Science

This blog is dedicated to all things related to science whether it be chemistry, biology, physics, astronomy etc. Please feel free to submit any interesting things you find online with intentions of having the featured on this blog! (Cool links, images, videos etc.)

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Evolution

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U.K. Scientists Given Green Light To Edit Human Embryos

Scientists in the U.K. have been given the green light to edit human embryos. The decision will allow researchers to genetically modify early embryos and watch them develop for up to seven days, in a bid to figure out what influences miscarriages. The controversial procedure will be carried out at the Francis Crick Institute in London, and will work with up to 30 embryos to begin with, though there are hopes they could extend their research using more.

[just--space]

The original nine. js

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FINALLY look at the clarity in everyone one. No longer pixel blots

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Tap the photo for an up close view of each planet individually in clarity

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Q: "What did one cell say to its sister cell that stepped on its toe?" A: "Mitosis."

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Periodic table to gain four new elements - CNN.com

The periodic table will gain four new elements, making the seventh row of the chart complete.

The periodic table will gain four new elements, making the seventh row of the chart complete!

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Questions No One Knows the Answers to (Full Version)

[matthen]

8 Earth years are roughly equal to 13 Venus years, meaning the two planets approximately trace out this pattern with 5-fold symmetry as they orbit the Sun. [more] [code]

[sagansense]

What you’re looking at are human beings assembling humanity’s most advanced space telescope to date. At this very moment, the James Webb Space Telescope (@NASAWebbTelescp) is being assembled. To keep up to date on its progress, you can visit NASA’s dedicated web page on the scope.

Here’s what you should know. 

The James Webb Space Telescope (aka JWST or Webb) will be a large infrared telescope with a 6.5-meter primary mirror, launched on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana in October 2018, and will be the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. JWST will study every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own Solar System. Formerly known as the “Next Generation Space Telescope” (NGST); it was renamed in Sept. 2002 after a former NASA administrator, James Webb. 

JWST is an international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is managing the development effort, with the main industrial partner being Northrop Grumman; the Space Telescope Science Institute will operate JWST after launch. Over 1000 people in more than 17 countries are developing the James Webb Space Telescope. Shown above are team members in front of the JWST full-scale model at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Several innovative technologies have been developed for JWST. These include a primary mirror made of 18 separate segments that unfold and adjust to shape after launch. The mirrors are made of ultra-lightweight beryllium. JWST’s biggest feature is a tennis court sized five-layer sunshield that attenuates heat from the Sun more than a million times. The telescope’s four instruments - cameras and spectrometers - have detectors that are able to record extremely faint signals. One instrument (NIRSpec) has programmable microshutters, which enable observation up to 100 objects simultaneously. JWST also has a cryocooler for cooling the mid-infrared detectors of another instrument (MIRI) to a very cold 7 degrees Kelvin so they can work.

Of the myriad of capabilities Webb will have over the now 25 year old Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the most fascinating aspects of the JWST will be all we expect to learn, along with discoveries it will enable of which we couldn’t possibly anticipate. To expand on this further, see the video ‘Beyond Hubble: The James Webb Space Telescope’ (below), courtesy of Coconut Science Laboratory:

Although there’s so much more to say about the JWST, I recommend visiting http://jwst.nasa.gov/ to browse the trove of resources available. And because @nasa prides itself on being a transparent and inclusive organization, everyone can view the past and present progress being made through the live web cams which provide fresh views every 60 seconds! 

Watch the Webb In Progress

Share this with everyone! We are all crew members aboard this terrestrial spaceship, and although we all share the same window to the universe, not everyone has the influences around them to assist in helping refine their questions, and ultimately, change their perspective regarding their ‘place in space’. Every person you reach and inform about the incredible science that’s being done around our busy world, the immeasurable impact you could have on their life and the subsequent lives they influence. Engage and educate! 

– Rich @sagansense 

 Still curious about JWST? Take a 3D tour and explore it for yourself!

[heythereuniverse]

Peripheral nerves in mouse embryo | Zhong Hua

[biovisual]

WITHOUT URGENT, COORDINATED ACTION NOW, THE WORLD IS HEADED FOR A “POST-ANTIBIOTIC ERA"  Common infections and minor injuries — treatable now for decades — will once again become potential killers.

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION ISSUES SPECIAL REPORT News release 30 APRIL 2014 | WHO, Geneva  The new WHO report provides the most comprehensive picture of antibiotic resistance to date, with data from 114 countries.

SUMMARY Antimicrobial resistance, including antibiotic resistance, is no longer a prediction for the future, it is happening right now in every region of the world and has the potential to affect anyone, of any age, in any country.  ________________________________________

Antibiotic resistance–when bacteria change so antibiotics no longer work to treat infections–is now a major threat to public health.

“Without urgent, coordinated action by many stakeholders, the world is headed for a post-antibiotic era, in which common infections and minor injuries which have been treatable for decades can once again kill,” says Dr Keiji Fukuda, WHO’s Assistant Director-General for Health Security. “Effective antibiotics have been one of the pillars allowing us to live longer, live healthier, and benefit from modern medicine. Unless we take significant actions to improve efforts to prevent infections and also change how we produce, prescribe and use antibiotics, the world will lose more and more of these global public health goods and the implications will be devastating.”

KEY FINDINGS OF THE REPORT The report focuses on antibiotic resistance in seven different bacteria responsible for common, serious diseases such as bloodstream infections (sepsis), diarrhea, pneumonia, urinary tract infections and gonorrhea. The results are cause for high concern, documenting resistance to antibiotics, especially “last resort” antibiotics, in all regions of the world.

The treatment of last resort for life-threatening infections caused by a common intestinal bacteria, Klebsiella pneumoniae is carbapenem antibiotics.  Resistance to this has spread to all regions of the world. (K. pneumoniae is a major cause of hospital-acquired infections such as pneumonia, bloodstream infections, infections in newborns and intensive-care unit patients.) In some countries … carbapenem antibiotics do not work in more than half of people treated for K. pneumoniae infections.

Fluoroquinolones are one of the most widely used antibacterial medicines for the treatment of urinary tract infections caused by E. coli– Resistance is now very widespread. In the 1980s, when these drugs were first introduced, resistance was virtually zero. Today, there are countries in many parts of the world where this treatment is now ineffective in more than half of patients.

More than 1 million people are infected with gonorrhea around the world every day. The last resort of treatment for gonorrhea is third generation cephalosporins, but treatment failure has been confirmed in Austria, Australia, Canada, France, Japan, Norway, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden and the United Kingdom. 

Antibiotic resistance causes people to be sick for longer and increases the risk of death. For example, people with MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) are estimated to be 64% more likely to die than people with a non-resistant form of the infection. Resistance also increases the cost of health care with lengthier stays in hospital and more intensive care required.

Read more about WHO’s first global report on antibiotic resistance …

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Mitosis, Neurons, and the DNA replication complex.

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Cells undergoing mitosis. So cool.

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Biology

Biology is the coolest thing ever. If you wanna be as cool as Biology (and get good marks) here’s my advice.

Tips

Understand the concepts generally and then learn specific examples. Trying to learn all the small details at once is confusing.

Read the textbook! Before class, read the section you are learning that day. As your teacher discusses that section in class, use sticky notes to add in details that you missed or overlooked and stick them by that part in the the textbook.

Memorize vocab at the start of each unit.

Draw diagrams. Be sure that you are understanding the process as a whole and not just specific steps (everything is connected!) Biology is a visual subject so you will need to be able to visualize and make connections.

Test yourself! Use flashcards or 2 column notes.

When studying anatomy, draw or print off unlabeled images and try labeling the image. Afterwards, cover up the labels with sticky notes and quiz yourself again.

Get friend or relative and teach concepts to them. This will force you to explain concepts in your own words.

Taxonomy can be confusing so make charts to differentiate between the characteristics of each Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, etc. Understand the evolutionary processes that caused the organisms to evolve. For example, make a chart for the basic characteristics of each Phylum. Then, for, say, Phylum Cnidaria make a separate chart, separating it into each Class, comparing things like type of symmetry, nervous system, etc.

Study what you don’t know. There are so many things to know in Biology but, chances are, you know more than you think. Focus on concepts you struggle with (don’t avoid the difficult topics).

Know the basics. Make sure you have a solid understanding of biochemistry and transport across the cell membrane b/c these topics are connected to everything.

Review. Biology is a difficult class to cram for. I (try) to set aside at least 20 minutes each day to review what I’ve learned in class that day. Then on weekends, I spend some time reviewing past units to refresh my knowledge.

Get excited! There are so many different areas of Biology so find one you like! Look at all the life around you. It’s amazing!

Labs + Dissections

Getting over nerves (a.k.a fake it till you make it)

Everyone has different levels of squeamish when it comes to animal dissections. I am one of those people who gets excited for dissections but I know lots of people aren’t. My advice: just do it. As you go into class, tell yourself, “This dissection is going to be awesome. I’ll never get a chance like this again. Think about how cool it will be. I am so ready for this.” Alternatively, name the animal you are dissecting. Sounds morbid, I know, but sometimes humour helps.

Draw clear diagrams.

I am not artistically talented in any way so if I can manage to draw neat pictures so can you. Assuming you read through your lab before you start, make note of which structures you are looking at in particular. When actually sketching the specimen out, make the structures clear and identifiable. Use dotted lines to show structures layered over top one another (most Biology teachers prefer this rather than using different colours to differentiate).

Write a thorough write up.

Answer the questions to the point but don’t leave out any details. Think about the purpose of the lab/dissection and what you learned from it. If you have to make a graph, be sure to include a title, use the entire graph, use a line of best fit, etc.

Resources

Crash Course is a beautiful thing (Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, and Ecology)

Sparknotes has study guides (Cell Structure, Cell Respiration, Cell Reproduction, Molecular Biology, Plants, Microorganisms, Evolution, Animal Behavior)

Also Khan Academy

More helpful videos

Even! More! Resources!

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You Can Buy A Cube Made Of Every Collectible Element On Earth

There's the age-old question of what to get someone who has everything. Well, a Kickstarter programme might have the solution – a cube made of every collectible element in the periodic table.

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2p or not 2p

That is the question

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Vanillin Black- Carbon White- Hydrogen Red- Oxygen

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Albert Einstein’s brain continues to fascinate — in Hamilton | Toronto Star

A piece of the physicist’s brain resides at McMaster, where new methods could shed light on what made him a genius.

“Sandra Witelson, a neuroscientist in McMaster University’s Michael G. DeGroot School of Medicine, has been studying pieces of Einstein’s brain, preserved in celloidin, for more than 20 years.”