September 2008 Posts (19)

Plants' Daily Alarm Clock Discovered

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14740-plants-daily-alarm-clock-discovered.html?DCMP=ILC-hmts&nsref=news4_head_dn14740

Check out the video on the right side of the page of this New Scientist article

You can also see a time-lapse video of a bean sprout growing over several days at:

http://www.biology.ucsd.edu/scicomm/video/bigbeansprout.mov

Plants' daily alarm clock discovered

11:11 16 September… Continue

Added by Kim McDonald on September 26, 2008 at 11:30am — 1 Comment

The last thing that should hinder your research......is your data.

Data storage challenges are a real and growing problem for life science researchers.

But there's hope.

Large and rapidly growing stores of file-based and other data are a hallmark of life science research and bioinformatics environments. Determining how best to manage those data stores has become a significant challenge for researchers and the IT professionals that support them. This breakfast seminar series, jointly sponsored by the BioTeam and Isilon Systems, is intended to:

•… Continue

Added by Lutz Vomberg on September 24, 2008 at 5:33pm — 1 Comment

Alternative Energy Sources

I am a new member, (John), and I am not a scientist but I am a visionary-not to suggest that scientist are not visionaries- but if we were to take a look at the so-called "energy crisis" and our dependence on polluting fossil-fuelled energy systems , the majority of the people appear to be seeking a solution outside of what we are already using because of the current systems emit pollution into the atmosphere and also continue to pollute the earth.

I am in the process of trying to secure… Continue

Added by John Young on September 24, 2008 at 12:36pm — 4 Comments

BioBridge: The Bridge to Somewhere

We have a new featured article up about BioBridge. Read it here!

Added by Kelly Lagor on September 23, 2008 at 4:32pm — No Comments

The Thrill is (Almost) Gone

The chemical, Dopamine has been known to play a role in the reward system in the brain for many years. However, a new discovery can explain why we're not as excited about things as we age (and no, it's not just growing cynicism!)

From the NY Times article:

"'It may… Continue

Added by Kelly Lagor on September 23, 2008 at 3:40pm — 1 Comment

New Ancient Use for Stonehenge Found

Just when you thought scientists had Stonehenge all figured out, we can add yet another ancient use to the list already featuring astronomical observatory, cemetery, and party grounds to celebrate the dead and living.

Research appearing in the latest issue of Smithsonian Magazine… Continue

Added by Kelly Lagor on September 23, 2008 at 3:30pm — 1 Comment

Man Power to Solar Power: Rickshaws of Old Delhi Amped up with Solar Power

The local Indian government in Kolkata and Delhi have been trying to get Man-Powered Rickshaws off the road for a long time. The Government representatives believe these rickshaws are remnants of the old colonial system in India and feel that the impression that it brings to the city is one of poverty. Many common folks believe that the rickshaw is a noble and trusted traditional job.

These man-powered rickshaws carry 1 to 4 passengers ranging from children to adults or loads of… Continue

Added by Sujata on September 23, 2008 at 11:00am — No Comments

OpenWetWare.org, Where My Protocol is Your Protocol: The Wiki way to share "How To..." in Science

Some labs have defined protocols for everything...others just let you do it the way you want. To ease the learning curve for any method you might find this little Web Gem quite unique and potentially extremely efficient and useful!

OpenWetWare.org wants to be a social and educational network for labs around the world to share their knowledge of protocols and general methods of wet-science.

You can also connect to people and labs that you want to learn from or possibly… Continue

Added by Sujata on September 22, 2008 at 11:00am — No Comments

Boy Genius...Indeed! 12- year old Solar Cell Researcher develops a higher efficiency Solar Cell

Are you ready to take on the Green Tech/Clean Tech Community? Well, 12-year old William Yuan certainly is.

This little Oregon boy took some time out from a busy 7th grade schedule and hit the library for quite an extraordinary Science Project. He got the attention of many and won $25,000 for his 3D Solar Cell Research Project. This little solar cell reportedly can collect UV as well as Visible light, which could improve the efficiency of current solar cells several… Continue

Added by Sujata on September 19, 2008 at 3:00pm — No Comments

The Science Behind the Spice

NPR has a segment airing later today (6PM ET) about peppers. I love spicy foods and peppers of any kind rank among my favorite kind of vegetables, so I'll be tuning in!

From the NPR website:

"Talk of the Nation, September 19, 2008 · Science Friday broadcasts this week from the… Continue

Added by Kelly Lagor on September 19, 2008 at 1:21pm — No Comments

Obama and McCain Tackle Science Policy Questions

Science Debate 2008 is a grass roots effort begun by scientists and other concerned citizens with the goal of getting science policy questions addressed during election season. Despite efforts to have public debates about science policy,… Continue

Added by Kelly Lagor on September 19, 2008 at 1:00pm — 1 Comment

Political Attitudes Predicted by Physiological Traits

With election season in full swing, it's almost impossible to swing a dead cat without hitting someone embroiled in a political discussion. Therefore, it's of no surprise that research articles following in the same vein would be popping up.

A new article by a research group from Rice… Continue

Added by Kelly Lagor on September 18, 2008 at 1:14pm — No Comments

Water Bears - IN SPACE!

Tardigrades, also known as water bears, have joined an elite group of microorganisms, including a few lichens and bacteria, that are able to withstand the harsh conditions in outer space.

From the NY Times Science article:

"As the researchers describe in Current Biology,… Continue

Added by Kelly Lagor on September 16, 2008 at 6:00pm — No Comments

Platypus Genome Reveals Similarities to Reptiles and Mammals

When the first platypus was observed by European naturalists, they were understandably baffled. They even thought that it was a fraud committed by Chinese taxidermists. Who'd ever heard of an animal that laid eggs, was venomous, had a flat, beaver-like tail with the feet of an otter and the beak of a… Continue

Added by Kelly Lagor on September 16, 2008 at 5:30pm — No Comments

Do you smell something burning?

It might be some Higgs bosons. The Large Hadron Collider started up today and I think we are all slightly nervous for two reasons. Firstly, that they might not find anything and they will have spent 14 years and $8 billion on a very large potential wine cellar or subterranean 17-mile jogging track. Secondly, that they might find something and inadvertently start some weird 'quantum fire' that scorches our bosons--if you know what I mean. Keep that fire extinguisher… Continue

Added by Will Alaynick on September 10, 2008 at 8:27am — 2 Comments

Astronomers Come One Step Closer to Black Holes

There's a great article this week in Nature about the, well, nature of our knowledge about black holes and how recent advances have allowed us to observe an Event Horizon (the edge of one).

From the commentary in Nature:

"It is believed that the centre of essentially every… Continue

Added by Kelly Lagor on September 4, 2008 at 5:12pm — No Comments

Newborns Wired for Discrimination in Sound Recognition

A neat article appearing in this week's edition of PNAS explores how newborns acquire language. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania conducted experiments on neonates by subjecting them to different speech patterns, discovering a specific pattern resulted in the highest levels of activity in… Continue

Added by Kelly Lagor on September 4, 2008 at 5:01pm — No Comments

Brain Cells Observed Summoning a Memory

Researchers had previously theorized that memories may reside in brain cells that were first fired during the experience itself. Researchers from Israel and America observed 13 patient's brains while awaiting surgery while watching popular television shows, then asked them to recall the… Continue

Added by Kelly Lagor on September 4, 2008 at 4:51pm — No Comments

Analyses of "Junk DNA" Reveals Startling Functionality

From the NPR website:

"Scientists are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of what used to be called 'junk' DNA. Yale researchers have found a region of DNA that appears to be crucial in making a human limb. Although it's not a gene in the traditional sense of the word, it is… Continue

Added by Kelly Lagor on September 4, 2008 at 4:41pm — 1 Comment