What Are We Looking For? The Needle in the Haystack or the Usual Suspect?

Biochemical reactions are occurring constantly in cells, converting starting substances to different products, usually with the help of enzymes that speed the reactions. Without enzymes, it would take far too long for most reactions to occur to be useful to the cell!

Retroviruses have a single-stranded RNA genome that undergoes a special form of replication. Once the retrovirus has entered the host cell, an enzyme called reverse transcriptase synthesizes double-stranded DNA from the retroviral RNA genome. This DNA copy of the genome is then integrated into the host’s genome inside the nucleus via an enzyme called integrase. Consequently, the retroviral genome is transcribed into RNA whenever the host’s genome is transcribed, allowing the...

The genomes of eukaryotes are punctuated by long stretches of sequence which do not code for proteins or RNAs. Although some of these regions do contain crucial regulatory sequences, the vast majority of this DNA serves no known function. Typically, these regions of the genome are the ones in which the fastest change, in evolutionary terms, is observed, because there is typically little to no selection pressure acting on these regions to preserve their sequences.
In contrast, regions which code...

Children at play often make suspensions such as mixtures of mud and water, flour and water, or a suspension of solid pigments in water known as tempera paint. These suspensions are heterogeneous mixtures composed of relatively large particles that are visible to the naked eye or can be seen with a magnifying glass. They are cloudy, and the suspended particles settle out after mixing. On the other hand, a solution is a homogeneous mixture in which no settling occurs and in which the dissolved...