Molecularist

"“People love information,” Arment said. “Right now in our society, we have an obesity epidemic. Because for the first time in history, we have access to food whenever we want, we don’t know how to control ourselves. I think we have the exact same problem with information.”"

"One hundred and fifty years ago today, James Wallace Black went up 1,200 feet in a balloon over Boston and took the first successful aerial photograph in the United States. From the perspective of late 2010, when aerial and satellite imagery has transformed everything from waging war to avoiding traffic congestion on morning commutes, Black’s balloon trip looks nothing short of momentous."

"Massachusetts General Hospital has raised $1 billion as part of a $1.5 billion fund-raising campaign — despite the tattered economy and turmoil in the hospital industry — putting it on track to set what is believed to be a New England record."

Nice list. Will have to do all 50!

"Since it became America’s first mail route back in 1673, the Boston Post Road has connected Boston to New York City, delivering messages, guiding travelers, and tying the Northeast together. In that time, some legs of the route have shifted, and most of it is now known by other names — Washington Street, Route 20, Main Street, or Mass. Route 9. But if you know how to follow the thread, you can still trace the Post Road beneath our modern streets and highways. A few stretches, as residents of Marlborough and Sudbury know, among others, are still called Boston Post Road."

Motherlode of microorganisms. I had totally forgotten about this resource.

"The exchange of genetic information among ocean bacteria has been greatly underestimated."

"An international team of 180 scientists, united in their goal to rapidly determine the structure of proteins related to human health, has solved its 1,000th structure."

Yet, not without contention.

"Previous hypotheses had suggested that eukaryotes evolved alongside archaea, and both groups had descended from the same ancestor. In recent years, genetic data has raised doubts about the accuracy of these hypotheses, and Kelly says that his data pretty much put the final nail in the coffin. His results, he says, clearly show that archaea evolved first, and then eukaryotes evolved from a particular family of archaea."

Thaumarchae = Wonder archae. Heh.

"The team calls its cells RiPS cells, for RNA induced Pluripotent Cells."

Such a long way from nuclear transfer. Excellent! And just down the block from where I work (and same Hospital).

"A simplified recipe for synthesizing genes aids synthetic biology."

"Raising chickens is not just for poultry farmers anymore. As suburban consumers strive to learn where the food they eat comes from, some of them are also keeping birds in backyard coops."

"These findings join a growing body of evidence that the classic "central dogma" of genetics is incomplete. In the central dogma, chromosomal DNA is transcribed into RNA, which is then translated by the cell into proteins. In recent years, however, scientists have found that not all transcribed RNA molecules become translated into proteins. In fact, studies have shown that whole swathes of the genome are transcribed for unknown reasons."

Heh. siRNAs, snoRNAs, now long ncRNAs. Add to that funky splicing of RNA and proteins and the Central Dogma seems like an oversimplification. I was never taught Central Dogma thinking, and cringed when folks would use it in presentations. Biology is messy and the Central Dogma really doesn't capture it. 🙂

"June 25, 1930 – Senate Considers Banning Dial Phones"
via @stevenjayl

"Utopia Documents links scientific research papers to the data and to the community. It enables publishers to enhance their publications with additional material, interactive graphs and models. It allow the reader to access a wealth of data resources directly from the paper they are viewing, makes private notes and start public conversations."

Yeah. It's happening.

"Utopia Documents links scientific research papers to the data and to the community. It enables publishers to enhance their publications with additional material, interactive graphs and models. It allow the reader to access a wealth of data resources directly from the paper they are viewing, makes private notes and start public conversations."

Yeah. It's happening.

"Utopia Documents links scientific research papers to the data and to the community. It enables publishers to enhance their publications with additional material, interactive graphs and models. It allow the reader to access a wealth of data resources directly from the paper they are viewing, makes private notes and start public conversations."

Yeah. It's happening.

"Utopia Documents links scientific research papers to the data and to the community. It enables publishers to enhance their publications with additional material, interactive graphs and models. It allow the reader to access a wealth of data resources directly from the paper they are viewing, makes private notes and start public conversations."

Yeah. It's happening.