Cool video showing how snowflakes form. Since it's getting to be that time of year
Enjoy, -Elena

Imagining the Post-Antibiotics Future

After 85 years, antibiotics are growing impotent. So what will medicine, agriculture and everyday life look like if we lose these drugs entirely? 

Click on the text above or copy and paste:  https://medium.com/p/892b57499e77 into your browser to read the full article.

This is an interesting perspective on a growing problem...

Sleep Empties the Brain's Dumpster

This was an interesting story - remember to get enough sleep!

Excerpt:  Studies in mice indicate that sleep's critical function is to allow metabolic waste products to be cleared from the brain, which apparently cannot occur during waking hours, researchers said.

http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/SleepDisorders/42365

Higgs Boson Nobel Prize!

From http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2013/press.html

Francois Englert and Peter Higgs were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 2013 for the theory of how particles acquire mass.  In 1964 they proposed the theory.  In 2012 their ideas were confirmed by the discovery of the Higgs particle (also called the God particle) at the CERN laboratory outside Geneva in Switzerland.

Here is a fun rap explaining CERN, the place that allowed experiment to support theory:



This is really a big deal in science!

Happy Birthday Niels Bohr!

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1922/bohr-bio.html

Photo credit:  I Love Science

I haven't verified this, but it could be true ;)

USDOE Internships

Interesting Article

https://www.simonsfoundation.org/quanta/20130917-a-jewel-at-the-heart-of-quantum-physics/

STEM Internship Expo

Welcome Back to School Everyone!

Here is a possibility for something fun/educational and funded to do this semester :)

Tucson Audubon and Audubon Arizona are proud to offer the first Institute of Grassland Ecology - an experience of a lifetime! Immerse yourself in the subtle, understated beauty of one of the Earth's most threatened ecosystems.  

From October 3-6, 2013 you will explore a globally important habitat, encounter unique flora and fauna, engage with enthusiastic, expert faculty, participate in a national conservation project, camp in the golden, rolling grasslands of Elgin, Arizona, eat healthy, local produce from the kitchen of Dish for Dosha and make new friends!

For more information visit the website. Contact Institute Director, Bete Jones, at bjones@tucsonaudubon.org; 520-209-1812.

Scholarships Available.  

Results of UCSF Clinical Trial May Change Standard of Care for Primary CNS Lymphoma

Described this week in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the trial involved 44 patients who were given a combination of high-dose chemotherapy with immune therapy, rather than the standard combination of chemotherapy with a technique known as whole-brain radiotherapy.

The figure shows the before (A) and after (B) brain scan of a primary CNS

lymphoma patient treated with a combination of high-dose chemotherapy with

immune therapy, avoiding the need for whole-brain radiotherapy. Image courtesy of

James Rubenstein.

The new treatment approach was significantly less toxic because it avoided whole-brain radiotherapy, which at high doses can kill brain cells and lead to a progressive deterioration of the function of the nervous system in patients. Many patients die from the toxicity of the radiation as opposed to the cancer itself.

The new treatment also seemed to work better, with the majority of patients on the trial still alive with a follow-up of nearly five years, researchers found.

The article, “Intensive Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Primary CNS Lymphoma: CALGB 50202 (Alliance 50202)” is authored by James L. Rubenstein, Eric D. Hsi, Jeffrey L. Johnson, Sin-Ho Jung, Megan O. Nakashima, Barbara Grant, Bruce D. Cheson, and Lawrence D. Kaplan. It appears in the April 8 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Summary retrieved from:  http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2013/04/104936/new-brain-cancer-treatment-may-be-more-effective-less-toxic

For my math people ;)

.

Beautiful Nebulae Images

The birthplace of stars!

Photo credit: Anthony McAulay via Science Alert

Watch what happens when you wring out a washcloth in space

This is really neat!

http://io9.com/watch-what-happens-when-you-wring-out-a-washcloth-in-sp-476159356

Easy ways to attract wildlife to your yard

Audubon's Director of Bird Conservation (and PC biosciences faculty) Tice Supplee explains how in this recent article:    
Photo credit:  Walter Nussbaumer

Images and photo credit via Audubon Arizona

Link trouble?  Copy and paste here:  http://az.audubon.org/newsroom/news-stories/2013/easy-ways-attract-wildlife-your-yard

See-Through Brains

Scientists have come up with a way to make whole brains transparent, so they can be labelled with molecular markers and imaged using a light microscope. The technique, called CLARITY, enabled its creators to produce the detailed 3D visualisations you see in this video. It works in mouse brains and human brains; here the team use it to look into the brain of a 7-year-old boy who had autism.
Original research paper: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature12107
Nature News story: http://www.nature.com/news/see-throug...

Politics ;)

Credit: www.thescientist.com

How a Leafy Folk Remedy Stopped Bedbugs in Their Tracks - NYTimes

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/10/science/earth/how-a-leafy-folk-remedy-stopped-bedbugs-in-their-tracks.html?_r=0

Thanks for the link Dr. Ortiz!

University Reps on Campus: Transfer Information Opportunities

April 11, 2013
NAU 
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Hannelly Center Office
 
ASU West New College Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences 
10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Hannelly Center Office
 
April 12, 2013
NAU 
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Hannelly Center Office
 
April 15, 2013
NAU 
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Hannelly Center Office
 
Benedictine University
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Sophomore Square
 
April 16, 2013
NAU 
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Hannelly Center Office
 
University of Phoenix
11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Outside Fannin Library
 
April 17, 2013
NAU 
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Hannelly Center Office
 
Grand Canyon University
10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Sophomore Square 
 
April 18, 2013
NAU 
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Hannelly Center Office
 
Upper Iowa University
12:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Sophomore Square 
 
April 19, 2013
NAU 
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Hannelly Center Office

PC Transfer Fair

Interesting Article: Robo-Eye to Enter US Market

A retinal prosthesis, already available in Europe, can restore partial sight to people with a genetic disorder that causes blindness.

http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/34336/title/Robo-Eye-to-Enter-US-Market/

More Math/Science Humor from XKCD.com

Math Humor from XKCD.com

Orientation Friday 1/18 at 1:00pm in DB114

See you all there!

Knocking on Heaven's Door: How Science Illuminates the Universe

You are invited to the ASU
 2013 BEYOND Annual Lecture:

Lisa Randall
"Knocking on Heaven's Door: How Science Illuminates the Universe"

Monday, February 11th, 2013 7:30pm
Neeb Hall, ASU Tempe Campus

Lisa Randall is one of the most exciting and best-known scientists alive today. Her widespread public following and her cutting-edge work in particle physics and cosmology earned her Time magazine's accolade of being among the world's "100 Most Influential People". In her lecture she will draw on ideas ranging from the famous Higgs boson to the enigmatic dark energy that pervades the universe to reflect on the nature of the scientific method, the relation between beauty and truth and the future of mankind. This event will provide a rare opportunity to glimpse the mind of one of today's most creative individuals. If you've ever wondered how the universe is put together, this lecture is for you!

RSVP at http://beyond.asu.edu/lecture/2013-beyond-annual-lecture-lisa-randall

Interesting article

Welcome back everyone. I found a great article to share: "Science tests wrinkled fingers" who knew they had a purpose?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20951232

Welcome Back - A Little Fun :)