Some Corner of the Internet

Mostly filled with science related articles

[shmoanne]

When I grow up, I want to be…

It was roughly 6:35am when my flight out of San Diego was preparing for take-off. I was headed up to San Francisco for an interview at a tech start-up company and I was nervous. The pilot — a relatively young (mid 30’s to early 40’s) and chipper woman — announced that she participates in an educational outreach program in San Francisco called Adopt-a-Pilot and offered a paraphrase of the following:

Our award winning Adopt-A-Pilot program was introduced in 1997 as a supplementary way to educate students through aviation-themed activities related to Science, Geography, Math, Writing, and other core subjects. From February through May of each year, students in more than 1,500 classrooms across the country will “adopt” Southwest Airlines Pilots, giving our passionate aviators opportunities to mentor students in and around the fifth grade level. As part of the Adopt-A-Pilot program, students will also research careers and further develop life skills, while the importance of staying in school is reinforced.

Following this, she told us about how she asked her fifth graders to write letters about what they wanted to be when they grew up. Here’s where we (the passengers) come in — she asked us if we were interested in helping her respond to these letters.

I thought this task to be more than fitting for my current situation. I recently left graduate school with a masters degree in machine intelligence and I am getting ready to begin my professional career in industry. Yet, I haven’t quite answered the “What do you want to be when you grow up?” question myself. I am interested in a variety of different fields doing a variety of different things. I know that I enjoy using data to make sense of the world, I love science and engineering, and I love learning about human behavior, but that was about it.

So, I happily accepted the task and I am glad I did. My letter was from an amazing fifth grade girl/aspiring lawyer named Bridget:

When I grow up, I want to be a successful lawyer because I will get to learn about interesting cases/trials and support them with arguments, facts, and opinions. To be a successful lawyer I need to have confidence, logic, people skills, and tenacity. Confidence is important because if I run into any struggles or hard moments when I am not sure about my work, confidence will help me feel stronger about my position. Logic will help me to see my clients perspective/point and to find obvious evidence. People skills are important to help me interact with a client and get what I want from others. Finally, tenacity will help because [when] I get stuck coming up with evidence or supporting a client, I will stay with it and try even harder. Every great lawyer has a great education, I will start by picking one of the best colleges in the country, Harvard. Then, I will continue my education by going to Harvard or Hastings Law School. Three subjects I will need to take are english/reading, critical thinking, and argumentative writing. The reasons a lawyer needs to study english/reading is because lawyers have to read and understand a lot so english/reading will help with that. I will need critical thinking to come up with compelling evidence that will persuade the jury, judge, etc., and to figure out solutions to problems. Lastly, argumentative writing will help convince people of my case. When I finish my education, I will start by working at a law firm to give me some experience. Then, I will find a wonderful business partner to start our own law firm. My business partner will need to be loyal, honest, responsible, and have the skills listed in the paragraphs above, along with being a great business man/woman and lawyer. Together, we will handle many cases and grow to be the biggest law firm yet. It will be respected and trusted by the whole country, maybe even the world. As you can see, if all goes well, I will be very successful some day! I will work very, very hard to make sure it does, so don’t be surprised when my name is on the biggest law firm in history.

Within the first few sentences, I was grinning cheek to cheek. This girl is so inspiring and confident, I thought. I found myself wanting to be like her. Of course, there’s a naivety that comes with being a fifth grader, but in part this is what makes her so amazing. To her, the path to her dream is clear and well-defined. She isn’t phased by the difficulties that lie ahead and she seemingly isn’t going to let anything stop her. At the end of the letter I felt like she had dropped the mic and walked off stage — I was convinced she would sustain this attitude into her adult life. I kept my response short and sweet:

Dear soon-to-be lawyer, You are so inspiring. Had I not known you were in the fifth grade, I would have thought you were older. I have yet to meet anyone else your age that is as confident and well-spoken as you. There is no doubt in my mind that you will achieve your goals and reach your dream of becoming a successful lawyer. There are many types of lawyers out there (corporate, personal injury, intellectual property, etc.) and as a next step you may want to start thinking about which types appeal to you. This definietly isn’t something you need to figure out right away. You have plenty of time to do some digging into what’s out there. I need you to do something for me. Make a copy of your letter and keep it somewhere safe. Unfortunately, there are probably going to be people or things in the future that will discourage you from your dream. During these times of discouragement, pull your letter out and read it. It’ll remind you of how strong, confident and capable you are and the future you will appreciate the fifth grade you as much as I do.

I read her letter over and over again before I started writing my response. When I finally finished writing my flight landed.

With her in mind, I went to my interview no longer nervous. Her confidence was contagious. At the end of my interview I was offered the job. Thank you Bridget.

[shmoanne]

Students help bioscience get a grip on technology

A diverse group of biology and engineering students at University California, San Diego use cutting-edge technologies to ride and drive the wave of innovation in science.

[shmoanne]

#triceratops #halloween

[shmoanne]

Astronomers catch a black hole shredding a star to pieces

When a star comes too close to a black hole, the intense gravity of the black hole results in tidal forces that can rip the star apart. In these events, called tidal disruptions, some of the stellar debris is flung outward at high speeds, while the rest falls toward the black hole. This causes a distinct X-ray flare that can last for years.

[shmoanne]

A Change in Human Evolution

The full article offers many illustrations of the fossil site - showing how difficult it was to reach - and 3D renderings of the fossils found. 

Paleoanthropologist, Lee Berger, also speaks about his sprint towards publication:

In any case there was only one way to get the analysis done quickly: Put a lot of eyes on the bones. Along with the 20-odd senior scientists who had helped him evaluate the Malapa skeletons, Berger invited more than 30 young scientists, some with the ink still wet on their Ph.D.’s, to Johannesburg from some 15 countries, for a blitzkrieg fossil fest lasting six weeks.

I’ve read a few blogs and reports on this from CNN, IFL Science, BBC etc., but the full article from Nat Geo is a fantastic read. 

[shmoanne]

The Internet of Things is pitched as good for the consumer. But is it? At this point, it seems exceptionally awesome for those companies working on products for it. The benefit to the average homeowner pales dramatically in relation to the benefit for the companies poised to accumulate infinite amounts of actionable data. You and I benefit by determining whether our dog got enough exercise last Wednesday. Is that a fair tradeoff? Doesn’t feel like it.

The Internet of Way Too Many Things

[shmoanne]

OPTOGENETICS - USING LIGHT TO WATCH LIVE NEURONAL TRANSMISSION

Optogenetics is a relatively new neuroscience approach that combines genetics with the physics of light. It uses light to monitor and control neurons that have been genetically modified to sense and respond to light. Optogenetics allows neuroscientists to control and monitor the activities of individual neurons in living tissue - even within freely-moving animals - and to precisely measure the effects of those manipulations in real-time. Now, EPFL scientists have observed and measured synaptic transmission in a live animal for the first time. This breakthrough work is published in Neuron with the title "In Vivo Measurement of Cell-Type-Specific Synaptic Connectivity and Synaptic Transmission in Layer 2/3 Mouse Barrel Cortex." The open access paper can be freely downloaded.

[shmoanne]

No Death, No Taxes - The New Yorker

The libertarian futurism of a Silicon Valley billionaire.

A long, but great read. 

[neurosciencestuff]

(Image caption: Images of cells in the brain’s hippocampus show that the growth factor TGF-beta1 (stained red) is barely present in young tissue but ubiquitous in old tissue, where it suppresses stem cell regeneration and contributes to aging)

Drug perks up old muscles and aging brains

Whether you’re brainy, brawny or both, you may someday benefit from a drug found to rejuvenate aging brain and muscle tissue.

Researchers at UC Berkeley have discovered that a small-molecule drug simultaneously perks up old stem cells in the brains and muscles of mice, a finding that could lead to drug interventions for humans that would make aging tissues throughout the body act young again.

“We established that you can use a single small molecule to rescue essential function in not only aged brain tissue but aged muscle,” said co-author David Schaffer, director of the Berkeley Stem Cell Center and a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering. “That is good news, because if every tissue had a different molecular mechanism for aging, we wouldn’t be able to have a single intervention that rescues the function of multiple tissues.”

The drug interferes with the activity of a growth factor, transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta1), that Schaffer’s UC Berkeley colleague Irina Conboy showed over the past 10 years depresses the ability of various types of stem cells to renew tissue.

“Based on our earlier papers, the TGF-beta1 pathway seemed to be one of the main culprits in multi-tissue aging,” said Conboy, an associate professor of bioengineering. “That one protein, when upregulated, ages multiple stem cells in distinct organs, such as the brain, pancreas, heart and muscle. This is really the first demonstration that we can find a drug that makes the key TGF-beta1 pathway, which is elevated by aging, behave younger, thereby rejuvenating multiple organ systems.”

The UC Berkeley team reported its results in the current issue of the journal Oncotarget. Conboy and Schaffer are members of a consortium of faculty who study aging within the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3).

Depressed stem cells lead to aging

Aging is ascribed, in part, to the failure of adult stem cells to generate replacements for damaged cells and thus repair the body’s tissues. Researchers have shown that this decreased stem cell activity is largely a result of inhibitory chemicals in the environment around the stem cell, some of them dumped there by the immune system as a result of chronic, low-level inflammation that is also a hallmark of aging.

In 2005, Conboy and her colleagues infused old mice with blood from young mice – a process called parabiosis – reinvigorating stem cells in the muscle, liver and brain/hippocampus and showing that the chemicals in young blood can actually rejuvenate the chemical environment of aging stem cells. Last year, doctors began a small trial to determine whether blood plasma from young people can help reverse brain damage in elderly Alzheimer’s patients.

Such therapies are impractical if not dangerous, however, so Conboy, Schaffer and others are trying to track down the specific chemicals that can be used safely and sustainably for maintaining the youthful environment for stem cells in many organs. One key chemical target for the multi-tissue rejuvenation is TGF-beta1, which tends to increase with age in all tissues of the body and which Conboy showed depresses stem cell activity when present at high levels.

Five years ago, Schaffer, who studies neural stem cells in the brain, teamed up with Conboy to look at TGF-beta1 activity in the hippocampus, an area of the brain important in memory and learning. Among the hallmarks of aging are a decline in learning, cognition and memory. In the new study, they showed that in old mice, the hippocampus has increased levels of TGF-beta1 similar to the levels in the bloodstream and other old tissue.

Using a viral vector that Schaffer developed for gene therapy, the team inserted genetic blockers into the brains of old mice to knock down TGF-beta1 activity, and found that hippocampal stem cells began to act more youthful, generating new nerve cells.

Drug makes old tissue cleverer

The team then injected into the blood a chemical known to block the TGF-beta1 receptor and thus reduce the effect of TGF-beta1. This small molecule, an Alk5 kinase inhibitor already undergoing trials as an anticancer agent, successfully renewed stem cell function in both brain and muscle tissue of the same old animal, potentially making it stronger and more clever, Conboy said.

“The key TGF-beta1 regulatory pathway became reset to its young signaling levels, which also reduced tissue inflammation, hence promoting a more favorable environment for stem cell signaling,” she said. “You can simultaneously improve tissue repair and maintenance repair in completely different organs, muscle and brain.”

The researchers noted that this is only a first step toward a therapy, since other biochemical cues also regulate adult stem cell activity. Schaffer and Conboy’s research groups are now collaborating on a multi-pronged approach in which modulation of two key biochemical regulators might lead to safe restoration of stem cell responses in multiple aged and pathological tissues.

“The challenge ahead is to carefully retune the various signaling pathways in the stem cell environment, using a small number of chemicals, so that we end up recalibrating the environment to be youth-like,” Conboy said. “Dosage is going to be the key to rejuvenating the stem cell environment.”

[futureofscience]

BRAIN-CONTROLLED BIONIC LEGS ARE FINALLY HERE

“Now, at age 48, Olafsson can move his right ankle by thinking about it. When the electrical impulse from his brain reaches the base of his leg, a pair of sensors embedded in his muscle tissue connect the neural dots, and wirelessly transmit that signal to the Proprio Foot. Since the command reaches the foot before the wearer’s residual muscles actually contract, there’s no unnatural lag between intention and action. That makes Olafsson part of a highly exclusive club. Along with David Ingvasson, a fellow Ossur tester, he’s one of the only people on the planet who owns a brain-controlled bionic limb. Ossur unveiled its implanted myoelectric sensor (IMES) technology today at an event in Copenhagen, and is now preparing large-scale clinical trials, in the hopes of reaching the market in three to five years.”

[shmoanne]

#brainwrestling #neurosky #diy #arduino #engineering

[shmoanne]

Study finds possible alternative explanation for dark energy

(Phys.org)—Dark energy is an unknown form of energy that is proposed to drive the accelerated expansion of the universe. A new study by University of Georgia professor Edward Kipreos suggests that changes in how people think about time dilation—the slowing of time predicted by Albert Einstein—can ...

[neurosciencestuff]

Use of a light-emitting electronic book (LE-eBook) in the hours before bedtime can adversely impact overall health, alertness and the circadian clock, which synchronizes the daily rhythm of sleep to external environmental time cues, according to Harvard Medical School researchers at Brigham and...

[dshoaf]

Stephen Hawking, Gouache on board, 7” x 10”

[homelessbutclassy]

Alexander Gardner’s photographs of Lewis Payne, a Lincoln assassination conspirator. These photographs were taken from inside a ship where Payne was detained before he was hung.

Photos above are from Library of Congress.

[gov-info]

LOC Gov Doc: One of the Smart Set (1906)

[huffpostarts-deactivated2016121]

Retro Library Of Congress Photos Transform Into Mesmerizing GIFs