Filter

• In The Fold

  Mom wanted you to be a doctor, but you were too busy playing videogames to take the MCATs? Well, those skills could help cure cancer too.
  more...

  • 012: New School
  • Date: Aug 07 2008
  • Contributors: Lucas Laursen

• The New Nobels

  Fred Kavli is finding—and funding—scientists who are solving the most complex puzzles in the universe.
  more...

  • 011: Get Lost
  • Date: Jun 05 2008
  • Contributors: Emily Anthes and Jen Dessinger

• Bombs Away

  A Los Angeles-based nonprofit is using the weapons of war to clean up battlefields.
  more...

  • 011: Get Lost
  • Date: May 27 2008
  • Contributors: Jessica Kelmon

• Smoke And Miracles

  Even tobacco is doing good now. Wired reports a discovery that is the very definition of irony: the nicotine-rich tobacco plant could potentially treat cancer, viruses, and genetic disorders. Holy vaccine!
  
  William Bentley, the University of Maryland professor leading the charge, reveals that the plant’s tubular “mosaic virus is literally a nano-sized syringe,” one that can be hollowed out and stuffed with “small interfering RNA” (or siRNA) molecules. Once injected, these siRNA molecules can program cells to destroy disease-causing proteins. A few scientists even opine that siRNA is the most significant development in medicine since the discovery of vaccines. There are still a few stumbling blocks before this can all be done in practice, of course, but we wish these pioneers luck.
  go to article

  • Date: Sep 04 2008
  • Posted by Jason Jude Chan

• Seis Matters

  Not that New Yorkers aren't accustomed to the ground shaking—especially in cheap apartments near the J train. But the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America has effectively reminded us that the 125th St. fault line isn't a cross-town express. New research illuminates that the area around NYC is a braid of small fault lines, the added risk of which is greater than previously thought. Scientists say a major quake every century is likely—the last major event was a magnitude 5.2 quake occurred in 1884, off the shore of Far Rockaway, which brought chimneys down and shook the ground Virginia to Maine. But in the past 120 years, only smaller quakes (a handful of 2.0s on the Richter scale) have shaken the city. Unlike the seasoned neighbors of the San Andreas in L.A., the infrastructure in NYC isn't intentionally quake-proof, so rattling the Big Apple could really bring the house down. It could also shake things up at the Indian Point nuclear power plant, just north of the city, which, it turns out, was built on a newly-identified seismic zone. Hard to imagine sheer acts of nature shaking the nation's biggest metropolis, but after—as unlikely as it seemed— a tornado went tearing through Brooklyn last summer, this earthquake talk might have New Yorkers bracing themselves. Via BLDG Blog
  go to article

  • Date: Aug 25 2008
  • Posted by alexandra_m

• Stem Cell Tooth Fairies

  A team of Japanese scientists say they have found a new way to obtain stem cells: from extracted wisdom teeth. The research dovetails off last year’s finding that stem cells could be produced from human skin—but, as is the case with that research, it will take years before it can be used practically. It also inspires speculation about the real motives behind these guys' operation:
  
  
  
  Via Drudge.
  go to article

  • Date: Aug 22 2008
  • Posted by Patrick James

• The Monitor

  We did 16 episodes of this weekly science roundup for Scientific American before moving on to new projects with them. http://scientificamerican.blip.tv
  go to post

  • Date: Aug 19 2008
  • Posted by Mims

• Worthy Cause

  This is a solid organization with some impressive life saving capabilities. Spread the word, get involved, and check out their cool t-shirts: http://goldenwesthf.bigcartel.com/ Proceeds from the shirts go to fund their projects worldwide.
  go to post

  • Date: Jun 09 2008
  • Posted by fishhandler

• Inspirational

  Kavli is truly inspirational. It's great to see someone spending their fortune on making the world a better place. I just hope that the people who win the awards, who supposedly are just getting started in their science careers, continue to work hard to achieve even more for the planet using their award and the recognition they receive with it.
  go to post

  • Date: Aug 05 2008
  • Posted by cait