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POPSEngineered Microbes Boost Yeast-Tolerant Ethanol Improving yeast-ethanol tolerance is difficult because it is a complicated trait involving many genes. To tailor the expression of many genes at once, Stephanopoulos uses a process to induce random mutations in the genes for master regulator proteins. Each of these proteins controls the expression of multiple genes, so by altering them, Stephanopoulos sets off a cascade of changes in gene expression widespread enough to alter a trait like ethanol tolerance. The researchers randomly changed these proteins in a large yeast population, which led to some with an increased tolerance for ethanol.
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POPSThe truth about recycling Far too much valuable info here to fit in a clip, so go to the source for interesting discussions of the history of recycling, current status, innovations and concerns about what happens to recyclables being shipped to China and other developing nations. China is now the largest importer of recyclable materials in the world! The explanation of how single stream collection of recyclables works is fascinating. I was not aware of all the new technology being employed to sort and separate recyclable materials. The section on the future of recycling discusses the need for product design to take into account recycling of the product materials to create "closed-loop" cycles where there is no waste. Sustainable packaging emphasizes the use of renewable, recycled and non-toxic source materials to benefit the environment and cut costs. Wal-Mart is jumping on this bandwagon. "Waste is really a design flaw."
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POPSSubconscious Remembers Everything If we tap into our subcoscious and become "aware" of particular unhealthy behaviours and thoughts, for instance, we are able to "reframe" our thinking and personality and replace them with positive, productive thinking and behaviour.
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POPSWhy The Loudest are Often the Most Wrong This classic paper by Kruger and Dunning, Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments , examines the psychological reasons for the unfortunately common correlation between ignorance and confidence. We argue that when people are incompetent in the strategies they adopt to achieve success and satisfaction, they suffer a dual burden: Not only do they reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but their incompetence robs them of the ability to realize it. Instead, like Mr. Wheeler, they are left with the mistaken impression that they are doing just fine. As Miller (1993) perceptively observed in the quote that opens this article, and as Charles Darwin (1871) sagely noted over a century ago, "ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge." ( PDF here .)
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POPSFree File Format Conversion No need to download any software. Excellent resource to convert quickly between common picture, music, and document files. Have used it several times myself, so far, no spam has been sent to my email address because of this site.
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POPS40 Facts About Sleep You Didn't Know Visit page to see all 40. Fact "- Scientists have not been able to explain a 1998 study showing a bright light shone on the backs of human knees can reset the brain's sleep-wake clock."
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POPSThe Golden Rule I'm clipping this as I believe it is a thought piece to go along with the heated discussions taking place on the "This should be on every bible". clip. I especially like the Judaism version of the "Golden Rule" Ya see folks, its about some wise people in different parts of this disparate world long ago trying to formulate how societies could work together without tearing tearing each other to shreds. In other words its about EMPATHY. All the rest is merely rhetoric.
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POPSWhy the U.S. Loses ‘Small Wars’ a powerful force can easily lose, if it doesn’t fully understand the enemy, fails to describe clear objectives or, worst of all, pursues military objectives that do not contribute to the conflict's political goal. (dd. 1896)