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Gene Mutations In Yeast Cells Predict Severity Of Batten Disease

Gene Mutations In Yeast Cells Predict Severity Of Batten Disease

Dec 22 2008 | comment(s)

Scientists report that human gene mutations expressed in yeast cells can predict the severity of Batten Disease, a fatal nervous system disorder that begins during childhood. The new study published in Disease Models&Mechanisms (DMM) describes how the extent of changes in mutated cells paralleled the severity of symptoms seen in humans. 
Used Coffee Grounds Equals Biofuel?

Used Coffee Grounds Equals Biofuel?

Dec 22 2008 | comment(s)

Researchers in Nevada are reporting that waste coffee grounds can provide a cheap, abundant, and environmentally friendly source of biodiesel fuel for powering cars and trucks. Their study appears in the current online issue of ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication.

In the new study, Mano Misra, Susanta Mohapatra, and Narasimharao Kondamudi note that the major barrier to wider use of biodiesel fuel is lack of a low-cost, high quality source, or feedstock, for producing that new energy source. Spent coffee grounds contain between 11 and 20 percent oil by weight. That's about as much as traditional biodiesel feedstocks such as rapeseed, palm, and soybean oil.
Quantum Cascade Laser Discovery Yields New Lower Power Version

Quantum Cascade Laser Discovery Yields New Lower Power Version

Dec 22 2008 | comment(s)

Researchers say they have discovered an entirely new mechanism for making common electronic materials emit laser beams. The finding could lead to lasers that operate more efficiently and at higher temperatures than existing devices, and find applications in environmental monitoring and medical diagnostics. 
Some Premature Babies Less Aware Of Heat And Cold Later In Life

Some Premature Babies Less Aware Of Heat And Cold Later In Life

Dec 22 2008 | comment(s)

Premature infants who need intensive care or surgery are less sensitive to thermal (hot and cold) sensations later in life, according to research conducted at UCL (University College London). The study, published in the journal Pain, suggests that pain and injury related to major medical interventions in early development may alter how children respond to painful stimuli much later in life. 
Who's More Charitable - Liberals or Conservatives?

Who's More Charitable - Liberals or Conservatives?

Dec 22 2008 | comment(s)

To be honest, I don't really care about the answer to this question. But read this Kristof NY Times column, and see if you're convinced of the answer. It's time to practice your critical thinking skills - questions you should ask about the claims presented in this column are exactly the sorts of questions you should ask when you read a press report about any statistics-based study, especially medical research.

Here is the basic result Kristof is talking about:

Arthur Brooks, the author of a book on donors to charity, “Who Really Cares,” cites data that households headed by conservatives give 30 percent more to charity than households headed by liberals. A study by Google found an even greater disproportion: average annual contributions reported by conservatives were almost double those of liberals.
Ancient African Exodus 60,000 Years Ago Mostly Men

Ancient African Exodus 60,000 Years Ago Mostly Men

Dec 21 2008 | comment(s)

Even 60,000 years ago men had the wanderlust more than women.   Or they left families behind until they knew what they would find.

For one reason or another, the modern humans left Africa in a migration that many believe was responsible for nearly all of the human population that exist outside Africa today didn't have men and women as equal equal partners in that exodus. By tracing variations in the X chromosome and in the non-sex chromosomes, researchers from Harvard say they have found evidence that men outnumbered women in that migration.
Feynman Meets YouTube

Feynman Meets YouTube

Dec 21 2008 | comment(s)

A friend was telling me the other day about a class he plans on taking on the philosophy of science. When I hear philosophy of science, I immediately think Richard Feynman. Feynman was, of course, not a philosopher, but a scientist par excellence. His lectures are filled with insights like these:

There is always the possibility of proving any definite [well-defined] theory wrong; but notice that we can never proce it right. Suppose that you invent a good guess, calculate the consequences, and discover every time that the consequences you have calculated agree with experiment. The theory is then right? No, it is simple not proved wrong. In the future you could compute a wider range of consequences, there could be a wider range of experiments, and you might then discover that the thing is wrong... We never are definitely right, we can only be sure we are wrong.


Carbon Nanotubes - 'Smart' Material For The Brain?

Carbon Nanotubes - 'Smart' Material For The Brain?

Dec 21 2008 | comment(s)

Research done by scientists in Italy and Switzerland has shown that carbon nanotubes may be the ideal “smart” brain material. Their results in Nature Nanotechnology are a promising step forward in the search to find ways to “bypass” faulty brain wiring.

The research shows that carbon nanotubes, which, like neurons, are highly electrically conductive, form extremely tight contacts with neuronal cell membranes. Unlike the metal electrodes that are currently used in research and clinical applications, the nanotubes can create shortcuts between the distal and proximal compartments of the neuron, resulting in enhanced neuronal excitability. 
Species and diversity

Species and diversity

Dec 21 2008 | comment(s)

In my recent post on Mexican dry forest, I mentioned the fact that about 80% of the species in the genus Bursera were endemic to Mexico.  Things like that tend to jump out at you.  Why are there so many species in one area, relative to the rest of its range?
Discovery - G9a Gene Triggers Differentiation Of Embryonic Cells

Discovery - G9a Gene Triggers Differentiation Of Embryonic Cells

Dec 21 2008 | comment(s)

At a very early stage of human development, all cells of the embryo are identical, but unlike adult cells are very flexible and carry within them the potential to become any tissue type, whether it be muscle, skin, liver or brain. 

This cell differentiation process begins at about the time that the embryo settles into the uterus. In terms of the inner workings of the cell, this involves two main control mechanisms. On the one hand, the genes that keep the embryo in their fully potent state are turned off, and at the same time, tissue-specific genes are turned on. By activating a certain set of genes, the embryo can make muscle cells. By turning on a different set, these same immature cells can become liver. Other gene sets are responsible for additional tissues.
Balloons Over Brazil

Balloons Over Brazil

Dec 21 2008 | comment(s)

An experiment, carried out from a stratospheric balloon floating 35 km above the Brazilian jungle, to validate one of the instruments operating on the meteorological satellite MetOp was also used to support preparations for the candidate Earth Explorer TRAQ mission.
 
ESA Makes Global Land Cover Map Available

ESA Makes Global Land Cover Map Available

Dec 21 2008 | comment(s)

ESA’s global land cover map, which is ten times sharper than any previous global satellite map, is now available to the public online from the GlobCover website. It is the highest resolution land cover map that has been completely validated ever released.
 
Sixteen experts validated the map using more than 3 000 reference land cover points and showed it had an overall accuracy of 73% weighted by area for its 22 land cover classes. The map’s legend was developed using the United Nation Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) Land Cover Classification System (LCCS).  
 
Target Alcohol And Smoking In Teens And You Get Sex Too

Target Alcohol And Smoking In Teens And You Get Sex Too

Dec 21 2008 | comment(s)

Teenage sexuality spiked in the 1970s and 1980s and then began to decline.   Part of the reason is targeting alcohol, drugs and smoking.  It turns out that while sexual behavior can vary considerably among teens, nonsexual risk behaviors are similar among them, according to study findings from the Journal of Adolescent Health .
Big Sugar Won't Like This Princeton Study On Addiction

Big Sugar Won't Like This Princeton Study On Addiction

Dec 21 2008 | comment(s)

Almost anything can be considered colloquially 'addictive' if you like it enough - computer games, Reese's Peant Butter Cups, reading Scientific Blogging articles and the best science blogs on the planet.

Clinical addiction is another issue, though, and Princeton University Professor Bart Hoebel and his team in the Department of Psychology and the Princeton Neuroscience Institute say they have evidence that sugar can be an addictive substance, wielding its power over the brains of lab animals in a manner similar to many drugs of abuse.

So now sugar addiction can overtake "I have a thyroid condition" as the number one  excuse obese people use in America.
Earthquake Social Aftershocks - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Runs In Families

Earthquake Social Aftershocks - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Runs In Families

Dec 20 2008 | comment(s)

Earthquakes have aftershocks — not just the geological kind but the mental kind as well. Just like veterans of war, earthquake survivors can experience post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety. 

In 1988, a massive earthquake in Armenia killed 17,000 people and destroyed nearly half the town of Gumri. Now, in the first multigenerational study of its kind, UCLA researchers studying survivors of that catastrophe have discovered that vulnerability to PTSD, anxiety and depression runs in families. 
Scientific Blogging Features - Let's Add Some More Social Media

Scientific Blogging Features - Let's Add Some More Social Media

Dec 20 2008 | comment(s)

Probably tomorrow I am going to do an advanced 'primer' on all the features we have here because I know most people don't even read the FAQ - and that's okay, you shouldn't have to read a FAQ to read an article or leave a comment, but for more exotic stuff and experienced users/contributors, it wouldn't hurt to have a short document that highlights the big stuff that goes beyond the FAQ.

For now, I will just highlight the big (non bug-related) things we did this week.

Corkboard
Top Ten Science Picks

Top Ten Science Picks

Dec 20 2008 | comment(s)

Chose my chemistry picks
Knew it was coming.
Let's see Science's tricks
Got the list humming?





1. Cellular reprogramming
2. Exoplanets
3. Cancer genes
4. High temperature superconducting materials
5. Proteins' work
6. Excess renewable energy storage
7. Embryo video
8. Good fat to fight
9. World weight calculation
10. Genome sequencing





ScientificBlogging.com has been plugging
Quite well, on plotting
Except one, World's Weight*
Who knew "that" quantum(ing)!

UAE To Get French Healthcare Services

UAE To Get French Healthcare Services

Dec 20 2008 | comment(s)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, December 20 /PRNewswire/ --

- ExHealth Initiates Agreement Between Day Care Surgical Hospitals of Sharjah and Paris, Setting New Trends in Globalization of Healthcare and Medical Tourism

Sharjah Corniche Hospital, an approaching high-tech healthcare institute and The International Institute of Ambulatory Surgery (IIAmbS), a trend-setter of general and laparoscopic surgery, based in Paris, announced the signing of Memorandum of Understanding recently to form a new entity of encouraging French medical care and services in UAE.

Packers Plus(R) Completes A Very Successful Multi-Stage Frac In China

Packers Plus(R) Completes A Very Successful Multi-Stage Frac In China

Dec 20 2008 | comment(s)

CALGARY, December 20 /PRNewswire/ --

- Open-Hole Multi-Stage Completion Technology a Huge Success

Packers Plus recently completed a very successful open hole multi-stage frac in China.

We completed a 5 stage multi-stage completion in China for a new client earlier this year, said Packers Plus International Operations General Manager, Jim Athans. It was a text book job and the entire well operation went very smoothly. The well has exceeded the customer's expectations.

This is the first open-hole multi-stage completion that has been completed for this customer and because of the success of this job, there is a potential for more work in this region, said Athans.

Climate Shifts May Occur Faster Than Projections

Climate Shifts May Occur Faster Than Projections

Dec 20 2008 | comment(s)

We haven't always been warming.  The circle of climate change has made 90% of the planet's history ice ages and many of those swings were sudden and dramatic.  And it could happen that way again, within decades, says a new government report.

It contends that seas could rise rapidly if melting of polar ice continues to outrun recent projections and that an ongoing drought in the U.S. west could be the start of permanent drying for the region. Commissioned by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, the report was authored by researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and other leading institutions. It was released at this week's meeting of the American Geophysical Union.