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mkupcha · 3 years

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Horizontal Gene Transfer

Horizontal Gene Transfer Methods:

Transformation: Loose genetic material (also known as naked DNA) moves into the bacterial cell via pores in the cell wall, once inside the genetic material is replicated via normal bacterial processes and goes to either cell during bacterial reproduction. Then when the cell dies the genetic material is released and the process occurs again.

Transduction: When viruses containing genetic material infect bacterial cells. After this occurs the cell can go through two life cycles. The first, Lytic cycle, is when the cell is forced to keep producing viruses until the cell is too full and lyses itself. Effectively killing itself and releasing the viruses so that they can infect another cell. The other process, Lysogenic cycle, is when the genetic material gets incorporated into the original genetic material of the cell and is replicated when the cell replicates, making more and more cells with the genetic material. Then these new cells with the genetic material can turn back into the former life cycle and make viruses and then destroy themselves spreading the viruses to more cells.

Conjugation: This process is similar to human reproduction in some ways. The process occurs when a cell with a specific sequence of DNA the positive cell +F also known as the male is introduced to a cell without the sequence of DNA a -F cell also known as the female. The the male produces a sex pilas also called a conjugation tube and inserts it into the female to insert the genetic material. Then since the female cell now has the genetic material it is male and can produce a sex pilas.

#biology #bacteria #bacteriophage #ap bio #gene transfer #virus

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mkupcha · 3 years

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Brain Plasticity

Brain plasticity is the ability for parts of the brain to gain new abilities because parts of the brain were lost. An example of this would be if part of the frontal lobe was lost so a person loses the ability to speak, then over time they regain this ability. This occurs when brain surgery is done and part of the brain is removed due to a tumor or to fix epilepsy. A procedure where this occurs is commonly done with children because their brain is still developing and growing so it is easier for the brain to regrow and develop new abilities.

A possible case study for this concept would be the tale of Phineas Gage. He is a man who had part of his frontal lobe blown out via a large steel pole to the head. After this his personality changed and he seemed to lose the ability to understand and predict consequences. This made him lose his job and many friends, but after a while he gained his personality back and his other symptoms decreased according to his family. This regaining of abilities suggest that his brain had plasticity and parts of his brain regained abilities from part of the brain that was destroyed in his accident.

#brain #phineas gage #brain accident #psychology #epilepsy

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mkupcha · 3 years

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The Burial of Lady Dai

****warning death****

Lady Dai is a noble woman from the Han dynasty in China. She died from choking on food as an older woman. Her life story is relatively unimportant to this info except the fact that she was wealthy.

Her burial site was found when a team of construction workers started digging up some land and found her coffins. Lady Dai was buried with layers of coffins and multiple layers of dirt and charcoal that surrounded the coffins. She was buried with many items to bring to the afterlife such as clothes and food and small statues of servants to serve her in the afterlife. She was also then wrapped in many layers of silk. In the innermost layer of silk Lady Dai was wrapped in a funeral banner, decorated with scenes depicting the heavens, earth, and the underworld. After many years her tomb was excavated and after all the layers of silk were unwrapped, the team found a wildy preserved body. This body is said to have liquid blood, a brain of only ⅔ the size of a normal brain, and skin that was still soft. This body was opened and found to still have pomegranate seeds in the throat which is how we know how Lady Dai had died. Her body can still be seen in a museum along with her funeral banner and her coffins.

#archaeology #china #lady dai #tomb #confucianism

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mkupcha · 3 years

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Analysis of Shang Chi- part two

***still some potential spoilers***

In addition of my previous post I would like to add that another large part of showing that Shang Chi’s mother was Chinese, thus furthering my point that there was a hidden Mongolian vs Chinese theme, was the images of ancestor worship. In the Village where Shang Chi’s mother is from there is a large open air building where many shrines are located with fallen members of the village. This concept suggests that the village practices ancestor worship which is common in China.

Also notice that Shang Chi’s aunt wears Jade earrings showing that she has a higher status in the village.

#shang chi #china #mongolia #mongol empire #jade #marvel #iron man #thor #loki #captain america

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mkupcha · 3 years

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Analysis of Shang Chi and the legend of the ten rings

Analysis of Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

!!!!!Spoilers!!!!!

Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten rings is the most recent Marvel movie to come out at the time that this analysis was written. It tells the story of a young man trained by his father to be an assassin as he finds his purpose in life and tries to save his father. The basis of the story is a cultural merge between Mongolian and Chinese cultures, only one of the main characters has a stated relation to either culture but the movie has many references that indicate a relationship between the cultures.

To start I will identify and explain the more obvious signs of the merge of cultures including the reference to the Great Khan, the uniforms of those fighting for the ten rings, and the original fight against europeans. In the movie, when he is speaking to Katie, Shang Chi's father mentions that he has many names including the Great Khan. This suggests that he was in fact Genghis Khan or another member of the Khan family, he most likely is Genghis Khan since he is seen leading multiple armies and has massive amounts of power just like how most movies illustrate Genghis Khan. Before this scene it is stated that Shang Chi’s father conquered most of the world, this is similar to Genghis Khan illustrating that the father is obviously Mongolian. The father also leads an army of his soldiers who are mounted on horses and wear uniforms which I cannot show due to fear of being sued, however these uniforms have the iconic ponytail like headdress on top of their helmets and leather looking base. I have attached an image for clarification. A similar armour is also seen worn by Shang Chi’s father in the final battle. This signifies that Shang Chi’s father and his army are Mongolian and represent the Mongolian culture. Another thing that signifies that Shang Chi’s father and his army are Mongolian is the battle scene at the very beginning of the movie. We see the army of the ten rings face off against an army that seems to be made of Europeans. This would obviously indicate that the army of the ten rings is Mongolian because the Mongols took over Russia, a country full of Europeans, along with many other regions. This map shows the area conquered by the Mongols. All of these instances in the movie show that Shang Chi’s father and his army are Mongolians.

Along with the facts previously stated there are facts that are neither proven nor obvious, yet they indicate that Shang Chi’s father and his army are Mongolian, that Shang Chi’s mother is Chinese, and that there is some sort of preexisting tension between their cultures. These facts include the fact that Shang Chi can speak 4 languages, the reference to the Great wall, Shang Chi’s father trying to take over his mother’s village, and finally the importance of Jade in Shang Chi’s mother’s village. In the movie Katy mentions that Shang Chi can speak 4 different languages, we know that one language is English and one is Mandarin as he speaks both in the movie. Since we have already established that his father is Mongolian it would be a logical assumption that he would have been taught to speak Mongolian as a child. In the final battle of the movie Shang Chi’s father, previously proven to be Mongolian, is seen trying to break down a border separating the mother’s village from a group of monsters with the belief that it would give him access to his dead wife. The Great Wall of China was built to separate and protect China from northern invaders, since the father is established to have been Mongolian( a group of northern invaders) and the mother has cultural indications of being Chinese. This could suggest that the father is trying to break the border to get to the mother, but releasing a bunch of monsters onto the Chinese village is a reference to the northern invaders breaking down the Great Wall to attack the Chinese. Another reference to the conflict between Mongolians and the Chinese is how Shang Chi’s father tries to invade the mother’s village to take it over as he had already taken the rest of the world. This is very similar to how the Mongols took over China and the rest of the world as they were grasping for power. To show that the mother is definitely of Chinese descent I will bring up the importance of Jade in the mothers culture. In the beginning of the movie Shang Chi and his sister are given necklaces by their mother with a large green pendant. This color suggests that the stone in the necklace is Jade, these necklaces are important to the plot of the movie just how Jade is important to Chinese culture. For centuries in China Jade has been very expensive and important. Only the rich could buy it for a long time, and it suggests a spiritual connection. Many ancient Chinese men and women were buried with Jade Congs, handheld carved burial stones that had human-like features on them and were said to represent the circle of life. The significance of the Jade necklaces suggests that the mother believes that Jade is very significant which is a Chinese belief. This shows that she is Chinese which further suggests the connection of the conflict between the Mongolian and Chinese cultures.

Some may suggest that the fact that Shang Chi’s father’s base was a large permanent building means that he and his army are not Mongolian as the Mongols are nomads and don’t normally build permanent buildings. However, the life of a nomad is not logical for an army of warriors as they need to establish large weapon and training rooms. The nomadic life is also not logical for a scholar like Shang Chi or his father as they would have to travel with thousands of books and scrolls. So the building of a permanent base while armies are sent out to conquer is a logical move for a group of warriors and scholars.

In conclusion, the movie Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has an underlying theme of conflict between the Mongols and Chinese. This is seen in both obvious and underlying facts in the movie.

Feel free to let me know if there are any faults in my logic or points I may have missed.

Image of Mongolian armour:

Genghis Khan Exhibit | Mongol Warrior (thoughtco.com)

Image of Mongolian territory:

The United States vs. The Mongol Empire - HubPages

Image of Jade Cong:

Jade cong and bi (article) | China | Khan Academy

#marvel #shang chi #mongol #mongolia #mongol empire #china #ancient china #simu #simu liu #awkwafina #iron man #captain america #dr strange

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