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To: edsheppa, Southack
edsheppa: the shape is often what counts in terms of activity at least for proteins

Absolutely! I've pointed this out to Southack a number of times. For instance, in #606 "One very obvious way in [computer programming] isn't analogous is the secondary, 3^0, or 4^0 structures of DNA and the function inherent in those structures. This function is context dependent. For instance, if you drop a protein or DNA in an acid or a base, its function changes because of conformational changes, even though the sequence is still the same. Likewise, some proteins are dependent on the presence of certain heavy metal ions which induce the proper conformational structure.

710 posted on 04/09/2002 2:21:12 PM PDT by Nebullis
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I left out an end quote after "function inherent in those structures."
711 posted on 04/09/2002 2:22:19 PM PDT by Nebullis
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To: Nebullis, edsheppa
"the shape is often what counts in terms of activity at least for proteins"

"Shape" is not even "context," much less "data."

To differentiate between the DNA of various life forms, we examine the sequential data stored by the bases in each DNA strand. Neither the "shape" nor the "context" can tell us which life form is coded in any particular DNA, but the data can tell us that answer.

712 posted on 04/09/2002 3:27:14 PM PDT by Southack
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