Science News digital edition in Wiley Online Library

The complete digital edition for subscribers of Science News is now part of the Wiley Online Library.  Free content remains available at sciencenews.org, including Web-only multi-media enhancements, but the Wiley Online Library archive is our location for downloading pdf versions.
 
The September 11 issue includes an article of conflicting reports between scientific teams working in the Gulf of Mexico: 

Story one: Teams disagree over breakdown of BP oil in Gulf: Two studies offer confusing picture of deep-sea plumes [download pdf]
by Janet Raloff
Article first published online: 31 AUG 2010

Library Hours during Orientation Week

As we prepare to welcome new students to campus tomorrow, today is, figuratively, our last day of summer.  New beginnings!  Library hours are a bit extended this week to accommodate departmental open houses held in the library and course registration in the iMac lab.

• Monday - Wednesday  9 am-noon, 1-4:30 pm
• Thursday 9 am-7 pm
• Friday 8 am-noon, 1-4:30 pm

15-minute orientation tours for new students will be offered continuously beginning at 1 pm on Friday.  The last tour starts at 2:30 pm.  Hope to see many new science-minded students on Friday afternoon!

Cruz lab research in Developmental Biology

Three new abstracts of research by Yolanda Cruz, Professor of Biology, as indexed in Web of Science are included in the August 1 issue of Developmental Biology.  The abstracts summarize presentations made at the 69th Annual Meeting of the Society for Developmental Biology, held earlier this month in Albuquerque, NM.  Neils Bantilan, Jeremy Morrison, Vicki Wang and Joanna Johnson are (or were) Oberlin College students who conducted research with Professor Cruz.

• Expression of Oct4, Cdx2 and Yap1 during blastocyst formation in the marsupial, Monodelphis domestica [access in OhioLINK EJC, for OhioLINK users]. 

Authors: Cruz, Yolanda P.; Morrison, Jeremy T.; Bantilan, Niels S.
Source:  DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY 344 (1): 425-425 37 AUG 1 2010

• Expression pattern of E-Cad, Ocln and ZO-1 in cleavage-stage Monodelphis domestica embryos [access in OhioLINK EJC]

Authors:   Wang, Vicki N.; Cruz, Yolanda P.
Source:  DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY 344 (1): 440-440 75 AUG 1 2010

• Pregnancy-related changes in progesterone receptor expression in the uterine glands of Monodelphis domestica [access in OhioLINK EJC]

Authors:  Johnson, Joanna M.; Lydon, John; Harder, John D.; Cruz, Yolanda P.
Source:  DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY 344 (1): 477-477 214 AUG 1 2010

van der Heide publishes in Journal of Cell Science

Dana van der Heide, a rising senior Biology major, is co-author of a paper published online June 22 in the Journal of Cell Science.  Unfortunately, Oberlin does not have a subscription to this journal, published by Cambridge Univ. Press, but the abstract is accessible at the publisher's site.  Congratulations to Dana on her research and scholarship.

Rollins, MF; van der Heide, DM; Weisend, CM; Kundert, JA; Comstock, KM; Suvorova, ES; Capecchi, MR; Merrill, GF; Schmidt, EE.  Hepatocytes lacking thioredoxin reductase 1 have normal replicative potential during development and regeneration.   JOURNAL OF CELL SCIENCE 123 (14): 2402-2412 JUL 15 2010 [print citation].  doi: 10.1242/jcs.068106
view this record in ISI Science Citation Index (Oberlin users only)

Whelan article in Tumor Biology on ovarian cancer biomarker

The most recent article published by a member of the science faculty, in collaboration with three undergraduate students, appears in Tumor Biology [online first].  Rebecca Whelan is Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Zach T. Berman, Lee J. Moore, Kathleen E. Knudson and Rebecca J. Whelan.  Synthesis and structural characterization of the peptide epitope of the ovarian cancer biomarker CA125 (MUC16).  Tumor Biology.  Published online Monday, June 21, 2010.    DOI  - 10.1007/s13277-010-0062-4
   http://www.springerlink.com/content/Q4740054V36410R6 [abstract and page 1 only are accessible to non-subscribers]

Whelan's research advances understanding of the structural characterization of CA125, particularly the amino acid sequence and oxidation state of the protein.  CA125 is acknowledged as the "best validated and most widely assayed biomarker" of ovarian cancer, and the "gold standard" against which other biomarkers are measured.  Understanding CA125 and its potential for simultaneous use with other biomarkers is an important step toward more reliable and earlier detection of ovarian cancer.

Science from Facts on File

Facts on File offers the database Science Online (not to be confused with Science, the premier journal from AAAS), which includes far more than simply a handy compilation of facts.  The Science in the News feature is well worth a daily visit, bringing together news articles from around the world in easy-to-browse subject categories.  A recent post in the "natural science" category, dated July 30, 2010, is of regional interest: New Research Examines Midwest Earthquakes. Melting ice sheets, rapid erosion from the Mississippi River, and stored stress from ancient mountain building in the Appalachians and Rocky Mountains once combined to produce mighty earthquakes in the middle of the country, where fault stress is longer a major concern.
Explore more at Science Online. [off-campus users: authenticate using VPN Client before following the links]

Cool & quiet in here, and plentiful summer reading. Check us out!

It never fails that we receive big shipments of marvelous new books just when there are so few people on campus to enjoy them.  And, with less competition for those great window seats, you have not only your pick of good reading but also a lovely, cool spot with a grand view of north campus and the tours of prospective students with family in tow.

Here are just a few titles to entice you to the new book shelf:

• Toxic mix? a handbook of science and politics
• Lake views: this world and the universe
• Pluto confidential : an insider account
• Convenient solutions to an inconvenient truth
• Deep-sea biodiversity
• Galápagos: preserving Darwin's legacy
• The other brain: from dementia to schizophrenia
• What's eating you? : people and parasites
• Organic manifesto: how organic farming can heal our planet...

 ...and so many more!  See the entire list of books received in June and July.

Faculty/Student Publication, July 2010

Rebecca Whelan, Chemistry and Mary Garvin, Biology, collaborated on this recent publication, indexed in ISI Science Citation Index.  Tera Levin, the second author, graduated from Oberlin this year.

Whelan, RJ; Levin, TC; Owen, JC; Garvin, MC
Short-chain carboxylic acids from gray catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) uropygial secretions vary with testosterone levels and photoperiod
Source:
COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY B-BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 156 (3): 183-188 JUL 2010.  Access on OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center.

Latest Images of Gulf Oil Disaster

NASA provides images on its web site of the Deep Horizon Oil Disaster, using data from multiple cameras of JPL's MISR instrument on NASA's Terra satellite. The images show the spread of oil into Louisiana’s fragile wetlands early in June. More recently, Florida Governor Charlie Crist released data and images from NOAA, showing the oil plume at 50 miles away from Panama City and 271 miles from St. Petersburg.  This satellite image shows the extent of the spill today, as reported on The Gov Monitor along with pollution monitoring data.

Follow the oil spill trajectory at with NOAA's GeoPlatform, a "new tool that provides near-real time information about the response effort."

NOAA's response to the disaster is described in detail on their Office of Response and Restoration web site, one of hundreds of web sites and other resources listed in the NOAA Central Library's very thorough bibliography Resources on Oil Spills, Response and Restoration.

Photos of animals caught in the slick are all-too readily found on the web.  AP Photos by Charlie Reidel are particularly troubling, as icons of the catastrophe.

Science magazine is covering "five key issues" of the oil spill, with clear analysis of the effects on fisheries and food, coastal ecosystems, life on the sea floor, marine life, and the fate of oil.

1960 Alumni Scientific & Medical Publications

In celebration of their 50th Reunion this weekend, I searched ISI Web of Science for papers authored by scientists and physicians among the 1960 alumni.  Through a combination of author and cited author searching, and utilizing the Web of Knowledge citation analysis feature, I found over 700 papers cited at least 26,400 times.

The papers were authored and co-authored by the following members of the 1960 class:

• Ludwig Christian Balling
• Michael Charles Klein
• David L. Miller
• Thomas Garrett Pretlow
• Thomas Allen Queen
• Lee Brodersohn Reichman
• Wilmer Dean Rupp
• Rolf Sternglanz
• Stanley Mardon Swanson
• Timothy F. Thomas
• Garland Leigh Truitt 
• Dudley Taylor Watkins

Twelve individuals generating over 700 papers and nearly 27,000 citations represents a significant impact on the scientific and medical community.  Dr. Reichman also authored and edited these books:

• Timebomb : the global epidemic of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis / Lee B. Reichman with Janice Hopkins Tanne.  New York : McGraw-Hill, c2002
  Tuberculosis : a comprehensive international approach / edited by Lee B. Reichman, Earl S. Hershfield.  New York : Dekker, c2000

 It is a pleasure to welcome the entire Class of 1960 back to campus!

Oil Spill Disaster Grows: News from NPR, Science magazine

The news on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was very bleak this morning, one month after the oil rig explosion, as reported on NPR's Morning Edition:  "In Louisiana, thick oil from the April 20 Deepwater Horizon rig blowout has crept into delicate marshes, feeding and breeding grounds for much of the state's famed seafood, as well as for birds and other wildlife."  NPR's coverage of all aspects of the disaster is brought together here.

Science magazine is one of many sources keeping close watch on developments in the Gulf, you can follow the news at ScienceInsider.

Recent Publications, Science Faculty & Students

Publications by Jason Stalnaker, Physics Department, and Norm Craig, Chemistry and Biochemistry, were just indexed in ISI Web of Knowledge. Emeritus Professor Craig co-published this article with recent graduates Michael Brenner and Deacon Nemchick.

McKean DC, van der Veken B, Herrebout W, Law MM, Brenner Michael J, Nemchick Deacon J, Craig Norman C. 2010. Infrared spectra of (CF2)-C-12=(CH2)-C-12 and (CF2)-C-12=(CH2)-C-13, quantum-chemical calculations of anharmonicity, and analyses of resonances. Journal of Physical Chemistry A 114(18):5728-42.

Stalnaker Jason E, Mbele V, Gerginov V, Fortier TM, Diddams SA, Hollberg L, Tanner CE. 2010. Femtosecond frequency comb measurement of absolute frequencies and hyperfine coupling constants in cesium vapor. Physical Review A 81(4):043840.

Intel Science Fair Winners Announced Today

Winners at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in San Jose, held May 9-15, will be announced this morning. The list of finalists is lengthy: 1,500 high school students from around the country. If they are all like Rebecca Forcier of Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights, who was interviewed this morning on WKSU, the future seems promising for science and technology research. Listen to Rebecca describe her experiment investigating "a new way to control the focused release of anti-cancer drugs over time using polymer capsules and micro-bubbles injected into tumors." Thanks to WKSU Morning Edition Host Jeff St. Clair for his interview with Rebecca. St. Clair noted that one out of five projects at the Intel Fair typically results in patent applications. Inspiring ingenuity!

Neandertal Genome Sequenced - more at Science online

Exciting news just received from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS):

Neandertal Genome Sequenced
"Using pill-sized samples of bone powder from three Neandertal bones, a global team of scientists including Svante Pääbo, Richard E. Green, and Hernán Burbano has sequenced the Neandertal genome.

"Comparing the Neandertal genome with the genomes of five present-day humans, the researchers uncovered a variety of genes that are unique to humans, including a handful that spread rapidly among our species after humans and Neandertals split from a common ancestor. These significant findings may, in fact, hold the key to understanding our human identity.

Available now online, with public access articles, a podcast, and special visual presentation, and in the May 7 print edition of Science, "the research also suggests that modern humans and Neandertals most likely engaged in limited interbreeding, probably as modern humans encountered Neandertals after leaving Africa."

Our print copy of the May 7 issue has not yet been received, so please enjoy the public access materials online.

Climate-Friendly Gardener, from Union of Concerned Scientists

Just in time for spring planting and soil preparation! Check out this new guide from the Union of Concerned Scientists: The Climate-Friendly Gardener, as reviewed in the Garden Rant:

"Author Karen Perry Stillerman knows that gardeners are already in tune with nature and contributing positively to the environment.  Her guide helps us go beyond adapting to climate change to actually reducing the problem - by making sure our gardens are storing more heat-trapping gasses than they're generating." [download the Climate-Friendly Gardener]

The Union of Concerned Scientists also offers insight on the needed response to the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, and an aerial photo showing the extent of the oil slick.  [read the UCS press release].

Honors Students for 2011! Come to a Study Break for YOU.

Wondering how the library might help you with your Honors project next year?

The Library is hosting a study break for all juniors who are definitely (or possibly) doing Honors in 2010-11 ...   

Thursday, May 6
9:30 - 10 pm
Azariah Café - Mudd Center, Academic Commons
Snacks and friendly librarians await you!

Time Passes Swiftly For Us All... Generally

New faculty publication, indexed in Medline as searched in ISI Web of Knowledge [public access in PubMed] and archived in the OhioLINK EJC:

Friedman, William J.(Department of Psychology, Oberlin College) and Steve M. J. Janssen.  Aging and the speed of time. Acta Psychologica, Volume 134, issue 2 (June, 2010), p. 130-141.

Partial abstract:  "A total of 1865 adults from two countries, ranging in age from 16 to 80, reported how fast time appears to pass over different spans of time... Respondents of all ages reported that time seems to pass quickly. In contrast to widely held beliefs, age differences in reports of the subjective speed of time were very small, except for the question about how fast the last 10years had passed."

The experience of rushing, having many things to do and missing deadlines, correlated strongly with the feeling that time was passing quickly.  The authors compared that sensation with that of a musician who is unable to keep up with the tempo of a metronome.  I know that feeling all too well - and suddenly another 20 minutes has flown by!

What You Need to Know About Energy

The National Academies site What You Need to Know About Energy provides "dependable, objective, and authoritative energy information," in an engaging, interactive style. The source list, or library, gives quick access to dozens of technical reports accessible online for free. Try the quiz! My less than perfect score convinced me that I still have plenty to learn.

What You Need to Know About Energy has been nominated for a Webby Award, along with some other very sharp science sites. View them all, then vote for your favorite! Voting ends tonight at midnight.

Related to this, we have recently ordered this book for the science library:
Beyond the age of oil : the myths, realities, and future of fossil fuels and their alternatives / Leonardo Maugeri ; translated from the Italian by Jonathan T. Hine Jr..Santa Barbara, Calif. : Praeger, c2010. Borrow it through OhioLINK, while waiting for the Oberlin copy to be processed.

Earth Day! Get Outside, for Goodness Sake

On this, the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, do what you can to appreciate the great outdoors and make a commitment to keep that spirit: respecting the natural world in all of its forms, working to conserve and preserve the corner of the world you inhabit, and supporting efforts of others worldwide who balance environmental, ecological, economic and social justice issues.  The U.S. National Park Service has enveloped Earth Day into National Park Week - if you can't get to a National Park this week in person, visit one online and make plans to enjoy our nation's natural heritage sometime soon.

Looking for the best environmental group to join or support financially?  This list of top-rated charities might help.  One of those top-rated groups, The Union of Concerned Scientists, does an excellent job of presenting complex scientific material in a manner helpful to citizens of any background, and covers a wide range of environmental issues.  This recent publication is an interactive anthology: Thoreau's Legacy: American Stories about Global Warming

Amino Acids in Eye Lens Indicate the Age of Whales

A fascinating story on Pulse of the Planet aired today on WCPN ("IdeaStream!") - determining the age of Bowhead Whales by measuring the quantity of some types of amino acids in the eye lens nucleus  [listen to the story].  Marine chemist Jeffrey Bada, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, was interviewed for the story.
Beyond the immediate questions raised in my mind (how do researchers extract the material from the eye of a Bowhead Whale? Why do right-handed amino acids persist in just certain tissues?) was the surprising discovery that some animals are approaching 200 years old.  Wow.  A follow-up story is scheduled for April 23: Aging Whales--Underwater Advantage.

Get much more on the basic biology of the Bowhead from this special publication:
The Bowhead whale / editors, John J. Burns, J. Jerome Montague, Cleveland J. Cowles. Lawrence, KS : Society for Marine Mammalogy, c1993