DNA is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions for the
development and function of living organisms. All living things
contain DNA, although DNA viruses are usually considered non-living.
The main role of DNA in the cell is the long term storage of
information. It is often compared to a blueprint, since it contains
the instructions to construct other components of the cell, such as
proteins and RNA molecules. The DNA segments that carry genetic
information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural
purposes, or are involved in regulating the expression of genetic
information. In eukaryotes such as animals and plants, DNA is stored
inside the cell nucleus, while in prokaryotes such as bacteria, the
DNA is in the cell's cytoplasm. The major function of DNA is to encode
the sequence of amino acid residues in proteins, using the genetic
code. To read the genetic code, cells make a copy of a stretch of DNA
in the nucleic acid RNA. These RNA copies can then be used to direct
protein biosynthesis, but they can also be used directly as parts of
ribosomes or spliceosomes.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1689:
Glorious Revolution: Instead of James Francis Edward Stuart the Prince
of Wales acceding to the throne, his sister Mary and her husband
William were proclaimed co-rulers of England.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_II_of_England)
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_III_of_England)
1880:
Thomas Edison observed the Edison Effect, which later formed the basis
of John Ambrose Fleming's vacuum tube diodes.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermionic_emission)
1945:
The RAF Bomber Command began the strategic bombing of Dresden in
Saxony, Germany, resulting in a lethal firestorm which killed tens of
thousands of civilians.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Dresden_in_World_War_II)
1984:
Konstantin Chernenko succeeded the late Yuri Andropov as General
Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantin_Chernenko)
2004:
Researchers at Harvard University discovered BPM 37093, the universe's
largest known diamond, white dwarf star.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BPM_37093)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
Every man's life (and ... every woman's life), awaits the hour of
blossoming that makes it immortal ... love is a divinity above all
accidents, and guards his own with extraordinary obstinacy. -- Eleanor
Farjeon
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eleanor_Farjeon)
Make Way for Ducklings is a children's picture book written and
illustrated by Robert McCloskey. First published in 1941, the book
tells the story of a pair of mallard ducks who decide to raise their
family on an island in the lagoon in Boston Public Garden, a park in
the center of Boston, Massachusetts. Make Way for Ducklings won the
1942 Caldecott Medal for McCloskey's illustrations, executed in
charcoal then lithographed on zinc plates. As of 2003, the book had
sold over two million copies. The book's popularity led to the
construction of a statue in the Public Garden of the mother duck and
her eight ducklings, which is a popular destination for children and
adults alike. Praise for the book is still high over 60 years since
its first publication, mainly for the enhancing illustrations and
effective pacing. It was criticised for having a loose plot, however,
as well as poor characterization. The book is extremely popular
worldwide.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make_Way_for_Ducklings
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1689:
The Convention Parliament was convened to determine if James II, the
last Roman Catholic king of England, had vacated the throne when he
fled to France in 1688.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_II_of_England)
1733:
Georgia Day: James Oglethorpe founded the city of Savannah along with
the Province of Georgia, a penal colony for the resettlement of people
in debtor's prison in the United Kingdom.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savannah%2C_Georgia)
1818:
Led by General Bernardo O'Higgins, Chile formally proclaimed its
independence from Spain.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile)
1912:
Xinhai Revolution: Puyi, the last Emperor of China, abdicated under a
deal brokered by Yuan Shikai, ending the Manchu Qing Dynasty.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puyi)
2001:
NEAR Shoemaker touched down on Eros, becoming the first spacecraft to
land on an asteroid.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEAR_Shoemaker)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though
passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.
The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and
patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this
broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union when again touched,
as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature. -- Abraham
Lincoln
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln)
Able Archer 83 was a ten-day NATO exercise starting on November 2,
1983 that spanned the continent of Europe and simulated a coordinated
nuclear release. It incorporated a new, unique format of coded
communication, radio silences, participation by heads of state, and a
simulated DEFCON 1 nuclear alert. The realistic nature of the
exercise, coupled with deteriorating relations between the United
States and the Soviet Union and the anticipated arrival of
"super-stealth" Pershing II nuclear missiles in Europe, led some in
the USSR to believe that Able Archer 83 was a genuine nuclear strike.
In response, the Soviets readied their nuclear forces and placed air
units in East Germany and Poland on alert. This relatively obscure
incident is considered by many historians to be the closest the world
has come to nuclear war since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The
immediate threat of nuclear war abruptly ended with the conclusion of
the Able Archer 83 exercise on November 11.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Able_Archer_83
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1808:
Anthracite coal was first experimentally burned as a residential
heating fuel by Jesse Fell in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthracite_coal)
1919:
Friedrich Ebert became the first Reichspräsident of the Weimar
Republic.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Ebert)
1929:
The first Lateran treaty was signed, establishing Vatican City as an
independent sovereign enclave within Italy.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_City)
1971:
Eighty-seven countries signed the Seabed Arms Control Treaty,
outlawing weapons of mass destruction on the ocean floor in
international waters.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seabed_Arms_Control_Treaty)
1979:
Iranian Revolution: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini seized power in Iran,
and eventually became the Supreme Leader of the Islamic republic.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
Even if we accept, as the basic tenet of true democracy, that one
moron is equal to one genius, is it necessary to go a further step and
hold that two morons are better than one genius? -- Leó Szilárd
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Le%C3%B3_Szil%C3%A1rd)
The Scottish Parliament is the national unicameral legislature of
Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of Edinburgh. The Parliament is
a democratically elected body comprised of 129 members who are known
as Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). Members are elected for
four year terms under the proportional representation system. The
original Parliament of Scotland was the national legislature of the
independent Kingdom of Scotland and existed from the early thirteenth
century until the Kingdom of Scotland merged with the Kingdom of
England under the Acts of Union 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great
Britain. Following a referendum in 1997 where the Scottish people gave
their consent, the current Parliament was established by the Scotland
Act 1998 which sets out its powers as a devolved legislature. The Act
delineated the areas in which it can make laws by explicitly
specifying powers that are "reserved" to the Parliament of the United
Kingdom. All matters that are not explicitly reserved are
automatically the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament. The UK
Parliament retains the ability to amend the terms of reference of the
Scottish Parliament, and can extend or reduce the areas in which it
can make laws. The first meeting of the new Parliament took place on
12 May 1999.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Parliament
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
474:
As the seven-year old Leo II was deemed too young to rule, his father
Zeno was crowned as the co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeno_(emperor))
1895:
Volleyball was invented by William G. Morgan, a YMCA physical
education director, in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volleyball)
1920:
The Svalbard Treaty was signed, recognizing Norwegian sovereignty over
the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard)
1950:
Red Scare: Senator Joseph McCarthy accused the U.S. State Department
of being filled with communists.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_McCarthy)
1960:
Actress Joanne Woodward was honored with the first star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Walk_of_Fame)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
Belief may be no more, in the end, than a source of energy, like a
battery which one clips into an idea to make it run. -- J. M. Coetzee
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/J._M._Coetzee)
Vancouver is a city in southwestern British Columbia, Canada, named
for George Vancouver, an English explorer. Vancouver is part of the
Greater Vancouver Regional District metropolitan area. With a
population of 2,180,737 Vancouver is the largest metropolitan area in
western Canada and the third largest in the country. Vancouver has a
very ethnically diverse population: more than half of its residents
have a mother tongue other than English. Its economy has traditionally
relied on British Columbia's resource sectors: forestry, mining,
fishing and agriculture. It was first settled in the 1860s as a result
of immigration caused by the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, and developed
rapidly from a small lumber mill town into a metropolitan centre
following the arrival of the transcontinental railway in 1887. The
Port of Vancouver became internationally significant after the
completion of the Panama Canal and reduced freight rates in the 1920s
made it viable to ship export-bound prairie grain west through
Vancouver. It has since become the busiest seaport in Canada and
exports more cargo than any other port in North America. Vancouver is
consistently ranked one of the three most livable cities in the world.
In 2006, the city was ranked the 56th most expensive city to live in
among 144 major cities in the world and the second most expensive in
Canada (after Toronto).
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1587:
Mary, Queen of Scots was executed at Fotheringhay Castle on suspicion
of having been involved in the Babington Plot to murder her cousin,
Queen Elizabeth I of England.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_I_of_Scotland)
1849:
The Roman Republic was proclaimed.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Republic_(19th_century))
1904:
The Russo-Japanese War began after a surprise torpedo attack by the
Japanese on Russian ships near present-day Lüshunkou, China.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Port_Arthur)
1971:
Trading began in NASDAQ, the world's first electronic stock exchange.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASDAQ)
1979:
Colonel Denis Sassou Nguesso was chosen as the new President of the
Republic of the Congo.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASDAQ)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
One single war — we all know — may be productive of more evil,
immediate and subsequent, than hundreds of years of the unchecked
action of the mutual-aid principle may be productive of good. -- Peter
Kropotkin
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Peter_Kropotkin)
Scouting is a worldwide youth movement aiming to develop young people
physically, mentally and spiritually, so that they may play
constructive roles in society. Scouting began in 1907 when R.S.S.
Baden-Powell, Lieutenant General in the British Army, held the first
Scouting encampment at Brownsea Island, England. Baden-Powell wrote
the principles of Scouting in Scouting for Boys, based on his earlier
military books, with influence and support of Seton of the Woodcraft
Indians, Smith of the Boys' Brigade, and his publisher Pearson. During
the first half of the 20th century, the movement grew to encompass
three major age groups for boys (Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Rover Scout)
and for girls (Brownie Guide, Girl Guide and Girl Scout, Ranger
Guide). The movement employs the Scout method, a program of non-formal
education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including
camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking, and sports.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scouting
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1819:
Stamford Raffles founded Singapore, a new trading post for the British
East India Company.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamford_Raffles)
1840:
The British and the Māori signed the Treaty of Waitangi, considered as
the founding document of New Zealand.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Waitangi)
1922:
France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States signed
the Washington Naval Treaty to limit naval armaments.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Naval_Treaty)
1934:
In an attempted coup d'état against the French Third Republic, far
right leagues demonstrated on the Place de la Concorde in Paris.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6_February_1934_crisis)
1959:
Jack Kilby filed the patent for the first integrated circuit.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_circuit)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
I swing big, with everything I've got. I hit big or I miss big. I like
to live as big as I can. -- Babe Ruth
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Babe_Ruth)
The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. It was
widely regarded as the world's best tank when the Soviet Union entered
the Second World War, and although its armour and armament were
surpassed by later WWII tanks, it is credited as the war's most
effective, efficient and influential design. First produced at the
KhPZ factory in Kharkov (Kharkiv, Ukraine), it was the mainstay of
Soviet armoured forces throughout World War II, and widely exported
afterwards. It was the most-produced tank of the war, and the second
most-produced tank of all time, after its successor, the T-54/55
series. The T-34 was still in service with twenty-seven countries as
late as 1996.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-34
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1859:
Constantin von Tischendorf found the Codex Sinaiticus, a 4th-century
uncial manuscript of the New Testament, in a monastery at the foot of
Mount Sinai in Egypt.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Sinaiticus)
1862:
Bacardi, one of the world's largest rum producers, was founded as a
small distillery in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacardi)
1899:
The Philippine-American War broke out.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine-American_War)
1945:
Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin met at the
Yalta Conference.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yalta_Conference)
1957:
USS Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine, logged her 60,000th
nautical mile, matching the endurance of the fictional Nautilus
described in Jules Verne's novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Nautilus_(SSN-571))
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
God needeth not the help of a material sword of steel to assist the
sword of the Spirit in the affairs of conscience. -- Roger Williams
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Roger_Williams)
Ecclesiastical heraldry is the tradition of heraldry developed by
Christian clergy. Initially used to mark documents, ecclesiastical
heraldry evolved as a system for identifying people and dioceses. It
is most formalized within the Roman Catholic Church, where most
bishops, including the Pope, have a personal coat of arms. Similar
customs are followed by clergy in the Anglican Church, the Lutheran
Church, the Eastern Rite Catholic Churches, and the Orthodox Churches.
Institutions such as schools and dioceses bear arms called impersonal
or corporate arms. Ecclesiastical heraldry differs notably from other
heraldry in the use of special symbols around the shield to indicate
rank in a church or denomination. The most prominent of these symbols
is the ecclesiastical hat, commonly the Roman galero or Geneva bonnet.
The color and ornamentation of this hat carry a precise meaning.
Cardinals are famous for the "red hat", but other offices are assigned
a distinctive hat color. The hat is ornamented with tassels in a
quantity commensurate with the office. Other symbols include the
cross, the mitre and the crozier.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecclesiastical_heraldry
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1859:
Constantin von Tischendorf found the Codex Sinaiticus, a 4th-century
uncial manuscript of the New Testament, in a monastery at the foot of
Mount Sinai in Egypt.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Sinaiticus)
1862:
Bacardi, one of the world's largest rum producers, was founded as a
small distillery in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacardi)
1899:
The Philippine-American War broke out.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine-American_War)
1945:
Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin met at the
Yalta Conference.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yalta_Conference)
1957:
USS Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine, logged her 60,000th
nautical mile, matching the endurance of the fictional Nautilus
described in Jules Verne's novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Nautilus_(SSN-571))
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
Men weren't really the enemy — they were fellow victims suffering from
an outmoded masculine mystique that made them feel unnecessarily
inadequate when there were no bears to kill. -- Betty Friedan
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Betty_Friedan)
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life in the marine
environment. Whilst seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and
physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the
same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in
similar adaptations. The first seabirds evolved in the Cretaceous, and
modern seabird families emerged in the Paleogene. Seabirds live
longer, breed later and have fewer young than other birds do, but they
invest a great deal of time in those young that they do have. Most
species nest in colonies, which can vary in size from a few dozen
birds to many millions. They are famous for undertaking long annual
migrations, crossing the equator or circumnavigating the Earth in some
cases. They feed both at the ocean's surface and below it, and even
feed on each other. Seabirds can be highly pelagic, coastal, or in
some cases spend a part of the year away from the sea entirely.
Seabirds and humans have a long history together: they have provided
food to hunters, guided fishermen to fishing stocks and led sailors to
land. Many species are currently threatened by human activities, and
conservation efforts are underway.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seabird
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
962:
Pope John XII crowned Otto the Great as Holy Roman Emperor, the first
in nearly 40 years.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_I%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor)
1848:
The Mexican–American War ended with the signing of the Treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo, granting the United States the Mexican Cession.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Guadalupe_Hidalgo)
1925:
In the 1925 serum run to Nome, medical supplies to combat an outbreak
of diphtheria reached Nome, Alaska on dog sleds, inspiring the annual
Iditarod race across Alaska.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iditarod_(race))
1943:
World War II: The Battle of Stalingrad concluded with 91,000 tired and
starving German soldiers taken captive by the Red Army.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Stalingrad)
1990:
President F.W. de Klerk declared the end of Apartheid in South Africa.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_South_Africa_in_the_apartheid_era)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
Well, it's Groundhog Day... again... -- Groundhog Day
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bill_Murray)
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 science fantasy film
written and directed by George Lucas. It was the fourth film to be
released in the Star Wars saga, and the first in terms of internal
chronology. The film begins as two Jedi Knights are assigned as
ambassadors to a trade dispute that is threatening the planet Naboo.
When the situation turns violent, the Jedi, along with Padmé Amidala,
the planet's queen, flee Naboo in an attempt to reach the capital
world Coruscant in the hope of finding a peaceful end to the dispute.
Along the way, the ship must stop for repairs on the planet Tatooine.
It is there that the Jedi encounter Anakin Skywalker, a young slave
boy who is unusually strong in the Force. When the group returns to
Naboo, they realize that the situation is much worse than they
thought—the evil Sith have returned. The release of the film on May
19, 1999 came almost 16 years after the previous film in the series,
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. The release was accompanied
by extensive media coverage and great anticipation. Despite mixed
reviews by critics, it grossed US$924.3 million worldwide.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Episode_I%3A_The_Phantom_Menace
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1796:
The capital of Upper Canada was moved from Newark to York, which was
deemed to be less vulnerable to attack by the United States.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Canada)
1884:
The first fascicle of the Oxford English Dictionary was published.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionary)
1946:
Norwegian politician Trygve Lie was elected the first UN
Secretary-General.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trygve_Lie)
1957:
The first working prototype of the Wankel rotary engine ran for the
first time.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wankel_engine)
2003:
The NASA Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas during
reentry into the Earth's atmosphere on its 28th and final mission.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Columbia_disaster)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
I tire so of hearing people say,Let things take their course.Tomorrow
is another day.I do not need my freedom when I’m dead.I cannot live on
tomorrow’s bread. -- Langston Hughes
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Langston_Hughes)