Creatures and Real-Time Systems

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has developed an automatic ice detection system for cars  that makes use of a new, real-time method of obtaining information on a road's actual slipperiness.  

Obviously, such a system helps drivers avoid personal injuries and damage to vehicles in slippery road conditions. Not only are vehicles are warned in advance of a road's actual slipperiness, if the road becomes slippery, other vehicles arriving in the area will also be warned immediately.
 

Predicting weather events is more mysticism than science and it's only after the fact that predictions are recalibrated to try and hone in on more accuracy.  Hurricane Sandy in the eastern United States was predicted to be a super-storm but by the time it hit New York City was a regular old tropical storm, though one that became a welcome $17 billion federal stimulus plan and a call for action on global warming that did not cause it.

Safe, Tasty, Nutritious Almonds We Shouldn't Take For Granted

Sometimes we need to hear about things that are working well in our food system.  I'd like to describe a case where sound regulation and well-applied technology combine to protect us from a significant risk posed by a natural chemical called Aflatoxin - one of the most toxic and carcinogenic chemicals known.  

The HIrisPlex DNA analysis system
that can establish hair and eye color from forensic samples in modern crime scenes can also identify details from ancient human remains, according to a paper which used the system to reconstruct hair and eye color from teeth up to 800 years old.

The system looks at 24 DNA polymorphisms, naturally occurring variations, which can be used to predict eye and hair color  from human remains such as teeth and bones.

In the post-genomic era, 'omic' technology, and marketing claims to match, promise to understand the biology of various diseases. Metabolomics seeks to look at the chemical fingerprints that cellular processes leave behind and does so through characterization of the small molecule metabolites.

The Tree of Life is what Charles Darwin first sketched in 1837 to show how species evolved by natural selection. The diagram started at a central point with a common ancestor, then the lines spread apart as organisms evolved and separated into distinct species. The letters represented species.