Category Archives: Students

Items for students and others, interested in learning about science and engineering and the application of science in our lives. We post many of the general interest items here.

Cool Crow Research

photo of crow vending machine

Very cool project – A Vending Machine for Crows

The goal of this project is to create a device that will autonomously train crows. Initially we’re training them to deposit dropped coins they find on the ground in exchange for peanuts, but eventually we hope to be able to train them to search and rescue, or to collect garbage, or who knows!
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This is the highest-risk segment of the machine’s operation. At this point coins alone are made available whenever the bird lands on the perch. However, should a bird peck or sweep coins off the tray and cause a coin to fall down the funnel, the device then produces some peanuts. This stage is designed to cement in the crows’ mind the relationship between coins going down the funnel and peanuts being made available.
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Finally we shift the device into its intended, and long-term state of only providing peanuts when coins go down the funnel. Nothing is otherwise provided aside from coins scattered around the device at the beginning of the project.

Joshua Klein Thesis presentation definitely watch this! (the webcast takes like 30 seconds before the talk starts – it is worth the wait). Watch a video from the University of Ithaca site (with Dr. Kevin McGowan).

Other sites that also are mentioned as possible sites: Dr. Anne Clark, University of Binghamton (with a captive population of crows); Dr. Natalie Jeremijenko (seed podcast), Dr. Carolee Caffrey, Harvard and Dr. James Ha, University of Washington. Read the Paper by Joshua Klein about the plans for the experiment.

Disrupting Bacteria Communication

Princeton scientists break cholera’s lines of communication

A team of Princeton scientists has discovered a key mechanism in how bacteria communicate with each other, a pivotal breakthrough that could lead to treatments for cholera and other bacterial diseases.

The mechanism is a chemical that cholera bacteria use for transmitting messages to each other, known as CAI-1, and has been isolated in the lab of molecular biologist Bonnie Bassler. Her team has shown that the chemical also can be used to disrupt the communication that exists among the bacteria, potentially halting the disease’s progress. The discovery could lead to an entirely new class of antibiotics.
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Higgins isolated the CAI-1 chemical, which occurs naturally in cholera. Then, Megan Pomianek, a graduate student in the laboratory of Martin Semmelhack, a professor of chemistry at Princeton, determined how to make the molecule in the laboratory. Higgins used this chemical essentially to control cholera’s behavior in lab tests.

The team found that when CAI-1 is absent, cholera bacteria act as pathogens. But when the bacteria detect enough of this chemical, they stop making biofilms and releasing toxins, perceiving that it is time to leave the body instead. “Our findings demonstrate that if you supply CAI-1 to cholera, you can flip their switches to stop the attack,” Higgins said.

Chemist Helen Blackwell of the University of Wisconsin-Madison praised the study, calling it a breakthrough for quorum sensing research, and possibly for medical science.

Smart Young Minds – Summer Jobs

At Janelia Farm (located in Northern Virginia and part of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute) each undergraduate research scholar will spend his or her summer conducting research under the guidance and direction of a Janelia Farm lab head. The undergraduate research scholars program will run from June 9-August 15, 2008. On-campus housing will be provided to undergraduate research scholars. Each scholar will also receive a $4,500 stipend and reimbursement for travel to and from Janelia Farm. Apply. Article on the first year of the program – 2007.

Jeanelia Farm also offers research campus fellows – We invite applications for fellows from biologists, chemists, computer scientists, engineers, mathematicians, neurobiologists and physicists who are passionate in their pursuit of important problems in basic scientific and technical research. JFRC Fellows are independent scientists, with labs of up to two additional members. Appointments are for a term of five years. We welcome applications from individuals at all career stages, as well as coordinated applications from groups of individuals.

We invite applications for group leader positions from biologists, chemists, computer scientists, engineers, mathematicians, neurobiologists and physicists who are passionate in their pursuit of important problems in basic scientific and technical research. JFRC group leaders will be independent scientists, similar to the HHMI investigators based at universities and independent research institutes, with labs of up to six additional members and an initial appointment of six years. We welcome applications from individuals at all career stages, as well as coordinated applications from groups of individuals.

New Theory of Everything

Surfer dude stuns physicists with theory of everything

An impoverished surfer has drawn up a new theory of the universe, seen by some as the Holy Grail of physics, which as received rave reviews from scientists. Garrett Lisi, 39, has a doctorate but no university affiliation and spends most of the year surfing in Hawaii, where he has also been a hiking guide and bridge builder (when he slept in a jungle yurt).
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Despite this unusual career path, his proposal is remarkable because, by the arcane standards of particle physics, it does not require highly complex mathematics. Even better, it does not require more than one dimension of time and three of space, when some rival theories need ten or even more spatial dimensions and other bizarre concepts. And it may even be possible to test his theory, which predicts a host of new particles, perhaps even using the new Large Hadron Collider atom smasher that will go into action near Geneva next year.
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Although the work of 39 year old Garrett Lisi still has a way to go to convince the establishment, let alone match the achievements of Albert Einstein, the two do have one thing in common: Einstein also began his great adventure in theoretical physics while outside the mainstream scientific establishment, working as a patent officer, though failed to achieve the Holy Grail, an overarching explanation to unite all the particles and forces of the cosmos.

Now Lisi, currently in Nevada, has come up with a proposal to do this. Lee Smolin at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, describes Lisi’s work as “fabulous”. “It is one of the most compelling unification models I’ve seen in many, many years,” he says.

Actual open access paper: An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything by A. Garrett Lisi
Reactions: A Theoretically Simple Exception of Everything – Upon further review, surfer’s new Theory of Everything severely deficient
Related: String Theory – CERN Pressure Test Failure – Webcasts by Chemistry and Physics Nobel Laureates

The Brain is Wired to Mull Over Decisions

New studies have identified a specific neural circuit in the brains of monkeys that is activated when they postpone acting on a decision. The circuit is thought to keep potential choices brewing in memory even after a decision has already been made.

The brain may continue to consider the options even after a decision is made because that extra consideration may sometimes result in a change of mind – and a possible reward, such as a tastier meal. The researchers said that their findings could offer important insight into the function of neural circuits that drive the brain’s memory and decision-making machinery.
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the researchers conducted experiments in which they required the monkeys to delay their decision. At the same time, the researchers recorded the electrical activity of neurons in a region called the medial premotor cortex—one of the brain regions involved in decision-making and motor choice.

“To our surprise, when the monkeys held the decision for several seconds, what we saw in the activity of these brain cells in the medial premotor cortex is that they were still remembering the sensory information on which the decision was based,” said Romo. “During that time the neurons were recalling the first stimulus, recalling the second, comparing the second against the first, and even reporting in their activity the categorical decision.”

One Laptop Per Child – Give One Get One

photo of One Child One Laptop

Why you should buy an OLPC XO Laptop:

The laptop hardware is really impressive. This laptop is really small – dimensions are 242mm Ã— 228mm Ã— 32mm (9.5″ x 9″ x 1.25″) and weight is about 1.5KG (3.3 lbs). There is a 7.5″ 200dpi high resolution display capable of displaying 1200×900 pixels in grayscale (usable in direct sunlight!) or 800×600 in colour. The processor is relatively low-powered, but probably fine for the types of things most people will use this laptop for. There is no hard drive (storage is 1GB of flash which you could increase with USB drives or memory sticks or an SD card if you needed to), a rubber membrane water resistant keyboard, gamepad, touchpad, audio, built-in camera, integrated wireless (both 802.11b/g and 802.11s “mesh” networking support), a long-life battery (I’ve heard different stories, but it sounds like battery life will go into the double digits!), rechargeable with AC/DC power, solar or hand/foot generator, etc. On top of all this, the laptop is the most energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly laptop ever made!
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The OS is a paired-down version of Fedora Linux with a custom Sugar graphical user interface and Bitfrost security platform. There are programs for internet browsing, chat, wikis, word processing, and most other “standard” things you would need to do on a laptop (as well as “non-standard” utilities for things like music synthesis/composition, drawing, games, etc). The standard programming environment consists of Python, Javascript, Etoys (Squeak/Smalltalk), Csound, LOGO, and others.

We mentioned the Give One Get One program last month – you can buy one for yourself with the purchase of one for a child in the developing world. The cost is $400, $200 qualifies as a charitable deduction (the gift for the child). That offer is available now (for the next 12 days). One of our popular posts recounted what kids in India learned using a computer.

Remove the Identical Stretches of DNA Found in Mice, Rats, and Humans and What Happens?

A Real Genetic Headscratcher by Derek Lowe:

As you root through genomic sequences – and there are more and more of them to root through these days – you come across some stretches of DNA that hardly seem to vary at all. The hard-core “ultraconserved” parts, first identified in 2004, are absolutely identical between mice, rats, and humans.
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Even important enzyme sequences vary a bit among the three species, so what could these pristine stretches (some of which are hundreds of base pairs long) be used for? The assumption, naturally, has been that whatever it is, it must be mighty important, but if we’re going to be scientists, we can’t just go around assuming that what we think must be right. A team at Lawrence Berkeley and the DOE put things to the test recently by identifying four of the ultraconserved elements that all seem to be located next to critical genes – and deleting them.

The knockout mice turned out to do something very surprising indeed. They were born normally, but then they grew up normally. When they reached adulthood, though, they were completely normal. Exhaustive biochemical and behavioral tests finally uncovered the truth: they’re basically indistinguishable from the wild type. Hey, I told you it was surprising. This must have been the last thing that the researchers expected.

What a great example of scientists at work. It will be interesting to see where this goes.

Sandwich Brick – Reusing Waste Material

A brick-through, Malaysia

at the British Invention Show 2007 held in London recently, waste material bagged Universiti Malaya (UM) researcher Asrul Mahjuddin Ressang Aminuddin a Diamond (Special Award for Earth Science). The lecturer, from UM’s Built Environment faculty, designed a “sandwich brick” that incorporated unwanted plastic, wood particles and other waste material at its core. Helping to save about 26% to 30% on construction costs, the sandwich brick promotes green architecture in the built environment.

“I first came up with the idea when I was assisting the tsunami victims in Thailand and Indonesia,” said Asrul Mahjuddin Ressang. “There was a lot of debris lying around and I wondered how if any could be used for rebuilding purposes.” The brick design has been well received by British construction companies as it is not only environmental friendly but is also entitled to tax incentives across Europe.

It also provides a solution to Britain’s hard-pressed construction industry following the ban on sand mining from riverbeds and waste accumulation that stands at 15 million tonnes in 2007 alone. The innovation impressed judges as it had better heat insulation compared to ordinary bricks and encouraged industries to rethink recycling at minimal costs.
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Meanwhile, engineering faculty senior lecturer Dr Mohd Hamdi Abd Shukor received a Double Gold (Special Award for Industry) – for his work on tough synthetic bio-ceramic for bone implant technology and a minimal cutting fluid application in a pulse jet form.

Scientists Chart Record Rise in Yellowstone Caldera

Scientists chart record rise in Yellowstone caldera

The floor of Yellowstone National Park’s gigantic volcano has been rising at a record rate in recent years, probably due to an underground blob of molten rock more than 14 times the size of Billings, according to a new study. The Yellowstone caldera rose nearly 3 inches a year for the past three years, faster than anyone has ever recorded. “These are rates three times (greater) than previous historic rates,” said University of Utah seismologist Bob Smith, a lead author of the study to be published in the journal Science today.

But that rapid rising isn’t an indication of an imminent volcanic eruption or hydrothermal explosion at Yellowstone, he said. It appears in line with behavior at other volcanic craters that rise and fall for thousands of years without large-scale, catastrophic eruptions. “These things go up and down,” Smith said. “That’s very common for calderas globally.”

The researchers believe the 463-square-mile slab formed from molten rock in the magma chamber beneath Yellowstone, causing the surface of the caldera to rise.

Fish Discovery: Breathes Air for Months at a Time

Fish Lives in Logs, Breathing Air, for Months at a Time:

A tiny Western Atlantic fish does something never before seen: It makes like a bird, living in mangrove wood for months at a time. A team of U.S. and English scientists accidentally discovered the unique behavior, which they call “logpacking,” during recent excursions to Belize and Florida. They were studying how the mangrove rivulus—an animal already infamous for its bizarre sexual behavior—survived the frequent dry spells that strike its swampy forest habitat.

“One of us kicked at a log, which broke apart and out came the fish!” said team leader Scott Taylor of Brevard County, Florida’s Environmentally Endangered Lands Program. The mangrove rivulus, also known as the mangrove killifish, is native to the Americas and is about two inches (five centimeters) long. The fish has long been studied for its many unique features.

It’s the only vertebrate known to naturally self-fertilize, for example. In some populations, it can become a hermaphrodite, developing both male and female parts simultaneously, to produce clones of itself. The animal can also live out of water for up to 66 days, Taylor said, and is one of very few fish species that spend their entire lives in mangrove swamps. Most fish move in and out of the areas as water sources dwindle.