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Anatomic Fashion Friday: Skeleton Sweatshirt

Posted: May 8, 2010 at 8:14 am

Wildfox Couture’s oversized skeleton sweatshirt can be yours for $108!  I like the irony of baggy bones!

Recommendation and review posted by G. Smith

Tonight!!! "The Saddest Object in the World," An Illustrated Meditation, Observatory

Posted: May 8, 2010 at 8:14 am


Tonight! Evan Michelson on "The Saddest Object in the World," as experienced at this years Congress for Curious People.

Full details follow; hope to see you there!

The Saddest Object in the World
An Illustrated Meditation by Evan Michelson, Obscura Antiques and Oddities, Morbid Anatomy Library Scholar in residence
Date: TONIGHT! Friday, May 7th
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $5
Location: Observatory

“The Saddest Object in the World” is a meditation on one particular artifact; an exercise in Proustian involuntary memory, aesthetic critique, and philosophical bargaining.

Sometimes objects have consequences.

Evan Michelson is an antiques dealer, lecturer, accumulator and aesthete; she tirelessly indulges a lifelong pursuit of all things obscure and melancholy. She currently lives in another place and time.

You can find out more about this presentation here. You can get directions to Observatory--which is next door to the Morbid Anatomy Library (more on that here)--by clicking here. You can find out more about Observatory here, join our mailing list by clicking here, and join us on Facebook by clicking here.

Recommendation and review posted by G. Smith

A high-throughput transient gene expression system for switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) seedlings

Posted: May 8, 2010 at 8:14 am

Background:
Grasses are relatively recalcitrant to genetic transformation in comparison to certain dicotyledons, yet they constitute some of the most important biofuel crops. Genetic transformation of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) has previously been reported after cocultivation of explants with Agrobacterium and biolistics of embryogenic calli. Experiments to increase transient gene expression in planta may lead to stable transformation methods with increased efficiency.
Results:
A high-throughput Agrobacterium-mediated transient gene expression system has been developed for in planta inoculation of germinating switchgrass seedlings. Four different Agrobacterium strains were compared for their ability to infect switchgrass seedlings, and strain AGL1 was found to be the most infective. Wounding pretreatments such as sonication, mixing by vortex with carborundum, separation by centrifugation, vacuum infiltration, and high temperature shock significantly increased transient expression of a reporter gene (GUSPlus, a variation of the beta-glucuronidase (GUS) gene). The addition of L-cysteine and dithiothreitol in the presence of acetosyringone significantly increased GUS expression compared with control treatments, whereas the addition of 0.1% surfactants such as Silwet L77 or Li700 decreased GUS expression. 4-Methylumbelliferyl beta-D-galactopyranoside (MUG) assays showed a peak of beta-glucuronidase (GUS) enzyme activity 3 days after cocultivation with Agrobacterium harboring pCambia1305.2, whereas MUG assays showed a peak of enzyme activity 5 days after cocultivation with Agrobacterium harboring pCambia1305.1.
Conclusion:
Agrobacterium strains C58, GV3101 and EHA105 are less able to deliver transfer DNA to switchgrass seedlings (cultivar Alamo) compared with strain AGL1. Transient expression was increased by double or triple wounding treatments such as mixing by vortex with carborundum, sonication, separation by centrifugation, and heat shock. The addition of thiol compounds such as L-cysteine and dithiothreitol in combination with acetosyringone during cocultivation also increased transient expression. The combination of multiple wounding treatments along with the addition of thiol compounds during cocultivation increased transient expression levels from 6% to 54%. There were differences in temporal GUS expression induced by pCambia1305.1 and pCambia1305.2.

Recommendation and review posted by G. Smith

Prostate cancer therapy can increase risk of heart disease and death

Posted: May 8, 2010 at 8:13 am

A new report published in the American Cancer Society journal, CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, and in the American Heart Association journal, Circulation, reveals that androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT), a type of prostate cancer treatment (http://www.dreddyclinic.com/findinformation/cc/prostatecancer.htm), can increase heart risk factors and possibly lead to heart attack (http://www.dreddyclinic.com/findinformation/hh/heartattack.htm) or cardiac death.

A writing group of experts from the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, the American Urological Association, and the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology published their findings that indicate that ADT leads to increased fat mass, increased low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, the "bad" form of cholesterol, and blood sugar abnormalities. Read more...

Ayurstate for Prostate Care

Recommendation and review posted by G. Smith

The Scientist Article on Electronic Lab Notebooks

Posted: May 7, 2010 at 9:17 pm

Amber Dance has written an article in The Scientist (2010-05-01) Digital Upgrade: How to choose your lab’s next electronic lab notebook. This is basically a quick overview of different Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELNs) that should be helpful for people researching what is currently available in that space.

There was some coverage of Open Notebook Science and Steve Koch and I were quoted. Ironically my contribution appeared in the "Cons" section 🙂

Pros

  • The format is unconstrained—you can set up any categories, and as many users and pages, as you want—and fast to set up.
  • Open notebooking attracts collaborators. Koch counts three collaborations that wouldn’t have happened if he weren’t on OpenWetWare. And his students build professional networks well before they author a paper.

Cons

  • Wikis were not designed with scientific data in mind. For example, it’s hard to make a table, Koch says.
  • Open notebook science “does limit where you can send your work,” says Jean-Claude Bradley, a chemist at Drexel University in Philadelphia, who also uses an open wiki notebook. His lab sticks to journals that accept preprints.
  • Posting online voids international patent rights, although US patents are still possible.

In my opinion, one of the biggest "Pros" wasn't listed in that section: the free cost. (That was mentioned elsewhere though) When you see the costs of some of these other commercial systems, that has to be a factor for many people trying to make a decision.

If privacy is an issue wikis can certainly be made private, although I'm not sure if that is possible on OpenWetWare. It can be done for $5/month on Wikispaces, the wiki we use for lab notebooks - although then it wouldn't be Open Notebook Science.

Concerning Steve's Con of wikis being difficult to use to store data, that is true. However combining the use of a wiki with Google Spreadsheets has completely resolved that issue for us. With our ability to automatically export an archive of the notebook (as HTML) and spreadsheets (as XLS) into an integrated archive, the two platforms operate essentially as if they were a single system.

Recommendation and review posted by G. Smith

Vaccinating Against Atherosclerosis

Posted: May 7, 2010 at 8:17 am

An interesting example of how immune therapies can eliminate or reduce some of the ways in which the aging body damages itself: "Cholesterol is transported in the blood in LDL particles, which are a kind of fat drops that can accumulate in the walls of blood vessels. LDL activates the immune defence and triggers an inflammation in the blood vessels that leads to atherosclerosis (also known as arteriosclerosis). When the atherosclerotic plaque finally ruptures, a blood clot is formed that in turn can cause a heart attack or stroke. It was previously thought that the inflammation in the blood vessels arises when the T cells react to oxidised LDL particles located in the atherosclerotic plaque. Now, however, [researchers have found] that the opposite is true, namely that the T cells react to components in the normal LDL particles, and that they no longer recognise LDL once it has been oxidised. ... Since reactions to LDL can be dangerous, T cells are normally held in check by inhibitory signals. The body's own control works well as long as the LDL keeps to the blood, liver and lymph glands. But when it accumulates in the artery wall, this inhibition is no longer enough, the T cells are activated and an inflammation arises. ... Vaccination against the receptor that the T cells use to recognise LDL can block the immune reaction and reduce the disease by between 60 and 70 per cent."

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-05/ki-nav050610.php

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

Recommendation and review posted by Fredricko


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