Two New Papers on Integrin Activation
Category: integrins
My first first-author paper and another that I contributed to shed light on the important biological process of integrin activation.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 7:39 AM • 1 Comments •
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Advancing Science through Conversations: Bridging the Gap between Blogs and the Academy
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A postdoc by day and a scientific activist by night, Nick Anthis isn't letting his research in protein structure and function get in the way of defending scientific and social progress.
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Recent Posts
- Two New Papers on Integrin Activation
- New Interactive 3D Molecular Images in Scientific Articles
- Health Care Reform: It's a Matter of Convenience
- 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: The Ribosome
- Bad Math at The Weather Channel
- 2009 Nobel Prize in Medicine: Telomeres and Telomerase
- Scientific Diplomacy and the Universality of Science
- An Update from The Scientific Activist
- A Tale of Two Health Care Systems
- The Most Recent Counterfactual Attack Against the Obama Administration
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academia:
New Interactive 3D Molecular Images in Scientific Articles
Category: scientific literature
Late last week, I received emails from two journals (The Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC) and PLoS ONE) indicating that they are now incorporating interactive 3D images of molecular structures in their papers. The atomic coordinates of all published biomolecular...
Posted by Nick Anthis at 11:52 PM • 4 Comments •
AMP Announces 2009 Michael D. Hayre Fellows in Public Outreach
Category: animal research
The fellowship will fund their proposals for projects that will spread awareness about the role of animal research in medicine.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 4:50 PM • 1 Comments •
Report Calls for Stricter Regulation of Medical Conflicts of Interest
Category: medicine
Yesterday, the Institute of Medicine released a report entitled "Conflict of Interest in Medical Research, Education, and Practice". As far as I can tell, the full report is only available for a fairly substantial charge, but these are some of...
Posted by Nick Anthis at 9:54 AM • 2 Comments •
Public Comments Open on Draft NIH Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research
Category: stem cells
About a week ago, the NIH announced its draft guidelines covering the funding of human embryonic stem cell research. You can read the draft guidelines here and my post on the topic here. As these are draft guidelines, they are...
Posted by Nick Anthis at 10:10 AM • 1 Comments •
Scientists and Supporters Rally Against Animal Rights Extremism at UCLA
Category: Pro-Test
Several hundred turn up to show their support for animal research at Pro-Test's first UCLA rally
Posted by Nick Anthis at 9:55 AM • 8 Comments •
Download Counts Predict Future Impact of Scientific Papers
Category: scientific literature
Various studies indicate that the number of times a paper is downloaded soon after publication correlates with the number of times it is cited later on.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 1:45 PM • 4 Comments •
New UCLA Pro-Test Chapter Announces April 22nd Rally
Category: Pro-Test
Intimidated into silence no longer, UCLA scientists are standing up for research and speaking out against animal rights extremism.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 10:21 AM • 17 Comments •
Fine-Tuning Cell Adhesiveness
Category: integrins
The cell adapts to constantly changing conditions by controlling the adhesiveness of the integrins.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 3:48 PM • 1 Comments •
Animal Rights Extremists Target UCLA Researcher
Category: animal rights
On Saturday, animal rights extremists torched the car of a scientist at UCLA--just one more incident in a long streak of violent threats and wanton destruction of property. LA Times columnist Tim Rutten gets it right when he states: No...
Posted by Nick Anthis at 1:55 PM • 6 Comments •
Biotechs Actively Impeding Transgenic Crop Research
Category: transgenic crops
If I ran an agricultural biotech company and I wanted to go out of my way to alienate my supporters and lend credence to my conspiracy theory-peddling critics, I think that this is exactly how I would go about doing...
Posted by Nick Anthis at 6:52 AM • 2 Comments •
UK Animal Rights Extremist Mel Broughton Gets Ten-Year Sentence for Arson
Category: animal rights
The public face of Oxford's animal rights movement winds up in prison, where he belongs.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 1:07 PM • 9 Comments •
Where Is This "Cult of Darwinism" I've Been Hearing So Much About?
Category: evolution
I'm not sure where one finds it, but if such a thing does exist, I doubt you'll find it populated by scientists
Posted by Nick Anthis at 5:05 PM • 1 Comments •
The New Oxford Biochemistry Building: Art Over Science?
Category: academia
Last fall, most of the Oxford Biochemistry Department moved into a fancy-schmancy new building (imaginatively named "New Biochemistry"). A few of us stayed behind (have you ever tried to move a 6-magnet NMR facility?), and--to be totally honest--I can't say...
Posted by Nick Anthis at 1:22 PM • 8 Comments •
An Unsettling Meeting with the UK's Science Minister
Category: science policy
Paul Drayson came across as out of touch and blinded by fanatical entrepreneurialism.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 1:46 PM • 7 Comments •
Another Reason to Consider Open Access
Category: open access
Grant review sessions.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 5:07 PM • 0 Comments •
Feedback on "Advancing Science Through Conversations"
Category: blogosphere
Find out what others are saying... and what I have to say about what they're saying.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 7:36 PM • 3 Comments •
A Big Thanks to Everyone Who Contributed to Our Blog Paper
Category: blogosphere
Acknowledgments for "Advancing Science through Conversations: Bridging the Gap between Blogs and the Academy"
Posted by Nick Anthis at 5:50 PM • 0 Comments •
Advancing Science through Conversations: Bridging the Gap between Blogs and the Academy
Category: blogosphere
A new paper on science blogging by Shelley Batts, Tara Smith, and myself.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 8:47 PM • 6 Comments •
Do You Work on E. Coli?
Category: internet
If so, check out EcoliWiki.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 6:28 PM • 0 Comments •
Elsevier's New Open Access Policy...
Category: open access
...apparently involves reposting others' blog posts without permission or proper attribution. I'm being facetious here, of course, but it is quite ironic that Mike Dunford of The Questionable Authority just caught anti-open-access warrior Elsevier copying the majority of one of...
Posted by Nick Anthis at 4:00 PM • 2 Comments •
Water on Mars, Part 2
Category: space science
The second part of an interview with planetary geologist Bethany Ehlmann
Posted by Nick Anthis at 8:01 AM • 1 Comments •
Water on Mars, Part 1
Category: space science
The first part of an interview with planetary geologist Bethany Ehlmann
Posted by Nick Anthis at 7:39 AM • 11 Comments •
UK Government Seeking Feedback on Science Policy
Category: science policy
The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), which is responsible for higher education in the UK, is seeking feedback to help it develop its new science strategy. The DIUS has put together a website for this purpose: interactive.dius.gov.uk/scienceandsociety/. There,...
Posted by Nick Anthis at 7:05 PM • 1 Comments •
Gaza Fulbright Scholarships Reinstated
Category: academia
After a rapid media outcry, the US and Israel have come together to reinstate the Fulbright Scholarships initially revoked from several students from Gaza due to Israel-imposed travel restrictions. From The New York Times: JERUSALEM -- The American State Department...
Posted by Nick Anthis at 4:30 AM • 0 Comments •
UK Detains Student for Studying Terrorism
Category: academia
A shocking overreaction, marked in its absurdity, heavy-handedness, and counterproductivity
Posted by Nick Anthis at 6:15 PM • 2 Comments •
Science for a Brave New World
Category: philosophy of science
Is there a certain suite of legislation that needs to be passed now in order to provide a greater assurance of scientific good in the near future?
Posted by Nick Anthis at 7:20 PM • 2 Comments •
Integrin Phosphorylation as an Off Switch for Integrin Activation
Category: Life of Nick
A tiny modification can make a big difference in proteins involved in cell adhesion and migration.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 3:30 PM • 0 Comments •
Elsa Murano to Become New President of Texas A&M University
Category: Texas A&M University
First female President picked as successor to popular President Robert Gates, although selection process remains controversial.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 8:05 AM • 0 Comments •
Animal Rights Extremists Strike Again
Category: animal rights
No surprises there.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 2:09 PM • 16 Comments •
Robert May on the State of UK Science
Category: academia
Too many bureaucrats and businessmen.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 2:40 PM • 0 Comments •
2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: Knockout Mice
Category: Nobel Prize
Awarded for the knockout mouse to Mario R. Capecchi, Martin J. Evans, and Oliver Smithies
Posted by Nick Anthis at 9:21 AM • 2 Comments •
Academic Research: Solving Puzzles or Solving Mysteries?
Category: academia
My message to undergraduate researchers.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 6:48 PM • 1 Comments •
These Scientists Are PISD-off About PRISM
Category: open access
There's only one way to fight such absurdity... with more absurdity!
Posted by Nick Anthis at 5:48 AM • 3 Comments •
Now That Is One Ugly PRISM
Category: open access
I've seen a prism distort light before, but I've never seen one distort information like this.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 5:33 PM • 3 Comments •
Animal Rights Activists Hijack the Brains of Three Respectable Scientists!
Category: animal rights
...and then publish a scientific paper!
Posted by Nick Anthis at 6:15 AM • 10 Comments •
General Thoughts on the NIH
Category: funding of science
Regarding grant success rates, budget constraints, the Roadmap, biodefense, young investigators, and open access
Posted by Nick Anthis at 7:29 AM • 4 Comments •
It's OK to Nibble, but Don't Bite Off the Hand that Feeds You
Category: Oxford
A couple of current American Rhodes Scholars ruffled a few feathers today after writing an unabashedly critical account of their Oxford experiences for their undergraduate alma mater's paper, The Harvard Crimson. Melissa Dell and Swati Mylavarapu write: Take it from...
Posted by Nick Anthis at 7:45 PM • 9 Comments •
My Second Scientific Paper: Matrix Protease Activity in Tumor Cell Invasion
Category: Life of Nick
The second paper from my undergraduate work at Texas A&M University was recently published in Molecular Cancer. The abstract can be found here, and the pdf of the full paper here. Molecular Cancer is an open access journal, so a...
Posted by Nick Anthis at 7:39 AM • 3 Comments •
Congratulations to Daniel Rhoads
Category: blogosphere
Via A Blog Around the Clock comes news that Daniel Rhoads, who writes the informative blog Migrations (and formerly A Concerned Scientist), has successfully defended his dissertation. So, after a few minor revisions, it looks like it won't be too...
Posted by Nick Anthis at 2:57 PM • 2 Comments •
Ah, So That's How They Did It!
Category: academia
The first edition of the Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE) will be released at 11:00 pm EST tonight.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 5:22 AM • 2 Comments •
The Return of "Ethically Sound" Stem Cells
Category: stem cells
The "ethically sound" stem cell paper resurfaces this week, as it appears in the print version of the current issue of Nature.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 6:37 PM • 10 Comments •
The Structure of the Living Cell
Category: structural biology
Oxford's Iain Campbell discusses the past and future of structural biology.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 10:20 AM • 4 Comments •
My First Scientific Paper: The Stabilization of Blood Vessels by Protease Inhibitors
Category: Life of Nick
My first appearance in the peer-reviewed scientific literature provides an opportunity to learn a little bit about blood vessel development.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 10:20 AM • 7 Comments •
Medical Doctors Support Animal Research
Category: animal rights
A new study from the Research Defence Society (RDS) indicates that medical doctors in the UK overwhelmingly support the role of animal research in contributing to important medical advances. The RDS questioned four hundred general practitioners from across the UK...
Posted by Nick Anthis at 8:09 PM • 12 Comments •
2006 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Eukaryotic Transcription
Category: Nobel Prize
The 2006 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Roger Kornberg for his work on elucidating the molecular basis of transcription in eukaryotes.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 8:23 AM • 2 Comments •
2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: RNA Interference
Category: biochemistry
The 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was announced this morning, with one half going to Andrew Fire and the other half to Craig Mello, both for the discovery of RNA interference (RNAi). The discovery of RNAi added a...
Posted by Nick Anthis at 9:38 AM • 0 Comments •
More on NIH R01 Grants
Category: funding of science
Since I reported yesterday on a letter in Science describing the current decline in funding of NIH (National Institutes of Health) R01 grants, several others have chimed in as well. PZ Myers of Pharyngula gave the post a mention,...
Posted by Nick Anthis at 11:16 AM • 5 Comments •
A Shocking Decrease in Funding of NIH Grants
Category: funding of science
Success rates of NIH R01 grants are in rapid decline, due to a combination of more applications submitted, fewer grants awarded, and less total funds allocated.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 8:55 AM • 15 Comments • 1 TrackBacks
I'm Official! (According to Oxford University, at least)
Category: Life of Nick
After enduring what was surely the longest transfer viva in the history of man (two and a half hours), I am now an official Oxford D.Phil. student.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 12:22 PM • 15 Comments • 1 TrackBacks
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