Tuesday, October 8, 2013

James Rothman - Nobel Prize Winner - Biography



Born: 3 November 1950, Haverhill, MA, USA

Affiliation at the time of the award: Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

Prize motivation: "for their discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in our cells"

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Albert Einstein - Biography





Born March 14, 1879
Ulm, Württemberg, Germany
Died April 18, 1955 (aged 76)
Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.

Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany on March 14, 1879. Moving first to Italy and then to Switzerland, the young prodigy graduated from high-school in 1896.

In 1905, while working as a patent clerk in Bern, Switzerland, Einstein had what came to be known as his “Annus Mirabilis” — or “miracle year”. It was during this time that the young physicist obtained his Doctorate degree and published four of his most influential research papers, including the Special Theory of Relativity. In that, the now world famous equation "e = mc2" unlocked mysteries of the Universe theretofore unknown.

Ten years later, in 1915, Einstein completed his General Theory of Relativity and in 1921 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.

The iconic status cemented in 1919 when Arthur Eddington’s expedition confirmed Albert Einstein’s prediction. It also launched him to international superstardom and his name became a household word synonymous with genius all over the world.




“All of science is nothing more than refinement of everyday thinking.”



http://einstein.biz/biography.php

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Measurement of Pain - Unit Del




In the 1940s, a group of doctors at the University of Cornell set out to create a unit of pain intensity. Using the "dol" as a unit, the physicians created a 21-point quantitative scale.

The name dol, comes  from the Latin word for pain, dolor. Ideally, the measurement would be applicable regardless of the type of pain.


http://io9.com/5900319/scientists-created-a-pain-measurement-scale-by-burning-the-hands-of-women-in-labor

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC435000/


Full paper
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC435000/pdf/jcinvest00563-0091.pdf

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Nanosponges can neutralize Snake Poison



http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/259207.php

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-04/nanosponges-could-soak-infections-and-poison-your-blood


A group of scientists working with nanoscience developed nanosponges that are able to neutralize number of toxins in mice. Even after the mice were given lethat toxins, they were not affected as nanosponges could neutralize the toxins.


Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Research - Converting Carbon Dioxide to Car Fuel through Microorganisms

2013

Dr. Michale D. Adams of Geogia University and Dr. R. Kelly of  North Carolina State University, engineered Pyrococcus furiosus, a bacteria which grows on sugars at temperatures of about 100 degrees Celsius (boiling point of water) and made it active at much lower temperatures – around 73 degrees Celsius. At this temperature it produces useful products by converting carbon dioxide. The scientists are trying to get car fuel out of this organism in a scalable way.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2013/03/26/scientists-turn-carbon-dioxide-in-the-air-into-useful-products/


http://web.mst.edu/~microbio/BIO221_2010/P_furiosus.html


Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Methods for Teaching Science - Video



Nobel Prize Winner Carl Wieman on Methods for Teaching Science

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September 2012

You can get the transcript or slides in http://trc.virginia.edu/Workshops/2012/Wieman_Talk.pdf