The subject of RNA has come up in a number of scientific developments recently. It seems that RNA occurs in more forms and plays more roles within cells than scientists have previously supposed. Some of the important forms that RNA can take have been...
Stuff I forgot to mention about memory
And speaking of memory here and here, there's recent research I forgot to mention. Oh, the irony. (Damn! I sure hope someone comes up with a memory pill, and fast.)First up is a gene named Kibra. It's expressed in the hippocampus, and has been found...
Folate and cancer
I must admit I don't really understand all the hubbub about folate and cancer. First we have this strange business where some say that low levels of folate in one's diet either increase the risk of colon cancer, or else decrease it. Take your pick.And...
High energy cosmic rays
Astrophysicists have wondered for a long time where cosmic rays come from, especially the most energetic ones.A couple of recent research reports identify two different sources. The first of these is our old friend, Cassiopeia A:Chandra discovers relativistic...
Biological basis of aggression
Is it typical in animal species that there are significant, genetic differences between males and females in common behavior? The answer is yes, apparently, for fruit flies. And there is even a single gene whose slightly different forms in males and...
NASA's Spitzer Peels Back Layers of Star's Explosion
NASA's Spitzer Peels Back Layers of Star's ExplosionAstronomers using NASA's infrared Spitzer Space Telescope have discovered that an exploded star, named Cassiopeia A, blew up in a somewhat orderly fashion, retaining much of its original onion-like...
This is pathetic
Snap judgments about candidates are the best way to pick winners, study suggestsAfter watching ten-second silent video clips of competing gubernatorial candidates, participants in the study were able to pick the winning candidate at a rate significantly...
Online Activity for Kids
The Saint Louis Zoo has an online activity to help kids learn more about animals and conservation efforts around the world.Introducing Club ConservationClub Conservation is a new a way for kids to become part of the solution and make a tangible difference...
Alternative splicing
Not so very long ago it used to be that molecular biologists thought that for every protein in the body there was a specific gene, and every gene contained the instructions for making just one protein. Then, when the human genome was completely mapped...
Improving your memory
Who wouldn't like to have a better memory? Probably nobody, except maybe Solomon Shereshevskii or the fictional Ireneo Funes.Neuroscientists are coming up with various small steps towards better memory:Scientists Use Gene Therapy To Improve Memory And...
Hacking Video
The video tutorials section that Remote Exploit has is great, but it seems that some of the links are down now (like CrimeMachine). My buddy Reid snagged some of the old videos with Bittorent when someone posted them, I mirror them here to keep them...
Importance of Scientific Literacy. Part 2
I am a member of the world's largest Scientific Society, AAAS. AAAS is the American Association for the Advancement of Science. It is an international non-profit organization dedicated to advancing science around the world by serving as an educator,...
Hubble Finds Evidence for Dark Energy in the Young Universe
NASA's Hubble Finds Evidence for Dark Energy in the Young UniverseScientists using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have discovered that dark energy is not a new constituent of space, but rather has been present for most of the universe's history. Dark...
George & Martha - the nation's first couple (of bald eagles)
Enjoying urban wildlife is for everyone, not just scientists. Visit the links that detail public interaction with a pair of bald Eagles in the Washngton, D.C. Area.The Washington Post featured several stories about the pair this summer.(April 2006-October...
What makes humans smarter than chimps?
Why have geneticists considered complete sequencing of the genomes of a variety of species so important? One reason (of many) is what we learn by comparing these other genomes with the human genome. And if you consider the genome of a close relative...
Low folate diets and colorectal cancer - WTF?
Folates are a type of B vitamin. Some studies show that a deficiency of folates is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer:Low folate diets found to increase risk of colorectal cancerInterestingly enough, a deficiency of folates also decreases...
Beyond Einstein
Here's the second article in a series I'm going to do on NASA's advanced astrophysics and cosmology science program, which they've called "Beyond Einstein". The first in the series is here. It provides background on the Bush administration's lamentable...
NASA 2007 science budget
This is old news. The main purpose of this post is to provide historical references for something I'm going to write more about, and to give a general flavor of the controversy over NASA's science budget.On February 6, 2006 the Bush administration delivered...
Philosophia Naturalis #3 has been published
And you can find it right now, at geek counterpoint. Don't miss it – it's really good.Thanks, Lorne, for a fine j...
Interesting visitors - Manatees in the Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is home to many aquatic creatures, the most note-able of which is the catfish. But recently, a manatee was found swimming in the great river in Memphis, Tennessee. No doubt, this fellow was lost. It is normally found in warmer waters,...
Inflation and the cosmic microwave background
About three weeks ago I wrote a little about the cosmic microwave background (CMB), and talked about writing more. So here's a little more. The CMB is microwave radiation we can (almost) literally "see" even though it originated only about 350,000 years...
Dawkins vs. Haggard
Ted Haggard is the evangelical mega-star currently in the news because... well, you know. Everyone knows who Richard Dawkins is, but he's currently in the news because of his new book The God Delusion.So it's interesting that Dawkins interviewed Haggard...
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