Science This Week (Nov 24-30, 2014)

Medicine

A cholesterol transporter previously thought to be essential for life actually isn't that essential.

Watch: burns surgeon Fiona Wood, inventor of spray-on-skin, on why average isn't good enough in science

The gut microbiota influences the integrity of the blood-brain barrier.

A promising Ebola vaccine has been developed.

Pain "off-switch" has been found. (Open Access)

And not new but recently found: cocaine causes epigenomic changes in the brain (Open Access)

Flora/Fauna

The turtle tree of life shows that turtles' closest relatives are birds, crocodiles, and dinosaurs! (Open Access)

Dogs understand what we say and how we say it.

Centipede genome sequencing provides clues into how life developed on Earth. (Open Access)

Environment

Scientists can now turn sawdust into the building blocks of gasoline.

Melting sea ice is predicted to impact polar bears (starvation and failed reproduction) by the end of the 21st century. (Open Access)

Endangered hammerhead sharks are now migrating into unprotected waters. (Open Access)

Awesome!

DNA survives a flight into space and back. (Open Access)

Genomics: the Power and the Promise 2014 - day 3 recap

Genomics: the Power and the Promise has wrapped up, and what an amazing conference!  A superstar lineup of presenters working on cutting-edge research with huge policy implications? Yes please!  Throw in amazing interactive panels and Jay Ingram as the MC, there's a recipe for awesome!

I had to take a brain break yesterday, but you can find my day 3 highlights after the jump:

Genomics: the Power and the Promise 2014 - Conference Day 2 Recap

With day 2 of the Genome Canada conference winding down, we had some fantastic discussions on the environmental impacts of human health, and how to use genomics to improve the health and adaptation of (and to) our ecosystems.

The highlights of day 2 are after the jump:

Genomics: the Power and the Promise 2014 - Conference Day 1 Recap

This week, Genome Canada and the Gairdner Foundation are hosting their Genomics: the Power & the Promise event.  This year's theme is Genomics and the Environment, in which speakers, panelists, and attendees are exploring the applications of genomics in both human and environmental health. Today, the conference was kicked off by MC Jay Ingram (of Daily Planet fame), with an introduction from Genome Canada CEO Pierre Meulien, and Gairdner Foundation CEO John Dirks.  The conference boasts a highly varied audience, with folks from government, industry, and academia, as well as policy makers and various interest groups.

Day 1 focused on genomic medicine.  Highlights after the jump:

Science This Week (Nov 17-23, 2014)

The science behind believing in conspiracy theories.

Ever wondered how much bacteria are spread by hand dryers?

Darwin 2.0: the new theory of speciation and diversity.

Scientists have found the cells that are responsible for memory loss associated with sleep deprivation. Stimulating them with signalling molecules removes the memory deficit!

More evidence that Neanderthals were a separate species from humans, not a sub-species.

Bad marriages lead to heart disease in older women.

Coral bleaching leads to long-term impairment in reproduction. (Open Access)

Viruses that are naturally found in the gut (called the virome) help protect against infection.

There's a virus devastating the sea star populations on the Pacific coast. (Open Access)

Dogs are addicted to the smell of their owners. (Open Access)

The band-aid of the future:

Kissing Transfers 80 Million Bacteria Between Partners

Bacterial build-up on the human
tongue (source).

As many as 80 million bacteria are transferred during a 10 second kiss.  I'm gonna let that sink in for my fellow germophobes.


The 100 trillion microorganisms that make up the human microbiota are responsible for all kinds of important process, from digestion to synthesis to protection against disease.  Microbiota composition is dependent on a bunch of factors, including age, diet, genetics, the environment, and who we interact with.  Your mouth contains 700 varieties of bacteria, and these are influenced by the people you keep close to you, according to a new open access study published in Microbiome yesterday.

This Week in Science (Nov 10-16, 2014)

This week's research highlights are all found in Open Access sources.  That's right, everyone can access everything on this list!  Enjoy!

Remember those plants that were grown on the ISS?  Well it worked!

How to make diamonds from peanut butter.

Online dating using DNA matches?

Why most published research findings are false.

Stem cell transplants for Parkinson's getting closer.

A single-dose Ebola vaccine has been developed, and looks promising in non-human primates.

Mind-control of gene expression.

Whole genome sequencing of the world's oldest people.

Finally, the vocal repertoire of otters.

The skin microbiome.

And how lab contamination can confound microbiome analyses.

Maternal diet during pregnancy affects child mental health.

The long-term cardiovascular effects of four fad diets.

The world's first evidence that mediation alters cancer survivors' cells!

An Ode to Open Access Journals

In celebration of OpenCon 2014, I thought now would be as good a time as any to wax poetic about my love for OPEN ACCESS!!!!!

According to the United Nations, all people have a "right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications".   This was recognized in 1948 in the UN Declaration of Human Rights, but has received very little attention.

When I was submitting my PhD thesis to my university, I had to obtain permission to use my own research from the journals I had published in.  If my institution were smaller, or in a developing country, I may have had to pay to access my chapters.  In fact, there were definitely a few papers that were absolutely fundamental to my research that I could not access because my university had not purchased a license.  This traditional approach to scientific research may have worked when journals were printed (and therefore had manufacturing costs), but it is no longer relevant to modern publishing where everything ends up online.  Instead, the high cost of access limits the sharing of information, stunting scientific, medical, and academic research.  This is especially true in developing countries.

Science This Week (Nov 3-9, 2014)

Intel to fund a braille printer, invented by 13-year-old Shubham Banerjee.

A random genetic mutation has made HIV harmless in two patients. (Open Access)

The genesis of genitalia: why we have one and lizards have two.

A new device gives scientists an unprecedented, real-time view of how cancer spreads.

Bats compete for prey by jamming each other's sonar.

Genes influence body weight and shape by affecting gut microbes.

Power naps can help rodents overcome the detrimental effects of being born late in the season.

Synthetic biology may hold the key to long-termed, manned space exploration. (Open Access)

A new bioenergetic organelle  has been discovered in plants! (both Open Access)

Koala studies provide clues about the origins of the human genome.

Seeing dinosaur feathers in a new light.

A high-fat diet delays brain aging in mice.

Is This the Death of Science?

While waiting for a bus this morning, I noticed an article in the local newspaper about the gap between teens' attitudes toward science and their career plans.  A recent poll by the science outreach organization Let's Talk Science found that 72% of high school students think science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are fun, and 78% think STEM fields provide lots of career options, but only 12% actually want STEM-related jobs.  And a further 19% of student (that's almost 1 in 5!) think that careers in science and engineering are better suited to men.

I guess we should rejoice in the gains we've made as scientists in engaging youth.  In 2010, only 34% of high school students thought science was fun, and 25% thought it was boring (now only 11% do!).  So kids are more interested in science than they've been in the past, and they understand its importance, but they most still don't see a future for themselves participating in science.  I have some ideas as to why that may be:

How to Survive Ebola: researchers find clues to explain how some people survive infection

On Sunday, I gave you folks a link to an article about how genes affect Ebola survival.  I decided to read a little bit more into it and do a full Ebola post, since this is actually a pretty interesting (and open access) study.

People have this idea that Ebola symptoms are a lot like what we saw in Outbreak.  But in the 2014 Ebola outbreak, only a minority (30-50%) of those afflicted have progressed into hemorrhagic fever.  There are different symptoms, including organ failure and shock, and different ways in which people succumb to them.  Some folks survive, while others don't.  It turns out that this is about more than simply luck.

Science This Week (Oct 27 - Nov 2, 2014)

An emerging disease could wipe out salamanders in Europe and the Americas.

Why scratching makes you itch more.

Have a look at these stunning images taken under a microscope for Nikon's 40th Annual Small World Photomicrography Competition.

Surviving Ebola is based on your genetic makeup.

And how Ebola evade the host immune system. (Open Access)

Female frogs are able to modify offspring development depending on when in the season they reproduce.

Gut bacteria may make alcoholism worse.

Diagnosing diabetes and cancer using saliva tests.

A new type of ion channel has been created using carbon nanotubes.

Milk may not do your body good after all.

A person's reaction to disgust is apparently a good indicator of their political ideology.

Scientists are attempting to explain the diversity in competitiveness within species.

And October may be over, but you can learn more about the science of beer with this video.