Science Buzz Lunch in Bldg 1, Mixer Room, 8-21-2012

Science Buzz Lunch in Bldg 1, Mixer Room, 8-21-2012

Topics discussed included:

1) A recent report in Nature (Scientific Reports) of the first evidence found for photosynthesis found in insects (aphids)

2) A new online journal club system using postings on Yammer.com, and how that system compares with the traditional orally presented journal club

   

Science Buzz Lunch in Building 1, Room 214 (Mixer Room), 8-28-2012

Science Buzz Lunch in Building 1, Room 214 (Mixer Room), 8-28-2012

Topics discussed included:

1) Neuronal control of the heat shock response and unfolded protein response in C. elegans

Science Buzz Lunch in Building 2, Room 107, 8-27-2012

Science Buzz Lunch in Building 2, Room 107, 8-27-2012

Topics discussed included:

1) Newspaper reports of invertebrates and seaweed carried from Japan to the west coast of North America by "rafting" on debris after the massive earthquake and tidal wave in Japan last year

2)  Research done on chimpanzees at the Hayashibara Great Ape Center in Okayama, especially live imaging of fetuses in unanesthetized mothers

3)  Sunbathing by Boxelder bugs increases the insects' fitness by inducing them to produce terpenes that trap and destroy a harmful fungus

Science Buzz Lunch in Bldg 2, Room 107, 8-20-2012

Science Buzz Lunch in Bldg 2, Room 107, 8-20-2012

Topics discussed included:

1) A recent study showing increased deformities in the Pale Grass Blue Butterfly in the 6 months after the meltdown of the nuclear power plant in Fukushima

2) Comparison between the American custom of Memorial Day and the Japanese custom of Obon

Science Buzz Lunch in Mixer Room, Bldg 1, 8-7-12

Science Buzz Lunch in Mixer Room, Bldg 1, 8-7-12

Topics discussed included:

1) The WISH project of the Primate Research Institute of Kyoto University to study the mind

2)  The biological role of the black eyestripe in shrikes (and possibly in barbets)

3) The ecological niches of woodpeckers compared to those of barbets

4) The adaptability of bird species to different diets

5)  Color vision in birds compared to that in cattle and in humans (what colors can each see?)

6)  The possible normal biological roles of Alzheimer disease-related APP and beta-amyloid