Nib of the Oozing Quill
Sordid and filthy did they see me;
but a neat, elegant, exquisite
and smart me my mirror saw.
Wretched in squalor they said I was;
but a hopeful, secure, joyful and
well-polished me my mirror reflected.
Poor and deviant, to them, I looked;
but my prosperous destiny,
only my mirror could see.
The cells of plants and animals carry their instructions in the form of DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid), which is contained in genes. To make a protein, the sequence of genetic letters in each gene gets copied into matching strands of RNA (Ribonucleic acid) in a process called expression, which then float out of the nucleus to guide the protein-making machinery of the cell in a process called translation.
Until very recently, genetically engineered organisms were created by deletion of some of the genes in their genetic makeup or insertion of genes from external sources into their genetic makeup. This article is the third of a four-series feature on genetic engineering, after Genetic Engineering – Definition, History, Benefits and Risks, and, Genetic Engineering – The Great GMO Debate. Its aim is to highlight several advances in genetic engineering where organisms such as plants and animals have been modified without interfering with the composition and sequence of genes in their genetic makeup, which has not only been controversial, but is also very expensive and labor intensive.
For the last seventeen years
Continue Reading "Genetic Engineering – Recent Advances; the Promise of Tomorrow"
Malcom X once asked: “who taught you to hate yourself? Who taught you to hate the texture of your hair? Who taught you to hate the color of your skin?”
I guess the answer to these questions relates to society’s standards as set by the global media which equates light skin with beauty, affluence, happiness and success. The same media portrays black people negatively. That is why black people procure expensive perms and hair weaves. And saturate themselves with skin-lightening creams, even when they clearly know the health dangers that come with the use of skin lighteners, such as skin discoloration, reduction to the skin’s resistance to infection and damage to the kidneys and the nervous system.
Continue Reading "Let Us Learn To Love Our Black, Our Melanin"