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SoftwareX - Scientific Software Gets A Peer Reviewed Canonical Journal

SoftwareX - Scientific Software Gets A Peer Reviewed Canonical Journal

Apr 03 2015 | comment(s)

Though the public imagery of science is lab coats and test tubes, less well-known is the role of software development in science.

It is often the case that tools don't really exist to do some of the things that need to be done, but after the hard work of creating, testing and validating the code, it only gets mentioned in a line about the roles of the authors that few people actually read.(1)

Biotechnology Literacy Project Boot Camp 2015 - Davis, CA

Biotechnology Literacy Project Boot Camp 2015 - Davis, CA

Apr 02 2015 | comment(s)

From May 31st-June 3rd, 2015, U.C. Davis in northern California will play host to the 2015 Biotechnology Literacy Project (BLP) Boot Camp.

It's a jam-packed event on the state of the science and cultural aspects related to food and environmental issues. 

I'll be part of the Journalism Roundtable on Sunday, the 31st, and then moderating a panel on Monday related to chemicals and the environment.

On June 3rd, they will also have an on-stage "cook off" comparing various food processes. I will go back for that and bring a bucket of quinoa and kale and say 'here, I challenge you to make something palatable from this'. No one is winning that bet.
Supernova Crime Scene - The White Dwarf Did It

Supernova Crime Scene - The White Dwarf Did It

Apr 02 2015 | comment(s)

Astronomers have determined the pre-explosion mass of a white dwarf star that blew up thousands of years ago and the measurement strongly suggests the explosion involved only a single white dwarf, ruling out a well-established alternative scenario involving a pair of merging white dwarfs.
Can You Be Whole Grain And Gluten Free?

Can You Be Whole Grain And Gluten Free?

Apr 02 2015 | comment(s)

Americans have new dietary guidelines and those state that half of our daily servings of grains should be whole grain, because whole grains are higher in fiber and lower in fat, etc.

5 percent of you will actually do that. Why the Federal government would diet shame 95 percent of America is a separate issue, perhaps they want to create an ideal for you to strive for, the same way supermodels are an ideal body image that women who read fashion magazine are supposed to strive for - you don't have to attain it, as long as you try - but that is not the point of this article.
Light-Harvesting Molecules Absorb Any Color Of Sunlight

Light-Harvesting Molecules Absorb Any Color Of Sunlight

Apr 02 2015 | comment(s)

In 2005, scientists studying tiny sac-like creatures called sea squirts found bacteria containing two types of chlorophyll (a and b) in cavities inside the squirts' tissues.

Those two pigments were soaking up most of the sunlight - the violets, indigos, blues, green, yellows and oranges - and all that filtered through the squirts was deep red light. On the underside of the squirts  was a film of photosynthesizing microbes and they turned out to be full of chlorophyll d, a rare variant of the chlorophyll molecule that absorbs near-infrared light.
AI: Organizing Brains Into Modules Boosts New Learning Without Catastrophic Forgetting

AI: Organizing Brains Into Modules Boosts New Learning Without Catastrophic Forgetting

Apr 02 2015 | comment(s)

A new paper suggests that when brains are organized into modules they are better at learning - without having to replace old knowledge.

The authors believe the findings will accelerate attempts to create artificial intelligence (AI) though they would also have value in understanding  the evolution of intelligence in natural animals. Kai Olav Ellefsen of Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Jean-Baptiste Mouret of Pierre&Marie Curie University and Jeff Clune of the University of Wyoming used simulations of evolving computational brain models - artificial neural networks - to show that more modular brains learn the most and forget the least. 

After A Cease And Desist Letter, GNC Agrees To Herbal Supplement Reforms

After A Cease And Desist Letter, GNC Agrees To Herbal Supplement Reforms

Apr 02 2015 | comment(s)

Just a month after getting a cease and desist letter from New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, GNC has become the first vitamin and supplement retailer to implement new standards in authenticating herbal supplements, ensuring their purity, and educating consumers about their chemical content. 

The Brain Belly Connection In Weight Regulation

The Brain Belly Connection In Weight Regulation

Apr 02 2015 | comment(s)

The little voice inside your head telling you to eat that whole bag of Doritos is actually a cluster of about 10,000 specialized brain cells.

But there may be help in eating just one - the discovery of tiny 'triggers' inside those cells that give rise to this "voice", and keep it speaking throughout life. 

You'll have to take personal responsibility for a little while longer, the study was done in fish and mice, but it reveals how tiny bits of DNA can have a big influence on how the body regulates appetite and weight. It's the first documentation of exactly how a brain cell gene involved in weight regulation is controlled. 

Mitochondria Mutation Linked To Human Parkinson's Disease For First Time

Mitochondria Mutation Linked To Human Parkinson's Disease For First Time

Apr 02 2015 | comment(s)

A new study using stem cells derived from patients who have  Parkinson's disease (PD) has confirmed for the first time what scientists have long suspected - that the most common mutation linked to both sporadic and familial Parkinson's disease (PD) wreaks its havoc by altering the function of mitochondria in neurons that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine.

Mitochondria are energy-producing organelles found in large numbers in most cells and are necessary for life. Zeng says the Park2 mutation altered mitochondrial structure and function in dopamine producing neurons, causing them to die. Dopamine is an essential neurotransmitter which regulates movement and emotion.
Surprise Them And Babies Learn Better

Surprise Them And Babies Learn Better

Apr 02 2015 | comment(s)


If you want babies to learn faster, forget those "Baby Einstein" videos and defy their expectations a little. A new study has found  that babies learn new things by leveraging the core information they are born with.

When something surprises a baby, like an object not behaving the way a baby expects it to, the baby not only focuses on that object, but ultimately learns more about it than from a similar yet predictable object.
High-Fat Dairy Linked To 23 Percent Lower Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes

High-Fat Dairy Linked To 23 Percent Lower Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes

Apr 02 2015 | comment(s)

Multiple studies have indicated a link between high consumption of dairy products and a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes but a new study goes a step farther and finds that it is high-fat dairy products specifically that are associated with reduced risk. 

Those who ate the most high-fat dairy products had a 23 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those who ate the least, according to the paper in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. That will make the National Dairy Council happy but the National Cattlemen's Beef Association won't be happy reading that high meat consumption was linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes regardless of the fat content of the meat.
Fading AGN, The Ghosts Of Quasars Past

Fading AGN, The Ghosts Of Quasars Past

Apr 02 2015 | comment(s)

A set of enigmatic quasar ghosts mark the graves of these objects that flickered to life and then faded.

8 unusual looped structures orbit their host galaxies and glow in a bright and eerie goblin-green hue. The ethereal wisps in these images were illuminated, perhaps briefly, by a blast of radiation from a quasar - a very luminous and compact region that surrounds a supermassive black hole at the center of a galaxy - and Hubble was there to catch it. 

The first object of this type was found in 2007 by Dutch schoolteacher Hanny van Arkel participating in the Galaxy Zoo project, which catalogs the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The bizarre feature was dubbed Hanny's Voorwerp (Dutch for Hanny's object).
Fish Oil And Supplements Linked To Greater Chemotherapy Resistance

Fish Oil And Supplements Linked To Greater Chemotherapy Resistance

Apr 02 2015 | comment(s)


Patients with cancer often adopt lifestyle changes and those include being sold on the benefits of supplements, but there is growing concern about the use of supplements while taking anti-cancer drugs due to possible effect on treatment outcomes. 

A new study has found that consuming  three kinds of fish oils, as well as the fish herring and mackerel, raised blood levels of the fatty acid 16:4(n-3), which experiments in mice have found may induce resistance to chemotherapy used to treat cancer.
Family Caregivers Value A Year Of Life For Cancer Patients More Than Patients Do

Family Caregivers Value A Year Of Life For Cancer Patients More Than Patients Do

Apr 02 2015 | comment(s)

Stage IV cancer patients and their caregivers don't agree on the value of another year of life versus other end-of-life improvements.

Cancer is an expensive proposition emotionally and also financially. High-cost treatments may result in only moderate improvements in length or quality of life. Because such decisions are very difficult for patients to make, in some cases the decision is entirely deferred to a family caregiver.  
Alcoholism Knocks Off An Average 7.6 Years Of Life And Leads To 27 More Illnesses

Alcoholism Knocks Off An Average 7.6 Years Of Life And Leads To 27 More Illnesses

Apr 02 2015 | comment(s)


Alcoholism can not just ruin your life, it can shorten it - an average of 7.6 years shoter for those hospitalized compared to hospital patients without it, according to patient data from various general hospitals in Manchester, England.

The long-term observational study included a 12.5-year period. The researchers analyzed co-morbid physical illnesses of 23,371 hospital patients with alcohol dependence and compared them with those of a control group of 233,710 randomly selected patients without alcoholism. 
Easter Bonus - Eggs Linked To Reduced Type 2 Diabetes

Easter Bonus - Eggs Linked To Reduced Type 2 Diabetes

Apr 02 2015 | comment(s)


Type 2 diabetes is becoming increasingly widespread throughout the world and lifestyle habits, such as exercise and nutrition, are the biggest culprits.
The Pagan Roots Of Easter

The Pagan Roots Of Easter

Apr 02 2015 | comment(s)

Teaching any sort of academic program with religious content can be a tricky undertaking. Religious passions, whether pro or con, can be volatile; religion is a matter about which people can become upset.

My doctoral studies were in the relatively safe arena of Greek philosophy – no-one really cares what you say about Socrates and his mates these days – but I taught Religious Studies for many years and it was, by comparison, a minefield of sensitivities. In all those years, however, I managed to only really upset somebody once.

Sabina, A Robot Domestic Learns When You Show Her

Sabina, A Robot Domestic Learns When You Show Her

Apr 02 2015 | comment(s)

In the 1942 short story "Runaround", author Isaac Asimov came up with Three Laws of Robotics and those fictional ethics have captivated engineers ever since.

Maintaining the spirit of Asimov, Dr. Eduardo Morales Manzanares of the National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics (INAOE) in Mexico has developed robots with artificial intelligence that don’t require specialized personnel to be controlled.

Instead, software allows the robot named Sabina to be able to learn with the guide of the user, either through a remote control or through voice commands or simply by showing the automaton tasks, as one would teach a toddler. That means anyone can program it without being an expert in robotics
This Year Easter Falls On The Correct Date According To Newton

This Year Easter Falls On The Correct Date According To Newton

Apr 02 2015 | comment(s)

The most probable date for Good Friday is April 3, 33 AD. This date is due to Isaac Newton.

Easter is that holiday that wanders around in the calendar and which you never quite know when will take place. Some get annoyed by that, but frankly I find it charming. But when did the crucifixion of Jesus really take place?

Questions like these were of much concern to Isaac Newton (1642-1726), surprisingly, since he is best known for gravitation and planetary orbits.

Locked And Non-locked Plating For Fractures: In Debated Surgical Procedure, Technique Trumps Technology

Locked And Non-locked Plating For Fractures: In Debated Surgical Procedure, Technique Trumps Technology

Apr 01 2015 | comment(s)

Modern technology for healing distal femur fractures is as safe and effective as its more established alternative, but without the potential shortfall of the older approach.

A new study found that when done correctly, there are no significant differences between "locked plating" and "non-locked plating" in terms of healing rates, need for corrective surgery, or hardware failure.