It’s been known that RNA and DNA carry out the process of transcription in a similar fashion.

RNA Synthesis

There are numerous similarities between RNA and DNA during the process of synthesis. When it comes to transcription, or RNA synthesis, there are four stages that occur: initiation, binding, elongation, and termination. All of these stages are extremely intricate and detailed, but, they all require RNA polymers to be bound to a template strand of DNA. Now, DNA plays an important role in the entire synthesis process. Essentially, they’re the template from which RNA copies from. The RNA nucleotides will go through a variety of sequences throughout the synthesis process until it reaches the specific sequence that it needs. It then detaches itself from the DNA followed by terminating the entire process.

DNA Synthesis

The process of DNA synthesis is fairly similar to the RNA synthesis process in that involves the binding of polymers. But, as it proceeds through the sequencing stages it becomes much more complicated, involving the creation and identification of new strands. When the DNA polymerases synthesize, there’s something known as a lagging strand that is created alongside the process. To help understand this, think of two strands synthesizing at the same time. However, one strand will synthesize continuously while the other strand follows discontinuously. This gap is what creates the lagging strand. The process of DNA synthesis then proceeds similar in the way that RNA synthesis does until the DNA template directs it to stop.

The Bottom Line

Both RNA and DNA synthesis work in a similar fashion to each other. They both go through the synthesis steps and discontinue upon the creation of the sequence. Additionally, they also follow similar patterns during transcription. Although DNA synthesis is viewed as the more complex process, RNA synthesis can almost be viewed as a simplified version.

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Stress has been shown to cause several diseases and be detrimental to your health. Now there is a way to measure that stress using your cellphone. There are two methods. They both use the same technology, known as Heart Rate Variability (HRV).

Heart rate variability is the measurement of the time between heart beats. Although counter intuitive, a steady heartbeat with little to no variation is actually considered to be a sign of physiological stress. A healthy low stress individual would have a heartbeat with a high degree of variability.

The two methods are both smartphone based but vary on the method of getting the heartbeat data. The first method requires a bluetooth heart rate monitor. That data is fed into a HRV app and then the data is analyzed and current stress levels are displayed. This is the most accurate method but involves purchasing a heart rate monitor. To maximize accuracy, a chest strap based heart rate monitor is preferred.

The second method, is to use the camera of the smartphone to analyze your heartbeat. Although not as accurate, it has been shown to correlate very well with dedicated heart rate monitors. This is also the cheapest and most accessible method for most users. People who are not the most physically active and have no use for an actual heart rate monitor will find this method the most useful.

Virtual Reality is being hailed as the next big thing in tech. The highlight of the last Consumer Electronics Show was every company showing or announcing their VR plans. Even Apple is rumored to have up to 800 people working on some form of virtual reality tech. At present there are two products on the horizon which are generating the most buzz. The two products are by Oculus and HTC.

The Oculus rift is a head mounted virtual reality stereoscopic 3D display. You get a controller and can look around in every direction. However, VR is more than just about games. While gaming is the primary draw, the ability to look around in 3D limited mostly to cockpit based interactions. You can be in the cockpit of a fighter and can actually look around for enemy fighters. The other two uses for VR are movies and exploration. With exploration you can explore any location in the world in 3D. Think of it as an upgraded version of Google streetview. When it comes to movies, you can simulate being in an IMAX size cinema. It could possibly be the future of movie watching from the home.

The HTC Vive takes the above one step further. In addition to watching movies etc the gaming on the Vive has a new angle to it. It requires a room with a minimum size of 9 by 12 feet. Sensors are placed along the edges of the walls and you get two controllers. The games are different in that you can now move around this virtual area.

The demos of these games have been called “game-changing” by the tech media. However, it remains to be seen if these are mass market products.