Lecture: DNA control of gene expression and the brain

Well, there were 2 lectures today. One was about the control that we and other species have of DNA expression and it stressed mainly on processed that affect transcription. The other lecture was about the external features of the brain.

Lecture 1
I was more awake during this lecture and I could organize my notes. I think this was because the lecturer was talking slowly. The good thing about this lecture was that everything here was repeated. So it was all familiar and this was more like a revision. With todays lecture I listened and read before writing. I managed to get everything written down.

An area of improvement was I think the lecturer could have had better time management, he ended up rushing in the end(to be fair he was substituting for another lecturer). I realized that aiming to do the recommended reading in the morning is not working at this moment because I wake up late. Therefore, I should switch to doing the reading the night before, it should take 15-30mins. Maybe I should have a 'time-line' of the whole cellular events, so with each lecture, I will update it.

Lecture 2
I felt like I what we were covering was familiar. What I learnt about myself that, I can memorize the names during the lecture by association such as 'falx cerebri' <-- that actually took me a while... I need to find a more effective method of memorising in lectures. I learned that during lectures I need to mentally review what we went through from the time it started.

My problem is quick recall. Recalling the information is difficult. What can I do about it? What has worked for me in the past? Well, going over the objectives really helped. I feel like I need to dedicate a day of the week to gather information and commit to memory the information so far. The best day would be after the lab lessons or on friday afternoon. In the lecture, I think it would be more effective to have a mind-map rather than taking linear notes because a lot of things overlap.

The future
I just find it fascinating that the brain; something so small, so light, is in charge of our life. It's just really interesting. I would really like to know the organization of the brain. The relationship between structure and function. Is there a possibility of regenerating ones' brain? I want to have a holistic approach with the brain, how it is in charge of all the processes going on in the body. I think I will need to review my past lecture notes but this time with interest. Why don't lecturers start their lectures with an interesting way their concept can be implemented in the real world.
What is the future of brains? That is my question.

The beauty of control of gene expression is that we have an idea of what is happening in the nucleus, however, can we mimic this process? when will it be used?

Inspiration from Nature

Today, I had a lecture regarding the Basal Ganglia (BG). It is a structure in the brain that chooses where to move the limbs (ex. to get the water or to finish H/W). As a result of this system, vertebrates show complex behaviour. The interesting thing is that, the micro-architecture of the BG is identical; however, the BG is separated into different units that perform specific function (ex. hunger, threat response etc.).

This aspect of Nature, where complex functions occur as a result of simple repeating structures is conserved throughout the body. It is seen in cell movement with microtubule assembly and spinal cord development where it involves a small number of transcription factors.

The same approach should be used when manufacturing items/units. We should try to uncover the most simplest and generic structure that can be used across the boards.

Simplicity is the key!