Science Slow to Ponder Ills That Linger in Anthrax Victims. Survivors of last year's anthrax attacks are of great scientific interest because in the past nearly everyone with inhalation anthrax died. By William J. Broad and Denise Grady. [New York Times: Science]

Okay, this article pissed me off and I was already writing another missive when I stopped and started over. This article intially ticked me off but I forgot that they always wait until the second page to tell you the real stuff.By the end, it discusses what is being done. It appears that it was a slow start because providing grant money for this takes some time. They don't really have a slush fund to do it. It takes time to get everyone's medical information. Each state has different requirements for releasing medical data. They do have blood samples and are going forward. There are only a small number of people, so it will be hard to do real epidemiological work, separating normal fatigue of aging and special anthrax-related fatigue. But they are starting and I do not think irreplaceable time has been lost. They want you to get pissed off but they failed in my case. I am so proud.  9:49:22 PM    

The Physics of the Wave, in Stadiums, Not Oceans. The sweeping mass of spectators rising in sequence around a stadium can be quantified just about as well as all those other waves. By Henry Fountain. [New York Times: Science]

So play on the field affcts the stability of the Wave, as does size of the initiating units (i.e people). So, while an Expos vs D-Rays game would have low enough field excitement to permit long running waves, there are not enough units to get it going. Neat.  9:36:03 PM    

In Nature vs. Nurture, a Voice for Nature. Steven Pinker, a psychologist of language, is trying to make it safer for biologists to theorize about the genetics of human behavior. By Nicholas Wade. [New York Times: Science]

Born With It? Author Suggests Yes. There is evidence that some universal human social behaviors and faculties are innate, and presumably shaped in part by the genes. In "The Blank Slate," Dr. Steven Pinker lists some behaviors of political consequence which he considers may fall in this category. [New York Times: Science]

The problem I have with the Naturists is the implicit argument that, since these behaviors are implicitly genetic, there is nothing you can do about it. And anyone who compares himself, and his worldview, to Galileo, and his worldview, is suspect in my book. Check out the list of innate behaviors. The first list would seem to be true for most any social animal, while the latter list describes things seen in our nearest relatives. The argument should not be not whether these are innate but to what degree they are modified by the environment, by society. On one side are those who say you can't modify anything, while there are others who feel you can modify everything. For most of recorded history, great thinkers have believed that human nature could be altered, that the baser instincts could be corralled. That is what society does, it modifies these innate instincts, for the betterment of the group. I firmly believe that human society has gotten better at this as time has progressed. It is the combination of strong natures easily modified by beneficial nurtures that makes humans such formidible creatures. Oh well, sociology is not a real science. It is just an area of research that helps create pundits ;-)  9:33:30 PM    

More Sci- Than Fi, Physicists Create Antimatter. Physicists working in Europe announced they had created atoms made of antimatter, or antiatoms, opening up the possibility of experiments in a realm once reserved for science fiction writers. By Dennis Overbye. [New York Times: Science]

I wonder how long before we get Warp drives going!!  9:16:12 PM    

First direct estimate of hidden vCJD cases [New Scientist]

  9:15:02 PM    

Physics meets biology: Philately will get you nowhere. Nature Sep 19 2002 8:30PM ET [Moreover - moreover...]

SOme will come because it makes it easier to get grant money. Some will come because they think they are smarter than biologists. But some will come that will revolutionize the field. New knowledge almost always gets created when people with different viewpoints interact. But, I think it will be physicists who can see order in chaos. Check out this article in Nonlinear Dynamics, Psychology, and Life Sciences (vol 6, p 37). It discusses a study where 20% of the people could see the underlying order in a chaotic number series, while the other 80% could not. I would suggest that biology would select for a higher percentage of this than in the normal population, but that physicists of a certain type might also have the faculty. That is a study I would like to see.  9:09:00 PM    

DNA codes own error correction. Nature Sep 20 2002 8:46AM ET [Moreover - moreover...]

Purine and pyrimidines as parity codes? Sometimes I have to wonder. But does this actually tell us anything. I'm not enough of an information technologist but it seems kind of arbitrary. He seems to have just given binary encoding to things that have complex molecular shapes. Just to fit the idea of a parity code. And how do unusually modified nucleotides fit in the scheme? Like the ones in tRNA? It still seems like some for of post-hoc argument.  8:57:44 PM    

Haseltine Says Biopharma, Duped by HGP, Should Turn to Expression Genomics [GenomeWeb]

Haseltine is right about getting duped, although I would not exactly phrase it that way. Some science is worth doing because of the technology it develops, not just for the science being done. We went to the moon because of the Soviet Union, right. Well, we would not have gone if JFK had simply said we would have so many new technologies generated that it would send us forward into a new age, the Information Age. He did not know nor could imagine what the Apollo program, and necessary predecessors, would produce. No, we went to the moon to beat the Russians. We were duped and because we were, we have never gone back. Columbus duped the rulers of Spain. But he lead to a new Age. The Human Genome Project duped pharmas. But, the technology that was developed will allow us to get places we could not get before. Will it send us into a new Age? We shall see. But we will be able to examine arenas in Life's panorama that were unaccessible before.  8:47:23 PM    

Business Shun Biotechnology Seafood [AP Science]

Now, I am for GM foods when they are beneficial to the consumer. These are just beneficial to the manufacturer. Simply being cheaper is not how to enter the market. That is not enough of a rationale to overcome customer's worries. Coupled with the comments of someone who obviously did not watch or read Jurassic Park. To Quote the article:

McGonigle said the company's lab-grown salmon all will be infertile females, eliminating the risk of escaped fish crossbreeding with native species.

8:24:14 PM    

Hieroglyphics Disclose Unknown War [AP Science]

For those people who believe there are no coincidences, I wonder what significance this has? I'm waiting for some pundit to bring it up.  8:13:03 PM    

Scientist Concedes Antihydrogen Claim [AP Science]

Hey, you know that egos are involved when the intial response is 'Nope. Not true.' This is then followed by 'Well, it might be true but we showed the same thing 3 years ago'. I wonder if his work got published in Nature. Could be a little jealous ;-)  8:10:23 PM    

Green tea may fight allergies. Allergy sufferers may want to add green tea to their sniffle-fighting arsenal. New evidence suggests that drinking the popular brew may provide some relief. Researchers in Japan identified a compound in green tea that, in laboratory tests, blocks a key cell receptor involved in producing an allergic response. The compound, methylated epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), may have a similar effect in humans, they say. Program for Promotion of Basic Research Activities for Innovative Biosciences [EurekAlert - Biology]

Does this compound make it through our digestive system? It would be very interesting to find out how it works.  8:08:32 PM    

Structure reveals details of cell[base ']s cargo-carriers. Using x-ray crystallography, Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have produced the first images of a large molecular complex that helps shape and load the small, bubble-like vesicles that transport newly formed proteins in the cell. Understanding vesicle "budding" is one of the prerequisites for learning how proteins and other molecules are routed to their correct destinations in the cell [EurekAlert - Biology]

X-Ray crystallopgraphy gets better and better every day, as computing power and better technology arrives. This is a very important pathway, since so many proteins are carried by vessicles. Elucidating it is pretty nice.  3:25:59 PM    

Tiny, magnetic spheres may help overcome gene therapy hurdle. In a July article in Molecular Therapy, UF researchers report attaching the adeno-associated virus, a widely used gene carrier, to the surface of tiny manufactured balls known as microspheres, each containing a miniscule particle of iron oxide. Using a magnet placed under culture dishes, the researchers were able to coax large amounts of the microspheres to target areas of the cultures. Whitaker Foundation [EurekAlert - Biology]

Very nice use of technology. You'd like to make sure that the magnetic spheres had little harmful effects, but it could be a very nice way to target other things, like binary toxins, to a specific organ uding chemo.  3:20:48 PM    

Advances in 'micro' RNA exploring process of life. Researchers at Oregon State University have made an important advance in the understanding of "micro-RNA" molecules, which are tiny bits of genetic material that were literally unknown 10 years ago but now represent one of the most exciting new fields of study in biology. National Science Foundation [EurekAlert - Biology]

People used to think that these micro-RNAs were not important or only breakdown products. To see that they may be active manipulators of gene expression is amazing. Nice story to follow.  3:12:55 PM    

Waist circumference as a predictor of cardiovascular risk. Waist circumference has been proposed as a simpler measurement than body mass index that also more accurately reflects body fat distribution. A study by Zhu et al. closely correlated waist circumference with risk of cardiovascular disease in a large group of overweight men and women. National Institutes of Health [EurekAlert - Biology]

So, anytime anyone buys a 'husky'-sized pair of pants, maybe we should give them a pamplet on obesity and cardiovascular risk? Sounds like an idea ;-)  3:07:32 PM    

Genentech tops Science survey of best biopharma employers. When Science asked life scientists around the world which pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies they most admire, Genentech was the clear stand-out, according to a survey in the 20 September issue of the journal, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). [EurekAlert - Biology]

I will have to check out the article to get some idea of how this was determined.2:49:14 PM    

Researchers discover new risk factor for colon cancer. Studies in mice and humans have revealed that people who are carriers of the rare disease Bloom syndrome are at increased risk for developing colorectal cancer. The results are the first to show that being a carrier of a recessive cancer syndrome gene can raise the risk of cancer, even if that individual does not have the disease itself. [EurekAlert - Biology]

This mutation appears to be found in many Ashkenazi Jews. Even just producing less protein than normal is enough to increase the prevalence of cancer. Since it seems to be a protein involved in repairing DNA damage this is not surprising. What is surprising is that carriers of this defect, that is they have one normal gene and 1 defective one, were THREE times more likely to develop colon cancer than normal controls. It will be interesting if this is due to the need to have two full functional genes in EVERY cell, or whether there is some variability, with some cells having normal levels and others having none at all. Since all it may take is one cancer cell to be formed, either one is tough, but it may affect how you do some sort of gene therapy approach.  2:47:29 PM    

UT Southwestern researchers find protein that both instigates, inhibits heart growth in mice. Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have discovered a protein that regulates growth and development of the heart from its fetal stage to adulthood. National Institutes of Health, Donald W. Reynolds Cardiovascular Clinical Research Center, McGowan Charitable Fund [EurekAlert - Biology]

This sounded really interesting until I got to the last line. 'San Diego-based Collateral Therapeutics Inc., a company working to develop genetic treatments for heart ailments, already has licensed the research in order to explore drug-development possibilities.' What does this mean - that no one can work on these molecules without dealing with Collateral Therapeutics. I hate it when releases mention this stuff.  2:39:30 PM    

When Bad Viruses Go Good.

In this article, John Edwards looks at the convergence of two disciplines: using real biological viruses to build nanosize materials. This idea is quite attractive. Here is he has to say.

Most biological viruses have a nasty reputation. But scientist Angela Belcher believes that some viruses can be guided into performing a useful task: building high-tech materials.

Belcher and her University of Texas at Austin colleagues were intrigued by the way viruses can easily produce vast armies of new viruses. The researchers soon discovered that virus replication could also build nanosize materials for next-generation optical, electronic and magnetic devices.

Using genetically engineered viruses that are noninfectious to humans, Belcher and her team created liquid crystal suspensions of viruses and nanoparticles that could be cast into thin liquid crystal films.

Belcher believes that viruses have the potential to become cheap, efficient and environmentally safe nanotechnology building tools. "Biology makes material at moderate temperature using self-assembly and using nontoxic materials," she says.

Can you imagine microscopic semiconductors produced by biological viruses? "Most of this research is still at the basic science stage," says Angela Belcher.

So I guess we will not see any real-world applications before at least five years.

Source: John Edwards, CIO Magazine, September 15, 2002 Issue

[Roland Piquepaille's Technology Trends]

Very cool work.However, I am waiting for someone to start making the argument that nanotubes of carbon, or other nano-material are not really non-toxic. I wonder how the human digestive system reacts to these things? Not the viruses but the things they would make. Good science fiction story (excepting its use in Ecks vs. Sever, where it appears to just be a plot device).  2:30:16 PM    

Gathered at Gambling Mecca, Genomics Types Ask Why Pharmas Have Quit Betting on Them [GenomeWeb]

Has the -omics bubble burst? Not if you really had an appreciation for how hard it all is. New technologies allow you to ask new questions. They usually do not just hand you the answer. There is a huge amount of work that will need to be done. I particlularly liked the comments of David O'Reilly, the chief business officer for Iconix Pharmaceuticals:

he argued that whether genomics technologies bear fruit for pharma has 'nothing to do with technology and everything to do with organizational change.' To really understand the impact of genomic technologies, he said, ask what's happening inside life sciences organizations. If pharma is anything like other industries, it will be 15 to 20 years before genomics technologies are fully integrated. 'In the US we have a certain amount of technological hubris,' he said. 'Ask senior pharmaceutical executives. They're not evaluating the technologies; they're asking themselves, 'How can we organize ourselves to take advantage of these technologies?

2:25:55 PM    

That Reporter Done Steered Me Wrong: How much should we blame journalists for the dot-com cras h

That Reporter Done Steered Me Wrong How much should we blame journalists for the dot-com c

2:20:20 PM    

Why aren't liberals fun?.

I confess to being a knee-jerk, pacifist-leaning, NPR-listening, white-wine-swilling, heart-bleeding, Kennedy-voting, cigarette-banning, tie-dye-wearing, Mondale-mourning, Vineyard-vacationing, West-Wing-Tivo-ing, decade-old-spare-joints-in-a-bottom-draw-stashing, male-distrusting, race-apologizing, criminal-coddling Jewish atheist pointy-headed bleeding-heart middle class middle aged Liberal.

So, Alex Beam's column in the Boston Globe today was thought-provoking. (I usually find his writing just plain old provoking.) He points out that the Conservatives have much more fun than we do. They get to drive in their SUV's, blow up bad guys, and rant on talk shows about how the media don't give conversatives any air time.

There's something to this. They're the Bad Boys/Girls. We're the scolds. It'd be real good to make Liberalism fun again.

Again? Yes, kiddies, there was a time when being a lefty-liberal meant that you were cool and the conservatives were squares. We got to smoke dope while they watched John Wayne movies. We got free sex while they reproduced via the missionary position. We got to rethink the world while they were pledging their allegiance. If nothing else, the left was the happenin' place to be. Now it's as glamorous as sensible shoes.

We should work on changing this. Maybe a new hairstyle or something. [JOHO the Blog]

By the time liberals are cool again, I'll be way too old to be cool. Bummer.  1:58:44 PM