MedWorm.com provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest items from the 'Discovering Biology in a Digital World' source. Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:43:50 +0100 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/453255080/blood_matters_and_reflections.php Masha Gessen was faced with a terrifying choice: cut off her breasts, and possibly save herself from cancer, or use them to feed her child. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1960789 Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:00:27 +0100 1960789 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/452530932/electronic_paper_from_scribd_a.php Well, I had to test Scribd with something. Why not use a document on the Massachusetts Life Sciences Industry? Scribd is sort of like the YouTube of electronic paper. I found Scribd from TomJoe's post about Life on Mars. His PowerPoint talk is really much more interesting than the life science document that I uploaded as a test, but since you're here anyway, you might as well take a look. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1960790 Fri, 14 Nov 2008 04:34:00 +0100 1960790 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/451466193/the_post_election_tangled_bank.php Is ready for reading at Submitted to a Candid World. I never thought I'd see the day when a Tangled Bank host would compare PZ Meyers to John McCain, but I admit, it was tastefully done. Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1955283 Thu, 13 Nov 2008 05:08:20 +0100 1955283 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/450787006/us_department_of_labor_tackles.php What skills does a biotechnology technician need to know? This seems like a simple question, but people have been struggling to define biotech skill standards since the early 90's. Complicating this question is that many areas of biotechnology require somewhat different skills. Antibody work requires one set, plant or animal tissue culture, another; fermentation, another; manufacturing, another; DNA sequencing, yet another set. Even skills that you might think are universal, like using a microscope, are not. During my years in graduate school, I never used a microscope; I cloned genes and ran gels. Plus, many skill requirements change. These days, if I were a grad student, I'd probably be operating robots or sending my samples to a core lab. Anyway, the Department of Labor has decide... Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1955284 Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:15:39 +0100 1955284 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/448681823/worldmapper_viewing_the_world.php Worldmapper is a web site with 366 maps of the world. These maps however, are not the kinds of maps you've seen in school, with every country shown by size. These maps are cartograms. It's a bit like seeing a cartoon version of a Thomas Friedman book. These maps present a whole new way of visualizing information about the world. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1947244 Mon, 10 Nov 2008 18:21:41 +0100 1947244 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/447959300/how_fast_do_you_have_to_run_if.php Brian Switek, from Laelaps, could probably tell you. And, if you vote for him in the 3rd Annual College Blogger Scholarship competition, he just might. He'll tell you why should you vote for him, too, and I agree. And below the fold, is an inspirational cartoon. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1947245 Mon, 10 Nov 2008 02:36:39 +0100 1947245 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/447528786/a_sunday_with_the_tardigrades.php It was a wet and rainy day yesterday, and we have a dissecting microscope, so I decided to see if I could find some tardigrades. Tardigrade photo by nebarnix Reposted from Nov. 2006 Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1947246 Sun, 09 Nov 2008 16:36:25 +0100 1947246 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/446725387/it_looks_like_a_holiday_wreath.php but the red berries are RNA. Picture below the fold. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1947247 Sat, 08 Nov 2008 18:21:33 +0100 1947247 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/445559063/mad_dogs_maps_and_rabies.php Over 55,000 people die each year from rabies, a disease that is 100% preventable, according to Dr. Guy Palmer, who spoke last night at the University of Washington. Dr. Palmer is from the School for Global Animal Health, a group that works towards improving global health through advancing preventative care for both humans and animals. One of the preventative measures is through rabies vaccination. Image from the CDC Public Library of Health. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1943394 Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:46:23 +0100 1943394 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/444635160/its_an_rna_world_after_all.php Before mammals, before dinosaurs, before bacteria, or plants, there was something else; a protocell containing RNA. The Exploring Origins Project has excellent animations of protocells, a timeline of life's evolution, and best of all- fantastic animations of the RNA world. You can see how RNA folds, ribozymes (RNA that catalyzes chemical reactions), and learn about the role of RNA when the Earth was young. BTW- I made this ribozyme image with Cn3D. The RNA is synthetic - made by humans with machines, that is, and this molecule can cut chemical bonds. Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1939164 Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:19:52 +0100 1939164 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/444438265/japanese_scientists_clone_dead.php What kind of dead animals are in your freezer? I used to be skeptical about the whole notion of cloning wooly mammoths. But this recent article in PNAS (1), makes the whole idea seem less far fetched. Wakayamaa et. al. describe an amazing technical advance where scientists in Japan were able to derive clones from mice that had been frozen for 16 years at -20°C. I'm guessing that this wasn't one of the freezers with an automatic defrost cycle. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1939165 Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:00:00 +0100 1939165 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/442842010/congratulations_mr_obama.php There are tears of joy and relief in my eyes. It's like the most emotional New Year's Eve in my life. My neighbors are even shooting off fireworks! Mr. McCain's speech was wonderful. Let's move forward! Update: I am watching Mr. Obama now on TV with tears in my eyes. I have never been so glad to be an American. Yes we can, Mr. Obama, yes we can! Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1933293 Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:50:33 +0100 1933293 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/442448414/teaching_with_wikis_navigating.php This quarter, I'm using a wiki with my bioinformatics class and posting sometimes about the things that I learn. Two things I've been experimenting with are: Setting up pages for individual students so they can take notes while they're working. Embedding a Google form into one of my wiki pages for student assessment. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1933294 Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:00:45 +0100 1933294 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/441019000/want_to_learn_about_genetics_p.php Want to learn more about Parkinson's disease? See why a single nucleotide mutation messes up the function of a protein? I have a short activity that uses Cn3D (a molecular viewing program from the NCBI) to look at a protein that seems to be involved in a rare form of Parkinson's disease and I could sure use beta testers. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1933295 Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:22:46 +0100 1933295 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/440106784/second_life_or_croquet_what_do.php I heard some intriguing presentations this week about education in Second Life, but I happen know that there is an open-source, free (?) alternative called "Croquet." Do any of you have experience with Croquet vs. Second Life? I'd love to hear about it in the comments. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1930282 Sun, 02 Nov 2008 16:40:38 +0100 1930282 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/439104323/collaboration_in_second_life_a.php I was in in Washington D.C. this last week attending the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technology Education conference. During the conference, I attended one workshop and one talk on Second Life. Both of the presentations were focused on Teen Second Life, which was interesting, but neither presentation did a very good job of illustrating how I would use Second Life as a teaching tool. Julian Lombardi's blog has a short YouTube movie that comes pretty close. Be patient, the marketing pitch doesn't last forever. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1927841 Sat, 01 Nov 2008 15:01:31 +0100 1927841 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/438427798/tales_from_the_lab_the_finale_1.php What strange things happen in the lab on Halloween? Read part I and part II to find out what's going on. (Reposted in honor of Halloween) "All those beauties in solid motion All those beauties, gonna swallow you up Hi hi hi hi hi hi One time too many Too far to go I - we come to take you home" - Swamp by the Talking Heads Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1926542 Fri, 31 Oct 2008 21:20:36 +0100 1926542 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/438094690/tales_from_the_lab_part_ii.php Strange things happen when it's Halloween week in the lab. (reposted in honor of Halloween) Catch up on the story by reading part I. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1926543 Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:01:50 +0100 1926543 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/437357981/tales_from_the_lab_1.php Reposted in honor of the holiday. What's it like when you work in the lab on Halloween? It started out innocently enough. "Go get some BHK cells," he said, "then transform the cells with these plasmids and use G418 to kill the cells that didn't get transformed." Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1924521 Thu, 30 Oct 2008 22:15:24 +0100 1924521 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/436490711/the_technology_gap_in_action_s.php A bit of unsolicited advice for workshop presenters I'm currently in Washington, D.C. at the Advanced Technology Education conference co-sponsored by National Science Foundation and the American Association of Community Colleges. The people here are an interesting mix of instructors teaching high tech stuff and instructors who sometimes seem more advanced in age than technological know-how. Mind you, people are doing amazing things. Some colleges have nanotechnology, some microfabrication, some biotechnology, computer forensics, but some of the high tech programs are managed by some very low tech people. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1921014 Thu, 30 Oct 2008 03:47:46 +0100 1921014 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/432809461/what_lessons_can_we_learn_from.php Experimenting with on-line worksheets I know some people who always teach their classes the same way, semester after semester, year after year.. Not me. I always want to experiment and try new things. This fall, I'm experimenting with using a wiki in the classroom, in addition to my blog. This wont be my first wiki experience. We've long used wikis where I work, and I've used them to collaborate with people in different locations, but this is the first time that I'll try one in a teaching situation. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1908822 Sun, 26 Oct 2008 19:28:09 +0100 1908822 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/431835058/time_is_running_out_donate_to.php Why should professional scientists have all the fun? Researchers have been engineering glowing cats, and selling glowing fish at pet stores. High school kids can do genetic engineering too, if they have the right equipment. And you can help them get the equipment by contributing to our DonorsChoose fund drive. If you're willing to help students, they'll be able to do biotechnology in the class room and learn about DNA. They'll put genes for green fluorescent protein into bacteria and see how that bit of invisible liquid in a test tube gets used to make a glowing protein. Even better, SEED magazine will be contributing money as well, making the impact of your donation grow. And did I mention prizes? There could be prizes, too. Either contribute to my challenge (below) or any of the othe... Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1908823 Sat, 25 Oct 2008 17:35:05 +0100 1908823 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/430818818/using_spam_to_break_bad_news.php I probably shouldn't find this amusing, but... Back a few years ago, a friend of mine worked at a biotech company in Seattle that had large windows looking out onto Puget Sound. They always cheered when the Navy ships came in, 'cause they knew it meant they'd have more work. Tom Joe has a funny post about the same topic, with a different twist. He's not talking about learning your status through any sort of laboratory test. He suggests using e-mail. UPDATE: Since Bora pointed out the PLoS article in the comments, I thought I should add some of the pictures from the article. I love the quote on one of them, "its' not what you brought to the party, it's what you left with." Oh yeah, and if you should need a postcard, you can get one at www.inSPOT.org. Read the comments on this post...... Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1905949 Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:15:58 +0100 1905949 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/429762348/mr_green_genes_glows_on_video.php This video from WDSU shows Mr. Green Genes, the transgenic kitty, in the dark and in the light. There's also an interview with Dr. Betsy Dresser, who very briefly talks about the work at the Audubon Center for Research on Endangered Species. Other than clips of the cat, and Dr. Dresser, the video mostly shows people taking frozen samples out of liquid nitrogen, but there's an interesting bit towards the end where they show a pipette transferring material into the nucleus of an egg cell. Mr. Green Genes is certainly a cute cat. You can see more pictures from the Times Picayune: here and here. Thanks go to David Ricks for sending links to the photos and video. Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1905950 Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:47:45 +0100 1905950 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/429662343/science_on_tap_oct_27th.php Two interesting events are happening, Monday night, Oct. 27th. At the UW: Josh Rosenau from the National Center for Science Education will be speaking at 6 pm about Creationist attacks on science education. (Josh is also a Science Blogger). In Ravenna, at Third Place Pub: Ted White from the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute will be talking at 7 pm about infectious disease. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1905951 Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:00:05 +0100 1905951 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/429140784/do_you_want_a_chance_to_inspir.php Are you interested in global health? The Washington Global Health Alliance is looking for an education professional, with a life science or science education background (BS or higher) to help train faculty and students at the high school level. The complete announcement is below, the appointment would be at the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute in the BioQuest program. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1901580 Thu, 23 Oct 2008 02:40:49 +0100 1901580 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/428679325/another_cat_that_glows_in_the.php I've heard that all cats are grey in the dark, but I guess that's no longer true in New Orleans. Scientists at the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species have made a cloned kitty that glows lime green. Some of you already know my fascination with glowing fish, fluorescent cats, and cloned puppies. This New Orleans cat is interesting too, partly, because it's the first transgenic cat made in this country, and partly because of the work that ACRE has been doing to try and rescue endangered species. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1901581 Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:50:55 +0100 1901581 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/428093934/hey_sperm_donors_could_dna_tes.php Maybe you did it for the extra cash. Maybe you wanted to be part of the sperm cube public art project. Whatever the reason, it's possible, just possible, your sperm took on a life of it's own, once you left it. And now that a genome is no longer an entirely personal bit of information, you may be in for a surprise meeting someday, with the end result. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1895037 Wed, 22 Oct 2008 03:07:29 +0100 1895037 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/426626140/revenge_of_the_clones_the_anim.php What happens when a group of streptococci stick to cells in your throat and start to make toxins? Your body fights back by making clones. The animated video, Fighting Infection by Clonal Selection, from Etsuko Uno and Drew Berry is so good that if I didn't know better, I would almost think it's really capturing clonal selection on film. What is clonal selection? Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1895038 Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:29:33 +0100 1895038 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/425175871/medicine_at_the_cutting_edge.php Yes, that's right, another Medicine 2.0 blog carnival has been posted for your enjoyment. And the host, Ivor Kovic, has done an amazingly creative and interesting thing with images from all the past hosting places..., and well, you just need to go see it yourself. Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1889022 Sun, 19 Oct 2008 05:37:08 +0100 1889022 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/425139342/an_enjoyable_book_amazing_stor.php Sometimes I'm thankful for all extra restrictions on air travel that got imposed after 9/11. Not the ones involving personal searches, taking your shoes off, or putting all your liquids in plastic bags, but I do like having to arrive at the airport 2 hours ahead of any scheduled trip. The reason is that I'm a sucker for airport book stores. Almost every time I go on a trip, I bring home more books than I packed. Sometimes surprisingly, as in the case of "Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's" by John Elder Robison, I even have to fight with my children to get the book back. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1889023 Sun, 19 Oct 2008 04:24:38 +0100 1889023 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/425175872/the_cutest_pictures_in_the_wor.php I used to get e-mails from relatives that were filled with cute pictures of kittens and puppies. It's luck they didn't know about this site: http://www.zooborns.com/ These are the some of the absolutely cutest baby pictures I have ever seen! I hear Raffi songs in my head when I look at these (can you sing Baby Beluga?) Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1889024 Fri, 17 Oct 2008 23:28:42 +0100 1889024 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/423813879/visit_the_galc3a1pagos_for_fre.php The Galápagos islands rank high on my list of places that I really, really, really want to visit. But for many reasons, it's always looked like a trip to the Galápagos would be at least a decade or two away. Now, I'll be able to go in January and so will all of you. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1888273 Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:18:07 +0100 1888273 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/422135758/puget_sound_scientists_be_a_bi.php Every year students in the Puget Sound area gather together at the Biotech Expo to celebrate the life sciences and compete for prizes. Although their projects are diverse in nature, they compete in categories like research, art, journalism, drama, music, and others, all the students learn about science as part of their work. You can help a high school student learn about science by being a mentor for the Biotech Expo. It is especially helpful to students if they can bounce questions off of a real-live person who works in a scientific field. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1883373 Thu, 16 Oct 2008 01:47:54 +0100 1883373 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/420704212/my_immunological_fantasy.php Like many people I know, I suffer from allergies, and sometimes asthma. I take drugs to control the symptoms, but they don't cure the condition. Plus, I know there can be side effects that might not be so pleasant. This is why I like hearing about sequencing projects that target the VDJ-ome. I have this fantasy about the things we could do with that information Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1879916 Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:44:26 +0100 1879916 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/419794337/isb_3_george_church_personal_g_1.php Last week, while attending the ISB "DNA of Innovation" symposium in honor of Lee Hood's 70th birthday, I decided to try live-blogging for the first time. Unbeknownst to others in the audience, except my husband, I quietly typed away, collecting notes and uploading impressions. But battery power has its limits, even when I have more notes to share. And despite all the fascinating speakers, I have notes enough to describe just one more. The personal genome days have only just begun, but George Church is already looking into the future. In a true "Lee Hood style tour de force" Church talked about the convergence of the 'omes. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1876103 Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:30:54 +0100 1876103 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/417041553/isb_symposium_update_2.php The second speaker was Eric Davidson who talked about gene regulatory networks. He works on sea urchins and showed us this amazing diagram that looked like a computer chip. The diagram describes the inputs and outputs of 50 genes during the first 30 hours of development. And, it convinced me that systems biologists are developing their own language. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1870859 Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:07:12 +0100 1870859 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/416989214/iscb_symposium_update_1.php The first talk was by Irving Weissman, one of the pioneers in immunology and stem cell research. He talked about the stem cells that form blood, also known as HSCs or hematopoietic stem cells. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1870860 Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:12:39 +0100 1870860 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/416937204/happy_birthday_lee_hood_livebl.php Right now, I'm sitting in the audience at a symposium on Science, Engineering, and Business at the Leading edge. The symposium is sponsored by the Institute for Systems Biology and it's Lee Hood's 70th birthday. Every speaker is beginning with a wish for a happy birthday. I'll have updates, as I can, throughout the day. Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1870861 Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:19:43 +0100 1870861 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/416937205/parkinsons_disease_gfp_and_see.php Sometimes words fail me. Luckily, we have videos. Many of you have probably read about Roger Tsien receiving the Nobel Prize this work for his work with the green fluorescent protein (GFP), but I bet some of you are wondering, why a jellyfish protein is worth a Noble Prize. I think one of the best places to see why GFP is important, and also to see what some scientists do during the day, is JOVE, the Journal of Visualized Experiments. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1870862 Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:07:31 +0100 1870862 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/415057056/community_college_biotechnolog.php Over the years, I've seen many biotechnology education programs at community colleges embrace outreach to high schools as part of their mission. This kind of enthusiasm for outreach seems unique to biotech. No other kind of science or engineering program seems to do this sort of thing, at least not on the nationwide basis that I've seen demonstrated in biotechnology. And yet, even though I've always admired and often participated in these efforts, some aspects are a little puzzling. How do the colleges reconcile the energy spent in outreach efforts with the energy spent towards educating their own students? Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1862805 Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:41:39 +0100 1862805 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/413401150/seattles_1000000_comment_party.php Okay, watching some of the other movies makes me realize that I've been very negligent in not uploading ours. Without further ado, here it is. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1859582 Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:04:52 +0100 1859582 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/411167939/notes_from_the_road_bio1_wired.php Long Branch, NJ, is a lovely town on the Atlantic Ocean, with long beaches and brand new shops and condos. It is also part of an area in, central New Jersey, where biotechnology education is entering an exciting time thanks to efforts of NJBEC, Bio-1, and a WIRED grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1853632 Sat, 04 Oct 2008 13:00:17 +0100 1853632 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/408328580/supporting_science_by_directly.php ScienceBlogs and science bloggers, in general, have enthusiastically supported fund-raising efforts by DonorsChoose for the past two years, and we're doing it once again for 2008. DonorsChoose works like this: teachers write descriptions of what they want and how they'll use it for teaching, and submit their proposals to DonorsChoose. We pick the projects we like and if you like them, too, you can help get these projects funded.Donate to schools! Win a prize! Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1844774 Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:42:03 +0100 1844774 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/407848404/a_sad_goodbye_to_seattle_centr.php I learned via e-mail yesterday that the biotechnology program, that I taught with for ten years during the 90's, is ending due to low enrollments. I also learned yesterday, via the Seattle Times, that a resurrected version of ICOS called CMC Icos Biologics is planning a $35M expansion of their biotech manufacturing plant in Bothell and talking about hiring lots of students with two-year degrees. The irony isn't lost on me. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1844775 Wed, 01 Oct 2008 04:01:30 +0100 1844775 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/407643338/healthmap_hunting_for_global_o.php HealthMap is a great site that could be an excellent resource when teaching a biology, microbiology, or health class. Not to mention, I can picture people using it before they travel somewhere or even just for fun. I learned about HealthMap awhile ago from Mike the Mad Biologist, but I didn't get time to play with the site until today. Here's an example to see how it works. How do I use HealthMap? Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1844776 Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:06:15 +0100 1844776 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/407234370/hey_teachers_researchbloggingo.php One time, I suggested in a list-serve that science teachers make more use of primary scientific literature. Naturally, I learned all the reasons why teachers don't do this-lack of access being one of the biggies- but I also learned something surprising. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1844777 Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:09:25 +0100 1844777 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/406490549/the_first_annual_new_jersey_bi.php This First Annual Conference for New Jersey Biotechnology Educators will be held on Saturday, Oct. 4th at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey. I'm excited about attending this conference, not only because of the biotechnology part, but because I've reading Sarah Vowel's book Assassination vacation and I'm looking forward to seeing the last resting place of President James Garfield. Sarah Vowel is an incredibly funny commentator on NPR's "This American Life" and so, even though I don't usually read about people making pilgrimages to famous presidential sites, I had to read this book. What can you look forward to seeing if you come to West Long Branch? Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1841074 Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:02:26 +0100 1841074 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/406217754/more_classroom_science_blogs_t.php Calling all scientists and science-fans: you can help with science education by letting students know you're interested. How? Go and comment on classroom blogs and wikis. I've been gradually collecting some blogs from different classes and I've even had some brave volunteers offer theirs for review. So here goes: Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1841075 Mon, 29 Sep 2008 13:00:10 +0100 1841075 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/digitalbio/~3/405496405/four_science_bloggers_take_ove.php Ozzie's will never be the same. The sun shone so brightly yesterday afternoon that it left us with no choice. We had to go outdoors. Luckily, Ozzie's has a wonderful upper deck in full view of the daylight and well-equipped with chairs. Photo footage below. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Discovering Biology in a Digital World) Discovering Biology in a Digital World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1837259 Sun, 28 Sep 2008 16:25:16 +0100 1837259