Tag: Learned

Learned!

To learn new things is beneficial at any age, and any kind of learning can benefit other aspects of your life. For instance, taking music lessons can increase your language skills. If you’re interested in a topic, study it. If you’d like a new skill, practice it. Your life is ever-changing and infinitely complex, and your ability to experience it depends on your willingness the learn. The more you learned, the more you live.

Embrace failure and confusion. When you are learning a new thing, you are entering into unknown territory. Allow yourself to experience the confusion of unanswered questions and unfamiliar parameters. When you study a new topic, don’t look up answers to your questions right away. Instead, spend some time trying to figure the answers out on your own. This kind of trying (and failing) helps you better understand what you are learning.

  • Helpless

    What is a meaning of Helpless?

    Meaning of helpless: “Unable to defend oneself or to act without help.” A student who has a history of failure and does not expect this to change will attribute failure to ability an internal and stable factor. This pattern is characteristic of students classified as having learned helplessness. These individuals expect that their actions will be futile in affecting future outcomes. Consequently, they give up. Learned helplessness was first investigated in young animals who had been presented with inescapable electric shocks in one situation; when placed in a different situation, they failed to try to escape or avoid the shock (Seligman & Maier, 1967). Animals that demonstrated no connection between their activity and avoiding the shock had learned to be helpless. It was further hypothesized that humans responded the same way: they were passive in situations where they believed their actions would have no effect on what happens to them. In this original explanation, helplessness was viewed as global affecting all domains of one’s life. Later research found that people may experience helplessness in one situation and not in others (Alloy, Abramson, Peterson, & Seligman, 1984). This means that a student may feel helpless in learning math but not in learning history.

    Helplessness exists in achievement situations when students do not see a connection between their actions and their performance and grades. The important aspect of learned helplessness is how it affects the motivational behavior of students in the face of failure. The attributions a student makes for failure act as a bridge between a student’s willingness to try again and the student’s tendency to give up.

    Helpless and Mastery Orientation

    Helpless 02

    In a now-classic study, Diener and Dweck (1978) identified two patterns of responses to failure following success in problem-solving tasks: a maladaptive-helpless orientation and an adaptive-mastery orientation. Children showed different response patterns to failure in their thinking, self-talk, affect, and actions. Keep in mind that the students in the study had the same failure experience while performing the tasks, but there were two different patterns of response to the failure outcome. The thinking, self-talk, and actions of the helpless-oriented children formed a self-defeating pattern. When failure is attributed to lack of ability, there is a decline in performance. Attribution to lack of effort does not show this decline (Dweck & Goetz, 1978).

    Are there ability differences in learned helplessness? Butkowsky and Willows (1980) compared good, average, and poor readers. They found that poor readers had lower expectancies of success on a reading task. Poor readers overwhelmingly attributed their failures to lack of ability (68% compared with 13% for average readers and 12% for good readers). They took less responsibility for success, attributing success more to task ease an external cause than did the good and average readers. In the face of difficulty, poor readers became less persistent a self-defeating behavior. Helplessness was also found when children studied new material that required them to read passages with confusing concepts.

    In a study by Licht and Dweck (1984), half the children received material with a clear passage, and the other half received a confusing passage. There were no differences between mastery orientation and helpless orientation when the passage was clearly written. In contrast, when the passage was not clear, most of the mastery children reached the learning criterion, whereas only one third of the helpless children did. This investigation is important because some academic subjects, like math, are characterized by constant new learning, which may be initially confusing to students. Mastery students will not be discouraged by the initial difficulty, whereas helpless students immediately lose confidence although they may be equally competent. When teaching new material, teachers can be especially alert for this pattern of helplessness in the face of initial difficulty.

    Learned Helplessness and Students with Learning Disabilities

    Helpless 01

    Are some students more prone to experience a sense of helplessness? Students particularly susceptible to the pattern of learned helplessness are those students who are identified as having learning disabilities (LD) (Licht, 1983). Children with LD experience much failure over a long period of time on a variety of school tasks. As a result, these children come to doubt their academic abilities, with the accompanying belief that nothing they can do will help them be successful. This is followed by the self-defeating response of decreasing effort. Children with LD have been found to exhibit the following characteristics of the learned helplessness pattern (Licht, 1983):

    • Score lower than non-LD children on measures of self-esteem and perceptions of ability,
    • Are more likely to attribute difficulty with tasks to lack of ability,
    • Are less likely to attribute failure to insufficient effort, and
    • Lower their expectations for future success and display greater decline in expectation following failure.

    It is important for teachers to be aware of the characteristics of helplessness because learned helplessness may explain the students’ apparent lack of motivation. How can a teacher identify a helpless pattern? What can a teacher do to lessen the likelihood of helplessness and help students who have this tendency? Butkowsky and Willows (1980) suggested that educators must begin to rethink failure as a necessary component of the learning process and not as a damaging experience to be avoided.

    Does the pattern of learned helplessness show up in young children? Dweck and Sorich (1999) concluded that there is clear evidence of a helplessness pattern in children younger than age 8. After experiencing failure or criticism, they show signs of helplessness like self-blame, lowered persistence, and lack of constructive strategies. Mastery-oriented children, in contrast, assumed they were still good even when their work had errors, and believed they could improve through effort. An important implication for parents and teachers, according to the authors, is to be very cautious when giving feedback to children. Extremely positive or negative feedback can be detrimental to children’s beliefs about their competence.

  • Attribution and Motivation Among Ethnicity

    Understanding of Attribution and Motivation Among Ethnicity?

    What is Ethnicity? Meaning of Ethnicity “The fact or state of belonging to a social group that has a common national or cultural tradition.” Some about of Ethnic; Relating to a population subgroup (within a larger or dominant national or cultural group) with a common national or cultural tradition. Relating to national and cultural origins. Denoting origin by birth or descent rather than by present nationality. Characteristic of or belonging to a non-Western cultural tradition.

    An ethnic group or ethnicity is a category of people who identify with each other based on similarities, such as common ancestral, language, social, cultural or national experiences. Unlike other social groups (wealth, age, hobbies), ethnicity is often an inherited status based on the society in which one lives. In some cases, it can be adopted if a person moves into another society. Membership of an ethnic group tends to be defined by a shared cultural heritage, ancestry, origin myth, history, homeland, language or dialect, symbolic systems such as religion, mythology and ritual, cuisine, dressing style, art, and physical appearance.

    Ethnic groups, derived from the same historical founder population, often continue to speak related languages and share a similar gene pool. By way of language shift, acculturation, adoption and religious conversion, it is sometimes possible for individuals or groups to leave one ethnic group and become part of another (except for ethnic groups emphasizing racial purity as a key membership criterion).

    Ethnicity is often used synonymously with ambiguous terms such as nation or people. In English, it can also have the connotation of something exotic (cf. “White ethnic”, “ethnic restaurant”, etc.), generally related to cultures of more recent immigrants, who arrived after the founding population of an area was established.

    Now reading – Attribution and Motivation Among Ethnicity; Do attributional explanations for success and failure act as an important motivational force in different ethnic groups? According to Graham (1989,1994), because attributional theory considers the role of thought in determining behavior, it is particularly fruitful in examining motivation in different cultures and ethnic groups.

    Beliefs About Effort and Ability

    Are attributional belief patterns similar among different ethnic groups? A comparison of poor African-American, Hispanic, Indo-Chinese, and White fifth- and sixth-grade students found similar attribution patterns for all groups (Bempechat, Nakkula, Wu, & Ginsberg, 1996). All groups rated ability as the most important factor for success in math. In a subsequent study comparing African-American, Hispanic, Indo-Chinese, and White fifthand sixth-graders, Bempechat, Graham, and Jimenez (1999) found cultural similarities as well as cultural specifics. For all ethnic groups, failure was attributed to lack of ability and success to external factors. In contrast, Indo-Chinese students had stronger beliefs that failure was due to lack of effort. Attribution for failure due to lack of ability is a problem for all students because it is believed to be uncontrollable.

    Graham (1984) compared middle- and low-SES African-American and White students on attributions for failure following a problem-solving task. The middle-class children in both ethnic groups were more likely to attribute failure to lack of effort and maintained consistently higher expectancies for success after experiencing failure. For both groups, this is indicative of an adaptive attributional pattern following failure, similar to that found in research by Diener and Dweck (1978). The findings of this research are important because they demonstrate the positive motivation pattern of African-American students—a pattern that has received little attention.

    Stevenson and Lee (1990) compared beliefs of American and Asian students concerning the role of effort and ability for success in mathematics. They asked mothers in Minnesota, Japan, and Taiwan to assign 10 points among ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck to rank their importance in academic success and school performance. All the mothers assigned the points in the same rank order: (1) effort, (2) ability, (3) task, and (4) luck. American mothers scored ability and effort as about equal. In contrast, Taiwanese and Japanese mothers assigned effort a higher value than ability. Peak (1993) noted that, in Japanese elementary schools, ability is rarely mentioned, whereas effort is consistently portrayed as key to success. In contrast, in the United States, students who try very hard are often labeled nerd or grind.

    These perceptions of effort and ability take on increased importance when homework is considered in the context of effort. Japanese and Chinese students spend at least twice the amount of time and effort on homework than do American students (Stevenson & Lee, 1990). American teachers assign less and consider it less valuable. Peak (1993) pointed out that homework reflects teachers’ beliefs on whether extra practice makes a difference and whether students are willing to engage in extra effort on behalf of their studies. American parents do not appear to consider good study habits as critical to academic success as do Asian parents.

    Implications for Teachers

    What can teachers draw from the attributional beliefs among different ethnic groups in terms of classroom practice? The important issue is to understand the motivational processes, such as attribution, operating within a particular ethnic group (Bempechat et al., 1996; Graham, 1994). When similarities are found across ethnic groups, educational interventions do not necessarily have to be targeted to children differentially based on their ethnic group membership.

    Graham (1989) emphasized the importance of teacher feedback in influencing concepts of ability and expectations of minority, low-SES students. Recall the previous discussion of indirect attributional cues. It is important to be aware of feedback that may indirectly convey to students that they have low ability. Graham (1994) suggested that in view of the number of African- American children in negative educational situations, it is especially important to be sensitive to how minorities feel, think, and act in response to non-attainment of goals.

     

  • Do you want to be a BOSS?

    Do you want to be a BOSS?

    What is a BOSS? A person who is in charge of a worker or organization. A person in control of a group or situation. (In computer gaming) A particularly tough enemy, usually appearing at the end of a section or level.

    Definition of BOSS

    An individual that is usually the immediate supervisor of some number of employees and has certain capacities and responsibilities to make decisions. The term itself is not a formal title and is sometimes used to refer to any higher level employee in a company, including a supervisor, manager, director, or the CEO.

    BOSS as Supervisor

    Supervisor, when the meaning sought is similar to the foreman, foreperson, boss, overseer, cell coach, facilitator, monitor, or area coordinator, is the job title of a low-level management position that is primarily based on authority over a worker or charge of a workplace. A Supervisor can also be one of the most senior in the staff at the place of work, such as a Professor who oversees a Ph.D. dissertation. Supervision, on the other hand, can be performed by people without this formal title, for example by parents. The term Supervisor itself can be used to refer to any personnel who have this task as part of their job description.

    A BOSS is a Business Owner with Success Systems. In business, entrepreneurs create systems that cause continuous movement in their business. Before you even get started with your entrepreneurial endeavors, I want to give you some preliminary systems that will prepare you for the world of business. This is not a “how to start a business” guide, but rather a compass to point you in the right direction. If you have ever thought about starting a business or if you are on the fence about it, this post is here to give the encouragement you need to take that leap of faith. Kevin D. provides the keys to move you toward starting your own business:

    Be Creative: Creativity has no boundaries. Creativity has no limits. Creativity has endless possibilities. Do not allow fear to hinder you from unleashing that which is already inside of you. In order for you to do that, you have to think outside of the box. Tap into your imagination and bring forth that next big idea that will change the world. You have to give yourself permission to do so. Why? Your creativity is the key to unlocking your future. “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use the more you have” By Maya Angelou.

    Be a Dreamer: Dreams aren’t just images you see when you sleep. A real dream is a vision that births a passion that you cannot shake. Dreamers are individuals who make our world go round. Everything you see around you started off as a dream. It was inside somebody’s head before it manifested itself into our reality. Your dream has to be bigger than you. Therefore, when you do dream…dream BIG! “If you can Dream it, you can Achieve it.” By Walt Disney.

    Be a Strategist: Thinking that your business will automatically become a success is wishful and wrongful thinking. If you are going to be an entrepreneur, you have to be a strategist. Simply put, a strategist is an individual who establishes and applies a plan that points to the vision or dream. Not only is it imperative for you to know where you are going, but you also must know how you are going to get there. “All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.” By Sun Tzu.

    Be an Original: One of the worst things in the world for any entrepreneur to do is try to duplicate the look, brand, and success of another. You were created unique. Therefore, you and everything about you has to be unique. There has to be something, or maybe even a few things, that set you apart. So as you begin your entrepreneurial endeavors, find out what makes you different than the competition. Be the one that everyone wants to imitate. “It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.” By Herman Mellville.

    Be Inspired: There will be times where you will question what you do and why you are doing it. There will be times when discouragement will set in because your business is not doing what you expected and desired it to do. That is not the time for you to give up, but rather to find some sort of inspiration—whether it be through a story, testimony, a song, etc… Find a way to get your fire back even when things around you seem dim and dark. Business is difficult, and only those who are strong and persistent will endure will see success. “Inspiration is the rocket fuel that makes ordinary days into extraordinary!” By Gail Lynne Goodwyn.

    Be Passionate: You were placed here to solve a problem that only you can solve. This problem has to become your obsession. It should keep you awake at night. It should wake you up early in the morning. It should have you constantly writing down new ideas or new ways of accomplishing your goals. You shouldn’t truly rest until the thing that bothers you has been resolved. Some of the great business men and women before us worked long hours every day, sacrificing weekends, giving up vacations in pursuit of their passion to resolve that problem. Ultimately, that passion will become your paycheck. “Passion is the genesis of genius.” By Galileo Galilei.

    Be Mentored: For any person to think they know it all and that they don’t need help is simply idiotic and arrogant. The greatest asset a business person can have is a mentor….an individual or individuals who have been where you have been and done what you have done. Find someone that is doing what you desire to do or can at least give your insight on how to do things better. If you cannot have them physically present then read their materials, listen to their messages, and learn their history. Learn from their successes as well as their mistakes. Their ceiling very well may be your floor. “One of the greatest values of mentors is the ability to see ahead what others cannot see and to help them navigate a course to their destination.” By John C. Maxwell.

    Be Empowered: It is no accident that you are reading this e-Book. Do not be afraid of failing. Let your failures drive you to your success. Do not give up or give in but rather keep moving forward. You were placed on this planet on purpose, with a purpose, and for a purpose. You are more powerful than you know. You may be the next Steve Jobs, Magic Johnson, or Vera Wang. You have the potential within you that will change our world. There is greatness on the inside you to do amazing things. So do it…go be great and do great things. You have permission to do so! You have permission to be a BOSS. Just Do It. By Nike.

    Do you want to be a BOSS or own Business? so build your own way how to start? Where are you do it? How to carry full money for your business? The perfect IDEA for Your business.

  • DNA Structure

    What is DNA Structure?

    What do a human, a rose, and a bacterium have in common? Each of these things along with every other organism on Earth contains the molecular instructions for life, called deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA. Encoded within this DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) are the directions for traits as diverse as the color of a person’s eyes, the scent of a rose, and the way in which bacteria infect a lung cell.

    DNA is found in nearly all living cells. However, its exact location within a cell depends on whether that cell possesses a special membrane-bound organelle called a nucleus. Organisms composed of cells that contain nuclei are classified as eukaryotes, whereas organisms composed of cells that lack nuclei are classified as prokaryotes. In eukaryotes, DNA is housed within the nucleus, but in prokaryotes, DNA is located directly within the cellular cytoplasm, as there is no nucleus available.

    But what, exactly, is DNA? In short, DNA is a complex molecule that consists of many components, a portion of which are passed from parent organisms to their offspring during the process of reproduction. Although each organism’s DNA is unique, all DNA is composed of the same nitrogen-based molecules. So how does DNA differ from organism to organism? It is simply the order in which these smaller molecules are arranged that differs among individuals. In turn, this pattern of arrangement ultimately determines each organism’s unique characteristics, thanks to another set of molecules that “read” the pattern and stimulate the chemical and physical processes it calls for.

    DNA is made up of molecules called nucleotides. Each nucleotide contains a phosphate group, a sugar group, and a nitrogen base. The four types of nitrogen bases are adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G) and cytosine (C). The order of these bases is what determines DNA’s instructions, or genetic code. Similar to the way the order of letters in the alphabet can be used to form a word, the order of nitrogen bases in a DNA sequence forms genes, which in the language of the cell, tells cells how to make proteins. Another type of nucleic acid, ribonucleic acid, or RNA, translates genetic information from DNA into proteins.

    The entire human genome contains about 3 billion bases and about 20,000 genes. Nucleotides are attached together to form two long strands that spiral to create a structure called a double helix. If you think of the double helix structure as a ladder, the phosphate and sugar molecules would be the sides, while the bases would be the rungs. The bases on one strand pair with the bases on another strand: adenine pairs with thymine, and guanine pairs with cytosine.

    DNA molecules are long so long, in fact, that they can’t fit into cells without the right packaging. To fit inside cells, DNA is coiled tightly to form structures we call chromosomes. Each chromosome contains a single DNA molecule. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, which are found inside the cell’s nucleus.

    Why does a DNA molecule consist of two strands? The primary function of DNA is to store and transmit genetic information. To accomplish this function DNA must have two properties. It must be chemically stable so as to reduce the possibility of damage. DNA must also be capable of copying the information it contains. The two-stranded structure of DNA gives it both of these properties. The nucleotide sequence contains the information found in DNA. The nucleotides connect the two strands through hydrogen bonds. Because each nucleotide has a unique complementary nucleotide, each strand contains all the information required to synthesize a new DNA molecule. The double-stranded structure also makes the molecule more stable.

    DNA is the information molecule. It stores instructions for making other large molecules, called proteins. These instructions are stored inside each of your cells, distributed among 46 long structures called chromosomes. These chromosomes are made up of thousands of shorter segments of DNA, called genes. Each gene stores the directions for making protein fragments, whole proteins, or multiple specific proteins.

    DNA is well-suited to perform this biological function because of its molecular structure, and because of the development of a series of high-performance enzymes that are fine-tuned to interact with this molecular structure in specific ways. The match between DNA structure and the activities of these enzymes is so effective and well-refined that DNA has become, over evolutionary time, the universal information-storage molecule for all forms of life. Nature has yet to find a better solution than DNA for storing, expressing, and passing along instructions for making proteins.

    Alternative DNA structures

    DNA Structure A-DNA B-DNA and Z-DNA
    DNA Structure A-DNA B-DNA and Z-DNA

    DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) exists in many possible conformations that include A-DNA, B-DNA, and Z-DNA forms, although, only B-DNA and Z-DNA have been directly observed in functional organisms. The conformation that DNA adopts depends on the hydration level, DNA sequence, the amount and direction of supercoiling, chemical modifications of the bases, the type and concentration of metal ions, and the presence of polyamines in solution.

    The first published reports of A-DNA X-ray diffraction patterns—and also B-DNA—used analyses based on Patterson transforms that provided only a limited amount of structural information for oriented fibers of DNA. An alternative analysis was then proposed by Wilkins et al., in 1953, for the in vivo B-DNA X-ray diffraction scattering patterns of highly hydrated DNA fibers in terms of squares of Bessel functions. In the same journal, James Watson and Francis Crick presented their molecular modeling analysis of the DNA X-ray diffraction patterns to suggest that the structure was a double-helix.

    Although the B-DNA form is most common under the conditions found in cells, it is not a well-defined conformation but a family of related DNA conformations that occur at the high hydration levels present in living cells. Their corresponding X-ray diffraction and scattering patterns are characteristic of molecular para crystals with a significant degree of disorder.

    Compared to B-DNA, the A-DNA form is a wider right-handed spiral, with a shallow, wide minor groove and a narrower, deeper major groove. The A form occurs under non-physiological conditions in partly dehydrated samples of DNA, while in the cell it may be produced in hybrid pairings of DNA and RNA strands, and in enzyme-DNA complexes. Segments of DNA where the bases have been chemically modified by methylation may undergo a larger change in conformation and adopt the Z form. Here, the strands turn about the helical axis in a left-handed spiral, the opposite of the more common B form. These unusual structures can be recognized by specific Z-DNA binding proteins and may be involved in the regulation of transcription.

  • LNA (Locked Nucleic Acid)

    LNA (Locked Nucleic Acid)

    What is an LNA? A locked nucleic acid (LNA), often referred to as inaccessible RNA, is a modified RNA nucleotide. The ribose moiety of an LNA nucleotide is modified with an extra bridge connecting the 2′ oxygen and 4′ carbon. The bridge “locks” the ribose in the 3′-endo (North) conformation, which is often found in the A-form duplexes. LNA nucleotides can be mixed with DNA or RNA residues in the oligonucleotide whenever desired and hybridize with DNA or RNA according to Watson-Crick base-pairing rules. Such oligomers are synthesized chemically and are commercially available. The locked ribose conformation enhances base stacking and backbone pre-organization. This significantly increases the hybridization properties (melting temperature) of oligonucleotides. LNA was independently synthesized by the group of Jesper Wengel in 1998, soon after the first synthesis by the group of Takeshi Imanishi in 1997. The exclusive rights to the LNA technology were secured in 1997 by Exiqon A/S, a Danish biotech company.

    LNA nucleotides are used to increase the sensitivity and specificity of expression in DNA microarrays, FISH probes, quantitative PCR probes and other molecular biology techniques based on oligonucleotides. For the in situ detection of miRNA, the use of LNA is currently (2005) the only efficient method. A triplet of LNA nucleotides surrounding a single-base mismatch site maximizes LNA probe specificity unless the probe contains the guanine base of G-T mismatch.

    Using LNA-based oligonucleotides therapeutically is an emerging field of biotechnology. The Danish pharmaceutical company Santaris Pharma a/s owns the sole rights to therapeutic uses of LNA technology and is now developing a new, LNA-based, hepatitis C drug called miravirsen, targeting miR-122, which is in Phase II clinical testing as of late 2010.

    Definition of an LNA?

    Locked nucleic acid (LNA) is a nucleic acid analogue containing one or more LNA nucleotide monomers with a bicyclic furanose unit locked in an RNA mimicking sugar conformation. LNA oligonucleotides display unprecedented hybridization affinity toward complementary single-stranded RNA and complementary single- or double-stranded DNA. Structural studies have shown that LNA oligonucleotides induce A-type (RNA-like) duplex conformations. The wide applicability of LNA oligonucleotides for gene silencing and their use for research and diagnostic purposes are documented in a number of recent reports, some of which are described herein.

    LNA Locked Nucleic Acid analogues

    What is an LNA?

    LNA (Locked Nucleic Acids) are synthetic modified nucleic acids where the carbohydrate part of the nucleic acid has been synthetically changed. The modification results in an increased bonding strength between the DNA-bases in a double-helix when one of the DNA-bases has been modified. The overall result is a higher melting point of a DNA double-helix containing LNA-modified nucleic acids and thereby an increased stability. By designing the complementary DNA-strand in a double helix so it consists more or less of LNA-units, it is possible to regulate the rate of transcription – even to block it completely. In this way, it is possible to control the expression of genes and thereby the synthesis of selected proteins. The LNA technology is, therefore, a promising tool in the treatment of diseases which originate from genetic defects.

  • RNA (Ribonucleic Acid)

    RNA (Ribonucleic Acid)

    Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule essential in various biological roles in coding, decoding, regulation, and expression of genes. RNA and DNA are nucleic acids, and, along with proteins and carbohydrates, constitute the four major macromolecules essential for all known forms of life. Like DNA, RNA is assembled as a chain of nucleotides, but unlike DNA it is more often found in nature as a single-strand folded onto itself, rather than a paired double-strand. Cellular organisms use messenger RNA (mRNA) to convey genetic information (using the letters G, U, A, and C to denote the nitrogenous bases guanine, uracil, adenine, and cytosine) that directs the synthesis of specific proteins. Many viruses encode their genetic information using an RNA genome.

    Some RNA molecules play an active role within cells by catalyzing biological reactions, controlling gene expression, or sensing and communicating responses to cellular signals. One of these active processes is protein synthesis, a universal function where RNA molecules direct the assembly of proteins on ribosomes. This process uses transfer RNA (tRNA) molecules to deliver amino acids to the ribosome, where ribosomal RNA (rRNA) then links amino acids together to form proteins.

    Ribonucleic acid is a linear molecule composed of four types of smaller molecules called ribonucleotide bases: adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and uracil (U). RNA is often compared to a copy from a reference book, or a template, because it carries the same information as its DNA template but is not used for long-term storage.

    Each ribonucleotide base consists of a ribose sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base. Adjacent ribose nucleotide bases are chemically attached to one another in a chain via chemical bonds called phosphodiester bonds. Unlike DNA, RNA is usually single-stranded. Additionally, RNA contains ribose sugars rather than deoxyribose sugars, which makes RNA more unstable and more prone to degradation.

    RNA is synthesized from DNA by an enzyme known as RNA polymerase during a process called transcription. The new RNA sequences are complementary to their DNA template, rather than being identical copies of the template. RNA is then translated into proteins by structures called ribosomes. There are three types of RNA involved in the translation process: messenger RNA (mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), and ribosomal RNA (rRNA).

    Although some RNA molecules are passive copies of DNA, many plays crucial, active roles in the cell. For example, some RNA molecules are involved in switching genes on and off, and other RNA molecules make up the critical protein synthesis machinery in ribosomes.

    “Research on RNA has led to many important biological discoveries and numerous Nobel Prizes. Nucleic acids were discovered in 1868 by Friedrich Miescher, who called the material ‘nuclein’ since it was found in the nucleus. It was later discovered that prokaryotic cells, which do not have a nucleus, also contain nucleic acids. The role of RNA in protein synthesis was suspected already in 1939. Severo Ochoa won the 1959 Nobel Prize in Medicine (shared with Arthur Kornberg) after he discovered an enzyme that can synthesize RNA in the laboratory. However, the enzyme discovered by Ochoa (polynucleotide phosphorylase) was later shown to be responsible for RNA degradation, not RNA synthesis. In 1956 Alex Rich and David Davies hybridized two separate strands of RNA to form the first crystal of RNA whose structure could be determined by X-ray crystallography.”

    What is meaning of RNA?

    Ribonucleic acid, a nucleic acid present in all living cells. Its principal role is to act as a messenger carrying instructions from DNA for controlling the synthesis of proteins, although in some viruses RNA rather than DNA carries the genetic information.

    What is Definition of RNA?

    RNA

    RNA is a Ribonucleic Acid and is same copy of DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid).

    What is RNA?

    Ribonucleic acid or RNA is one of the three major biological macromolecules that are essential for all known forms of life (along with DNA and proteins). A central tenet of molecular biology states that the flow of genetic information in a cell is from DNA through RNA to proteins: “DNA makes RNA makes protein”. Proteins are the workhorses of the cell; they play leading roles in the cell as enzymes, as structural components, and in cell signaling, to name just a few. DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is considered the “blueprint” of the cell; it carries all of the genetic information required for the cell to grow, to take in nutrients, and to propagate. RNA–in this role–is the “DNA photocopy” of the cell. When the cell needs to produce a certain protein, it activates the protein’s gene–the portion of DNA that codes for that protein–and produces multiple copies of that piece of DNA in the form of messenger RNA, or mRNA. The multiple copies of mRNA are then used to translate the genetic code into protein through the action of the cell’s protein manufacturing machinery, the ribosomes. Thus, RNA expands the quantity of a given protein that can be made at one time from one given gene, and it provides an important control point for regulating when and how much protein gets made.

    For many years RNA was believed to have only three major roles in the cell–as a DNA photocopy (mRNA), as a coupler between the genetic code and the protein building blocks (tRNA), and as a structural component of ribosomes (rRNA). In recent years, however, we have begun to realize that the roles adopted by RNA are much broader and much more interesting. We now know that RNA can also act as enzymes (called ribozymes) to speed chemical reactions. In a number of clinically important virus’s RNA, rather than DNA, carries the viral genetic information. RNA also plays an important role in regulating cellular processes–from cell division, differentiation and growth to cell aging and death. Defects in certain RNAs or the regulation of RNAs have been implicated in a number of important human diseases, including heart disease, some cancers, stroke, and many others.

  • DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid)

    DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid)

    Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) is a molecule that carries the genetic instructions used in the growth, development, functioning and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses. DNA and RNA are nucleic acids; alongside proteins, lipids and complex carbohydrates (polysaccharides), they are one of the four major types of macromolecules that are essential for all known forms of life. Most DNA molecules consist of two biopolymer strands coiled around each other to form a double helix. DNA Structure, History of DNA Research.

    What is DNA?

    We all know that elephants only give birth to little elephants, giraffes to giraffes, dogs to dogs and so on for every type of living creature. But why is this so? The answer lies in a molecule called deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which contains the biological instructions that make each species unique. DNA, along with the instructions it contains, is passed from adult organisms to their offspring during reproduction. History of DNA Research.

    What is meaning of DNA?

    DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid, sometimes called “the molecule of life,” as almost all organisms have their genetic material codified as DNA. Since each person’s DNA is unique, “DNA typing” is a valuable tool in connecting suspects to crime scenes. You can also use the word less scientifically, as in “it’s just not in my DNA to sit through six hours of meetings.”

    You got your DNA from your parents, we call it ‘hereditary material’ (information that is passed on to the next generation). Nobody else in the world will have DNA the same as you, unless you have an identical twin. Deoxyribonucleic acid is a large molecule in the shape of a double helix. That’s a bit like a ladder that’s been twisted many times.

    The two DNA strands are termed polynucleotides since they are composed of simpler monomer units called nucleotides. Each nucleotide is composed of one of four nitrogen-containing nucleobases either cytosine (C), guanine (G), adenine (A), or thymine (T) and a sugar called deoxyribose and a phosphate group. The nucleotides are joined to one another in a chain by covalent bonds between the sugar of one nucleotide and the phosphate of the next, resulting in an alternating sugar-phosphate backbone. The nitrogenous bases of the two separate polynucleotide strands are bound together (according to base pairing rules (A with T, and C with G) with hydrogen bonds to make double-stranded DNA. The total amount of related DNA base pairs on Earth is estimated at 5.0 x 1037 and weighs 50 billion tonnes. In comparison, the total mass of the biosphere has been estimated to be as much as 4 trillion tons of carbon (TTC).

    DNA stores biological information. The DNA backbone is resistant to cleavage, and both strands of the double-stranded structure store the same biological information. This information is replicated as and when the two strands separate. A large part of DNA (more than 98% for humans) is non-coding, meaning that these sections do not serve as patterns for protein sequences.

    The two strands of DNA run in opposite directions to each other and are thus anti-parallel. Attached to each sugar is one of four types of nucleobases (informally, bases). It is the sequence of these four nucleobases along the backbone that encodes biological information. RNA strands are created using DNA strands as a template in a process called transcription. Under the genetic code, these RNA strands are translated to specify the sequence of amino acids within proteins in a process called translation.

    Within eukaryotic cells, DNA is organized into long structures called chromosomes. During cell division these chromosomes are duplicated in the process of DNA replication, providing each cell its own complete set of chromosomes. Eukaryotic organisms (animals, plants, fungi, and protists) store most of their DNA inside the cell nucleus and some of their DNA in organelles, such as mitochondria or chloroplasts. In contrast, prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea) store their DNA only in the cytoplasm. Within the eukaryotic chromosomes, chromatin proteins such as histones compact and organize DNA. These compact structures guide the interactions between DNA and other proteins, helping control which parts of the DNA are transcribed.

    DNA was first isolated by Friedrich Miescher in 1869. Its molecular structure was identified by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953, whose model-building efforts were guided by X-ray diffraction data acquired by Raymond Gosling who was a post-graduate student of Rosalind Franklin. DNA is used by researchers as a molecular tool to explore physical laws and theories, such as the ergodic theorem and the theory of elasticity. The unique material properties of DNA have made it an attractive molecule for material scientists and engineers interested in micro- and nano-fabrication. Among notable advances in this field are DNA origami and DNA-based hybrid materials. And also read it DNA Structure, History of DNA Research.

  • What is Master the Art of Scheduling?

    What is Master the Art of Scheduling?

    “Where are you on the schedule?” Develop the ability to predict the amount of time as a sequence of key tasks that a project should take. And yet we all work with software developers who hate the pressure of committing to a schedule because to complete work usually takes “as long as it takes.” But you can’t effectively run a business without the confidence to work toward a schedule.

    When you recognize the value of time management skills, you become the overseer of your life, with your schedule as your command center. Many people think that creating a schedule is as easy as jotting down the time and activity on a piece of paper. However, scheduling is so much more than that.

    A well-planned schedule of everyday tasks is more than just a reminder of what needs to be done. It also allows you to make time for important tasks that are in line with your goals. It makes you become aware of how you spend your time each day. It helps you to recognize areas that need adjustments so that you can achieve balance between your personal life and your profession. So how should you schedule your time each day? What are the tools you need to become a “master scheduler?” Here are the strategies to learn:

    Gather Your Scheduling Tools

    In general, you would need three essential scheduling tools, and these are:

    A daily planner,

    A weekly planner, and

    A monthly planner

    The daily planner helps to keep you on the right track each day. It enables you to concentrate on exactly what tasks need to be done and how much time you have for each.

    The weekly planner serves as your overview of the events planned out for that week as well as the tasks that you need to accomplish. It helps you get to see what is ahead of you, because focusing only on the everyday tasks might cause you to forget about what is in store for tomorrow, or the day after that.

    Now, you might think that you do not need a monthly planner if you have a weekly one. However, it always helps to have all the dates of the month laid out on a single page. This will enable you to see the important dates of that month and plan your week and days around them.

    However, it is possible to keep a monthly planner without the weekly planner. Just make sure that there is enough space for you to jot down your weekly tasks on the monthly planner.

    There are plenty of planners whether digital or printed out there, so choose your layout carefully. Most of the time, you will find that many planners already have daily, weekly, and monthly sections. This is helpful, especially if you want to carry your planner around. Take care not to purchase more than one type of planner, because you would only end up feeling confused as to which one you should write your next set of tasks.

    One suggestion on how to organize your different planners is that you should have a portable daily planner, and a desktop or wall-mounted weekly and/or monthly planner. This is because you will likely need to check your daily planner constantly throughout the day, while you only need to jot things down and review your weekly/monthly planner once a week. A large monthly planner is helpful as well, because you will want to see everything at a single glance.

    Once you have your scheduling tools, the next step is to create a scheduling routine.

    Create a Scheduling Routine

    Do you take time at the end of each day to plan for the following day? If you do not, then now is the best time to build this habit. A master scheduler should set aside a time each day to plan for tomorrow, each week for the week ahead, and each month to review everything and plan for the next month.

    In most cases, it will only take ten to twenty minutes to plan for the following day and thirty minutes to plan for the week and month ahead. However, the time you would invest in planning will save you from many problems in the future.

    After you have set a fixed “scheduling” time, you should then establish a routine on how to schedule your time. Here are the recommended steps:

    1. Time-block non-negotiable appointments

    Certain parts of the day may be out of your control; such as board meetings or dentist appointments. You should secure them all first, otherwise you might end up with overlapping appointments.

    It must be emphasized that you should also time-block the hours when you will be sleeping. Have to establish a fixed sleeping schedule to stay healthy and sharp the following day. Do not rob yourself of sleeping hours by cramming on certain tasks. Instead, focus on planning your day carefully so that you will have time to accomplish them all.

    1. Schedule your Important Tasks

    At this point, you would be able to see the times lots during the day when you do not have anything scheduled yet. If so, then you can refer to your list of priorities to allocate the different tasks into your day, week, or month.

    For example, if your most important task for the day is to write a thousand words for your personal book project, and if you do not have anything scheduled between seven and ten a.m., then you can block this task within this time.

    1. Schedule your Urgent Tasks

    After you have secured the times lots for your important tasks, you should then move on to blocking in the urgent ones. It helps to use a different colored-pen or highlighter to separate the important from the urgent.

    Do not forget to factor in breaks and an allowance in time for emergencies. In other words, you should never time-block one task after another without at least ten minutes of contingency time. This way, you will not be behind schedule in the next task when there was an unexpected extension in the task before it.

    Here is an example:

    •             Important Task —- 7:00 am to 9:00 am
    •             Contingency Time —- 9:00 am to 9:15 am
    •             Urgent Task —- 9:15 am to 11:30 am
    1. Review your schedule and make adjustments if necessary

    Once you have your entire day planned out, you can go back and assess your schedule as a whole. If you notice that you have spread yourself too thin, consider delegating certain tasks to others, rescheduling them, or canceling them altogether. Once you are satisfied with your schedule, the only thing left to do is to take action.

    As with any other skill, it takes constant practice to become better at scheduling and managing your time well. Nevertheless, it takes more than just scheduling and planning to do a great job every day without feeling burned out. That is because you also need to develop an efficient system. Read the post How to Make Establish an Efficient System? to learn more about that.

  • How to Learn of Hone Your Ability to Concentrate?

    How to Learn of Hone Your Ability to Concentrate?

    The ability to concentrate is a skill that becomes stronger over time. Through constant practice, you will be able to concentrate more effectively for an extended period of time. However, if you constantly find it difficult to focus on tasks, or if you find yourself wasting your time on unimportant activities, then you need to address this problem as soon as possible.

    Ability: Human Resource Management; An acquired or natural capacity or talent that enables an individual to perform a particular job or task successfully. See also aptitude. Law; The power to carry out a legal act or satisfy a legal obligation.

    Concentrate: A concentrate is a form of substance which has had the majority of its base component (in the case of a liquid: the solvent) removed. Typically, this will be the removal of water from a solution or suspension, such as the removal of water from fruit juice. One benefit of producing a concentrate is that of a reduction in weight and volume for transportation, as the concentrate can be reconstituted at the time of usage by the addition of the solvent. Completely different to clustered.

    The good news is that there are tested-and-proven tips on how you can concentrate better. Apply the following tips and notice how you will then be able to finish your important tasks on time.

    Eliminate distractions

    Distractions come in all shapes and sizes. It could be the uncomfortable chair you are sitting on, the messy desk you have to work on, or the loud noises from outside. Whatever your case may be, it is important to get rid of them before you begin your task. That way, you can no longer use them as an excuse to procrastinate.

    Here are some suggestions:

    I. Hang up a “do not disturb” sign.

    II. Play instrumental “concentration enhancing” music to drown out the background noise.

    III. Set your phone on silent mode and store it away.

    IV. Block certain websites that keep you from focusing.

    Focus on one task at a time

    Multi-tasking keeps you from being able to provide quality output. It also stresses your mind out, whether you are aware of it or not. This is because you are not really “accomplishing” multiple things at once, but rather you are rapidly switching from one task to another.

    Instead, set aside a time block for a particular task and do absolutely nothing else except that task within that time frame. You could even set a timer so that you will not have to glance at the clock every now and then to check how much time you have left.

    Take short breaks between tasks

    Most people – even the most productive ones out there – can concentrate on an important task for no more than two hours at a time. Likewise, it takes approximately fifteen minutes of rest to replenish this concentration “energy.” Therefore, you can use this as a rule of thumb to schedule breaks.

    For instance, after working non-stop on a task for two hours straight, set a timer to signal you to take a fifteen-minute break. Then, do something relaxing, such as taking a walk or having a snack. After fifteen minutes, you will be ready to take on another two-hour long task, give or take.

    Focus on challenging tasks during your peak hours

    Identify which part of the day you feel most confident and energized, and use this time to work on the tasks that require the most concentration. For most people, mornings are the times when they feel as if they can handle anything. For others, this happens during the evenings when everyone else is exhausted from work.

    Reward yourself after accomplishing a challenging task

    Our minds are programmed to repeat a certain behavior if we are rewarded for it. Therefore, to condition yourself to practice improving your concentration each day, do not forget to reward yourself after a job well done. It could be something as simple as playing a video game for an hour, watching an episode of your favorite television show, or enjoying a delicious, albeit sinful, snack. That way, you can be more driven to finish the task so that you can get your reward.

    Aside from these tips, it always helps to remind yourself to take good care of your body. Always make it a priority to get enough hours of sleep, eat nutritious meals, and hydrate throughout the day. When your body is healthy and full of energy, it is only natural for your mind to be sharp and focused.

    At this point, you must be excited to start working on your tasks. However, you might want to learn how to manage your schedule first, especially if you have multiple tasks to handle each day. Find out how you can acquire this skill in the post What is Master the Art of Scheduling?

  • How to Make Establish an Efficient System?

    How to Make Establish an Efficient System?

    Efficient (of a system or machine) achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense, preventing the wasteful use of a particular resource. Working in a well-organized and competent way. Performing or functioning in the best possible manner with the least waste of time and effort; having and using requisite knowledge, skill, and industry.

    Abraham Lincoln once gave a sound piece of advice regarding productivity. He said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the Axe.”

    It is apparent that he means that he can do a much more efficient job with the right tool. On the other hand, chopping away on the tree with a dull Axe might cut it down as well, but less efficiently and probably for a longer period of time. In other words, the best way to make the most of your time is by establishing an efficient system. To be more specific, you should first create the most conducive environment, and choosing the best tools, for the task.

    To help you establish an efficient system, there are two main things to do. The first one is to choose the right tools you need to accomplish the task in the best possible way. The second is to organize the space in which you will be doing the task.

    Choose the Best Tools for the Task

    Can you tell off the bat which tools you need the most to accomplish certain tasks? If you cannot, try remembering the following guidelines:

    1. The tool should be the most user-friendly.

    While this does not apply to all cases, it helps to remember to go back to the basics. Often, the tool that is easiest to use is also the more efficient. It does not require much time to learn how to use it and to manipulate it.

    An example of a simple, user-friendly time management tool is the to Do list. It is simple as jotting down tasks on a piece of paper and crossing them out once you are done.

    1. The tool should help you focus.

    Some people who want to enhance their time management skills often tend to buy a number of “organizational tools,” such as planners, calendars, and so on, but then end up not using most of them at all. Worse, some would attempt to use them all at once and end up confused. Therefore, the best solution is to pick no more than one tool you will truly use for a particular project, goal, or task, and then stick to it.

    1. The tool should be the most efficient and effective.

    If a tool requires too much time to set up before you can use it, then it had better be four times more efficient than the other models. Otherwise, you would only end up accumulating wasted time from using it. The bottom-line is to choose a tool that will strike a balance between efficiency and effectiveness by looking at how well it can help you with the task and how quickly it can be used.

    Aside from these, other factors you can consider are accessibility, cost, visibility, and so on, depending on the specific tools you need. After all, some tools are to be used for personal goals and tasks, while others are for professional use or team projects. Nevertheless, it helps to keep these three core guidelines in mind before you decide to choose a certain tool for your project.

    Organize and Develop an Efficient Work Space

    A space that is clean and organized does not just mean it is neat and tidy. Rather, it expands to keeping only the things you need in sight. Everything else that does not serve any purpose to your goal is merely a distraction. This rule applies not just to your physical surroundings, but your digital space as well.

    You can achieve this by taking these simple steps:

    1. Clear all the items off the area first. This will make it easier for you to separate the items and tools you want to use from the ones that only serve as distraction.

    For instance, if your computer desktop is cluttered with all sorts of icons and folders, then create a folder and label it “Mess.” After that, move everything into it in one full sweep.

    1. Re-build or re-organize the area by choosing the tools that you need. Everything else must be removed or stored away more efficiently.

    If we go back to the same example, when you are left with a clear desktop, you can then choose from the “Mess” folder the ones you need for a particular project or goal. Everything else can be deleted or sorted out until you can safely delete the “Mess” folder.

    1. Develop an efficient system for your project or goal.

    Now that only the tools you need remain in the area, your final step is to use them to create an efficient system. It is important to ensure that the system is simple, easy to use, and effective, because you may be using it so often it becomes a habit.

    Let us say you make a living as a medical transcriptionist. Since your desktop is now uncluttered, you now only have your transcribing tool, a spreadsheet icon of a file that helps you track your progress, and folder of projects on it. Your final step is to systematize how you work so that you can maximize your time and efficiency. It can be simple, such as:

    Step 1: Click the spreadsheet icon to monitor and review project.

    Step 2: Open transcribing tool.

    Step 3: Open project to be transcribed.

    Step 4: Put on headset, adjust volume, and start transcribing.

    Once your tools and system are polished and organized, it is guaranteed that all the tasks you need to accomplish will become easier to do. All you need to do at this point is to take action.