This is an artist's impression of the i-motif DNA structure inside cells, along with the antibody-based tool used to detect it. Credit: Chris Hammang
The i-motif is a four-stranded knot of DNA that is very different from a double helix, where 'letters' on opposite strands recognize each other. In the i-motif knot structure, C letters on the same strand of DNA bind to each other.
To detect the i-motifs inside cells, the researchers developed a new tool -- a fragment of an antibody molecule -- that could specifically recognize and attach to i-motifs with a very high affinity. With the new tool, researchers uncovered the location of 'i-motifs' in a range of human cell lines.
"What excited us most is that we could see the green spots -- the i-motifs -- appearing and disappearing over time, so we know that they are forming, dissolving and forming again," says Dr Mahdi Zeraati, whose research underpins the study's findings.
Dr Zeraati says, "We think the coming and going of the i-motifs is a clue to what they do. It seems likely that they are there to help switch genes on or off, and to affect whether a gene is actively read or not."
This is the war armour of Lord Buckhurst, made in 1587 at the Royal Armourers’ Workshops in Greenwich, England. The Royal Armourers’ Workshops was set up by Henry VIII at the beginning of the 16th century to provide himself and his Court with the finest quality armour. Read more here.
Iron armour could be carburized or case hardened to give a surface of harder steel.
Glass is a material of great interest to archaeologists and materials experts. Because of its fragile nature, many of the oldest glass artifacts are no longer intact.
The oldest known glass manufacturing site was in Egypt. It dates to around B.C. 1250. The glass items produced here were for nobles and high kings. The objects include blue glass beads and vessels with narrow necks used to store perfume or other precious liquids.
The artisans of Mesopotamian also produced glass around. A victory inscription from an Egyptian king claimed that he had brought back skilled glass workers from Mesopotamia.
Decorated glass was produced 1000 years ago at Igbo-Olokun, an archaeological site in the Yoruba city of Ile-Ife in southwestern Nigeria.
The Glastonbury Abbey Project has been reevaluating data from previous excavations at that ancient site. One of the discoveries involves glass making. A reassessment of the Glastonbury glass-producing furnaces proved that Saxon workers were recycling Roman glass imported from Europe, and that the furnaces are nearly 300 years older than expected. They date to about A.D. 700 and are associated with the construction of the earliest stone churches in England. According to archaeologist Roberta Gilchrist (University of Reading) this makes the site’s glass production complex among the earliest and most substantial in Saxon England.
Ancient Greek and Roman glass
Glass is made from sand. Early humans probably discovered this when they built bonfires on the sand. The fire's intense heat turned the sand into liquid. When the liquid sand cooled, they noticed that it was hard. It had turned into glass.
The technique of glass blowing made glass less costly and more accessible to the average person of the Roman Empire.
The first globes were made beginning in 1492. These were made by hand and hand painted. Even in the 1950's making a globe was a labor intensive process. Watch this video to see how the globes were made.
Integrating biblical data and the findings of the sciences
Students select a card from the Bible Technology Card Box. The cards address topics in 16 fields of science. Each card provides background information and context for students to research up to 3 questions per card related to science, technology, engineering and math in the Bible. Students are to complete 12 cards per semester (or 6 cards per quarter). The cards are color coded as follows:
Agriculture/Horticulture - sea foam green
Anthropology - gold
Archaeology - dark blue
Architecture - pink
Astronomy - bright green
Biology - blue
Cartography - light blue
Climate Studies - purple
Earth Science - black
Forestry - teal
Genetics - red
Linguistics - brown
Materials - bright yellow
Medicine - orange
Navigation - white
Zoology - salmon
You will find answers to the Bible Technology Cards by clicking on the links below. The articles are listed under the branch of science. Be sure to check the "related reading" at the end of the articles for further information.
