c0nc0rdance
@c0nc0rdance.bsky.social
Molecular biologist from Texas, here to share my meanderings on nature, science, history, politics, and zombies. Long threads a specialty.
... a sharp image on a piece of film.
What it revealed was this: fuzzy edges with four distinct "spots" in an X pattern in the interior.
This was compared to the chemical structures worked out for the nucleotides themselves, suggesting a stacked pattern of interacting bases.
What it revealed was this: fuzzy edges with four distinct "spots" in an X pattern in the interior.
This was compared to the chemical structures worked out for the nucleotides themselves, suggesting a stacked pattern of interacting bases.
November 10, 2025 at 2:12 PM
... a sharp image on a piece of film.
What it revealed was this: fuzzy edges with four distinct "spots" in an X pattern in the interior.
This was compared to the chemical structures worked out for the nucleotides themselves, suggesting a stacked pattern of interacting bases.
What it revealed was this: fuzzy edges with four distinct "spots" in an X pattern in the interior.
This was compared to the chemical structures worked out for the nucleotides themselves, suggesting a stacked pattern of interacting bases.
The challenge of crystallizing DNA was this: it needed to be kept stretched thin, but also hydrated.
Raymond Gosling eventually hit on the idea of stretching it on a frame made from a humble paperclip inserted into a cork base.
Rosalind Franklin worked out how to keep it hydrated.
Raymond Gosling eventually hit on the idea of stretching it on a frame made from a humble paperclip inserted into a cork base.
Rosalind Franklin worked out how to keep it hydrated.
November 10, 2025 at 2:12 PM
The challenge of crystallizing DNA was this: it needed to be kept stretched thin, but also hydrated.
Raymond Gosling eventually hit on the idea of stretching it on a frame made from a humble paperclip inserted into a cork base.
Rosalind Franklin worked out how to keep it hydrated.
Raymond Gosling eventually hit on the idea of stretching it on a frame made from a humble paperclip inserted into a cork base.
Rosalind Franklin worked out how to keep it hydrated.
... reveals an electron density map of the crystallized substance.
Biomolecule x-ray mapping was popularized by Dorothy Hodgkin, the only British woman to have won a Nobel in sciences.
Like Rosalind Franklin, she worked under J.D. Bernal, and would later be Margaret Thatcher's research supervisor.
Biomolecule x-ray mapping was popularized by Dorothy Hodgkin, the only British woman to have won a Nobel in sciences.
Like Rosalind Franklin, she worked under J.D. Bernal, and would later be Margaret Thatcher's research supervisor.
November 10, 2025 at 2:12 PM
... reveals an electron density map of the crystallized substance.
Biomolecule x-ray mapping was popularized by Dorothy Hodgkin, the only British woman to have won a Nobel in sciences.
Like Rosalind Franklin, she worked under J.D. Bernal, and would later be Margaret Thatcher's research supervisor.
Biomolecule x-ray mapping was popularized by Dorothy Hodgkin, the only British woman to have won a Nobel in sciences.
Like Rosalind Franklin, she worked under J.D. Bernal, and would later be Margaret Thatcher's research supervisor.
X-ray diffractometry (XRD) reveals the inner structure of a molecule by seeing how X-rays interact with the electrons in it.
A substance is crystallized or semi-crystallized, held in place in front of a pinhole X-ray source, with a detector or film plate behind it.
The pattern on the film...
A substance is crystallized or semi-crystallized, held in place in front of a pinhole X-ray source, with a detector or film plate behind it.
The pattern on the film...
November 10, 2025 at 2:12 PM
X-ray diffractometry (XRD) reveals the inner structure of a molecule by seeing how X-rays interact with the electrons in it.
A substance is crystallized or semi-crystallized, held in place in front of a pinhole X-ray source, with a detector or film plate behind it.
The pattern on the film...
A substance is crystallized or semi-crystallized, held in place in front of a pinhole X-ray source, with a detector or film plate behind it.
The pattern on the film...
"Photo 51" was the X-ray diffraction pattern that revealed the internal structure of DNA, produced by PhD student Raymond Gosling working under Rosalind Franklin's direction at King's College in London in 1952.
Let's talk about how CORK & a PAPERCLIP played a central role in DNA's discovery.
Let's talk about how CORK & a PAPERCLIP played a central role in DNA's discovery.
November 10, 2025 at 2:12 PM
"Photo 51" was the X-ray diffraction pattern that revealed the internal structure of DNA, produced by PhD student Raymond Gosling working under Rosalind Franklin's direction at King's College in London in 1952.
Let's talk about how CORK & a PAPERCLIP played a central role in DNA's discovery.
Let's talk about how CORK & a PAPERCLIP played a central role in DNA's discovery.
... and the money can go back into conservation to protect the animals from illegal poaching, create preserves for them to thrive, while providing jobs & support for the local community.
The areas where the Southern white rhino has thrived possessed the infrastructure to make this possible.
The areas where the Southern white rhino has thrived possessed the infrastructure to make this possible.
November 9, 2025 at 10:49 PM
... and the money can go back into conservation to protect the animals from illegal poaching, create preserves for them to thrive, while providing jobs & support for the local community.
The areas where the Southern white rhino has thrived possessed the infrastructure to make this possible.
The areas where the Southern white rhino has thrived possessed the infrastructure to make this possible.
By contrast, the Southern white rhino is an unquestionable conservation success. From fewer than 20 individuals in 1920, there are more than 18,000 in the wild.
Their status went from Endangered to Near Threatened in 2002. They're now the most populous of the five rhino species on Earth.
Their status went from Endangered to Near Threatened in 2002. They're now the most populous of the five rhino species on Earth.
November 9, 2025 at 10:49 PM
By contrast, the Southern white rhino is an unquestionable conservation success. From fewer than 20 individuals in 1920, there are more than 18,000 in the wild.
Their status went from Endangered to Near Threatened in 2002. They're now the most populous of the five rhino species on Earth.
Their status went from Endangered to Near Threatened in 2002. They're now the most populous of the five rhino species on Earth.
So: theatre, sombre, fibre, acre, centre, ogre.
Noah Webster managed to shift their usage in the US (except in words like 'ogre' & 'acre').
"Two countries separated by a common language", thanks to two lexicographers at cross purposes.
Noah Webster managed to shift their usage in the US (except in words like 'ogre' & 'acre').
"Two countries separated by a common language", thanks to two lexicographers at cross purposes.
November 8, 2025 at 9:29 PM
So: theatre, sombre, fibre, acre, centre, ogre.
Noah Webster managed to shift their usage in the US (except in words like 'ogre' & 'acre').
"Two countries separated by a common language", thanks to two lexicographers at cross purposes.
Noah Webster managed to shift their usage in the US (except in words like 'ogre' & 'acre').
"Two countries separated by a common language", thanks to two lexicographers at cross purposes.
American English, attempting to reform irregular spellings & suffixes borrowed in from Norman French in his 1828 “American Dictionary of the English Language”.
Johnson's 1755 "A Dictionary of the English Language" used the French suffixes & would be the standard for British English until the OED.
Johnson's 1755 "A Dictionary of the English Language" used the French suffixes & would be the standard for British English until the OED.
November 8, 2025 at 9:29 PM
American English, attempting to reform irregular spellings & suffixes borrowed in from Norman French in his 1828 “American Dictionary of the English Language”.
Johnson's 1755 "A Dictionary of the English Language" used the French suffixes & would be the standard for British English until the OED.
Johnson's 1755 "A Dictionary of the English Language" used the French suffixes & would be the standard for British English until the OED.
Which comes from Latin "subumbrare", where sub = "under" and umbra = "shadow", so "under a shadow".
This passed into French as "sombre".
Here's the fork in the road:
Noah Webster (American) OR Samuel Johnson (British, shown)
Each wrote dictionaries, but Webster tried to "de-Frenchify"...
This passed into French as "sombre".
Here's the fork in the road:
Noah Webster (American) OR Samuel Johnson (British, shown)
Each wrote dictionaries, but Webster tried to "de-Frenchify"...
November 8, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Which comes from Latin "subumbrare", where sub = "under" and umbra = "shadow", so "under a shadow".
This passed into French as "sombre".
Here's the fork in the road:
Noah Webster (American) OR Samuel Johnson (British, shown)
Each wrote dictionaries, but Webster tried to "de-Frenchify"...
This passed into French as "sombre".
Here's the fork in the road:
Noah Webster (American) OR Samuel Johnson (British, shown)
Each wrote dictionaries, but Webster tried to "de-Frenchify"...
Americans are 'somber', while Brits are 'sombre'.
Americans have 'fiber', while Brits have 'fibre'.
Americans go to the 'theater', while Brits attend the 'theatre'.
The -er v. -re difference stems from a more 'conservative' approach to French borrow words.
Let's take "somber"...
Americans have 'fiber', while Brits have 'fibre'.
Americans go to the 'theater', while Brits attend the 'theatre'.
The -er v. -re difference stems from a more 'conservative' approach to French borrow words.
Let's take "somber"...
November 8, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Americans are 'somber', while Brits are 'sombre'.
Americans have 'fiber', while Brits have 'fibre'.
Americans go to the 'theater', while Brits attend the 'theatre'.
The -er v. -re difference stems from a more 'conservative' approach to French borrow words.
Let's take "somber"...
Americans have 'fiber', while Brits have 'fibre'.
Americans go to the 'theater', while Brits attend the 'theatre'.
The -er v. -re difference stems from a more 'conservative' approach to French borrow words.
Let's take "somber"...
Her mentee, Sir Aaron Klug, standing next to her in this photo, would go on to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1982 "for his development of crystallographic electron microscopy and his structural elucidation of biologically important nucleic acid-protein complexes"
November 8, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Her mentee, Sir Aaron Klug, standing next to her in this photo, would go on to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1982 "for his development of crystallographic electron microscopy and his structural elucidation of biologically important nucleic acid-protein complexes"
But the denticles on an angular roughshark are extra-large & coarse, giving the shark an almost "furry" appearance out of water.
They also (and this feels like overkill, Nature) emit a pig-like "grunt" when taken from the water.
They also (and this feels like overkill, Nature) emit a pig-like "grunt" when taken from the water.
November 8, 2025 at 7:19 PM
But the denticles on an angular roughshark are extra-large & coarse, giving the shark an almost "furry" appearance out of water.
They also (and this feels like overkill, Nature) emit a pig-like "grunt" when taken from the water.
They also (and this feels like overkill, Nature) emit a pig-like "grunt" when taken from the water.
They prefer muddy ocean bottoms below 100 m (330 ft), where they 'snuffle' through mud for semi-buried crustaceans, worms, mollusks with their pink nostrils (nares).
Recessed downward-facing teeth are optimized for cracking shells.
Like all sharks, they've covered in 'denticles': "skin teeth"
Recessed downward-facing teeth are optimized for cracking shells.
Like all sharks, they've covered in 'denticles': "skin teeth"
November 8, 2025 at 7:19 PM
They prefer muddy ocean bottoms below 100 m (330 ft), where they 'snuffle' through mud for semi-buried crustaceans, worms, mollusks with their pink nostrils (nares).
Recessed downward-facing teeth are optimized for cracking shells.
Like all sharks, they've covered in 'denticles': "skin teeth"
Recessed downward-facing teeth are optimized for cracking shells.
Like all sharks, they've covered in 'denticles': "skin teeth"
Ah the deep ocean, answering the question (this time) of:
What if shark but ALSO pig?
Let's meet the angular roughshark (Oxynotus centrina), found across the eastern Atlantic Ocean & Mediterranean.
They're 'hairy', they grunt & they look like this 👇
What if shark but ALSO pig?
Let's meet the angular roughshark (Oxynotus centrina), found across the eastern Atlantic Ocean & Mediterranean.
They're 'hairy', they grunt & they look like this 👇
November 8, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Ah the deep ocean, answering the question (this time) of:
What if shark but ALSO pig?
Let's meet the angular roughshark (Oxynotus centrina), found across the eastern Atlantic Ocean & Mediterranean.
They're 'hairy', they grunt & they look like this 👇
What if shark but ALSO pig?
Let's meet the angular roughshark (Oxynotus centrina), found across the eastern Atlantic Ocean & Mediterranean.
They're 'hairy', they grunt & they look like this 👇
I mean, we kind of wish you wouldn't.
November 8, 2025 at 3:57 AM
I mean, we kind of wish you wouldn't.
Also, and this seems unrelated, but this is what Roderick Thorp looked like in 1977.
November 7, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Also, and this seems unrelated, but this is what Roderick Thorp looked like in 1977.
TRUE FACT:
Die Hard (1988) is based on the book "Nothing Lasts Forever" published in 1979 as a SEQUEL to Roderick Thorp's 1966 novel "The Detective" which was turned into a film in 1968 starring Frank Sinatra.
Bruce Willis plays the same character as Frank Sinatra.
Die Hard (1988) is based on the book "Nothing Lasts Forever" published in 1979 as a SEQUEL to Roderick Thorp's 1966 novel "The Detective" which was turned into a film in 1968 starring Frank Sinatra.
Bruce Willis plays the same character as Frank Sinatra.
November 7, 2025 at 5:37 PM
TRUE FACT:
Die Hard (1988) is based on the book "Nothing Lasts Forever" published in 1979 as a SEQUEL to Roderick Thorp's 1966 novel "The Detective" which was turned into a film in 1968 starring Frank Sinatra.
Bruce Willis plays the same character as Frank Sinatra.
Die Hard (1988) is based on the book "Nothing Lasts Forever" published in 1979 as a SEQUEL to Roderick Thorp's 1966 novel "The Detective" which was turned into a film in 1968 starring Frank Sinatra.
Bruce Willis plays the same character as Frank Sinatra.
In Apple's "Prehistoric Planet", two male Dreadnoughtus dinosaurs challenge each other, displaying gular throat sacs.
There's no fossil evidence of these, but the titanosaurs did have extensive air sacs in their bones, so it's possible.
But here's MY question: Why did they have such long necks?
There's no fossil evidence of these, but the titanosaurs did have extensive air sacs in their bones, so it's possible.
But here's MY question: Why did they have such long necks?
November 7, 2025 at 1:53 PM
In Apple's "Prehistoric Planet", two male Dreadnoughtus dinosaurs challenge each other, displaying gular throat sacs.
There's no fossil evidence of these, but the titanosaurs did have extensive air sacs in their bones, so it's possible.
But here's MY question: Why did they have such long necks?
There's no fossil evidence of these, but the titanosaurs did have extensive air sacs in their bones, so it's possible.
But here's MY question: Why did they have such long necks?
Disney's animators claim to observe wild animals for weeks before drawing them.
Draw a flamingo beak RIGHT, you cowards!
Draw a flamingo beak RIGHT, you cowards!
November 7, 2025 at 2:36 AM
Disney's animators claim to observe wild animals for weeks before drawing them.
Draw a flamingo beak RIGHT, you cowards!
Draw a flamingo beak RIGHT, you cowards!
That continues to today, with electric and internal combustion engines, all of which date back to the Latin term for "innately clever". Engines are the work of engineers who are ingenious. 🙄
But none of that beats a trebuchet.
But none of that beats a trebuchet.
November 6, 2025 at 11:07 PM
That continues to today, with electric and internal combustion engines, all of which date back to the Latin term for "innately clever". Engines are the work of engineers who are ingenious. 🙄
But none of that beats a trebuchet.
But none of that beats a trebuchet.
On the tip of each balloon, which passively move with tides/currents, are velcro-like HOOKS that snag prey: copepods, other crustaceans.
The snagged prey is then coated in mucus & digestive enzymes & eaten or absorbed.
The inflated water balloons provide the passive motion. They're lazy hunters.
The snagged prey is then coated in mucus & digestive enzymes & eaten or absorbed.
The inflated water balloons provide the passive motion. They're lazy hunters.
November 6, 2025 at 2:33 PM
On the tip of each balloon, which passively move with tides/currents, are velcro-like HOOKS that snag prey: copepods, other crustaceans.
The snagged prey is then coated in mucus & digestive enzymes & eaten or absorbed.
The inflated water balloons provide the passive motion. They're lazy hunters.
The snagged prey is then coated in mucus & digestive enzymes & eaten or absorbed.
The inflated water balloons provide the passive motion. They're lazy hunters.
Most marine sponges are filter-feeding animals with cells called choanocytes that push water with their flagella, forcing debris into a mucus layer where it's eaten/absorbed.
Not the death-ball sponges! They are CARNIVORES.
They use their choanocytes to inflate little water-filled balloons.
Not the death-ball sponges! They are CARNIVORES.
They use their choanocytes to inflate little water-filled balloons.
November 6, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Most marine sponges are filter-feeding animals with cells called choanocytes that push water with their flagella, forcing debris into a mucus layer where it's eaten/absorbed.
Not the death-ball sponges! They are CARNIVORES.
They use their choanocytes to inflate little water-filled balloons.
Not the death-ball sponges! They are CARNIVORES.
They use their choanocytes to inflate little water-filled balloons.
So while Asiatic lions are still Endangered (IUCN Red List), the conservation efforts are having the desired effect, and we can hope that they continue to thrive, ensuring that our children's children will share a planet with that symbol of strength & ferocity.
The Extra-Big Danger Kitties.
The Extra-Big Danger Kitties.
November 6, 2025 at 1:48 PM
So while Asiatic lions are still Endangered (IUCN Red List), the conservation efforts are having the desired effect, and we can hope that they continue to thrive, ensuring that our children's children will share a planet with that symbol of strength & ferocity.
The Extra-Big Danger Kitties.
The Extra-Big Danger Kitties.