Posts

May 29, 2013

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3:00 AM | What is wrong with e-mail? Can it be fixed? - The Receiver and meta-data

This is one in a series of blog posts about email. The other posts can be found...

May 28, 2013

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9:29 PM | #DispatchesDNLee: Non-target capture Marsh Mongoose

Every now and then I catch something else besides an African Pouched Rat. It’s not what I was aiming to catch, but I am happy nonetheless. Catching predators always gives me great joy. I’m pretty sure this is a Marsh Mongoose, Atilax paludinosus. It fits the description, looks like the pictures, lives in the distribution [...]

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5:45 PM | Science Filing Cabinet

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1:13 PM | How journalists can help the scientists they interview

As a physicist, I’m fond of simple universal principles from which all other results are derived. When a journalist is interviewing a scientist for a story, I think the important underlying idea is that each is doing the other a favor. A quote from a prominent scientist will make a story better, but it’s not an [...]The post How journalists can help the scientists they interview appeared first on physicsfocus.org.

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12:06 PM | The Trouble With Politicians Who Always Talk About Values

Last spring Paul Ryan spoke about the latest version of his budget, promising it “offers a better path, consistent with the timeless principles of our nation’s founding and, frankly, consistent with how I understand my Catholic faith.” According to Ryan, “We put our trust in people, not in government.” There was nothing new or surprising [...]

Kouzakova, M., Harinck, F., Ellemers, N. & Scheepers, D. (2013). At the Heart of a Conflict: Cardiovascular and Self-Regulation Responses to Value Versus Resource Conflicts, Social Psychological and Personality Science, DOI: 10.1177/1948550613486673

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12:00 PM | Science Studio – A Celebration of Online Audio and Video

Communication of science on the internet is a rapidly growing phenomenon. As with any kind of content, it’s important to be able to find and promote quality work. There are many ‘Best of’ anthologies for the written word (including my favorite for blog posts: The Open Laboratory); however, there hasn’t been a similar way to [...]

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8:09 AM | How Parvoviruses Escape Interferon Control

Clever parvovirus - small, but perfectly formed.The post How Parvoviruses Escape Interferon Control appeared first on MicrobiologyBytes.

May 27, 2013

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9:29 PM | How do you make science interesting? Make it rhyme and drop a beat.

In general, it is very hard to get people to care about science. I don't want to force a history major to change his degree to bioengineering. I don't need a six year old to sign a contract detailing her commitment to being the next Nobel prize winner. I'm talking about just getting someone (anyone!) who isn't already a scientist to recognize that science exists, science matters, and science can be cool.I watched this incredible video produced by the Royal Society for […]

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1:00 PM | ASAP Awards: Rewarding and acknowledging novel uses of Open Access resources

Those of you who know PLOS know that PLOS is a big advocate of Open Access – making research and findings available to everyone. To support Open Access work, and to highlight innovative and creative uses of OA, PLOS recently …

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10:18 AM | Brain Teaser:Cotton or Nylon

Here is a nice brain teaser that I came up with. Imagine you are in a crowded market place with many people around you. Suddenly, you hear a women screaming, saying that her expensive (100%) cotton shirt has been stolen by a man. The thief is running away, and you try to catch him. But, then he dissapears into the crowd. But, you continue searching, until you finally find him. On asking him to return the shirt, he denies that the shirt is stolen and proclaims that it is his. Futhermore, he adds […]

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8:12 AM | Potential industrial biotechnology with cyanobacteria and eukaryotic microalgae

Both cyanobacteria and eukaryotic microalgae are promising organisms for sustainable production of bulk products such as food, feed and fuels. The post Potential industrial biotechnology with cyanobacteria and eukaryotic microalgae appeared first on MicrobiologyBytes.

May 26, 2013

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4:07 PM | Video of the Week: Cicada Swarmageddon!

You may have seen or heard about the record swarm of billions of cicadas (“Brood 2″ to scientists) expected on the East Coast of the U.S. this spring and summer. The insect in question is the Periodical Cicada (Magicicada septendecim), and while the site of these red-eyed creepy crawlies (especially …

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8:08 AM | Plant Virus Ecology

In this short and highly accessible article, Marilyn Roossinck provides an excellent primer for the non-initiated.The post Plant Virus Ecology appeared first on MicrobiologyBytes.

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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9:45 PM | Live slow and die old: why are we studying salamander cells?

The following post was written as part of a practice exercise for the Scifund Outreach Class. But it isn't doing any good hidden away, so here you go:A few years ago, Ligers were all the rage. You remember Ligers don't you?Here is a Liger looking right at youLigers, of course, are the result of a mating between a lion and a tiger. I predict that the reason a hybrid animal like a Liger is so captivating to you and me is that it causes the imagination to run wild. You can't help but think of wild […]

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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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7:19 PM | The Blogcation is over!

Oh boy, has it really been almost three months?Well, I took a little leave of blogging in order to devote more time to important graduate school deadlines and a field season of catching salamanders. I learned something important from this blog-vacation: I miss doing it.So I'm back with a new vigor and big plans on the horizon. Part of these plans included participating in SciFund's outreach training course. This course puts 171 scientists together in order to improve our collective ability to […]

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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

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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 […]