The perfect lens, or in praise of mammals

[shkrobius]

...nuclear architecture of rod photoreceptor cells differs fundamentally in nocturnal and diurnal mammals. The rods of diurnal retinas possess the conventional architecture found in nearly all eukaryotic cells, with most heterochromatin situated at the nuclear periphery and euchromatin residing toward the nuclear interior. The rods of nocturnal

Comments

[vdinets]

Finally, something good about our class. I was beginning to suspect you had no class loyalty, Comrade ;-)

[i_eron]

Thank you, thank you! I am at a loss for words. We must not forget that this praise was earned not just by us, but by the selfless (hm) toil and ingenuity of our countless ancestors. And each of us will humbly and relentlessly strive to ensure that our progeny will enjoy and further whatever is the best in us, so that our glorious mammal march may continue

[shkrobius]

This is for nocturnal mammals only, so do not be too proud of yourself.

Two things. First it is reinvention of multilens eye which has not been seen since the demise of trilobites, but theirs were made out of calcite. Second, this is a VERY nontrivial operation. Rearranging chromatin is a massive, coordinated movement of a lot of material. It beats me how it can be done at all, but it has been done. Third, it makes one wonder what is the role of junk DNA.

I am meeting with Ed Shaughnessy (U Chicago sinologist) to discuss your question today.

[i_eron]

Any patriotic pride is necessarily of achievement by others. It is like a poor limping old Kenyan being proud of all those sprinters, or a nearly anaplhabetic Jewish shopkeeper being proud of the Nobel laureates.

Why not make some use of this junk DNA if it is already there? It is like putting an uninteresting book under a table leg. A sensible piece of engineering, but not a brilliant use of the book.

[shkrobius]

Maybe, but nobody else seemed to invent this trick. Actually, I wonder if this is true. The record in the junk belongs to the dinoflagellate algae that have so much of it that is crystallizes in the nucleus. They are the ones that invented the opsions for vision and the lens fro focusing light on the pigment. Maybe they use their junk to the same end. It never occurred to anyone to look at it from the optical perspective.