Biology and Chemistry student-faculty collaboration: J Chem Ecol paper

This paper, published in the April issue of Journal of Chemical Ecology, is the result of collaboration among faculty members in Biology and Chemistry (Garvin and Whelan, respectively), current students Rutter and Austin, and recent graduate Shaw:

Gray Catbird - thanks to Lake County Species report.

Volatile and Semivolatile Compounds in Gray Catbird Uropygial Secretions Vary with Age and Between Breeding and Wintering Grounds.

Shaw, Clara L.; Rutter, Jordan E.; Austin, Amy L.; Garvin, Mary C.; Whelan, Rebecca J.

JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ECOLOGY 37 (4): 329-339 APR 2011 [access at OhioLINK EJC for subscribers]

Transactions from WIT Technology conferences, 1993-2009, now open access

From a press release received today.  More @ WIT Press e-library website

WIT Press has announced that, effective immediately, Wessex Institute of Technology papers in their e‑library published from 1993 through 2009 are available on an Open Access basis.

The Wessex Institute of Technology is making the papers Open Access in order to ensure the widest dissemination of papers presented at WIT Conferences.

The WIT Press e-library consists of six sets of Transactions containing papers presented at Wessex Institute of Technology conferences, as follows:

• Biomedicine and Health
• The Built Environment
• Ecology and the Environment
• Engineering Sciences
• Information and Communication Technologies
• Modelling and Simulation

A seventh set of Transactions, State of the Art in Science & Engineering, contains selected chapters from WIT Press books on the latest developments in various fields of science and engineering.

Happy 226th Birthday, John James Audubon

Enjoy just a small selection of John James Audubon's beautiful birds by browsing one of the many compilations of his works and guides in the science library.  Start with:
Audubon : early drawings / introduction by Richard Rhodes ; scientific commentary by Scott V. Edwards ; foreword by Leslie A. Morris.  Cambridge, Mass. : The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2008.  QL674 .A85 2008 (in oversize shelving)
and follow up with an author search in OBIS on Audubon, John James, 1785-1851

The University of Pittsburgh Library has made available, online, their complete double elephant folio set of Audubon’s Birds of America, accompanied by his Ornithological Biography. It is a marvelous collection to have digitized and made public.  Thank you, University Library System staff!  Univ Pittsburgh Audubon web site.

Thanks also to Google Doodle for commemorating John James Audubon.

"In Brief" in New Scientist - always satisfying!

If you're curious about the natural world and don't have time or the inclination to delve deeply into scholarly journal literature, the New Scientist section "In Brief" is for you.  Every week, just 10 minutes will reward you with a wealth of startling new research findings, summed up in engaging reports aimed at a general audience.  You can always find an issue of New Scientist on our "Journals Received This Week" display - settle into the comfy chair positioned there and enjoy brief summaries condensed from peer-reviewed journal articles.  New Scientist writers are marvelous at their craft, and you may well be drawn to read the entire issue cover to cover.

"In Brief" this week includes:

• Angry birds kiss and make up after a brawl
• Stem cells grow into partial eyeball
• Prejudice linked to fertility cycle
• Like cannabis, but without the buzz
• Bye-bye electrons, hello atomtronics

The headings alone draw one's attention, and reading these short summaries is always satisfying.  So pause as you pass by the new journal display, and learn something amazing - did you know, for example, that bird parents choose which chicks to feed by discerning the amount of UV light reflected from the chicks' foreheads?  Wild, right?  Heavier chicks reflect less UV light than lighter nestlings, and parents give more food to the chicks reflecting more UV light.  The study that led to this conclusion:  Aviles, J., et al.  Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology, DOI: 10.1007/S00265-011-1164-8.

Thousands of Scientific Posters in Open Access Repository

Access F1000Posters.com

The Faculty of 1000 Open Poster Repository for Biology and Medicine offers the poster presentations from 180 international meetings, to date.  Free access to anyone in the world, with links to the full-text of subsequently published articles (accessible by subscription, as required).  F1000 invites submissions for the repository.  The most recent conference invited to be represented in the repository is the New York Academy of Sciences meeting on Music, Science and Medicine, including a presentation on music treatment for redirecting repetitive behaviors of children on the autism spectrum.

Scientific posters presented at conferences typically represent the most up-to-date research in a given area, with results and methodology that may or may not be published at a later date.  The information in posters has traditionally been limited to those attending the conference; the F1000 repository allows access to anyone, widening the potential impact of the research and speeding communication.

More info.

When Science and the Media Mix

Christopher Reddy's editorial, When Science and the Media Mix, published April 1 in Science (the print issue just received today) is perfectly timed with today's symposium (Day 2 of Journalism in the Age of New Media), sponsored by The Oberlin Review and a host of other college departments and organizations.

Reddy says, "At their best, science and journalism both research exhaustively, discover knowledge, and communicate it accurately and objectively."  Come hear David Schlesinger, former Editor in Chief of Reuters give the keynote presentation today at 4:30pm, followed by a panel at 7pm including Robert Krulwich and Jad Abumrad of Radio Lab.  Krulwich and Abumrad excel at communicating science for the general public, and would no doubt agree with Christopher Reddy's statement, "Communicating is risky, but not doing so is riskier."  He goes on to say that scientists and journalists must "make continual efforts to learn each other's languages" so that knowledge is not "locked in laboratories, misunderstood, unused, or even worse, misused."

The journalism symposium events are in Hallock Auditorium of the A.J. Lewis Center.

Reading for Spring Break

Some lovely and important books were received today - consider taking one along on your spring break travels, or to enliven a quiet spring break on campus.

This is especially relevant if you're heading to warmer climes:

Hot : living through the next fifty years on earth / Mark Hertsgaard [publisher's description]

Noted journalist Hertsgaard has covered climate change stories for years, and the birth of his daughter five years ago gave rise to an entirely new perspective on the urgency for action.

The slim volume noted below will inspire you to give serious consideration to a science teaching career, and packs into a small spot in your luggage or back pack:

• The X factor : personality traits of exceptional science teachers / by Clair Berube 
The author readily admits that nothing in the book can be proven, contrary to what one might expect in a book about science, and includes the ability to channel rebelliousness and nonconformity as an important trait for teaching science. A bit of rebellion and nonconformity are useful for challenging dogma or advancing new scientific ideas, and need to be fostered productively in science classrooms and labs, says the author. It is an interesting read!

There are at least two dozen other good books on the new book shelf. Take a look as you turn your thoughts to a break from required reading and academic deadlines.

Understanding the earthquake in Japan

From today's News & Analysis on the AAAS Science web site:
"The 11 March Tohoku earthquake ranks among the five strongest temblors recorded by modern instrumentation. The U.S. Geological Survey and the Japan Meteorological Agency now peg the magnitude at 9.0. The quake ruptured more than 400 kilometers of crust along the Japan Trench subduction zone, where a tectonic plate is diving beneath the northeast coast of Honshu Island."

Learn more about subduction zones, plate tectonics and earthquake occurrence in these titles:

access at USGS pubs

• Subduction zone geodynamics / Serge Lallemand, Francesca Funicello, editors. Berlin : Springer, c2009   
• Fault-zone properties and earthquake rupture dynamics / [edited by] Eiichi Fukuyama. Boston : Elsevier Academic Press, c2009
• Dynamic planet: monitoring and understanding a dynamic planet with geodetic and oceanographic tools  / Paul Tregoning, Chris Rizos (eds.)
  Berlin ; New York : Springer, c2007
• Relative motions between oceanic and continental plates in the Pacific Basin / David C. Engebretson, Allan Cox, Richard G. Gordon. Boulder, Colo. : Geological Society of America, c1985
• Earthquakes and tsunamis in the past : a guide to techniques in historical seismology / Emanuela Guidoboni, John E. Ebel.  Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2009
• The orphan tsunami of 1700 : Japanese clues to a parent earthquake in North America / Brian F. Atwater ... [et al.]. Reston, Va. : U.S. Geological Survey ; Seattle : In association with University of Washington Press, 2005

New publications by science faculty and students

Oberlin Author:
Karla Parsons-Hubbard, Associate Professor of Geology.

• The relationship of bionts and taphonomic processes in molluscan taphofacies formation on the continental shelf and slope: eight-year trends: Gulf of Mexico and Bahamas.  Powell, EN; Brett, CE; Parsons-Hubbard, KM; Callender, WR; Staff, GM; Walker, SE; Raymond, A; Ashton-Alcox, KA.  FACIES 57 (1): 15-37 JAN 2011 [access at OhioLINK EJC]

More about facies in AccessScience

Oberlin Authors:
Adam Darer '11, Neil Cole-Filipiak '10; Alison O'Connor '11; and Associate Professor of Chemistry Matthew Elrod.

• Formation and stability of atmospherically relevant isoprene-derived organosulfates and organonitrates.  Darer, AI; Cole-Filipiak, NC; O'Connor, AE; Elrod, MJ  ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 45 (5): 1895-1902 MAR 1 2011 [access at ACS web site]

More about organosulfur compounds in AccessScience.

Recent science publications by Oberlin students and faculty

Three new publications from Oberlin authors were just indexed in ISI Web of Knowledge:

Oberlin author:  Professor of Chemistry Rob Thompson

• Applications of argentation solid phase extraction to the capsaicinoids: Purification of commercial standards and isolation of homodihydrocapsaicin (8-methyl) from 'Bhut Jolokia.'  Thompson, Robert Q.; Loa, Kathleen.  FOOD CHEMISTRY 126 (3): 1424-1430 JUN 1 2011 [access in OhioLINK EJC]  [image of capsaicin]

Oberlin author:  Julia Bair, 5th year, double degree student.

• What subcortical-cortical relationships tell us about processing speech in noise.  Parbery-Clark, Alexandra; Marmel, Frederic; Bair, Julia; Kraus, Nina.  EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE 33 (3): 549-557 FEB 2011 [access in OhioLINK EJC]

Carbon is published by
Elsevier; more info at
Sciencedirect.com

Oberlin author:  Jacob Schalch, Senior physics major.

• Micro-channel development and hydrogen adsorption properties in templated microporous carbons containing platinum nanoparticles.  Yang, Yunxia; Brown, Craig M.; Zhao, Chunxia; Chaffee, Alan L.; Nick, Burke; Zhao, Dongyuan; Webley, Paul A.; Schalch, Jacob; Simmons, Jason M.; Liu, Yun; Her, Jae-Hyuk; Buckley, C. E.; Sheppard, Drew A.  CARBON 49 (4): 1305-1317 APR 2011 [access in OhioLINK EJC]

Discovery shuttle headed for home

Space shuttle Discovery undocked from  the International Space Station this morning, on the last leg of its final journey.  Noah Adams presented a nice piece yesterday on All Thing Considered, about the push from museums to "land" a shuttle for permanent display.  It would be great to see Discovery come to roost in Ohio, at The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force! (located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base just a few miles from Dayton).  An archive of events and work completed on Discovery's last journey is at the NASA web site archive of mission updates.
Today's feature from Reuters.com

Will Scripps Institution of Oceanography lose its library?

The news that University of California San Diego may have to close its Scripps Institution of Oceanography Library is alarming news, indeed.  Losing the expertise of the staff, some of whom would lose their positions, as well as losing the integrity of a collection of such historical and research significance, would affect the the oceanographic teaching and research community far beyond California's borders.  Although selected parts of the collection would remain available, both digitally and in a proposed consolidated science library, the use and management of those materials in a cohesive marine science collection with dedicated staff, would be adversely impacted.  The prospect is sad to contemplate.

Learn more:  Nature news article; Library Journal report.  Save the SIO Library now has a Facebook presence, and Deep Sea News posted a Scripps Library update yesterday.

Lectures celebrating the 125th Anniversary of C.M. Hall's discovery

C.M. Hall, from Oberlin College Archives
see also CM Hall collection guide

Presentations by Gregory H. Robinson, Franklin Professor of Chemistry at University of Georgia, and Kevin Anton, Vice President, Chief Sustainability Officer, Alcoa, are highlights of today's Charles Martin Hall celebration.

An ISI Web of Knowledge cited reference search of Professor Robinson's publications, dated 1984-2010, resulted in 187 cited publications, several of which have been cited well over 100 times, for a total of 1,509 citations.  One of the most recent and frequently cited publications (co-authored with Oberlin alumnus Bruce King) is this article published in Science:

Wang YZ, Xie YM, Wei PR, King RB, Schaefer HF, Schleyer PV, Robinson GH. 2008. A stable silicon(0) compound with a Si=Si double bond. SCIENCE 321(5892):1069-1071.

The article with the highest citation count dates from 1997, and was published in JACS:

Su JR, Li XW, Crittendon RC, Robinson GH. 1997. How short is a -Ga Ga- triple bond? Synthesis and molecular structure of Na-2[Mes*2C6H3-Ga Ga-C(6)H(3)Mes*(2)] (Mes*=2,4,6-i-Pr3C6H2): The first gallyne. J AM CHEM SOC 119(23):5471-5472.

Robinson's talk this afternoon drew an appreciative crowd of faculty, students, staff and townspeople.  We all look forward to the keynote address by Mr. Anton this evening!

To not want to know is disastrous.

This quote from Marcelo Gleiser, posted on NPR today, is a perfect introduction to Evolution Weekend, just a few days away:

To not know is fine. To not want to know is disastrous.

Here is a further observation: Some people want to know, but don't know how to find or assess the accuracy of their information sources. More alarmingly, they don't know that they don't know how to find or assess information. The apparent ease of finding so much so quickly through any Web search engine does not translate into knowledge.  Next time you feel completely certain, absolutely sure, that your understanding of a particular issue or problem is correct, take careful stock of the source of your information: who funded the research?  is it free of bias?  who reviewed the data before publication? who is likely to profit (or suffer) from the research results?  do the authors hold educational degrees or certification relevant to their research findings?

Evolution Weekend is an excellent time to consider how scientific theory can be reconciled with personal belief without undermining faith or denying the integrity of scientific data.

Related reading:
The Prism and the rainbow: a Christian explains why evolution is not a threat / Joel Martin
Evolution vs. Creationism: an introduction / Eugenie Scott

Congratulations, Mike! Assistant Professor Moore wins NSF CAREER grant

Great story on Oberlin.edu - and exciting to see Mike Moore's work to be rewarded with this NSF grant!  It is especially nice to learn that the grant will support collaboration with area high school teachers, in addition to teaching and research with college students and colleagues:

(From Oberlin College Headlines)  "In addition to supporting student-faculty research opportunities in his lab, Moore will use the CAREER grant to improve student understanding of the core concepts in evolutionary biology both at the college and high school levels. He plans to run a summer workshop for area high school teachers in which he’ll give instruction on phylogenetic concepts — material that isn’t covered in Advanced Placement biology curriculum, but necessary for intro-level biology courses in college. He will also work with the faculty who teach the introductory BIOL 102 course to implement new lab activities aimed at getting students up to pace on extracting plant DNA and building an evolutionary tree."

For an artistic view of plant evolution, check out 
The art of plant evolution / W. John Kress and Shirley Sherwood, Richmond : Kew Pub., 2009

Welcome to Spring Semester! Carrel Signup This Week

Study Carrel applications for spring semester are at the circulation desk; carrel assignments will be posted on Friday morning.  Any senior science major who had a carrel in the fall may keep that assigned carrel - but you must let us know you want it still!  Send a message to science.library@oberlin.edu or tell whomever is at the circ desk.  More info.

Closed this afternoon! Snow and ice have us down, but not defeated.

The library should re-open on Thursday, after this mega-storm blows itself farther north and east.  Is this a contender for one of the biggest snowstorms in weather records?  You decide.  Read "10 Biggest Snowstorms of All Time."

Helen E. Blackwell '94, co-editor of Chemical Reviews, Jan. 2011

Helen Blackwell, class of 1994, is co-editor with Clay Fuqua of 2011 Bacterial Signals and Chemical Communication,  special issue of Chemical Reviews [access on the American Chemical Society site is limited to subscribers].  Their editorial, Introduction to Bacterial Signals and Chemical Communication, is a cogent and easily understood explanation of the ability of bacteria to communicate through the release of chemical compounds.  A significant aspect of this communication is known as "quorum sensing" - that is, releasing certain compounds in response to the density of bacterial cells and other environmental factors, which facilitates coordination among bacteria so they can more "effectively colonize and manipulate host organisms."  The mechanisms for chemical signaling between bacteria species and among bacteria and host species are complex and varied, as evident from the different review articles in this special issue, and the implications for human health are exciting.

The editors conclude, "Understanding these processes [of bacterial conversation] provides the opportunity for scientists to intervene in the conversation and guide it in specific directions that potentially mollify the negative activities of microorganisms and promote the their beneficial attributes."

Space Shuttle Challenger Astronaut Remembered

photo from aerospaceguide.net

From NPR's Morning Edition:  "Ronald McNair was one of the astronauts killed 25 years ago on Jan. 28, when the space shuttle Challenger exploded.  As his brother recalls, McNair's life was all about exploring boundaries - and exceeding them." [more]

Each Friday Morning Edition features a remembrance or interview from StoryCorps.  Today's story came from Carl McNair, brother of Ronald McNair, the second African-American to become an astronaut.  Perseverance to borrow books from the public library, then restricted to whites only, was an early indication that the young McNair would pursue his dreams.  That, and his interpretation of Star Trek's diverse crew as possibility rather than science fiction, is a touching tribute to a young person's goals.  That public library in Lake City, S.C., now celebrates Ronald E. McNair's legacy [story from the Charlotte Observer].

Radioactive... a tale of love and fallout

We have received an extraordinary book; part biography, part art, part science, and full of passion and creativity.  It is a delight for the eyes and intellect - and it smells delightfully bookish, from the combination of so many colored inks and fine paper.  The cover offers an extra treat of tactile pleasure, with slightly fuzzy imprinting of images and lettering.  The content, of course, makes it truly special, giving insight into the lives of Marie and Pierre Curie, and their abiding love and shared genius in the discovery of radioactivity.  The book considers also the scientific and romantic partnership of their daughter, Irene, with Frederic Joliot, who as a team discovered that radioactivity could be "provoked rather than simply observed," and worked so closely together that they could not always say who had an idea first.  The author, Lauren Redniss, brings the reader to more contemporary issues as well, and provides copious source notes.  It is sure to be off the shelf and into a borrower's hands quickly!