Fatal Attraction: Sex, Death, Parasites, and Cats | The Loom
It’s time to revisit that grand old parasite, the brain-infecting Toxoplasma. The more we learn about it, the more marvelously creepy it gets. Toxoplasma is a single-celled relative of the parasites that cause malaria. The Toxoplasma life cycle normally takes the parasite from cats to the prey of cats and back again. For a little over ten years, scientists have been investigating whether Toxoplasma raises its odds of getting back into cats by manipulating their prey hosts. Not so wise is the response of infected rats: in the enclosure experiments they either became indifferent to the smell of cats, or spent some extra time checking out the feline corner. Robert Sapolsky, a neuroscientist at Stanford University, and his colleagues have carried the experimental torch foreward. Now Sapolsky and his colleagues have looked even closer at the parasite’s effects. Near that circuit is another circuit that triggers sexual arousal. And the parasite also altered this sexual arousal circuit.
Meeting Summary - 23 Feb 2011
From WikiEducator From left to right: Jim Tittsler, OER Foundation; Phil Ker, Otago Polytechnic, Wayne Mackintosh, OER Foundation; Robin Day, OER Foundation; Letuimanu'asina, Dr Emma Kruse Va'ai, National University of Samoa; Rachel Simpson, Tertiary Education Commission; Justin Sampson, AKO Aotearoa; Peter Guiney, New Zealand Ministry of Education; Jim Taylor, University of Southern Queensland; Jenny McDonald, University of Otago; Siaosi Sovaleni, Secretariat of the Pacific Community; Richard Schwier, University of Saskatchewan. The OER Foundation hosted a strategic international planning meeting for the OER for assessment and credit for students project at Otago Polytechnic on 23 February 2011 in Dunedin. New Zealand. The project aims to provide flexible pathways for learners from across the globe who have accessed open education courses to be assessed and earn credible qualifications for their work on a fee-for-service basis. The OER university concept. Meeting highlights References
Provincial grant to support Open University of Nepal : News : Athabasca University
August 17, 2011 The government of Alberta has awarded Athabasca University a $21,000 grant to support its efforts towards establishing an open university in Nepal. The grant was made by the Honourable Lindsay Blackett, Minister of Culture and Community Spirit, at the opening of the university's new Academic and Research Centre on July 29th. The grant, made under the department's Community Initiatives Program, will support the analysis of a pedagogical model for the Open University of Nepal. Culture and Community Spirit's International Development Grants provide financial assistance to small and medium sized Alberta based non-government organizations to meet Alberta's commitment to give people in developing countries the tools to eventually meet their own needs. For more information on the Open University of Nepal Initiative, please see < back to news
Gator in your tank: Alligator fat as a new source of biodiesel fuel
(PhysOrg.com) -- In addition to being a novelty food, alligators could also provide a feedstock for biodiesel. Every year, the alligator meat industry disposes of about 15 million pounds of alligator fat in landfills. Now scientists have found that oil can be extracted from the fat and used to make a high-quality biodiesel. The researchers, Rakesh Bajpai and coauthors from the University of Louisiana, have published their study on the possibility of using alligator fat as fuel in a recent issue of the American Chemical Society journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research. In 2008, the US produced about 700 million gallons of biodiesel to help supply some of the 45 billion gallons of diesel consumed that year. Most of the biodiesel came from soybean oil. By showing in experiments that oil extracted from alligator fat meets nearly all of the official standards for high-quality biodiesel, the Louisiana researchers have added another feedstock to the list.
OER Foundation
Dave Lane has joined the Open Education Resource Foundation as an Open Source Technologist. A group of the OERu partners have contributed to support increasing our technical capability. Dave is currently the President of the New Zealand Open Source Society and brings 21 years of open source development and leadership experience to the OERu network, Building on the previous year's launch of the OERu, representatives from the partner institutions met at The University of Tasmania on November 6th and 7th, 2014. The OER Foundation organised a successful planning meeting of the OERu founding anchor partners in Dunedin on 9-10 November 2011. OER Foundation, leads a global education collaboration. News archive
Nepal: Enhancing Dialogue Efficiency of Political Parties
Nepal: Enhancing Dialogue Efficiency of Political Parties Dev Raj Dahal Head, FES Nepal Office Introduction The sovereignty of Nepali state is weak to subdue chaos and the road to a democratic polity is hamstrung by a lack of consensual behavior of political leaders on a myriad of constitutional issues, peace process, state building and structural reforms. In this context, building capacity of Nepalese political parties through reasoned dialogue can effectively contribute to break habit-driven act of leaders, incline them to create national integrity system of governance and make democracy work for the poor. Challenges to Efficiency Nepalese political parties have struggled to modernize the state and society. Critical Areas of Reforms First, formulation of a shared vision of the nation enables Nepalese political parties to work together for a legitimate social contract. Conclusion
SETI Institute
WikiEducator
Universities Create Their Own Social Networks For Students -
Facebook goes only so far. Some universities are using enterprise social networks to recruit, engage and retain students. 7 Ways To Create E-Portfolios (click image for larger view) To apply to the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), you have to do it online, and the first step is signing up for MSOE Bridge, the school's own social network. MSOE is one of a handful of learning institutions that has decided engaging with students through social media requires more than just a Facebook page and a Twitter account. MSOE started with admissions because that was one of its areas of greatest concern at the start of the project, according to Dana Grennier, director of digital marketing at the school. Grennier was working in the admissions office when the original directive came down to "go be social," on the theory that social media would be a better way of connecting with students. "When they get to campus, what we've seen is they feel really connected. 1 of 2 More Insights
