Spliced feed for The Science Network

Therapeutic Alchemist [Sciencebase Science Blog]

Posted: 30 Jul 2008 07:00 AM CDT

Over on ChemWeb and wearing my Alchemist hat I hear of a discovery that could lead to a new therapeutic target for a whole range of diseases in which the inflammatory response is involved, almost a medical Panacea. An out of this world approach to liquid telescopes could overcome the big obstacle in making such a device useful for astronomy. The protein spike on the surface of the Ebola virus is laid bare by X-ray crystallography and could lead to new treatments for slowing outbreaks. Birds of prey could be the new environmental “canary” when it comes to toxic heavy metal, according to Spanish researchers. Japanese researchers have taken individual rotaxanes for a spin and obtained some dynamic snapshots. Finally, the Michael J Fox Foundation has announced its annual round of funding for Parkinson’s therapeutic lead research.

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Therapeutic Alchemist

What is the State of the Future? [Earth & Sky Podcast]

Posted: 30 Jul 2008 04:07 AM CDT

Hear Jerome Glenn, director of a global futures think tank called the Millennium Project, talk about the 2008 State of the Future Report.

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Will we live in a post-human future? [Earth & Sky Podcast]

Posted: 29 Jul 2008 04:07 AM CDT

Hear Nick Bostrom, director of the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University talk about transhumanism — the belief that human life will be radically enhanced in the future.

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Hinode space telescopes study sun [Earth & Sky Podcast]

Posted: 28 Jul 2008 04:07 AM CDT

The Hinode mission is going to tell us much about how the atmosphere of the sun is produced and how it evolves, says solar physicist George Doschek. Hear more about Hinode, a space observatory pointed at our sun.

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Progress in African AIDS epidemic not enough [Earth & Sky Podcast]

Posted: 27 Jul 2008 04:07 AM CDT

Fighting AIDS means more than just combating the disease itself, says Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS. Piot talks about the issues that are driving the AIDS epidemic.

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Sea-going scientists find gigantic sea creatures [Earth & Sky Podcast]

Posted: 26 Jul 2008 04:07 AM CDT

Marine scientist Martin Riddle led a voyage to probe the seabed of the Southern Ocean near Antarctica. Hear about the astounding creatures he saw there.

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Watch for meteors in late July and early August [Earth & Sky Podcast]

Posted: 25 Jul 2008 04:07 AM CDT

Late July and early August, 2008. Late summer is the best time of year to watch meteors! But this year you need to watch out for the moon. Get your red-hot summer-meteor strategy for 2008 from Earth & Sky.

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Neuroscientists explore ‘nature versus nurture' [Earth & Sky Podcast]

Posted: 24 Jul 2008 04:07 AM CDT

Most experts now agree that we're all influenced by a combination of both genetics and environment in our development. Hear more about lingering questions on nature versus nurture.

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Robots replace animals in toxicology testing [Earth & Sky Podcast]

Posted: 23 Jul 2008 04:07 AM CDT

In the future, robots might replace animals in toxin tests. An NIH scientist spoke with EarthSky about a new method for toxicity testing that could one day make lab rats obsolete.

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Most detailed view yet of Milky Way center [Earth & Sky Podcast]

Posted: 22 Jul 2008 04:07 AM CDT

Hear astronomer Barbara Whitney of the Space Science Institute talk about a new mosaic image of the dusty center of our Milky Way galaxy – made by piecing together over 800,000 separate images.