Science360 News Service: Video

CreatureCast: The Resurrection Fern

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

Credit: Provided by Brown University

Summary:

Rebecca Haumann, from Erika Edwards' Plant Diversity course at Brown University, describes how different plants cope with drying out.

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Rebecca Haumann, from Erika Edwards' Plant Diversity course at Brown University, describes how different plants cope with drying out.

Peter Wolynes: Untangling Protein Folding

Tue, 21 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

Credit: Provided by the American Chemical Society

Summary:

Peter Wolynes, winner of the 2012 ACS Award in Theoretical Chemistry, spent his career untangling the process of protein folding and discovered a process through which these chain molecules tumble into shape. His discovery may help usher in new techniques for personalized medicine and reveal how protein mutations affect the body.

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21st Century Scientists: Mary Wirth

Mon, 20 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

Credit: Provided by the National Science Foundation & NBC Learn

Summary:

Seeing Tiny Cancer "Markers" Sooner: Purdue Chemist Works on the 'Nano' Scale

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In this 21st Century Chemist profile, Purdue University analytical chemist Mary Wirth works with "nanomaterials" to improve the clarity and accuracy of tests for tiny "biomarker" proteins that indicate disease -- specifically, levels of PSAs, or Prostate Specific Antigens, that signal prostate cancer.

Technology Can Detect Driver Phone Use

Fri, 17 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

Credit: Provided by Inside Science TV

Summary:

Acoustics can pinpoint whether a driver, or a passenger, is working with a smartphone inside a car in efforts to reduce distracted driving.

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Acoustics can pinpoint whether a driver, or a passenger, is working with a smartphone inside a car in efforts to reduce distracted driving. From Inside Science TV, supported by the American Institute of Physics and a group of science, engineering, and mathematics societies.

Synergy Project: Cumulative Hope

Thu, 16 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

Credit: Provided by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Summary:

Sophie Chu is a chemical oceanographer who studies ocean acidification. Ocean acidification is changing the conditions in the ocean. Carbon dioxide from pollution combines with seawater to form an acid. Sophie Chu’s research looks at ways to quantify and measure the chemical changes in the ocean caused by ocean acidification.

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Sophie Chu is a chemical oceanographer who studies ocean acidification. Ocean acidification is changing the conditions in the ocean. Carbon dioxide from pollution combines with seawater to form an acid. This acid strips the ocean of the chemical building blocks needed for corals, clams, and other marine organisms to make their shells. One especially vulnerable organism is the pteropod, commonly known as “sea butterfly” for its elegant wing-like tissue. These small sea snails serve a critical role in the food web, as they are a staple food for larger fish, such as salmon. As ocean acidification progresses, it becomes increasingly difficult for pteropods to maintain their delicate shells. Sophie Chu’s research looks at ways to quantify and measure the chemical changes in the ocean caused by ocean acidification. Sophie recently participated in a research expedition in the Northeast Pacific, where she measured the effects of acidification on the distribution, abundance, shell condition, and migratory behavior of pteropods.

In The Grass, On The Reef: Can Mud Crabs Hear?

Wed, 15 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

Credit: WFSU-TV, Tallahassee

Summary:

Dr. David Kimbro and Dr. Randall Hughes study fear on the oyster reef. A predator gives off a chemical "scent," and its prey changes its behavior to avoid being detected. Now, Randall and David are asking, "Do mud crabs hear their prey?"

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Dr. David Kimbro and Dr. Randall Hughes study fear on the oyster reef. How do smaller predator like mud crabs scare oysters into not eating, possibly keeping them from reaching market size and filtering water? How do the mud crabs themselves become scared enough to stop eating oysters? In the ocean, fear is typically transmitted through chemical cues. A predator gives off a chemical "scent," and its prey changes its behavior to avoid being detected. Now Randall and David are looking at an entirely new idea. Do mud crabs hear their predators? And does this make them as afraid or more than chemical cues?

Paddle Vs. Propeller: Which Olympic Swimming Stroke Is Superior?

Tue, 14 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

Credit: Provided by Johns Hopkins University

Summary:

Two swimming strokes—one that pulls through the water like a boat paddle and another that whirls to the side like a propeller—are commonly used by athletes training for the Olympic Games. But elite swimmers and their coaches have long argued over which arm motion is more likely to propel an aquatic star toward a gold medal. Watch this video to find out which stoke is the true winner.

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Two swimming strokes—one that pulls through the water like a boat paddle and another that whirls to the side like a propeller—are commonly used by athletes training for the Olympic Games. But elite swimmers and their coaches have long argued over which arm motion is more likely to propel an aquatic star toward a gold medal. Rajat Mittal, a Johns Hopkins fluid dynamics expert, has found that the deep catch stroke, resembling a paddle, has the edge over sculling, the bent-arm, propeller-inspired motion.

Science Of Innovation: Biometrics

Mon, 13 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

Credit: Provided by the National Science Foundation & NBC Learn

Summary:

A method for capturing and analyzing the vein patterns in the white part of the eye to help identify people. Biometrics has potential applications for driver’s licenses, passports or computer identification control.

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Origami Chemistry: NYU Professor Folds Molecules

Fri, 10 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

Credit:

Provided by the National Science Foundation & NBC Learn

Summary:

21^st Century Chemist Kent Kirshenbaum of New York University engineers and folds synthetic peptoids in hopes of creating “hunter-killer” molecules that can target and destroy deadly bacteria like staph (MRSA).

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In this 21st Century Chemist profile, New York University chemist Kent Kirshenbaum explains his work folding long-chain molecules into synthetic molecules called peptoids, that might be developed into, among other things, "hunter-killer" antibiotics that target and destroy lethal drug-resistant bacteria.

CreatureCast: Ginkgo

Thu, 09 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

Credit: Provided by Brown University

Summary:

Discussing the life and times of ginkgo trees

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Discussing the life and times of ginkgo trees.