Group items tagged

"Today the Iowa Department of Education (DE) released a report on achievement levels in Iowa compared to other states. The report also focuses heavily on closing the significant achievement gaps that exist in our state. Here are some very quick reactions that I have to the report…"

"Remember when science was fun? At Genspace it still is. Genspace is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting education in molecular biology for both children and adults. We work inside and outside of traditional settings, providing a safe, supportive environment for training and mentoring in biotechnology."

"Dieter Klemm forscht in zwei Spin-offs der Uni Jena, der "Polymet Jena Association" und der "Jenpolymer Materials", an medizinischen Anwendungen der Nanocellulose. Dabei nutzt er aus, dass sich die Fasernetze schon bei der Synthese in die gewünschte Form etwa als Vlies, Film oder Hohlkörper bringen lassen. Wenn er die Bakterien etwa auf einem Zylinder wachsen lässt, verbinden sich die von ihnen produzierten Fasern zu einer dichten Hülle. Entfernt man die Form, bleibt ein Röhrchen aus Nanocellulose übrig, das sich direkt als Implantat für Blutgefäße einsetzen lässt. Solche Implantate testet Klemm bereits an Tieren"

synthetic biology, International genetically engineered machine competition

"Our ethos: We help people make sense of current discussions rather than taking them back to school We stand up for scientific inquiry, free from stigma, intimidation, hysteria or censorship We want everyone, whatever their experience, to stand up for evidence in public life"

"A team of scientists at Oxford University have printed - yes, printed - what could be the predecessors to usable synthetic human tissue. The researchers released a paper called A Tissue-Like Material, announcing that they created their own version of a 3D printer, saying the current ones on the market couldn't print what they were after, according to PhsyOrg. And what were they after? A protein sack of water that can mold itself into different shapes and perform similar functions to human cells. After developing the printer, the team was able to print out a series of droplets that formed a network of human-like cells that could act like nerves and send electrical signals across the network."

"The unfortunate reality is that a person is likelier build a billion dollar company by writing code than by treating cancer. " (THX James Taylor ‏@JTBiotech ) @Spatzlhirn an @JTBiotech "As with many walks in life, the most glamorous legacies tend to get the most attention and the least are neglected"

"Regardless of the platform, social media interactions require two-way conversations (see Box 2). Joining one of the many preexisting scientific conversations can simultaneously disseminate your own content, expand your online network, and raise your professional visibility. An easy entry point is the ScienceOnline conglomerate (http://scienceonline.com), an enthusiastic group of science communicators ranging from tenured professors to freelance journalists "

"This Disgraceful video was published by the European Commission for a campaign designed to attract more women to a career in science. The commission said that the video had to "speak their language to get their attention" and that it was intended to be "fun, catchy" and strike a chord with young people. "I would encourage everyone to have a look at the wider campaign and the many videos already online of female researchers talking about their jobs and lives," The original video was taken down after it received so many negative comments. "

"Die Universitäten von heute haben ein Problem: Ihnen gehen die Mythen verloren. Als die Alchemisten früher ihre Säfte zusammenmischten, konnte es knallen oder Gold regnen. Darwin und Humboldt erkundeten eine Welt, in der es überall vor allem zwei Dinge gab: Abenteuer und Gefahr. Heute gibt es keine Kontinente mehr zu entdecken, kein Gold zu destillieren. ZEIT Campus 2/13 Dieser Text stammt aus dem aktuellen ZEIT Campus Magazin, das am Kiosk erhältlich ist. Klicken Sie auf das Bild, um auf die Seite des Magazins zu gelangen. Dieser Text stammt aus dem aktuellen ZEIT Campus Magazin, das am Kiosk erhältlich ist. Klicken Sie auf das Bild, um auf die Seite des Magazins zu gelangen. Geblieben ist theoretischer Wettstreit: Wer entwickelt eine noch abgefahrenere Theorie? Ein noch besseres Modell? Das ist nicht nichts. Aber etwas fehlt. Bei unserer Arbeit vollbringen wir keine Wunder, keine Narben zeugen von Heldenmut.Vielleicht gibt es deshalb so viele neurotische Profs: Sie müssen den Verlust des Abenteuers in ihrem Forscherleben kompensieren"

"Seit über 140 Jahren wissen wir bereits, dass der Mensch die angeborene Fähigkeit besitzt, nur bis zu vier Objekte korrekt zu erkennen, wenn das Zählen strikt verhindert wird. Auch viele Wirbeltiere sowie die Arbeiterinnen der Honigbiene, die wie alle Tiere natürlich unfähig sind zu zählen, können sich bis zu vier Objekte merken. Diese angeborene, Menschen und Tieren gemeinsame numerische Kompetenz regt zu interessanten Fragen zum Nutzen und zur Evolution dieser Fähigkeit an. Die "magische" Zahl Vier ist offensichtlich ein neurologisches, historisches und mythologisches Rätsel."

"Ich bin nicht Wissenschaftlerin geworden, um mit den Medien zu sprechen. Aber mit der Zeit habe ich verstanden, dass ich das tun muss... WIE WICHTIG GRUNDLAGENFORSCHUNG ist... Meine Mitarbeiter waren allerdings nicht begeistert davon, diese Idee in einem Experiment zu testen. Wir standen kurz vor dem Umzug nach Umeå, und niemand wollte „noch eine verrückte Idee" testen."

"Conversations in Science with Jennifer Doudna"

Jorge Cham : Science News Cycle

"I simply cannot believe that John Cook of Skeptical Science and psychologist Stephan Lewandowsky managed, in just 8 pages, to create something as magnificent as their new Debunking Handbook. It is packed not only with wonderful graphics, but also with a clear explanation of why many attempts to defeat misinformation fail, and what steps must be taken to do a better job. The core issue, of course, is one that I've written much about-too many scientists assume that that facts win out on their own, but that isn't actually true"

"We often think that the limiting factors to doing science are intellectual or technological. There are many unsolved scientific problems that we know how to answer. We aren't waiting for any conceptual breakthroughs or new technologies. We're waiting for people. We need "hands at the bench" to put in the time to collect the data. The instabilities of salary is a major limiting factor for science and is probably a big reason a lot of them get out of science: they don't see a way to pay the bills. Creating permanent, stable positions for scientists would release a lot of scientific research."

Science is an assault on ignorance, Its legacies are concepts, technologies and databases. As with many walks in life, the most glamorous legacies tend to get the most attention and the least are neglected

The book is about networked science: the use of online tools to transform the way science is done. In the book I make the case that networked science has the potential to dramatically speed up the rate of scientific discovery, not just in one field, but across all of science. Furthermore, it won't just speed up discovery, but will actually amplify our collective intelligence, expanding the range of scientific problems which can be attacked at all. But, as I explain in the book, there are cultural obstacles that are blocking networked science from achieving its full potential. And so the book is also a manifesto, arguing that networked science must be open science if it is to realize its potential. Making the change to open science is a big challenge. In my opinion it's one of the biggest challenges our society faces, one that requires action on many fronts. One of those fronts is to make sure that everyone - including scientists, but also grant agencies, governments, libraries, and, especially, the general public -- understands how important the stakes are, and how urgent is the need for change.

"Howard Rheingold offers a glimpse of the future of high-end online learning in which motivated self-learners collaborate via a variety of social media to create, deliver, and learn an agreed curriculum: a mutant variety of pedagogy that more closely resembles a peer-agogy. Rheingold proposes that our intention should be to teach ourselves how to teach ourselves online, and to share what we learn"

"I am going to try and experiment within an experiment today. I cloned a couple genes from yeast and have been spending months now trying to get them into several vectors for my combinatorial overexpression project. However, as it goes with wet messy biology, this seemingly simple process has been fighting me tooth and nail. I have retrieved one good clone out of 56 minipreps (plasmid construct isolation) and tried several ligations. So I have tripled down this week. In the picture here, I have 32 tubes, each with 5 individual E. coli colonies. That is a grand total of 160 isolates. 1.5 mL of cells have been transferred from overnight cultures and I am about to spin, lyse, and retrieve."