Publication co-authored by recent grad Johanna Weaver

Johanna Weaver graduated in May 2009. Co-authors of this paper are from University of Oklahoma, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute of Panama, and Pomona College of Claremont, California.

Kaspari, Michael; Chang, Charlotte; Weaver, Johanna. 2010. Salted roads and sodium limitation in a northern forest ant community. Ecological Entomology 35:543-548.

Indexed in ISI Web of Science. Full-text access at the OhioLINK EJC or Wiley Online [subscribers only].

Ocean cooling linked to dip in global temperatures in 1970s

While exploring the redesign for Nature this news article (published online September 22) caught my eye: 

When the North Atlantic Caught a Chill - Surface cooling could have pushed down temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere 40 years ago."

"The sudden cooling event [of 0.3 °C ] that Thompson and his colleagues report¹ on page 444 of this issue [September 23] could help to solve a mystery: a prominent drop in the global mean surface temperature record around the same time. The ocean cooling, which may have resulted from a shift in currents, also offers a reminder of the North Atlantic's outsize role in climate."

Excellent background information is available in this text:
Atmosphere, ocean, and climate dynamics : an introductory text / John Marshall and R. Alan Plumb. Elsevier Academic Press, c2008.  Science Library QC880.4.A8 A877 2007  [plus 7 other copies in OhioLINK]

Achieving Scientific Literacy

A new edition of Robert Hazen and James Trefil's Science Matters: achieving scientific literacy is on the new book shelf.  "From plate tectonics to leptons to the first living cell, now you can understand the simple science behind our complex world," is the promise of this little book, and its purpose couldn't be more important.  The authors begin with convincing arguments of why scientific literacy is so crucial, including, "The threats to our system from a scientifically illiterate electorate are many, ranging from the danger of political demagoguery to the decay of the entire democratic process as vital decisions that affect everyone have to be made by an educated (but probably unelected) elite." 

I am especially struck by this section's conclusion: "If you expect someone to know something, you have to tell him or her what it is."  A scientifically "illiterate" individual may not readily pick up this book, if that person is unaware of or unconcerned about his or her lack of knowledge.  But it speaks directly to the reader who understands the need for scientific literacy, and provides a wonderful model of how to teach others essential scientific principles. 

Each chapter title is accompanied by a true statement elucidating the title, e.g., The Cosmos - "The universe was born at a specific time in the past, and it has been expanding ever since."  The subtitle of the final chapter, Ecosystems, says simply "All life is connected."  Indeed.

I hope this book is borrowed and read by many!

New publications from chemistry faculty and alumni

Here are the newest articles by Oberlin science authors, indexed in the ISI Web of Knowledge: 

• Authors include Oberlin alumni Leyden, Moore, Patchen, and van den Heuvel:

A reevaluation of the assignment of the vibrational fundamentals and the rotational analysis of bands in the high-resolution infrared spectra of trans- and cis-1,3,5-hexatriene. Craig, Norman C (Emeritus Professor of Chemistry).; Leyden, Matthew C.; Moore, Michael C.; Patchen, Amie K.; van den Heuvel, Titus; Blake, Thomas A.; Masiello, Tony; Sams, Robert L.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY 262 (1): 49-60 JUL 2010 [access at the EJC]

• Authors include Oberlin alumni Cole-Filipiak and current senior O'Connor:

Kinetics of the Hydrolysis of Atmospherically Relevant Isoprene-Derived Hydroxy Epoxides.  Cole-Filipiak, Neil C.; O'Connor, Alison E.; Elrod, Matthew J. (Associate Professor of Chemistry)
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 44 (17): 6718-6723 SEP 1 2010 [access at ACS]

• The Oberlin author of the following paper is Catherine McKay (Katie) Mauck, a chemistry major who graduated May 2009.  She completed this work with researchers at the Art Institute of Chicago Department of Conservation.

Direct identification of early synthetic dyes: FT-Raman study of the illustrated broadside prints of Jos, Gaudalupe Posada (1852-1913). Casadio, F; Mauck, K; Chefitz, M; Freeman, R
APPLIED PHYSICS A-MATERIALS SCIENCE & PROCESSING 100 (3): 885-899 SEP 2010 [access at EJC]

Craig lab publication, co-authored with Michael Moore (OC '06)

New publication from the lab of Emeritus Professor of Chemistry Norman C. Craig.  Michael C. Moore was a student in Professor Craig's lab, and this work reflects research completed in Oberlin.  Michael is now a graduate student at UC Berkeley.

Infrared Spectra of CF2=CHD and CF2=CD2: Scaled Quantum-Chemical Force Fields and an Equilibrium Structure for 1,1-Difluoroethylene.
McKean, Donald C.; Law, Mark M.; Groner, Peter; Conrad, Andrew R.; Tubergen, Michael J.; Feller, David; Moore, Michael C.; Craig, Norman C.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY A 114 (34): 9309-9318 SEP 2 2010
(access for OhioLINK subscribers, at the American Chemical Society web site)

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].