G, T, A, C, and X Y

Scientists create new life form in a lab, altering the fundamentals of DNA

The work has been able to 'lay the foundation for achieving the central goal of synthetic biology: the creation of new life forms and functions'

For as long as life on Earth has existed, all of it has been made up of only four letters. DNA has been written in just those four letters – G, T, C and A – which together create the code that underlies every living thing ever known.

That's until now. Scientists have announced that they have created living organisms using an expanded genetic code. That could in turn lead to the creation of entirely new lifeforms, using combinations of DNA that couldn't possible have existed before.

Two researchers created a bacterium that not only uses the four natural bases, but also uses a pair of synthetic ones known as X and Y. In doing so, the researchers say that they have been able to "lay the foundation for achieving the central goal of synthetic biology: the creation of new life forms and functions".

Because of the novel and synthetic forms of DNA that are being used, those life forms won't just be never before seen. They could include "wholly unnatural attributes and traits not found elsewhere in nature", the researchers write.

The X and Y letters of DNA were first created by the same scientists, Professor Floyd Romesberg and his colleague, in 2014. They were demonstrated in modified E. coli bacteria that had them integrated into their genetic code.

"We can now get the light of life to stay on," said Professor Romesberg in a statement. "That suggests that all of life's processes can be subject to manipulation."

At the moment, that manipulation and the process is limited only to single cells and can't be used in more complex organisms. And at the moment it can't actually be applied, existing only as a proof of concept.

But the researchers are now looking at how to write the new genetic code onto RNA, which is used to turn DNA into proteins.

The simplest genetic life form ever.

Biologists Have Just Created a New Species of Bacteria With Just 437 Genes

A team of scientists led by renowned biologist Craig Venter has made a breakthrough some 20 years in the making: they've managed to create a species of bacteria in the lab with a genetic code that's smaller than any found in nature. With just 437 genes, the lab-made organism is carrying the absolute known minimum amount of genetic code required to support life.

By creating this self-replicating bacterium, scientists from the Synthetic Genomics lab and the J. Craig Venter Institute hope to get a better understanding of the function of the individual genes that make up every living organism - while we're making new discoveries all the time, there's still a lot we don't know about these vital biological building blocks.

Of the catchily named JCVI-syn3.0 microbe's 437 genes, only 149 have a known function. In other words, we know the rest are necessary for life to exist, but we haven't figured out what their purpose is yet. To help scientists find out more, what Venter and his team are now learning from this experiment is being added to a public database so anyone can study them.

"Our attempt to design and create a new species, while ultimately successful, revealed that 32 percent of the genes essential for life in this cell are of unknown function, and showed that many are highly conserved in numerous species, we must find out what are the functions of the genes and are they harmful or not. " said Venter. "All the bioinformatics studies over the past 20 years have underestimated the number of essential genes by focusing only on the known world."

The challenge now is to figure out the function of those mysterious 149 extra genes, and take the study of synthetic life further still - the researchers admit it might be possible to create a living organism with even fewer genes further down the line. "We view life as DNA software-driven," Venter said in a press statement. "And we're showing that by trying to understand that software, we're going to get better understandings of life."

His team's work has now been published in the journal Science.

The London Underground Mosquitoes

Humans are 'creating new species' including a bizarre breed of mosquito that lives underground

We are all familiar with how human activities are driving the extinction of species around the world. Humans are in fact causing the rapid evolution and making new species of plants and animals emerge, according to a new study.

As the common house mosquito adapted to the environment of the underground railway system in London, it established a subterranean population. Now named the 'London Underground mosquito', it can no longer interbreed with its above ground counterpart and is effectively thought to be a new species. 

The study, led by the University of Copenhagen, outlined many examples of the process of man-made speciation, where human activities lead to the introduction of a new species.The process can take place by accident, through the emergence of new ecosystems like urban environments, or through the domestication of animals and crops. Unnatural selection caused by hunting can lead to new traits emerging in animals, which can eventually lead to new species.

The deliberate or accidental relocation of species can lead to hybridization with other species. This has meant more new plant species in Europe have appeared than are documented to have become extinct. These new species might be harmful and bring many unknown and dangerous disease that cannot be cured.

Environment

Poll Shows Americans Don't Care That Much About the Environment

Americans care less about environmental issues now than they have in the past and they're no more worry about global warming then they were decades ago, a new poll shows. 

The Gallup survey on Wednesday shows Americans were more concerned about the environment in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but interest dropped off in the 2000s. Since then it's remained close historic laws. And when it comes to global warming specifically, Americans are no more worried now than they were in 1989.

In the recent survey, which questioned 1,025 U.S. adults in early March,  Americans reported feeling the most concerned about drinking polluted water and least worried about global warming. In 1989, 35%of the men and women surveyed said they cared a great deal about climate change, but only 32% said the the same thing in 2015. Even when it came to polluted water, just 55% of the Americans reported caring a great deal, down from 65% in 1990.

Gallup notes that the state of the economy could play a roll in how concerned Americans are about the environment. Americans tend give environmental concerns a higher priority when the economy is doing well, Gallup says.

Air pollution doesn’t just harm humans – it is destroying nature too

The poisonous residue from car exhausts is causing a public health crisis – and could be the death of sparrows too

You may never have heard of cow parsley syndrome, yet it’s been visible over much of Britain for the past month – the spectacle of country roads fringed with a dense throng of tall white feathery flowers, three- to four-feet high, which many people now think of as an attractive addition to the landscape. It’s a pity they do, for the point about the syndrome is this: there’s lots of cow parsley, sure. But there isn’t anything else.

UK government sued for third time over illegal air pollution from diesels

Read more

Along mile after mile of our rural highways, especially the closer you get to London, every spring you will see masses of this frothy foam. But what you often won’t find is the lovely variety of wildflowers that 30 to 40 years ago decorated these same roadside verges: comfrey, lady’s smock, garlic mustard, early purple orchid and many more. The cow parsley has largely crowded them out because it has been fertilised into excessive growth. Much of the fertiliser has come in the form of nitrogen compounds from car exhausts, especially diesel ones – a striking example of how air pollution from motor vehicles is impacting on the natural world.

We know only too well how it impacts on us. Causing up to 40,000 premature deaths a year, air pollution in Britain is now right at the top of our list of environmental health concerns. It is seen in human terms as a crisis and a public health emergency. Vehicle emissions are breaking EU air quality laws, and the government has had to be ordered by the supreme court to find an effective strategy. 

KLIA Customs seizes RM9 million record haul of Pangolin scales

The Kuala Lumpur International Airport's (KLIA) Customs Department has seized 712 kilograms of Pangolin scales, worth RM9.12 million, which were smuggled in from Congo and Ghana.

Displaying the seized items at Kompleks Kastam Kargo, here, its enforcement assistant director general Datuk Paddy Abd Halim said the seizures were made possible following a tip-off.

"We were alerted by an informer about this and deployed our officers to investigate."

The Pangolin scales, he said, were smuggled in two separate batches, dated May 1 and May 2 respectively.

"The first batch was labelled as 'General Product' while the second batch as 'Dry Herbs'," he said.

Paddy said his team has yet to ascertain if the smuggled Pangolin scales were meant for domestic or overseas market.

"They used a fake company address in Nilai. So, we are not sure and are still investigating it," he said.

He added that the first batch was flown in via Emirates Airways from Accra, Ghana and transited in Dubai while the second batch was flown in via the same airline from Kinshasa, Congo and also transited in Dubai.

Wildlife Department (Perhilitan) deputy director Rozidan Md Yasin said the Pangolin scales could fetch a price of between RM 1,000 to RM 1,500 per kg in the Malaysian market.

"They can fetch a higher price in China because of the big demand there."

He said this was because the scales were considered to have medicinal properties and used as traditional remedy for malaria and cancer.

Rozidan said even though there was no scientific research to back the claim, Pangolin meat could be sold for RM200 to RM300 per kg.

"I believe they (the seized scales) are from pangolins in Africa, because the scales are of larger size." he added.

Import of Pangolin scales requires a special permit from Perhilitan.

Under Section 135 (1) (a) of the Customs Act 1967, those found guilty of illegally importing it into the country can be fined a maximum of 20 times the value of the smuggled items, or face three years imprisonment, or both.

Meanwhile, KLIA Customs director Datuk Hamzah Sundang pledged a handsome cash reward for those who could provide authorities with valuable information on the smugglers' whereabouts.

Mangroves outside Mumbai Metropolitan Region are not protected by state cell

Mumbai city news: Only 5,471 hectares of the state’s 15,088 hectares of mangroves are protected by the state’s mangrove cell

Two years after 15,088 hectares of mangroves along the Maharashtra coastline were notified as reserved forest by the state government, apart from the entire mangrove cover in Mumbai, the revenue department has not yet handed over 9,600 hectares to the state mangrove cell.

The mangrove cell came into being in 2013 as the state’s nodal agency to protect mangroves and take action against those destroying them. However, with only the mangroves in Mumbai under its jurisdiction, officials say many mangrove destruction cases are going unchecked across the state.

Mangroves are salt-tolerant plants, trees, shrubs or ground fern of tropical and subtropical intertidal regions of the world. Such areas are highly productive, but extremely sensitive and fragile. Besides mangroves, the ecosystem also harbours other plant and animal species.

Between August 2015 and January 2016, the Konkan divisional commissioner’s office sanctioned and handed 5,471 ha of mangrove forests from Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane — all under the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. However, till date, the remaining 9,617 ha from Raigad, remaining parts of Thane, Palghar, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg continue to remain under the jurisdiction of the revenue officials from each district.

According to the Konkan divisional commissioner’s office, there have been 233 mangrove destruction cases between April 2016 and May 2017, of which, inquiry is pending in 21 cases, mostly from Thane, Mira-Bhayander, Raigad and Sindhudurg districts.

“While there is a dedicated cell to probe mangrove destruction cases, sub-divisional officers from each district are not well versed with the Environment Protection Act, 1986 as opposed to the Indian Forest Act (IFA), 1927. Therefore, in situations where mangroves have been destroyed, a complete follow-up investigation is currently missing. It is the need of the hour to hand over the remaining mangrove area to the cell,” said a senior state official.

Meanwhile, officials from the Konkan divisional commissioner’s office said that the entire 9,617 ha is likely to be handed over in the next three months. “The entire process of handing over these forests is extremely tedious,” said Bhausaheb Dangade, Konkan deputy commissioner (revenue).

First, the sub-divisional officer needs to send out a notice for the notification under IFA, 1927 through vernacular newspapers. Then citizens will submit their objections followed by public hearing. Once the process is resolved, the entire process happens at the district collector’s level, followed by the Konkan commissioner and then the state government. “While the process has been completed in a number of districts, only a few remain and by August we will be handing over the area to the cell.”

“The revenue department is deliberately keeping the mangroves in the state out of the purview of the forest department so that it can be made available for construction and various other projects. This is a deliberate attempt and defiance of the Bombay high court (HC) orders from 2005,” said Stalin D, project director, NGO Vanashakti.

'My worst nightmares are coming true': last major primeval forest in Europe on 'brink of collapse'

Polish government is accused of pushing Białowieża forest ecosystem to point of no return with state-sanctioned logging in Unesco world heritage site

Scientists and environmental campaigners have accused the Polish government of bringing the ecosystem of the Białowieża forest in north-eastern Poland to the “brink of collapse”, one year after a revised forest management plan permitted the trebling of state logging activity and removed a ban on logging in old growth areas.

Large parts of the forest, which spans Poland’s eastern border with Belarus and contains some of Europe’s last remaining primeval woodland, are subject to natural processes not disturbed by direct human intervention.

An Unesco natural world heritage site – the only one in Poland – the forest is home to about 1,070 species of vascular plants, 4,000 species of fungi, more than 10,000 species of insect, 180 breeding bird species and 58 species of mammal, including many species dependent on natural processes and threatened with extinction.

“At some point there will be a collapse, and if and when it happens, it’s gone forever – no amount of money in the universe can bring it back,” said Prof Tomasz Wesołowski, a forest biologist at the University of Wroclaw who has been conducting fieldwork in Białowieża for each of the last 43 years. “With every tree cut, we are closer to this point of no return.”

Logging is prohibited in the Białowieża national park nature reserve, which contains woodland untouched by humans for thousands of years, but the reserve only accounts for 17% of the forest on the Polish side, leaving approximately 40,000 hectares vulnerable to state-sanctioned logging.

On recent visits to the forest, the Guardian encountered evidence of widespread logging of trees in apparent contravention of Polish and European law, including many trees that appeared to be more than 100 years old in Unesco-protected areas, with logs marked for commercial distribution.

“They are logging natural, diverse forest stands which were not planted by humans and replacing them with plantations of trees of a single age and species,” said Adam Bohdan of the Wild Poland Foundation , which monitors logging activity and provides data for scientists working at the Białowieża botanical research station.

“They are logging in Unesco zones where timber harvesting is forbidden, they are logging 100-year-old tree stands in contravention of European law, they are logging during breeding season and destroying habitats occupied by rare species. It is disrupting natural processes which have been continuing there for thousands of years. We are losing large parts of the last natural forest – my worst nightmares are coming true ,” said Bohdan.

Donald Trump's 'insane' climate change policy will destroy more jobs than it creates and also speed up global warming

Donald Trump's 'insane' policy 

Speeding up global warming , at the same time destroying jobs.

US energy department report says less than 200,000 work in coal, oil and natural gas, compared to more than 650,000 in wind, solar and bio fuels.

Donald Trump will speed up global warming and will potentially destroy more American jobs than he creates, the Environment Protection Agency claims.Tom Crowther, who recently led a global warming report that is already being adopted by the United Nations, also said the US President’s short-sighted approach was “brutal” and “insane”. Dr Crowther, back in December, said average temperatures are forecast to increase by 3 Celsius by 2050 and that global warming is beyond the 'point of no return' .
"It is an issue that deserves attention," the official said of climate change. "But I think the President has been very clear that he is not going to pursue climate change policies that put the US economy at risk. It is very simple."

"The previous administration devalued workers by their policies," the official said. "We are saying we can do both. We can protect the environment and provide people with work."

His report, which was celebrated by academics across the globe, said climate change scientists had not previously taken account of harmful carbon gasses emitted from the soil: known as ‘positive feedback’.“Certainly Trump’s policy will bump that number up and will accelerate climate change and that’s devastating,” said Dr Crowther, speaking to The Independent.

The former Yale University academic also said Mr Trump’s policy would destroy more jobs than it creates in the long run, because global warming will terrorize industries that are tied to the land . Mr Trump’s executive order seeks to reverse Mr Obama’s “war on coal”, but a US Department of Energy report in January claimed the renewable energy sector employed far more than the fossil fuel sector.It said 187,117 worked in coal, oil and natural gas, while more than 650,000 worked in wind, solar and bio fuels.“It’s only going to put the US at a massive disadvantage as the rest of the world moves forward,” said Dr Crowther. If, as a lot of studies suggest, that renewable energies employ more people than coal and other natural gases, then sticking with natural gas is reducing the potential for job creation.

Mr Trump’s executive order, signed on Monday, initiates a review of the Clean Power Plan which restricts greenhouse gas emissions at coal-fired power plants.“As Trump withdraws from all of these agreements, our once in a lifetime chances of offsetting the devastating impacts of climate change just continue to slip away," added Mr Crowther.

Suicide

Suicide

Why do people especially teens commit suicide ?

To Die

To die is something very frightening , nobody alive knows what is the pain you have to go through to die. It is also not an easy topic to discuss about although talking bout it could save lives. It is clear that usually it's not just one thing that compels someone to feel suicidal. It can be a combination of these few things , pain, loneliness, rejection, abuse, deep depression, guilt, depression, helplessness, hopelessness.

People do not understand

More than anything, I believe people who live with suicidal idea feel hopeless. They are hurting so badly and want nothing more than for the pain to end. Unfortunately, but they cannot imagine the pain ever going away. They cannot see the light at the end of the very dark and lonely tunnel they have found themselves traveling down. Have you ever felt this way?

It is not uncommon for a person’s circumstances or their self-image to cause someone to think negatively about themselves. Often times, people consider suicide because they are unable to find any reason to make living worthwhile. They think their problems are unsolvable and they feel completely out of control. I believe first and foremost, hopelessness is a serious spiritual problem rooted in lies and faulty thinking. Anytime you believe lies about yourself, you are listening to the wrong voices.

Jennifer said suicide has been a daily struggle for the past nine years due to being sexually abused. I feel like suicide is the only option I have left, the only chance at peace I’ll ever have. It’s as if something will always be missing and life will never be quite right. There is no denying that the pain of sexual abuse can be tremendous. But the abuse is not Jennifer’s fault. She is the victim, but she does not have to punish herself for her abuser’s actions. Additionally, many people just like Jennifer have overcome abuse through talking about it with a professional counselor. 

Conclusion  

Suicide is the results of irrational thinking in the illness of depression. Spread the awareness and stop suicidal.

The Art Of Japan

The Psycho Artist

"She was a very popular artist in Japan, but now she's crazy, no one would even accept her anymore" her best friend claimed.

Yuko Tatsushima

A Japanese artist, born in 1974. Yuko was absolutely talented in drawing and doll making, she was also a performer. When she was at her twenties, she almost got raped. After that she had depression and sadly she went crazy. Yuko was sent to a psychologist for treatment, but she never gave up on drawing, instead she drew she unspeakable feelings out. These are a few examples of her art, for more information do visit her official website, undergroundfortress.web.fc2.com

罪と罰

赤い笑い

血の輪廻

ｅｎｄｌｅｓｓ ｃｙｃｌｅ ｏｆ ｒｅｂｉｒｔｈ ｏｆ ｂｌｏｏｄ

Title : I can't be a bride anymore

「あたしはもう 

お嫁にはいけません」

「泡花」

「ｂｕｂｂｌｅ ｆｌｏｗｅｒ」

六弦ストレリチア