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Easy come, easy grow

By Guest PostMay 25, 2013Sciencefemale flower organs, pollen tubes, precocious discharge, sperm cell, sperm delivery tools

Sperm cell release can be triggered by tightening the grip around the delivery organ, according to a team of nano and microsystems engineers and plant biologists at the University of Montreal and Concordia University. Concordia’s nanobiotech team devised a microchip that enabled the University of Montreal biologists to observe what happened when pollen tubes – the sperm delivery tools used by plants – tried to negotiate a microscopic obstacle course. The pollen tubes were exposed to a series of narrow, elastic openings resulting in a variety of cellular responses. When the opening was too narrow or tight, pollen tube growth stalled. However, the elongating tubes successfully penetrated slightly larger openings. Curiously, the pollen tubes burst and released the sperm cells when passing openings of a particular size relative to the pollen tube width. (more…)

Century-Old Science Helps Confirm Global Warming

By Guest PostMay 25, 2013Environmentanthropogenic, argo array, australia, century old science, challengers voyage, global scientific survey, global warming, greenhouse gases, hms challenger, human activities, josh willis, life beneath, NASA, natural variation, ocean data, ocean profiling floats, ocean surface, oceanographic expedition, sandy bay, sea water, sea-level rise, temperature, thermal expansion, university analysis, university of tasmania, will hobbs

A new NASA and university analysis of ocean data collected more than 135 years ago by the crew of the HMS Challenger oceanographic expedition provides further confirmation that human activities have warmed our planet over the past century.

Researchers from the University of Tasmania, Sandy Bay, Australia; and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., combined the ship’s measurements of ocean temperatures with modern observations from the international Argo array of ocean profiling floats. They used both as inputs to state-of-the-art climate models, to get a picture of how the world’s oceans have changed since the Challenger’s voyage. (more…)

Small, Speedy Plant-Eater Extends Knowledge of Dinosaur Ecosystems

By Guest PostMay 24, 2013Naturedinosaur ecosystems, meat eating dinosaurs, plant eating dinosaur, small dinosaurs

Bethesda, MD — Dinosaurs are often thought of as large, fierce animals, but new research highlights a previously overlooked diversity of small dinosaurs. In the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, a team of paleontologists from the University of Toronto, Royal Ontario Museum, Cleveland Museum of Natural History and University of Calgary have described a new dinosaur, the smallest plant-eating dinosaur species known from Canada. Albertadromeus syntarsus was identified from a partial hind leg, and other skeletal elements, that indicate it was a speedy runner. Approximately 1.6 m (5 ft) long, it weighed about 16 kg (30 lbs), comparable to a large turkey. (more…)

Studying meteorites may reveal Mars’ secrets of life

By Guest PostMay 24, 2013Scienceage old question, alterations, Antarctica, billion years ago, data from meteorites, earth, geochemical processes, mars, michael velbel, michigan state university, miller range, mineralogical studies, mystery, nakhlite meteorite, rover data, secrets of life, solar system, studying meteorites

In an effort to determine if conditions were ever right on Mars to sustain life, a team of scientists, including a Michigan State University professor, has examined a meteorite that formed on the red planet more than a billion years ago.

And although this team’s work is not specifically solving the mystery, it is laying the groundwork for future researchers to answer this age-old question. (more…)

PatternBuilders brings big data analytics down to size

By Guest PostMay 23, 2013Technologyanalyticspbi, big data analytics, data technology experts, iaas, mary ludloff, microsoft bizspark startup, mongodb, mongolab, next generation, paas, patternbuilders, Technology, terence craig, virtual networks, windows azure

Microsoft BizSpark startup makes next-generation big data analytics solutions accessible to enterprises of all sizes.

REDMOND, Wash. — May 23, 2013 — Data technology experts and startup veterans Terence Craig and Mary Ludloff founded PatternBuilders with a singular vision: to make it practical and easy for enterprises everywhere to harness big data and make better, faster decisions — without hiring a team of experts.

“We found it disconcerting that there was such a huge divide between big data excitement and actual adoption rates,” said Craig, CEO and chief technology officer at PatternBuilders. “Taking advantage of big data analytics often requires a budget, toolset and in-house expertise far beyond what most enterprises can muster. Mary and I founded PatternBuilders because we thought there must be a better approach.” (more…)

Comparing Proteins at a Glance

By Guest PostMay 23, 2013Scienceatp hydrolysis, berkeley lab, big puzzle, cancer chemotherapy, car spin, comparing proteins, cynthia mcmurray, en masse, function follows form, glance, greg hura, helen budworth, imaging technique, kevin dyer, macromolecules, michal hammel, multiple proteins, mutation, problematic dna, protein structures, robert rambo, saxs, xray analytical technique

Berkeley Lab Researchers Unveil Technique for Easy Comparisons of Proteins in Solution

A revolutionary X-ray analytical technique that enables researchers at a glance to identify structural similarities and differences between multiple proteins under a variety of conditions has been developed by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). As a demonstration, the researchers used this technique to gain valuable new insight into a protein that is a prime target for cancer chemotherapy.

“Proteins and other biological macromolecules are moving machines whose power is often derived from how their structural conformations change in response to their environment,” says Greg Hura, a scientist with Berkeley Lab’s Physical Biosciences Division. “Knowing what makes a protein change has incredible value, much like knowing that stepping on a gas pedal makes the wheels of a car spin.” (more…)

The tea party and the politics of paranoia

By Guest PostMay 23, 2013Politicsamerican, american conservatism, american conservative principles, christopher parker, conspiratorial fantasy, faux citizen, george w. bush, john birch society, ku klux klan, mainstream republican, matt barreto, muslim, nelson rockefeller, non tea party, paranoid style, political scientist, politics of paranoia, President Obama, richard hofstadter, richard nixon, ronald reagan, tea party, united states, university of washington

Members of tea party claim the movement springs from and promotes basic American conservative principles such as limited government and fiscal responsibility.

But new research by University of Washington political scientist Christopher Parker argues that the tea party ideology owes more to the paranoid politics associated with the John Birch Society — and even the infamous Ku Klux Klan — than to traditional American conservatism. (more…)

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