I am a real dummy when it comes to Economics. So much that I often have problems understanding current affairs, political decisions, etc. Therefore I decided to buy a book Economics for dummies and I really enjoy it. In my opinion, Economics should be thought in school. It would definitely be much more useful to have, say, at least one hour of Economics a week, than three hours of Art every week. I seriously can't believe we had THREE hours of Art per week!
Anyway, the book says that "Economics is all about humanity's struggle to achieve happiness in a world full of constraints." I never thought about economics like this. This first sentence got me in, and I've fully enjoyed reading the book since then. And to be honest, it sounds much more interesting than Wikipedia's first sentence which says: "Economics is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services."
If you want to know more about Economics and you are a complete beginner, I would thoroughly recommend this book.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Progenitor cell
The term progenitor cell is used in cell biology and developmental biology to refer to immature or undifferentiated cells, typically found in post-natal animals. While progenitor cells share many common features with stem cells, the term is far less restrictive.
Like stem cells, progenitor cells have a capacity for self-renewal and differentiation, although these properties may be limited.
Stem cells: Unlimited self-renewal and are pluripotent.
Progenitor cells: Self-renewal can be limited and are unipotent or multipotent.
Like stem cells, progenitor cells have a capacity for self-renewal and differentiation, although these properties may be limited.
Stem cells: Unlimited self-renewal and are pluripotent.
Progenitor cells: Self-renewal can be limited and are unipotent or multipotent.
Ionophore
A ionophore is a lipid-soluble molecule usually synthesized by microorganisms to transport ions across the lipid bilayer of the cell membrane.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Some Chinese statistics
I couldn't believe it. Apparently more than 1.1 billion Chinese people (around 85% of China's population) share just 129 surnames. This, it's not hard to believe, makes them a lot of problems when publishing scientific papers, where authors publish under abreviated names, e.g. X. Wang.
(Source: Nature 451, 14th Feb 2008)
(Source: Nature 451, 14th Feb 2008)
Friday, February 15, 2008
A short course in human relations
The six most important words: "I admit, I made a mistake."
The five most important words: "You did a good job."
The four most important words: "What is your opinion?"
The three most important words: "Would you mind?"
The two most important words: "Thank you."
The one most important word: "We."
The least important word: "I."
(Source: Dealing with difficult people (Roy Lilley))
The five most important words: "You did a good job."
The four most important words: "What is your opinion?"
The three most important words: "Would you mind?"
The two most important words: "Thank you."
The one most important word: "We."
The least important word: "I."
(Source: Dealing with difficult people (Roy Lilley))
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Cytokine receptors
Cytokines are a group of proteins and peptides that are signalling compounds produced by cells to communicate with one another. They act via cell-surface cytokine receptors. Due to their central role in the immune system, cytokines are involved in a variety of immunological, inflammatory, and infectious diseases. They are also involved in embryonal development of the organism. Known cytokines include the interleukines (IL), erythropoietin, growth hormone, interferons (INF), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF).
Type I cytokine receptors are transmembrane receptors, expressed on the surface of cells that recognize and respond to cytokines with four α-helical strands. These receptors are also known under the name hemopoietin receptors, and share a common amino acid motif (WSXWS). Members of the type I cytokine receptor family are involved in ligand/cytokine interaction and in signal transduction. Type I cytokine receptors include interleukin receptors, colony stimulating factor (e.g. erythropoietin) receptors, and other cytokine receptors (e.g. growth hormone receptor).
Type II cytokine receptors are similar to type I cytokine receptors except they do not possess the signature sequence WSXWS.
(Sources: Wikipedia and Biochemistry of signal transduction and regulation (Gerhard Krauss))
Type I cytokine receptors are transmembrane receptors, expressed on the surface of cells that recognize and respond to cytokines with four α-helical strands. These receptors are also known under the name hemopoietin receptors, and share a common amino acid motif (WSXWS). Members of the type I cytokine receptor family are involved in ligand/cytokine interaction and in signal transduction. Type I cytokine receptors include interleukin receptors, colony stimulating factor (e.g. erythropoietin) receptors, and other cytokine receptors (e.g. growth hormone receptor).
Type II cytokine receptors are similar to type I cytokine receptors except they do not possess the signature sequence WSXWS.
(Sources: Wikipedia and Biochemistry of signal transduction and regulation (Gerhard Krauss))
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
The Greeks
No, not the nation :) This is a nice and interesting name for something in mathematical finance. Read on ...
In mathematical finance, the Greeks are the quantities representing the market sensitivities of options or other derivatives. Each "Greek" measures a different aspect of the risk in an option position, and corresponds to a parameter on which the value of an instrument or portfolio of financial instrument is dependent. The name is used because the parameters are often denoted by Greek letters.
The Delta measures the sensitivity to changes in the price of the underlying asset (the first derivative). The second derivative with respect to spot is called Gamma and the process is called Gamma-hedging. It measures the rate of change in the Delta. The derivative with respect to the short rate, r, is called Rho. The derivative with respect to time, t, is called Theta. The derivative with respect to volatility is known as Vega, or (on unreasonable grounds that vega is not a letter in the Greek alphabet) by some people, Kappa.
(Sources: Wikipedia and The concepts and practice of mathematical finance (Mark Joshi))
In mathematical finance, the Greeks are the quantities representing the market sensitivities of options or other derivatives. Each "Greek" measures a different aspect of the risk in an option position, and corresponds to a parameter on which the value of an instrument or portfolio of financial instrument is dependent. The name is used because the parameters are often denoted by Greek letters.
The Delta measures the sensitivity to changes in the price of the underlying asset (the first derivative). The second derivative with respect to spot is called Gamma and the process is called Gamma-hedging. It measures the rate of change in the Delta. The derivative with respect to the short rate, r, is called Rho. The derivative with respect to time, t, is called Theta. The derivative with respect to volatility is known as Vega, or (on unreasonable grounds that vega is not a letter in the Greek alphabet) by some people, Kappa.
(Sources: Wikipedia and The concepts and practice of mathematical finance (Mark Joshi))
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