The Beauty of Molecule

All matters in the world are made of limited types of atoms through their limitless ways of combinations, called molecules. For example, the table sugar are crystals of sucrose molecules, i.e. enormous numbers of sucrose molecules organized in a repetitive three-dimensional lattice. When a spoon of tiny sucrose crystals is put into water, the lattice collapses and single sucrose molecule enters a sea of water molecules, surrounded by them, a process called dissolution. There are only three types of atoms in a sucrose molecule, carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. Actually, these three types of atoms plus nitrogen, phosphorous form most of the molecules in our body.

Let's talk about nitrogen. Two nitrogen atoms form a nitrogen gas molecule, countless numbers of which enters your lung each time you breath in air. They do not really enter your body, however; they are breathed out. The molecules enter your body are oxygen gas molecule, formed by two oxygen atoms. So, where do the nitrogen atoms in our body come from? The only way is the food, not in the form of nitrogen gas, but mainly in the form of protein. Not only we cannot use nitrogen gas, neither can the majority of animals and plants.


A small group of microbes that do have the capability of directly using the nitrogen gas produce a very special enzyme (a protein molecule that act as a catalyst, which speeds up conversions of other molecules), called nitrogenase. Nitrogenase speeds up the conversion of nitrogen gas molecule to ammonia molecule, well, actually makes the conversion possible by coupling it with consumptions of a universal biological energy-bill, a molecule called ATP. ATP contains three phosphorous atoms linked energetically by two oxgen atoms, respectively, i.e. lots of energy is released if the link breaks, usually by intervening of a water molecule.

To be able to do this difficult job, so called nitrogen fixation, Nature has built nitrogenase into a very complex molecule. In the last decade, scientists have gained unprecedented insights into how the complex molecular system carry out the difficult job. A recent issue of Science published another milestone paper that will help we human being to understand the beauty of those wonderful molecules.

Looking Back at Our Moon

NASA's latest exploration spacecraft to Mars (MRO) is now 6 million miles away from Earth, when it stretches its muscle, pointing its high resolution camera at our Moon. At this distance, assuming we are in the MRO, the Moon would be as small as a shiny star. But to MRO's high resolution camera, what it saw was a beautiful crescent shown above. Once it is in Mars orbital, it is going to discern a Martian object as small as a coffee table! Using this wonderful camera, NASA hopes to locate the ill-fated Mars Polar Lander and another ill-fated lander made by Europian Space Agency.

My Awe towards a Spectrum, a Martian One

I had never been awed by anything, not even the most beautiful and weirdest creatures in the Monterey Aquarium. However, I was completely speechless the moment I first saw, about one and a half years ago, the above Mossbauer spectra taken by a NASA robotic geologist, opportunity, on Mars. Mossbauer spectroscopy is good at deciphering the finest details of iron-containing compounds (minerals). And the above graph compares the Mossbauer spectra of two spots scores of centimeters apart on a Martian rock, hundreds of millions of miles away from Earth! One spot, which holds much of the little rounded pebbles, is much richer in hematite, than the other. On Earth, hematite formation mainly involved water and thus the above spectrum is one of the most convincing evidence of past liquid water on Martian surface!

The Mossbauer spectrometer that made this discovery was built by a group of German scientists. This reminded me of a German post-doc in our lab, who failed to correct our spelling of the word Mossbaur. Anyway, good job!

Translation Means a Lot

I went to college in the late '80s in China. In addition to various textbooks, the university bookstore were full of translational "masterpieces" at that time. While I was reading college physics, chemistry, and biology textbooks, many students were "reading" those translational "masterpieces", e.g. "Entropy", "Post-Modernism", etc. etc. I tried several times to read a few, only to embarrass myself as I usually gave up before finishing the first chapter. I couldn't tell what went wrong. "The topics are too advanced for me?" I would utter to myself, after each failure.

Fifteen years later, finally I know why, thanks to some of the detailed investigations done by Dr. Fang at Xinyusi. It was the bad translation. What Dr. Fang showed was that, many Chinese versions of some of the most famous scholarly book were so poorly transtlated that they are simply incomprehensible by Chinese readers. The examples include, very unfortunately, "Consilience: the Unity of Knowledge" by Edward I. Wilson, "Evolution: the History of an Idea" by Peter J. Bowler, both "translated" by Tian Min. Most of the translators neither hold an advanced degree nor lived (for an extended period of time, not just visiting) in the western countries. Therefore, they have neither the language skill nor the technical background to fulfill the difficult job of translation.

Before finishing this post, I would like to give links to two of my recent translations, both of which were published in a Chinese on-line journal: Our Science.

• "Crick's Immodest Ambitions", a Nature Editorial: Original, Chinese
• "Science and the Nature of Awe", by Rudy Baum of C&EN: Original, Chinese

"My role is different."

A little bit of politics.

Maybe because I almost had a chance to be a TA of their daughter, I, being a conservatist in my heart, like Clintons very much. NYTIMES published a news article today, discussing Clintons' role in dealing with the aftermath of hurrycane Katrina. While President Clinton is more diplomatic than political, saying "It's an appropriate thing to look into, but not at this time - they're still finding bodies there"; Mrs. Clinton said, in refering to her husband: "He is a former president with an enormous amount of influence and just as during the tsunami, he is willing to serve his country. He has expressed strong feelings about the way this has been handled. My role is different. I'm on the front lines dealing with these issues day to day."

I think she will be a great President if she gets elected in 2008.

More on Chimps in Science

Even though all the latest genomic research papers on chimpanzee were published in Nature, Science published several great articles too, celebrating the wonderful accomplishment in genetics and anthropology. The collaboration between these two journals is amazing! The Science chimp articles include one Editorial, advocating the preserving endeavours of great apes; one Perspective, introducing the genome paper in Nature and other aspects of chimp research; and serveral other news articles. Obviously, the Science editors are excited at it too! Unfortunately, you need a password to read all those articles.

Chimps, Chimps Everywhere

Nature's web site has a wonderful collection of papers about chimps, and they are all free. You don't need a password to read them and I promise they are fun to read.

Microsoft bought Teleo, a VoIP company and will supply computer-to-line phone service by the end of the year. When will Google Talk do the same thing? I hesitate to download MSN and Skype.