The Significance of one Molecule

Proteins are the single most important and structurally sophisticated molecules known. Their variation in shape and constituents separate their specific functions in nature. A polymer is defined as a molecule that is composed of multiple monomers and a protein contains 20 different amino acids which act as its monomers. An amino acid's structure is described as an asymmetric carbon which contains four open slots that consist of a hydrogen atom, a carboxyl group, and an amino group. The fourth slot is what separates one type of amino acid from another, and this is what we call the R group or side chain.


Above is a structure of an individual amino acid. A polypeptide chain consists of two or more amino acids linked together with the carboxyl group bonded to the amino group.
A protein is defined as one or more polypeptide chains twisted, wound, and folded upon themselves to form a macromolecule with a definite three dimensional shape. The function of a protein(its ability to bind to some other molecule) depends on its unique structure which in turn depends on its unique sequence of R groups. This is an amazing observation because one molecule and its polarity in the end determine determine these following functions occur in our body:

1)Structural Proteins: Support-tissues, tendons, hair, horns, feathers, quills, skin appendages
2) Storage Proteins: Storage of amino acids- Casein protein of milk is a major source of amino acids for baby mammals
3) Transport Proteins:Transport of other substances-Hemoglobin, the iron-containing protein of blood transports oxygen from the lungs to other parts of the body.
4) Hormonal Proteins: Coordination of bodily activities- Insulin, a hormone created by the pancreas that helps regulate sugar in the blood.
5) Contractile proteins: movement- Actin and myosin work together to contract muscles in the body.
6) Antibodies: Defense- Fight against bacteria and foreign substances
7) Enzymes: Aid in chemical reactions- speed up chemical processes.

Visual Intuition

College tests separate those who intuitively understand a concept from those who don't. Intuition is what separates the "B" students from the "A" students. Students who achieve A's in their respective classes understand everything behind the process learning, whereas the B student merely memorizes a process to obtain a solution to a question. This only applies to technical classes such as Calculus or Physics because a class like History or Anthropology is purely based on memorized knowledge.

The way we learn is by listening, practicing, and reading and everything we learn in the sciences is a description about some phenomenon in nature. For example, if you derive a function of position you obtain a function of velocity, and if you derive a function of velocity then you obtain a function of acceleration. Students memorize this sequence of derivatives and never understand why and what this looks like graphically. The way we are taught in school(listening, practicing, and reading) is to memorize for a test and not understand the visual underlying reason for a concept.

A computer program where a concept in presented with a visual representation can be one way to instill intuition in students. A good example where this would come in handy is obtaining the volume of certain object through integration. When obtaining volume through integration you subtract one function(higher) from the (lower) function to obtain area. After doing so you integrate about a certain axis (x or y depending on the problem) to obtain the function for final volume. Our ability to intuitively understand this solely through practice, listening, and reading is extremely difficult due to the diversity of situations that which can be presented. Because of the diversity of situations, a concept like this one requires intuition because there is no one way to solve various types of problems. Rather than memorizing a process, these types of questions require This computer program would allow Professors to teach students by changing functions and parameters of various problems. With this in mind, if each step contained a visual representation on why it was taken, then instilling intuition would not be such a challenge for professors. The main perk about this program would be the responsiveness and speed of the visual representation to the changed function or parameter of a problem. This responsiveness would allow students to find patterns which in turn would help them with their understanding of the concept.

With almost everything becoming under the influence of computers and the internet, educational instruction has yet to have a breakthrough. Computers are used for their speed, and this would be an excellent way to take advantage it.

Neuroplasticity and Love

Love is inevitable. With all the distinction, variation, and opposing ideologies in the societies of the world one similarity we all contain is our passion for love. Love is an interesting drive, it can lead us an extreme spectrum of emotions which can be explained through chemical processes in the brain.

Helen Fisher, an anthropologist at Rutgers University, conducted brain scans on a number of students to physiologically explain what love looks like in the brain. She found that when shown a picture of a romantic partner the brain scan looked different than when shown a picture of a close friend. Romantic love is activated by dopamine receptors in the brain, the chemical that is tied to pleasure, euphoria, craving, and addiction. The first biological attraction, "love at first sight", and the bond between partners is explained by surging dopamine receptors which in turn leads to the behavior of heightened attention, short term memory, hyperactivity, sleeplessness, goal oriented behavior, and pleasure in small details of each respective relationship.

A pattern is shown here. One who is in love is constantly around their significant other to feel this release of dopamine therefore becoming dependent on them for pleasure. The power of this dependence to the dopamine pleasure system is shown with this following experiment. It asked a number of people to list all the people they love, all of their friends, everyone they thought was attractive, and who they ultimately love. The last list(person they romantically loved) which was one person was on all the other lists.

Neuroplasticity is our brain's ability to adapt to replicate a lost function of a region of our brain. For example if we lose our hearing ability, which we are so dependent on, our brain with enough practice and time will eventually adapt to not being able to hear and daily tasks will become normal without sound. This is so because our brain's neurons adapt and our other senses like sight and smell become strengthened to compensate for our loss of hearing. This feeling of normality after the loss of hearing only happens through heavy training to strengthen your other senses.

As previously explained, losing a significant other (one you are actually in love with) would then in turn result in losing your uncanny ability to release dopamine when around this person. The fear of losing this person who gives one pleasure ultimately finalizes in the realization of dependence. This dependence runs parallel to a drug addiction, or loss of a motor function such as one's hearing.

How an individual deals with the loss of a partner is similar to how an individual deals with the loss of a function like hearing. As human beings we are dependent on our brain's functions which consist of hearing, smelling, etc , and eventually loving someone special. To end this post with a question...Can heartbroken individuals who cannot overcome their depression about losing their significant other be given treatment through neuroplastic exercises instead of antidepressants to get rid of their dependence? If so, neuroplasticity would open up a whole new entire field of treatment just for sake of love.

Relationship between Scientific Method and Art Form

The formal aspect of a piece of artwork has the ability to change a person's thought process from being on one side of the spectrum to the other. For example, one could quickly glance at scene from a movie and come to conclusion that this piece of work contains x amount of information which caters to the viewer's perception of the plot. Contrary to this quick glance, one could take time to look at this same scene and break it down pixel by pixel. Analyzing every detail of this scene creates an infinite amount of ideas which caters to the depth and meaning of what visually lies beyond and how it relates to the character, story, symbolism etc. The act of slowly analyzing the details of art is described as critically thinking about its respective form and meaning. The scientific method and our analytical capability of scrutinizing every minute detail of art (form) are both very abstract and very similar. They both seek truth and depth for phenomena.

Creating depth from form is a trait of our imagination. Nature's form has continued on a steady behavior cycle, yet our interpretation of nature has changed dramatically over thousands of years. At first, we analyzed the form of nature and how it treated us as individuals therefore using our emotions to seek for depth. Due to our emotions, we turned to God to give us explanation for nature's predictable, but volatile behavior. The Pope was the source of our depth, and therefore society was controlled by religion. Our imaginations were catered to God, and this also reflected on art from this time period. Paintings and sculptures were solely depictions of religion. Like art, the depth and analytical aspect of explaining natural phenomenon was placed on the will of God. The lack of depth in art and God's explanations for nature's phenomena ran parallel. God's explanation to every phenomena bounded the ability to seek for further truth and create art that depicted any form of underlying depth.

Due to Conciliarism, the belief of limiting the Pope's power because of corruption, a new way of analyzing the form of nature was born. This was the Scientific Method and it began to first become prevalent in the works of Leonardo Da Vinci, Copernicus, Newton, and Galileo. Analyzing the form of nature with the scientific method was a new way of seeking answers of nature. It relied on theories based on evidence instead of a symbolic higher power of God. Analyzing the form of nature previously was explained by God, but this new scientific method contained explanations with theories that lead to new questions which in turn lead to new theories( An unending cycle of depth). Art was created to depict aesthetic beauty which in turn gave each piece new meaning to each detail (also an unending cycle of depth).

Scrutinizing the form of nature through the scientific method contains the same exact analytical aspect of imagination that is applied to analyzing a piece of art. From a minute detail on a painting, to a new scientific discovery, seeking the truth about the unique natural form of anything and being conscious of form gives us the ability as humans to be capable of critical thought.

A Car that can Drive Itself

If technology is characterized as living in human years , our technology is about to hit puberty in efficiency and speed. As intelligent mammals it is an interesting fact that communication and transportation were the two first aspects of technology we thrived in (besides technology in warfare which will always have an upward sloping y=4x, x being time, y being advancements in guns, ships, etc relationship). For example, the telegraph was an innovation which brought a new meaning to the word efficiency. We no longer waited days or even months to obtain messages from across the world. Trains transported goods in days rather than utilizing carriages driven by horses. The internet allowed individuals from across the world to face time with each other. Innovative ideas that once changed the way the world operated are now history. Communication and transportation have both hit a wall in terms of advancement in technology(what can they possibly do after the Iphone 4's face-time capability? Petroleum is still the main source of energy used in cars and has been for the past eighty years). It is surprising to me that we have not hurdled past our issue with dependence on petroleum.

Newton’s first law states that an object in constant velocity or equilibrium does not experience an external net force. This first law is then complemented by his second law which states that an object with a certain mass that accelerates contains a net external force to overcome its state of equilibrium. An extra source of energy is required to create this external force needed for acceleration. When we are driving and are maintaining a constant speed, we are in equilibrium and therefore are in a state of efficiency. Contrary to a car moving with constant velocity, a car in stop and go traffic is at a peak in inefficiency because it is accelerating. This car which stops and accelerates at a high rate is constantly creating this next external torque force through a great usage of fuel. Stop and go traffic is a source of inefficiency.

Our first option is to seek an alternative source of energy other than petroleum to power torque or we could limit our constant use of acceleration. I believe that limiting acceleration through halting the frequency of stop and go traffic can patch our problem of efficiency. Cars which control themselves will cause a halt to stop and go traffic (This only fits the situations for freeways where human mistakes are the most prominent cause of traffic).

There are two parameters that are to be met if this implementation is placed into society. First, a self driven car will have to be programmed to know the road ahead of it in order for it to know when and where to turn and at what speeds it could handle each change in direction. Second, each car will have to be in constant communication with every car in its vicinity. This automatic communication between cars will have to translate to the control(speed and direction) of each individual car to avoid contact. These basic parameters of a self driven car are only vague technical aspects of the actuality of them being placed into society. Financially, not everyone will be able to afford a self driven vehicles and therefore the second parameter of the technical aspect will be met. To facilitate this, the government will add toll roads to cater to individuals who own self driven vehicles. These toll roads which are built for self driven vehicles will limit accidents which will carry over to a chain reaction of a halt to stop and go traffic and inefficiency.

The Cerebellum and its Possibilities

The cerebellum is an interesting portion of our brain. It is responsible for a clear and quick response for motor signals. It is divided into sub areas which are know as the archicerebellum, paleocerebellum, and the neocerebellum. Each is respectively responsible for vestibular balance, muscle control, and coordination. Hypothetically, if we could imagine the brain as an airplane, the cockpit would be the cerebellum. It acts as a regulator and coordinator for the nerve impulses in the muscles which drive our bodies to carry daily physical functions.

If the cerebellum can control every muscle in our body, I wonder if its purpose for control will ever exceed its limitation to human body. Before artificial intelligence becomes prevalent in society(something we very far from) I believe that the unification of our brain with foreign systems such as computers will come about. This will give us the ability to control external objects without even moving anything in our body which will benefit us in exploration in space, oceans, wars, etc. There are almost an infinite number of reasons why the unification of the brain with external objects won't ever happen but 1000 years ago there were almost an infinite reasons why the Iphone was not possible.

Inputs and Outputs

What all computer scientists learn in their first programming class is the idea of inputs and outputs. The basic idea behind computer technology consists of inputs ( which is human beings interacting with a keyboard, mouse, or touchscreen interface) and outputs ( a program that takes an input and through a program outputs something for your personal purpose). The brain is our natural form of technology. Over the course of thousands of years our brain has been the medium between us and our surroundings. Our surroundings are inputs, our brain is the computer, and how we react to our surroundings is what is perceived as output. I carefully chose the word "perceive" because our perception has everything to do with our brain.

What obviously distinguishes a computer from our brain is the fact that our brain can react to an infinite number of situations whereas a computer can only react to a finite number of situations(situations that are programmed in the operating system). Our ability to think about the future, and to take a problem and think of a solution fit into the category of abstract thoughts. How can the human brain picture an event that it has never encountered? What is instinct? Are all animilia related in terms of instinct? Can human brains and computers one day be synced? Why do we feel emotion? How and why do we get emotionally attached to people and material items? Are all people born with the different emotional stability or is emotional diversity amongst humans gained throughout life? These questions give into the fire of the obscurity of our society and even how we view the universe. Why do we feel embarrassed? What does awkwardness look like in our brain? What does love look like in our brain? Are emotions complementary(Does one emotion rely on other emotions)?

A Cognitive Competition

For years society has been attempting to find a competitive way to gauge which individual a more apt brain. The first test that comes to mind when thinking of this subject is the IQ test. The human brain is an extremely complex organ which consists of many different regions that cater to various respective daily functions. With this in mind, the IQ test can be thought of as a vague, not a structured way of testing who contains better brain regions.

With social media networks such as Facebook and Foursquare at their peaks why not create a social game where people can compete on who has a better Temporal lobe, Occipital lobe, cerebellum, etc? Cognitive Scientists know tests that fire these distinct parts portions of the brain. If these tests can be turned into a game format the competitive nature of society will take over the prosperity of this idea.