Protein® Feed
CERN Rap
Officials at CERN, the European nuclear research organisation in Geneva, are to switch on the world's most powerful particle accelerator on 10 September and look, they've made a YouTube video to celebrate.
Synaesthesia | hear a picture
Melissa Saenz at Caltech in Pasadena was tipped off when a visitor looked at her screensaver, which made no noise, and said, "Does anyone else hear that?"
She quizzed him and found that his experience had the hallmarks of synaesthesia: a trigger through one sense was giving rise to a sensory experience in another. It was automatic and her visitor had experienced it as far back as he could remember.
via New Scientist
DNA Molecule from Artificial Parts
Chemists in Japan report development of the world's first DNA molecule made almost entirely of artificial parts. The finding could lead to improvements in gene therapy, futuristic nano-sized computers, and other high-tech advances:
No S**t
MIT instrument studies edge of Sun Bubble
The Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft have traveled beyond the edges of the bubble in space where the sun's constant outward wind of particles and radiation slams into the interstellar medium that pervades our galaxy.
Because they are leaving the solar system on paths that are about 45 degrees apart, the data reveals details about the shape of the bubble created by the solar wind. The fact that they crossed the edge of the solar outflow--a region called the boundary shock--at different distances out from the sun proved that this bubble is squashed rather than being a symmetrical sphere.
via MIT
DNA Mutation Vitamins
As the cost of sequencing a single human genome drops rapidly, with one company predicting a price of $100 per person in five years, soon the only reason not to look at your "personal genome" will be fear of what bad news lies in your genes.
University of California, Berkeley, scientists, however, have found a welcome reason to delve into your genetic heritage: to find the slight genetic flaws that can be fixed with remedies as simple as vitamin or mineral supplements.
Drugs to Grow Your Brain
Drugs that encourage the growth of new neurons in the brain are now headed for clinical trials. The drugs, which have already shown success in alleviating symptoms of depression and boosting memory in animal models, are being developed by BrainCells, a San Diego-based start-up that screens drugs for their brain-growing power. The company hopes the compounds will provide an alternative to existing antidepressants and says they may also prove effective in treating cognitive disorders, such as Alzheimer's.
Mapping The Human Proteome
A Nature News article describes the initial plans for an ambitious effort to begin mapping the complete human proteome: the set of all human proteins expressed in all of our cells at all points during our development and adult life.
This is a project of vastly greater magnitude and complexity than the sequencing of the human genome. Unlike the genome, which remains essentially static between cell types and over time, the proteome is tremendously dynamic, changing constantly in response to cell-cell signalling and environmental stimuli.
Magnetic Gold
Physicists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have made two important findings regarding gold on the nanoscale.
They found that applying an electrical field on a surface-supported gold nanocluster changes its structure from a three-dimensional one to a planar flat structure.
In another paper, they relate their discovery that gold in this size regime can be made magnetic through oxygenation of gold nanowires.
Small is Different.
SETI: The WOW Signal
Will & Myself have been talking about the possibility of processing Genetic Data in Protein Members machines, in a twist on the SETI Project. That jogged a distant memory of WOW. If you didn't catch it at the time, check it out.
The most famous signal in SETI history was detected on the night of August 15, 1977 at the Ohio State University Big Ear Observatory. As on every other night, while Big Ear was searching the skies for an alien signal, its observations were being recorded on a printout sheet. A long list of letters and numbers was continuously being churned out, one long string for every one of the fifty channels scanned by the telescope. A series of characters appeared recording an unusual transmission at the frequency of channel 2: "6EQUJ5" the list read.
