What is public science, and why do you need it?

Image via Wikipedia

Did you use a browser to zoom around on the internet today? Have you ever been vaccinated? If you answered yes to either of those questions, your life has already been made better through publicly-funded science in America. Public science is basic scientific research funded by governments, and just in America alone it's led to breakthroughs in everything from medicine to clean energy. But now public science is under threat. Here's why — and why we can't afford to lose it.

The Science Fiction blog IO9.com has a nice overview on the value of basic research funded by the US government and some of the myths about science funding.  Don't rely on know-nothing blowhards who tell you the US should cut funding for science.  Check it out.

What is public science, and why do you need it?

Nano "Motor" Powered by Chemistry

We have been hearing about nanotechnology in the media and in science fiction for a long time now.  I have always been a little skeptical  about how realistic an idea "nano-machines" are.  This new research has me rethinking that skepticism.

A communication published online in Angewandte Chemie describes what you could call a working nano-motor.  Ayusman Sen and his coworkers at Pennsylvania State University have prepared little spheres less than a micrometer across - one side of the sphere is gold and the other side is silica (SiO2).  On the silica side they have attached a Ruthenium compound known as a Grubbs Catalyst.  The Grubbs Catalyst reacts with alkenes which are the "fuel" for the motor.

Image via Angewandte Chemie

When they place their motor-particles in a solution containing norbornene, the catalyst group on the silica side of the particle polymerizes the norbornene, and the amount of unreacted norbornene molecules on the silica side of the particle decreases.  This causes a concentration gradient - the concentration of norbornene on the gold side is higher than the concentration of norbornene on the silica side.

It is this difference in concentration of "fuel" molecules that makes the particle move.  Osmosis involves solvent molecules moving from a region where concentration is low, to a region where concentration is high.  As a result, solvent molecules flow around the "nano-motor" from the silica side (less norbornene - because the Grubbs cayalyst polymerized it) to the gold side (lots of norbornene).  And this causes the particle to move in the opposite direction.

Professor Sen anticipates that eventually you could redesign his nano-motor to use a "fuel" like glucose and doctors could use it in the bloodstream to repair damaged tissue.  Just like something out of Fantastic Voyage.

Image via Wikipedia

Self-directed microspider could repair blood vessels - New Scientist

Original research article:  A Polymerization-Powered Motor  DOI: 10.1002/anie.201103565

How to safely put your hand into really scary liquids - fun with the Leidenfrost effect

Image via Wikipedia

Check out these two videos demonstrating the Leidenfrost effect.  If you have ever seen drops of water bounce around on a hot skillet, that's the Leidenfrost effect.



First Theo Gray puts his hand into liquid Nitrogen.  Liquid Nitrogen is really cold:  −196 °C, −321 °F.  You have probably seen demonstrations where something like a rubber ball or a rose is dipped in Liquid Nitrogen - on freezing at such a low temp most things will shatter if dropped or hit with a hammer.

Theo Gray dips his hand into a large container of liquid Nitrogen without developing a permanent case of frost bite by taking advantage of the Leidenfrost Effect.  Since his hand is much warmer than the liquid nitrogen, a very thin layer of gaseous nitrogen forms and acts as a protective barrier between the bulk liquid nitrogen and the surface of his hand.



Adam and Jamie demonstrated the same effect with molten lead on an episode of Mythbusters.  This is kind of the opposite of the liquid nitrogen case - instead of using an extremely cold liquid they are using a very hot liquid.  Lead melts at 621 °F, but they actually did the experiment at about 800 °F.

To be protected by the Leidenfrost effect they needed a thin layer of gas between their hands and the lead, so they dipped their hands in water and shook off the excess before putting their hands into the liquid lead.  The small amount of water on their hands vaporized to provide the thin, protective layer of gas between their skin and the liquid lead.  The fun starts about 2 minutes into the clip.



It goes without saying - making a mistake when doing this will have severe consequences. Don't try this at home.

You can safely stick your hand in liquid nitrogen...but you probably shouldn't | IO9.com

Gray Matter: In Which I Fully Submerge My Hand in Liquid Nitrogen | Popular Science

Thinking about Simplicity

Harvard Organic Chemistry professor George Whitesides takes a stab at defining "simplicity." Here's a wonderful, thoughtful talk for the end of the school year.

Top 30 Science Blogs at Times Online - Eureka Zone

The Eureka Zone science blog at the NY Times has a list of their top 30 science blogs.  If you are looking for science reading this is a great place to start.  I only wish there was a Chemistry blog or two on their list.

Times Online - Eureka Zone: Eureka's Top 30 Science Blogs

George Whitesides Discusses Designing a "Lab on a Stamp"

This talk is listed at the Ted.com site as "A Lab the Size of a Postage Stamp," but it should really be "A ON a Postage Stamp."  He talks about the ingenious way his group has designed "devices" for medical diagnostics from paper.  This makes it very inexpensive as well as easily disposable - no sharps or bio-waste to worry about, you can just burn the device when you are done.

George Whitesides is an Organic Chemist from Harvard - I would love to hear him talk about his work on Self-Assembly, but this is pretty cool too.  To quote from his Bio at Ted:

He's co-founded a nonprofit called Diagnostics for All that aims to provide dirt-cheap diagnostic devices, to provide healthcare in a world where cost is everything.

While sharing some of his experience, he also has some interesting observations of the nature of our society, given that the cost of healthcare has been such a topic of discussion lately.

Sugary Antifreeze Molecule Found In Alaskan Beetle

image: Carl Gustav Calwer - wikimediacommons

I've been visiting family out of town - we got here just in time to be snowed-in for Christmas. So I thought some wintry chemistry would be appropriate.

Slashdot recently had a listing about a new anti-freeze molecule that has recently been found in the Alaskan beetle, Upis ceramboides. Anti-freeze molecules have been observed in a variety of plants and animals that help them resist damage from the formation of ice crystals in their tissues. All previous anti-freeze molecules have been proteins, but this new one is a sugar. It may also have a lipid component, but that isn't clear.

The sugar, xylomannan, is a polymer of mannose and xylose. Originally the researchers assumed that the anti-freeze compound in their beetles was a protein, like other known anti-freeze compounds. However they couldn't visualize it with electrophoresis, and the UV-vis and NMR spectra didn't show any sign of peptide bonds or aromatic sidechains like tyrosine or phenylalanine. Instead, the NMR was consistent with a sugar molecule, which was confirmed by GC/MS.


Research Article: A nonprotein thermal hysteresis-producing xylomannan antifreeze in the freeze-tolerant Alaskan beetle Upis ceramboides

Slashdot Science Story | New Antifreeze Molecule Isolated In Alaskan Beetle

Atomic Cookies

I've been away for a while.  Here's a little treat for the holidays:

Courtesy of Not So Humble Pie, a cooking blog that has been posting recipes for science themed treats recently.

Via Not So Humble Pie: Science Cookies: Atom

Blue Sun

The Astronomy Picture of the Day site has this cool image of the sun.  The visible spectrum of hydrogen has 4 lines called the Balmer Series. I can see at least three of them myself, but the fourth is on the edge of my eyesight.  To me the lines have the colors Red (656 nm), Blue (486 nm), Violet (434 nm) and Violet (410). This picture was take using a filter that only lets through the Hydrogen Alpha line, and then color inverted to appear blue.  I'm not sure why they changed the color, but it looks cool.  Take a look at the larger version of this picture at the link.

Image Credit & Copyright: Alan Friedman (Averted Imagination)
Link APOD: 2009 November 4 - Blue Sun Bristling

32 Years Without Small Pox

It has been 32 years since a case of Small Pox was last diagnosed.  According to Wikipedia:

The last naturally occurring case of indigenous smallpox (Variola minor) was diagnosed in Ali Maow Maalin, a hospital cook in Merca, Somalia, on 26 October 1977. The last naturally occurring case of the more deadly Variola major had been detected in October 1975 in a two-year-old Bangladeshi girl, Rahima Banu.

We have heard a lot about vaccines in the last few years.  The fact is: vaccines work. The Variola major version of Small Pox has (had?) a mortality rate of 30-35% - out of every three people who got the virus, one died.  In the 20th century, it is estimated that 300-500 million deaths were caused by small pox.  Because of the small pox vaccine, no one gets this disease. Anywhere in the world.

(Image: wikimedia commons)

Via An Anniversary Worth Celebrating – Neatorama

Drug Microscopy from the Wellcome Image Awards

Image: Annie Cavanagh and Dave McCarthy

Cool image of polymer-coated drug particles taken with an electron microscope. It looks like some sort of modern art piece.  Originally in black and white, the color was added later: the drug is orange and the polymer blue.  From this year's Wellcome Image Awards.

According to judging panel member Catherine Draycotte:

"One of the reasons this image stood out as extraordinary is because it doesn't look like a natural image. It doesn't look as though it could possibly come from a microscope - it looks as though it must be computer-generated.

"This is because the particles - and those within them - are so smooth: they are artificial and have virtually no texture. The image really shows what technology can do in targeting drugs to specific purposes. This system is designed to delay the release of the drug that is contained in the smaller particles until it reaches the large intestine, where it will treat inflammatory bowel disease."

Wellcome Image Awards 2009 | Winners' gallery | Scientific and medical images

Commercial green fuel from algae still years away

Scientists and investors are lured by the pond scum's natural oils that can be extracted and refined into fuel.

Algae grows fast and absorbs greenhouse gases along the way. Plus, the lowly lifeform uses less land, water and other resources than the corn or soybeans used in first generation biofuels, alleviating concerns that those renewable fuels would cause food shortages.

It's disappointing that this may take a decade to be practical, but it seems like a no-brainer to use algae rather than terrestrial plants as a source for renewable bio-fuels.

via Slashdot: Commercial green fuel from algae still years away | Reuters

Desktop Electron Microscope

From SlashDot:

Wired previewed the desktop-sized Hitachi TM-1000 Electron Microscope a while back. Light microscopes can magnify up to 400X (1,000X at lower quality) — just enough to see bacteria as shapes — but this one offers 20X to 10,000X, giving some amazing pictures. Unlike traditional electron microscopes, this one plugs into a domestic power socket and specimens don't need any special preparation; it's point-and-shoot, much like your typical digital camera.

Cool!  But what I would really like is a desktop NMR!

Slashdot Science Story | An Electron Microscope For Your Home?

Tabla Periodica de los Elementos

Ever wondered what the Periodic Table would look like in a language other than English? The Chemistry site at About.com has one in Spanish. Look for the link to the PDF version underneath if you want a nice copy to print. It even includes the newly named element 112 Copernicio (Cp)

Tabla Periodica de los Elementos

Come On and Meet the Elements

They Might Be Giants, from their new album of kids' music: "Here Comes Science."

via They Might Be Giants: "Meet the Elements" music video (BB Video) - Boing Boing

Test Your News IQ - Pew Research Center

The Pew Research Center has a Science Knowledge Quiz. Go ahead and take it now, there are only 12 questions. I'll wait.

As a professional, life long science geek I expected to do well. I helps that I teach chemistry, and I'm interested in medical research, astronomy and space science.

If you look at the breakdown by question, it's not too surprising which questions most people answered correctly. And it's understandable that about half the people who took the quiz didn't know how big an electron is - that's not something most people have any personal experience with.

The question that disappointed me most was the one on antibiotics and viruses. Every time you get a cold and ask for antibiotics your doctor should tell you the answer to this one. Antibiotics don't affect viruses. When you are feeling crummy, it may seem unfair but the antibiotics won't make you feel any better except by the placebo effect. Fewer than half answered correctly. Everyone should know this, for two reasons:

1. it's wasteful and a waste of time to take drugs that don't work
2. it contributes to bacterial resistance to antibiotics, which is bad for everyone
   

Test Your News IQ - Pew Research Center
via Greg Laden's Blog

CRC History

The three reference books I use the most often are the Sigma-Aldrich catalog, the Merck Index and the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. The first one is a catalog and the second started as a catalog. As it turns out, the CRC was also started by a chemical supplier - it wasn't a catalog but was provided as a marketing tool by the Chemical Rubber Company. The first edition, published in 1913, was so popular that it has been revised almost every year since.

The Chemical Information division of the American Chemical Society has an interview with Dr. David Lide , who has edited the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics since 1989. The interview was published in the Fall 2009 Chemical Information Bulletin.

You can also access the interview directly at
http://acscinf.org/docs/publications/Interviews/Lide/2009/CIB2009_61-2_Lide.pdf

July Weather: Local vs Global

From AccuWeather:

NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS) has determined that July of 2009 was the second warmest July globally, since records were kept going back well over a hundred years.

The map above compares July 2009 with "normal" - July from 1951 through 1980. Blue is cooler than "normal" and red is warmer. There are some blue bits, but there sure is a whole lot of red - more than enough to compensate for the smaller regions of cooler temperatures.

In fact most of the eastern US was blue in July, with the darkest blue in the Great Lakes region where I live. I know I'll be hearing people say, "Gosh it's been cold this summer. That proves there's no Global Warming!"

The thing about Global Warming is that the Earth warms unevenly - that is one of the things that causes winds. Change the winds and you change the weather. Change the temperature - up or down - and the amount of rainfall and you can have big problems for the farmers.

It's not just an issue of having warmer weather - some people would like that. I have lived in Tennessee and Georgia and I prefer to live in a place that gets snow in the winter, I kind of like the weather as it is. The real issue isn't so much creature comforts but food. Considering all the red in the polar regions, if I lived in Miami I would be a little worried about sea level too.

via AccuWeather.com: Global Warming News, Science, Myths, Articles

Steven Chu on The Daily Show

John Stewart reveals Energy Secretary Steven Chu's secret identity as a super-hero who combats climate change.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Steven Chu
www.thedailyshow.com
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Science Tattoos

Here's the neurotransmitter Seratonin from the Science Tattoo Emporium at Discover Magazine