September 2008 - Posts - Lab Rats

September 2008 - Posts

Genes, disease, ethics

Posted by Seema Singh at 
I've almost reached a saturation point --genes, mutations, sequences, genome, phenome, microbiome, proteome... there's no stopping the genomics lexicon. Reason: the fall in the cost of DNA sequencing, which followed the Moore's law of exponential growth for about 2 decades leading to 2004, has now merrily surpassed it. Result: an explosion...

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The world of science through photography

Posted by Seema Singh at 
These photos and graphics form some of the winning entries of the 2008 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge, sponsored by the journal Science and the US National Science Foundation. Currently in its 6th year, the competition honours artists who use visual media to promote understanding of scientific research. All images are...

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Is there a bias against developing world science?

Posted by Seema Singh at 
Last week a four-nation study in Nature Reviews Genetics stressed how genomic medicine can empower developing countries to provide affordable healthcare to its people. It mentioned the Indian study, which was first announced in April and is the largest genetic mapping study done anywhere in the world. The global study also lauded the Indian effort to...

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Serving beer in the parking lot

Posted by Seema Singh at 
Well, this is not a desperate attempt to attract traffic here but one of the ideas which GlaxoSmithKline's chief executive Jean-Pierre Garnier is willing to execute if it'd help launch a cultural revolution and pep up the pharmaceutical giant's R&D. In a recent Harvard Business Review feature, he said (I quote as it's paid content...

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Sergey Brin’s life & cause outside of Google

Posted by Seema Singh at 
Yes, yes, the Google co-founder has started blogging. He calls it too : "It also means ‘in addition', as this blog reflects my life outside of work." What is striking is the inimitable style and the cause he is espousing (outside of Google) upfront: he is at an increased risk of Parkinson's disease because his mother suffers from it...

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Of unhappy kids & overbearing parents

Posted by Seema Singh at 
How often have you tried coaxing a serious looking child into a cheerful mood, believing that children ought to be jovial and playful? At least I have done this several times, both at home and in gatherings. But according to this new research A hidden cost of happiness in children in the journal Development Science , happiness, which is generally considered...

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Playing music? Get accompaniment from this CompuMaestro

Posted by Seema Singh at 
This sounds like a perfect fusion of art and science: a software system that can create accompaniment for music of any genre, in any artist's style, in a chosen style of one artist, or narrowing it further, in a particular style from an artist's select pieces. So if you are a guitarist, a vocalist, or a pianist, get this Automatic Style Specific...

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Hacking Biology

Posted by Jacob Koshy at 
Welcome to Drugapedia. CSIR director-general Samir Brahmachari, believes that spirited college students, who get their kicks from hacking college websites, may be more useful than lab-weary biologists at discovering drugs for tuberculosis and malaria. That's what Open Source Drug Discovery , formally launched by science minister Kapil Sibal on Monday...

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It doesn't pay to do a Ph.D.

Posted by Seema Singh at 
I know this blog title is blasphemous, at least for the sci-tech community. But read on... it's the conclusion of a mathematical analysis of salaries drawn at one of the respected scientific universities in the country - Cochin University of Science And Technology (CUSAT). It's published in September 10 issue of Current Science by none other...

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Filming science

Posted by Seema Singh at 
So, we survived doom mongers' campaign. Though not sure if the New Jersey-based Hyundai car dealer who tried to cash in on the "end-of-the-world" ad pitch, offering 30% discount and some cash back, made any significant sales. Jokes apart, yesterday the high energy particle smasher got a flying start at CERN in Geneva. As I flipped TV channels...

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The Great Orifice

Posted by Jacob Koshy at 
It's afternoon, and the first steps of the Apocalypse have been successful. The Large Hadron Collider will serve the last meal of the Universe--Earth cutlets, Moon fry and Sun paysam (Happy Onam, people), around October and while the human race--all 6 billion of us together-- just might qualify as munchies, I thought it would be useful to contemplate...

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Kissing math

Posted by Seema Singh at 
For long the stereotype that girls are poor (or less interested) in math has ruled our psyche, letting them shy away from this subject even though sporadic studies have suggested the opposite. In one more instance this week, the most detailed study so far , vocational psychologists from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and other places say that...

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Celebrating 10 years of Google...

Posted by Seema Singh at 
...And doing smart science with smart searching. This week marks the 10 th year of Google. From a small set of donated servers to humungous data centres across the world, Google's voyage also mirrors the avalanche of data in scientific research. It shows how the intelligence of Google's informatics is needed in science today more than ever ...

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Playing, even watching, sports improves brain function

Posted by Seema Singh at 
This sure will cheer sports lovers, couch potatoes in particular. Athletics is good for health, but does being a fan have any health payback? A new research from the University of Chicago in today’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says even watching sports can help improve language skills because part of the brain usually...

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