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Single-Celled Species' Genome As Complex As Ours?
An anonymous reader writes: "A new paper reports on the sequencing and analysis of the genome of a single-celled species known as Tetrahymena thermophila. This ciliate (like the Paramecium people look at in school) has some 27,000 genes, or nearly as many as humans. And despite existing as a single cell, this spcies encodes fantastic complexity and unusual features. For example, it has a primitive immune system that prevents the invasion of foreign DNA. Also, it is able to cordon off its germ cell lineage much as humans do with sperm and eggs. But Tetrahymena does this by having two nuclei within each cell, with one of the nuclei being held in reserve for sex. Basically, this species uses its genome complexity to function like a single celled chameleon, changing its shape and its properties in response to the changing environment. For example, when a new nutrient shows up in its neighborhood this species can build a kit to suck the nutrient in, degrade it, and turn it into cellular biomass quickly. Thus whereas humans use their genomic complexity in part to create a stable environment for the body, this species simply uses a genomic swiss army kit to make do with whatever environment it encounters."
I, for one, welcome our new Single-Celled overlords!
I would say that you are off on a number of your topics. There are people in America who believe that ANY form of immigration, not just illegal immigration, is ruining our country. I'm for stopping illegal immigration, if you count making all immigration legal. Sure, I don't like terrorism, but that doesn't mean I'm necessarily willing to do anything about it (if it means compromising my own liberties). I know many people, conservatives and liberals, who don't care at all about the environment. They believe that we should be allowed to do anything that makes our lives better, even if it means making the world as a whole worse, or they just don't think that the environment needs protecting. Also, illegal drug usage includes marijuana usage, and clearly there are a lot of people who support marijuana usage. Personally I believe that all drugs should be legalized and controlled. If you want to ruin your life then that's your problem.
We're all for reducing the deficit.
Then why has the Bush administration cut taxes to the wealthiest people and raised spending, sending the deficit higher than it's ever been before? Under Clinton we were paying it off.
We're all for freedom of religion.
I'm skeptical of this one. The republican party seems intent on keeping everyone a functional christian through the legal system. Gay people can't get married, sodomy is illegal in some places. Even fornication (an unmarried couple having sex) is technically illegal in some localities, even if only used against prostitutes and their customers.
As for the rest of the things on your list, all you've managed to prove is that on some issues, definitions are ambiguous enough that both people can believe the "same thing". The education one is an example of this. Another example would be "We all agree that we should work toward a better society". Unfortunately, my definition of a better society isn't one where everyone goes to a lutheran church.
Lastly, the rest of those issues are things where the journey is the issue, not the destination. Protecting the environment and hindering terrorism are two prime examples of this. Please don't try and simplify politics with things like this. I feel like the only thing that we can agree on is: We're all human. We all have fingers, toes, mothers, and fathers. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean we agree that we shouldn't kill each other or that we should respect each other.
Help I'm a rock.
Please don't try and simplify politics with things like this
It's divisive people like you that keep splitting this country further and further apart. As for your other statements above, I'm quite positive everybody, even Bush is for the broad statement of reducing the national deficit. I am not talking about what's going on now and what the government is doing. I'm just saying we all would agree that reducing the defecit is a good thing. And I'm quite positive in a similar argument that everybody is for religion. Don't look at what Bush and his drones are doing, look at what we all want. We want to be able to practice our religion, whether it's Christina, Muslim, Athiest, whatever. I'm looking to simplify and looking to find things we agree on, because otherwise we'll never agree on anything, and this country will split apart into 2 bitter enemies (like it's already doing). You certainly have to agree that the 2 sides are never going to get anything accomplished if we continue down the road we're on.
I don't want one party. But when we become as divided as we are today, and we seem to be splitting further and further apart, there comes a time when we have to re-unite on at least some issues. Otherwise we're going to loose site of what it means to be an American, and what it means to belong to our beloved country, because we'll be too busy fighting amongst ourselves.