University of Urbino, Science and Biotechnology Faculties:

New for Sogesta and revision for Fano

Controversial Issues in Gene Research

http://eca.state.gov/forum/journal/issues.htm

A New Domain of Life

http://www.economist.com/node/18437900?story_id=18437900

A new domain of life – Plenty more bugs in the sea - and the vocabulary

Tantalising – possible, tempting

gap – space, hole

lumps – groups

creatures – e.g. animals

disease – sickness

crucial – essential, very important

ring – circle

float around – move, but without any power of their own

methane – a gas

stretch back – go back, stretch = make longer

in the shadows – not highlighted, not in the sunlight

missed – not seen

tools – instruments

suggest – imply

draw a conclusion (conclusion was drawn) – deduce, answer, find a solution

having been fired – lost his job, thrown out, made redundant, sacked

hard cash – readily accessible money

killer app – revolutionary application, application that beats the competition, major advantage

shotgun – a gun for shooting birds, it fires pellets, not bullets

handle – deal with, process

stitches – sews, joins

overlaps – parts that duplicate, one part is the same as another

trick – clever solution

sample – representation, partial collection, example

hot springs – natural sources of hot water (like thermal baths)

combing - analysing in detail

and lo – old English - “what a surprise” - “look”

accrete – accumulate

ubiquitous – found everywhere, omnipresent

novel – new

uncharacterised – not defined

lacuna – gap, space, lack

winnow – extract in small quantities

and of course the important difference between: known unknown and unknown unknown

What are the current 3 domains of life ? - Eukaryotes, Bacteria, Archaea

Where was evidence of the new domain found ? In the sea

What is the new evidence ? – parts of the evolutionary trees of 2 genes – RecA RpoB - do not fit with existing ones -

so either the trees are wrong or this is a new domain of life...

Why did Craig Ventner have time to “cruise the world” ? - he had no other job, he was paid to leave Celera Genomics

For all students

http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/europass/home/hornav/Downloads/EuropassCV/CVTemplate.csp

and

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/coverlettersamples/a/covertemplate.htm

Superbugs

http://www.economist.com/node/18483671?story_id=18483671

Sound a warning – make an alarm

mould – type of fungus

misuse – use badly

prompt – inspire, provoke

stand alongside – be together

(penicillin + antibiotics it inspired) + vaccinations = greatest medical inventions

strain - sub-species

a fair understanding a good understanding

dealt with worked on, tackled, handled, overcome

laziness not energetic, opposite of active

sheer ordinary, only

nullify counteract, make zero

threat menace

gnaw chew, eat e.g. a bone

gnaw away slowly eat, slowly reduce

press push

colds mild sickness, (cough, sneeze, runny nose)

seldom harmed not often injure

to rid to send away, to throw out, to expel

breeding grounds areas that encourage reproduction

prescribed given

finish the course take all the pills

over the counter for example - in a shop

reaction vessel like a test tube in a laboratory, a place to promote reactions

nor (neither, nor – not one, not the other)

livestock animals on a farm

healthy not sick

chronic extreme

worse bad, worse, worst

troublesome difficult, make trouble

vast very big

calculus mathematical calculation, algorithm

think-tank organisation of clever people producing new ideas

force to turn make someone change

point out highlight

drug bill cost of drugs

ubiquity found everywhere

dearer more expensive

burden load, weight to carry

resonance relevance

pump out empty a container of liquid

manage the trick do something difficult

cosseted protected from harm (like a baby)

wholly completely

laid out presented, explained

elevated higher

rein in control, decrease ( a rein is part of a harness, to control a horse)

dosing measures

diluted added water, less pure

a decade hence in 10 years

Aid agencies, charities – Caritas, e.g. Oxfam, Unicef, Red Cross...

safeguard safety measures

counterfeit fake

substandard low quality – below standard

unwitting innocent

mushrooming growing very quickly, like a mushroom

popped taken, consumed

paramount most important

sterner more strict

against the grain like cutting meat or wood – one direction is easy (with the grain) the other direction is hard (against the grain)

weapons instruments for fighting (swords, guns, etc...)

armoury store for weapons

slogan motto, saying, statement

cure make better

breakthrough radically different

never been bettered remains the best

huge sums lots of money, $$$$$$

empty-handed without success

target aim, goal, objective

screening testing

pipeline series ( a pipeline carries liquids, but in this case is the series of drugs in various stages of testing before commercial release)

forgivable not hold responsible

so less forgivable – more guilty

boutique specialised

emporia large organisation

gains profits, advantages

soluble can be solved

New Category of Life...

For the Uni Urbino students

http://www.economist.com/node/18437900

Biotech and Science Students - Articles

Towards 15 minute genome - http://www.economist.com/node/18304268?story_id=18304268

Our daily bread - self fertilising wheat - http://www.economist.com/node/18200660?story_id=18200660

Pore – small hole (normally in skin e.g. sweat pore)

landmark - reference point – originally e.g. a cathedral, a castle

undertake - do, try to finish a challenge

cheap – not expensive

strand – string, like a chain

pioneer – explorer, someone who explores new territory

amplification – copy millions of times

tag - label

bottleneck – restriction

label – sign, indication

state-of-the-art – most modern practice, latest way of doing something

chunk – block, piece

speed up – go faster – e.g. “speed things up”

overlap - a small portion the same, partially cover

to piece - to put parts together, join parts,

cause a drug to work - makes a drug function

cope - deal with, handle, able to tolerate

How much did it cost to sequence the first genome ?

How long does it take now ?

What is, currently, the main constraint to sequencing ?

Coax - encourage

nanometre = 1/ 1,000,000,000 metre

pass through – allow to go past

negative charge – negative electrical current

disruption - interference

crucially – most importantly

flow of current – speed of electrons' movement

thread – insert (e.g. thread cotton through the eye of a needle)

cleave – to split, to open a gap

feed through – push through

cartridge – container (e.g. for ink in a printer)

lab on a chip – automated chemical analysis using microchips, simultaneous analysis

microfluidics – science of liquid flow at a micro level

detection – discovery

plug in – connect (e.g. plug a computer into a network)

rack-like – similar to shelves

cabinet – item of furniture that is a container (e.g. cupboard, wardrobe)

carry out - execute (“carry out large scale analysis” = analyse on a large scale)

commercial launch – ready to be sold

thickness – depth, opposite of thinness (depth !)

What creates nanopores in cell membranes ?

What is a lipid bilayer ?

How can you tell the type of molecule as it goes through the bilayer ?

What's the problem with exonuclease sequencing ?

Why is the velocity of the strand going through the nanopore important ?

Ù

Ratchet – mechanical system allowing only one direction

address, tackle – undertake, deal with, work on, try to resolve

constriction – partial block, restriction, narrowing

simultaneous – at the same time

dispense with – get rid of, eliminate

gain ground - become popular, become accepted (a military analogy – to capture territory)

solid-state – unchanging, like metal - so not fluid, not biological

insulate – isolate, separate from external forces (e.g. electrical wiring, heat protection)

trap - capture

flip - turn over (a binary process - flip a switch, flip a coin)

strong enough signal – signal of sufficient potency, or force

massive - very big

spin out - business established from a university or company department

thick / thin - depth, lack of depth

noise level - imperfections

clear sense - definite idea

occur - happen

vast - very big

healthy - free of disease

fine-grained picture – detailed, many pixels

momentous - very big

spread - move, cover, migrate

Macerata Economics Students -

Stomach Staples - Spending Choices and Hunger http://www.economist.com/node/18438949?story_id=18438949

The Cost of Calamity - How long will the economic impact of Japan's disasters last? http://www.economist.com/node/18387016

New Vocab for the Uni Urbino Science students

linked to : http://www.economist.com/node/18200650

MANAGEABLE, DIET, MALNOURISHED, ABSOLUTE NUMBER, INCOME LEVEL, THAN THEY USED TO

IRON, ZINC, IODINE, VITAMIN A, ANAEMIC, CHILD-BEARING AGE, BLIND, CAPSULE, SIBLING

CANNOT CONCENTRATE, COGNITIVE ABILITY, EARNINGS, DEWORMING PILLS, MARRIAGE MARKET

OBESITY EPIDEMIC, LESS WELL-OFF, QUADRUPLE, NOT TROUBLED BY, ELDERLY, ADVANCING AGE

COMMON EXPEDIENT, DOSE, LITTLE DISCERNIBLE IMPROVEMENT, REVIEW THE HISTORY, HANDOUT

FIASCO, CULTURAL NORM, CORNED BEEF, SUGARED TEA, APPALLING, WHOLESOME, RAW CARROTS

STARVE, LESS INCLINED, IN SHORT, HANDING OUT, RYVITA BISCUITS, RANGE OF THINGS, FORTIFY

BREEDING CROPS, BESTSELLER, CHARGING, POWDERED DRINK, SWEET POTATO, CAUGHT ON,

COMMANDS A PRICE PREMIUM, VITAMIN INTAKE, PIPELINE, BIOFORTIFIED, RELEASED, MILLET

LAUNCHED, TARGET, SCATTER, PINPOINT.

The start of a new year for Science English - The Economist - Feeding the world

http://www.economist.com/node/18200694?story_id=18200694