Does Anyone Care?

Does anyone care if we lose all living things in our coastal waterways of the Gulf of Mexico? Pay attention.

clipped from www.npr.org Gulf Oil Spill Could Eclipse Exxon Valdez Disaster by NPR Staff and Wires An oil spill that threatened to eclipse even the Exxon Valdez disaster spread out of control and drifted inexorably toward the Gulf Coast as fishermen rushed to scoop up shrimp and crews spread floating barriers around marshes.

Robotic Printer Could Build Moonbases

While these types of 3D prototype printers have been around for several decades, they are now large enough to create small buildings.

clipped from www.physorg.com The printer can be moved along horizontal beams and four vertical columns, and the printer head is raised by only 5-10 mm for each new layer. The printer is driven by a computer running CAD software and prints at a resolution of 25 dpi (dots per inch). The completed material resembles marble, is stronger than concrete, and does not need iron reinforcing. The printing process can successfully create internal curves, partitions, ducting, and hollow columns.

Bacterial Communities Identify Us!

Each person's skin bacteria appears to have its own genetic signature which could be used to identify an objects' user. This research and necessary technology development is in the preliminary stages.
This is an intriguing concept that I believe people will find interesting, so I would suggest that teachers could use it as a current event article.

clipped from www.hhmi.org Bacterial "Signatures" Linger on Users' Keyboards Call it CSI: Microbe. Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have found that skin bacteria left behind on keyboards and computer mice can identify the objects’ users. “We're cautiously optimistic that this technique could be widely applicable, but before anyone can stand up in a courtroom and defend it, we need to spend a lot more time and money on validation.” Rob Knight Knight is a coauthor of a report on the research, which was performed in collaboration with Noah Fierer, an assistant professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, published the week of March 15, 2010, in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences. recent research into the human microbiome – suggests that humans serve as hosts for an astounding diversity of microorganisms. In fact, each of us supports as many as 10 times the number of microbes as there are cells in the human body.

Theoretically Positive, Realistically Questionable

An amazing discovery about gene manipulation to turn off the sexual reproduction of various plants. How will these experiments turn out? Will this endanger our food supply? or Will this discovery be just what is needed to cut out the monopoly on hardy seed supplies?

clipped from www.hhmi.org Asexual Plant Reproduction May Seed New Approach for Agriculture Arabidopsis thaliana, a small flowering mustard plant, normally reproduces sexually. But Jean Philippe Vielle-Calzada and his colleagues have show that silencing a protein called Argonaute 9 causes the plant to begin reproducing asexually instead. The blue shading shows the area involved in gamete formation that is disrupted when Argonaute 9 is silenced. his problem is sidestepped by some plants—such as dandelions and poplar trees—that reproduce asexually by essentially cloning themselves. Jean-Philippe Vielle-Calzada, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) international research scholar, wondered whether he could learn enough about the genetics of asexual reproduction to apply it to plants that produce sexually. In an advance online publication in Nature on March 7, 2010, Vielle-Calzada and his colleagues report that they have moved a step closer to turning sexually-reproducing plants into asexual reproducers,

Perceptions vs Reality Can Mean Life or Death!

Researchers have discovered that there are several variables that can have a statistical effect of patient survival, yet many "...surgeons placed less importance on sex, type of anesthesia, and ASA score [level of anemia]...."
This new information could decrease the high number of deaths, up to 22%, from hip fractures and resulting surgery.

clipped from www.orthosupersite.com Evidence Versus Beliefs About Predictors of Outcome by Michael Zlowodzki, MD; Paul Tornetta III, MD; George Haidukewych, MD; Beate P. Hanson, MD, MPH; Brad Petrisor, MD, MSc; Marc F. Swiontkowski, MD; Emil H. Schemitsch, MD; Peter V. Giannoudis, MD; Mohit Bhandari, MD, MSc, FRCSC Knowledge of predictors of outcome can and should influence treatment decisions and can subsequently improve outcomes Hip fractures have devastating consequences for patients and their families, including a 22% mortality rate within 1 year postoperatively3 and substantial impairment of independence and quality of life.4 Hip fractures also account for more hospital days than any other musculoskeletal injury and represent more than two-thirds of all hospital days due to fractures.5 Figure: The responses of American surgeons vs European surgeons regarding predictors of outcome after operative treatment of femoral neck fractures. greatest discrepancy between survey and current evidence related to the type of anesthesia