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About me - David Wright

I am a student at the University of Oxford. I am in the second year of my four year biochemistry course.

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Sciences > Cellular Biology Structure and function of the cell membrane: 1 of 9
The cell membrane, or plasma membrane as it is sometimes called is possibly the most important aspect of the cell and without it life could not exist in any form. The membrane allows an organism to be enclosed and separated from the surroundings. The membrane is selectively permeable in that it only allows certain molecules ... More..
Sciences > Cellular Biology Amino acids and their structure and function: 1 of 6
Amino acids are the main constituents that are used to make up proteins in cells and as we know proteins are absolutely crucial to the continuation of life: it is the unique properties of each amino acid that can be used in order to achieve this. For example amino acids can help to catalyse reactions via and alternative mech... More..
Sciences > Molecular Biology The possibility of an alternative to DNA life forms: 1 of 5
DNA is the hereditary molecule that is used in all organisms today (bearing in mind that I am not classifying viruses as living). It is used due to its high stability and resistance to mutations due to its double helical structure. It is believed that life was not always DNA based and so could have originally been based arou... More..
Sciences > Cellular Biology RNA defined: 3 of 11
Ribonucleic acid (RNA) consists of three main parts: firstly there is the base: Adenine, Cytosine, Guanine and Uracil (the RNA equivalent of thymine); the second is the pentose sugar ribose (rather than deoxyribose in DNA); finally the phosphate group. In the polymerised form of RNA the 5' position phosphate is attached to t... More..
Hobbies & Games > Video Game Consoles & Accessories Which video game console is better: PlayStation 3 or Wii?: 17 of 56
I would have to say the Wii as it is a totally unique console. Nintendo have come back from the Gamecube which was largely a failure and, unlike Sega were able to produce a console that rivals the PS3 and even the Xbox 360. The most obvious point about the Wii is that it is less than half of the price of a PS3 and so many m... More..
Sciences > Zoology Do organisms always evolve into more complex forms?: 9 of 29
Evolution by definition is the gradual change in a species or population in order for that organism to be better adapted and hence more able to survive, which could either involve a loss or gain in complexity.A key here is to define complexity, do we mean more complex organisms have more genes? Or do we mean that more complex... More..
Sciences > Cellular Biology How photosynthesis works: 10 of 30
Photosynthesis is a very complex process in which carbon dioxide is converted by plants (and other photosynthetic organisms) into carbohydrates by using the energy absorbed from light. A very simplistic way that the process can be seen is as a reversal of respiration. Photosynthesis in plants takes part mainly in the leaves ... More..
Sciences > Cellular Biology The basics of gel electrophoresis: 3 of 8
Gel electrophoresis separates molecules on the basis of size and charge. An electric field is applied over a sample, which then migrates from one electrode to the oppositely charged one. There are two factors to take into account are the charge on the species, resulting in a force towards the oppositely-charged electrode and ... More..
Sciences > Cellular Biology Would stem cell research be responsible for taking or saving a life?: 13 of 33
In its simplest form stem cell research involves the use of embryonic cells that have not yet differentiated to form the more specialised cells: these are known as stem cells. These undifferentiated cells therefore have the potential to become any cell type and so can have wonderful effects on disease recovery. The problem th... More..
Arts & Humanities > Schools of Thought Life's origin: 7 of 15
One of the many mysteries in life is how the Earth seemingly spawned life spontaneously from a collection of chemicals: the first impression that many would have is that this is impossible.Firstly one wonders how the necessary biological molecules would spring up from the pre-existing compounds on the newly-formed Earth. Mill... More..