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| Fig. 1 RNAP molecules too small to be resolved |
The electron micro-graph at Fig. 1 does not show the hundreds of RNA polymerase (RNAP) molecules there because the molecule is "too small to be resolved".
Do we not care to know the atomic "nuts and bolts" of RNAP, or is it that we are not to know "sayeth the Supreme People" who at least give us the view from thirty thousand feet:
"RNA polymerase [RNAP] is an enzyme", a "complex molecule composed of protein subunits" which "controls the process of transcription , during which the information stored in a molecule of DNA is copied into a new molecule of messenger RNA [mRNA]" ...
(Nature)?. Ok, but can you tell me anything about the atoms that it is made of:
"RNAP not only initiates RNA transcription, it also guides the nucleotides into position, facilitates attachment and elongation, has intrinsic proofreading and replacement capabilities, and termination recognition capability. In eukaryotes, RNAP can build chains as long as 2.4 million nucleotides."
(RNA polymerase, a.k.a. RNAP, Wikipedia)?. Not one word about atoms eh?
How about some more what-about-ism then:
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| Fig. 2 The two magnesium atoms |
"At the heart of this machine is the active center - the engine, which is composed of distinct fixed and moving parts ... the intricate ... robust, yet sensitive, molecular engine that drives and controls the rate, processivity, and fidelity of transcription."
(The Molecular Engine of Transcription, emphasis added). I found some further detail in graphics showing two magnesium atoms and a few phosphorus atoms that are ostensibly parts of the RNAP, along with the usual carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen atoms which the ACGT nucleotides are made of (Fig. 2).
The (Magnesium up close) depiction reminds me of the science fiction movie Men In Black, where entire solar systems were kept in small bottles.
And you thought I was kidding in the post (Small Brains Considered - 7) eh?
I suppose I must concede that the "small brain" concept does not usually include AI ... nevertheless isn't that where we are headed?
Or is it where we have been for a long time (The Machine Religion, 2, 3, 4, 5; The New Paradigm: The Physical Universe Is Mostly Machine, 2, 3; Did Abiotic Intelligence Precede Biotic Intelligence?)?
One has to wonder what the 'psychon people' of Eugenics infamy would write about ribosomes, because if mere normal atom electrons and protons are mystical machines what would those ancient people of the 1920's think to say about them?
I brought up "psychons" again because they were mentioned in the first post of this series, to wit:
'At this point the theories of philosophical physics are brought into the hypothesis. Matter is composed of electrons and protons, forming atoms and molecules which are themselves separated by the ether and through which, though widely spaced apart, they act upon one another. Protons and electrons are only modifications of the other. Thus matter being itself etherial can act upon the ether; and the cortical nerve endings, being material, set up etheric vibrations which are sent out radially through the ether, without the necessity of any definite paths.'
...
(The Advent Of The Sulfur Atom). But I digress.
Let's talk about today's appendices (A006, A007, A008, A009, A010).
The data in those appendices are of the same type as those presented in the first post of this series.
But the organisms are different, nevertheless the constants are about the same ... to the chagrin of the psychon people (Eugenics, Prejudice, and Psychological Research).
The next post in this series is here, the previous post in this series is here.
Ode to the Mistress: