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Category Archives: Biology

Compromise on high school biology test passes first committee | The … – The Spokesman-Review

Posted: Published on June 21st, 2017

UPDATED: Mon., June 19, 2017, 10:23 p.m. OLYMPIA A compromise that could allow some 3,000 high school seniors to graduate even though they couldnt pass a controversial biology test moved through a key House committee Monday, creating a possibility it could become law in the coming weeks. Several members of the House Education Committee grumbled that they preferred their original bill, which would also remove the requirements to pass math and English assessment tests for graduation, and criticized the Senate for refusing to vote on it even though the House passed it three times with overwhelming bipartisan support. The Senate has passed its bill, focusing on the biology assessment test, three times, also with overwhelming bipartisan support. The compromise, which the House committee passed 15-0, delays any requirement to pass a science assessment until the senior class of 2021. By then the state expects to have a test that reflects the current science curriculum, not the old biology curriculum that has been replaced. Requirements to pass math and English language arts tests are retained but students who fail the assessment tests in 10th grade could pass tests that are designed and administered locally, get academic support in 11th grade and … Continue reading

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‘Breatharian’ couple magically defies biology, subsists only on clicks and BS – Mashable

Posted: Published on June 21st, 2017

Mashable 'Breatharian' couple magically defies biology, subsists only on clicks and BS Mashable Are you sitting down? Good. We have some astonishing news: Food and water are no longer essential to staying alive. So claims a "Breatharian" couple in the spotlight this week, who say humans can be sustained by "the universe's energy." For the past ... Original post: 'Breatharian' couple magically defies biology, subsists only on clicks and BS - Mashable … Continue reading

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To connect biology with electronics, be rigid, yet flexible – Phys.org – Phys.Org

Posted: Published on June 20th, 2017

June 19, 2017 A schematic of the P3HT film, showing regions that are able to subtly swell to let in ion molecules. Credit: Rajiv Giridharagopal The problem is a fundamental incompatibility in communication styles. That conclusion might crop up during divorce proceedings, or describe a diplomatic row. But scientists designing polymers that can bridge the biological and electronic divide must also deal with incompatible messaging styles. Electronics rely on racing streams of electrons, but the same is not true for our brains. "Most of our technology relies on electronic currents, but biology transduces signals with ions, which are charged atoms or molecules," said David Ginger, professor of chemistry at the University of Washington and chief scientist at the UW's Clean Energy Institute. "If you want to interface electronics and biology, you need a material that effectively communicates across those two realms." Ginger is lead author of a paper published online June 19 in Nature Materials in which UW researchers directly measured a thin film made of a single type of conjugated polymera conducting plasticas it interacted with ions and electrons. They show how variations in the polymer layout yielded rigid and non-rigid regions of the film, and that these regions … Continue reading

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Biology teacher, Schreibvogel has wild side job | Local News … – The Garden City Telegram

Posted: Published on June 20th, 2017

Rance Shreibvogel cares a lot about animals and the ecosystem. The high school biology teacher from Holcomb has a side job as an animal relocation specialist that is evidence of that. He is the one to call when critters or pests come around. Schreibvogel specializes in reptiles mostly snakes and small mammals. His motto is relocate, dont decapitate. He doesnt get a lot of calls, mainly because people tend to take matters into their own hands. But he said that more times than not, the snake is harmless. A lot of people freak out when they see a snake because their first thought is rattlesnake or venomous. But thats usually not the case, he said. We only have one venomous snake here, and thats the rattlesnake. Bullsnakes can be mistaken, but their heads are a lot different. Bullsnakes will try to imitate the rattlesnake. Theyll make a hissing sound and shake their tail like a rattlesnake to scare off predators, and thats usually what gets them killed. People think theyre a rattlesnake and chop their head off. Schreibvogel has been bitten several times by non-venomous snakes. He said that when they bite, it just feels like someone pinching you. Hes … Continue reading

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Biology Team Samples Drought-Tolerant Bacteria in Death Valley – Wesleyan Connection (blog)

Posted: Published on June 20th, 2017

Wesleyan Connection (blog) Biology Team Samples Drought-Tolerant Bacteria in Death Valley Wesleyan Connection (blog) National parks are ideal for research, in general, because the land is protected indefinitely from commercial development, said team leader Fred Cohan, professor of biology, professor of environmental studies. Death Valley is a nice model system for ... See the article here: Biology Team Samples Drought-Tolerant Bacteria in Death Valley - Wesleyan Connection (blog) … Continue reading

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The Maths of Life and Death: Our Secret Weapon in the Fight … – Scientific American

Posted: Published on June 18th, 2017

The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. Maths is the language of science. It crops up everywhere from physics to engineering and chemistry aiding us in understanding the origins of the universe and building bridges that wont collapse in the wind. Perhaps a little more surprisingly, maths is also increasingly integral to biology. For hundreds of years mathematics has been used, to great effect, to model relatively simple physical systems. Newtons universal law of gravitation is a fine example. Relatively simple observations led to a rule which, with great accuracy, describes the motion of celestial bodies billions of miles away. Traditionally, biology has been viewed as too complicated to submit to such mathematical treatment. Biological systems are often classified as complex. Complexity in this sense means that, due to the complicated interaction of many sub-components, biological systems can exhibit what we call emergent behaviour the system as a whole demonstrates properties which the individual components acting alone cannot. This biocomplexity has often been mistaken for vitalism, the misconception that biological processes are dependent on a force or principle distinct from the laws of physics and chemistry. Consequently, it has been … Continue reading

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Support Science Communication at Plant Biology 2017 – Biofortified Blog

Posted: Published on June 17th, 2017

Aloha! We have some exciting news to report about the upcoming Plant Biology 2017 conference in Hawaii, and are asking for your help in bringing top-notch training in science communication to the next generation of students and scientists. We face many challenges and our world desperately needs informed policy and improved technologies to meet those challenges, many of which will have plant science serving a crucial role such as in agriculture, food, fiber, fuel, and fun. Were going to Talk Story at our workshop, and need your help to keep everyone energized and to thank our speakers for helping make this happen. On Saturday, June 24th, we are hosting a workshop on using human-centered storytelling for science communication, using compelling examples that touch on plant biology from Hawaii and across the Pacific. This will be followed by group activities and a panel discussion, along with resources for our attendees to help them get started. The workshop will happen right at the beginning of the Plant Biology 2017 conference in Honolulu, Hawaii, so there will be four days of plant biology for our 165 registered attendees to think about through the lens of communicating science through human-centered stories. Talks will include … Continue reading

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Pierre Coulombe, Ph.D. to lead UM Department of Cell & Developmental Biology – University of Michigan Health System News (press release)

Posted: Published on June 17th, 2017

ANN ARBOR, MI One of the oldest departments at the University of Michigan is about to get a new leader. The U-M Board of Regents today approved the appointment of Pierre A. Coulombe, Ph.D., to lead the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology in the Medical School. Coulombe will become chair on August 1, and lead one of the nine basic science departments of Michigan Medicine, U-Ms academic medical center. The departments researchers study how structure governs function in cells and tissues throughout the body, and how complex arrays of signals are integrated to foster the proper development of tissues and organs. They also study stem cells, including embryonic stem cells, and train undergraduate, graduate and medical students in cell biology. The department traces its roots back to 1854, soon after the founding of the Medical School, when it was known as the Department of Anatomy. Coulombe comes to Michigan from Johns Hopkins University, where he chaired the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the Bloomberg School of Public Health for nine years, and held the E.V. McCollum professorship as well as several joint appointments in the School of Medicine. At Hopkins, Coulombe was noted for recruiting and nurturing … Continue reading

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‘The cold biological truth is that sex changes are impossible,’ says Camille Paglia – Washington Examiner

Posted: Published on June 16th, 2017

Conspicuously absent from the "pro-science" progressive movement is a pro-science perspective on gender. In fact, it's probably more accurate to characterize their perspective on gender as anti-science, enforcing dogma rooted more in the work of wayward Women's Studies departments than biological reality. Just this April, for instance, Bill Nye, anointed disciple of the pro-science Left, framed the idea that gender exists on a spectrum from which people can choose points that match their identities as settled science. But in an interview published Thursday with the Weekly Standard, dissident feminist Camille Paglia gave a compelling take on the contemporary progressive dogma on transgenderism. "Although I describe myself as transgender (I was donning flamboyant male costumes from early childhood on), I am highly skeptical about the current transgender wave, which I think has been produced by far more complicated psychological and sociological factors than current gender discourse allows," Paglia explained. "The cold biological truth is that sex changes are impossible. Every single cell of the human body remains coded with one's birth gender for life. Intersex ambiguities can occur, but they are developmental anomalies that represent a tiny proportion of all human births," pronounced Paglia. The bestselling author also condemned "the escalating … Continue reading

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SUNY Potsdam biology professor warns motorists to watch for threatened turtles on North Country roadways – North Country Now

Posted: Published on June 16th, 2017

POTSDAM A SUNY Potsdam biology professor is urging motorists to avoid turtles, which are currently braving roadways in search of dry land to lay their eggs. In order to protect the local populations of Blanding's turtles, a New York State threatened species, SUNY Potsdam Biology Professor Dr. Glenn Johnson has worked with the St. Lawrence County Highway Department to post turtle crossing signs at 14 locations across St. Lawrence and Jefferson counties. Johnson is working with several students and recent alumni of the college's biology program to post special turtle crossing signs on county and town roads at critical locations where there is evidence that turtles are especially at danger of being killed. "Blanding's turtles can live to be 80 years old and are listed as a threatened or endangered species in nearly every state where they are found, including New York State. At this time of year, turtles leave their wetlands to go to uplands to nest, and invariably they cross roads. Older females are critical to maintaining the population because they are more successful at breeding, so it is very important to try to protect them during nesting season in particular," Johnson said. He is being assisted by … Continue reading

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