Help wanted- Vigilant and patient people wanted for an extremely tedious job over about six months. The job involves repetitive work and some lifting. Experience using scanner equipment would be advantageous. Commitment to literature and science essential. Good pay for the right people. Apply Monday, September 6, at the Personnel office, sixth floor of the University of Toronto undergraduate library. (PRIVATE) Database First of its Kind at U of T (Toronto Star, April 12, 200-). Librarians at the University of Toronto have excitedly unveiled their latest toy- a huge database containing not only an index of the over one million…
The Science Creative Quarterly
From October, 2005
RANK: ANIMAL ILLNESSES
Chicken Pox This is the Frank Sinatra of animal-themed sicknesses. A timeless classic, although the younger generations might not appreciate it. I remember fondly going to a Fourth of July Parade as a child, just recovering from the pox, and my mom not letting me look around too much lest other parents see my pox and get upset for contaminating everyone else. I also have a few choice scars from the ol’ poxy. Drawback: Some children are getting ‘vaccinated’ for this. Wimps. Avian Flu While this is the hot disease of the moment, it still can’t measure up to the…
SCIENCE GETS ITS FIRST SUPERMODEL
New discoveries that show evolution in action are causing some scientists to say that the first scientific supermodel has arrived. Biology is normally carried out within isolated specializations. Ecologists study one organism, molecular biologists another, while evolutionary biologists look over hundreds without probing too deeply into any particular one. But one tiny little fish, the threespine stickleback, proves that a combination of genetics, molecular biology, developmental biology and population studies, can bring insight into the fundamental question of how evolution occurs in nature. “The sticklebacks are a shining example of what can happen when you put all of these fields…
CHANGING THE LANGUAGE OF DNA
DNA is the genetic code of life – a sort of molecular instruction manual that is passed on from mother to daughter cell. This set of instructions is read by the cell and translated into proteins, which perform specific functions within the cell. The DNA molecule itself is made up of a linear sequence of four deoxyribo-nucleotides: adenine (A), guanine (G), cysteine (C) and thymine (T), which in turn form the alphabet of genetic information. The sequence of this linear code leads to the synthesis of proteins through the cellular processes of transcription and translation. To give you a general…
SUGAR AND DEMONS: A SCIENTIST’S FIELD NOTES
Day 1: While changing my thirteen month old son’s diaper, he begins to spin around and around on the bed at an extremely fast pace and giggles loudly to himself, like a madman. This is not his usual behavior. I decide to investigate. Day 2: After spending all night breaking down the circumstances that led to my son’s bizarre behavior as well as pouring through numerous scientific journals on-line, I’ve narrowed it down to two possibilities: 1) he ate too many Dannon Children’s Yogurts right before I changed him, thus consuming a high amount of sugar. Or 2) demonic possession.…
JOURNAL CLUB FIND: HATHA YOGA IS NOT CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISE
“The 30 minute non-workout” REFERENCE: The metabolic cost of hatha yoga. (2005) Clay, C.C., L.K. Lloyd, J.L. Walker, K.R. Sharp, and R.B. Pankey. J. Strength Cond. Res. 19(3):604–610. ABSTRACT: To determine the metabolic and heart rate (HR) responses of hatha yoga, 26 women (19–40 years old) performed a 30-minute hatha yoga routine of supine lying, sitting, and standing asanas (i.e., postures). Subjects followed identical videotaped sequences of hatha yoga asanas. Mean physiological responses were compared to the physiological responses of resting in a chair and walking on a treadmill at 93.86 m·min-1 [3.5 miles per hour (mph)]. During the 30-minute…
JOURNAL CLUB FIND: HATHA YOGA IS NOT CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISE
“The 30 minute non-workout” REFERENCE: The metabolic cost of hatha yoga. (2005) Clay, C.C., L.K. Lloyd, J.L. Walker, K.R. Sharp, and R.B. Pankey. J. Strength Cond. Res. 19(3):604–610. ABSTRACT: To determine the metabolic and heart rate (HR) responses of hatha yoga, 26 women (19–40 years old) performed a 30-minute hatha yoga routine of supine lying, sitting, and standing asanas (i.e., postures). Subjects followed identical videotaped sequences of hatha yoga asanas. Mean physiological responses were compared to the physiological responses of resting in a chair and walking on a treadmill at 93.86 m·min-1 [3.5 miles per hour (mph)]. During the 30-minute…
POLIO: A VIRUS’ STRUGGLE
Download the pdf (14pages, ~2.7Mb) (We are also looking for an inker who can ink this piece for possible print inclusion, please email tscq@interchange.ubc.ca if you are interested in helping out.)
THE GREATEST OF THESE…
This previous Saturday, I received a telephone call from a woman, MaryAnne (not her real name), who lives in Greenwich Village and whose pet parrots I care for. After I answered her call, she paused for a long moment and then, very unexpectedly, she offered to give me her pet African grey parrot. I was stunned. Nearly all of my life, I have wanted a so-called “Congo” African grey parrot, Psittacus erithacus erithacus, but I never got one for a variety of reasons (“my life is not stable enough” or “I can’t afford one” were my typical reasons). But really,…