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"'Living pigments' is a metaphorical device to refer to the fact that the pigments of the original paint have been replaced by pigmented micro-organisms,"
My question: were the fungi actually the paints used – the painters knew fungi would colonize and provide long-lasting colour?
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"Decades after launching a $50 mlllion composting business, Paul Sellew is still in startup mode."
Go figure. A world-class composting company right in Waltham.
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Waste Management, one of the largest in the country, betting big on Harvest Power's power composting tech. Composting still has legs and folks can still stand to make big buck with it. [And did I mention composting is indeed a practical use of microbes?]
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Yep. 2011 will be about serendipity and discover.
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"Shouldn’t your table scraps be helping to produce clean energy? Harvest Power Inc., a Waltham company, may announce a project in Massachusetts to build a plant that turns food waste and yard trimmings into both compost and natural gas equivalents, using a bacteria-assisted process called anaerobic digestion. The company has had discussions with Lexington and other towns, but CEO Paul Sellew will only say that news about a facility in the Northeast could come in the second quarter. Harvest has more than 150 employees."
links for 2010-12-31
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A post I did on "copying" bugs for personal use.
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"To me, humans have always been practical microbiologists: we probably settled down to farm barley for beer, one of the oldest pieces of writing is a recipe for beer, and it’s not surprising that early biochemists studied enzymes in the fermentation process."
links for 2010-12-24
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"The federal income tax, a senator from New York said a century ago, might mean the end of “our distinctively American experiment of individual freedom.” Social Security was actually a plan “to Sovietize America,” a previous head of the Chamber of Commerce said in 1935. The minimum wage and mandated overtime pay were steps “in the direction of Communism, Bolshevism, fascism and Nazism,” the National Association of Manufacturers charged in 1938."
links for 2010-12-23
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Microbes to modulate immune system in gut.
So looking forward to this post-Pasteurian world. -
via @mrgunn
links for 2010-12-21
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"The Genspace grand opening isn’t about the past two years, it’s about the future. Let’s bring back the romance between the sciences and the public. I am proud to be a founding member of the first community biotech laboratory in NYC."
links for 2010-12-17
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"You ever have a situation where you’re going, ‘Man, I hope he doesn’t look over here.’ And he looks at me and calls me over, and it was just a sick feeling. He goes, ‘You need to call Daphane.’ And I knew right then something was bad.’’
Wow. What a story.
links for 2010-12-16
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"Macmillan hopes to partner with scientists to turn software into commercial products."
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"A new kind of scientific information company. The digital age has created new opportunities for the way we do scientific research – from how we manage our labs and analyse data, to how we link information and make funding decisions. We’re here to help you make the most of those possibilities." [via Nature]
My narrative writing
Here is a sampling of some stories I’ve written:
When Wolf and Rabbit walked the Appalachian Trail
Love, life, happiness. (short short)
Puzled Monkey
A crazy short-short I wrote for some crazy friends.
Monkey business
Short-short about 3 monkeys, a clever crow, and one unlucky animal-trainer.
One night
A global story of one night in the mobile life. Written for Vodafone’s receiver magazine. Made into a podcast, too.
So it’s come to this
A story based on the great Transportation Safety Authority (TSA). Occasionally beocmes relevant as the TSA changes the rules arbitrarily.
chillin’
Deep thinking while up in the stratosphere.
The Depths of Thought and the Inquiry into Our Spirit
Something I wrote eons ago, wondering at the difference between humans and other animals.
Pressure
A short-short about the relentless pressure we feel in life.
Did she get out of bed for a glass of water?
Deep deep loss and saddness and moving on. (short short)
updated: 07jan11
links for 2010-12-14
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"My point isn’t that Google, Netflix, Amazon, Yelp or any of the others are doomed. But I do think there’s an opportunity brewing for entrepreneurs, websites and companies to add editorial components to the algo-crowd paradigm."
Or what I have said for a while: machine, crowd, and librarians.
links for 2010-12-13
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"Days after an announcement that a strain of bacteria can apparently use arsenic in place of phosphorous to build its DNA and other biomolecules — an ability unknown in any other organism — some scientists are questioning the finding and taking issue with how it was communicated to non-specialists."
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“Social media can’t belong to one person; it needs to be part of everyone’s job,” Preston said. “It has to be integrated into the existing editorial process and production process. I’m convinced that’s the only way we’re going to crack the engagement nut.”
Spot. On. [via @alexdc]
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