Podcasts - November 2010

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Audio presentation of interviews, roundtables, and more.

Silly Science Honored With Ig Nobel Prizes

The winners of this year's Ig Nobel Prizes include work on the pain-relieving effects of swearing, researchers who studied techniques to collect whale snot, and more. The Igs honor research that "first, makes you laugh, then, makes you think," according to Marc Abrahams, the master of...

From The Vault: Discovering The Ozone Hole

On Science Friday's first broadcast in 1991, Ira Flatow spoke with Michael Oppenheimer and F. Sherwood Rowland about what caused the ozone hole, and what should be done about it. Rowland went on to share a Nobel Prize for the research a few years later.

A Trip Back To The Future of The Internet

Science Friday made history in 1993, when it became the first national radio show to be broadcast live over the Internet. Traffic on the 'net slowed that day, as listeners from around the world logged on to try to talk to Ira Flatow and guests Brewster Kahle and Carl Malamud.

Remembering The Scent Of A Meal

How does the way something smells influence the way it tastes? And why are smell memories more emotional than other types of memories? Brown University professor of psychiatry and human behavior Rachel Herz describes the relationship between the smell of food and its taste.

Futures in Biotech 71: Genomics, Proteomics, Cellular Immunity, And Anti-Matter

Hosts: Marc Pelletier, Vincent Racaniello, Andre Nantel, and George Farr. The '1000 Genome Project', 'Billion Dollar Human Proteome', viral killing proteins, and capturing anti-matter. Guest: Mark Gerstein Ph.D. - Professor of Biomedical Informatics, Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry,...

Computers And Babies, Listening Carefully

The speech-recognition algorithms behind Google Voice Search analyze thousands of hours of human speech to pick out patterns. Babies may use the same technique. Google speech recognition guru Mike Cohen and linguist Sheila Blumstein discuss how humans and computers learn language.

How The X-Box Kinect Tracks Your Moves

Kinect uses depth sensors, cameras and microphones to track the movements of players, and it's surprisingly good at weeding out distractions. Ira Flatow and guests discuss the development of the gaming technology -- and how movement can influence players' moods.

Science Diction: The Origin Of The Word 'Atom'

The British poet and alchemist Thomas Norton used the word "attoms" in his 1477 poem, The Ordinal of Alchemy. Historian Howard Markel explains how Norton came to use the word, and points out earlier philosophers who raised the concept of indivisible units of matter.

Are Airport Scanners Safe?

Some airport body scanning machines use X-rays to generate images. How much radiation is a traveler exposed to? Should frequent fliers opt for a pat down instead? Radiation expert David Brenner explains the possible public health concerns of scanning millions of passengers.

From Bach To Beer Bottles, The Physics of Music

Why does a saxophone sound different from an oboe? How do tiny flutes produce such loud sounds? Dr. John Powell, author of How Music Works: The Science and Psychology of Beautiful Sounds explains musical acoustics and more.

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Research Exchange

Bringing the Cell Image into Focus

Nov 2 2010

Improvements in transmission electron microscope (TEM) technology increase the power of this imaging tool for the study of cell biology.

Finding a Cure for Spinal Cord Injury with On-Demand LIMS

Oct 25 2010

The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis finds an on-demand laboratory information management system (LIMS) helps to accelerate discovery in its HCS projects.

Saving Cells: Image Processing for Improved Viability, Part II: Iterative Deconvolution

Oct 25 2010

3D light microscopy and deconvolution provide a means to investigate 3D structure, providing near-confocal quality images without the temporal requirements or potentially damaging phototoxicity associated with other 3D imaging technologies. This article is Part II in a series regarding viability, resolution improvement, and measurement in fluorescence imaging. Part I focused on spectral unmixing.

Saving Cells: Image Processing for Improved Viability

Sep 22 2010

This article is Part I of a two-part series regarding viability, resolution improvement, and measurement in fluorescence imaging. Part II will focus on deconvolution.

Selecting Robots for Use in Drug Discovery and Testing

Dec 6 2010

Drug discovery and testing, with their need for speed, repeatability and verification, are ideally suited to benefit from robot automation. It is therefore not surprising that robots have been at the forefront of automation developments in both these areas.

HP Scalable Network Storage Systems for Life Sciences

Sep 13 2010

Life sciences research today is advancing exponentially, each step bringing us closer to the realization of truly personalized medicine–preventive care and treatments designed specifically for each individual. In the near future, PCPGM healthcare researchers expect to be able to use predictive genetic testing to create custom treatment plans for individuals and deliver dramatic improvements over today’s one-size-fits-all approach. But research capabilities are only part of the equation; current storage and operating capacities must also evolve to accommodate ever-expanding amounts of data before the goal of personalized medicine can be realized.

Step up to the MIQE

Mar 30 2010

Over the years, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has evolved into a readily automated, high throughput quantitative technology. Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) has become the industry standard for the detection and quantification of nucleic acids for multiple application, including quantification of RNA levels. But a lack of consensus among researchers on how to best perform and interpret qPCR experiments presents a major hurdle for advancement of the technology. This problem is exacerbated by insufficient experimental detail in published work, which impedes the ability of others to accurately evaluate or replicate reported results.

Fast Optimization of a Multiplex Influenza Identification Panel Using a Thermal Gradient

Mar 30 2010

The year 2009 was marked by the emergence of a novel influenza A (H1N1) virus that infects humans. There is a need to identify the different strains of influenza virus for purposes of monitoring the H1N1 strain pandemic and for other epidemiological and scientific purposes.

Using the Tecan Genesis Workstation to Automate a Cytometric Bead Array (CBA) Immunoassay

Mar 11 2010

The poster describe the process involved in automating a Cytometric Bead Array (CBA) immunoassay developed to measure relative concentrations of serum antibodies against Tetanus (TT), Sperm Whale Myoglobin (SWM) and Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin (KLH) in KLH-immunized volunteers.

Ensuring Quality in Assays Performed with Automated Liquid Handlers

Feb 2 2010

The focus of this presentation is to highlight the need of ensuring quality in important assays performed with automated liquid handlers. Nearly all assays performed within a laboratory are volume-dependent. In turn, all concentrations of biological and chemical components in these assays, as well as the associated dilution protocols, are volume-dependent. Because analyte concentration is volume-dependent, an assay’s results might be falsely interpreted if liquid handler variability and inaccuracies are unknown or if the system(s) go unchecked for a long period.

Inkjet System for Protein Crystallography

Feb 1 2010

X-ray crystallography is used routinely by scientists to obtain the three dimensional structure of a biological molecule of interest.Such information can be used to determine how a pharmaceutical interacts with a protein target and what changes might improve functionality. However, the crystallization of macromolecules still remains a serious hindrance in structural determination despite impressive advances in screening methods and technologies.

Attention Deficit & Hyperactivity in a Drosophila Memory Mutant

Attention Deficit & Hyperactivity in a Drosophila Memory Mutant

Nov 9 2009

Action selection is modulated by external stimuli either directly or via memory retrieval. In a constantly changing environment, animals have evolved attention-like processes to effectively filter the incoming sensory stream. These attention-like processes, in turn, are modulated by memory. The neurobiological nature of how attention, action selection and memory are inter-connected is unknown. We describe here new phenotypes of the memory mutant radish in the fruit fly Drosophila.

Effects on enantiomeric drug disposition and open-field behavior after chronic treatment with venlafaxine in the P-glycoprotein knockout mice model.

Dec 31 2010

RATIONALE: P-glycoprotein (P-gp) plays an important role in the efflux of drugs from the brain back into the bloodstream and can influence the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of drug molecules. To our knowledge, no studies have reported pharmacodynamic...

Self-administration of cocaine and remifentanil by monkeys: choice between single drugs and mixtures.

Dec 31 2010

RATIONALE: Cocaine and opioids are often co-abused. As yet, however, there is no clear evidence that the drugs interact to make the mixture a more effective reinforcer. OBJECTIVE: The present study examined the relative reinforcing potency and maximum...

Complete genome sequence of a carbon monoxide-utilizing acetogen, Eubacterium limosum KIST612.

Dec 31 2010

Eubacterium limosum KIST612 is an anaerobic acetogenic bacterium that uses CO as the sole carbon/energy source and produces acetate, butyrate, and ethanol. To evaluate its potential as a syngas microbial catalyst, we have sequenced the complete 4.3-Mb genome of E. limosum...

Complete genome sequence of the bacterium Ketogulonicigenium vulgare Y25.

Dec 31 2010

Ketogulonicigenium vulgare is characterized by the efficient production of 2KGA from L-sorbose. Ketogulonicigenium vulgare Y25 is known as a 2-keto-L-gulonic acid-producing strain in the vitamin C industry. Here we report the finished, annotated genome sequence of...

Prokariotic Cell Collection in Denmark

Nov 6 2009

I would like to know about a prokariotic cell collection in Denmark. Is there a cell bank in this country? I need a Lactobacillus strain for a fermentation assay and this information about the bank is very helpful for me.

Request for Entries

Oct 16 2009

Ask the Experts is your chance to get the answers to questions on applications, materials, methods, processes, and technologies. Email you question to bst_web@advantagemedia.com, and the editors of Bioscience Technology will find an appropriate expert to answer it. Watch this space in the future to see the questions your colleagues are posting.

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Video:

Viewing SureFocus Slides

Jun 11 2010

A demonstration of SureFocus Microscope Slides in the review of AFB Smears. SureFocus Slides are a patent-pending breakthrough in tuberculosis detection, as their fluorescent staining circle remains visible during review, Fluorescence Microscopy.

Podcasts:

Allen Institute for Brain Research

Allen Institute for Brain Research

Oct 14 2009

Discussed in this interview are both the mouse brain project and the human cortex project with an emphasis on the importance of these projects to neuroscience research.

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