Chronos: 2008-12

2008-12-24

New technique is quantum leap forward in understanding proteins

From Physorg.com, New technique is quantum leap forward in understanding proteins:

In this ongoing quest, a group of Scripps Research Institute scientists, along with colleagues from the University of California, San Diego, (UCSD) have borrowed from physics to deliver one of those research rarities -- an unmitigated success. The group has devised a computational method that, with remarkable accuracy, predicts how bacterial proteins fold and interact.

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2008-12-23

Researchers Fabricate Complex SWNT Architectures Using Newly Developed Assembly Process

Labels: nanotechnology

From PhysOrg.com:

(Given the sheer number of potential applications for carbon nanotubes, experts in the field of nanotechnology are developing effective ways to mass produce intricate nanoscale structures for electronics, sensing, energy and biomedical applications in a timely, cost-effective manner with a high level of accuracy.

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2008-12-09

Doing without

Labels: collections, programming, Smalltalk

Reading a recent post by Ramon Leon, a thought occurred to me: In many cases, there's a better alternative to using #copyWithout:. The alternative would be to use #do:without:, implemeted as follows:

    do: block1 without: anElement
        self do: [:each | each = anElement ifFalse: [block1 value: each]]

The advantage should be obvious: It avoids making a "throw away" copy of the initial collection.

Why Life Originated (And Why it Continues)

Labels: biology, evolution, life, thermodynamics

Why Life Originated (And Why it Continues) from PhysOrg.com

(PhysOrg.com) -- Today, scientists understand pretty well how life evolves, by mechanisms based on Darwin’s theory of natural selection for survival of the fittest. However, Darwin’s 1859 classic, On the Origin of Species, somewhat ironically doesn’t answer that very question – how species actually originated. And to this day, how that first tiny pool of chemicals twitched to life remains a puzzle.

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Key to 'curing' obesity may lie in worms that destroy their own fat

Labels: biology, biotechnology, obesity

Key to 'curing' obesity may lie in worms that destroy their own fat from PhysOrg.com

(PhysOrg.com) -- A previously unknown mutation discovered in a common roundworm holds the promise of new treatments for obesity in humans, McGill University researchers say. Their study was published Dec. 3 in the journal Nature, and was funded by the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

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2008-12-04

Model unravels rules that govern how genes are switched on and off

Labels: dna, epigenetics, gene regulation, genetics

Model unravels rules that govern how genes are switched on and off from PhysOrg.com

For years, scientists have struggled to decipher the genetic instruction book that details where and when the 20,000 genes in a human cell will be turned on or off. Different genes operate in each cell type at different times, and this careful orchestration is what ultimately distinguishes a brain cell from a liver or skin cell.

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2008-12-03

New insights on fusion power

Labels: energy, fusion

New insights on fusion power from PhysOrg.com

(PhysOrg.com) -- Research carried out at MIT’s Alcator C-Mod fusion reactor may have brought the promise of fusion as a future power source a bit closer to reality, though scientists caution that a practical fusion powerplant is still decades away.

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2008-12-01

Persistent pollutant may promote obesity

Labels: health, obesity, pollution

Persistent pollutant may promote obesity from PhysOrg.com

Tributyltin, a ubiquitous pollutant that has a potent effect on gene activity, could be promoting obesity, according to an article in the December issue of BioScience. The chemical is used in antifouling paints for boats, as a wood and textile preservative, and as a pesticide on high-value food crops, among many other applications.

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