Yer Friday nite frite: The giant Huntsman spider

OT: podcast - "How the Latest Findings in Molecular Biology Support Intelligent Design, pt. 1" http://intelligentdesign.podomatic.com/entry/2014-10-22T17_50_39-07_00 "How the Latest Findings in Molecular Biology Support Intelligent Design, pt. 2" http://intelligentdesign.podomatic.com/entry/2014-10-24T15_21_17-07_00 bornagain77

OT: Shaking up cell biology - October 20, 2014 Excerpt: a team of scientists,,, has imaged mitochondria for the first time oscillating in a live animal,,, “The movements could last from tens of seconds to minutes, which was far longer and frequently at a faster tempo than observed previously in cell culture,” said Roberto Weigert, Ph.D.,,, The mitochondria also appear to synchronize their movements not only in an individual cell but, quite unexpectedly, into a linked network of oscillators vibrating throughout the tissue. “You look through the microscope, and it almost looks like a synchronized dance,” said Weigert. “The synchronization, to borrow an old cliché, tells us that we need to differentiate the forest from the trees — and vice versa — when studying mitochondria. It may be that the forest holds the key to understanding how mitochondria function in human health and disease.” The mitochondrion (the singular of mitochondria) is of one of several distinct compartments, or organelles, in the cell cytoplasm. Although mitochondria are jacks of many biochemical trades, they are best known as the power plants of the cell. They generate a continuous supply of the molecule ATP that, like bits of coal, serve as the cell’s main source of energy to power the heart to beat, muscles to stretch, and virtually every movement that the body makes. ,,, The key was their choice of microscopy. Weigert and colleagues are masters of intravital microscopy, an extremely high-resolution technique that dates back to the 19th century. It had been too powerful to use in live animals until recently. “Animals breathe, their hearts beat, and their appendages twitch,” said Weigert. “The combined effect under very high magnification is like watching a 6.0 earthquake. Everything shakes and blurs out of focus. We have developed approaches to better stabilize our organ of interest and minimize the motion artifacts.,,, “We saw things in live animals that you don’t see in cell culture. The reasons, in this case, very well may be that the mitochondria continue to receive an influx of signals from the blood vessels, the nervous system, and their surrounding environment. The entire system can’t be reassembled n cell culture.”,,, http://www.nih.gov/news/health/oct2014/nidcr-20.htm bornagain77