Comments on: Wednesday, 1/13/10 http://www.crosswordfiend.com/blog/2010/01/12/wednesday-11310/ The best crosswords in newspapers and online Sat, 11 Feb 2012 03:05:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: joon http://www.crosswordfiend.com/blog/2010/01/12/wednesday-11310/#comment-1377 joon Thu, 14 Jan 2010 03:44:13 +0000 http://www.crosswordfiend.com/blog/?p=3060#comment-1377 rich s, of course the scientists can synthesize lysine, but that's not the point. humans can't manufacture it naturally, and somehow we get by without supplements of synthetic lysine, because we eat plants (or animals who have eaten plants, or animals who have eaten animals who have eaten plants, etc.), and plants can make lysine. lysine is called an "essential" amino acid because we need it to live but can't make it ourselves, thus making it an essential part of our diet. genetically modifying the dinos to be unable to synthesize a required amino acid is a clever idea, i guess, but in practice, any of the usual amino acids can be easily obtained by eating other living things that don't have the genetic defect. rich s, of course the scientists can synthesize lysine, but that’s not the point. humans can’t manufacture it naturally, and somehow we get by without supplements of synthetic lysine, because we eat plants (or animals who have eaten plants, or animals who have eaten animals who have eaten plants, etc.), and plants can make lysine. lysine is called an “essential” amino acid because we need it to live but can’t make it ourselves, thus making it an essential part of our diet.

genetically modifying the dinos to be unable to synthesize a required amino acid is a clever idea, i guess, but in practice, any of the usual amino acids can be easily obtained by eating other living things that don’t have the genetic defect.

]]> By: Rex Lawson http://www.crosswordfiend.com/blog/2010/01/12/wednesday-11310/#comment-1371 Rex Lawson Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:38:18 +0000 http://www.crosswordfiend.com/blog/?p=3060#comment-1371 The word Pianola was a compromise, arrived at around 1896 or 1897, between Edwin S. Votey, the inventor of the instrument, and Harry B. Tremaine, the President of the Aeolian Company, which marketed it. According to an article in the Aeolian house magazine in 1922, Votey had intended his instrument to unite the two words, Piano and Aeolian, and be called a Pianolian. However, Tremaine thought the word to be too cumbersome, and suggested Pianola instead. The instrument was NOT a piano, but rather a cabinet with a series of felt-covered fingers, which fitted in front of a normal piano. The name was first registered as a trade mark in 1898. You can find out more about the instrument and its history at www.pianola.org. If you dig around the pages, you may even find a photo of yours truly by the roadsign for the village of Pianola in central Italy. The word Pianola was a compromise, arrived at around 1896 or 1897, between Edwin S. Votey, the inventor of the instrument, and Harry B. Tremaine, the President of the Aeolian Company, which marketed it. According to an article in the Aeolian house magazine in 1922, Votey had intended his instrument to unite the two words, Piano and Aeolian, and be called a Pianolian. However, Tremaine thought the word to be too cumbersome, and suggested Pianola instead. The instrument was NOT a piano, but rather a cabinet with a series of felt-covered fingers, which fitted in front of a normal piano. The name was first registered as a trade mark in 1898. You can find out more about the instrument and its history at http://www.pianola.org. If you dig around the pages, you may even find a photo of yours truly by the roadsign for the village of Pianola in central Italy.

]]> By: RichS http://www.crosswordfiend.com/blog/2010/01/12/wednesday-11310/#comment-1370 RichS Wed, 13 Jan 2010 23:33:59 +0000 http://www.crosswordfiend.com/blog/?p=3060#comment-1370 @Martin Just a thought: If the scientists in Jurassic Park were able to clone, breed, etc., live dinosaurs, then maybe manufacturing lysine is not beyond their abilities either. @Martin

Just a thought: If the scientists in Jurassic Park were able to clone, breed, etc., live dinosaurs, then maybe manufacturing lysine is not beyond their abilities either.

]]> By: Martin http://www.crosswordfiend.com/blog/2010/01/12/wednesday-11310/#comment-1364 Martin Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:18:51 +0000 http://www.crosswordfiend.com/blog/?p=3060#comment-1364 A slew of -olas followed the success of the Victrola. It can be argued that <a href="http://www.intertique.com/WhoPutTheOla.htm" rel="nofollow">Victrola</a> was the popular originator of the suffix. Victrola obviously stole from "Pianola," but that was orginally perceived as piano+la. By inverting the last two letters in Victor before adding the "la," the new suffix "ola" entered the language. As the father of crayola, payola and all the rest, I thought the clue was well-earned homage to the coiner. A slew of -olas followed the success of the Victrola. It can be argued that Victrola was the popular originator of the suffix. Victrola obviously stole from “Pianola,” but that was orginally perceived as piano+la. By inverting the last two letters in Victor before adding the “la,” the new suffix “ola” entered the language.

As the father of crayola, payola and all the rest, I thought the clue was well-earned homage to the coiner.

]]> By: Amy Reynaldo http://www.crosswordfiend.com/blog/2010/01/12/wednesday-11310/#comment-1362 Amy Reynaldo Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:29:39 +0000 http://www.crosswordfiend.com/blog/?p=3060#comment-1362 So nobody else was envisioning a very assured LYSINE striding boldly about the lab, lording it over the other amino acids who felt more uncertain? So nobody else was envisioning a very assured LYSINE striding boldly about the lab, lording it over the other amino acids who felt more uncertain?

]]> By: joon http://www.crosswordfiend.com/blog/2010/01/12/wednesday-11310/#comment-1361 joon Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:21:47 +0000 http://www.crosswordfiend.com/blog/?p=3060#comment-1361 if you think about it, almost every kind of flower doubles as a girl's name, so the set of ladies in this puzzle were far from an exhaustive treatment of this theme. and yeah, the GIRLS part of the "reveal" answer rubbed me the wrong way. (i do hope there are no girls who are already mothers of nine.) then again, i didn't mind when pauly shore, art shell, vernon castle, et al were in andrea carla michaels's BEACH BOYS puzzle in the new york sun, so maybe i'm over-attuned to language that makes it easy to take women less than seriously. i've decided that i don't mind the {Certain [whatever]} clues. on the one hand, it would be nice if they were a little more specific, but on the other hand, it's a crossword puzzle, not a biochemistry test. it's easier to get LYSINE by already having the L in place (as i did by the time i read the clue) than it would be if the clue were {Amino acid whose side chain is (CH2)4NH3}. i feel like i often see the "certain" kind of clue used to deliberately conceal important information, like {Certain League member} for ARAB or {Largest of a certain septad} for ASIA. those annoy me a bit more, as i'm not fond of clues that are difficult solely because they are vague. if you think about it, almost every kind of flower doubles as a girl’s name, so the set of ladies in this puzzle were far from an exhaustive treatment of this theme. and yeah, the GIRLS part of the “reveal” answer rubbed me the wrong way. (i do hope there are no girls who are already mothers of nine.) then again, i didn’t mind when pauly shore, art shell, vernon castle, et al were in andrea carla michaels’s BEACH BOYS puzzle in the new york sun, so maybe i’m over-attuned to language that makes it easy to take women less than seriously.

i’ve decided that i don’t mind the {Certain [whatever]} clues. on the one hand, it would be nice if they were a little more specific, but on the other hand, it’s a crossword puzzle, not a biochemistry test. it’s easier to get LYSINE by already having the L in place (as i did by the time i read the clue) than it would be if the clue were {Amino acid whose side chain is (CH2)4NH3}. i feel like i often see the “certain” kind of clue used to deliberately conceal important information, like {Certain League member} for ARAB or {Largest of a certain septad} for ASIA. those annoy me a bit more, as i’m not fond of clues that are difficult solely because they are vague.

]]> By: Martin http://www.crosswordfiend.com/blog/2010/01/12/wednesday-11310/#comment-1360 Martin Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:16:38 +0000 http://www.crosswordfiend.com/blog/?p=3060#comment-1360 In most contexts, "amino acid" is one of the 22 that are used to build the proteins of life but, yes, others can be synthesized. Twenty are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_code" rel="nofollow">encoded by DNA</a>, and are fundamental to life on earth. Two others, hydroxyproline and cystine, are produced after initial protein synthesis. These two evolved key roles after the genetic code was established. For example, hair is 5% cystine. I'd guess that Life 2.0 will have an expanded genetic code to accomodate these 22. In most contexts, “amino acid” is one of the 22 that are used to build the proteins of life but, yes, others can be synthesized.

Twenty are encoded by DNA, and are fundamental to life on earth. Two others, hydroxyproline and cystine, are produced after initial protein synthesis. These two evolved key roles after the genetic code was established. For example, hair is 5% cystine. I’d guess that Life 2.0 will have an expanded genetic code to accomodate these 22.

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