The Guild of Scientific Troubadours

Science Art: Sputnik, 1957

A technician looks over history’s first satellite prior to its October 5, 1957 launch.

Happy anniversary, outer space.

Entered on 30 September 2007 at 6:10 in the Science Art file | 1 Observation |  Print

Is Alzheimer’s really type-3 diabetes?

PhysOrg reports on a Northwestern University research team that’s found evidence linking Alzheimer’s disease to brain insulin:

They have shown that a toxic protein found in the brains of individuals with Alzheimer’s removes insulin receptors from nerve cells, rendering those neurons insulin resistant. (The protein, known to attack memory-forming synapses, is called an ADDL for “amyloid ß-derived diffusible ligand.”)

With other research showing that levels of brain insulin and its related receptors are lower in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, the Northwestern study sheds light on the emerging idea of Alzheimer’s being a “type 3” diabetes.

…

In the brain, insulin and insulin receptors are vital to learning and memory. When insulin binds to a receptor at a synapse, it turns on a mechanism necessary for nerve cells to survive and memories to form. That Alzheimer’s disease may in part be caused by insulin resistance in the brain has scientists asking how that process gets initiated.

Entered on 28 September 2007 at 6:55 in the Science file | Care to make an observation? |  Print

Common flame redardant could be killing cats.

Science Daily reports on a veterinarian, Janice A. Dye, who might have found the cause of feline hyperthyroidism, an epidemic that’s been afflicting cats for nearly three decades. It’s dust from chemicals found in our homes… and in canned cat food:

Dye, a toxicologist, began by hypothesizing that prolonged contact with certain polyurethane foams and components of carpet padding, furniture and mattresses would pose the greatest hazard for developing FH. In addition, the researchers suspected that diet might be another risk factor for developing FH. To see if a link existed, they analyzed PBDE content in several cat food brands.

Their analysis found that PBDE content of canned fish/seafood flavors, such as salmon and whitefish, was higher than dry or non-seafood canned items. Based on the analysis, they estimate that diets based on canned food could have PBDE levels 12 times as high as dry-food diets. The researchers indicate that pet cats might be receiving as much as 100 times greater dietary PBDE exposure than American adults.

With their meticulous grooming behavior, cats may ingest large amounts of dust that collect on their fur. “Our results showed that cats are being consistently exposed to PBDEs,” Dye said. “Because they are endocrine-disrupting agents, cats may well be at increased risk for developing thyroid effects.”

Entered on 27 September 2007 at 6:50 in the Science file | Care to make an observation? |  Print

I don’t *feel* sexy….

A study from the University of Guelph finds that men often feel “coerced” into sex because we’re subject to the myth of the massive libido. In other words, social constructions do have a measurable effect on behavior, and it cuts across both genders:

A study of 518 university students found that 38.8% of men and 47.9% of women reported being pressured into a range of sexual activity, from kissing and cuddling to intercourse and oral sex.

But the most surprising finding was the link between popularized notions of the male libido and the susceptibility of both genders to pressure, said Cailey Hartwick, the lead author of the study published in the Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality.

The existence of traditional stereotypes may cause men to engage in sexual activity rather than feel guilty about refusing it. Meanwhile, adherence to such stereotypes by women may fuel the belief “that resistance may be somewhat futile against a man’s indomitable desire for sex,” the study stated.

These myths have power.

Entered on 26 September 2007 at 6:03 in the Science file | Care to make an observation? |  Print

The Cradle of Man… in the Republic of Georgia?

Physical anthropologists with Washington University of St. Louis have looked over some pretty old bones from a site near Tblisis and found humans were in Europe a lot earlier than we thought… a lot
closer to Lucy than to the Neanderthals:

The fossils, dated to 1.8 million years old, show some modern aspects of lower limb morphology, such as long legs and an arched foot, but retain some primitive aspects of morphology in the shoulder and foot. The species had a small stature and brain size more similar to earlier species found in Africa.

Entered on 25 September 2007 at 6:07 in the Science file | Care to make an observation? |  Print

Antioxidants: And now the bad news.

Antioxidants are good for you! They help prevent cell damage and heart disease! Except when they don’t, as researchers at the University of Utah discovered. They were studying a gene called alpha-B crystallin, which can mutate and cause oversupply of one particular antioxidant:

Glutathione, one of the body’s most powerful antioxidants, is regulated at multiple steps principally by the G6PD enzyme. To establish the connection between reduced glutathione and heart failure, Benjamin mated mutant alpha B-Crystallin mice that carried too much G6PD with mice that had far lower levels. The resulting offspring had normal levels of reduced glutathione and did not develop heart failure.

“Lowering the level of reduced glutathione dramatically changed the survival of these mice,” Benjamin said. “Basically, we prevented them from getting heart failure.”

Entered on 24 September 2007 at 20:24 in the Science file | Care to make an observation? |  Print

SONG: An Awful Lot of Empty

SONG: “An Awful Lot of Empty” _{(To download: right-click & “Save As”)}

ARTIST: grant. I’m the guy responsible for this questionable corner of the internet.

SOURCE: “Colossal void may spell trouble for cosmology”, New Scientist Space Blog, 29 August 2007, as mentioned in the post “There’s a hole…”.

ABSTRACT: This article was about the recent discovery of a vast void in the middle of the universe and its implications for the fractal view of cosmology – the idea that similar structures are repeated on small and large scales in the universe. Really, what the scientists were saying (as far as I could tell) was that matter tends to accumulate in clusters, but I took a little artistic license with the idea of nucleus-emptiness-shell, since you see that same structure in human bodies, living cells, ringed planets, solar systems and atoms. As you might be able to tell from the sleepiness of the vocals in the first verse, recording this nearly killed me – but a deadline’s a deadline. I’ve gotta get that Powerbook fixed or replaced or something before the next month is up! Anyway, I think the song’s pretty good (I especially like the accordion solo).

Entered on 23 September 2007 at 16:29 in the Songs file | Care to make an observation? |  Print

Science Art: Temporary Chimneys and Fire Fountains, Constance Gordon-Cumming, c.1880

^{Click for larger version}

Read more on Scottish traveler Constance Gordon-Cumming and her experiences with the unique geothermal phenomena of Yellowstone (pdf file) – as well as her tours of New Zealand, the Far East and the South Pacific before retiring… and developing a Braille system for Mandarin Chinese.

Entered on 23 September 2007 at 6:03 in the Science Art file | Care to make an observation? |  Print

The Bacterial Kinkmobile.

New Scientist reports on a new way to propel nanomachines – using wiggly little germs as propulsion (or models for propulsion) because they’re kinky:

The motion of Spiroplasma swimming through fluid by sending kinks down its body has been described perfectly by a new computer model by physicists in Germany. They believe their results could be important for one day designing micromachines that might be used for microscale manufacturing or for medical procedures.

“Our results could provide fresh ideas for developing artificial micromachines that work efficiently on the nano- and micro-scales,” Roland Netz of the Technical University Munich told New Scientist.

Entered on 22 September 2007 at 6:03 in the Science file | Care to make an observation? |  Print

Suffocated by bees!

Snakes, as we know too well, come in two varieties: the venomous kind, which stick you full of poison, and the constricting kind, which smother you to death. (Both kinds, naturally, are quite beautiful.) But now New Scientist has revealed that bees come in both varieties, too – they can sting in self-defense, but they also will suffocate attackers:

Cyprian honeybees will swarm together around a threatening hornet, forming a tightly-packed ball that kills the would-be-invader, but exactly how this happened was unknown. Now – by a process of elimination – a study suggests that the honeybees kill by depriving their enemy of oxygen.

Either that or they’re using the awesome power of their hive-mind.

Entered on 21 September 2007 at 6:46 in the Science file | Care to make an observation? |  Print