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Anatomical Art Depicts Birth of the Nucleus

Anatomical Art Depicts Birth of the Nucleus

Author Ashley Davidoff MD  

Consultant: Lindsay Leveen BS Eng Chem,MBA,MSChE

“And bond they did… as they both whispered ..”I do and we did”. 

It all started with wholeness…and perfection

big-bang-0003-web-res

And then big bang (blog) happened …

Anatomical Art

…and we are trying to put the pieces back together again (Humpty Dumpty principle) as we pursue units to unity (images)

After big bang hydrogen was born (blog). Two basic attractive forces existed at that time and have continued to exist in biology.  The negative and positive forces allow opposites to bond and to form new life (blog).

Biology and humanity have both a conscious and unconscious need to build and rebuild.

In this blog we use anatomical art (and artistic license) to explore the manner in which phosphate, sugar, and a nitrogenous base build DNA, and how they build the nucleus.

A few universal algorithms apply;

there is power in numbers (blog) when units bond and organize,

and therefore

the whole is bigger than the parts and the numbers do not always add up

time passes

the sun and water are essential

I have a dream…

The dream of the nucleic molecules was to put a unified nucleus together

They needed a leader.  They needed central government.

So they started with bricks and mortar .

In trying to fathom how biology came from big bang to life we know that the evolution of hydrogen to nucleic acids and protein play a major role in the creation and maintenance of life.

As the hydrogen brick bonded with other hydrogen bricks, new bricks such as carbon oxygen, nitrogen and phosphorus resulted.  These elements bonded and became the bread and butter of biology and in this instance the nucleus.

The nucleic acids, DNA and RNA are made of a phosphate, a sugar and a base

Anatomical Art

The Basic Brick of the Nucleus

The nucleotide is the basic brick of the nucleus.  It consists of a phosphate (blue), a  sugar (orange) and a nitrogenous base (green and red).

The first step was to put two bricks together … to bond two different  nucleotides that were attracted to each other.  Since  a base is a substance that can accept hydrogen ions (protons), or more generally, donate electron pairs, electrical forces were present to enable attraction and bonding.

Anatomical Art

 

Out on a Date in the Open Field  Surrounded by Trees and Mountains

“Bricks of Genes Chromosomes, and the Nucleus of the Cell“ shows  a base pair consisting of two nucleotides, each with a head of a phosphate,  a body of sugar (deoxyribose) and a bonding proboscis of a nucleobase (aka nitrogenous base).  The base pair Mr Adenine (left, green and red) and Ms. Thymine (right, green and blue) are on a date surrounded by nature, trees and mountains. Note the shape of Mr Adenine is perfectly rounded to fit into the light blue convex shape of the receiving Ms. Thymine.  There is no doubt that they are destined to dance as one since  the underlying shapes and electric attractive forces are going to facilitate the bond.

And bond they did… as they both whispered ..”I do and we did”.

Anatomical Art

 

Intimacy in Science

“Bonding of the Base Pair” shows the two nucleotides bonding. The base pair of Mr Adenine and Ms. Thymine have advanced from attraction to physical connection.  They are surrounded by nature, trees and mountains.   Surrealism and spherism (images) are used provide a sense intimacy in garden of Eden type surroundings. 

… and they had children and their children had children and they went forth and multiplied .. all the time increasing their numbers, adapting and bonding in the presence of sun, water and time.  The conscious and unconscious mission was to do Humpty Dumpty with a dream of units to unity.

Anatomical Art

“Base Pair Went Forth and Multiplied” shows the evolving chemistry of the DNA of the cell as the number of nucleobases increased and new bonds were formed.  As the base pair built in units to unity fashion they changed shape from the stepladder, to a double helix via the spiral dance.  As the double helix elongated secondary spirals formed.  The nucleus was surrounded by a cytoplasm of nature, trees and rivers.  Artistically  surrealism and spherism  provide a sense of bonding and time.

.. and time passed and numbers increased …

Anatomical Art

Party Time

“….and the double helix experiment succeeded and growth spiraled”  shows the result of a successful experiment and growth of the nucleus with time.  Morphology changed and history was inscribed in the sequence, governance of the society of the cell was assumed, and the recipes of how to maintain the cell were retained in the archives, and to be passed on to future generations.

.. and hence the birth of the nucleus..

Anatomical Art

“Birth of the Nucleus” shows the nucleus emerging from the organic elements of the earth in the presence of the environment of water sky… and the ever existing sun and moon.

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