Title: Introduction to My Research Area Course Instructor: Me T Th 10:30 -12:00, Willams 205 Office Hours: by appointment Course Syllabus: The course will consist of me, talking about my research area, for 15 weeks. Topics to be covered include: 1. My research area. 2. Why my research area is important. 3. Important contributions I have made to my research area. 4. Contributions other researchers have made to my research area, including an objective appraisal of any problems or errors in these studies. 5. Future work in my research area. 6. Other stuff about my research area. – – –…
The Science Creative Quarterly
From humour
UNFORTUNATE CHAIN OF EVENTS LEADING UP TO PLUTO’S LOSS OF PLANETHOOD
Pluto loses car keys Pluto steps in dog crap Pluto’s July horoscope warns of “personal challenges ahead” Pluto’s rent check bounces Pluto’s Mustang suffers blown head gasket Pluto constantly late to work Pluto’s girlfriend of three years leaves Pluto Pluto charged with solicitation of a prostitute Pluto becomes increasingly depressed Pluto seeks answers in a bottle of Wild Turkey
HOW THE SWISS INVENTED CIVILIZATION
An unexpected archaeological find has led experts to a startling conclusion: Stonehenge, the ancient circle of stones in southern England, may have been built by the Swiss. This radical theory first took shape in 2003 when the grave of a Bronze Age archer was discovered about three miles from Stonehenge. Archaeologists concluded that the archer was Swiss from the attitude of the body, which indicated that the man died in the act of yodeling. Since then, evidence supporting the “Swiss theory” has been mounting. The most vocal proponent is Mr. William Tell of Berne, Switzerland (born Skip Mandelbaum of Piscataway,…
IT’S A LUCKY THING FOR EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY THAT THE FOLLOWING PASSAGES AREN’T IN THE BIBLE
Jesus then entered the farm, and saw creatures of every shape and size, and so said to his followers, “Hey, my Dad made that creature, and that creature, and also that creature… Actually, now that I think about it, he made them all.” And at the early dawn of the seventh day, just before He rested, God did a lot of pretty complicated things at super duper God speed. This was so that people would think the whole Creation thing probably took a lot longer than seven days. The heavens opened and the angels proclaimed, “Fear any literate man, capable…
OF COURSE PROTEINS TALK TO EACH OTHER
My first serious molecular biology course in college was entitled “DNA and Chromatin Structure” and there were only four students enrolled. While we were expected to take our best stabs at entertaining graduate level ideas, the class size made things inherently informal. One of our most common mistakes was the casual anthropomorphizing of molecular machinery. “But the protein wouldn’t want to interact with the binding site because…” or “RNA polymerase acts like a drunken sailor during the process of transcription—halting, pausing, falling off…” We knew that these complex molecules weren’t capable of harboring a yen for anything at all, but…
A BRIEF HISTORY OF MY ON-GOING LOVE AFFAIR WITH SCIENCE
– FROM THE ARCHIVES – May 8th, 1988 I encounter science for the first time during recess. As my friends and I are busy using the magnifying lens that Billy Stewart had gotten for his eighth birthday to burn some sticks, she breaks off from the pack of girls she usually travels around the schoolyard with to tell me that she likes my shoes. I don’t understand how anyone could possibly dislike my shoes as they are brand new and have little zippered compartments where I have carefully secreted away the coins I will later use to buy myself some…
MY MASSIVE ROBOTIC NASA ARM
– FROM THE ARCHIVES – 1 Went to the mall today. Bought some boxer briefs and an Icee. Stopped into the arcade and lost to some punk kid at Street Fighter II. It’s hard for me to push the buttons at the right time. Shuttle Remote Manipulator Prostheses (SRMP) destroyed Street Fighter machine. 2 Saw a friend’s band play, alone. I wish someone else would have come with me. People don’t always want to talk to the guy with nine hundred pounds of space steel strapped to his body. Broke the arm of the lead singer when I gave him…
POLIO: A VIRUS’ STRUGGLE
– FROM THE ARCHIVE – Download the pdf (14pages, ~2.7Mb)
IS THERE A SANTA?
– FROM THE ARCHIVES – Being a scientific investigation of a cultural conundrum Soon it will be Christmas Eve, and once more children will be divided into distinct factions. Here, Cyr [1] described younger children (<7 years) who believe in Santa Claus, and older children (>12 years) who have ditched this ‘childish’ belief. But he fails, by excluding from his questionnaire, to describe a third group who aren’t really sure – the undecided voters if you like. And as the eldest child, I have spent a large part of my life in this group. Moreover, being scientifically minded even at…