Science Buzz Lunch October 29th and 30th 2012

Science Buzz Lunch  October 29th and 30th 2012

Topics discussed:

1) Causes of recent deep-seated landslides in apan

2)  A recent paper published in Science on how fossils of feathered non-avian dinosaurs from North America provide insights into wing origins

3)  A recent paper published in Cell on the mechanism of transcriptional amplification in tumor cells with elevated c-Myc, apparently by releasing Pol II from pause control at already active promoters

4)  Recent papers, comments, and replies to those comments in Science regarding the interpretation of putative fibers revealed by diffusion tension imaging of the brain

Science Buzz Lunch in Bldg 2, Room 107, 10-22-2012

Science Buzz Lunch in Bldg 2, Room 107, 10-22-2012

Topics Discussed:

1) How gene duplication is involved in evolution: Recent studies showing the important role of "double-duty genes" in this type of evolution

2) The IgNobel Prize: It's history, memorable prize winners, and some nominees whose work surprised and amused us (e.g., X-ray flashes from stick-slip friction in peeling tape"

3) Recent improvement in radiocarbon dating pushing the limit of its dating ability from around 12,000 years to around 50, 000 years, which should make it useful now for studying fossils of the last glacial maximum event

4) A whole-genome PCR amplification method that could make it possible to ship whole-genome PCR-amplified genome fragments internationally (this is legal), whereas shipping whole genomic DNA itself is illegal. This method could help international collaborative genome sequencing studies.

5) Use of social media to promote wildlife conservation

Science Buzz Lunch in Bldg 2, Room 107 October 16, 2012

Science Buzz Lunch in Bldg 2, Room 107  October 16, 2012

Topics discussed:

We took a quiz about Nobel prizes and prize winners, and thereby learned lots about

iPS cells

energy quanta

human blood groups

lobotomy

crystallography

quarks

Science Buzz Lunch in Bldg 2, Room 107, 10-15-2012

Science Buzz Lunch in Bldg 2, Room 107, 10-15-2012

Topics discussed:

1) A study of Gouldian Finches showing that covering a male's right eye cancels the male's usual courtship behavior of choosing a mate with the same cap color (these finches can have a black, red , or yellow cap), but covering his left eye has no such effect.

2) The work on G protein coupled receptors by biochemists Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Koblka that was awarded the 2012 Nobel prize for Chemistry.

3)  The strange story of the false reports by Hisashi Moriguchi claiming that he had already performed medical use of cells derived iPS cells

Science Buzz Lunch in Building 2, Room 107, 10-9-2012

Science Buzz Lunch in Building 2, Room 107, 10-9-2012

Topics discussed:

1) the Nobel prize-winning work of John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka demonstrating the reprogramming of differentiated cells to produce pluripotent cells

2) various ways of deciding the authors on research papers

Science Buzz Lunch in Bldg 2, Room 107, 10-2-2012

Science Buzz Lunch in Bldg 2, Room 107, 10-2-2012

Topics discussed:

1) Echolocation by the Whirligig Beetle

2)  Island colonization by the Ryukyu Five-lined Skink