And Then I Was 21

Normally getting a year older doesn't really make me feel much different. I am still the same person, it's just another day that happens to make me one year older. This year though, it was a whole different story. Turning 21 makes the world a completely different place. There is nothing that you can't do anymore! Except break the law and murder people and stuff (but who really wants to do that anyway?).

Going to the bar was probably the oddest feeling ever. As I was sitting there I felt like I was there illegally. It didn't feel like real life ordering a drink and handing my ID over. That was probably the best feeling in the world to get my drink. Since I've turned 21 I've been to seven bars. Is that bad? Oh well, you only turn 21 once! Now all I need to do is go to the casino.

Do you remember when you turned 21? How did you celebrate? Did it feel just as weird as mine did?

A Young Life

This past week has made me think about a lot of things. Mainly what we say and don't say to the people around us. When was the last time you told your wife/husband, sister, brother, mom, dad, or children that you loved them? Probably not to recently. Life is extremely fragile and can slip away in the blink of an eye. Never hesitate to tell those you care about just how much you love them and appreciate them being in your life.

Unfortunately my cousin has passed away. While him and I were not very close, I still see the immense pain on the faces of those who he was close to. I can only imagine what  they would give to tell him one more time how much they love him and how much he means or has changed their life. Don't ever assume that the those you care for know and it doesn't need to be said because you may never have the chance to say it again.

In loving memory of Jeffery Macfarlan. You will live forever in our hearts.

Summer 2012

Wow am I a slacker. It's been almost 2.5 weeks. A lot of that had to do with the fact that I don't really know what to write about, nothing real exciting happens in my life. I decided to highlight the interesting (or so I thought) parts of my three weeks of summer:

1. I reactivated my Facebook page!

2. Don't drop two liter sodas. They explode all over the place. It was in my shoe, my hair, and my eye.

3. I have a tattoo! It didn't hurt nearly as bad as I thought it was going to, in fact it just felt like a somebody running the rough side of a sponge on my shoulder. Then it felt like sunburn while healing.

4. Who actually memorizes their license plate number?

5. I decided to work the overnight's at my job. The freaks really do come out at night. Although I didn't get any drunk people! Which is surprising, because I work at a gas station convenience store.

6. Don't talk to somebody that you aren't fully over. It will only end up bad.

7. When summer first started, I decided that I wanted to run a 5K. Not just any 5K, a zombie 5K! There's one in Maryland and it's kind of close, so I figured why not? It sounds like a good time. Then I started training for a 5K and came to the conclusion that it's a lot of running and I won't be able to do it before October.

8. I'm turning 21 on June 5th!!!! I shall be incredibly inebriated.

Any advice on training for the 5K? Should I stick with it or just try again for next year?

A to Z Reflections

The A to Z Challenge was pretty great. I met some amazing bloggers and as the summer continues and I have more time to wander around the internet, I hope to meet some more. Before the start of the Challenge I decided that I was going to write my posts each day. It wasn't a bad idea, I was able to keep up, but next time I will definitely schedule posts. Since there was upwards of 1,700 people signed up visiting everybody would have required a lot of time, time which I had put into writing the posts instead of visiting. Definitely going schedule my posts next time!

Another thing I noticed about the Challenge was how much work I need to put into my writing. Reading the posts from other bloggers made me realize what I was doing wrong and what I need to fix. I really enjoyed meeting new bloggers and found so many posts that were great. Reading the different themes was probably one of my favorite things.

All in all it was a pretty good experience and I would not be opposed to participating again!

Moving Day

The semester officially ended for me!! That means packing, moving, and unpacking. The best part? Doing it all again in July. I got a research job starting in July when I move into my new apartment, but for the time being I had to move out of my current one. Let me just tell you I had NO idea how much crap I owned before I had to start packing it. My free T-shirt drawer was overflowing. I must say the best part about moving is getting to go through everything and get rid of the stuff you don't need anymore. It will also hinder my need for shopping for quite a while.

So summer time has arrived, what to do now?

Beach?

Disney World?

What's your favorite thing to do during summer? Favorite vacation spot?

Z-DNA

Believe it or not there is more than one possible structure for DNA! There are three: A-DNA, B-DNA, and Z-DNA.

Source: http://www.tulane.edu/~biochem/nolan/lectures/rna/bzcomp2.htm

Z-DNA is a left handed double helix structure, which is the opposite of the most common form, B-DNA. There are also many other differences than the common form, such as base pairs per turn. The Z form has 12 bases per turn while the B form only has 10.5. The biological significance is still largely unknown but research is going on to determine it. Right now they think that it has something to do with supercoiling during DNA transcription. This will allow the DNA to open up and allow transcription factors to bind, allowing mRNA to be made and proteins to be created.

All in all, there isn't much known about Z-DNA. Scientists are working on it though!

So this is the last post for the A to Z Challenge. I can't believe that it's already over! May 7th is the date to write a reflections post on the challenge, to talk about pros and cons, what you liked most, what you didn't like, if you met anyone cool, stuff like that. Visit the A to Z Challenge site to learn more!

Y Chromosome

I figured I talked about the X chromosome when I wrote about X linked traits, why not talk about the Y chromosome? Only males have a Y chromosome and it is considerably smaller than the X chromosome. This means that it contains much less genetic information (which is why females have Barr Body formation).

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y_chromosome

Scientists believe that the Y chromosome is one of the fastest evolving pieces of genetic material in humans with a 30% difference in humans and primates. It contains somewhere between 70 and 200 genes, which they are actively working on identifying. While the Y chromosome does contain genes that are only found on this one chromosome, there are areas that have pseudoautosomal genes (an autosomal chromosome is a non sex determining chromosome), which means they are found on both the X and Y chromosome.

There are diseases that can be associated with the Y chromosome, such as 46,XX where a male will have two X chromosomes and one Y, 48,XXYY where he will have double of both sex chromosomes, and 47,XYY where he will have two copies of the Y chromosome. These can have symptoms anywhere from a tall stature to infertility.

I can't believe this is the second to last post for the A to Z Challenge. I hope everyone has learned at least one thing from my posts!