the eating...
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...Legitimate Gun Restrictions Christopher Glover PHI103 Karen Kart February 25, 2013 Legitimate Gun Restrictions A continuous argument between gun owners and concerned citizens is over gun restrictions. Many gun owners support the second amendment of the constitution and believe that any restriction on guns is an infringement on this amendment and there for there right. Concerned citizens of the United States believe that guns are to readily available and believe restrictions should be put in place to prevent these guns from falling into the wrong hands. In this essay I will discuss this argument and reveal the reasons that there are legitimate restrictions on gun ownership. I will start with how background checks keep guns out of the hands of people with a felony on their record. The gun control act of 1968 following the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, Congress passed this law prohibiting convicted felons from possessing firearms. It also required licenses to trade in guns and created procedures to track serial numbers and control imports (www.keyt.com). Many will say that this helped reduce gun valance in America because after the gun control act of 1968 handgun violence dropped by 37% the next year (http://www.saf.org/LawReviews). The real reason behind the drop was the fact that during that year handgun production dropped, resulting in the drop in violence not the new law. Therefore the...
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...Gun Control It has been debated whether or not American citizens should have the right to own firearms. Some may argue that most Americans don’t have the proper gun safety education that should be required before someone owns a gun. Few may even assert that everyone should have the freedom to own guns regardless of their education and experience with firearms. I believe that most Americans don’t take a strong stand on either side of this issue. Nobody wants to completely eliminate all guns in America. Likewise, I don’t think anyone wants to give people full access to guns. The issue that I’m arguing is simply whether or not the government should permit gun control by restricting the use and/or possession of firearms for American citizens. I believe that restricting guns would violate our personal freedom to bear arms. The problem with violence isn’t the gun itself, but the problem rests on the people who choose to use guns to commit acts of violence. To solve the ‘gun abuse’ problem, why doesn’t the government impose stricter consequences for people who still choose to commit acts of violence involving firearms? That way it would only affect the criminals, and the law-abiding citizens could continue to live in freedom. In an article titled “Gun Control: Does it Really Matter?”, Will Fawcett states, “There is no logical reason to believe that making it more difficult or impossible to own or poses guns, would deter individuals who already are taking part in illegal behavior...
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