tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52576169378694116632024-02-19T02:44:41.664-05:00The Factual EnquirerBrad Hershhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12133867698380275443noreply@blogger.comBlogger130125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257616937869411663.post-12636387169528338842012-04-30T23:20:00.001-04:002012-04-30T23:20:15.222-04:00Screeeech on the bridge!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
No stroll around Allegheny College's campus would be complete without a visit to the 'rustic bridge'. Last weekend my parents visited and we were fulfilling this requirement when we were stopped by a tour group listening to the history and legend of the bridge (or rather of the romantic 13th plank). Instead of barging through and disrupting this magical moment for the prospective students we opted to take a closer look at the trees closest to us. I am sure glad I did because upon closer inspection we spotted four little, puffy owls trying to catch some shut eye. <br />
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Turns out these small fellas were screech owls, three fledglings and their mother. And when I say small, I mean it- they appeared to be about as tall as your average banana (about 7 in). This came as a huge surprise to me without a sense of scale the pictures makes them seem much larger. Additionally, I haven't seen many owls during the day (and when I did they were always flying by confused) and it was too dark to gauge the size of the few owls I've spotted at night. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby screech- all <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/build-an-owl-nest-box?utm_source=google&utm_medium=imgres&utm_campaign=framebuster" target="_blank">rights</a> reserved</td></tr>
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It is moderately acceptable that I haven't spotted many owls at any time of the day because they are masters of disguise. Their plumage can take on various overall tones but each of those tones are made up of different complex spots and hues of color. This coloring provides the perfect camouflage during the day so that even though humans and animals are constantly walking by their napping site they are not often noticed. This is also advantageous when it comes to finding a meal. When the unsuspecting small mammal or bird flies under a screech owls perch it is likely to become dinner before even recognizing its lurking predator. </div>
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We were lucky enough to see fledglings because screech owls mate earlier than most other birds. Few have been fortunate enough to witness the elaborate mating display males put on for females so I was unable to find a video but it sounds pretty neat. It includes mating calls, head and body bobbing and swiveling AND (if the lady owl is lucky) a slow and deliberate wink that says, "How you doin'?" even better than Joey. <br />
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A last tid-bit on screech owls: surely they must make some dreadful screeching sound that led to their current name... turns out no! Although they have a variety of calls the most common one is a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y62tCuQp-kI" target="_blank">trill</a> or tremolo. This somewhat eerie noise is familiar from Maine from Texas.<br />
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So there you have it: my last entry provides a little background on the somewhat misnamed screech owl along with the reminder to keep your eyes open! Countless funky creatures are living in right in your backyard-- go check them out!</div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257616937869411663.post-22099188576893664012012-04-27T13:39:00.001-04:002012-04-27T13:39:03.103-04:00The Science of Music. Part 2:Musical structure resembles the human brain's tendency to make patterns out of sound. Tonal music, like most classical music, establishes a pattern or key that will frame the song then dances around and avoids that key or theme until the end restoring order. The brain desperately desires this structure and constantly tries to recreate this order.<br />
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Before that pattern can be desired by the brain, it must play hard to get. Music only excites the brain when it makes the auditory cortex struggle to discover the order. If the pattern is too predictable, the music becomes boring. This is why classical musicians introduce the order at the beginning and are dedicated to avoiding it until the end. The longer we are denied the pattern we expect, the greater the emotional response when that order is restored. Harmony logic is the logic of hide of and seek.<br />
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As Leonard Meyer shows in his book <i>Emotion and Meaning in Music, </i>music is defined by its flirtation with and not submission to to expectations of order. Earlier theories of music believed that the emotions we find in music were a result of the way noise refers to real world images and experiences we have previously had. But as Meyer and contemporary neuroscientists argue, the emotions come from the unfolding events of the music itself: the patterns music invokes and then ignores.<br />
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"For the human mind, such states of doubt and confusion are abhorrent. When confronted with them, the mind attempts to resolve them into clarity and certainty," wrote Meyer. This nervous anticipation and uncertainty to create feeling. Music makes us uncomfortable and we love it.<br />
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Next week I'll get into the biology of the emotional quality of music, primarily its connection with dopamine levels._Michael Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17169486045151202320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257616937869411663.post-19573177444260069182012-04-27T13:32:00.001-04:002012-04-27T13:32:39.663-04:00Evolution, redefinedIf you're reading a biology blog, you're probably aware that Charles Darwin was an important dude, and not just for discovering the plant hormone auxin. He also published the theory of evolution, completely revolutionizing our understanding of the world. However, not until the discovery of DNA and genes was it clear how exactly certain physiological traits could be passed from parent to offspring, and how new traits could emerge through mutations. Now, however, disease-causing particles called prions might be redefining what evolution is and how it works.<br />
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Prions are proteins that are usually produced in the human body, but for some reason get misfolded and form aggregates which cause brain tissue to deteriorate. The best-known prion diseases are Mad Cow, Creutzfeld-Jakob, scrapie, and kuru, but there's a prion disease affecting nearly every mammal. Prion diseases are passed by ingesting prion particles. When the normal protein encounters the misfolded prion form, it gets converted into the prion form as well. It's still unclear how exactly this happens, or what causes a previously normal protein to be misfolded into a prion. However, it was previously well-accepted that this prion form was unchangeable. Researchers at Scripps decided to challenge this idea based on a puzzling piece of evidence<br />
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They noticed that when you infect mice with a sheep prion, it becomes more virulent over time. An initial spike in virulence from the sheep-to-mouse transfer may have made sense, because it would simply indicate that the mouse brain is more susceptible than the sheep's, but if the prion disease starts killing faster as it infects more mice, this indicates it is adapting to its host to become more successful. So, they decided to <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091231164747.htm" target="_blank">test</a> that idea by exposing prions to different conditions and selective pressures, to see if certain variants were more prominent in one situation versus another.<br />
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Sure enough, researchers found that different prion particles were present in brain cells versus cell cultures, and that they could get the predominant type to switch if they transferred prions from brain to culture or culture to brain. Also, they exposed prion-infected cells to swainsonine, a compound previously found to have prion-control properties, and found that a drug-resistant form of the prion quickly became the major component of the population. Removing swainsonine returned the population to being mostly susceptible, with less than 1% resistant prions. <br />
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The head of the study, Dr. Weissmann, thinks this will have important treatment applications. Because they thought prions couldn't mutate and evolve, the key was going to be finding some way to target the prion and leave the normal, non-problematic cell protein alone. But, if prions can evolve, it's likely that any treatment blocking or removing prions is going to quickly become ineffective, because prion particles resistant to it will quickly take over the population. Instead, Weissmann thinks we should be focusing on finding ways to remove the normal protein from cells, because without a normal protein to convert, the prions will be unable to form large aggregates and cause problems.<br />
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Regardless how prion treatments end up looking, it is highly interesting that our ideas of evolution have, once again, expanded. We've been incorrect about a lot of accepted ideas about evolution, for example "silent" mutations. Silent mutations are when there's a mutation, but it doesn't change the protein's building blocks at all, so the rationale was that there was no way that could affect fitness if the protein was the same. However, it turns out that some codes for building blocks are preferable and faster for an organism to make than others, and faster protein assembly may be an advantage. Now, it turns out we might be wrong that the only way a mutation can be passed on is through genetic material, because prions can evolve to fit their environmental conditions better and can pass this along to other members of the population despite being only protein.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257616937869411663.post-4141116763100805362012-04-26T23:24:00.000-04:002012-04-26T23:24:22.520-04:00Poop and DestinyI thought it fitting to spend my last post on this sciencey
blog discussing a topic that I first discovered through one of my favorite
science communicators, Stephen Jay Gould.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The topic, fitting or not depending on your opinion of my posts, happens
to be… guano.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bird poo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So come along!<o:p> </o:p><br />
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The species I’d like to discuss is one you may have heard
of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you have, it’s a name you’re not
likely to forget: the Blue-Footed Booby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p> </o:p></div>
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It just fully occurred to me where this post is going, and
I’m not sure that I like it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
apprehension comes not from the mention of “poo” or “Booby,” as you might
expect, but rather from the dismal conclusion that could easily be drawn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alas, as Dana would attest, writing is about
taking leaps, and so I take one now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
hope to leave you with the notion that nature is both wondrous in its balance
and economy, and utterly without human passions, despite what we might hope.<o:p> </o:p></div>
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If you travel to the <st1:place w:st="on">Galapagos Islands</st1:place>,
Blue-Footed Boobies will be among the most obvious of the animals you see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only do they possess, as their name
implies, a fairly striking natural pedicure, but many of them seem to be
sitting on the bulls-eyes of big, white targets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Further inspection will reveal that the
volcanic landscape has not been modified by a rogue line-painter into some
bizarre sporting arena.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather, the
birds have made the rings themselves – by spraying guano in all directions!<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"This is embarrassing."<br />
<a href="http://sciencephoto.com/">sciencephoto.com</a></td></tr>
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The “guano rings,” as it turns out, are part of the homes of
these ground-nesting birds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each mother
sits inside her ring, placidly warming her chicks, apparently oblivious to the
gawking tourists who snap photographs mere feet from her face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Gould was in the Galapagos, he was
surprised enough by the Booby behavior that he decided to do a bit of
“research.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He approached a nest with
caution, inching toward the circle while the mother stared into space.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eventually, he toed the line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still no response.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally, as his toe moved imperceptibly
forward, it reached an invisible line within the circle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reaction was immediate: frantic
squawking, flapping and pecking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every
time he repeated the toe experiment the same thing would happen.<o:p> </o:p></div>
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The Boobies operate on a very simple strategy of nest
protection: if something lies inside the nest, nurture it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it is outside, ignore it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it crosses the line, attack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, this applies even to a bird’s
own chicks, which have been observed cheeping helplessly mere inches from a guano
ring as their mother sits proudly atop the rest of her clutch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People who have seen such things are
incredulous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How could she be so
cruel?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So Stupid?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They want to put the chick back in the nest,
but it is forbidden – things in nature tend to happen for a reason.<o:p> </o:p></div>
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A mother Booby lays between one and three eggs per clutch, one-at-a-time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They hatch in the order that they are laid,
so that the oldest is always biggest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Often, the mother raises all of her chicks to adulthood without a
hitch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Occasionally though, and this is
where the post takes a turn for the appalling, the first-born chick will push
his or her younger siblings out of the nest, across the short expanse of rock,
and over the invisible line, condemning them to death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The mother will continue to raise the
first-born.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She will pay the others no
mind at all.<o:p> </o:p></div>
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When I hear things like this, I feel a physical pain in my
gut.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The suffering of little, fuzzy
creatures is the worst thing I can imagine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But the world beyond humanity does not share my concepts of justice,
good and evil, right and wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
oldest Booby is not a psychopath; his mother is not deranged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are two hungry birds in an environment
that does not contain enough food to support two or three nestlings, so one of
them does what must be done to prevent the death of the entire clutch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p> </o:p></div>
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I admit I hadn’t intended to leave you with such a sobering
meditation on the apathy of nature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Truth be told, I was hoping to make some poop jokes and leave you with a
laugh or two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alas, what’s done is
done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Besides, it’s sometimes valuable
to remember that life isn’t fair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
helps us to cope when things go wrong in our personal lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also makes watching that chase scene from
Planet Earth a little more bearable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
any case, I hope you’ve enjoyed this Bio 490 project or ours, and I’m sure many
of us hope to keep blogging in the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Thanks for reading.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SWbw73mXsU4/T5oQrHknGbI/AAAAAAAAADk/90eN9Sp03b0/s1600/calvin+and+hobbes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SWbw73mXsU4/T5oQrHknGbI/AAAAAAAAADk/90eN9Sp03b0/s320/calvin+and+hobbes.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://twistermc.com/">twistermc.com</a></td></tr>
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<br /></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257616937869411663.post-70739862692275006152012-04-26T00:26:00.000-04:002012-04-26T00:31:35.406-04:00New GeneticsLiterature classes can teach students to read between the lines, to understand how prose is built beyond the simple linking of nouns and verbs. The same critical reading skills are required for geneticists to understand how the genome is more than just a long string of letters called DNA. Rather than reading between the lines, geneticists read above the line in an emerging field called Epigenetics.<br />
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To keep a thread from becoming a knotted mess, a seamstress keeps the strands wrapped around a single, large spool. To keep DNA from becoming tangled, cells wrap the DNA strand around proteins called histones. Rather than using one large spool, cells wrap the DNA around multiple histones creating a beaded necklace, with histones as the beads and DNA as the chain. Those histones are more than just simple spools or decorative beads, though. The structure of those proteins can be altered through the addition and removal of certain chemical groups. The presence or absence of these alterations is referred to as the epigenetic code because it is genetic information contained "above" the DNA sequence. Alterations change which portions of the DNA are easily accessible by the cell and which portions are too tightly wrapped up for the cell to read. If the cell cannot read, or can too easily read, certain portions of the DNA, then the way the cell uses information written on that portion of DNA will change.<br />
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Alterations of histone proteins occur at any stage of an individual's life. Investigating what sorts of stimuli can create those changes and characterizing the results of those changes is the pursuit of Epigenetics. Research investigating the role of exposure to environmental toxins during gestation has previously <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221103745.htm" target="_blank">indicated</a> that a component of anti-stick coatings like Teflon is correlated with increased rates of obesity in those children when they become adults. A <a href="http://www.landesbioscience.com/journals/epigenetics/article/12378/" target="_blank">separate study</a> linked exposure to that same environmental toxin to changes in the histone modifications of newborn infants. Additionally, <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120401105501.htm" target="_blank">resent research</a>
indicates the diet and chemical exposure of mothers before and during
pregnancy can alter the epigenetic sequence of her offspring, thereby
increasing her children's changes of being diagnosed with
obesity-related diabetes. Combining studies of the health effects of environmental toxins with studies of the epigenetic changes caused by those toxins may help investigators explain why certain toxins have certain effects.<br />
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Other elusive biological questions of interest to Epigeneticists include why inheriting a certain gene from <a href="http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/imprinting-and-genetic-disease-angelman-prader-willi-923" target="_blank">one parent rather than the other</a> can produce different effects, the causes of diseases including <a href="http://www.fasebj.org/content/early/2012/03/25/fj.11-202069" target="_blank">schizophrenia</a> and <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2012/04/11/science.1217277" target="_blank">colon cancer</a>, and why identical twins are <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/102/30/10604.abstract" target="_blank">not perfectly identical</a>.<br />
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257616937869411663.post-5622122888215029662012-04-25T22:48:00.003-04:002012-04-25T22:48:40.875-04:00Misfolded ProteinsProteins are present throughout our bodies and are involved in virtually every cell function. Proteins enable movement by allowing muscle contraction, speed up chemical reactions, and defend against foreign cells. Proteins are made up of a chain of compounds called amino acids, which interact with each other in a specific way causing the amino acid chain to fold. The folding of a protein is essential for its function. However if the protein isn't folded correctly, then they can be destructive to our bodies. For instance, Huntington's disease, Alzheimer's disease, type 2 diabetes, sickle cell disease and prion disease are all proteopathies, or diseases caused by protein misfolding. <br />
<br />
What if these incorrectly folded proteins were capable of replicating themselves to further damage the body? Well prions do just that. Prions are defined as infectious agents comprised of a misfolded protein. Unlike other disease-causing agents like viruses and bacteria, prions contain no genetic material (DNA or RNA); however, they have the ability to convert properly folded proteins into incorrectly folded one like themselves. The improperly folded proteins then accumulate in tissue causing tissue damage and cell death. This chain reaction occurs in prion diseases like mad cow disease and its human counterpart, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), the degenerative neurological disorder.<br />
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Prion diseases have always been considered untreatable because it is difficult to target these misfolded protein because proteins are all throughout our bodies. A recent <a href="http://www.jbc.org/content/early/2012/04/06/jbc.M112.355958.full.pdf+html">study</a> published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry this month found a way to inhibit their ability to produce more prions. They used luminescent conjugated polymers (LCPs) to detect the presence of prions in mice brains. However, they noticed that the number of prions, toxicity, and infectibility decreased in the process. Most likely, the interaction with the LCP's stabilizes the prions, inhibiting their propagation. However, LCP's contain many chemical subgroups. When eight different subgroups were tested, all of them had significant decrease in the toxicity of the prions.<br />
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These results are the first that provide the possibility of treating prion diseases. Also if the LCP's can interact with other misfolded proteins that cause other proteopathies, then the application of these results may be applied to other diseases, like Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease. <br />
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Read more about this research <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120424095704.htm">here</a>.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257616937869411663.post-21040805536846202672012-04-25T17:12:00.000-04:002012-04-25T17:12:00.143-04:00Mad Cow Disease in the U.S.A random test has demonstrated that mad cow disease has infected a cow in California. This is the first case (out of four, total) of the disease in the United States since 2006 in Alabama. South Korea, an importer of U.S. beef, <a href="http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/04/25/us-korea-beef-idINL3E8FP1J720120425" target="_blank">is not pleased</a>. <br />
<br />
Mad cow disease is officially known as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). BSE outbreaks in the past have been attribute to feeding cows, which are natural herbivores, with supplements that include the meat and litter of other animals - including cattle. <br />
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BSE is the result of proteins, called prions, becoming misshapen and resistant to degradation. There are normally prions in the brain, deemed PrP-sen, that do not cause harmful symptoms. The "broken" prions that cause disease are called PrP-res, for "resistant." When a PrP-res is passed to a healthy organism, it comes in contact with PrP-sen, and converts the PrP-sen into the dangerous PrP-res. As the number of PrP-sen grows, the bad prions tend to cluster together, forming amyloid fibers. The amyloid fibers kill surrounding cells. As the dead cells are digested, substantial holes are left in the brain, to the detriment of the organism. Eventually, it will lead to loss of control of the body (ataxia), and subsequent death.<br />
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A timeline and explanation regarding prion-based disease can be found <a href="http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/dna/prions/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Prion diseases like BSE (or the human manifestation called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) are incurable once a person is infected with a PrP-res. As well, due to the nature of PrP-res being a protein and not a living pathogen, meat from a BSE cow cannot be destroyed by heating it. <br />
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Luckily, 40,000 cows per year are selected for BSE checks. Hopefully, this is the only current case of BSE, and it can be taken care of effeciently.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257616937869411663.post-32346886866341575012012-04-25T13:14:00.000-04:002012-04-25T16:21:10.335-04:00SciArt Saturday Talks to the Artists<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The last SciArt Saturday post </span><a href="http://factualenquirer.blogspot.com/2012/04/sciart-link-roundup-last.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">went live</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> this past week, and now there's a moment to reflect. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I only began thinking about the similarities between science and art about a year ago in the middle of a genetics lecture, when I first saw images of the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://neuroanthropology.net/2008/04/26/more-on-brainbow" target="_blank">Brainbow</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> --a fluorescent, microscopic imaging technique used to visualize neuron arrangement in brain tissue. I don't remember much of the lecture after that (sorry, Dr. Hersh); I was too busy making notes to learn how cells could be made to appear like beautiful splatters of red, blue and yellow paint across the projector screen. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since that day, I've made it a point to promote the overlap that exists between the two disciplines. And this week I'll be introducing you to others who try to do the same, as I interview artists whose work has appeared in the SciArt Link Roundups.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today, we meet </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #500050; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Nicole Wong</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, a scientific illustration graduate student at Cal State University, Monterey Bay. SciArt Saturday featured a <a href="http://nictitating.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">link</a> to her illustrations earlier this year. Nicole kindly agreed to answer a few questions for The Factual Enquirer about her experiences. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Southern alligator lizard (<i>Elgaria multicarinata),</i> acrylic<br />by <a href="http://nictitating.tumblr.com/post/21108464075/never-let-me-go" target="_blank">Nicole Wong</a></span></td></tr>
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<b style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #500050; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">DD: What made you pursue scientific illustration?</span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #500050; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px;"><b>NW:</b> I grew up drawing, but never thought I had a distinctive enough style to pursue it professionally. I just liked drawing animals in a realistic way. In college, I opted to study wildlife conservation, keeping art as a secret hobby I pulled out when making visual flashcards for exams, or taking notes in biology lab. Then by chance I came across the blog of a student in the CSUMB graduate Science Illustration program. Her work was amazing; she was doing everything I wanted! A perfect blend of fine art and science. That's when I realized illustration could be a medium for sharing the little animal stories that made me so passionate about wildlife conservation in the first place. I investigated the school, applied, held my breath, and was ecstatic when I got into the program. It's been an intense, but thrilling experience to say the least!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica;">I graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.S. in Conservation and Research Studies. During my time there, I volunteered in the Essig Muesum of Entomology, and prepped skin and skeleton specimens for the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. I spent a summer doing fieldwork in Montana, and another studying wild monkeys in Bolivia. It definitely helps coming from a science background. Knowing the anatomy of an animal, and being familiar with the terminology used to describe it, helps a lot in the research stage of an assignment.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">How much does the science come into play in the illustration? That is, how much do you learn about your animal (or plant!) subjects through your art?<u></u><u></u></span></b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Science always comes into play! The goal is to communicate accurate information through a drawing, so the way I take in information on a subject is very specific. Depending on what applies, I pay attention to its anatomy, behavior, posture, size, and the environment from which it came. I have to think about what view of the subject best communicates this information, and carefully choose a composition where this information won't be misconstrued. Training my eye to read such details has allowed me to learn about the subject in an intimate way, to discover things I might not have already learned through the available literature.<u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">by <a href="http://nictitating.tumblr.com/post/12961833560/je-ne-sais-quoi" target="_blank">Nicole Wong</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Definitely the research. I spend hours reading up on my subject, digging up scientific papers if I need to. Then I spend hours sifting through photos online, finding good references for my composition. It's surprising how much a photo can distort information, so whenever possible, I also like to have the subject sitting before me. This might require building a clay model, or if I'm lucky, I can find a stuffed specimen in the local museum to take notes from. Even luckier, I can find a living specimen to photograph in my own neighborhood. More and more I prefer taking my own reference photos to avoid copyright issues. <u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Do you have a favorite type of specimen to sketch, and how long do you spend on a single piece?<u></u><u></u></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I'm still figuring out my niche, so I'm still into everything. Depending on the medium and level of detail, I can spend as short as 6 hours on a piece start to finish, to 100 hours. As a student, I have the luxury of spending an endless amount of time fine-tuning a piece. When I finally start freelancing, I'm going to have to learn to reign in my perfectionist tendencies.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">What are you working on now?<u></u><u></u></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">A botanical plate, an animal behavior sketch, edits to my portfolio, and preparations for the class gallery show opening this week. I'm pretty excited about the last one. <u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Mind if I include one or two credited images of your artwork in the post?<u></u><u></u></span></b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #500050; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Thanks!</span></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Be sure to c</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">heck out Nicole's <a href="http://nictitating.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">tumblr</a> for more illustrations and behind-the-scene candid photographs of her life as an art student. </span></i></span></div>
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</span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257616937869411663.post-24146359472370223712012-04-23T21:56:00.001-04:002012-04-23T22:04:18.768-04:00The dangers of a stone-faced fish<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I don't know about you but I am <i>always</i> drawn in by those "Top 10 Most [insert adjective and genre]" articles/TV shows. I was recently reading one of these flashy stories on the <a href="http://www.livescience.com/14304-scariest-sea-creatures-jellyfish-puffer-fish-sharks.html" target="_blank">10 Scariest Sea Creatures</a> when I came across an animal I had never heard of-- the <a href="http://australianmuseum.net.au/Reef-Stonefish-Synanceia-verrucosa-Bloch-Schneider-1801" target="_blank">stonefish</a>, which held its own at spot number eight. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All rights reserved to Erik Schlogl</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Although this beauty may soon be in the running for the "Top 10 Ugliest Sea Beings", its claim to scare stems from its powerful venom. The venom contains a neurotoxin that makes the stonefish the <b>most venomous fish in the world</b>, hence earning it a spot in the countdown. If a human steps on a stonefish, the venom will be injected from the spines on the back of the fish (difficult to see above) into the foot. The amount injected will depend on the applied pressure of the unsuspecting and unfortunate being. Once injected, the venom is known to rapidly cause paralysis and extreme pain; however, it is rarely fatal. That being said, some victims say the pain is so great that they would rather their affected limb be amputated that cope with it!<br />
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Australia has developed an anti-venom to the stonefish venom that can substantially decrease pain and risk of paralysis. But due to the chance of a severe allergic, or <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001847/" target="_blank">anaphylactic</a>, reaction the anti-venom is only administered in serious cases of injury.<br />
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The stonefish may look like something that would only grow on the <i>Flying Dutchman</i> (and match Davy's permanent frown)<i> </i>but it is able live in shallow tropical marine waters throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans, especially near coral reefs. It's natural camouflage makes fellow sea creatures and humans enjoying a little R&R blind to its presence rocky habitats. *Note that the picture above on the right has been removed from its natural habitat to make it's appearance clearer- the picture on the left is a better illustration of what a stonefish can look like in nature.<br />
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The best way to protect yourself against these elusive creatures is to wear water shoes, preferably with thick soles, whenever parading around tropical marine areas. You may miss feeling the water tickling your toes as you scuba dive or snorkel but losing that seems a heck of a lot better than the extreme pain of a stonefish stab. And believe me, there are <i>tons </i>of other marine beings that are bound to ruin your vacation if you step on them. If curious check out another "Top 10" <a href="http://top-10-list.org/2010/02/26/ten-dangerous-aquatic-species/" target="_blank">here</a>....<br />
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That being said, do NOT stop vacationing to tropical islands! They are gorgeous and often have extremely interesting wildlife. This post was written simply to inform people so they may recognize what creatures actually live in that big blue watery road and protect themselves from some of their dangers.</div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257616937869411663.post-82875922929034598362012-04-22T21:03:00.003-04:002012-04-22T21:03:20.335-04:00Henry David Thoreau and climate change researchHenry David Thoreau, America's original hippie responsible for writings like <i>Walden</i> created primarily to torture high school English classes, was once criticized by his mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson for his lack of ambition and failing to use his intelligence for the greater good. Where Emerson alive now, he might be pleasantly surprised to discover that one of Thoreau's quirks is helping determine the effects of climate change. <br />
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As the Smithsonian <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/walden.html?c=y&page=1" target="_blank">reports</a>, Thoreau was known for his obsession with plants and migratory birds and their public signalling of spring's arrival. He kept detailed records on over 600 different species of plants, running four to five miles a day to check on a single flower and its blooming time. These records languished in obscurity even long after Thoreau's other works such as <i>Walden</i> gained in popularity. Then, Dr. Primack of Boston University recognized these records' value for demonstrating the effects of climate change.<br />
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Upon investigation of the records, made difficult by Thoreau's focus on the beauty of nature and not so much the beauty of his own penmanship, along with collection of current flowering and migratory bird data, Primack and his graduate student Miller-Rushing determined that many native plants are flowering on average three weeks earlier than they did in the 1850s, when Thoreau was collecting his data. Flowering times got earlier with increasing temperature, but bird migration times were not nearly as temperature sensitive.<br />
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This is potentially alarming, because spring is a delicate balance between plants flowering, pollinators emerging, and birds carrying seeds at the right times. If plants are changing more in response to climate change than their pollinators or birds, they might be unsuccessful getting pollinated, leading to a loss of biodiversity.<br />
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Thoreau really only collected this out of personal interest. He was viewed as an oddity for this meticulous record keeping of seemingly useless information. I can only hope that someday, my pointless hobbies are just as useful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257616937869411663.post-9233332283365937962012-04-21T17:29:00.000-04:002012-04-21T23:40:50.070-04:00SciArt Link Roundup: The Last<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Good things come in dozens: flowers, cookies. SciArt Link Roundups.<br />
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SciArt Saturday is finally calling it quits in preparation for finals week over here on campus (pay no attention to that girl behind the curtain, because she needs to study study study).<br />
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I'm pulling out the big guns, though, for a series of reflection pieces slated for the beginning of next week; I'll be talking to some of my favorite SciArt Saturday artists about their work. Be sure to check back for those soon!<br />
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In the mean time, click below to enjoy the last gathering of pretty science things.<br />
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<li>The <a href="http://store.trollart.com/AGES-OF-ROCK.html" target="_blank">geological history</a> of the Earth in a cool illustration.</li>
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<li>At first, I couldn't tell if these <a href="http://www.wildbirdsflying.com/" target="_blank">images of birds in flight</a> were paintings or photographs (turns out they're the latter). Watch how Paul Nelson makes his Audubon-inspired art <a href="http://www.featureshoot.com/2011/11/wild-birds-flying-photographed-by-paul-nelson/" target="_blank">here</a>. </li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Polydactyly <a href="http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/041212/what-do-your-knuckle-tats-say.gif" target="_blank">jokes</a> are the best jokes. </li>
</ul>
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<li>Today and tomorrow, the <a href="http://spaceappschallenge.org/" target="_blank">International Space Apps Challenge</a> invites science enthusiasts to collaborate on <a href="http://spaceappschallenge.org/challenges/" target="_blank">problems relevant</a> to modern day space exploration. </li>
</ul>
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<li>This clever ad campaign reminded me of our class reading about <a href="http://www.canadiandesignresource.ca/officialgallery/advertising/if-frogs-go-extinct-you%E2%80%99ll-notice/" target="_blank">mass frog extinction</a>. </li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Maybe this physicist didn't get out of his traffic ticket by virtue of <a href="http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/apr/19/tale-science-over-traffic-ticket-debunked/" target="_blank">his four-page mathematical analysis</a> "The <a href="http://arxiv.org/pdf/1204.0162v1.pdf" target="_blank">Proof</a> of Innocence", but I give him credit for trying. </li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>One more <a href="http://vimeo.com/40555466" target="_blank">aurora video</a> for the road. (Or, catch it <a href="http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/astronomy/auroramax/connect.asp" target="_blank">live</a> every night until May via the internet.)</li>
</ul>
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<li>Finally posting a link to Carl Zimmer's <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/science-tattoo-emporium/" target="_blank">Science Tattoo Emporium</a>. Dedication (and maybe craziness) looks like the <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2008/02/16/sonic-hedgehog-gene/" target="_blank">Sonic hedgehog gene twisting down</a> the full length of your leg. </li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Last year, Harvard hosted a course called "<a href="http://www.seas.harvard.edu/cooking/cooking_2011" target="_blank">Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to the Science of Soft Matter</a>" and invited the public to attend demonstrations given by both scientists and world-class chefs. You can watch them now in the YouTube archives; I'm all over the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqcFJdzkhKY&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">cupcake one</a>. </li>
</ul>
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<li>I saw an owl sleeping in a tree on my way to class yesterday. Then I found this <a href="http://www.hancockwildlife.org/index.php?topic=hummeric#hummeric_cam" target="_blank">live feed of a hummingbird nest</a>. All these cozy-looking birds at rest are making me jealous during finals prep. </li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Anatomical <a href="http://exhibits.library.duke.edu/exhibits/show/anatomy" target="_blank">flap books</a> from the 1600's <a href="http://youtu.be/7p6T2s5GyyM" target="_blank">through the</a> 1900's. </li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>I propose a <a href="http://youtu.be/07xg_Tkv_4M" target="_blank">dance-off</a> between Bill Nye and Elaine Benes. (Favorite Youtube comment: "Has anyone ever seen Bill Nye and David Byrne in the same place at the same time?") </li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Have a look <a href="http://vimeo.com/36421901" target="_blank">inside the seed bank</a> at Kew Royal Botanic Gardens. </li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Hark! A Vagrant does <a href="http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=240" target="_blank">Rosalind Franklin</a>. </li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Darwin explored the <a href="http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/11/11/darwins-camera/" target="_blank">range of human emotion</a> and facial expressions through photography. A modern re-run of the experiment asks <a href="http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/emotions/" target="_blank">you what you think</a> the facial expressions say, too. </li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Sparking interest in the disinterested is a tough job for a high school math teacher. <a href="http://www.torusflex.com/torusflex%20project1/string%20figures.html" target="_blank">James Murphy</a> decided to teach the importance of his subject by having his students make <a href="http://www.torusflex.com/torusflex%20project1/robin%20moore%20la%20guardia%20student%20portraits.html" target="_blank">complicated string figures</a>, and over his 20 years of teaching he has collected <a href="http://www.torusflex.com/torusflex%20project1/other%20laguardia.html" target="_blank">portraits of many of </a>them with their figures. </li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Jer Thorp delivers his TED talk on the<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9wcvFkWpsM&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank"> art of visualizing data</a>. </li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>A portrait series of the men and women working in <a href="http://msgphoto.com/category/projects/evolutionists/" target="_blank">evolutionary biology</a> today, plus another for the <a href="http://msgphoto.com/category/portfolios/minds-medicine/" target="_blank">medical field</a>. James Watson, Steven Pinker, Sean Carroll, Daniel Dennett --they're all here. </li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>I'm glad one of the astronauts on the International Space Station moonlights as a photographer; check out <a href="http://blog.flickr.net/en/2012/04/18/tracking-cities-at-night/" target="_blank">these images</a> of the Earth lit up at night. </li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>A surgeon <a href="http://storycorps.org/listen/stories/al-siedlecki-and-lee-buono/" target="_blank">thanks his middle school science teacher</a> 30 years later. This is why people become teachers, for moments like this. </li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Sculptures <a href="http://www.tomaslibertiny.com/?works=sculptures" target="_blank">made of honeycomb</a> and beeswax. The artist has also used live bees in his work; I'm <a href="http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/10622/tomas-gabzdil-libertiny-unbearable-lightness.html" target="_blank">not a fan</a> of that piece, but you can decide for yourself <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGWfib8M8FQ&feature=player_embedded" target="_blank">here</a>. </li>
</ul>
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<br /></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257616937869411663.post-54041280691810262242012-04-20T14:31:00.000-04:002012-04-20T14:31:05.810-04:00Complexities of a jellyfish sting<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_14mleIse6p4lL_-Ehaeq5jhTqWUUxIDMgUej9_e6LfuIDqrPzp-ydR8cJr_qiT2aefs34Q08UbygzTrvzjD8OpkCjGlTZrsbhinvpLWIKUDuM3pZhtdHw3VFJq1PFthQntXeaqCfDtY/s1600/jellyfish-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_14mleIse6p4lL_-Ehaeq5jhTqWUUxIDMgUej9_e6LfuIDqrPzp-ydR8cJr_qiT2aefs34Q08UbygzTrvzjD8OpkCjGlTZrsbhinvpLWIKUDuM3pZhtdHw3VFJq1PFthQntXeaqCfDtY/s320/jellyfish-7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Image courtesy Kevin Connors</span></td></tr>
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As the weather gets warmer, many people are beginning to
plan for their beach vacations. But along
with the enjoyment of the beach also come hazards such as jellyfish. Because jellyfish can be very harmful to
swimmers it may be difficult to appreciate these sophisticated creatures. But, the delivery of jellyfish toxin is as
amazing as it is dangerous.</div>
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Jellyfish toxin isn’t meant to be wasted on human beach
goers. These carnivores are passive
feeders, using their tentacles to sting prey like crustaceans, small fish, and
plankton. Jellyfish also sting to defend
against their own predators. </div>
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Though jellyfish themselves may not seem that complex, their
method of toxin delivery is anything but simple. Special cells called cnidocblasts house the
venomous stinging mechanism. Within
these cells are smaller substructures called nematocysts or cnidocysts, which
contain the barb that administers the venom.
Pressure triggers the cnidocblasts to release the coiled nematocyst,
piercing the organism that triggered the event, and injecting it with
neurotoxin.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgromBGjNV93StYmGA-Q4SRNHyTvsVTPDyyqbOH5348M8Pnd01qiKH19_v6npbxhuomd0cVXPpMRmw5_KDLjreb-8BLXJ8427XO8NgXJDX5ftrb54JpRh60ofEy-KA6H8hG1A2Z5mPpjPc/s1600/Nematocyst-discharged.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgromBGjNV93StYmGA-Q4SRNHyTvsVTPDyyqbOH5348M8Pnd01qiKH19_v6npbxhuomd0cVXPpMRmw5_KDLjreb-8BLXJ8427XO8NgXJDX5ftrb54JpRh60ofEy-KA6H8hG1A2Z5mPpjPc/s1600/Nematocyst-discharged.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Discharged nematocyst</td></tr>
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In order to actually engage this spring-like mechanism, cnidocblasts
need to utilize many different proteins.
Discharging the nematocyst is very demanding, requiring the cell to
endure massive pressure. Ejecting the
harpoon-like barb must also occur very quickly in order to disable prey
effectively. These cells are able to
deploy their stinging machinery within 700 nanoseconds.</div>
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Currently, researchers are trying to figure out which
proteins are involved in this complicated process. Scientists were able to identify all of the
proteins that make up the nematocyst. They
found 410 different proteins that have venomous and structural responsibilities. We are just beginning to understand the
complexities of nematocyst structure in a seemingly simple animal. </div>Kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04650799063785271367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257616937869411663.post-71813625811297766232012-04-19T23:49:00.000-04:002012-04-19T23:49:09.603-04:00The birds and the bees, for beesSex-determination is simple: omitting errors, everyone gets
an X chromosome from their mom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dad
supplies either an X or Y, which makes you either a male or a female,
respectively.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>End of story… unless
you’re not a mammal or a fruit fly or a ginkgo tree (or a few other things). <o:p> </o:p><br />
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Indeed, most of the living world does not share our
determination of sex.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, the
largest order of insects, which themselves make up a vast proportion of all
living things, operates on a sex-determination system wholly foreign to
us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hymenoptera (ants, bees and wasps)
are haplodiploid, meaning some members are diploid, like us, and have two full
sets of chromosomes (one from the mother and one from the father), while the
rest are haploid and have only one set of chromosomes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p> </o:p></div>
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Here’s how it works:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a
male drone fertilizes a female, which becomes a queen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The queen establishes a colony in one of many
possible ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Winter becomes spring,
spring becomes summer, summer changes back into winter, and winter gives spring
and summer a miss and goes straight into autumn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p> </o:p></div>
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Eventually a mature colony is formed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For utility’s sake, here’s where I’ll begin
in earnest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a mature colony, the
queen mates rarely and stores sperm for long periods of time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meanwhile, she constantly produces eggs,
sometimes fertilizing them, sometimes not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Fertilized eggs receive half of her DNA and half of the father’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These invariably become females.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfertilized eggs still develop into fully
functional ants, bees or wasps,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but only
contain one set of maternal DNA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These
become the males, known as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">drones</i>.<o:p> </o:p></div>
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It is the job of drones to fertilize potential queens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Typically, the meeting of the two occurs away
from the hive or colony, and afterward the queen leaves to start anew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus, one queen usually inhabits a hive, and
all the workers (female), future queens (female) and drones (male) are her
offspring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Drones and queens get to
mate, but workers do not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather, they
slave their lives away in service to the queen, living and dying with no hope of
passing on their genes. This raises questions in the face of Darwinian
evolutionary understanding: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>how could
such a system evolve?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why would workers
be willing to sacrifice their lives to the queen, in perfect altruism, against
the prospect of their own procreation?<o:p> </o:p></div>
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The answer lies in the subtlety of hive-interrelatedness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Consider the following:<o:p> </o:p></div>
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Males have only one set of chromosomes to contribute when
they mate, so they pass on 100% of their DNA to female offspring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Females, on the other hand, have two sets of
chromosomes, so 50% of their DNA passes on to daughters and 50% to sons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether the queen produces daughters or sons,
there will be a shared gene proportion of ½ between mother and offspring.<o:p> </o:p></div>
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Now, consider the shared gene proportion between
sisters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Any female Hymenopteran will
have 100% of her father’s genes and 50% of her mother’s DNA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So will her sisters (because most of the time
all hive members are of the same parents).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The total relationship between sisters is then the average between 100%
and 50%, or 75%.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This means sisters are
more closely related to each other than they are to their mother or to any
potential offspring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is therefore in
the best interest of a worker to aid her mother in the production of
sisters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although she cannot directly
transmit her genes to offspring, they can be passed on even more effectively
through the success of the queen and of the colony.</div>
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In parting, I offer you this image of a wasp wearing a parka, courtesy of <a href="http://micropolitan.org/">micropolitan.org</a>.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wui4rMoQhiA/T5DbKIBCS7I/AAAAAAAAADU/q2lSQTwhLnc/s1600/wasp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="164" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wui4rMoQhiA/T5DbKIBCS7I/AAAAAAAAADU/q2lSQTwhLnc/s320/wasp.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My sister got it for me!</td></tr>
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<br /></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257616937869411663.post-24289935961141421502012-04-19T00:48:00.000-04:002012-04-19T00:49:16.457-04:00Health and Psychological Benefits of YogaThe majority of yoga practitioners will attest to the health benefits that it can bring. Engaging in the physical and mental aspects of the practice can lead to a lower heart rate, increased flexibility and strength, among other advantages that accompany the simple enjoyment of practice.<br />
<br />
Yoga has been practiced in times dating back to ancient India. By its sustained popularity alone, it is evident that it has had some profound affect on the health and livelihood of people for quite some time. Recent studies have demonstrated that yoga can alleviate the symptoms of mental health disorders like anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and even post-traumatic stress disorder.<br />
<br />
An especially interesting case of healing through yoga practice lies in a small population of incarcerated individuals from Washington. In the journal <i>Psychology of Addictive Behaviors,</i> a study was recently published highlighting the profound affect of meditation and yoga on convicts who had addictions to drugs, including crack cocaine, and/or alcohol and marijuana. Prison workers had found that typical drug recovery programs were majorly ineffective. Most addicts tended to resume their drug habits after leaving jail, often perpetuating the incarceration cycle. <br />
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Noting that the current system did not work well, prison officials and a group from the University of Washington instead decided to implement a yoga and meditation program for the recovering addicts. The program encouraged mindfulness and harnessing one's ability to focus. Physical exercise was also part of the yoga practice, adding to the newly-found healthy lifestyle.<br />
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After the program, the incarcerated population reported decreased negative psychiatric symptoms and enhanced "psychosocial" interactions. As well, after being released from the prison, the program participants significantly maintained the drug-free habits.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257616937869411663.post-30435542837399036832012-04-18T21:30:00.003-04:002012-04-18T21:30:35.714-04:00Aliens of the Sea<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sKZpm0VoPEk/T45ZI3Ed_1I/AAAAAAAAABg/_RpxE1sCTVQ/s1600/4046660963_19b1f36827.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sKZpm0VoPEk/T45ZI3Ed_1I/AAAAAAAAABg/_RpxE1sCTVQ/s320/4046660963_19b1f36827.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo cred: Flickr account <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40199468@N07/">GreenAnswers.com</a></td></tr>
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<strong class="username" id="yui_3_4_0_3_1334790803144_890" style="background-color: #fefefe; color: #222222; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></strong>So much effort and time has gone into space exploration and the search for extraterrestrial life. However, there is still so much left to be explored on our earth alone. One extraordinary organism found in the tropical-to-temperate waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans is the barreleye or "spook" fish.<br />
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With their clear heads exposing their bright green lenses and their black olfactory organs (nostrils), these fish do appear quite spooky! Barrelfish inhabit the ocean at moderate depths from 400 to 2,500 meters deep, just below the limit of light penetration. As an adaptation to the limited light source, barreleyes have distinct transparent heads. Their clear domes allow more light to reach their telescoping eyes, which protrude from their skulls. Their eyes are thought to mostly point upwards to allow them to detect any prey in the water above. However when they do spot food, they can rotate their eyes forward so they can coordinate their attack with their toothless mouths. Although barreleye fish have a rather large field of vision, they can really only detect the silhouettes of their prey because the retinas in their eyes consist of only rod cells and not cone cells. This is because rods are responsible for detecting images in low lighting and cones operated under high lighting and detect color. </div>
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Not only is this creature's transparent dome useful for viewing objects above it, but it also most likely protects it from the stinging cells of siphonophores, the organism it scavenges food from. Colonies of siphonophores look similar to jellyfish, and their tentacles house food that the barrelfish can easily steal.<br />
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Their unique eyes and transparent dome are obviously a clever product of evolution. Even though these creatures were first identified in 1939, their mysterious clear heads were not noted until much later because when brought to the surface, their fragile domes collapsed. If new information is being discovered on identified and new organisms frequently, then one can only imagine what else our Earth holds to uncover! <br />
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Watch the video of a live barrelfish below!</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Or for more information visit the website <a href="http://www.mbari.org/news/news_releases/2009/barreleye/barreleye.html">here</a>!</span><br />
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<br /></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257616937869411663.post-63679580819442722702012-04-18T20:42:00.004-04:002012-04-18T20:47:16.215-04:00An old, familiar sound.It's a beautiful afternoon-turn-evening, and I'm sitting inside my dorm missing my <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHowqKYSXNI" target="_blank">old</a> blues <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAU7KEskmyU" target="_blank">records</a>. I'd like to hope that even when I grow old enough to forget everything I've learned about cell cycles and photosynthesis, those riffs will still be a soft, familiar hum in my head.<br />
<br />
I stumbled today upon the <a href="http://www.npr.org/2012/04/18/150891711/for-elders-with-dementia-music-sparks-great-awakenings?sc=tumblr&cc=tumb_music" target="_blank">story of Henry Dryer</a>, a 92-year-old dementia patient who lights up after hearing songs from his youth. Music seems to jog the memory in a special way, which allows caretakers to create personalized iPod playlists for Alzheimer patients.<br />
<br />
You can watch a clip from the documentary <i><a href="http://www.ximotionmedia.com/" target="_blank">Alive Inside</a></i> below. Oliver Sacks makes an appearance; Sacks wrote <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Musicophilia-Tales-Music-Oliver-Sacks/dp/1400040817" target="_blank">a book</a> about the connection between neuroscience and music just a few years ago.<br />
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<br />
The remarkable part comes when Henry's caretaker removes his headphones, and Henry remains aware enough to speak briefly about how music affects him. He mentions his favorite singer: Cab Calloway. Between thoughts, he begins to sing <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tFn6YJjn1U" target="_blank">Calloway's scat</a>; it's a sweet moment to witness.<br />
<br />
Henry's story reminded me also of Floyd Skloot's <i>The Melody Lingers On --</i>published in the Southwest Review back in 2002 --about Skloot's mother who remembers little except for the old melodies she joyfully hums to her son. If you can track down a copy, I highly recommend it.<br />
<br />
<i>Alive Inside </i>premiered <a href="http://www.rmanyc.org/aliveinside" target="_blank">today in New York City</a>, and it will continue showing through this weekend. If you're in the area, it seems worth checking out.<br />
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257616937869411663.post-6808437686130739702012-04-18T00:46:00.003-04:002012-04-18T14:28:10.611-04:00Bacterial Card GamesOutsourcing as an economic strategy usually reduces costs for a company, making it a strategic business move. Certain species of bacteria may be next in line for open CEO positions at Fortune 500 companies due to their mastering of this outsourcing technique. The resume of these organisms was summarized in a March 2012 <a href="http://mbio.asm.org/content/3/2/e00036-12.full?sid=194c12a6-9bb4-494f-b637-7fe41b7e963a" target="_blank">publication</a> in <i>mBio</i>.<br />
<br />
The authors of the recent paper describe this outsourcing technique through a card game analogy, specifically Hearts. Due to the rules of the game, the black Queen of Spades is usually a card that Hearts players wish to avoid holding. The authors describe a situation in which performing a particular function is something bacteria wish to avoid. Species that continue to perform this function are called helpers and species who profit from the help are called beneficiaries.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
The Black Queen Hypothesis relies on a few key principles:<br />
1. The function in question is "leaky," meaning the results of
performing this function can overflow into the public domain of the
environment.<br />
The ability to prepare delicious meals as a
professional chef would not only allow the chef to eat scrumptiously,
but those delicacies could also be enjoyed by other individuals who live within free-delivery distance of the chef.<br />
<br />
2. Being a beneficiary presents an advantage<br />
Employing a professional chef would present an advantage over needing to personally cook every meal, because the chef would be responsible for grocery shopping, food preparation, and clean-up. All that free time created by avoiding such duties could be used to learn a second language or train for a marathon.<br />
<br />
3. The advantage of being a beneficiary disappears if the helpers become too few in number<br />
If professional chefs disappear, due to alien abduction or a similar tragedy, being incapable of personally preparing food would become extremely detrimental to survival. Thus, being a (former) professional chef employer would suddenly lose its selective advantage.<br />
<br />
The card playing researchers developed their Black Queen Hypothesis to explain why some species of marine bacteria have lost the genes responsible for performing functions crucial for survival, such as neutralizing hydrogen peroxide, which is common in the ocean and toxic to bacteria. When a bacterium does neutralize hydrogen peroxide, the purified water leaks out of the individual bacterium and out into the environment. If enough bacteria are doing this neutralization process, all the water in the surrounding area will become purified.<br />
<br />
Since many species of bacteria live in close proximity to each other in the ocean, it is possible that one species could continue purifying the water (the helper) and its neighbors could stop purifying without experiencing any detrimental effects (the beneficiaries). If performing this water purification process requires a large energy input by the bacterium, then losing the ability to neutralize hydrogen peroxide would present an advantage. That saved energy could then be used to increase growth or reproduction.<br />
<br />
How some bacteria benefit by losing the ability to neutralize hydrogen peroxide would be similar to how some individuals could benefit from forgetting how to cook so long as their neighbors are professional chefs. It is important to note that the helpers are not acting in an intentionally altruistic manner; they simply were too slow to get rid of the Queen of Spades gene. Its not that the professional chefs wanted to feed everyone else in town, they were just too busy in the kitchen to notice that everyone else had turned their own pots in pans into over-sized wind chimes. <br />
<br />
Absence of altruism does not detract from the position as neighbor of the year, though. Retaining the critical function, whether it be neutralizing hydrogen peroxide in marine species or processing nitrogen in terrestrial species, may make the helper a "keystone species." If the keystone species became too few in number (maybe due to climate change or alien abduction), all the beneficiaries who depend on the keystone helper could go extinct. Therefore, card game inspired research into how species rely on one another is relevant in both evolutionary and conservation contexts.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257616937869411663.post-68059582049215360182012-04-17T23:34:00.001-04:002012-04-17T23:47:10.085-04:00An infinite vacation<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6VApJoey_5w/T441sNu9c4I/AAAAAAAAABA/MXZ5MpmOEro/s1600/3216832080_f1be7a66dd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6VApJoey_5w/T441sNu9c4I/AAAAAAAAABA/MXZ5MpmOEro/s320/3216832080_f1be7a66dd.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/badastronomy/" target="_blank">thebadastronomer</a></td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">How would you like to vacation in a land that couldn’t be seen with the naked eye? A land in which no color escaped, time was warped, and that made you suddenly look like the contents in that tube of toothpaste at the bottom of your suitcase?</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">I couldn’t understand why the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/13/what-would-happen-if-you-fell-into-a-black-hole_n_1424517.html?ref=science" target="_blank">Huffington Post</a> would run such an article, “What would happen if you fell into a black hole” but soon found myself equally as interested as the “so many people” that wonder what it would be like to visit one.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Writer Natalie Wolchover asked astrophysicist Charles Liu, who works at the American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium, to describe the experience. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Liu said that one’s body would closely resemble “toothpaste being extruded out of the tube.” </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">I was immediately grateful for my choice in the single-colored, yet sparkly Crest toothpaste that sits on my bathroom sink. (Imagine if I had used my mom’s tri-colored red, white, and blue patriotic blur of what must taste like generic dish detergent.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Beautiful imagery, I know. But I wanted to know <i>why </i>I would look like such, and because I haven’t taken an astronomy class, nor am I in any parallel universe a physicist, I turned to NASA.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Sure, we've all learned that most black holes are formed when a large star collapses on itself in a supernova explosion. A black hole is a place in space where gravity is so strong, because so much matter has been squeezed into a tiny space, that not even light can escape it. Therefore black holes can’t be seen with the human eye. Instead scientists rely on space telescopes, examining how stars and gases surrounding black holes act differently than others.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">When a star gets near a black hole, it creates a high-energy light, that again, cannot be seen with the human eye. I must admit that after years of seeing images of black holes, it never once occurred to me that if I were standing in the space station, I couldn't see that very image for myself.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">But this doesn’t explain why a human being would look like the result of child’s finger painting while falling into a black hole. Nonetheless, the gravity concept is key.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Liu compared crossing the outer boundary of a black hole, also called the point of no return, or “event horizon,” to the Earth’s ocean and tidal effects. Gravity’s strength decreases with distance, so as the Pacific Ocean rotates further away from the moon, its tidal interaction decreases.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Unlike diving into the ocean, should you plunge headfirst into a black hole, Liu said that your head would experience the most gravitational pull, your toes the least, thus elongating you. Eventually you would be stretched into a stream of subatomic particles.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">It sounds tortuous, but the article also mentions that you’re brain would combust instantly and therefore you wouldn’t get to enjoy Einstein’s theory on relativity... Or experience what sounds like the most subliminal spinal adjustment of your life.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257616937869411663.post-9325517105193292162012-04-16T16:22:00.005-04:002012-04-16T18:43:38.030-04:00How are science and poetry alike? Let me count the ways.Today's medical students are a busy group. I imagine that most of them spend their spare moments (if such things exist) sleeping and relaxing and definitely <i>not</i> studying Byron, Milton, and Spenser. These students would probably weep if I told them that two centuries ago, young surgeon-in-training <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szsXitGbcqc" target="_blank">John Keats</a> somehow found enough free time to become one of the greatest poets England has ever known before the age of 25.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RedC20eI6sE/T4ub3HoyG3I/AAAAAAAAAGk/C_e8JfOyglU/s1600/300px-John_Keats_by_William_Hilton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RedC20eI6sE/T4ub3HoyG3I/AAAAAAAAAGk/C_e8JfOyglU/s320/300px-John_Keats_by_William_Hilton.jpg" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Keats, thinking about what <br />
slackers you all are. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
But Keats was bitter about his day job. He expressed his frustration at the "cold philosophy" of science and medicine in his <a href="http://www.bartleby.com/126/37.html" target="_blank">poems</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<i>...Do not all charms fly</i> </div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<i>At the mere touch of cold philosophy?</i></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<i>There was an awful rainbow once in heaven:</i></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<i>We know her woof, her texture; she is given</i></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<i>In the dull catalogue of common things. </i></div>
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<i>Philosophy will clip an Angel's wings,</i></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<i>Conquer all mysteries by rule and line, </i></div>
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<i>Empty the haunted air, and the gnomed mine --</i></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<i>Unweave a rainbow, as it erewhile made</i></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<i>The tender-person'd Lamia melt into a shade. </i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
</blockquote>
To Keats, science is a prism that "unweaves the rainbow" into lifeless, mechanistic wavelengths, which is to say that science and beauty are made of different stuff. If you've been following this blog for any length of time, <a href="http://factualenquirer.blogspot.com/search/label/SciArt%20Saturday" target="_blank">you already know</a> that I take issue with that sentiment.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>It seems to me that we're always wrestling with the question of whether beauty and science are mutually exclusive. If you think that science is too reductionistic, you might also believe that beauty lies in the unexplained sums of parts and never in the individual parts and pieces themselves (re: the leaves versus the chloroplasts within; rainbow versus light's <a href="http://factualenquirer.blogspot.com/2012/04/sky-not-as-empty-as-it-looks.html" target="_blank">reflection</a> in a misty sky). If you're Keats, you think that rainbows are best left alone --just mysterious, pretty things floating above our heads.<br />
<br />
But if you're me, you think all of this is a non-issue. If you're me, you think that art and science --form and function -- combine effortlessly if only a person is willing to try.<br />
<br />
That said, I admit that I sometimes think of science and poetry as entirely separate worlds. Keats is great, but he's not really the first thing that comes to mind when I'm poring over my lab notebooks, wondering what my results could mean. And it's not just the poets that want nothing to do with us; scientists are often quick to reciprocate. The physicist Paul Dirac allegedly <a href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Paul_Dirac" target="_blank">approached Oppenheimer</a> one day about Oppenheimer's dabbling in poetry:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Oppenheimer, they tell me you are writing poetry. I do not see how a man can work on the frontiers of physics and write poetry at the same time. They are in opposition. In science, you want to say something that nobody knew before, in words which everyone can understand. In poetry, you are bound to say something that everybody knows already in words that nobody can understand."</blockquote>
Is poetry really all that different from science, as Keats and Dirac would have us believe? Maybe not --especially when it comes to scientific communication (the magic word around these parts).<br />
<br />
Metaphor, for instance, is equally essential to science and poetry. Think about the last time you learned anything about the genetics. It's difficult to talk about all the moving parts of genetics and convey its basic concepts without analogy. When DNA becomes a "recipe" or "blueprint" for our cells, we begin to understand. And really, what is science if not artful metaphor?<br />
<br />
Science writers need accessible metaphors to make their subject clear for a lay audience. But clear is not quite enough; we also want to make it <i>sound nice</i>. We science writers are literary beings, or at least I hope we are. We like the spoken sound of a well-written sentence as much as we like the imagined whir of the cellular machinery constantly untwisting and retwisting our DNA. And there's really <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Two_Cultures" target="_blank">nothing weird</a> about a literary approach to science. To me, it just makes sense. I liked <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/281/5373/40.full" target="_blank">this quote</a> from an old <i>Science</i> piece by John Banville:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>I am not arguing that art is greater than science, more universal in its
concerns, and wiser in its sad recognition of the
limits of human knowledge. What I am proposing is
that despite the profound differences between them, at an essential
level
art and science are so nearly alike as to be
indistinguishable. The only meaningful distinction I can see between the
two
is that science has a practical extension into
technology, and art does not. But this is a distinction only in terms of
utility.
At the level that concerns me, the level of metaphor, art and science are both blithely inutile—at this level, for instance, the theory of relativity has nothing to do with the
atomic bomb.</i></blockquote>
Like Banville, I believe that science and art are driven by the same intellectual forces. <br />
<br />
What happens when the two fields come together in practical terms? For those poets willing to dabble in another discipline, there is a small subset of contemporary poetry <i>about </i>science. New Scientist interviewed a few of them <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/blog/shortsharpscience/2007/07/poetry-of-science.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Lavinia Greenlaw reads her poem about the iron lung machine in the video above:</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> "You can't describe the unknown other than in terms of the known. And so science relies upon language, and imagery and metaphor and therefore poetry, yes, in order to communicate itself --particularly now, because so much science is happening at a level that we can't see."</i></blockquote>
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<br />
Mario Petrucci explores the Chernobyl disaster through lyric, and the connection between literature and science:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"I suppose what [literature and science] have to offer each other ...is that attention they both give to what is already known and the desire to search beyond that to what isn't known."</i></blockquote>
Listening to these poets speak, I was struck by how nicely their work sounded --how well technical concepts were conveyed even through the cultural strangeness of their medium. I'm glad for that zone of overlap between science and art (less narrow than we think), and I'm happy to live in it. <br />
<br />
<br />
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---</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>More reading, if you're interested (because this topic defies the constraints of a single blog post):</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
"The Future of Science...is Art?" (<a href="http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/the_future_of_science_is_art/" target="_blank">SEED</a>)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Unweaving the Rainbow, </i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Unweaving-Rainbow-Science-Delusion-Appetite/dp/0618056734/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334607125&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Richard Dawkins</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
"Science and Poetry" (<a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2010/10/04/130324199/science-and-poetry" target="_blank">Cosmos and Culture</a>, npr)</div>
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Science in the work of Shelley (<a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112963588" target="_blank">npr</a>)</div>
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257616937869411663.post-30511438300770690202012-04-16T14:00:00.000-04:002012-04-17T12:51:55.411-04:00Ancient Nubians, Antibiotics and Beer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
You may have heard that among the many talents of ancient peoples was the art of <a href="http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/beer.html" target="_blank">brewing beer</a>. What you might not know is that an ancient <a href="http://www.angelfire.com/oh/AncientKnowledge/NUBIA.html" target="_blank">Nubian </a>brew appears to have the ability to fight off bacterial infections. That's right, antibiotics in beer.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9XjtZYMupmg/T4tsIdSgx_I/AAAAAAAAACk/4_FwqnVO4Dk/s1600/200px-Egypt_art_beer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9XjtZYMupmg/T4tsIdSgx_I/AAAAAAAAACk/4_FwqnVO4Dk/s1600/200px-Egypt_art_beer.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of Meganhassler</td></tr>
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Bioanthropologist George Armelagos made his way to this <a href="http://www.livescience.com/11028-ancient-african-cocktail-beer-shot-antibiotic.html" target="_blank">discovery</a> by first noting the presence of the antibiotic <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000576/" target="_blank">tetracycline</a>
in Nubian skeletons from 350-550 A.D. Collaboration with the medical
chemist Mark Nelson led to the conclusion that tetracycline was not merely
present in Nubian bones, but their bones were chock-full of tetracycline.<br />
<br />
Tetracycline is produced by bacteria in the <i>Streptomyces</i> genus<i>. </i>It is an antibiotic, which means that <i>Streptomyces </i>produces it for defense from its more pathogenic compatriots. Antibiotics in humans have the same role as they're used to kill pathogenic bacteria. About two-thirds of the naturally-derived antibiotics used in
medicine today<i> </i>come from <i>Streptomyces, </i>including tetracycline which is currently used as a treatment for skin, genitial, urinary and
digestive infections. Assumedly it would have prevented against similar infections in ancient times.<br />
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Armelagos and his colleagues traced the high presence of tetracycline in Nubian bones back to their practice of drinking beer. <i>Streptomyces </i>primarily grows in soil so it is possible that the grain they used eat and brew beer had accidental colonies on it, which carried into the finished product. However, accidental contamination of bread or beer with <i>Streptomyces </i>would not produce the high levels they found in the skeletons; <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100902094246.htm" target="_blank">Armelagos and company</a> inferred that Nubians consciously added <i>Streptomyces </i>colonies to their beer. <br />
(As an interesting side-note, the antibiotic properties of <i>Streptomycetes </i>are still being investigated as we did a lab on them in Microbiology here at Allegheny)<br />
<br />
Conscious addition implies that Nubians recognized the benefits of tetracycline and capitalized on them. This recognition would require some solid ancient science but it could be helped along by the fact that many strands of <i>Streptomyces </i>form golden colonies, a color and substance that was (and still is) much adored. In fact when tetracycline was discovered in the US in 1948 it was named "auereomycin", where the word aerous is Latin for
'containing gold'. Ancient Nubians may have seen golden colonies, associated them with good fortune and added them to their beer (which at this time was a thick, nutritious<i> </i>drink that all ages enjoyed). When stomach pain and other aliments decreased after drinking beer supplemented with<i> </i>these golden colonies<i>, </i>the colonies would have been considered miraculous and their addition would have become standard. <br />
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Every time I learn more about ancient peoples I am more impressed. To think, people 1500 years before us used antibiotics in nearly the same way we do now- it's remarkable! Ancient Nubians may deserve a footnote on all of those pages of thanks to Alexander Fleming.</div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257616937869411663.post-46364674230564531122012-04-14T21:18:00.000-04:002012-04-14T21:18:28.926-04:00Science Art Link Roundup #11<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MwpPhlaKusM/T4ohS5rBJMI/AAAAAAAAAGc/JvOgnnXddb8/s1600/sciart11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MwpPhlaKusM/T4ohS5rBJMI/AAAAAAAAAGc/JvOgnnXddb8/s400/sciart11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Another quick dose of science art for your weekend enjoyment. </div>
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<li>In a trance; I could <a href="http://hint.fm/wind/" target="_blank">watch this wind map</a> forever. </li>
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<li>Origami artworks slowly <a href="http://vimeo.com/22490497" target="_blank">unfold themselves</a> via capillary action. </li>
</ul>
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<li>Take a trip through <a href="http://vimeo.com/39784233" target="_blank">micro</a> and <a href="http://vimeo.com/9152451" target="_blank">macro</a> worlds. </li>
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<li>Thanks to Caitlin for alerting me to the existence of the <a href="http://sciencetothepowerofart.com/tag/photography/#" target="_blank">Serratiasaurus</a>. </li>
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<li>Horrible Histories: Darwin turns to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf4g81QP8RA" target="_blank">face</a> the <a href="http://youtu.be/UAHvyURiCqY" target="_blank">strange ch-ch-changes</a> of evolution. </li>
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<li>Fast-moving rope looks like a <a href="http://danielpalacios.info/en/waves" target="_blank">giant, 3D wave</a> in the middle of the room. </li>
</ul>
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<li><a href="http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/OQGx6kwt4Ht/1+000+Ice+Figures+Global+Warming" target="_blank">1000 ice figurines</a> once sat on the steps of a German Cathedral to promote global warming awareness. </li>
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<li>An artifact of the space race --the <a href="http://pretendy.tumblr.com/post/20087894399/reach-out-and-touch-space-the-monument-to-the" target="_blank">Monument to the Conquerers</a> of Space in Moscow (built in 1964) looks like the exhaust trail of a space shuttle taking off. </li>
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<li>I'm awful at drawing, so it always amazes me to watch how <a href="http://sarah-oconnell.tumblr.com/post/18047506489/actias-luna-female-construction-done-from" target="_blank">scientific illustrators</a> achieve realistic images. </li>
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<li>Falling figures, <a href="http://www.mathilderoussel.com/index.php?/sculpture/ca-pousse/" target="_blank">made of soil, covered</a> in sprouting wheat seeds.</li>
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<li>Why I love snakes: serpent photography, parts <a href="http://guidomocafico.com/se1.html" target="_blank">I</a> and <a href="http://guidomocafico.com/se1.html" target="_blank">II</a>. </li>
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<li>Toggle through the anatomical <a href="http://palaeo.jconway.co.uk/pterosaur_structure.php" target="_blank">layers of a pterosaur</a> in this interactive animation. </li>
</ul>
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<li>Form finally <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-prosthetics-pictures,0,4060220.photogallery" target="_blank">extends beyond function</a> in prosthetic limb design. </li>
</ul>
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<li>Posted a video of a starling murmur last week, but here is a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/magazine/20070422_BIRDS_FEATURE/index.html" target="_blank">nice photo essay</a> on the birds.</li>
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<li>If you're a birdwatcher, you can track your sightings with <a href="http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/04/birdlog-smartphone-app/" target="_blank">BirdLog on your smartphone</a>. </li>
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<li><a href="http://www.katie-scott.com/" target="_blank">Katie Scott's artwork</a> feels like a modern twist on old scientific illustrations. </li>
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<li>I'm a sucker for really <a href="http://www.nicolas-evariste.fr/dark-zoo-us.php" target="_blank">clean, strong black and white images</a> like these wildlife shots. </li>
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<br /></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257616937869411663.post-51534946805334816012012-04-14T14:43:00.000-04:002012-04-14T14:43:37.542-04:00Gender parties: soon to be obsolete?Back in the good old medieval days, queens had one job: producing heirs, which meant sons. Sons were so important that King Henry invented charges of treason against his second wife, the infamous Anne Boleyn, because she couldn't produce a son. With the discovery of DNA and the Y chromosome, it became clear that Henry had no one to blame but himself: because males have both an X and a Y chromosome, the sperm determines the sex of the child. Females are XX, and thus can only donate an X chromosome to the egg. A very tidy explanation with much vindication for poor Anne Boleyn, but is sperm the whole story?<br />
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A recent <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/news_stories/2008/080423.html" target="_blank">study </a>from the UK showed that women who had higher caloric intake around the time of conception are more likely to have boys than girls. This sex bias based on environmental conditions has been reported in many other animals, including mammals like horses and cows, but this the first report of it in humans. Granted, it is not a huge difference: 56% of the high calorie group had boys, versus 45% of the low calorie group. The article also does not say if this is a statistically significant result.<br />
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I find this interesting because they don't know how it works. Obviously, the male determines the actual sex of the baby, but the mother's womb can favor the development of one sex of fetus over another. Researchers knew from in vitro fertilization treatments that high glucose (simple sugar) levels favors male fetus development and discourages female development, so that might be a link. Fortunately, if they really want to look into the mechanism, human studies will probably be unnecessary. Many mammals change the male: female ratio based on the environment.<br />
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Basically, males are a risky evolutionary bet. They can produce more offspring if females are in ample supply, but if there are more males than females, only the best males will reproduce and the rest are left without offspring. Females have a more limited reproductive capacity, but can basically always reproduce (it's just not that hard to find a willing male). So, if the environmental conditions are good, say by having ample food supply, a male child is more likely to grow up strong, fit, and ready to spread some genes around. If there is a low food supply, males are less likely to be successful, and females are a safer bet. <br />
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Personally, I'm quite excited to see what the results of a more detailed study are. The glucose explanation makes sense, but how does the uterus determine what chromosomes a fertilized egg contains? Also, 56% is not a large difference, so is this result "real" and what other studies will be done to confirm that?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257616937869411663.post-79428117100707463562012-04-14T02:32:00.001-04:002012-04-14T02:32:34.696-04:00Linking Exercise and Mutation Rate<br />
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Dendrobatidae are a family of frogs, commonly
known as poison dart frogs. They are
most famous for their brightly colored skin and toxic secretions. However, researchers have recently discovered
an interesting new quality in these frogs.
The more physically active species of Dendrobatidae accumulate changes
to their genetic information faster than frogs species that are less active.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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These different species are defined by the fact that they
interbreed and are able to produce normally functioning offspring. The idea that more active cold-blooded animal
species would experience faster changing genomes is not new. Studies in the past have not been able to
support this hypothesis; however, they all studied animals while they are
resting. A new study conducted by <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Juan C</span>. Santos
tested animals during periods of activity comparable to activity they would
perform in nature. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">The study subjected about 50 different frog
species to physical exercise (running for four minutes). Then, their oxygen uptake was measured and
compared across the different species. The
results showed that the more active species had a higher oxygen capacity. They were able to use their oxygen more
effectively during the aerobic activity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">He then compared 15 different genes from the
different frog species and created a poison dart frog family tree. This tree showed that more active frog
species experienced faster changes in these genes. One hypothesis for this rate of change
difference is that exercise releases molecules that are likely to mutate DNA. These molecules (called reactive oxygen
species) are mainly given off when the body has stopped its physical activity
and circulation and oxygen levels are returning to normal. However, the true mechanism for this
difference in mutation rate remains unknown.<o:p></o:p></span></div>Kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04650799063785271367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257616937869411663.post-26582950119588377162012-04-13T13:49:00.001-04:002012-04-13T13:49:57.181-04:00The Science of Music. Part One: The Ear<br />
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Music moves in waves. Those waves flow through the outer ear [E] and crash up against our eardrum forcing the tiniest three bones in our body to move. These bones are located in the middle ear [M] and press against the fluid-filled membrane of the cochlea, which makes up the bulk of the inner ear [I]. As these bones rock to the beat, their vibrations transfer to waves of salty liquid in the cochlea. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7oL0Tv-62TgtLrjcA_enY3pcjqc3M3PBuxitZ-o3V-Fg1oxXGCU2yymJmf8ecaymVonVai3cySyNEEfCwHrjXCv4BbIIJRVEcKlRIJE_VdNWHWu4tkOUyu5a0AZoYRaDN2q5ijGqhdqo/s1600/ear1r.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7oL0Tv-62TgtLrjcA_enY3pcjqc3M3PBuxitZ-o3V-Fg1oxXGCU2yymJmf8ecaymVonVai3cySyNEEfCwHrjXCv4BbIIJRVEcKlRIJE_VdNWHWu4tkOUyu5a0AZoYRaDN2q5ijGqhdqo/s320/ear1r.png" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Photo credit: <a href="http://serve.me.nus.edu.sg/limkm/cochlea/">nus.edu</a><br />
Cross section of the ear divided into three regions: [E] the outer ear, [M] the middle ear and [I] the inner ear.</td></tr>
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Under these waves, hair cells (so named because they look like microscopic bristles) dance back and forth. This minute movement opens ion channels causing certain cells to swell with electric charges. If the cells are bent at a sharp enough angle for long enough they fire an electrical message onward to the brain. Thus, silence is broken and sound has begun.</div>
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The cochlea contains 16,000 neurons. In the noisy day-to-day, they are in fact constantly bent since the air is full of vibrations and every one reverberates inside the echo chamber of the ear. But how exactly do we make sense of the musical cacophony that is constantly assaulting these little hairs in our head?</div>
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The answer is in the anatomy. Hair cells are arranged like the keys on a piano, with one end tuned to high-frequency sounds while the other only bends to throb of low frequency sounds.</div>
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Eventually all of the sounds reach our primary auditory cortex, where neurons are designed to detect specific pitches -- the cortex focuses on finding the notes amidst the noise. We tune out what we can't understand (this is why we can recognize a specific pitch as the same no matter the instrument).</div>
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Music is composed in patterns and our brains are designed to love patterns and seek them out. Our desperate neurological search for a pattern is what makes music different from noise. Music is in motion. To us it seems continuos, but in reality each wave is its own unit or piece of the pattern. However, this is not the way we think of music at all, as a wave of separate sounds. We continually construct our own patterns in order to keep pace with the onrush of noise.</div>
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Once we find a pattern we begin to make predictions, imagining or possibly hoping for what comes next. We project imaginary order into the future, transposing the melody we have just heard into the melody we expect to continue hearing. By listening for patterns, by interpreting every note in terms of our personal expectations we turn the scraps of sound into the ebb and flow of a symphony or a song.</div>
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To Be Continued:</div>
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Next week I'll describe what biologically happens when the patterns and predictions we make are disrupted. The following week I'll get into the biology of the emotional quality of music, primarily its connection with dopamine levels. </div>_Michael Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17169486045151202320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257616937869411663.post-4862000988471816282012-04-12T20:55:00.004-04:002012-04-12T20:55:53.224-04:00Tips from the pros (and almost pros)We've been talking a lot in our workshop sessions about narrative--choosing a clear story to tell, and ensuring that what you've written tells that story, whether it's about a person (and their scientific life) or an idea, or an experiment.<br />
<br />
Carl Zimmer <a href="http://www.katiephd.com/so-you-want-to-be-a-science-writer-pearls-of-wisdom-from-carl-zimmer/" target="_blank">recently shared</a> his thoughts on story, editing, and blogging as they relate to science writing. Avoiding jargon and capturing your readers' attention <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/apr/09/voyage-of-discovery-science-writers" target="_blank">are critical</a>, according to Ed Yong, who highlights effective writing examples, including one from Zimmer.<br />
<br />
If you're in the UK, you can put these suggestions into practice, submitting something to the <a href="http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/Funding/Public-engagement/Science-Writing-Prize/index.htm" target="_blank">Wellcome Trust Science Writing Prize 2012</a> (800 words, due April 25th, 2012). If you're not in the UK, though, you'll have to be content browsing the <a href="http://wellcometrust.wordpress.com/category/series/wellcome-trust-science-writing-prize/" target="_blank">shortlisted articles</a> and <a href="http://wellcometrust.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/winning-ways-meet-the-wellcome-trust-science-writing-prize-winners/" target="_blank">winners</a> of last year's contest for inspiration...Brad Hershhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12133867698380275443noreply@blogger.com0