The Lighter Side of Science

Pop Pi Quiz

Posted on by Maria Perr

Teachers, architects and engineers have found the mathematical constant, π, to be an invaluable tool for understanding and changing the world around us. Without Π, we would not be able to quickly calculate the area of a circle. To celebrate Pi Day (March 14th), today’s mental exercise will be to test your knowledge of Π. Are you ready for more Π?

1) What does Π represent?
a) The ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter
b) A rounded value of 3.14
c) The 16th letter in the Greek alphabet
d) All of the above Continue reading “Pop Pi Quiz”

Lab Equipment Today: Kitchen Gadget Tomorrow?

Posted on by Isobel Maciver
The Latest in Cooking Equipment

My husband likes to cook and he also likes to collect kitchen gadgets. Mushroom slicers, blenders, numerous graduated vials and measuring devices, meat thermometers, etc., our kitchen drawers are overflowing with the essentials for precision cooking. For each culinary process, there is a unique device, and he uses them all. I do not even know what some of them are for. I only use knives and measuring cups. But his cooking is way better than mine so there is obviously some benefit to using the right tools well.

Some of the most sophisticated kitchen tools come straight from the laboratory. I was interested to read an article in the March 2011 issue of Scientific American describing how high-speed centrifuges are among the newest trends in fancy kitchen equipment. They are being used in restaurants to separate ingredients into their component parts and create potent flavorings. It turns out that centrifugation is a fast and convenient way to purify fat from various vegetables and nuts, creating interesting flavored butters and dairy-free creams (think pea butter or essence of carrot). Centrifugation is a fast alternative to straining or filtering as a means of separating components.

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Knitting Needles, Balls of Yarn and the First Molecular Model

Posted on by Michele Arduengo
ball-and-stick model of a molecule

One day while reading a knitting blog I discovered in 1883 a Scottish chemist created the first “ball-and-stick” model of a molecule using knitting needles and balls of yarn. This initial ball-and-stick molecule represents the structure of sodium chloride and is constructed of knitting needles, representing the bonds, and alternating balls of blue and red yarn, representing the atoms of sodium and chloride. It was displayed as part of the International Year of Chemistry 2011 activities.

The chemist who created this model was Alexander Crum Brown, distinguished chemistry and professor at the University of Edinburgh, and one of his particular interests was the arrangements of atoms in molecules and the depiction of these structures. Those of us who spent countless hours poring our organic chemistry books and molecular model sets trying to understand nucleophilic attacks and SN1 and SN2 reactions have Alexander Crum Brown to thank. Those students who now use computer 3D modeling programs to accomplish the same studies (without the delight of chasing down the last nitrogen atom that has rolled off the desk and under the dresser) are also indebted to Dr. Brown.

Continue reading “Knitting Needles, Balls of Yarn and the First Molecular Model”

Harry Potter Sings the Elements

Posted on by Isobel Maciver

I went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows this weekend, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I dismissed the idea of blogging about it because it seemed unlikely that there would be a connection with science.
I was wrong. This is for scientist Potter fans.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSAaiYKF0cs&rel=0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3]

The Latest On: When Five Hundred Tigers Are Not Enough

Posted on by Kelly Grooms

It is sad but true that the latest news has not been promising for wild tiger populations. In September, an article published in PLoS Biology (1) estimated that the best hope of saving the wild tiger population would be to shift focus to source sites, which are “…at spatially well-defined priority sites, supported by proven best practices of law enforcement, wildlife management, and scientific monitoring.” The authors estimate the cost to save these sites at $82 million (U.S). At the time of publication, $47 million had been committed by governments and other groups. It isn’t difficult  math to figure out there is a deficit.  

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Top 10 Things to Do When You (or Your Kids) Have Too Much Halloween Candy

Posted on by Promega

Halloween party with children wearing fancy costumes

 

10. Set a daily limit. (An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.) Allow X number of pieces of candy per day, then put the bag away, under lock and key.

9. Parental help (good for the child, not so good for the parent). In my childhood, though it was not apparent at the time, Dad was helping by eating some of the candy. Many Promega parents engage in this practice with their children now.

8. Burn more energy. Go for a run or walk or outside to play. For every X pieces of candy, a walk or bike ride around the block. Continue reading “Top 10 Things to Do When You (or Your Kids) Have Too Much Halloween Candy”

The Chemistry of Autumn Colors

Posted on by Terri Sundquist
Trees and plants in full color demonstrating the chemistry of autumn colors

Here in Wisconsin, the leaves are starting to turn the characteristic reds, oranges and yellows of autumn. This is one of my favorite times of the year (not only because of Mother Nature’s impressive displays but also because we are nearing that magical time between the last lawn mowing and the first snow shoveling). This is the time of year that I try to take in as much color as I can before everything is covered in a blanket of white.

As I stroll around, enjoying the view, I think about the chemical changes within the leaves that cause such vibrant colors. I can’t help myself; I am a scientist.

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There’s an Evil Hand Afoot and Other Ways to Spice Up Your Technical Literature

Posted on by Isobel Maciver

The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest challenges entrants to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels. Dennis Pearce, the runner up in the 2010 Detective story category, penned the following words:

DALL-E Generated image for "there is an evil hand afoot" How can we make technical literature more interesting?
DALL-E generated image in response to the prompt “There is an evil hand afoot”.

As Holmes, who had a nose for danger, quietly fingered the bloody knife and eyed the various body parts strewn along the dark, deserted highway, he placed his ear to the ground and, with his heart in his throat, silently mouthed to his companion, “Arm yourself, Watson, there is an evil hand afoot ahead.”

Pondering this particularly good piece of bad writing, I found myself wondering what would happen if we used this over-the-top style in tehnical literature including scientific articles and protocols. Could it help to draw attention to important details and entertain the reader at the same time? But since the goal of instructional materials is to be clear, concise and to the point, there’s not usually much room for just-for-fun content.

Or is there?

Continue reading “There’s an Evil Hand Afoot and Other Ways to Spice Up Your Technical Literature”

An Interview with Ed Himelblau, Scientist and Promega Cartoonist

Posted on by Sara Klink
Self portrait by Ed Himelblau

Many visitors to the Promega Web site enjoy the Cartoon Lab, the repository of the creative illustrations of Ed Himelblau updated several times a year. Recently, I had a chance to gain some insight about the man behind the cartoons.

Sara Klink: Could you give some background information about yourself?
Ed Himelblau: I was born in Chicago but grew up in San Diego. I went to UCSD [University of California at San Diego] and majored in biology and minored in art. I liked molecular biology and working in labs so I decided to go to grad school. I went to the University of Wisconsin at Madison to get a Ph.D. in the Cell and Molecular Biology program. My first academic job was teaching biology at Southampton College in New York. After several years on Long Island, I moved to my current job teaching and doing research in the Biological Sciences Department at Cal Poly [California Polytechnic State University] in San Luis Obispo, CA.

S.K.: Why did you decide to become a scientist?
E.H.: Playing in tidepools as a kid had something to do with it. As an undergraduate I thought working in a lab sounded cool. When I started working in a lab, I thought the work was interesting and the people were a lot of fun to be around. Then I started to appreciate what it really meant to do experiments and learn about how plants grow and develop.

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Antibody Art

Posted on by Isobel Maciver

Double fluorescent staining of CNS cells with Anti-Rat ciliary neurotrophic factor. Nuclei stained with DAPI

There are many levels on which science can be a beautiful thing. Some of these are quite abstract, like the experimental result that exactly proves the theory, the perfect order revealed in a mathematical equation, or the exquisite sensitivity seen in regulation of a signaling pathway. On another level the output of an experiment itself can have a physical beauty of its own. For example, immunofluorescence and immunocytochemistry technologies can generate results that not only reveal information about the subject of the experiment, but also can be quite spectacularly beautiful. Here are a few favorites of mine:

Continue reading “Antibody Art”