DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid (ⁱ/diˈɒksiˌraɪboʊnjʊˌkliːɪk, -ˌkleɪɪk/;DNA) is a molecule that carries most of the genetic instructions used in the development, functioning and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses. DNA is a nucleic acid; alongside proteins and carbohydrates, nucleic acids compose the three major macromolecules essential for all known forms of life. Most DNA molecules consist of two biopolymer strands coiled around each other to form a double helix. The two DNA strands are known as polynucleotides since they are composed of simpler units called nucleotides. Each nucleotide is composed of a nitrogen-containing nucleobase—either cytosine (C), guanine (G), adenine (A), or thymine (T)—as well as a monosaccharide sugar called deoxyribose and a phosphate group. The nucleotides are joined to one another in a chain by covalent bonds between the sugar of one nucleotide and the phosphate of the next, resulting in an alternating sugar-phosphate backbone. According to base pairing rules (A with T, and C with G), hydrogen bonds bind the nitrogenous bases of the two separate polynucleotide strands to make double-stranded DNA. The total amount of related DNA base pairs on Earth is estimated at 5.0 x 10³⁷, and weighs 50 billion tonnes. In comparison, the total mass of the biosphere has been estimated to be as much as 4 TtC (trillion tons of carbon).

DNA²

DNA² (Japanese: D・N・A² ～何処かで失くしたあいつのアイツ～, Hepburn: Dī En Ei Tsū: Dokoka de Nakushita Aitsu no Aitsu) is a science fiction manga series written and illustrated by Masakazu Katsura. It was serialized across Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine between 1993 and 1994, spanning a total of five tankōbon volumes.

DNA² was adapted into a 12-episode anime television series which ran on Nippon Television from October 7, 1994 to December 23, 1994. This was followed by a three-episode anime original video animation (OVA) in 1995. Produced by Madhouse and Studio Deen, the anime series was directed by Jun'ichi Sakata, whereas the character designer and animation director for the series was Kumiko Takahashi. DNA² has been broadcast in Japan by Animax, which has also aired the series across its respective networks worldwide, including its English-language networks in Southeast Asia and South Asia. All 15 episodes were licensed in North America by Central Park Media until their closing in 2009. The five volumes and box set are out-of-print. Discotek Media has since re-licensed the series for a DVD release in 2014.

DNA2.0

DNA2.0 provides products and services for life science and Synthetic biology research. DNA2.0 also provides free access to research tools such as Gene Designer, DNA Atlas and a gRNA designer.

The company

DNA2.0 was founded in 2003, in Menlo Park, California. The company is privately held and continues to have all research, development and production in Menlo Park, California. It began and continues as a gene synthesis and protein engineering provider to academia, government and the pharmaceutical, chemical, agricultural and biotechnology industries. Gene Synthesis rapidly replaced molecular cloning for many academic and corporate labs, as "foundries for the biotechnology age" allowing made-to-order genes for biological research. DNA2.0 was featured on the PBS show Nova ScienceNow to show how genes are created synthetically in a lab. In 2008, the company supplied some of the DNA stretches used to create a synthetic bacterial genome.Dan Rather Reports included DNA2.0 in their episode on Synthetic Biology and how it is solving "some of the most important problems facing the world." In 2009, The Scientist named the codon design algorithms (now tradmarked as GeneGPS) developed by DNA2.0 as one of the Top 10 Innovations of the year for Life Sciences. DNA2.0 developed the Electra Vector System, a universal cloning system that utilizes the type IIS restriction enzyme SapI and T4 DNA ligase in a single-tube reaction. DNA2.0 has made some molecular components, such as synthetic fluorescent proteins, available in open-access collections of DNA parts (BioBricks Foundation). DNA2.0 is a founding member of the International Gene Synthesis Consortium (IGSC) to promote biosecurity in the gene-synthesis industry. There are over 1,100 published scientific articles using DNA2.0 products and/or services, of which 43 include company employees as an author(s).

Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany

The Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany, German: Vertrag über die abschließende Regelung in Bezug auf Deutschland (or the Two Plus Four Agreement, German: Zwei-plus-Vier-Vertrag; short: German Treaty) was negotiated in 1990 between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic (the eponymous "Two"), and the Four Powers which occupied Germany at the end of World War II in Europe: France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In the treaty the Four Powers renounced all rights they held in Germany, allowing a united Germany to become fully sovereign the following year.

Background

On 2 August 1945, the Potsdam Agreement, promulgated at the end of the Potsdam Conference, among other things agreed on the initial terms under which the Allies of World War II would govern Germany. A provisional German–Polish border known as the Oder–Neisse line awarded, in theory within the context of that "provisional border", most of Germany's eastern provinces to Poland and the Soviet Union. Those agreements reached were provisional and the agreement stipulated that the situation would be finalised by "a peace settlement for Germany to be accepted by the Government of Germany when a government adequate for the purpose is established" (Potsdam Agreement 1.3.1). Parts of those above mentioned agreements were burdened with controversy from several sources e.g., Churchill's comment about stuffing the Polish goose too full (of German lands). The overall "German Question" became one of the salient and crucial issues of the long-running Cold War, and until it ended in the late 1980s, little progress had been made in the establishment of a single government of Germany adequate for the purpose of agreeing to a final settlement. This meant that in some respects (largely, but not only, technical), Germany did not have full national sovereignty.

Treaty 11

Treaty 11, the last of the Numbered Treaties, was an agreement established between 1921 and 1922 between King George V and various First Nation band governments in what is today the Northwest Territories.

Henry Anthony Conroy was appointed treaty commissioner and conducted the negotiations and signings in 1921. However, he was unable to gain signatures from some bands in the Liard district during that summer. Further complicating matters was Conroy's death in April 1922. Thomas William Harris, the Indian Agent at Fort Simpson, Conroy's replacement, conducted the remaining treaty signings at Liard in July 1922. The signatories included Bishop Gabriel-Joseph-Elie Breynat of the Apostolic Vicariate of Mackenzie.

Timeline

Treaty 4

Treaty 4 is a treaty established between Queen Victoria and the Cree and Saulteaux First Nation band governments. The area covered by Treaty 4 represents most of current day southern Saskatchewan, plus small portions of what are today western Manitoba and southeastern Alberta. This treaty is also called the "Qu'appelle Treaty," as its first signings were conducted at Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan on 15 September 1874. Additional signings or adhesions would continue until September 1877.

Reasons for the Treaty

The Government of Canada negotiated the first five Numbered Treaties to gain land from the First Nations for settlement, agricultural and industry. Also, Prime Minister John A. Macdonald saw the land as necessary to complete a transcontinental railway, which would run through the cities of Regina, Moose Jaw, and Swift Current in southern Saskatchewan.

Terms of the Treaty

Each family of 5 covered by Treaty 4 would receive 1 square mile (2.59 square km) of land, which they could sell back to the Government of Canada for compensation. Each person received $5 a year and a gift of clothing. A chief would receive $25 immediately plus an additional $25 per year, along with a coat and a silver medal. Every three years, a chief would receive a new suit of clothing. Four people of each band would also receive $15 a year and a new suit of clothing every three years. The people would also receive farming tools portioned by family. The tribe also was to receive powder, shot, ball and twine, in all to the value of $750 annually. Each reserve would get a school when they desired a teacher. The people would also have the right to hunt and fish on all ceded land, except that land used for agriculture, forestry, mining, or on any land that was settled. The treaties are supposed to last forever.