Alejandro Frid By Alejandro Frid April 9, 2012 4 replies

About Alejandro Frid

Alejandro Frid is an ecologist who studies how fishing and predator-prey interactions shape marine biological communities. He has a growing interest in communicating climate change science so that an informed public might steer governments into energy policies that value intergenerational justice.
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Climate and War

Huemul bucks sparring in southern Chile; huemul are an endangered deer species endemic to southern South America (photo credit: Alejandro Frid)

Authors note: This is a letter to the future, addressed to my 8 year-old daughter, who will not be able to understand it for many years to come.  

Dear Twyla Bella,

W. Eugene Smith’s 1946 black and white photograph, A Walk To Paradise Garden, entered the depths of my psyche when I was perhaps 13 years old. In that image, the photographer’s young children walk, hand in hand, from dark into the light at the edge of a forest canopy. Upon finding it, I was taken into a world of contrasts that emanated as much from the luminosity of that forest edge as from the horror of Smith’s earlier work. Continue reading →

David Cheng By David Cheng April 2, 2012 Add a reply

About David Cheng

David Cheng is a MSc student in the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at Simon Fraser University. His projects involve investigating wound healing mechanism and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in humans using Drosophila (fruit fly) as a model system.
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Beyond antibiotics

Keep of Matsumoto Castle

With the recent cold snaps, it is easy to feel under the weather.  In the lab where I study in at Simon Fraser University, almost half of the lab members are down with flu symptoms.  On top of that, being a daily commuter, I cannot help but wonder what kind of bugs are floating around in the sardine can that we call “bus”.  Incidentally the much deadlier disease pneumonia, fifth top cause of death in BC, Canada, can easily masquerade as the flu.  That is why a report on pneumonia research caught my attention*.  The report clarifies how pneumonia can occur when the bacteria Staph infects lungs, suggests new ways to save the lives of those infected with Staph, while also pointing to new treatment strategies against other antibiotic resistant bacterial infections. Continue reading →

Alejandro Frid By Alejandro Frid March 29, 2012 1 reply

About Alejandro Frid

Alejandro Frid is an ecologist who studies how fishing and predator-prey interactions shape marine biological communities. He has a growing interest in communicating climate change science so that an informed public might steer governments into energy policies that value intergenerational justice.
E-mail Alejandro Frid Alejandro Frid's Site Posted in: What science is up to Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Keeping cool amidst bad guys: decarbonize!

The author's daughter keeping cool in southeastern Haida Gwaii

If humans were to burn all proven reserves of fossil fuels—those reserves that are economically viable to extract today—how would different fuels contribute to global warming? Would their additive effect cause a two degree Celsius rise in global temperature relative to pre-industrial levels? These questions have profound relevance to everyone because breaking the two degree threshold, climatologist warn, would push the planet into the perilous zone of rising sea levels and extreme climatic conditions that could destabilize civilization. And that threshold is getting closer. Humanity’s appetite for fossil fuels already has caused the Earth to warm 0.8 degrees Celsius in the last hundred years alone.

Neil Swart and Andrew Weaver crunched the numbers for answers. In a recent paper published in Nature Climate Change (Vol 2, pages 134–136, 2012), these climatologists from the University of Victoria estimate that global warming caused by the burning of all proven reserves of coal would be 0.92 degrees Celsius. Utilizing all of Canada’s oil sands, infamous for their local environmental impacts and intense energy requirements during extraction, would increase global temperatures by 0.03 degrees Celsius. Gas and conventional oil, in combination, would add another 0.40 degrees Celsius of warming. Continue reading →

Lynne By Lynne February 20, 2012 Add a reply Posted in: Scientists: profiles and interviews, What science is up to

Science Meets Art in Antarctica, an Interview with Scientist Sam Bowser and Artist Laura Von Rosk

Sam & Laura Last day at New Harbour, photo by Andy Gooday

Sam Bowser is a scientist who likes to go south, all the way south. When he gets there he dives under the ice of Antarctica to collect samples of mud from the ocean floor. Sam has a thing for a group of unicellular organisms affectionately called forams.

Laura von Rosk is an artist who likes to get outside. She hikes and paddles and asks lots of questions about how things work. Laura paints imaginary landscapes, glowing images of places from fragments of memory, many from the Adirondack Mountains where she lives.

Three years ago the two met while working together on an exhibition that merged art, science, and underwater archeology at the Lake George Arts Project’s Courthouse Gallery, where Laura is the gallery director. Sam is a diehard enthusiast of art/science fusion.

This past winter, Laura spent three months in Antarctica as an assistant on Sam’s research expedition. They have recently returned and The Crux tracked them down with a few questions. (All photos are by Laura von Rosk unless otherwise noted; mouse over photo for legend and attribution). Continue reading →

Lynne By Lynne February 4, 2012 10 replies Posted in: Science Funding Tagged: , , , , , ,

Will Canada Keep Science?

Harper visits MaRS
In March 2011 Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited the MaRS research centre in Toronto to announce continued support for cancer support, diagnosis and treatment. (Photo courtesy of MaRS Discovery District via Creative Commons).

Previously on this blog I have written about the changing balance of scientific research in Canada (see “Who cares about the direction of science in Canada?”). Since then the situation has changed. It now looks like all of science in Canada has a clear direction: down.

Last week at the World Economic Forum Harper bemoaned the “less-than-optimal results” from our investments in science, a “significant problem for our country” (Vancouver Sun, January 28, 2012). Yikes! These statements sound bizarre. The scientific work that goes on in this country is highly respected around the world and Harper knows that. Does he perceive that we’ve been too slow to turn discovery into product? Continue reading →

Lynne By Lynne November 2, 2011 8 replies Posted in: Science Funding Tagged: , , , ,

Who cares about the direction of science in Canada?

Volvox 460

Across Canada productive, high-calibre scientific research laboratories are quietly winding down. There is a major shift underway that is controversial in science circles and not discussed outside of science, yet will impact us all. What is happening and why aren’t we talking about it?

Significant changes in the allocation of public funds for research will have repercussions on science teaching in our universities and it will affect our future capacity for science. Continue reading →

John Glover By John Glover November 16, 2011 5 replies

About John Glover

John is a professor of biochemistry at the University of Toronto. He uses yeast cells to study molecular machines that can help disassemble prion aggregates.
E-mail John Glover John Glover's Site Posted in: In response to your questions, Science and Science Fiction Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

The Science and Science Fiction of Prions

The artistamp commemorates the scourge of Mad Cow disease when it was destroying the livestock in UK beginning in 1986 (Wikimedia, Michael Thompson)

 

A made-for-TV terror plot.

It is season 7 of 24, a bioweapon developed and tested in a brutalized African nation under the heel of a delusional despot, turns up in the US in the shipyards of Alexandria, Virginia on the outskirts of Washington, D.C.  Gallant Jack Bauer hijacks a flatbed truck hauling a shipping container with the bioweapon inside. The shipping container is damaged during the chaos of the hijacking and one of the canisters containing the bioweapon begins to leak.  Jack takes a deep breath and enters the shipping container to stop the leak. He is nonetheless exposed to the weapon. The time is 10:55 PM. (If you haven’t seen the show, a digital clock indicating the timeline appears before and after each commercial break). Continue reading →

Sarah Chow By Sarah Chow February 12, 2012 Add a reply

About Sarah Chow

Sarah Chow is a PhD student in the Department of Physiology at the University of British Columbia Canada and a recent graduate of the Banff Science Communication Program. She enjoys reading and writing about current scientific research focused on human and animal physiology, and spends her spare time running along the trails of the West Coast.
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Taking the Temperature of a Cardiac Pacemaker

Imagine walking up a steep hill when suddenly you feel dizzy and develop a crushing pain in your chest. Heart attack! The next thing you know, you are in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. It turns out that the pain in your chest isn’t a heart attack, but something called angina – an indicator that your heart is beating too slowly. This is a problem because your heart is unable to pump enough oxygen to the body to keep up with your everyday activities. The only solution is to implant an artificial pacemaker to increase your heart rate. Continue reading →

Lisa Willemse By Lisa Willemse February 8, 2012 Add a reply

About Lisa Willemse

Lisa Willemse is the Director of Communications for the Stem Cell Network and a graduate of the Banff Science Communications program. She enjoys writing fiction and non-fiction and spends her spare time playing in the Gatineau hills.
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Stem Cells, Leukemia and a Cutting Edge

Sauvageau2009sm

Guy Sauvageau is a stem cell researcher who specializes in hematopoietic (blood) cells. As director of the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer at the University of Montréal, he’s one of a handful of Canadians who is pushing the boundaries of this area of research, unraveling the mysteries of blood disorders such as acute myeloid leukemia and aplastic anemia. Sauvageau’s particular interest is the regulatory pathways of these diseased cells – essentially, what is the cellular signature of disease and how can such knowledge be used to find new ways to relieve or cure the disease.

Continue reading →

Lynne By Lynne December 17, 2011 6 replies Posted in: What science is up to Tagged: , , , ,

Obesity Unexplained

It’s that season again and the relentless struggle against extra pounds is about to intensify. Why do many of us find it difficult to consume only the calories that our bodies need? The struggle feels deeper than the social and psychological issues that are much discussed.  Indeed, appetite control is in our cells and in our genes and like many systems in our bodies, it can get out of tune.

It is more rule than exception that serendipity in science reveals unexpected insights. Research on how green algae swim combined with studies of how round worms smell and how fish can change the colour of their skin, opened doors that are leading to a new molecular understanding of appetite regulation. At the recent meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology held in Denver, Dec 3-7, Nicolas Berbari, Bradley Yoder and colleagues from the University of Alabama at Birmingham reported new studies on mice that are helping us understand how our sense of satiety can go awry. And if you are an optimist like me, the work offers hope to those of us discouraged by relentless calorie counting. Continue reading →

Lynne By Lynne December 10, 2011 Add a reply Posted in: Model Organisms, Numero Cinq Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Fruit flies, worms and pond scum?

The relatively new fields of genomics and systems biology aspire to an era of personalized medicine. This approach treats the human body as a black box – the inputs combine genetic and environmental information and the outputs are personal health outcome predictions. These approaches are exciting and have tremendous potential to revolutionize healthcare. Ah, if only we were black boxes.

The true power of these new approaches to medicine arise from a molecular understanding of how the body works. I have a new essay on Numéro Cinq on the model organisms that scientists use to understand the molecular interactions that make us who we are.

A Feeling for the Model Organism
December 5, 2011

Chlamydomonas is my favorite “model organism.” It is a small green alga that is one of a handful of unlikely organisms that serve science by acting as proxies for the human body. Scientists don’t pick so-called model organisms for exceptional evolutionary achievement and there is no scientific catwalk of gorgeous creatures. Some scientists do exclaim over the beauty of these creatures, but really. Pond scum? Writhing white round worms? Slime mold? The truth is, model organisms are a haphazard lot that scientists select from the teeming crowds because of quirks that make them useful for laboratory research. They are useful and as we work with them we come to know them.

Click here to continue reading A Feeling for the Model Organism

Lynne By Lynne November 22, 2011 2 replies Posted in: Numero Cinq Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Numéro Cinq, My Other Home

Tryptic Essays

 

Earlier this year I began writing a series of science essays for Numéro Cinq, an online literary magazine that novelist Keith Maillard calls “one of the best and most vital of the online literary journals.” The site is a bit of a phenomenon, offering a steady stream of new short stories, essays, poetry, book reviews, plays, screenplays, interviews, photo essays, film, and etcetera. Driving the flow is editor Douglas Glover, a talented writer (his novel Elle won the Governor General’s Award and his short stories will make you laugh and cringe and the same time) teacher and editor. I am grateful to Douglas for encouraging me to begin the adventure of writing creative nonfiction and for his support of my continuing efforts.

Below are the first paragraphs of my science essays published to date, along with links to the rest of each piece at Numéro Cinq.

— Lynne Quarmby

Stem Cells and the Fountain of Youth

April 12, 2011.

 

In some societies the aged are venerated, in none are they envied. The inevitable decay of our bodies and minds is something we prefer not to contemplate. There is nothing appealing about decreased mobility, loss of muscle and bone mass, reduced immune function, decreasing liver, kidney and brain function, decline in ability to respond to stress and an increasing susceptibility to stroke, heart attack, diabetes and neurodegenerative disorders. A dollop of increased wisdom seems meager compensation.

Click here to continue reading Stem Cells and the Fountain of Youth.

 

Reasons to Rejoice in Green Algae

May 19, 2011

 

We’ve had three hundred years of microscopy and some of us are still fascinated with the beautiful creatures that swim in pond water. To the naked eye, to the unpracticed observer, they look like cloudy, icky scum and we don’t want to swim with them. But they are also delightfully alive, they congregate, they swim (and wouldn’t care if we swam with them), they even “see” or at least sense light. And under the microscope, in the lab, in experiment after experiment, these tiny green algae are yielding discoveries that are important to you and me, in terms of health and the environment and, yes, in the revelations they bring of the wondrous reality of the molecular world.

Click here to continue reading Reasons to Rejoice in Green Algae.

 

Chatting with ET: Dialogue between the Actual and the Possible

July 18, 2011

 

Ancient Greeks knew that unicorns were exotic animals observed in India. Even by 1600 it is unclear whether translators of the King James Version of the Bible were thinking of creatures real or allegorical when they wrote “God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn” (Numbers 23:22).  Either way, while the translators were writing about unicorns, Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake for, among other transgressions, his belief in extraterrestrials.

Continue reading Chatting with ET: Dialogue Between the Actual & the Possible.