Aldo Menzione

Aldo Menzione

Dec 29 2012 | comment(s)

It is with some delay that I decide to write about Aldo here. The reason is simply that after a house move I still have not been reconnected to the internet at home, and my absence from work for christmas holidays makes things even harder, and my presence online a sporadic break rather than a constant of motion.

Czech researchers have hypothesized that carp in large tubs at Christmas markets possess a capacity to sense geomagnetic fields. 

Collagen, the most abundant protein in the body, is widely used to build scaffolds for tissue engineering because it is biocompatible and biodegradable. Collagen is, however, hard to work with in its natural form because it is largely insoluble in water, and common processing techniques reduce its strength and disrupt its fibrous structure.

Researchers have fabricated an artificial protein in the laboratory and examined the ways living cells respond to it. 

Can social networks determine which students need the most help and which ones excel and might be guided to further study or careers in that subject area?  Information Systems graduates say they can do it.

Our ability to imitate facial expressions depends on learning and visual feedback, say psychologists. Marketing people knew that already. The 'chameleon effect' is commonly used in interpersonal negotiations because imitating another person's postures and expressions is an important social lubricant.

How do we learn to imitate with accuracy when we can't see our own facial expressions and we can't feel the facial expressions of others?

A piranha's specialized jaw morphology and mean nature allow them to be in an extreme biting Hall of Fame.  And it isn't a new development.  While
Serrasalmus rhombeus, the black piranha, is a contender for most powerful bite for its size today, an ancient relative of piranhas,
Megapiranha paranensis, which weighed only about 20 pounds, delivered a bite with greater force more fierce than prehistoric whale-eating sharks, the four-ton ocean-dwelling Dunkleosteus terrelli and even Tyrannosaurus rex.

Modern piranhas can tear through soft tissue but Megapiranha paranensis was able to pierce thick shells and crack armoring and bones, according to Stephanie Crofts, a University of Washington doctoral student in biology.

Science 2.0 is not like most other science sites. Aside from not being a part of a billion-dollar conglomerate, our audience is also a little off kilter. By off kilter, I mean ahead of everyone else.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has reviewed field performance data of the BOVIGAM(R)Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) test and recommended such tests for inclusion in the official list of stand-alone tests for bovine tuberculosis (TB). BOVIGAM is currently widely used as a supplementary test in addition to skin testing. The Prionics company believes the positive EFSA opinion will lead to the use of BOVIGAM as a stand-alone TB test in the European Union.