Sandra Porter
sporte
Posts by this author
January 27, 2007
Considering that several genomes that have been sequenced in the past decade, it seems amazing in retrospect, that the first complete bacterial genome sequence was only published 12 years ago (1). Now, the Genome database at the NCBI lists 450 complete microbial genomes (procaryotes and archea),…
January 25, 2007
Note to self: doing live BLAST searches during a lecture is not a good idea.
Would Julia Child make her viewers watch the food bake?
Standing in front of a class and waiting for results to appear, makes me realize how much instructors can learn a lot from watching Julia Child demonstrate cooking…
January 24, 2007
Tired of waiting for congress and you don't want to move to California or out of the US? Attila Csordas shows us in a few photographs how to isolate placental stem cells at home.
His series brings back memories. My very first paid technician job in college involved visiting the maternity ward,…
January 22, 2007
About a week ago, I offered to answer questions about subjects that I've either worked with, studied or taught.
I haven't had many questions yet, but I can certainly answer the ones I've had so far. Today, I'll answer the first question:
How do you sequence a genome?
Before we get into the…
January 21, 2007
In the effort to help us define a few basic concepts, PZ started out by giving us a nice simple definition of a gene, but as he, rightly noted:
I tell you right now that if I asked a half dozen different biologists to help me out with this, they'd rip into it and add a thousand qualifiers, and it…
January 21, 2007
I read about this in Science and immediately had to check it out. Instant gratification on the internet is such a wonderful thing!
The Ed Kravitz lab has made movies of fights and even put them on the web for your viewing pleasure.
You can see the following fly fights that might suit your fancy…
January 19, 2007
Imagine yourself curled up and cozy, a glass of wine (or pop) in your hand, a blazing fire, and a wonderfully entertaining book in your hand.
Hmmmm. What are you reading?
Oh, of course! It's the open laboratory edited by our very own Science Blogger, Bora Zivkovic, who really does seem to (a…
January 19, 2007
The American Society for Human Genetics is sponsoring the second annual DNA Day Essay contest. If you are a high school teacher here's your chance to combine an interesting assignment along with a contest.
This year's essay questions are:
If you could be a human genetics researcher, what would…
January 13, 2007
Are there scientific terms or concepts that you'd like to know more about? Looking for a bit more of an explanation? Confused about the difference between DNA and RNA?
Some of my fellow SciBlings, Tara, Chad, John, Janet, and Bora; have proposed that we consider going back to basics. Others…
January 12, 2007
The bioinformatics classes that I teach use web services and web sites as much as possible, but I still find that it's helpful to have programs on our classroom computers. Here is a list of my favorite desktop programs for those of you who might want to add some bioinformatics activities to your…
January 10, 2007
I was frantically getting ready for class when I happened to glance out the window. What did I see? Big fluffy white flakes rapidly falling from above. You can't say we weren't warned. The newspapers have been predicting snow since Monday. It's just, well, unusual. And Seattle is never…
January 9, 2007
It's true. Chimeras are out and walking among us. These aren't quite the chimeras that RPM is obsessed with, but they're certainly bothersome to some.
From Genome Technology Online, we have a report that James Derr, at Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine, wants to sequence the genome…
January 9, 2007
There's nothing like the first day of class to make you appreciate the difference between the equipment you end up using at schools and the equipment that you get to use on the job.
For the month of January, I'm teaching a night class in bioinformatics at a local community college. We're…
January 8, 2007
Our goal for this course (BioSci256) is to introduce you to some of the tools and databases that are widely-used in bioinformatics and give you lots of hands-on practice in using these tools to look at some questions in biology. Since many of you are either studying biotechnology or working in a…
January 6, 2007
Decan Butler, the Reveres, and Nature have written that verdict is in. The scientific evidence has been shunted aside. The nurses and doctor who traveled to Tripoli on a humanitarian mission have been sentenced to death. There is still a chance, but it seems to be slim.
Two articles in Nature,…
January 6, 2007
My dog has an interesting (okay, disgusting!) habit of rolling in the smelliest stuff she can find when we go on walks. Everything that I've read about dogs - and this probably includes fiction - explains her behavior as "the dog is hiding her scent."
I know it seems odd that my dog rolling in…
January 5, 2007
GenomeWeb reports that OKCC and the University of Utah's Genetic Science Learning Center received NIH funds for genomics and bioinformatics education projects, respectively. Congratulations are certainly due to the University of Utah.
For a community college, on the other hand, to get NIH…
January 4, 2007
I'm tempted to joke and say "Recruit hotter guys?" but that would be just as wrong as Razib's charming notion of what cute women read for fun or our uncertain physicist's misconception that there's nothing that he can do to improve the situation for female students at his small college. Of course…
January 4, 2007
The wind storms and heavy rains that hit Seattle recently, demonstrated why a bypass mechanism can be a helpful thing - for both bacteria and motorists.
Under the bridge on Mercer, from the Seattle Times
When the weather is nice, I bike to work. But when the weather gets bad, (I consider rain…
January 3, 2007
You can spend all day staring at irreducibly complex patterns in the sand (wow! it's a pattern! Evidence for intelligent design? Or created by random acts of water?).
Or, you can do something even more fun and enjoy a treat at Tangled Bank #70. As they say in Spain, Viva La Evolución!
January 3, 2007
This is the fifth part of a multipart series on antibiotic resistance in bacteria.
The previous installments:
1. A primer on antibiotic resistance: an introduction to the question of antibiotic resistance.
2. Natural vs. synthetic drugs: what is the difference between an antibiotics and synthetic…
January 2, 2007
After reading Kevin C.'s question in the comments on my last antibiotic post, I decided to look into this question a bit further.
As far as I can tell, most of the commercially producted antibiotics are made by bacteria, fungi, and a bit chemistry (more on that in a moment). It appears, however,…
January 1, 2007
It's been quite a year since I joined ScienceBlogs in June and there've been many interesting things to write about.
Here's a sampling of your favorites (and some of mine) from month to month.
June:
Hello Kitty! or Don't Eat Me, I Study Genetics!
The story of the endangered Florida Panthers and…
January 1, 2007
When computers first entered the mainstream, it was common to hear them getting blamed for everything. Did you miss a bank statement? that darned computer! Miss a phone call? - again the computer!
The latest issue of Science had a new twist on this old story. Now, instead of a researcher failing…
December 31, 2006
When two different people sent me this link, I realized that it had to be shared.
The Eye of Science gallery has all kinds of pictures taken by microscopists.
I am a great fan of microscopic crystals. Here are crystals of every shape and kind - with some lovely views of snowflakes. Plus,…
December 30, 2006
This is multipart series on antibiotic resistance in bacteria.
Check out the previous bits:
1. A primer on antibiotic resistance
2. Natural vs. synthetic drugs
Eventually, we'll reach the ways in which bacteria develop antibiotic resistance, but before we get there, we'll spend a little more…
December 26, 2006
In case you missed it, the December edition of Animalcules is posted at Aetiology. Look for lots of enjoyable reading about our invisible friends.
December 22, 2006
Bacteria can cause other epidemics, why not obesity? Is there a relationship between our body weight and our bacterial inhabitants?
Two reports in Nature (1, 2) suggest that bacterial populations differ between people who are obese and people who not, and that the bacterial inhabitants of their…
December 21, 2006
Yes, indeed the DVDs are now available on a first-come, first serve basis.
The NSTA has a link to the DVD giveaway page. And the NABT (National Association of Biology Teachers) has written about it, too.
From the NABT:
The DVD's will be given away starting Monday, December 18, 2006 thru Thursday…
December 21, 2006
Her name is Flora and she is a single parent. Born in Miami, Flora moved to Chester, UK, as a toddler. Now, she's almost 8 years old and starting a family, all on her own.
Literally.
Four eggs have hatched and another eight are ready to go. Yet, Flora has never gotten cozy with another male…