Posts

May 25, 2013

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11:11 PM | EXPOSED: The Global Epidemic of TB

Unless you’ve been distanced from the news and the internet, you have heard that tuberculosis has become increasingly drug resistant and is resurging in many areas of the world and this is much more than a minor inconvenience. Kari Stoever, the Vice President of External Affairs at Aeras – a global nonprofit biotech advancing TB [...]

May 24, 2013

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2:53 PM | A new home and a new chapter for Faces of Chemistry

Faces of Chemistry – like so many things, our popular video series started with an idea! We wanted to show students of all ages how chemistry applies to real life and how the latest cutting-edge research leads to many different new products and technologies. It’s been almost two years since we launched our first videos. Since then you might have heard Meloney Morris from Syngenta explain how chemistry helps to protect crops, watched scientists from Procter & Gamble tell you […]

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1:16 PM | Education Policy Needs Two Offenses (Or What I Learned From Albert Shanker)

I’ve been reading Richard Kahlenberg’s excellent biography of Albert Shanker (here’s some mid-book blogging on teacher qualifications and LIFO), but now that I’ve finally finished I wanted to take a moment to wax philosophically about what made Shanker special and why I believe that quality is missing from the current policy environment. More than anything [...]

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12:00 PM | Death To Remotes! Consoles Should Run Your TV

Death to remotes!During the Xbox One reveal this week, Microsoft spent a lot of time on the console controlling the television and cable box. A significant amount of gamers fired back with "we don't care about controlling the TV, just show us the games!"Once you try, you may not go back. I don't have an Xbox One, but Nintendo's Wii U is a good step in the direction of TV integration that I hope all future consoles take.It's the simple things that I love about […]

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11:21 AM | Reovirus Activates a Caspase-Independent Cell Death Pathway

Two different events in the reovirus replication cycle can injure host cells by distinct mechanisms.The post Reovirus Activates a Caspase-Independent Cell Death Pathway appeared first on MicrobiologyBytes.

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8:43 AM | Would Ruby Payne Scott have got further in her career today?

These days, when we talk about equality for women in physics and science in general, the subject of subtle, unconscious gender bias is a hot topic. But in the middle of the last century, gender bias was about as subtle as a sledgehammer. Coming up to the birthday of Ruby Payne Scott, one of the [...]The post Would Ruby Payne Scott have got further in her career today? appeared first on physicsfocus.org.

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7:08 AM | Curiosity, learning and humans

From wondering about how ants move to gazing at the vast distant sky above us, human are forever seeking meaning in things. Our drive to learn has shaped humanity from its very inception, and it will always be a part of us. Being curious and inquisitive are the very traits that make us human. As soon as a child is born, he/she explores the world and starts to wonder about its grandeur. This urge to learn is what underpins our whole human experience. But, why are humans so naturally curious? […]

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12:51 AM | The Cicadas Are Coming To The East Coast This Summer

Imagine that you slept for the first 17 years of your life. Then, all at once, you and your siblings are awakened simultaneously and given 4 weeks to physically and sexually mature, find a mate, do your business, and lay your eggs before you (all together now) die. That’s life, if you’re a cicada. And […]

May 23, 2013

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8:00 PM | Science History: Mary Anning

Born on May 21, 1799: Mary Anning, fossil collector who found her first complete skeleton, an ichthyosaur, as a young girl in Lyme Regis. What "type" of fossils did Mary Anning find—and why? In the new "Fantastic Fossilization! Discover the...

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7:41 PM | Zooming Fish Video

Here’s a great project for pre-K kids. They can cut the fish out of paper or foam, pour the water and put a drop of soap behind the fish to make it “zoom.” My original post and written directions for zooming fish can be found by clicking here. Related posts:DNA Extraction Video Got fruit, laundry [...] Related posts:DNA Extraction Video Got fruit, laundry detergent, coffee filters, salt and alcohol? You... Homemade Petri Plates Video Does soap really get rid of germs? On […]

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11:19 AM | BTV VLPs, OMG

This paper describes plant-based high-level expression of virus-like particles of BTV serotype 8. The post BTV VLPs, OMG appeared first on MicrobiologyBytes.

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10:02 AM | Feet Are a Treat for Fungi

Feet Are a Treat for Fungi Smelly, itchy feet are constant reminders that we share our bodies with fungi. But just how many and what kinds? A new genetic survey has uncovered an incredible diversity of fungi on the feet, with different communities in the heel, toenail, and space between the third and fourth toes. The bottom of the heel alone hosts 80 different types, and if cataloged by species, the tally would likely be an order of magnitude higher. Fungi in each of these communities were […]

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8:01 AM | Bacterium excluded from the Eukaryote Club

Bacterium excluded from the Eukaryote Club It’s something you learn in high school – there are two basic approaches to cellular life – prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea) and eukaryotes (the rest of us – aardvarks, amoebae, apricots, etc.). Prokaryotes have an open-plan office, with all biological functions carried out in the one cellular space. Eukaryotes, however, have dedicated compartments for the chief executive(nucleus), finance (mitochondria), […]

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5:48 AM | What if 501(c)4 Organizations Had to Disclose Their Donors?

The IRS kerfuffle has increased interest in the tax code by about 5700%, and one outcome is that people are starting to put the various exemption groups under a microscope. Dylan Matthews has thoughtful piece on 501(c)4 organizations, the groups at the center of the scandal. Matthews thinks the real issue is disclosure, and it’s [...]

Dowling, C. & Wichowsky, A. (2013). Does It Matter Who's Behind the Curtain? Anonymity in Political Advertising and the Effects of Campaign Finance Disclosure, American Politics Research, DOI: 10.1177/1532673X13480828

Citation

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4:59 AM | World's silliest arduino-based electronic musical instrument

This is the world's silliest arduino-based electronic musical instrument. It is a mashup of the "Melody" tutorial and the "Button" tutorial. The code I modified (see below) strips out the part where the tune is actually played and instead plays a single note when each button is pressed./* Melody * (cleft) 2005 D. Cuartielles for K3 * * This example uses a piezo speaker to play melodies. It sends * a square wave of the appropriate frequency to the piezo, generating * the corresponding […]

May 22, 2013

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8:49 PM | Beatrice on "Science... sort of"

I got to be on a podcast called "Science... sort of." I talk about cartoon penises and the Word War Z trailer. Check it out!

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6:34 PM | A history of studies about the brain

Today I want to tell you a story about how it has changed the conception of the brain from so many students since centuries ago. How is assumed, the study of the personal computer of the human being is not new, the beginning of his study are given with the observation, so evidenced a papyrus written in century XVII BC that contains the first references to this body to which already named you brain, in fact repeated seven times in this document describing symptoms, diagnosis and […]

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6:18 PM | Hoop jumping

INCIDENTAL COMICS: Message to a GraduateImage credit: Grant Snider, Incidental ComicsBy the end of high school, all I could see was the hoop jumping. I was so sick of it: every class was predetermined for me with only my extracurriculars to numb the boredom of the required classes. I looked forward to college knowing that while I would have to take general education classes, at least I would have options to choose from.By the end of college, I saw that while the hoops were fewer and […]

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4:06 PM | Angler Fish Beauty

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1:47 PM | Build a nestbox, help a kestrel.

The American kestrel nesting season is in full swing! Found throughout the Americas, the American kestrel (Falco sparverius) is the smallest of the North American falcons. Unfortunately, its population is in decline particularly along the Pacific Coast and in New England. Much of the decline is due to land clearing which reduces the kestrel’s natural nesting [...]

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1:16 PM | Thera, Golden State Warriors Cheerleader, shares her experiences as a Science Cheerleader

Science Cheerleader and Pop Warner Little Scholars are national partners in an effort to bring science to 100,000 youth cheerleaders. Several Science Cheerleaders were keynote speakers at recent Pop Warner Scholars Banquets. SciCheer Thera who is a space systems electrical engineer and Golden State Warriors cheerleader, addressed hundreds of kids in Reno, NV. Here’s a little look into her experience there” This Spring, I had the pleasure of being the keynote speaker at the Scholar […]

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11:43 AM | Evolutionary Tales – A Hip Hop Theatre Cycle: Baba Brinkman is Back!

It’s wonderful to meet people that have an extremely unique niche in the performance world. I don’t think there has been, or ever will be, an artist akin to the likes of Baba Brinkman. He is a talented rapper, writer and performer – and his work is based on the biology behind evolution. He covers [...]

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11:15 AM | 10 things you should know about novel coronavirus (nCoV) People…

10 things you should know about novel coronavirus (nCoV) People are dying from novel coronavirus (nCoV) infection. Here are 10 things you should know. The post 10 things you should know about novel coronavirus (nCoV) People… appeared first on MicrobiologyBytes.

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11:12 AM | 10 things you should know about novel coronavirus (nCoV)

People are dying from novel coronavirus (nCoV) infection. Here are 10 things you should know.The post 10 things you should know about novel coronavirus (nCoV) appeared first on MicrobiologyBytes.

May 21, 2013

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6:05 PM | My Heart is in Oklahoma now #OklahomaStrong

Hearts and Prayers to Moore, Oklahoma. I was sound asleep and was completely unaware of the weather and tragedy happening back home. A very bad tornado hit Oklahoma – just south of Oklahoma City. I began getting messages on Twitter, Facebook, and via email asking if I was still in Africa or not. I am. [...]

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6:00 PM | Girls at After-school Program Science Event Explore Paper Airplanes

Hands-on engineering doesn't always require high-tech materials. Armed with a stack of paper and the steps to folding a basic dart airplane, a volunteer leads a paper airplane station at a local science exposition and realizes, with surprise, that folding...

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4:27 PM | 500 Million Years of Evolution in Under 4 Minutes

Although this video by Fatboy Slim isn’t particularly new, it’s a great depiction of the process of evolution and still deserves recognition. Starting with some of the earliest forms of life, and ending with an interesting twist on human evolution (is our species evolving in a positive direction?) the video brings you a seamless and [...]

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2:51 PM | Tamiflu drug bill “shocking waste of taxpayers’…

Tamiflu drug bill “shocking waste of taxpayers’ money”? Uh, yeah, you wouldn’t be saying that if the swine flu pandemic hadn’t turned out to be as mild as it was. The post Tamiflu drug bill “shocking waste of taxpayers’… appeared first on MicrobiologyBytes.

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2:03 PM | The prospects and challenges of universal vaccines for…

The prospects and challenges of universal vaccines for influenza Vaccination is the most effective way to reduce the impact of epidemic as well as pandemic influenza. However, the licensed inactivated influenza vaccine induces strain-specific immunity ...The post The prospects and challenges of universal vaccines for… appeared first on MicrobiologyBytes.

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1:52 PM | Irish potato famine mystery solved after 168 years Scientists…

Irish potato famine mystery solved after 168 years Scientists believe they have finally identified the pathogen that caused the Irish potato famine. BBC News reports a research team led by The Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich, England, used dried leaf cuttings — some of which are nearly 170 years old — to reconstruct the spread of the HERB-1 strain of Phytophthora infestans, a fungal disease that came to Ireland via Mexico in 1845. The disease destroyed potato crops and caused the […]

May 25, 2013

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May 21, 2013

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