Technology
Category archives for Technology
Biological manufacturing
Posted by Kevin Bonham on December 12, 2010 Sometimes, when I take a step back and look at the ways that we can manipulate life, I’m astounded. We can breed mice that lack any gene we want. We can also insert new genes, and have them only express in certain types of cells or only at certain times. This is routine. We can…
Problem Solving Bacteria
Posted by Kevin Bonham on November 17, 2010 This is just awesome: A strain of Escherichia coli bacteria can now solve [sudoku] puzzles [...] “Because sudoku has simple rules, we felt that maybe bacteria could solve it for us, as long as we designed a circuit for them to follow,” says team leader Ryo Taniuchi. The mechanism is ingenious and yet straightforward at…
The microscopic workforce in the Gulf of Mexico
Posted by Dipti Nayak on November 2, 2010 A lot has been said, written, and discussed about the recent Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The spill has been capped but the damage remains. The Gulf of Mexico has now become the feedstock of several battles, fierce and feeble, in the legal, political and scientific realm. What battles you say? It’s what…
Tapping into Microbially Produced Electricity (repost)
Posted by Emily on June 14, 2010 [This post was originally published at webeasties.wordpress.com] Although I studied physics and chemistry in college, I have always held an inherent appreciation for how life works. And now, researching microbes in action, I am continually amazed by their diverse habitats and metabolisms. It is remarkable to think how despite the diminutive size of microbes, they…
Why every “OMG we’ve cured cancer!!” article is about melanoma
Posted by Kevin Bonham on March 27, 2010 [This article was originally posted at webeasties.wordpress.com] About 4 years ago, I went to a seminar at TSRI that convinced me that cancer would be over in relatively short order. The man speaking (I wish I could remember who it was) showed that his group had been able to target radioactive heavy metals directly to…
