What: 'Outlining this behaviour earned two scientists a Nobel prize in 1965. "The lac operon is like the hydrogen atom of molecular biology, it's the first system that describes gene regulation," Xie says.'

Writer: Sunney Xie

LCC: QR

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Date: Jun 9 2010 7:01 AM

What: Lac operon is like a thermostat in which the substrate, lactose, induces production of the enzyme that will break it down, lac. Thermostats turn on when the temp is low (for example), and will turn off when the temp is too hi. The lac operon does the same thing, in low concentrations of lactose, it's off, and in high concentrations, its on. Since the product is glucose, and high glucose levels also dampen the production of Lac genes, It's an example of feedback inhibition." See comment in link.

Writer: gibbie99

LCC:

Where:

Date: Jun 9 2010 7:01 AM

What: Both are things that respond to changes in their environment. The lac operon is natural, it is a gene regulation mechanism that controls the conversion of lactose to glucose when the levels of lactose become elevated. Likewise, a motion detector is responsive to the motion of a body in its environment. When someone or something moves through it's path, it flips on a light to keep someone from walking into a wall or to detect an intruder. When the motion stops for a specified amount of time, the light turns off.

Writer: LucretiaMia

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Date: Apr 17 2012 7:40 PM