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Advancing Science through Conversations: Bridging the Gap between Blogs and the Academy
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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Category: biology
This is pretty neat: scientists have apparently discovered the first example of truly anaerobic animal life (i.e. an animal that can survive in the absence of oxygen). This isn't some sort of fuzzy critter, though; instead, these are tiny (less...
Posted on: April 7, 2010 9:07 AM, by Nick Anthis • 15 Comments •
Category: structural biology
A new study provides evidence that tilts in favor of one side of an ongoing scientific controversy, but it's not the slam dunk it may seem to be on the surface.
Posted on: February 21, 2010 7:08 PM, by Nick Anthis • 6 Comments •
Category: structural biology
Why glutamate is generally not a suitable mimic for phosphorylated tyrosine.
Posted on: November 12, 2009 7:39 AM, by Nick Anthis • 3 Comments •
Category: integrins
My first first-author paper and another that I contributed to shed light on the important biological process of integrin activation.
Posted on: October 20, 2009 7:39 AM, by Nick Anthis • 2 Comments •
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 on: October 19, 2009 11:52 PM, by Nick Anthis • 4 Comments •
Category: Nobel Prize
The prize will be shared equally between Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas Steitz, and Ada Yonath "for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome."
Posted on: October 7, 2009 12:02 PM, by Nick Anthis • 6 Comments •
Category: Nobel Prize
Three Americans, Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider, and Jack Szostak, win the prize for the discovery of telomeres and telomerase.
Posted on: October 5, 2009 11:21 AM, by Nick Anthis • 9 Comments •
Category: structural biology
All H1N1 swine flu isolates tested to date are resistant to adamantane-based drugs. This post explains the origin of this resistance in light of what we know about the structure and function of influenza proteins.
Posted on: May 1, 2009 6:49 AM, by Nick Anthis • 37 Comments •
Category: biology
The active ingredient in marijuana causes cancer cells to begin to degrade themselves from the inside, leading to programmed cell death.
Posted on: April 2, 2009 6:12 AM, by Nick Anthis • 85 Comments •
Category: integrins
The cell adapts to constantly changing conditions by controlling the adhesiveness of the integrins.
Posted on: March 23, 2009 3:48 PM, by Nick Anthis • 1 Comments •
Category: Nobel Prize
"for the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP"
Posted on: October 8, 2008 2:12 PM, by Nick Anthis • 0 Comments •
Category: Nobel Prize
was awarded for the discovery of HIV and the discovery that HPV causes cancer.
Posted on: October 6, 2008 9:10 AM, by Nick Anthis • 3 Comments •
Category: internet
If so, check out EcoliWiki.
Posted on: September 5, 2008 6:28 PM, by Nick Anthis • 0 Comments •
Category: book reviews
The often unexamined life of E. coli comes alive in Carl Zimmer's Microcosm.
Posted on: September 5, 2008 11:45 AM, by Nick Anthis • 2 Comments •
Category: space science
The second part of an interview with planetary geologist Bethany Ehlmann
Posted on: July 31, 2008 8:01 AM, by Nick Anthis • 1 Comments •
Category: space science
The first part of an interview with planetary geologist Bethany Ehlmann
Posted on: July 30, 2008 7:39 AM, by Nick Anthis • 11 Comments •
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 on: May 14, 2008 7:20 PM, by Nick Anthis • 2 Comments •
Category: chemistry
That might not be possible, but ingesting isotopically-enriched food would make your waste even more valuable.
Posted on: April 25, 2008 7:37 AM, by Nick Anthis • 1 Comments •
Category: biology
Here's a hint: blood isn't blue. Ever.
Posted on: April 17, 2008 7:30 AM, by Nick Anthis • 47 Comments •
Category: HIV/AIDS
Scientists identify the alpha-4 beta-7 integrin as a co-receptor for HIV, offering a potential new drug target.
Posted on: February 11, 2008 8:23 PM, by Nick Anthis • 3 Comments •
Category: Life of Nick
A tiny modification can make a big difference in proteins involved in cell adhesion and migration.
Posted on: December 31, 2007 3:30 PM, by Nick Anthis • 0 Comments •
Category: stem cells
Awkward? Probably. But, menstrual blood stem cells show some early promise.
Posted on: November 29, 2007 7:45 AM, by Nick Anthis • 3 Comments •
Category: stem cells
The media mangles otherwise interesting and significant stem cell findings.
Posted on: November 21, 2007 7:54 PM, by Nick Anthis • 22 Comments •
Category: Nobel Prize
Awarded for the knockout mouse to Mario R. Capecchi, Martin J. Evans, and Oliver Smithies
Posted on: October 8, 2007 9:21 AM, by Nick Anthis • 2 Comments •
Category: Ask a ScienceBlogger
Although extended unprotected exposure to the sun damages your skin and eyes, a small daily dose is important for maintaining general health and wellbeing
Posted on: June 19, 2007 1:41 PM, by Nick Anthis • 10 Comments •
Category: stem cells
The U.S. Office of Research Integrity announced this week that it has found a former postdoc in Gerald Schatten's lab, Park Jong Hyuk, guilty of research misconduct for falsifying images in a manuscript on deriving embryonic stem cells from cloned...
Posted on: January 12, 2007 7:43 AM, by Nick Anthis • 0 Comments •
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 on: December 19, 2006 7:39 AM, by Nick Anthis • 3 Comments •
Category: transgenic crops
Last month, I wrote a post about a research group at Texas A&M University that reported genetically engineering "edible cotton seeds" by using RNAi technology to stably and specifically knock out production of the gossypol toxin in the seeds of...
Posted on: December 18, 2006 7:39 AM, by Nick Anthis • 3 Comments •
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 on: December 3, 2006 2:57 PM, by Nick Anthis • 2 Comments •
Category: transgenic crops
But, a recent report in PNAS demonstrates that edible cotton seeds could be a real possibility, thanks to new transgenic crop biotechnology.
Posted on: November 29, 2006 7:39 AM, by Nick Anthis • 1 Comments •
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 on: November 22, 2006 6:37 PM, by Nick Anthis • 10 Comments •
Category: NMR
A list of blogs covering NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance)
Posted on: November 17, 2006 5:27 PM, by Nick Anthis • 4 Comments •
Category: behavioral genetics
Social controls play a surprisingly large role in encouraging altruism in insect colonies, according to a paper in last week's issue of Nature.
Posted on: November 16, 2006 7:43 AM, by Nick Anthis • 5 Comments •
Category: structural biology
Oxford's Iain Campbell discusses the past and future of structural biology.
Posted on: October 17, 2006 10:20 AM, by Nick Anthis • 4 Comments •
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 on: October 16, 2006 10:20 AM, by Nick Anthis • 8 Comments •
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 on: October 4, 2006 8:23 AM, by Nick Anthis • 2 Comments •
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 on: October 2, 2006 9:38 AM, by Nick Anthis • 0 Comments •
Category: book reviews
Nobel Laureate Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard's Coming to Life: How Genes Drive Development is an understated primer that lays out the current state of the art of developmental biology, shocking the reader with just how much we know about how each one of us came to take our unique but fundamentally similar shapes.
Posted on: August 21, 2006 7:45 AM, by Nick Anthis • 7 Comments •
Category: global warming
An April 2006 paper in Nature narrowed down the range of possible scenarios for how global warming may play out as carbon dioxide levels continue to rise. Although much of the press coverage treated it as a blow to global warming science, it was in reality quite the opposite.
Posted on: August 10, 2006 7:55 AM, by Nick Anthis • 0 Comments •
Category: global warming
Global warming is certainly a "hot topic", and this post decribes some global warming research findings from January 2006: one that revises estimates of the expected increase in sea level due to global warming and another that demonstrates how certain important marine ecosystems could be vulnerable to changes in ocean currents due to global warming.
Posted on: August 9, 2006 7:55 AM, by Nick Anthis • 0 Comments •
Category: global warming
What do global warming and epidemic diseases have in common? Apparently they have a lot, at least when it comes to amphibians.
Posted on: August 8, 2006 7:55 AM, by Nick Anthis • 0 Comments •
Category: conferences
On the weekend of July 28th-30th, about 150 NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) scientists from the UK and Europe (and a few from the US) gathered in Ambleside for the Sixth Annual Collaborative Computing Project for NMR (CCPN) Meeting. The topic...
Posted on: August 7, 2006 7:55 AM, by Nick Anthis • 1 Comments •
Category: Fantastical Fridays
Genetic engineering holds a great deal of promise, but it can only be used on things that are "alive". Still, scientists have found other ways to make the stuff of genes, DNA, come alive in more artistic ways.
Posted on: July 28, 2006 7:45 AM, by Nick Anthis • 0 Comments •
Category: Fantastical Fridays
Now here's an experiment I would have liked to take part in. Researchers from Johns Hopkins systematically test the psychological effects of the hallucinogenic drug psilocybin, and the results are pretty positive. Not only that, but a significant number of participants rate the experience as the single most meaningful one of their lives!
Posted on: July 14, 2006 7:45 AM, by Nick Anthis • 9 Comments •
Category: Nikola Tesla
Since my Ph.D. research is on protein NMR, I would be remiss if, as we celebrate his 150th birthday, I didn't mention Tesla's connection to my field--particularly since the unit for the strength of a magnetic field bears his name!
Posted on: July 10, 2006 7:56 PM, by Nick Anthis • 2 Comments •
Category: Ask a ScienceBlogger
In 2006, cloning for cloning's sake isn't where it's at. Instead, the future of cloning lies in its applications to biomedical research. Today, that means, among other things, the prospect of using cloning to generate unique lines of embryonic stem cells.
Posted on: July 10, 2006 7:45 AM, by Nick Anthis • 8 Comments •
Category: Fantastical Fridays
Now I have an excuse for my behavior the next time I get into a bitter political debate: I can't help being defensive--it's hardwired into me! Those are the findings, at least, of a study led by psychologist Drew Westen.
Posted on: July 7, 2006 7:55 AM, by Nick Anthis • 2 Comments •
Category: Fantastical Fridays
In NMR, bigger really is better, at least when it comes to magnetic field strength, and the entire field has in some ways become one big manhood size-measuring contest. One group, though, reported earlier this year in Nature Physics that sometimes it may be better to just go natural. Forget about all of the high-tech magnets--just use the big one right under your feet!
Posted on: June 30, 2006 7:59 AM, by Nick Anthis • 11 Comments •
Category: Fantastical Fridays
Last week's Fantastical Fridays was a big hit, so we'll keep the momentum going with more chemistry this week. Instead of anthropomorphic molecules, though, this one is all about chemicals with downright ridiculous names. If you still have any doubts...
Posted on: June 23, 2006 7:59 AM, by Nick Anthis • 5 Comments •
Category: Fantastical Fridays
Lurking beneath the surface here at ScienceBlogs is a force that compels people to do extremely gimmicky things on Fridays. Since I know that I'm no better than anyone else, I've decided to join in on the fun. Therefore, I...
Posted on: June 16, 2006 8:55 AM, by Nick Anthis • 13 Comments •
Orac 02.13.2012
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