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Hey Buddy, Wanna Be a Research Test Subject?
2007-04-18 04:26:00
Sometimes the easiest way to contribute to scientific advancement is not to be the scientist, but to be the lab rat. Research projects across the country and around the world need subjects for their test and control groups. The two means they have for getting subjects into their tests is by recruiting and by accepting volunteers. Recruiting happens when the researchers target people with specific conditions, usually by working through a network of doctors who treat whatever condition they are trying to treat. The doctors recruit the patients and, if the patients consent, the doctors sign them up for the trials and are usually available to administer the treatments and provide follow-up care as part of the study. Volunteers, on the other hand, take a proactive step to contact the research center or some agent in order to volunteer for the trial. I use the term "volunteer" loosely here, because in many of these studies, the volunteers are compensated (in cash, free medical care ...
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Studies Pinpoint Cause of ALS
2007-04-16 17:34:00
Two studies published in Nature Neuroscience may show new ways to treat the degenerative nerve disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which slowly paralyzes its victims until they die. Both studies showed that a specific type of nerve cells, called astrocytes, turn toxic when they carry a mutated gene called SOD1, which has previously been linked with ALS. When SOD1 is mutated in astrocytes, one of the nourishing proteins apparently turns toxic. When the researchers grew astrocytes with mutated SOD1, they killed the neighboring mouse motor neuron cells. This research may lead to new methods of detecting ALS earlier, and eventually to options for arresting the progress of the disease by neutralizing the protein that causes the cells to die.
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Hey Buddy, Wanna Be a Satellite Software Developer?
2007-04-13 16:35:00
I know it's been a while since I wrote a post in this series, but I just found an exciting new opportunity for people like you and me to participate in the advancement of science and technology. Wired Magazine reports on a new effort by NASA to develop software for satellites in the public domain through open-source software development projects. The program was launched quietly last year under NASA's CoLab entrepreneur outreach program, created by Robert Schingler, 28, and Jessy Cowan-Sharp, 25, of NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. Members of the CosmosCode group have been meeting in Second Life and will open the program to the public in the coming weeks, organizers said. I'm pretty excited about this opportunity, personally. Not only am I a science-and-technology nerd (as should be obvious from reading this blog), but I'm also a software developer. CosmosCode is my chance to take part in the creation of software for satellites and actually contrib...
More About: Software , Satellite , Developer , Buddy , Lite

3D Solar Cells Boost Efficiency, Reduce Size and Weight
2007-04-12 22:06:00
A team of researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute has designed new three-dimensional solar cells that absorb almost all of the light that hits them and could boost the efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) systems while reducing their size, weight and mechanical complexity. The GTRI photovoltaic cells trap light between their tower structures, which are about 100 microns tall, 40 microns by 40 microns square, 10 microns apart -- and built from arrays containing millions of vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes. Conventional flat solar cells reflect a significant portion of the light that strikes them, reducing the amount of energy they absorb. Because the tower structures can trap and absorb light received from many different angles, the new cells remain efficient even when the sun is not directly overhead. That could allow them to be used on spacecraft without the mechanical aiming systems that maintain a constant orientation to the sun, reducing weight and complexity ? and im...
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51 Things: Plant a Fence
2007-04-11 20:18:00
Number 26 on TIME Magazine's list of 51 Thing s We Can Do to fight global warming now is to plant a bamboo fence. Bamboo makes an attractive fence, and it consumes more carbon than many other plants when allowed to grow. Most homeowners have to restrict its growth, lest it get out of control. Do this, however, and you reduce bamboo's capacity as a carbon sink. Only large-scale plantings, which absorb CO2 faster than they release it, can favorably tip the scales. Plan ting a fence also saves on the carbon production that would have gone into manufacturing a fence from wood, metal, or plastic. If you have a homeowners' association, make sure you check with them before planting your fence.
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New Promise for Diabetes Treatment Using Stem Cells
2007-04-11 15:50:00
A new research study treated fifteen young diabetics in Brazil, all suffering from Type I diabetes, with stem cells drawn from their own blood. Though too early to call it a cure, the procedure has enabled thirteen of the young people, who have Type I diabetes, to live insulin-free so far, some as long as three years. "It's the first time in the history of Type 1 diabetes where people have gone with no treatment whatsoever ... no medications at all, with normal blood sugars," said study co-author Dr. Richard Burt of Northwestern University's medical school in Chicago. While the procedure can be potentially life-threatening, none of the 15 patients in the study died or suffered lasting side effects. But it didn't work for two of them. Larger, more rigorous studies are needed to determine if stem cell transplants could become standard treatment for people with the disease once called juvenile diabetes. It is less common than Type 2 diabetes, which is associated with obesity. R...
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Nanogenerator Provides Continuous Direct Current
2007-04-07 17:35:00
Researchers at Georgia Tech have developed a prototype nanometer-scale generator that produces continuous direct-current electricity by harvesting mechanical energy from such environmental sources as ultrasonic waves, mechanical vibration or blood flow. Based on arrays of vertically-aligned zinc oxide nanowires that move inside a novel ?zig-zag? plate electrode, the nanogenerators could provide a new way to power nanoscale devices without batteries or other external power sources. The nanogenerators take advantage of the unique coupled piezoelectric and semiconducting properties of zinc oxide nanostructures, which produce small electrical charges when they are flexed. Fabrication begins with growing an array of vertically-aligned nanowires approximately a half-micron apart on gallium arsenide, sapphire or a flexible polymer substrate. A layer of zinc oxide is grown on top of substrate to collect the current. The researchers also fabricate silicon ?zig-zag? electrodes, which conta...
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51 Things: Let Employees Work Close to Home
2007-04-05 18:59:00
Number 13 on TIME Magazine's list of 51 Things We Can Do to fight global warming now is to let your employees work closer to home. Gene Mullins, a software developer in Seattle, created a program that helps firms slash the time employees spend driving by matching them with work closer to home. By spending less time driving, employees use less fuel (and spend less time commuting). Using less fuel saves the employees some money and reduces the amount of pollutants going into the atmosphere. Of course, an even better solution is to let employees work from home, and that's exactly what the Federal government is considering.
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MIT Researchers Teach Computer to See Like a Person
2007-04-05 17:09:00
A team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created a computer visualization model that mimics the way humans see and interpret images. The computer model, designed to mimic the way the brain itself processes visual information, performs as well as humans do on rapid categorization tasks. The model even tends to make similar errors as humans, possibly because it so closely follows the organization of the brain?s visual system. This new study supports a long?held hypothesis that rapid categorization happens without any feedback from cognitive or other areas of the brain. The results also indicate that the model can help neuroscientists make predictions and drive new experiments to explore brain mechanisms involved in human visual perception, cognition, and behavior. Deciphering the relative contribution of feed-forward and feedback processing may eventually help explain neuropsychological disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. The model also bridge...
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Mind-Machine Interface Takes a Step Forward
2007-04-04 17:41:00
In a laboratory at the University of Southern California, a team of researchers has found a way to engineer a brain implant that can re-create thoughts, Popular Science reports. The revolutionary device could be used to treat brain damage or memory loss. The chip represents a hardware version of the brain cells in your hippocampus that are crucial to the formation of memory. At the moment, the chip models fewer than 12,000 neurons, compared with the 100 billion or so present in a human brain. Still, even this small number represents a stunning achievement in the field of neuro-engineering. The next big challenge, the researchers say, is to make the chip fully bidirectional, so that it can both generate and receive signals, just like a real cell. For anyone (like me) who has a family history of memory loss (at least, I think I do... it's hard to remember...), a device like this could be just what the doctor ordered.
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PTO Invalidates Three Human Stem Cell Patents
2007-04-03 22:53:00
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has invalidated three patents covering human stem cells that were issued to the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. This is good news for anyone who hopes to develop treatments for illnesses and injuries based on human stem cells, because the three patents have been blamed for slowing research in the highly visible field of regenerative medicine. The PTO ruled the discovery of embryonic stem cells from primates--including humans--was not worthy of patent protection because scientists had used similar methods to isolate embryonic stem cells from mice and other mammals, and described the cells' potential for producing medical therapies. It's too early to say for sure what affect this is going to have, because these results are still preliminary. WARF's attorneys have two months to respond to the concerns; if they don't succeed they can take the case to the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. If the patents are not reinstated, the f...
More About: Cell , Human , Stem Cell , Patents , Uman

51 Things: Cozy Up to Your Water Heater
2007-04-03 17:56:00
Number 21 on TIME Magazine's list of 51 Thing s We Can Do to fight global warming now is one of the simplest: wrap your water heater with a thermal blanket. The cost? $10-20. The benefit? Your water heater will lose less heat over time, lowering your bill for electricity or gas (depending on your type of water heater), lowering your bills and your household carbon emissions (approximately 250 lbs. of CO2 per year). For the price, I plan to do this for my apartment. There's not much I can think of that will have this much effect for such a small, one-time price.
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Researchers Identify New Target for Blocking Cancer Cell Metastasis
2007-04-02 16:05:00
Last week, the Van Andel Institute announced that its researchers have identified a protein involved in cancer cell metastasis, called DIP. DIP binds to and inhibits the activity of mDia2, a protein that works to control tumor cell metastasis, or the development of secondary tumors away from the primary cancer site. When DIP binds to mDia2, it causes the affected cells to change shape and bubble, or bleb. This cell blebbing inhibits the control mDia2 has over tumor cell metastasis and may lead to development of secondary tumors. If researchers can find a compound that will inhibit DIP, they believe it could prevent cancer cells from metastasizing, vastly improving the survivability of many forms of cancer.
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Do Your Part to Fight Global Warming
2007-03-30 18:01:00
I stumbled today on a website, Carbonfund.org, that offers information and action steps for reducing your personal or family carbon footprint. In addition, the site runs a carbon offset service whereby you can pay (donate) money to Carbonfund.org to offset your personal or family carbon footprint. The money donated is used by Carbonfund.org on offset programs such as helping support alternative energy programs and buying (and retiring) carbon offsets on global and regional trading markets. When you make your contribution to their program, you get a choice of how you want your donation to be spent, including options such as alternative energy, energy efficiency, and re-forestation. Improving the environment starts with individuals like you and me, and making a donation to Carbonfund.org is an excellent first step. In addition, Time Magazine has a list of 51 things you can do to personally help in the fight against global warming. I'm going to be highlighting some of the ones I ...
More About: Global Warming , Fight , War , Global , Your

SpaceX Falcon 1 Launched Successfully
2007-03-21 13:50:00
Congratulations to Elon Musk and his team at Space X on the successful launch of their Falcon 1 rocket late yesterday (or early today GMT). Unfortunately, I lost the video feed and couldn't get it back, so I didn't get to watch the launch. So you'll have to get your launch information from Mr. Musk himself: The second test launch of Falcon 1 took place today at 6:10 pm California time. The launch was not perfect, but certainly pretty good. Given that the primary objectives were demonstrating responsive launch and gathering test data in advance of our first operational satellite launch later this year, the outcome was great. Operationally responsive (ie fast) launch has become an increasingly important national security objective, so demonstrating rapid loading of propellents and launch in less than an hour, as well as a rapid recycle following the first engine ignition are major accomplishments. We retired almost all of the significant development risk items, in particular...
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SpaceX Launch to Re-Attempt Launch Today
2007-03-20 14:00:00
EDIT (7:17 PM Central): They apparently fixed whatever went wrong (about 0.4 seconds before launch, if what I overheard was correct), and they are going to re-start the countdown for another attempt after un-fueling and re-fueling the rocket. EDIT (7:06 PM Central): Another abort, this time at ignition. They actually ignited the rocket, and immediately aborted the launch. At this time, they are attempting to figure out what went wrong, and I suspect we'll know something by tomorrow or the next day. EDIT: Launch time is now 5:05 PM Pacific time (which is 7:05 PM here in the Midwest). EDIT: Elon Musk posted this update this morning: The abort that occurred a few minutes before T-0 was triggered by our ground control software. It commanded a switchover of range telemetry from landline to radio, which took place correctly, however, because of the hardware involved, this transition takes a few hundred milliseconds. Before it had time to complete, our system verification software ...
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SpaceX to Attempt Second Launch Today
2007-03-19 14:22:00
SpaceX announced yesterday that all systems are go for their attempt to launch their second Falcon 1 rocket, and that the launch would be at 11:00 GMT (6:00 PM, if you're on Central Time, like I am) today. The launch will be webcast on their site starting an hour before the slated launch time. Due to their cautious nature (after their first attempt, last year, sprung a fuel leak and crashed), there is still a very real chance that this launch attempt will also be delayed. I'll post any updates as they become available.
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SpaceX Test Firing Successful
2007-03-17 18:25:00
According to the Space X website, the company successfully completed its static test firing on Thursday with no engine anomalies found. They did, however, detect an anomaly from the GPS portion of the guidance system fifteen minutes after the static firing. The GPS is not a critical system, however, as it is only a backup to the inertial guidance system. At this time, the company still expects to launch in the coming week, so keep your eyes open. They will be webcasting the launch when it happens. They also have two videos of the static firing, one at medium distance and one up close.
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A New Way to Do Research from Home
2007-03-15 17:06:00
I've blogged on a number of occasions about distributed computing, which allows you to contribute your unused computing power to advance scientific research, because I think that's the single biggest thing most of us can do right now to improve the state of science and technology. But now you can do even more. The Folding@Home project at Stanford University has new client software for their protein folding simulation that will allow it to run on a Sony PlayStation 3. According to the Folding@Home website, with about 10,000 PS3s online, the researchers would be able to achieve performance on the petaflop scale. With software from Sony, the PlayStation 3 will now be able to contribute to the Folding@Home project, pushing Folding@Home a major step forward.
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Be More
2007-03-15 14:59:00
Wired has an article today about the U.S. military's efforts to improve the capabilities of its soldiers. While the article mostly focuses on defense applications, the two main efforts they highlight have applications beyond the military. One that I found interesting was a device called "the Glove", which is used to help regulate body temperature. Their researchers discovered that muscle fatigue turns out to actually be caused not by the loss of stored sugars, but rather because they overheat. The Glove cools the blood as it circulates, and their tests demonstrate that such a simple act can increase endurance dramatically (one of the researchers demonstrates by doing 600 pull-ups, and the other by doing 1,000 push-ups... on his 60th birthday). A prototype of the Glove also can be used to warm the blood in frigid conditions, allowing for better regulation of body temperatures in extreme conditions. The article also highlights research into a method of putting animals (and pote...
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Engineers Create Micro-Factory
2007-03-14 20:52:00
Engineers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have developed and demonstrated a one-square centimeter device they call the "micromanipulator station" that uses agile, human-like fingers that can assemble micromachines made of micron-sized parts. The device still has a number of problems to overcome, such as adhesion of particles to the "fingers". It is, however, a step in the direction of creating nano-factories that will eventually be able to create machines at the nano-scale.
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Exercise Helps Fight Aging-Related Memory Loss
2007-03-13 16:56:00
A new study conducted by Columbia University Medical Center has uncovered direct evidence of the link between exercise and better memory. Most people's memory begins to fade after age 30 due to degradation of an area of the brain known as the dentate gyrus. Exercise , the research shows, increases the flow of blood to this area of the brain, stimulating growth of new cells and allows for better memory retention. So the next time you have something you need to remember, take a break from cramming and get some exercise... you'll be able to better remember the things you need to know.
More About: Memory , Fight , Loss , Aging

Study Shows Stem Cells Useful for Treating Brain Diseases
2007-03-12 15:20:00
According to a study reported in Nature Medicine, a test conducted recently on mice by researchers at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research shows that stem cells can be used to treat degenerative brain diseases. For the study, the scientists implanted human stem cells (both embryonic and fetal) into the brains of mice inflicted with the equivalent of Sandhoff disease (which is similar to Tay-sachs). The stem cells spread through the brain, taking the place of neural cells killed by the disease. The researchers noted no problems associated with the stem cell treatment. No tumors formed, the mice did not "reject" the foreign cells, and the treatment seemed to reduce inflammation. The treated mice lived 70 percent longer than untreated mice. The disease eventually came back, but the researchers believe they could keep it at bay by giving booster injections of the stem cells to take over the functions of the mutated natural brain cells.
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A Low-cost, Home-built Rapic Prototyping Machine?
2007-03-07 22:29:00
Rapid prototyping machines--or 3-D printers--use a small nozzle that scans back and forth across a surface, depositing tiny droplets of quick-hardening plastic. After each scan, the nozzle moves up a notch and scans again until it has built up the complete object, layer by layer. With multiple nozzles or a means of swapping supply cartridges, the machine can create objects made of many different materials. An electronic circuit, for example, can be made by combining an organic semiconductor, metallic inks and ceramic insulators. Price tags for these machines average around $100,000, but you can now build your own for about $2,300 worth of off-the-shelf parts, thanks to the work of a Cornell University engineering professor. The prototype--called Fab@Home --is slower than commercial models and it doesn't have the same fine detail resolution, but for the price it definitely has its uses. Additionally, since the system is home-built from plans available online, you can modify the...
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Can Colors Impair Performance?
2007-03-05 19:23:00
Research reported by the University of Rochester last week indicates that test takers seeing even a glimpse of the color red perform significanctly worse on standardized tests than those who don't see red. Four experiments demonstrated that the brief perception of red prior to an important test—such as an IQ test or a major exam—actually impaired performance. Two further experiments also established the link between red and avoidance motivation when task choice and psychophysiological measures were applied. Useful information for those of us who will likely be in school for the rest of our lives (I'm never going to run out of things I want to understand better).
More About: Performance , Color , Colors , Pair , Form

Rosetta@home Branches Out
2007-03-05 18:51:00
The Rose tta@home project (which I blogged about in December) has branched out from its original mission of predicting protein structures. David Baker reports in the Rosetta blog that they are working on a way to convert carbon dioxide into simple sugars using enzymes computationally engineered using Rosetta@home. David writes: Graduate student Justin Siegal and postdoc Eric Althoff have come up with a very clever new reaction cycle using new enzymes we would collectively engineer that in total carries out the following reaction: 2C02 + 2e- + H20 -> C2O3H2 + O2 the product is a simple sugar that could be used in a variety of ways, and the removal of C02 from the atmosphere would be great for countering global warming. A nice thing about this compared to current ideas of forming inorganic carbonate compounds is that it requires no other inputs. However, it does require electrons, and hence a source of energy. We are currently assessing the energy requirements of this process and...
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Debating Science: Practical Reasoning and Nanotechnology
2007-03-02 20:33:00
This fall, from September 3, 2007, to December 14, 2007, the University of Montana will be offering a web-based course entitled Debating Science : Practical Reasoning and Nanotechnology . If you want a say in the debate about the utility and safety of nanotechnology, this is your chance. The course instructors are Christopher Preston, an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at The University of Montana, and Catherine Murphy, the Guy F. Lipscomb Professor of Chemistry at the University of South Carolina.
More About: Technology , Techno , Tech

PlanetQuest Update
2007-03-01 20:35:00
I received an email today from Dr. Laurance Doyle, who (among other things) serves as the President of Plane t Quest . PlanetQuest is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to inspire global participation in the discovery of planets. Their goal is to launch a distributed computing project using the BOINC platform that I've blogged about here before. Their software--dubbed Collaboratory--will analyze data from telescopes focused on extremely dense star regions, such as the center of the galaxy in Sagittarius in the hopes of finding planets around other stars. From their website: Discovering a new delta Scuti star, for example, will help astronomers better understand the stability of stars; a new Cepheid variable star would help astronomers determine how far away stars are. Most exciting of all, you could discover a new planet—a never-before-seen world beyond our solar system! You will be credited for your discovery, and your find will be entered into the PlanetQuest ...
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Method Developed for Mapping Neural Connections
2007-03-01 16:50:00
Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have developed a new method for identifying all of the connections to a single neuron in the human brain. Researchers have said they won’t be able to understand the brain until they can put together a map of how billions of neurons are interconnected. The Salk researchers identified the connections by modifying the deadly rabies virus, turning it into a tool that can cross the synaptic space of a targeted nerve cell just once to identify all the neurons to which it is directly connected. With luck and given time, neural science researchers will be able to map all of the connections in the human brain, which will lead to a better understanding of how the brain--and hopefully, human thought and sensory perception--works.
More About: Connection , Connect , Ping , Mapping , Develop

The Debate on the HPV Vaccine
2007-02-28 17:19:00
A lot of fuss has been made recently about Merck's new vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV), GARDASIL®. Legislation has been proposed in several states mandating the HPV vaccine, which has caused an uproar for various reasons. One of the concerns is that making a vaccine mandatory is a big decision that the government would be making for people, leaving them no choice. I can't, personally, think of any reason why a woman might decide that she'd rather just take her chances with cancer, but I suppose there are people who would make that decision. The question becomes, should we let them? Or should we put together a program where the vaccine is freely available, but make it an opt-in situation? Another major reason people have objected is because, it turns out, the main group pushing these legislative actions has been a lobbying firm employed by Merck, who stands to make a sizeable profit off this vaccine, even if it doesn't become mandatory... but an even bigger profi...
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