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Charity creates world's first citizen science project to speed up cancer research Cancer Research UK has launched the first ever interactive website - www.clicktocure.net - that will allow the public to delve into real-life cancer data from research archives and speed up lifesaving research, outside of the laboratory. At the moment, cancer samples are given special stains that highlight certain molecules as part of research. These molecules could reveal how a patient will respond to treatment. But this process is slow and analysis is mostly done by trained pathologists, who are often also cancer researchers. The new website – Cell SliderTM – is the first time real cancer data has been turned into a format that can be analysed by the public.
BikeLouP's Game Strategy and Tactics - FoldIt Wiki - a Wikia Gaming wiki BikeLouP Thoughts on Strategies and Tactics for Foldit Edit Foldit is an addictive game that allows for many approaches that seem to converge on about the same solution--most of the time. Most foldit players that have been doing it for any length of time find different techniques that work for us. Reinventing Discovery: The New Era of Networked Science Reinventing Discovery: The New Era of Networked Science is a book written by Michael Nielsen and released in October 2011. It argues for the benefits of applying the philosophy of open science to research. Summary[edit] The following is a list of major topics in the book's chapters. appendix - The problem solved by the Polymath Project
Scientists as scapegoats? Day one of the trial of several Italian seismologists facing manslaughter charges for allegedly failing to predict an earthquake that killed more than 300 people in L’Aquila in April 2009 kicked off today. Nature has been following the situation closely and this piece gives great background on the situation the scientists have found themselves in. This is the interesting bit – what can we expect the impact to be on science as the trial plays out? Scientists in New Zealand are naturally watching the case closely and no doubt, in some cases, reflecting on how scientific information on risk from natural hazards is disseminated and interpreted by the public here. Here’s the letter of support for the Italian seismologists many New Zealand scientists joined others around the world in signing.
Foldit Foldit is an online puzzle video game about protein folding. The game is part of an experimental research project, and is developed by the University of Washington's Center for Game Science in collaboration with the UW Department of Biochemistry. The objective of the game is to fold the structure of selected proteins as well as possible, using various tools provided within the game. The highest scoring solutions are analysed by researchers, who determine whether or not there is a native structural configuration (or native state) that can be applied to the relevant proteins, in the "real world". Scientists can then use such solutions to solve "real-world" problems, by targeting and eradicating diseases, and creating biological innovations. History[edit]
Happy Birthday Otzi Latest reconstruction of Otzi for the Otzi 20 exhibition 20 years ago today the mummified remains of a man, nicknamed Otzi, was discovered by hikers in the Italian Alps. This find has to be mentioned because it is simply fantastic and quite unique so far, and has led to many many archaeological scientists and preservation experts coming together to understand the life and culture of this one man, who lived 5,000 years ago. The days following Sept 19 1991 are also one of those periods in time that made an impact on me as a 17 year old New Zealander studying hard at Papatoetoe High School, thinking about the future, post school education… and an ancient human being discovered on the other side of the world, outside all parameters of time that the 6th form was studying that year. I wanted to be one of the people who finds out about that!
Citizen science Citizen science (also known as crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic science, or networked science) is scientific research conducted, in whole or in part, by amateur or nonprofessional scientists, often by crowdsourcing and crowdfunding. Formally, citizen science has been defined as "the systematic collection and analysis of data; development of technology; testing of natural phenomena; and the dissemination of these activities by researchers on a primarily avocational basis".[1] Citizen science is sometimes called "public participation in scientific research."[2] Definition[edit] The "Green Paper on Citizen Science: Citizen Science for Europe" refers to "the general public engagement in scientific research activities when citizens actively contribute to science either with their intellectual effort or surrounding knowledge or with their tools and resources.
FTL neutrinos FTW! * Ahem * Well, not quite. (Note: FTL = Faster Than Light) The first image, taken in 2007, of a neutrino interaction. Lock of hair pins down early migration of Aborigines 23 September 2011Last updated at 01:23 By Leila Battison Science reporter A lock of hair is all that is needed to decode the history of an entire people A lock of hair has helped scientists to piece together the genome of Australian Aborigines and rewrite the history of human dispersal around the world.
NASA satellite plunges to Earth A defunct NASA satellite, whose doomed descent gained worldwide notoriety, fell back to Earth early Saturday — but exactly when or where the fiery plunge took place could forever be a mystery. "We may never know," said Nicholas Johnson, NASA's chief orbital debris scientist. It probably plunged into the Pacific Ocean, perhaps somewhere between Hawaii and the western coast of North America. There have been no reports of discovered pieces or injuries, further suggesting the debris didn't make it to land, he said. On its final orbit of Earth, the six-ton climate satellite flew over Canada, headed south over Africa, blew south of Australia and took a turn to the northeast over the Pacific Ocean heading toward Canada. NASA officials believe the satellite then entered Earth's atmosphere at about 12:16 a.m.
Do People with Doctoral Degrees get Jobs in New Zealand Post Study? Key Findings This study analysed the New Zealand-based employment rate of a cohort of domestic doctoral graduates who finished studying in 2003. The results show that:around 65 percent of the doctoral cohort were employed in New Zealand four years after they last studied. This was a lower rate of employment in New Zealand than domestic bachelors and masters graduates from the same leaving yearyounger graduates, Asians, and graduates in ‘Natural and physical sciences’ were less likely to be employed in New Zealand four years after they last studiedthe domestic employment rate of the New Zealand doctoral cohort was lower than in similar leaving cohorts in Canada and the United Kingdom.This report analysed the New Zealand-based employment rate up to four years post study of a cohort of domestic doctoral graduates who last studied in 2003.
Cells dine on nanotubes with dire results A new study by researchers in the US reveals that nanometre-thick strands such as nanotubes and nanowires enter biological cells head-on and almost always at a 90° angle. This orientation means that a cell mistakes the long cylinder for a sphere and tries to ingest it – with dire consequences. The findings could be important for designing safer, less-toxic nanomaterials. Rutherford's big discovery – 100 years later In 1911 the New-Zealand-born physicist Ernest Rutherford published a paper that was to revolutionize science. Rutherford's famous alpha-particle scattering experiment transformed our understanding of the atom and it inspired the new areas of physics including the theory of quantum mechanics. The pioneering work was carried out at the University of Manchester where Rutherford held the Chair of Physics for 12 years. To mark the centenary of these landmark experiments, the university hosted a special week-long conference in August 2011.
CERN claims faster-than-light particle measured Last updated 09:38 23/09/2011 A pillar of physics - that nothing can go faster than the speed of light - appears to be smashed by an oddball subatomic particle that has apparently made a giant end run around Albert Einstein's theories. Scientists at the world's largest physics lab said today (NZ time) they have clocked neutrinos travelling faster than light. That's something that according to Einstein's 1905 special theory of relativity - the famous E (equals) mc2 equation - just doesn't happen.