Week 4: Discussion – The Future is Now

On a molecular scale, almost anything can be unreal or almost fiction. Is it possible to think that our world consists of smaller things than the expansive galaxy we live in currently? Moreover, describe what our planet consists of past or present? Unfortunately, the fact of our world exists at the very core of small things (Adler, 2014). Us as living creatures are made up of proteins, cells, and atoms that exist because of molecular properties (“Chemical Elements of the Human Body | ASU – Ask A Biologist.” (n.d.). Fortunately because of those tiny microscopic details that make up our world, we can look at our world altogether as a whole.

The past is indefinitely a time period that intrigues our minds. We learn from the past continuously and what it contains. The past, as far as the Earth has existed, holds information we still do not understand. Always seeking the future as a race of species, we strive forward. But we cannot be careless with the past because it shares information for progressing forward.

One of the fewest relevant species that lived on Earth is none other than the dinosaurs (Ghose, 2015). The significant time difference between the dinosaur’s existence and us is expansive. Dinosaurs became extinct based on various theories, but nonetheless they were also made up of molecular properties (Ghose, 2015). Though the molecular level of a living creature is necessary for learning about their properties. Dinosaurs have only been a species we do not fully understand because there is not an entire build of their existence (Switek, 2014). The only remnants of dinosaurs that exist are fossilized materials.

Recently in June, a mistake was made during this paleontology excavation that led to the first preserved blood of a dinosaur (Sample, 2015). The mistake ended with complete and utter astonishment. Possibly a stroke of luck with such a find may lead to the answers we do not have with an extinct species. What made this discovery possible was an electron microscope (Sample, 2015).

Before the electron microscope, we used a light microscope (“What is Electron Microscopy,” (n.d.). There is a difference between an electron microscope and a light microscope. A light microscope uses light to project an image of a microscopic property such as blood cells or tissue cells (“What is Electron Microscopy,” (n.d.). An electron microscope uses electrons to create a similar light microscope image except in higher magnification and resolving power (“What is Electron Microscopy,” (n.d.). To further understand how microscopic we’re getting, electrons are particles of an atom that are negatively charged (“Chem4Kids.com: Atoms: Electons,” (n.d.). An atom consists of protons and electrons that balance the atom (“ATOMS,” 2007). However, an electron is almost 1,000 times smaller than the mass of a proton (“Chem4Kids.com: Atoms: Electons,” (n.d.). And mass is the area that a substance takes up (“What is mass?,” (n.d.). And an atom is one tenth of a billionth of a meter; a string of atoms for a meter long (about three feet) contains an atom for every person in the world (“ATOMS,” 2007).

The discovery with the light microscope would be obsolete if it were not for the electron microscope. It is even said that the retained blood sample may rewrite texts and even change certain areas of different science fields (“Paleontologist discovers blood and soft tissue preserved in dinosaur fossils — Science & Technology — Sott.net.,” 2015). However, this discovery is no Jurassic Park establishment (Sample, 2015). If someone wanted to pour in time for such a fiction such as Jurassic Park, then the opportunity may open itself. The coming years are only a possibility that is paved by the past.

References:

ATOMS. (2007). Retrieved September 21, 2015, fromhttp://www.factmonster.com/dk/encyclopedia/atoms.html

Adler, R. (2014, November 6). BBC – Earth – Why is there something rather than nothing? Retrieved September 21, 2015, from http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20141106-why-does-anything-exist-at-all

Chem4Kids.com: Atoms: Electons. (n.d.). Retrieved September 21, 2015, fromhttp://www.chem4kids.com/files/atom_electron.html

Chemical Elements of the Human Body | ASU – Ask A Biologist. (n.d.). Retrieved September 21, 2015, from https://askabiologist.asu.edu/content/atoms-life

Ghose, T. (2015, January 7). Mesozoic Era: Age of the Dinosaurs. Retrieved September 21, 2015, from http://www.livescience.com/38596-mesozoic-era.html

Paleontologist discovers blood and soft tissue preserved in dinosaur fossils — Science & Technology — Sott.net. (2015, June 10). Retrieved September 21, 2015, from http://www.sott.net/article/297634-Paleontologist-discovers-blood-and-soft-tissue-preserved-in-dinosaur-fossils

Sample, I. (2015, June 9). 75-million-year old-dinosaur blood and collagen discovered in fossil fragments | Science | The Guardian. Retrieved September 21, 2015, fromhttp://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jun/09/75-million-year-old-dinosaur-blood-and-collagen-discovered-in-fossil-fragments

Switek, B. (2014, August 8). The Ten Biggest Dinosaur Mysteries We Have Yet to Solve |Science | Smithsonian. Retrieved September 21, 2015, from http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/ten-biggest-dinosaur-mysteries-we-have-yet-solve-180952297/

What is mass? (n.d.). Retrieved September 21, 2015, fromhttp://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/projects/vss/docs/space-environment/2-what-is-mass.html

What is Electron Microscopy. (n.d.). Retrieved September 21, 2015, from https://www.jic.ac.uk/microscopy/intro_EM.html