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 Friday, November 8, 2002
Whingeing and Snivelling From a Democrat. Well... I'll tell you why I'm whingeing and snivelling right now... It's not so much because Republicans control all three centers of power--the presidency, the house, and the senate... It's because I have a low opinion of *these* particular Republicans... You see, it's not that I think America would be a better country if Republicans never had a majority in any house of congress and never held the presidency. I kind of think periods of Republican political dominance should be... [Semi-Daily Journal]
I'm not enough of a Scrabble player to know that 'whingeing' is a real word. I looked it up though. Interesting viewpoint for why it is nice to have one party or the other in power. I think it is interesting that we are entering a world of supreme changes, with people on either side of a paradigm shift, at the same time we are about to have the largest number of people entering college age ever. Will we see another period of cultural revolution like we saw in the 60s? How will these young people view the world 5 years down the road? 10:35:12 PM 
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Ken is making the case that I should switch to Apple for all of my business needs. It really does look slick. [John Robb's Radio Weblog]
Great site explaining some of the special aspects of OS X. 10:23:20 PM
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Public Release: 6-Nov-2002
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Aspirin inhibits ovarian cancer growth, lab study finds
Aspirin may inhibit ovarian tumor growth, according to a new laboratory study by the University of South Florida College of Medicine.
NASA
Contact: Anne DeLotto Baier
abaier@hsc.usf.edu
813-974-3300
University of South Florida Health Sciences Center
[Eurekalert - Biology]
What a bad headline. The effect of aspirin was in cultured tumor cells in a test tube. There is no idea of what happens in an animal, much less a woman. Could you get enough aspirin to the tumor to do any good? What other effects would that much aspirin have on the woman? This is interesting work and really naiiling why could be useful. The scientist's say wait several years, but the headline writer obviously did not read that. 9:45:53 PM
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Public Release: 6-Nov-2002
Journal of Geophysical Research
Scripps research gives tiny phytoplankton a large role in Earth's climate system
The ecological importance of phytoplankton, microscopic plants that free-float through the world's oceans, is well known. Among their key roles, the one-celled organisms are the major source of sustenance for animal life in the seas.
Now, in a new study conducted by researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, our understanding of the significance of phytoplankton has been taken to a new level.
NASA, US Department of Energy, California Space Institute
Contact: Mario Aguilera or Cindy Clark
scrippsnews@ucsd.edu
858-534-3624
University of California - San Diego
[Eurekalert - Biology]
Great. Plankton affect the albedo or the reflectivity of the sun's energy. essentially, large amounts of plankton increase the global temperature by 0.1 to 0.6 degrees. This could be quite significant. And, in a real life imitation of the climax of the movie 'Evolution' (i.e. they napalmed the aliens who use heat to reporduce. So instead of killing them, they actually made them more powerful), people have suggested seeding the oceans with iron in order to increase the numbers of plankton. The belief was that they would soak up more CO2, lowering the amounts of one of the greenhouse gases. This would havppen but it may very well be that the increase in plankton numbers would also produce an increase in global warming.
This is a real problem when people examine complex systems. The natural thing is to believe that everything is run in a hierarchical way: find the key element and you can make the changes you want. That is how we have attacked medicine - find the drug that does x. Unfortunately, in complex systems there is seldom a such a linchpin. Systems can be in disequilibrium, meaning that all sorts of similar intial conditions can produce wildly different results. Cause and effect can become quite complex. Changing x may result in y changing, but z, a, c, and g all alter to compensate. Our changes in the atmosphere are having effects on global warming. this I believe. But it is a complex system and may have all sorts of compensating effects.
The problem comes when you get close to a point of inflection. You can see all sorts of compensatory effects but at some point a very slight change can have a huge result, changing the system into a very different mode. At some point, our alteration of the atmosphere could tip the balance, moving us irretrievably into another mode, with potential catastrophic effects. Or not. Who knows? That is why we do research. 9:43:13 PM
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Public Release: 6-Nov-2002
Journal of Zoology
Mole-rat Methuselahs push evolutionary theory of aging
The extreme longevity of naked mole-rats, the oldest known rodents in captivity, is said to confirm the evolutionary theory of senescence.
Contact: Roger Segelken
hrs2@cornell.edu
607-255-9736
Cornell University News Service
[Eurekalert - Biology]
Wow. These rats live for 30 years. That is a huge length of time for a mammal their size. Most rats dies in less than 3. We are relatively long-lived for animals our size but this is ridiculous. Plus, they breed like rats. 28 pups in one litter and over 900 in a lifetime. Thos females must be exhausted. 9:31:15 PM
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Public Release: 7-Nov-2002
Lancet
Genetic variant protects people against malaria
An international team of scientists has discovered a novel genetic trait that protects its carriers against the deadliest forms of malaria, while people without the trait are more likely to succumb to its fatal consequences.
National Institutes of Health, US Veterans Affairs, US Agency for International Development, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Contact: Rebecca Levine
levin005@mc.duke.edu
919-684-4148
Duke University Medical Center
[Eurekalert - Biology]
Nitric oxide is a very important molecule. Higher amounts may help against malaria but could also open the person up to arthritis and bleeding disorders. I would imagine this is a good tradeoff in areas with malaria but a lot more work will have to be done to really do anything useful. 9:13:33 PM
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Public Release: 7-Nov-2002
Science
Cellular pathway includes a 'clock' that steers gene activity
Researchers have discovered a biochemical "clock" that appears to play a crucial role in the way information is sent from the surface of a cell to its nucleus. These messages can cause the cell to thrive or commit suicide, and manipulating them could lead to new treatments for cancer and other diseases.
Contact: Phil Sneiderman
prs@jhu.edu
410-516-7907
Johns Hopkins University
[Eurekalert - Biology]
Biology is always more complicated and more interesting than you think. Most people have viewed the signalling apparatus to be an all-or-nothing event. Either the receptors bound ligand, producing a signal, or they did not. Enough signal and 'something' would get generated to the nucleus, producing a response. No we see that not only the amount of information getting to the nucleus is important, but its timing is also. This should not be too surprising. We all know that when birth pains are 20 minutes apart, there is plenty of time; less than 2 minutes and there is no time. The nucleus appears to react similarly. It changes the sets of genes its expressing depeneding on just how much of an emergency it is. This will have real implications for all sorts of therapies. It is hard to imagine how to completely shut off a signal. But if you can alter its timing, that may be better. 9:10:49 PM
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Oil and Gas: "The US State Department has pushed back its planned meeting with Iraqi opposition leaders on exploiting Iraq's oil and gas reserves after a US military offensive removes Saddam Hussein from power." [Scripting News]
I wonder how Russia will feel when we take all the oil and gas for ourselves. More importantly, controlling Iraqi oil could destroy OPEC. I wonder if they will take a pre-emptive embargo to get what they can while they can. But then, I guess we could then go after them for supporting terrorism. 9:05:24 PM
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Leaning Tower Poses a Technical and Political Challenge
Andrew Lawler
Science Nov 8 2002: 1201-1202.
[Summary]
[Full Text]
[PDF] [Science]
Cell-to-Cell Communication Across the Prokaryote-Eukaryote Boundary
Ian Joint, Karen Tait, Maureen E. Callow, James A. Callow, Debra Milton, Paul Williams, and Miguel Cámara
Science Nov 8 2002: 1207.
[Full Text]
[PDF]
[Supporting Online Material] [Science]
Macromolecular Architecture in Eukaryotic Cells Visualized by Cryoelectron Tomography
Ohad Medalia, Igor Weber, Achilleas S. Frangakis, Daniela Nicastro, Günther Gerisch, and Wolfgang Baumeister
Science Nov 8 2002: 1209-1213.
A HREF="http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/298/5596/1209">[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
[Supporting Online Material]
[Science]
Fossil Echinoderms As Monitor of the Mg/Ca Ratio of Phanerozoic Oceans
J. A. D. Dickson
Science Nov 8 2002: 1222-1224.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
[Supporting Online Material] [Science]
Sperm-Female Coevolution in Drosophila
Gary T. Miller and Scott Pitnick
Science Nov 8 2002: 1230-1233.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
[Science]
The IB-NF-B Signaling Module: Temporal Control and Selective Gene Activation
Alexander Hoffmann, Andre Levchenko, Martin L. Scott, and David Baltimore
Science Nov 8 2002: 1241-1245.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
[Supporting Online Material]
[Science]
Ecological Predictions and Risk Assessment for Alien Fishes in North America
Cynthia S. Kolar and David M. Lodge
Science Nov 8 2002: 1233-1236.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
[Supporting Online Material]
[Science]
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY:
Gender and Science in the DNA Story
Anne Fausto-Sterling
Science Nov 8 2002: 1177-1178.
[Summary]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
[Science]
SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION:
Decoding NF-kB Signaling
Alice Y. Ting and Drew Endy
Science Nov 8 2002: 1189-1190.
[Summary]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
[Science]
TOXICOLOGY:
Questions Swirl Over Knockout Gas Used in Hostage Crisis
Martin Enserink and Richard Stone
Science Nov 8 2002: 1150-1151.
[Summary]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
[Science]
TECHNIQUES:
A New Window on the Cell's Inner Workings
Erica Goldman
Science Nov 8 2002: 1155-1157.
[Summary]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
[Science]
Here are the articles from this week's Science that I will be reading. 2:15:37 PM
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I watched the special edition of 'The Quiet Man' with my family tonight. What a great movie!! My 12 year old was skeptical. But he admitted that it was a good movie. I almost have all my favorite John Ford-John Wayne movies on DVD. I wish Fort Apache would come out. Then I could have a great film festival. 12:11:53 AM
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