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Scientists Defuse the Vietnam Time Bomb

By Guest PostNovember 11, 2011Health, Sciencebacterial pathogen, bacterium, burkholderia, burkholderia pseudomallei, cancer, david rice, deadly tropical disease, diseases, drugs, endemic areas, esrf, european synchrotron radiation facility, france, grenoble, hiv and tuberculosis, kevin van cauter, key mechanism, melioidosis, northern australia, pmi2 funding, protein synthesis, rick titball, south east asia, structure of a protein, stuart wilson, therapies to prevent the proliferation of cancer cells, university of exeter, university of sheffield, us military personnel, vietnam time bomb, xrays at diamond light source

A key mechanism by which a bacterial pathogen causes the deadly tropical disease melioidosis has been discovered by an international team, including a University of Exeter scientist.

The findings are published in the journal Science and show how a toxin produced by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei kills cells by preventing protein synthesis.

The study, led by the University of Sheffield, paves the way for the development of novel therapies to combat the bacterium which infects millions of people across South East Asia and Northern Australia.

Using intense X-rays at Diamond Light Source, the UK’s national synchrotron facility, and at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France, the research team solved the structure of a protein from Burkholderia, the function of which was initially unknown. (more…)

Breakthrough Scientific Discoveries No Longer Dominated By the Very Young, Study Finds

By Guest PostNovember 11, 2011Scienceage of creativity, aging pattern, breakthrough work, prize winning work, scientific discoveries, youthful achievement

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Scientists under the age of 40 used to make the majority of significant breakthroughs in chemistry, physics and medicine – but that is no longer the case, new research suggests. (more…)

Being Smart is Already Part of your Mental Toolbox, Psychologist Says

By Guest PostNovember 11, 2011Generalapply knowledge for smarter thinking, art markman, cognitive psychological research, craig wynett, human dimensions of organizations, instantly smarter, intelligence and smart thinking, january 2012, perigee books, psychologist, scholarly work, smart thinking, university of texas at austin

AUSTIN, Texas — Intelligence and smart thinking are not the same, according to University of Texas at Austin psychologist Art Markman, who studies how best to apply knowledge for smarter thinking at work and home.

Drawing on his work at a top multinational corporation and his scholarly work, Markman says science confirms that smart thinking is not an innate quality but rather a skill to be cultivated. Humans are not born with a particular capacity to do smart things. “Each of the components of being smart is already part of your mental toolbox,” he says. (more…)

From the Man Who Played God, a Vampire and a Statesman: Don’t quit

By Guest PostNovember 10, 2011Culture, Entertainment1968, academy award for best actor, academy award winning actor, actor, brilliant director, broadway debut, bruce almighty, chubb fellow, clint eastwood, driving miss daisy, fast black, film studies program, glory, god, hello dolly, invictus, jackson state university, james bundy, long walk to freedom, los angeles, lucious fox, million dollar baby, mississippi born actor, morgan freeman, ned logan, nelson mandela, new york, nobel peace prize winning statesman, pbs children show, ron gregg, sergeant major john rawlins, south african leader, street smart, the dark knight, the electric company, the shawshank redemption, unforgiven, us air force, vincent the vegetable vampire, woolsey hall, yale

Woolsey Hall was packed with his fans on Nov. 8 when Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman took the stage for an “Actor’s Studio”-styled interview with Ron Gregg, a senior lecturer and programming director in Yale’s Film Studies Program.

Among those who came out to see the 74-year-old-actor — visiting the campus as a Chubb Fellow —was a 95-year old woman who listened as Freeman described his acting career and his history on television, in theater and in film. When given the opportunity to ask a question, she simply gushed, “Morgan Freeman, I love you. I’ve seen every movie you’ve been in.” She then told him, “I don’t want to show you any disrespect” for being so bold. (more…)

Pine Island Glacier: A Scientific Quest in Antarctica to Determine What’s Causing Ice Loss

By Guest PostNovember 10, 2011EnvironmentAntarctica, bismarck, cold, glacier, glacier melt, global sea level rise, harsh, hazards, ice shelf, international polar year, ipy, logistics hub, mcmurdo station, models to predict glacier acceleration, NASA, national science foundation, north dakota, nsf, ocean cavity shape, ocean currents, oceanographic instruments, pine island glacier, pine island glacier ice shelf, project, ross island, scott borg, sea-level rise, stormy climate, united states antarctic program, warmer ocean water, Washington

*Researchers study heat delivered by ocean currents to bottom side of glacier that releases more than 19 cubic miles of ice each year*

An international team of researchers, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NASA, will helicopter onto the Pine Island Glacier ice shelf, one of Antarctica’s most active, remote and harsh spots, in mid-December 2011–weather permitting.

The project’s mission is to determine how much heat ocean currents deliver to the underside of the Pine Island Glacier as it discharges into the sea. Quantifying this heat and understanding how much melting it causes is key to developing reliable models to predict glacier acceleration and therefore predict how much ice will be delivered from land into the ocean thus contributing to sea level rise. (more…)

Imaging Technique IDs Plaques, Tangles in Brains of Severely Depressed Older Adults

By Guest PostNovember 10, 2011Healthamyloid plaques, brain scan, chemical marker, imaging technique, severe depression, tau tangles

Study provides more evidence linking depression to possible dementia later in life

Depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the elderly, but little is known about the underlying biology of its development in older adults. (more…)

Preventing Pancreatic Cell Death in Type 1 Diabetes

By Guest PostNovember 9, 2011Healthbeta cell death, blood glucose levels, diabetes, hyperglycemia, insulin producing cells, pancreatic cell death

Diabetes researchers at Yale University have developed a method to detect and measure the destruction of beta cells that occurs in the pancreas by measuring DNA expression in the blood. The destruction of beta cells leads, over time, to type 1 diabetes. Their finding could ultimately lead to a treatment that stops the progression of the disease. The paper appears in the Online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (more…)

Greek ‘Anti-Economist’ Offers Solution to Economic Crisis

By Guest PostNovember 9, 2011Economy, Politicsanti economist, current economic crisis, exit card, hart house, overcoming the eurocrisis, the global minotaur, toxic economic theories, yanis varoufakis

*Standing room only crowd at Hart House*

Yanis Varoufakis, a self-described anti-economist, told a standing-room only crowd at Hart House that the current economic crisis could be solved in two weeks; provided the political will to do so also existed. (more…)

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