James D. Houston

This week’s articles, Bovine Abominations: Genetic Culture and Politics in the Netherlands by Karen-Sue Taussig and Bodies, Commodities, & Biotechnologies by Leslie Sharp illustrate the “tie between genetics and identity” (Taussig 2004: 309). It is in human nature to believe that we all have a personality, thoughts, and emotions that make us human. Anything that is not of human origin is considered to be a tool for dehumanization. That is why this idea of xenotransplants and biotechnologies does…

In the spring of 1953 James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the true structure of deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA) utilizing theoretical chemistry and borrowed X-ray crystallography images. They postulated that the structure of DNA contained two helical chains that run in opposite directions of one another. They also stated, in contrast to Linus Pauling’s structure, that due to the repulsive forces between the negatively charged phosphate groups the nitrogenous bases would be located on the…

Francis Harry Compton Crick, is known by all to have received a nobel prize in physiology or medicine for his contributions in the discovery of deoxyribonucleic acid, also known as DNA, and its structure. Although his accomplishments are incredible, the journey to them were even more so. Crick was born on june 8th in 1916 to a small town of Weston Favell, Northamptonshire located in the United Kingdom. Here Crick attended Northampton Grammar School, as a young boy. Later, Crick and his family…

Influential People who contributed to Genetics: James Watson: James Dewey Watson is a Nobel Prize-winning biophysicist and researcher, who is credited with co-discovering the the double-helix structure of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in 1953 with Francis Crick. Crick and Watson’s first efforts towards learning the structure of the DNA came up with many attempts, but it eventually concluded in the spring of 1953. Their research portrayed the DNA model pulling forth the double-helical…

James Watson, Francis Crick, Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins all played a pivotal role in determining the structure of the DNA molecule. The orderly and methodical work at King’s college, London by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins provided a more experimental approach, working closely with X-ray diffraction images of DNA, this was juxtaposed to Watson and Cricks who at their Cambridge lab approached research by building physical models, narrowing down possibilities and producing ever…

How do we know that genes are made of DNA? In the 1920s, scientists agreed that genes are located on chromosomes, and they already knew that DNA and proteins make up chromosomes. They assumed that genes were made of proteins because DNA is chemically simple and proteins are not, but this was proven to be wrong. In the late 1920s, a great discovery was made by Fred Griffith while studying Streptococcus pneumonia (pneumococcus). He found that pneumococci come in a pathogenic form and a harmless…

Augustine Ugwu Professor Ileana Loubser ENGL 1301 November 18, 2014 Genetic Engineering Of Human Genetic engineering technology has been a very powerful and also a very hazardous tool. To modify the series of nucleotides of the most genetic material that rules for the organization of a complex living mortal, can cause and tremendously illness effects, however, the prospective benefits are really good. Arguably, the use of advanced technology has changed many numerous aspects of human everyday…

“How does the author of Gattaca use one or more of the following techniques to develop ideas: Symbolism, Juxtaposition and flashbacks.” Andrew Niccol’s ‘Gattaca’ presents us with a futuristic utopia where genetic enhancement is a normality and society now has discrimination down to a science. The film explores the life of Vincent Freeman, a degenerate who is denied the opportunity to achieve his dream of becoming an astronaut due to his inferior DNA. Vincent adopts the identity of renowned…

The Structure of DNA Somewhere in someone’s brain a curiosity is born that starts a wanting to find an answer. Not everybody gets these feelings to act upon their feelings of wanting to find out an answer, but for some people it does. An Austrian monk, Greg Mendel was a for-father of finding “basic patterns of inheritance.” He started doing his scientific experiments around 1854 in his gardens researching “the transmission of hereditary traits in plant hybrids” (Bio, a Biography of Gregor…

was compiled my Davson and Danielli so that the could create a model that proved that globular proteins surrounded both outer surfaces. However due to advances in the scientific their model would be proven false. In 1935 Hugh Davson and James Danielli created a model of the cell membrane. This model not only culminated the work of previous scientist but included Davson and Danielli’s own work. This model displayed a bilayer of phospholipids in the center of the membrane with…