German Word Order

Here are a few handy hints for getting word order correct in the main clause of a sentence:

• The basic rule is time, manner, place, which means any time phrases are written first (after the verb), and information about location comes at the end of the sentence, but still before the second verb, if there is one.
• For example: Mein englischer Brieffreund hat letzten Sommer mit seiner Familie eine Ferienwohnung direkt in Füssen gemietet.
• Subject verb time manner place verb
• I also noticed that mit phrases always seem to come before other manner phrases, such as the object of the sentence, as we can see in the example above.
• Phrases can be moved to the front of the sentence to add emphasis.
• For example: Direkt in Füssen hat mein englischer Brieffreund letzten Sommer mit seiner Familie eine Ferienwohnung gemietet.

The wider reading thing worked well...

... Or not! I think it was a good idea, but one that doesn't work too well in practice. It's not as though I haven't been doing wider reading - I have, just not with this blog in mind. I actually bought a book which is directly related to behavioural epigenetics, which is a good read, and I will attend another psychology conference next week, and went on a biology trip last Monday. In fact, right now I've just taken a break from some additional German grammar work, and my chemistry individual investigation requires me to become an expert on aspirin. Perhaps I can find another use for this blog... storage of brief revision notes and useful links, perhaps?

Wider Reading: Behavioural Epigenetics

Grandma's Experiences Leave a Mark on Your Genes

This article introduces the idea that genetic information can be influenced by both nature and nurture, suggesting that life experiences are able to alter chemical signals to determine exactly which genes are transcribed. The field of epigenetics is concerned with  extra chemicals, such as the methyl group, which attach themselves to the genes that are necessary to produce the proteins required by the cell. Epigenetic changes can occur throughout life and can be triggered by a variety of factors, including diet, and can even be inherited, despite not actually being part of DNA itself; this is known as postnatal inheritance. A methyl group inhibits transcription of the gene it attaches to by tightening the DNA around the histone, making it much harder for DNA helicase to unzip this portion of DNA. To investigate the effect of life experiences on epigenetics, a natural experiment was conducted on rats whose mothers were either very attentive or very inattentive. This study found that genes regulating sensitivity to stress hormones were far more methylated the brains of those with inattentive mothers. This means that, for those with less attentive mothering, the genes which protect against the effects of stress were not transcribed as fully; therefore, the offspring were more susceptible to the effects of stress. In a follow up study, offspring of inattentive mothers were placed with attentive mothers and vice versa, and again the rats raised by the inattentive mothers had the most methylation in their anti-stress genes. Studies of human blood have shown that these changes can be present in humans too, and this could lead to the development of drugs to control or remove methyl groups, which may be useful in treating disorders such as depression. However, there are ethical issues with this type of treatment, most notably, is it right to alter inherited information?

Year 13

Despite not really using this blog during year 12, I managed to do well in my AS studies, gaining four A grades. This year I will use the blog for a different purpose: housing links to a selection of "wider reading" articles. Each fortnight, I will aim to read at least one article which relates to each of my subjects, as well as summarising the main points I have learnt from it. I hope that this practice will enable me to retain my high standard from year 12 in my A2 studies.