The Friday Five

Highlighting some of the coolest science news we’ve seen lately.

1. Ever get the feeling that your brain is slowing down? When people say, “Think fast!”, you usually respond in a day or two? Perhaps you’ve been infected by an algal virus (especially if you live in the Baltimore area where this study was conducted). A virus (ATCV-1) that typically infects green algae can also infect human brain tissue, and now a study has shown a link in those who are infected with slowed brain activity.

This algal virus can infect people too, and may make them slower on the draw with shorter attention spans.

 

2. Do you think you know the primary colors? How about the number of senses that we have? You might be surprised at the true answers. Read on to learn the truth about five things we were taught in science class.

3. Everyone’s favorite attraction at the fair is the daring performer who eats and breathes fire. In the video below, you can learn the chemistry behind fire eating and why the performers don’t melt their faces off.
 

4. Thanks to lessons from computer science, it may be possible to “debug” our brains in ways that parallel how programmers edit bad code. Read it now before you get distra---oh, look, a squirrel!

 

5. And now…5 of the craziest science stunts that teachers won’t show you in school. Except maybe this teacher.

 

Science quote of the week:

“Exploring the unknown requires tolerating uncertainty.” –Brian Greene

Contributed by:  Bill Sullivan

Follow Bill on Twitter: @wjsullivan

Yolken, R., Jones-Brando, L., Dunigan, D., Kannan, G., Dickerson, F., Severance, E., Sabunciyan, S., Talbot, C., Prandovszky, E., Gurnon, J., Agarkova, I., Leister, F., Gressitt, K., Chen, O., Deuber, B., Ma, F., Pletnikov, M., & Van Etten, J. (2014). Chlorovirus ATCV-1 is part of the human oropharyngeal virome and is associated with changes in cognitive functions in humans and mice Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1418895111

The Friday Five

Highlighting some of the coolest science news we’ve seen lately.

1. People living with type I diabetes may have something to celebrate as scientists have successfully used human embryonic stem cells to generate beta cells. These insulin-producing cells could one day be transplanted into humans.

2. How do you ward off the obnoxious guy who won’t leave you alone in a bar? Female squid of the species Doryteuthis opalescens can steer males away by turning on fake testes. Interestingly, when the females turn on the testes, they also get a pay raise at work.

Since human females can’t turn on testes like a squid, a fake moustache might be sufficient to keep unwanted men away.

3. Blinded by the light? Neuroscientists have successfully erased specific memories in mice…using light. But they are not using this knowledge for evil, they used it to demonstrate how different parts of the brain - the hippocampus and cortex - work together to retrieve memories.



Bono remembers everything about the ‘90s because he adequately shielded his eyes from the light.

4. Still “cleaning” your ears with Q-tip swabs? Learn more about your ear wax and why you should not interfere with it.

5. Check out these amazing photos of flowers that look like other things.

A kiss from a rose...

Science quote of the week:

“Science moves with the spirit of an adventure characterized both by youthful arrogance and by the belief that the truth, once found, would be simple as well as pretty.” – James D. Watson

Contributed by:  Bill Sullivan

Follow Bill on Twitter: @wjsullivan

Tanaka, K., Pevzner, A., Hamidi, A., Nakazawa, Y., Graham, J., & Wiltgen, B. (2014). Cortical Representations Are Reinstated by the Hippocampus during Memory Retrieval Neuron DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2014.09.037

DeMartini DG, Ghoshal A, Pandolfi E, Weaver AT, Baum M, & Morse DE (2013). Dynamic biophotonics: female squid exhibit sexually dimorphic tunable leucophores and iridocytes. The Journal of experimental biology, 216 (Pt 19), 3733-41 PMID: 24006348

Pagliuca, F., Millman, J., Gürtler, M., Segel, M., Van Dervort, A., Ryu, J., Peterson, Q., Greiner, D., & Melton, D. (2014). Generation of Functional Human Pancreatic β Cells In Vitro Cell, 159 (2), 428-439 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2014.09.040

The Friday Five

Highlighting some of the coolest science news we’ve seen lately.

1. The coffee plant (Coffea canephora) genome has finally been sequenced! Interestingly, the study revealed that the enzymes synthesizing caffeine evidently arose independently from others found in tea and cacao. The question that remains:  how many cups of coffee were required to get the data? Learn more, including why some plants make caffeine, in Carl Zimmer’s article. It took millions of years for plants to evolve the ability to manufacture caffeine, so it is no wonder we freak out when there’s no coffee:

 

2. Scientists were able to correct the genetic aberration in mice that causes muscular dystrophy using a new type of genome editing technique called CRISPR/Cas9. In the future, this strategy may be used to correct disease-causing mutations in the muscle tissue of humans. Learn more about CRISPR/Cas9 in the video below.

3. More big medical breakthroughs: one of the most promising medications for melanoma was fast-tracked by the FDA last week.

4. This doesn’t happen every day! Check out this live volcanic eruption and sonic boom of Mount Tarvurvur located in Papua New Guinea.

5. In a previous Friday Five, we highlighted a study on how to make the perfect pizza. So how about a little perfect dessert to go with that perfect pizza? Read on to discover the science behind the best chocolate chip cookie for you.

 

 

BONUS!

We recently wrote about species having names inspired by celebrities. Now we have a new one to add to the list. “A swamp-dwelling, plant-munching creature that lived 19 million years ago in Africa has been named after Rolling Stones lead singer Sir Mick Jagger, because of its big, sensitive lips and snout. The name of the animal, Jaggermeryx naida, translates to 'Jagger's water nymph.'”

Science quote of the week:

“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.” –Isaac Asimov

 

Contributed by:  Bill Sullivan

Follow Bill on Twitter: @wjsullivan

Denoeud, F., Carretero-Paulet, L., Dereeper, A., Droc, G., Guyot, R., Pietrella, M., Zheng, C., Alberti, A., Anthony, F., Aprea, G., Aury, J., Bento, P., Bernard, M., Bocs, S., Campa, C., Cenci, A., Combes, M., Crouzillat, D., Da Silva, C., Daddiego, L., De Bellis, F., Dussert, S., Garsmeur, O., Gayraud, T., Guignon, V., Jahn, K., Jamilloux, V., Joet, T., Labadie, K., Lan, T., Leclercq, J., Lepelley, M., Leroy, T., Li, L., Librado, P., Lopez, L., Munoz, A., Noel, B., Pallavicini, A., Perrotta, G., Poncet, V., Pot, D., Priyono, ., Rigoreau, M., Rouard, M., Rozas, J., Tranchant-Dubreuil, C., VanBuren, R., Zhang, Q., Andrade, A., Argout, X., Bertrand, B., de Kochko, A., Graziosi, G., Henry, R., Jayarama, ., Ming, R., Nagai, C., Rounsley, S., Sankoff, D., Giuliano, G., Albert, V., Wincker, P., & Lashermes, P. (2014). The coffee genome provides insight into the convergent evolution of caffeine biosynthesis Science, 345 (6201), 1181-1184 DOI: 10.1126/science.1255274

Long, C., McAnally, J., Shelton, J., Mireault, A., Bassel-Duby, R., & Olson, E. (2014). Prevention of muscular dystrophy in mice by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated editing of germline DNA Science, 345 (6201), 1184-1188 DOI: 10.1126/science.1254445

The Friday Five

Highlighting some of the coolest science news we’ve seen lately.

1. The mystery behind Death Valley's 'Wandering Stones' appears to have finally been solved. For decades scientists have debated why hundreds of rocks move across Racetrack Playa, leaving trails behind them. Read this and/or watch the video below to see how this happens.

2. We’ve recently covered some of the things that alcohol does to your brain in this post. Here is a short video that not only addresses the question, “Does alcohol kill brain cells?”, but also explains where this notion originated. Cheers!

3. Now that we know what alcohol does, how about coffee? What does coffee do to the brain? AsapSCIENCE is here to explain in this short video.

4. Economist Richard Reeves uses Legos to demonstrate the chances of upward mobility in America.

5. Richard Feynman’s famous lectures are now available for free here. Go learn some physics from the master who had a knack for making complex principles understandable and entertaining.

Science quote of the week:

“Science is the great antidote to the poison of enthusiasm and superstition.” –Adam Smith

Contributed by:  Bill Sullivan

Follow Bill on Twitter: @wjsullivan

Norris, R., Norris, J., Lorenz, R., Ray, J., & Jackson, B. (2014). Sliding Rocks on Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park: First Observation of Rocks in Motion PLoS ONE, 9 (8) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0105948

The Friday Five

Highlighting some of the coolest science news we’ve seen lately.

1. Big news in regenerative medicine this week: scientists have grown the first working organ in a lab (a functional thymus was generated from reprogrammed fibroblast cells).

2. It sounds fishy, but zebrafish are helping scientists study potential mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s disease.

Zebrafish are excellent model systems that help scientists learn about development and disease

3. Another interesting development for Alzheimer’s disease this week. Studies have revealed that infusing the blood of young mice into older mice reverses some of the aging process. Physicians will soon be testing if blood plasma from people under 30 can alleviate the symptoms of Alzheimer’s.

Sorry, Barnabas, but drinking the blood does not work.

4. Better science, better pizza. Scientists set out to “quantify the pizza baking properties and performance of different cheeses”, and the results are described here. Have they found the perfect combination of cheeses? I look forward to trying…

5. Time for a coffee break? No doubt you are familiar with the trademark “coffee ring” that results from spilled coffee, which decorated many of the journal articles I read back when we used to print them out. Based on this study, the video below shows coffee particles in action, forming that characteristic ring.

Science quote of the week:

“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less” --Marie Curie

Contributed by:  Bill Sullivan

Follow Bill on Twitter: @wjsullivan

Villeda SA, Plambeck KE, Middeldorp J, Castellano JM, Mosher KI, Luo J, Smith LK, Bieri G, Lin K, Berdnik D, Wabl R, Udeochu J, Wheatley EG, Zou B, Simmons DA, Xie XS, Longo FM, & Wyss-Coray T (2014). Young blood reverses age-related impairments in cognitive function and synaptic plasticity in mice. Nature medicine, 20 (6), 659-63 PMID: 24793238

Yunker, P., Still, T., Lohr, M., & Yodh, A. (2011). Suppression of the coffee-ring effect by shape-dependent capillary interactions Nature, 476 (7360), 308-311 DOI: 10.1038/nature10344

Ma, X., Balaban, M., Zhang, L., Emanuelsson-Patterson, E., & James, B. (2014). Quantification of Pizza Baking Properties of Different Cheeses, and Their Correlation with Cheese Functionality Journal of Food Science DOI: 10.1111/1750-3841.12540

Bredenkamp, N., Ulyanchenko, S., O’Neill, K., Manley, N., Vaidya, H., & Blackburn, C. (2014). An organized and functional thymus generated from FOXN1-reprogrammed fibroblasts Nature Cell Biology DOI: 10.1038/ncb3023

The Friday Five

Highlighting some of the coolest science news we’ve seen lately.

1. Ever wonder if a blood-sucking insect gets drunk after sucking an intoxicated person’s blood?

2. You can't hurry love...but scientists have calculated how many soul mates you have in the world. Find out how they did this and how many are waiting for you. Go get 'em, tiger, then play them this song!

3. First, scientists made the "nude" mouse, and now they made one that is see through! Scientists have also recently created the invisible mouse, but no one can seem to find it (ba dum dum).

4. Scientists have reported that the memory of starvation can be inherited through the passage of small RNAs to offspring...for at least three generations (in worms, at least). You're not only what you eat, but you're what your great great grandparents ate!

5. It's not all in your head...music can make you feel powerful – especially pumping up the bass! Rock on, tiger.

Bonus!

Last month we wrote about the sequencing of Ozzy Osbourne’s genome. Here is a great video explaining how the human genome is sequenced.

Science quote of the week:

“All of science is nothing more than the refinement of everyday thinking.” –Albert Einstein

Contributed by:  Bill Sullivan

Follow Bill on Twitter: @wjsullivan

Rechavi, O., Houri-Ze’evi, L., Anava, S., Goh, W., Kerk, S., Hannon, G., & Hobert, O. (2014). Starvation-Induced Transgenerational Inheritance of Small RNAs in C. elegans Cell, 158 (2), 277-287 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2014.06.020

Yang B, Treweek JB, Kulkarni RP, Deverman BE, Chen CK, Lubeck E, Shah S, Cai L, & Gradinaru V (2014). Single-Cell Phenotyping within Transparent Intact Tissue through Whole-Body Clearing. Cell PMID: 25088144

Hsu, D., Huang, L., Nordgren, L., Rucker, D., & Galinsky, A. (2014). The Music of Power: Perceptual and Behavioral Consequences of Powerful Music Social Psychological and Personality Science DOI: 10.1177/1948550614542345

The Friday Five

Highlighting some of the coolest science news we’ve seen lately.

1. Some scientists have claimed that only 8.2% of your DNA is functional. Still, that is better than Congress. Anyone else think that this is going to turn out to rival the myth that we only use 10% ofour brain?

"I'm not so sure about this whole 8.2% of your DNA is functional thing. Trust me, I'm now using 100% of my brain."

2. There’s been a video floating around (see below) needlessly causing a lot of people to give up their beloved ice cream sandwiches. Well, just “chill” out. Here is a post that explains the chemistry that makes these treats so stable, even when left out in the sun. You may resume your ice cream sandwich consumption – you’re welcome.

3. Ever wonder what your stomach does to a cheeseburger? Kind of like what the sun does to that ice cream sandwich. Sing with me as you watch the video, "I'm loving' it!"

4. Our own Mark Lasbury recently addressed the question, “How small can life possibly get?”. Check out his fascinating analysis at his blog, “As Many Exceptions As Rules”.

5. We round out this Friday’s Five with a “sweet” story. Most of you probably don’t remember how you reacted the first time you tried chocolate because you experienced it at a young age. Behold the reaction of these cocoa farmers tasting chocolate for the first time.

Science quote of the week:

“For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.” –Carl Sagan

Contributed by:  Bill Sullivan

Follow Bill on Twitter: @wjsullivan

Rands, C., Meader, S., Ponting, C., & Lunter, G. (2014). 8.2% of the Human Genome Is Constrained: Variation in Rates of Turnover across Functional Element Classes in the Human Lineage PLoS Genetics, 10 (7) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1004525