By Peter Hartlaub Martin Short and honoree Steve Martin walk the red carpet at the 43rd AFI Life Achievement Award Gala honoring Martin at Dolby Theatre on June 4, 2015 in Hollywood. Martin Short and honoree Steve Martin walk the red carpet at the 43rd AFI Life Achievement Award Gala honoring Martin at Dolby Theatre on June 4, 2015 in Hollywood. Steve Martin (left) plays George and Martin Short plays Franck the flamboyant and officious wedding planner in "Father of the Bride." Steve Martin (left) plays George and Martin Short plays Franck the flamboyant and officious wedding planner in "Father of the Bride." Martin and Short bring their chemistry to the masses Steve Martin and Martin Short are associated with a lot of locations far outside the Bay Area: Canada, Los Angeles, Live from New York But when asked to share any memories provincial to San Francisco, both comedy legends come up with a long and poignant formative story from the mid-1960s. Martin drove up from L.A. and slept in his Volkswagen van as an 18-year-old, performing some of his first paid gigs in North Beach. And San Francisco was the first U.S. city that Canada-born Short visited, at age … Continue reading →

A tiny robot that can capture a single cell has been made by scientists in the US. The microbot is made of metal-coated plastic cubes, which allow it to open and close using magnetic energy. Microrobotic devices could one day perform surgery in places where large instruments cant reach, like inside the smallest blood vessels. [It] is one of the dreams in translational medicine, to assemble microsurgeons in vivo, says microrobot researcher Mahmut Selman Sakar from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, who wasnt involved in the study. While the team led by Gabriel Lpez from Duke University and Orlin Velev from North Carolina State University has not yet achieved this, their modular microbots are already agile enough to trap a 4m yeast cell, move and then release it again. Made out of individual polymer cubes coated on one side with metallic cobalt, the microbots store energy from an external magnetic field and release it when the field is switched off. The cube shape means that you can have two different configurations two cubes have their coating either on the same [AA] or on opposite [AB] sides, explains Velev. Depending on the cubes sequence, the microbot can carry … Continue reading →

ROCHESTER, New York, August 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Elsevier, the information analytics business specializing in science and health, announces SSRN, its world leading working paper repository and preprint server, today launches the Chemistry Research Network - ChemRN. The launch of ChemRN follows hot on the heels of the BioRN launch in June 2017, SSRN's new network dedicated to biology and its first outside the social sciences. BioRN already has nearly 5,000 papers live from approximately 6,500 authors. Gregg Gordon, Managing Director of SSRN, said: "The launch of ChemRN is part of our strategy to extend the expertise and knowledge we have in building community driven networks to benefit even more people in the research community. It's been a little over a month since we launched BioRN, our network dedicated to biology research. It has been a huge success and we look forward to ChemRN being just as a popular." Chemistry researchers can share ideas and other early stage research, including posting preprints and working papers on ChemRN. Users can quickly upload and read papers for free, across all of Chemistry, including the fields of Energy, Environmental and Materials Sciences.Join Gregg's live webcast on August 17. Chemistry researchers can post preprints … Continue reading →

LINCOLN No word yet on whether itll win any more games, but the 2017 version of Nebraska is a bigger democracy among teammates than in recent seasons. Its a lot more free, junior left guard Jerald Foster said. Youre able to get your word in. If you have something thats really going to help out an older guy, just say it. Get it going. Im happy with what were doing right now. Previously, Foster said, the seniors would talk and everybody else would sit back and listen to what they say. Since that large senior class left after the Music City Bowl, it changed. Sure, Foster said, the true freshmen dont know the lay of the land. But redshirt freshmen are able to get a word in. On a team as young and inexperienced as Nebraska, thats logical. Conventional wisdom about team building suggests that this squad might still be finding its way in terms of chemistry, culture and player leaders. Coach Mike Riley sees just the opposite. The first week of training camp, he said, was seamless. Two practices viewed by reporters revealed much the same. Riley credited the player leaders, many of whom werent leaders in previous years. … Continue reading →

Without a doubt the Colorado Avalanche struggled mightily with chemistry for large parts of the 2016-17 season. When you take a look at the numbers, only four players provided 10 or more primary assists. For those four players we broke down who those assists went to: Nathan MacKinnon led the team with 25 primary assists. He had at least one primary assist to 11 different players on the Avs making it clear that no matter who you put him with offense was generated from his stick. His seven feeds to Rantanen was the largest direct connection on the team. Despite Rantanen only providing one primary assist to MacKinnon, the total of eight goals directly produced between the two is more than any two other players. With multiple primary assists to every player that saw significant time on his line 5 on 5, he stands as the only forward that can truly slot in with anyone and still generate chances on a consistent basis. Your browser does not support HTML5 video. The only defenseman who had more than 10 primary assists, he also beat everyone but MacKinnon with a total of 20. As a defenseman, the forwards in front of him … Continue reading →

Civilians in Syria were exposed to the nerve agent sarin in April, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirmed at the end of June. This was the second documented use of sarin in Syria, and follows cases of chlorine and mustard gas being used as weapons. So can the world expect to see more chemical warfare? There is a lot of concern within the OPCW, says Alastair Hay, professor of environmental toxicology at the University of Leeds, UK. If the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) cant be upheld, and perpetrators held accountable, then that is a problem. Syria crossed President Obamas red line in 2013 when it used chemical weapons in Ghouta, and, although the threatened US retaliation did not happen, the result was that Syria reluctantly joined the CWC. Hay doesnt think that Syria will use chemical weapons again, because it will be wary of triggering further US missile attacks following those ordered by President Trump in response to the April attack. The gains are marginal, while the outcry is huge, he says. If the Chemical Weapons Convention cant be upheld, and perpetrators held accountable, that is a problem Alastair Hay, University of Leeds Tim Eaton, research … Continue reading →