Biochemistry 1 Video Series by Doctor S. Dasgupta

This video is the first lecture; Amino Acids 1 in the Biochemistry 1 Series made available by the National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning, a joint venture by Indian institutes of technology & Indian institutes of science. There is a total of twenty eight lecture videos in this series.

Topics covered under the entire video series are under the main content of Structures and Functions of Biological Molecules which are Amino Acids & Proteins, Enzymes, Vitamins & Coenzymes, Carbohydrates & Lipids, Nucleic Acids & their components. Also in this video series, the viewer will be briefed on Principles of Bioenergetics with special reference to carbohydrate metabolism.

This one hour video informs about the Central Dogma of Biology, the types of Amino Acids: Glycine & Proline, Polar, Hydrophobic, Acidic, Basic, and Aromatic Amino Acids. Additionally, the Properties of Amino Acids: Size & shape, Charge, Polarity, Hydrophobicity, Aromaticity, Conformation, propensity, and relative position in protein are discussed. This video lecture was presented by Doctor S. Dasgupta Dept. of Chemistry, IIT, Kharagpur, India. TUNE IN!

That Order is Ridiculous Today

In a particular 'war history book'; read with a billion followers, in it is written 'Kill the Gyu hiding behind the rock' or something like it. It was perhaps an order proclaimed 1200 years ago by a leader. That does not mean that the order should be followed in today’s world. Many followers of the particular book don't go about killing Gyus because that order is ridiculous today. That order was given, and documented during a state of constant war with Gyus being one of the warring factions, more than a millennium ago! People who follow the book who think that they should keep on killing Gyus today have some kind of complex mental problem. Also, it does not warrant having such anti-cumitik people killed for their wrong interpretation of a 'war history book' and lack of knowledge in their part.

Gold Bullion Buys a House at a Cheaper Cost

The inflation rate is being disregarded here because I have an example (courtesy of usgoldbureau.com) that will make you forget about this issue as it did for me and go buy gold bullion. This old grandmother paid for her house using 500 ounces of gold or $17,500 dollars back in the 1950s. Gold and the dollar had equal value back then, but by 2008, the value of Gold had risen while the dollar went the opposite way. To buy this grandmother’s house today, you would have to pay $185,000. The point is you can pay that amount with only 205 ounces of Gold. The dollar aside, you’re will be paying less for grandma’s house with Gold! Now, don’t you think it is worth to set aside at least 10% of your investment portfolio into Gold?

Voyage with the Dinosaurs

Dust flew into the air as Jake wholeheartedly blew upon the old leather trimmed book entitled Voyage with the Dinosaurs that he had picked up from the chest which once belonged to his great grandfather; Sir Allen Talbot, a Paleontologist. Lisa on the other hand was worried that her parents would find out what they, the two siblings were doing in the attic - an area of the house that were off limits to them.

As Jake opened the book, a bright, endearing light came out of it and this caught Lisa’s attention. Inside the book, they saw dinosaurs moving on a lush green plane. This was better and looked more realistic than watching dinosaurs on television. Also, they saw their great grandfather in the book and he was waving to them to follow him.

Suddenly, to their astonishment, Jake and Lisa were now inside the world from which they were previously looking from the outside! The blaring of the Brontosaurus’s cries, the puffing of the Triceratops, and the heavy stomping of these majestic creatures is now very real. Jake and Lisa embraced their great grandfather. Suddenly, a very loud shriek filled the air. It was the Tyrannosaurus Rex! Sir Allen quickly brought Jake and Lisa away to safety.

American Steam Warship in the Philippines

The gentle sea breeze brushes upon the face of American sailor Andy Bruness - comforting him slightly under the harsh afternoon sun. He is far away from his homeland, serving his country on the steam powered warship USS Virginia that patrols the coastlines of the Philippine islands against the local freedom fighters of the south.

Today, his task is to scrub the ship’s deck, something unfitting of his navy training. He is eager to prove himself a warrior, not a cleaner. Suddenly, hundreds of white sails appear on the horizon. The yellow and red flags atop the mast show that they are Spanish ships. There is no room for diplomacy here as America and Spain are still at war. The Americans are outnumbered and outgunned.

Clouds of smoke soon exhumed from the Spanish ships while sirens on the USS Virginia blared, alerting Andy and the rest of the crew to their battle stations. Almost immediately, a thunderous explosion rocked the bow of the ship. Andy was thrown overboard in a blast that strewn away metal and large pieces of wood, once part of the ship’s deck. Andy tries to stay afloat and grabs a wooden plank. He holds on to it for dear life and falls unconscious.

Man-Tigers of the Green Valley

I find myself at the boundary of a gated community protected by steel gates ten feet high. I am at lost to what I am doing here. I feel as though I don’t belong; I feel that outside of these gates was where I came from. Yet, this valley is not much different then what I am used to. Decent looking brick houses decorate the tops of these small lush grass covered hills.

This lady companion of mine, who she is I haven’t a clue, wandering about the green valleys, appreciating its beauty – probably, as it is what most ladies I know like to do – smell flowers, and etc. I am waiting for her to be done with it at the boundary atop this hill, holding a long stick like a staff, just standing, looking over her from afar. I don’t recall coming to this place with her or maybe I did; I don’t know. Did I climb over the gates into this place? I doubt it. Anyway, I don't care now. All I know is that we will be leaving soon.

She returned to me, bringing with her a child. This child kissed me like it’s a customary ritual – it felt like kissing a lover. This kiss felt really good but sickeningly strange because she's just a kid. I looked back at my lady companion for any signs of jealousy from her. She showed none and what surprised me more was to see the child's face on hers. Maybe that's how she looked like in the first place anyway. I do realize how beautiful this lady companion of mine is now because her face is exactly like the little girl's. Oh, enough of this. I just want to get out of here.

I look at the high gate; it’s not impossible to climb over it, but instead of doing what I prefer to do, I just slid open the latch and pushed the smaller gate open - the small gate that is for people and not cars. We got out of the gated community. The three of us were happy to go on this journey by foot. It will be fairly familiar one for me. I have done this once or twice before in the past.

Behold, a tiger basks in the open lawn at the edge of the garden. Now this is new to me. There were no tigers in this area during my previous trips. A sense of danger holds me; a tingling sensation flows throughout my body. Perhaps my instinct is warning me of the danger to come – like death itself is hovering around me. “There could be more tigers in this garden,” a thought echoes in my mind.

This young girl and this lady do not look at all worried as though they are confident to be well protected by my presence. Well, otherwise they’re just plain naive. My fears were strengthened when another big tiger appeared not far from us. It had silky, orange and black stripped fur, and was pouncing about around us - probably playing with its potential food. I don’t like this feeling at all. This must be how a mouse feels like being played by a cat. The tiger teases us, every time pouncing just short of us, giving us a false sense of safety. This worked too as its actions become more of an annoyance rather than posing any real danger to us. How foolish it was for me to ever think that this is a tamed tiger and worse off, thinking that any tiger can ever be really tamed.

Now, just as I started feeling safe, the tiger decides to get serious. It jumped behind us to the little girl - looking for an easy kill. The tiger lunged towards the little girl from behind. To my surprise, the little girl made no attempt to jump out of the way – she was so scared that her feet were nailed to the ground! Thankfully, the tiger landed just short of her and snagged the bottom of her long cream colored laced dress, tearing a part of it off her small, frail body. “I must protect her,” I thought to myself, “Nothing must happen to her!” Immediately, I pulled the little girl away and confronted the threatening tiger.

I am willing to risk my life to protect these two ladies. I am faced with a tiger twice my size hence death for me is an absolute possibility. I can even feel this fear in my bones; it makes my muscles weak, but I have to fight this feeling and try to survive this dangerous face-off. Suddenly, the tiger morphs into a man - a Russian soccer star in full white team jersey. Yes, now this man I can fight for he is just a man. A strong, super-fit athlete and bigger than me he is, but still, only a man. My confidence grows and I feel my muscles contract with energy. An assuring thought came into mind, “Maybe I won’t die today.” Then I grinned confidently at the man-tiger. At most, I hope to give him a good fight, just so that he would find an easier meal elsewhere.

I unsheathed and held my two crescent knives in each hand, the sharp curved edges faced to the ground and the sharp tips pointed towards this man-tiger. He had his own set of crescent knives too, but they were bigger. “Whatever,” my mind acknowledges confidently, “Knife sizes don’t matter with my kind of fighting skills.” I was ready for battle. I am as strong as this man-tiger, leveraged by my fighting skills - a fact that only soon I am to realize after my knives are sticking painfully into the palms of his hands - amidst our duel.