Cancer cells in blind mole rats ‘commit suicide’ Blind mole rats don’t get cancer, and geneticists have worked out why — their cells kill themselves with a poisonous protein when they multiply too much. Blind mole rats, which live in underground burrows throughout Southern and Eastern Africa, and the Middle East, are fascinating creatures. The […]
Can Just A Few Minute of Exercise a Day Prevent Diabetes?
That just 1 minute of exercise a day could help prevent diabetes seems to good to be true. But research at the University of Bath indicates it might be true. I am a bit of a soft touch for seeing the benefits of exercise. And I also love health care that focuses on achieving healthy […]
Apply to be an Astronaut
Are you looking to change jobs? NASA is seeking outstanding scientists, engineers, and other talented professionals to carry forward the great discovery process that its mission demands. Creativity. Ambition. Teamwork. A sense of daring. Curiosity. That’s what it takes to join NASA, one of the best places to work in the Federal Government. The National […]
I Always Wanted to be Some Sort of Scientist
A nice simple post by a soon to be Dr. of Genetics and Molecular Biology on what being a scientist is like for her. I like her take, which I think is much more accurate than some of the generalities people use. The main reason people (men or women) become scientists because they want to […]
2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has today decided that The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2011 shall be divided, with one half jointly to Bruce A. Beutler and Jules A. Hoffmann for their discoveries concerning the activation of innate immunity and the other half to Ralph M. Steinman for his discovery of the […]
Molecule Found in Sharks Kills Many Viruses that are Deadly to People
Shark Molecule Kills Human Viruses, Too “Sharks are remarkably resistant to viruses,” study researcher Michael Zasloff, of the Georgetown University Medical Center, told LiveScience. Zasloff discovered the molecule, squalamine, in 1993 in the dogfish shark, a small- to medium-size shark found in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. “It looked like no other compound that […]
Statistical Errors in Medical Studies(2)
I have written about statistics, and various traps people often fall into when examining data before ( Statistics Insights for Scientists and Engineers, Data Can’t Lie – But People Can be Fooled, Correlation is Not Causation, Simpson’s Paradox). And also have posted about reasons for systemic reasons for medical studies presenting misleading results ( Why […]
IBM Fellow Grady Booch on the Value of Engineering?
In this webcast IBM Fellow Grady Booch discusses the critical role engineering plays in moving society forward. And he explores the history of science and engineering. This interesting webcast would be a good video to show children, or anyone, to bring out the desire to study engineering and encourage them to study so they can […]
Norway Reduces Infections by Reducing Antibiotic Use
Norway conquers infections by cutting use of antibiotics Twenty-five years ago, Norwegians were also losing their lives to this bacteria. But Norway’s public health system fought back with an aggressive program that made it the most infection-free country in the world. A key part of that program was cutting back severely on the use of […]
Antibiotics Breed Superbugs Faster Than Expected
We continue to endanger ourselves by using antibiotics inappropriately. This is one of many things that happen when the public at large is ignorant about science and ignores scientific evidence. I don’t believe people want to put other people’s lives in danger. But our behavior in the face of the evidence has us doing just […]