Marvelous Molecules - The Secret of Life Fact Sheet Molecules for Living Molecules: A Source of Energy Molecules for Movement Molecules for Sensing Molecules for Defending Molecules for Reproduction Molecules that Form Structures   Marvelous Molecules -- The Secret of Life is the first ever hands-on exhibition exploring the shared chemistry of all living things. Hovering above the exhibit floor like a futuristic space station is a giant model of a glucose molecule magnified a quadrillion times (that's 10 followed by 15 zeroes!). This highly visible icon serves notice to visitors that they are about to enter a world whose size and scale is very different from their everyday experience. The exhibition's placement on the lower level of the Hall of Science serves to link, both physically and figuratively, two other popular exhibitions that explore subjects too small to see with the naked eye:  Hidden Kingdoms -- The World of Microbes and The Realm of the Atom. Shared Chemistry of Living Things Theater -- A four-minute video created by the award-winning Chedd-Angier production team sets the tone for the exhibition: "A common chemical theme runs through all life. That theme, the same in very different living organisms, is the way molecules interact with each other to make life happen." Zoom to the Molecule -- Peek inside the molecular structure of living things with this astonishing series of computer simulations developed specifically for this exhibition by Hall of Science staff working with Chedd-Angier. This technology allows visitors to see what no human eye has witnessed before – a frog's poison affecting a predator, passing on genetic traits in DNA, pheromones locking into a moth's sense organs -- in varying magnifications ranging from 1.5 x to 500,000,000 x! Fluorescence Microscope -- Molecules glow when this special microscope is used during our live daily demonstration. Molecules for Living How Many Molecules Are You? -- Guess how many, and what kind of, molecules arrange to create you. Believe it or not, our own molecular make-up -- carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water -- is actually similar to a wide array of lifeforms, including a cockroach, elephant, and even a piece of broccoli!  This is what is meant by the shared chemistry of living things. Although we don't look like a cockroach or a bacterium, we are made up of the same molecules in similar proportions. Build A Molecule Model -- Build your own molecules using snap-together plastic models.  Either copy ones that are on display or create your own. How Many Molecules? -- The staggeringly large number of molecules inside even the smallest item comes alive in this 3-D molecule display. For example, a tiny seed is shown to contain 100 quadrillion molecules of starch (1 plus 17 zeros)! We are made up of an astonishing large number of molecules – more than the number of stars in the sky! Molecules: A Source of Energy Food Energy from Molecules -- Discover how eating provides us with energy on a molecular level. Did you know that no matter what you or any living thing eats – whether it's blood, a hamburger, dung, grass or a mouse – only a few molecules provide energy? Discover what they are with our hands-on display. Body Heat -- Map out the "hot zones" on your body using an infrared camera. Body heat is a form of energy output, and our bodies give out excess energy in the form of heat as we digest food. Take home a color print of your own infrared body image. (fee: 50 cents) EcoSphere: A System in Balance -- See a whole world floating in a crystal ball.  This is a sealed aquarium that lets only heat and light energy enter.   Here, the organisms inside – fairy shrimp, snails, algae and microbes – produce carbon dioxide, oxygen and carbohydrate molecules to survive in this self-contained environment. Molecules for Movement How Muscles Work -- Activate a giant mechanical model showing how the molecules actin and myosin work together to create movement in all living things, from a scallop scooting across the sea floor, to a wriggling worm to a baby taking those first steps. More Strength, More Molecules Moving -- Test your strength by squeezing a handle to find out how many actin and myosin molecules work to move your hand muscles. Molecules for Sensing Sensing Molecules -- Solve a 3-D smell puzzle by fitting different odor molecules into their proper receptor sites. Discover the different molecular shapes that trigger responses in humans, dogs, moths and amoebas. Molecules for Defending Molecules in Plants Kill Beetles -- See how a genetically-engineered potato plant (NewLeaf™) defends itself against Colorado potato beetles using a natural insecticide gene borrowed from a bacterium!  Genetically engineered plants, foods and medicines are possible because of the shared DNA chemistry of living things. Make A Medicine -- Create a new medicine (based on the recently approved anti-flu drug Relenza™) using a computer simulation program. Manipulate molecular structures that lock onto an influenza protein preventing the virus from infecting new cells. Molecules for Reproduction Engineering a Tomato -- Try your own experiments in the new world of genetic engineering. Use an interactive computer program to create a tomato immune to frost damage by taking the gene that prevents fish from freezing and transplanting it into the tomato cell.  Such cross species transfers are practical and possible because of the shared DNA chemistry of living things. DNA Molecule Model -- Examine a three-foot tall DNA model and discover how various combinations of only four molecules can carry the genetic information to create any living thing. A small flask containing white billowy clouds of real DNA shows that the average person has 15 grams of DNA in their bodies. We have several test tubes showing the DNA from humans, fruit flies, potato plants and bacteria–but you can't tell the difference between the DNA from these five different organisms! Fruit fly Mutations -- Witness how changes in the small molecules that make up DNA result in major differences -- from normal fruit flies to stumpy-winged mutants, from brown-bodied flies to yellow-bodied mutants. Your DNA and Your Traits -- Can you smell androstenone? Test yourself for eight different characteristics in this interactive display, then find out how many other people who visited the exhibit share the same mix of genetic traits. Molecules that Form Structures Giant Cellulose Molecule -- This eye-catching icon, showing one part of a cellulose molecules, stretches 80 feet from floor to ceiling.  If the entire strand of glucose molecules that link together to form cellulose was shown at the same scale it would tower more than a mile high! This exhibition was made possible with the generous support of the National Science Foundation, the Pfizer Foundation Inc., the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation Inc., the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and an anonymous friend. Additional in-kind support was provided by Olympus America Inc., Optronics and Calyx & Corolla. This exhibit is based, in part, on work supported by the National Science foundation grant ESI 9627084. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the New York Hall of Science and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.