north carolina
clock | November 12, 2009From Sigma Xi and SCONC:
American Scientist Pizza Lunch convenes again at noon, Tuesday, Nov. 24 at Sigma Xi's headquarters in Research Triangle Park.
The speaker will be Alex Huang, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at NC State University. Prof. Huang is directly engaged with trying to reduce this country's dependence on carbon-emitting fossil fuels. He directs a national research center working on a redesign of the nation's power grid to better integrate alternative energy sources and new storage methods.
American Scientist Pizza Lunch is free and open to science…
clock | November 5, 2009Boom 'n' Doom: Volcanoes, North Carolina and North Carolina Volcanoes
November 18th; Acro Café on the fourth floor of the Museum of Natural Sciences
8:30-10:00 am with discussion beginning at 9:00 followed by Q&A
Volcanic activity half a world away can affect us in our own state. When Indonesia's Mount Tambora erupted over about 4 days in 1815, the resulting debris cloud led to the "Year Without Summer" in 1816, which was marked by massive crop failures from Europe to North…
clock | November 4, 2009Last night we went to see Leonard Cohen at the DPAC in Durham. What to say? He's the Legend. Still, at this age, full of energy and spunk. And everything was done to perfection - the set, the lighting and the slow dance of the backup singers had, together, a hypnotic effect. Three hours passed like nothing - I could have stayed another three (and that would still not exhaust all of his greatest hits).
I was too far away to take good pictures with my iPhone, but I took these two, just to show the light changes. There were some quite magical light effects as some moments including those making…
clock | November 4, 2009The neighbors in Southern Village (here in Chapel Hill) are wild about Halloween, many making elaborate decorations of their houses for it (often more elaborate than for Christmas). The business on The Green also get into the spirit and put fun and scary dolls or scarecrows or other objects in front of their stores. These are often quite well designed as well. This year, we really liked this sign-post, showing the way to other businesses (e.g., Lumina Theater, Weaver Street Market, Harrington Bank, etc.) - click on buttons to see large:
clock | November 4, 2009Dog Genome: Teaching Scientists New Tricks
November 17th; 6:30-8:30 pm with discussion beginning at 7:00 followed by Q&A
The Irregardless Café, 901 W. Morgan Street, Raleigh 919.833.8898
This year, roughly 66,000 people will be diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, while another 22,000 will be diagnosed with cancers of the brain. In parallel, our pet dogs also suffer from a range of similar spontaneous cancers. For thousands of years, humans and dogs have shared a unique bond--breathing the same air, drinking the same water, and living in the same environment. During the 21st century…
clock | October 15, 2009NCSU AND UNC-CHAPEL HILL PROFESSOR TROY NAGLE TO DISCUSS THE JOINT DEPARTMENT OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING AT OCTOBER RESEARCH DIRECTORS MEETING
The Research Triangle Park, N.C. - The Triangle Area Research Directors Council (TARDC) has announced that Dr. Troy Nagle, Professor of Biomedical Engineering at NCSU and UNC-Chapel Hill, will be the keynote speaker at next week's TARDC event, to be held at The Research Triangle Park's Headquarters building. Dr. Nagle will speak on the joint departments of biomedical engineering at NCSU and UNC-Chapel Hill and bridging academic and research cultures.
Dr…
clock | October 9, 2009Yesterday, North Carolinians woke up to some very unpleasant news that Dell decided to close its computer manufacturing plant in Winston-Salem, Forsyth Co, NC by the end of this year and lay off its entire workforce of 905 employees.
While I may not like it, I can understand the economics of shutting down a textile mill or a furniture plant. It's a new world we are living in. But Dell? Computers?! If the leading computer manufacturer is suffering during the recession, what can anyone else hope for? Is there any industry that can still compete and grow?
And it seems that the answer may,…
clock | October 8, 2009This was a very busy day. I went to five science-related places/events today (and one yesterday).
The first three, this morning, were part of an education school trip with my daughter's class and her science teacher.
First we visited the OWASA Water Treatment Plant which provides tap water for about 80,000 people in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, NC, followed by a tour of their Wastewater Treatment Plant. Last time I visited a water treatment plant was about 30 years ago, in Belgrade (which has 2 million people using the water), so it was exciting to see how technology has evolved over the years…
clock | October 7, 2009Next Periodic Tables, a Durham, NC version of Science Cafe, will happen on October 13, 2009 at 7pm at the Broad Street Café:
Science on Tap: The Chemistry of Beer
Join us as we tap into the science of brewing beer and discover how a few simple ingredients (yeast, water, hops and grains) can make a variety of brews. We'll also discuss the importance of sterilization and the microbiology of yeast culturing.
Speakers: Triangle Brewing Company and Brew Master Store
clock | October 7, 2009From Sigma Xi:
We'll reconvene at noon, Tuesday, Oct. 20, at Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, with a peek at one of the many ways technology helped our species survive and prosper long ago.
Steven Churchill, an associate professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke University, will discuss the origins of projectile weaponry, and how that fit with the emergence of other aspects of modern human behavior. He'll talk about his fascinating forensics work exploring ways our ancestors may have used weapons against evolutionary cousins who no longer roam this planet.
American Scientist…
clock | October 4, 2009Bats in Peril?
October 28, 2009
8:30 -10:00 am with discussion beginning at 9, followed by Q&A
Location: The Acro Cafe - 4th Floor of the Museum of Natural Sciences
Have you ever seen a bat flying around your house on a summer evening? Did you know that there are 17 different species of bats that live in North Carolina? Come to our…
clock | October 3, 2009Crossing the Line? Biomedical Technology in Sports
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
6:30-8:30 pm with discussion beginning at 7:00 followed by Q&A
Location: Tir Na Nog 218 South Blount Street, Raleigh, 833-7795
In the end, it was a split second rather than an International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) ruling that kept double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius from competing in the Beijing Summer Olympics. He didn't hit the 400-meter qualifying time of 45.55 seconds, despite running a personal best 46.25 on his carbon-fiber prosthetic legs at a track meet in Lucerne, Switzerland. In…
clock | October 1, 2009As regular readers of Scienceblogs.com already know, October is the month when a bunch of us raises challenges to fund science, math and technology projects in schools.
Several of my Sciblings have already set up their challenges and a few more will add theirs soon, I know. There will be a healthy competition with some other blogging networks, of course ;-)
You can find my challenges at Classroom Science Around The Clock, look at the projects - all coming from 'High Poverty' schools in North Carolina - and donate whatever you can. If many people pitch in a little bit each, these projects will…
clock | September 24, 2009Under the fold are some pictures from the inaugural Long Table event at 3Cups in Chapel Hill with Moroccan food prepared by Sandwhich, organized by Anton and Erin Zuiker.
There were about 35 people there. I knew a few of them from before, but it was mostly new people I got to meet. Some people were new even to Anton and Erin as this was a publicly advertised event, open to the first 35 people who sign up. Every now and then, a person would get up and tell a short story related to food and travel, mostly about unforgettable meals in unforgettable places.
I am aware of only one blog post about…
clock | September 24, 2009On Tuesday night I went to the RTP headquarters for Techie Tuesday, an occasional event when people who work in various companies in the Park come over, after work, and have some good food, a beer, and get to relax and chat and meet new people. It is quite a lot of fun. Pictures under the fold (better quality on Twitpic):
clock | September 10, 2009At the NC Museum of Natural Sciences:
What's Bugging You? Animals We Love to Hate
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
8:00 - 10:00 am with discussion beginning at 9:00 followed by Q&A
Location: The Acro Cafe - 4th Floor of the Museum of Natural Sciences
Fire ants. Mosquitoes. Flies. Ticks. Gnats. Bed Bugs. The list goes on and on.
They disturb our sleep, sting us, envenomate us, suck our blood, eat our food, crawl on us...yet at the same time, they pollinate our food and flowers, provide insect control, and increase biodiversity. So, what is a pest? Are some of these pests invasive…
clock | September 9, 2009Tuesday, September 22, 2009
6:30-8:30 pm with discussion beginning at 7:00 followed by Q&A
Location: The Irregardless Café, 901 W. Morgan Street, Raleigh 833-8898
Memory problems have become increasingly common as our population ages. The fear of developing dementia is one of the greatest fears of most Americans. There can be memory changes as one grows older, but what determines if these changes are benign versus the beginning of a dementia process like Alzheimer's disease? We will discuss types of memory, the neurobiological basis of memory, and ways to tell normal aging from the…
clock | September 7, 2009If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know Tatjana Jovanovic-Grove. Or you can remind yourself by checking this, this, this, this and this.
If you came to ScienceOnline09 (or followed virtually) you will remember that she co-moderated two sessions there: Open Access in the networked world: experience of developing and transition countries and How to paint your own blog images .
Well, today, Tatjana is in New York Times! I hear from those who get the papers in hardcopy, that the article starts on the front page, but the part with the interview with Tatjana and her husband Doug is on…
terrasig | September 7, 2009
. . . or as Dr Barrett refers to it more accurately, Insurance Reform.
On Friday, Sarah Avery of the News & Observer reported on her interview with the now-retired Pennsylvania psychiatrist who started the Quackwatch.com website in 1996 following years of investigating fraudulent health practices.
From the Quackwatch Mission Statement:
Quackwatch is now an international network of people who are concerned about health-related frauds, myths, fads, fallacies, and misconduct. Its primary focus is on quackery-related information that is difficult or impossible to get elsewhere. Founded by…