Top Three Juiciest Science In 2007

At this time of the year, most big media companies will publish some sort of "Top Ten" articles that review the news highlights of the outgoing year.

Some of these lists are mindnumbingly long. Top 50 newsworthy events? Top 100?

Prioritize, people.

And even worse, all of them seem to include Britney Spears or Paris Hilton, as if they need any more publicity.

Scandal is fun the first time 'round - but after the 5000th time, it just gives you a pukey feeling.

Here at Fresh Brainz, we loathe to follow other people's pointless traditions, preferring to invent our own pointless traditions.

We initially planned an exclusive New Year's party in a downtown club for insiders and diehard fans that would feature free-flowing chocolate and a special dance by a sexy model wearing nothing but fresh waffles.

Unfortunately our limited budget (which currently stands at a grand total of $10.66) does not permit the establishment of this tasteful new tradition.

Hence it is with drenched spirits that we present to you: the Top 3 Science News in 2007!

1. Dinosaurs Are Finger Licking Good

In April this year, two teams of scientists managed to isolate a section of a protein (collagen) from a 68 million-year-old fossil of Tyrannosaurus rex. Mass spectrometry revealed that the protein sequence resembles that of the modern chicken, providing more experimental support of the evolutionary kinship between dinosaurs and birds.

This is simply the No. 1 most impressive scientific discovery of the year. Of course it would be even better if they got a recognizable stretch of T. Rex DNA (though DNA tends to break down into many tiny fragments over millions of years which is very difficult to re-assemble. Contamination is also a big problem).

Nonetheless it is an important proof-of-principle study on a very old specimen. As the technique becomes more refined, we will be able to study fossils using molecular biology. For more recently extinct animals such as mammoths and Neandertals, we will be able to re-assemble a significant section of their DNA in the coming few years.

In conjunction with other advances in molecular genetics and developmental biology, perhaps one day we will be able to resurrect an extinct species back to life.

2. Every Skin Cell Is Sacred

Some people would say "but studying dinosaurs doesn't help cure cancer!"

Well, this next technological advancement probably won't help cure cancer either, but it is in the biomedical field (which most non-scientists pretend to care about) and has the potential to treat many diseases.

Last month, two teams of researchers announced their success in engineering induced pluripotent cells (iPS) using adult tissues, such as skin cells, as the starting material. This new cell type exhibits many characteristics of human embryonic stem cells, and gets around the ethical objection of religious groups to the destruction of human blastocysts.

The amazing thing is that the reprogramming procedure only involves four genes. While other groups were busy discovering more and more genes involved in pluripotency, these scientists were already applying their biological knowledge into practice, demonstrating their strategic foresight.

A major drawback of their current technique is the potential to cause tumours. To address this, one of the teams found a way to drop one of the four genes, called c-Myc, which promotes tumour growth. This improvement came hot on the heels of the original announcement.

Due to the medical significance of this advancement, key members of both research teams are likely to win Nobel Prizes within the next decade or so. The field is heating up, so look out for more exciting developments coming your way.

3. Rockin' Dust

Way back in 1971, an unknown graduate student toiled away on his PhD thesis, focusing on interplanetary dust. He spent numerous solitary nights under the stars while operating a big telescope in the Canary Islands.

In addition, he was jammin' on the side, a guitarist in a rock group that eventually becomes an international sensation. He gave up his academic work to pursue a career in music.

That lucky young man turned into a multi-millionaire superstar: Brian May, the founder of Queen.

He finally submitted his thesis in August - if it is approved he will be receiving his PhD in May 2008, a whopping 37 years after starting grad school.

The quintessential fantasy of every graduate student, Brian May's story is a prime source of inspiration and insane jealousy. Who doesn't want to have her cake and eat it too?

As such, this not-very-sciencey news makes it into the Top 3.

Because we know that science geeks are in the business because they love science.

Not because they hate sex, drums or Rock 'n Roll.

**********

So there it is, the Top 3 science news of 2007.

Thanks for reading, bye.

See you next year.

I said bye-bye.

Sayonara.

Wha... You're still here?

You have a "waffle girl" on your mind?












Heh.

Have a happy and healthy New Year 2008!

Photo Gallery Six

It is with great pleasure that Fresh Brainz brings to you our 300th post - another milestone on the wonderful road to... erm... not quite sure where.

Nevertheless we are going to put up many pretty photos to celebrate this occasion.

Sometimes it is difficult to find an interesting subject for photography - you might need to search high and low for it.

The sky, on the other hand, is always there.

Big and obvious.

But you must wait for something dramatic to happen in the sky.

It can be a long, long wait... zzzzzz...

Luckily for you, all the "pre-waiting" has been done by us, so the photos are ready for your instant gratification!



















Close of the day
(2007) Fuji S6500fd














Layers of gold
(2007) Sony DSC-S600













Monstrosity
(2007) Sony DSC-S600











Morning blaze
(2003) Kodak CX4200













Painted sky
(2007) Sony DSC-S600













Rainbow
(2003) Kodak CX4200















Reds and Purples
(2003) Kodak CX4200









Rolling clouds
(2003) Kodak CX4200












Shadows in the sky
(2007) Sony DSC-S600



















Thunderclouds
(2003) Kodak CX4200

I should also mention that I recently bought a 2nd-hand camera to become my new(ish) workhorse camera, the Fuji S6500fd. I plan to take even more eye-catching photographs with it.

Would you like to know more?
- Photo Gallery Five

Fresh Science 27 December 2007

The juiciest posts from the science 'o sphere!

2001 to Timecop: 8 Movie futures already proven wrong (Cracked - USA)
A snarky article about movie predictions of the future... (via Sour Grapes)














Kids' letters to Santa as advertising psychology study (Mind Hacks - USA)
Dear Santa, I want a Crankémon just like the one shown on TV...

The history of Supersnakes and historical Python sp. range. (The Lord Geekington - USA)
Discussion of a supersnake hypothesis!

Lecture On Suicide Terrorism

Psychiatrist Andy Thomson gives an engaging lecture that provides an overview of the history and characteristics of suicide terrorism.

However I feel that there are some flaws in his ideas. In particular, I think that the situation of asymmetrical warfare is far more important in triggering suicide attacks than religion. This is addressed during the Q&A session.

Here is part 1 (of 3) of his talk entitled We Few, We Happy Few, We Band of Brothers:



Click these links to continue...

Part 2: Differences between male and female suicide terrorists

Part 3: Question and answer session


Would you like to know more?
- Psychologically healthy terrorists

Fresh Science 25 December 2007

The juiciest posts from the science 'o sphere!

Top 10 Astronomy Pictures of 2007: Runners Up (Bad Astronomy - USA)
Some spectacular pictures of the Cosmos...



















I am Legendary Oncolytic Virus (Bayblab - Canada)
Hollywood deals a damaging blow to a new class of therapeutics...

Hot off the Press: Omnidirectional sensing of prey in weak electric fields by fish (Biocurious - USA)
South American knifefish generates a cylindrical electric field that allows the fish to "see" behind it...

Christmas Carnage: 3 Tigers Slaughtered for TCM (Laelaps - USA)
Rare Siberian tiger found beheaded and skinned...

Are species really disappearing? (The Biology Refugia - Singapore)
Even if the computational models are not accurate, the observations should not be discounted...

Gifted Education Programme

An interesting letter in the Straits Times forum today:

Gifted scheme: Has it achieved the set goals?

THE Gifted Education Programme (GEP) was introduced by the Ministry of Education (MOE) in 1984. It sees the participation of the top 1 per cent of each Primary 4 cohort (about 500 pupils) every year.

Special teaching and learning techniques have been used to groom these top pupils in the hope of achieving the following goals, as stated by MOE on its website:

- To develop intellectual depth and higher-level thinking;

- To nurture productive creativity;

- To develop attitudes for self-directed lifelong learning;

- To enhance aspirations for individual excellence and fulfilment;

- To develop a strong social conscience and commitment to serve society and nation; and

- To develop moral values and qualities for responsible leadership.

It has been 23 years now since the implementation of the GEP. If the intake had been constant at 500 per year, there should be 11,500 of such GEP graduates and students to date.

And those in the first batch would be 33 years old now.

It is believed among experts that by the age of 30, top-performing individuals would have flourished in their careers.

Could the MOE comment on how well it has achieved the goals set by itself with regard to GEP students? They are remarkable students with extraordinary school grades.

Tremendous efforts are put in by the GEP teachers and educationists to groom these bright kids. Taxpayers' money has been pumped in to craft the best syllabus to develop our creme de la creme.

Can MOE highlight the significant contributions made to society by the working GEP cohort?

The ministry should also explain how humane values have been injected by the individuals in the following key areas:

- Science and technology

- Music and the arts

- Sports

- Politics and economics

- Social work and religion

The GEP project has gone through more than two decades of experimentation. It is time that the MOE takes stock of the results and improves the programme further, if necessary.

It would be good if the MOE shares its findings with the public - especially with parents, teachers and educationists who are the actual stakeholders.

The findings might also motivate other students to excel.

George Lim Heng Chye

While I don't agree that the age of 30 should be a magical benchmark for all careers, I share his curiosity about the performance of GEP students.

Where are they now? Are there any notable scientists, artists and entrepreneurs from the GEP route? Are GEP students on the whole doing better than normal-normal students?

It'll be quite interesting to know.

Studio Model Photography

A few weeks ago, I attended a studio model photography session. I've recently had my portfolio appraised by professionals, and while they agree that many of my photos are quite good, they are not impressed with my portrait shots.

Nonetheless, practice makes perfect, and it seems such a waste to keep all these photos locked up in the dark dungeons of my hard disk - so here's more eye candy for you!















This is the studio set up, with three lights. The studio lighting is triggered by the built-in flash on your camera, or using a PC connection. Ambient light was very dim and the indicated exposure time was very long, so the vibration reduction feature in my Nikon compact camera was often overwhelmed.

Fortunately, this time I also brought my trusty old Minolta 35mm SLR, so you can expect to see sharper pictures later.















Time to shoot! There were about 20 photography enthusiasts on that day, and we were allocated one minute each to shoot as many photos as possible. Since there was only one costume change, we got a grand total of two opportunities each. A senior photography instructor later commented that you can't learn much from such a session, since all the settings have been done for you.

While waiting my turn, I tried to use my compact to take ambient light photos.

It proved to be quite difficult...



















First try.

You can see that it's just rubbish. The VR wasn't good enough. In addition, the autofocus keeps fighting with me. I switched to the VR-active mode hoping that there will be a better result.



















Ah, much better. Unfortunately the exposure level is shot through to hell. When using an automatic compact with limited manual modes, every shot is a hit-and-miss affair. Just keep shooting and be prepared to discard a lot of photos.



















When I saw this pose, I fell in love with it immediately. So beautiful, especially the way the model's hair curls on her raised left shoulder. It wasn't my turn yet, so I had to wait for a chance to get the model to repeat this pose again for my SLR.



















And here's one more photo from the Nikon, showing a pouty expression. There aren't any more sharp photos; most are throw-away shots.

Now for the Minolta:



















This reduced size image doesn't do the original print justice. The photo was taken at f/22 and is tack sharp. Unfortunately I used ISO 400 film and the exposure was too high for the light settings used on that day. I don't have any smaller aperture than f/22, so the SLR photos all turned out looking harshly illuminated, especially on the left side of her face.

Notice that the colour looks different from the Nikon photos - this is to be expected since the ambient lighting is quite yellow.



















I tried to get the model to replicate that amazing pose above, but I just couldn't get it right. Another photographer agreed that it was a superb pose and also tried to tell her how to do it, but it still doesn't look right.

In this photo, she just looks sad. Not as beautiful and thoughtful like that previous pose.

Oh well, some things only happen once. At least I got that first photo.



















Costume change! Here's a more cheerful looking photo. An instructor later commented that it's unsightly to show visible elbows in a portrait shot, since these are considered "sharp points" that should be avoided.

Oops.



















And finally... a chance for the model to check out how the photos turned out, and pick some to add to her portfolio.

She is quite petite. And HOT, of course.


Would you like to know more?

Previous model photo sessions:
- Outdoor shoot at Fort Canning
- Indoor (ambient light) shoot at Imaging Expo 2007

New Features For The New Year

The New Year is just around the corner. To thank our loyal readers, Fresh Brainz is delighted to roll out a weekly series of new features - coming your way soon!

After 17 months of generally random meandering, we will become a slightly more organized science "blog-azine", complete with regular features for news, commentary and of course, entertainment articles.

Here's a sneak preview of what's in store:

Mondays suck, big time. So it isn't half surprising that ranting comes naturally. Cranky Monday (or Crankémon for short) highlights rants, satire, bad poetry, de-motivational posters and other channels of negativity that bemoan my miserable existence.



A nod to tradition, Fresh Science Tuesdays continue to bring you the latest news in science and technology - courtesy of the world science 'o sphere.




Did you just ruin your gel for the nth time? Accidentally sucked away the pellet? Science isn't only about the high tech stuff, sometimes you need a cheap, simple and non-obvious trick. Tidbits On Midweek (TOM) offers practical solutions and other hands-on tips that can can save you hours of grief.


A nod to tradition, Fresh Science Thursdays continue to bring you the latest news in science and technology - courtesy of the world science 'o sphere.




As the working week draws to a close, flickers of optimism start to reappear in that much coveted period of Paradise that we call the "weekend". Not limited to science, What the Friday (WTF!?!!) is a celebration of the wild, bizarre and sex-starved world that we live in.


Need to know the real details behind the hottest issues in science today? Then go read a book, you lazy-ass. Luckily I'm just as lazy, and so Sciencey Saturdays (Sci Sat) are slated to provide concise, easy-to-read reviews and critiques of groundbreaking or controversial scientific studies.


Sundays are for quiet reflection. For a leisurely trip to the park to paint a pretty picture of the beautiful scenery... NOT! Arty Sundays (Artisun) showcase my middling abilities in digital art and photography; a futile exercise in ego inflation that will inevitably and predictably be popped by the return of Monday.

So there you have it - an exciting weekly line up that is all set to go from January 2008.

Stay tuned!

Aeroplane On A Treadmill

Sometimes, we are so obsessed in our quest to find out all the answers in life that we neglect to examine the questions. This is parodied in Doug Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

The problem is: even if a question is unclear or meaningless, someone can still find many answers to it.

Unfortunately, these answers do not advance our knowledge. Instead, they generate constant debates where nobody seems to get any closer to the truth.

Asking the right question is very important.

A superb example of this is the "Aeroplane on a treadmill" (aka "Airplane on the conveyor belt") puzzle, which has befuddled thousands of people for many years. This topic has sparked unending arguments in numerous Physics forums all over the world.

Here is the original question:












A plane is standing on a runway that can move (some sort of band conveyer). The plane moves in one direction, while the conveyer moves in the opposite direction. This conveyer has a control system that tracks the plane speed and tunes the speed of the conveyer to be exactly the same (but in the opposite direction). Can the plane take off?

Hmm... looks like a simple "Yes" or "No" question.

Except nobody seems to agree which is the correct answer.

The reason for this is because, well... both answers are correct, depending on how you understood the question.

How can this be?!??

Let me explain what I mean by reformulating the above question into two alternative questions:

1. An aeroplane is standing on a huge, computer-controlled treadmill. The treadmill tries to negate the forward speed of the vehicle by rolling in the opposite direction. The treadmill is long enough to accomodate the normal take off distance of the aircraft.

Will the plane take off?

The answer: Yes (with some exceptions).

The aeroplane will take off, because its airspeed depends on its engines, not on its wheels. Unlike a car, aeroplane wheels are unpowered and essentially free-wheeling. As a result, they do not produce much friction and the speed of the treadmill is not transmitted to the aircraft itself. Thus, the speed and direction of the treadmill is largely irrelevant.

In this scenario, when the pilot applies full throttle, the aircraft starts to move forward relative to the ground (or lamp post in above picture). The computer-controlled treadmill tries to slow the vehicle by rolling in the opposite direction at heroic speeds, but to no avail, since it only slows down the vehicle by a tiny percentage.

The wheels may be spinning at insane speeds, but the whole vehicle is accelerating normally (relative to fixed ground objects), eventually reaching take off velocity and then flying upwards into the skies.

Exceptions will occur if the wheels do produce significant friction, for example rusty old wheels or if partial brakes are applied. In addition, if the wheels are structurally limited to certain maximum spin speeds, then the tyres might burst during the take off run.

2. A computer-controlled aeroplane is standing on a huge, computer-controlled treadmill. The treadmill rolls in the opposite direction of the vehicle. The entire system is set up in such a way that the no matter how much engine power is applied and how fast the treadmill is rolling, the aeroplane remains stationary relative to the ground (or lamp post in the above picture). The treadmill is too short to accomodate the normal take off distance of the aircraft.

Will the plane take off?

No.

The reason why the aeroplane will never take off no matter how much engine power is used is because aeroplanes take off primarily because of lift, not thrust.

If an aeroplane is forced to remain stationary, then its ground speed is zero and corresponding airspeed (on windless days) is also zero. No air is moving over its wings to generate the required lift to raise the vehicle into the skies.

The only way that thrust alone can make the aeroplane fly is when the vehicle has vertical take off engines, like in Harrier jets, which has a thrust-to-weight ratio of more than 1.

Of course, this exception is not in the spirit of the original puzzle.

*********

So you can see that the correct answer to the puzzle depends on how the question is asked and hinges on one crucial point - does the treadmill succeed in keeping the aircraft stationary? If this part of the question is not agreed upon, then nobody will be satisfied with the answers.

There are other horrible questions that have triggered endless debate and conflict.

One of them has plagued humankind since the dawn of civilization.

Does God exist?

*ugh*

Fresh Science 20 December 2007

The juiciest posts from the science 'o sphere!

Shaking the Cetacean evolutionary bush: Indohyus and the origin of whales (Laelaps - USA)
An early whale ancestor taking small steps into a brave new world...











Recent black hole jets wow scientists (Ontogeny - USA)
A black hole that spews radiation and punches a galaxy on the nose...

Mars (Sporula - USA)
Mars on close approach this week, next time it's this close will be in 2016...

Conservation as disequilibrium (The Biology Refugia - Singapore)
Conservation is not an one-off effort, it's a long-term endeavour...

Don’t call the aliens,they might not be friendly (The Empire of the Odd - USA)
They might be drunk... or have acid for blood.

Stupid Design

Neil deGrasse Tyson says it better than me.







I didn't know we're on a collision course with Andromeda galaxy.

Yikes.

*builds a secret spaceship*

Koff Koff

Your humble narrator is down with the ol' aches and pains, sore throat and persistent cough. Regularly scheduled programme will be back soon. Stay tuned!

Fresh Science 13 December 2007

The juiciest posts from the science 'o sphere!

Top 10 Scientific Discoveries and Medical Breakthroughs of 2007, According to Time Magazine (Cell*Wise - USA)
Stem cells, stem cells and stem cells...

Sun: not the biggest object in the solar system! (Entertaining Research - India)
Now that is one puffed-up comet!
















Life in the Dead Zone(Evolutionary Middleman - USA)
Dinosaur fossils from Antarctica!

I, Mutant: Adaptation Goes On (Hyphoid Logic - USA)
Human beings are still evolving, and the process is speeding up...

What IQ doesn’t tell you about race (Mind Hacks - USA)
Test standards are being adjusted all the time...

Identification Of Design Motifs

A few months ago, prominent science blogger Prof. Larry Moran posted an interesting post on his Sandwalk blog.

The article was about intelligent design creationism, and how proponents of this idea intend to prove that our genetic code was designed. They used the movie Contact (1997) as an example of how an alien signal can be identified as intelligent, based on the mathematical content of the signal.

An interesting question was then raised by intelligent design proponent, Michael Egnor.

He asked:

If the scientific discovery of a ‘blueprint’ would justify the design inference, then why is it unreasonable to infer that the genetic code was designed?

Well, to be picky, genetic codes are more like recipes rather than blueprints, because most of the information does not topographically map to the phenotype (there are exceptions, such as the Hox gene clusters).

Still, the question is broadly valid. Since people are already routinely modifying genetic codes, and soon will have the capability to design de novo genetic codes, this question sounds rather reasonable. I'll rephrase it as:

"Is there any method to demonstrate that a genome contains elements that can be identified to be designed by an intelligent being?"

My answer?

Yes.

Let me show you how it can be done, in a falsifiable and scientifically sound manner.

I call it "Identification of Design Motifs" or IDM.

But first, we need to make some basic assumptions.

The only currently known designers in the Universe are human beings and some animals. To discover designed motifs, we need to know what constitutes design.

For this purpose, we assume that the putative genome designer must exhibit some human-like design principles, such as consistency and systematic organization.

Genome designers that are in principle unknowable, undefinable or show no comprehensible design habits cannot be discovered using IDM (or for that matter, any other method of rational inquiry).

So we are limited to genome designers we can understand - perhaps a Super Alien or a Lifegiver Deity.

To proceed further, let me use the illustration of a computer programmer, working on a piece of code.

Human software programmers use a number of systematic principles to make their job of writing and debugging the code easier.

Lines of code are numbered in sequence. Command terms have exactly the same function throughout the code. Programmers often leave comments within the lines of code to explain what they're trying to do, so that it's easier to fix things if the program doesn't work properly.

These are crucial elements of design that can be detected using IDM.

Salient features such as mathematical progressions, invariant function of key sequences and *gasp* the designer's own original comments in any sort of comprehensible language - if these are discovered, they will present a strong case that our genetic code was designed.

Now let's go into the specifics: how to apply the IDM strategy!

1. Coding sequence

One of the best understood parts of a genome are the protein-coding sequences. Sure, they are important for making proteins, but are there also hidden messages contained within?

I'll give you a concrete example.

Here, look at the sequence of the human Oct-1 protein. Each of the letters represent one of 20 amino acids most commonly found in living organisms:

MNNPSETSKPSMESGDGNTGTQTNGLDFQKQPVPVGGAISTAQAQAFLGHLHQVQLAGTSLQAAAQSLNVQSKSNEESGDSQQPSQPSQQPSVQAAIPQTQLMLAGGQITGLTLTPAQQQLLLQQAQAQAQLLAAAVQQHSASQQHSAAGATISASAATPMTQIPLSQPIQIAQDLQQLQQLQQQNLNLQQFVLVHPTTNLQPAQFIISQTPQGQQGLLQAQNLLTQLPQQSQANLLQSQPSITLTSQPATPTRTIAATPIQTLPQSQSTPKRIDTPSLEEPSDLEELEQFAKTFKQRRIKLGFTQGDVGLAMGKLYGNDFSQTTISRFEALNLSFKNMCKLKPLLEKWLNDAENLSSDSSLSSPSALNSPGIEGLSRRRKKRTSIETNIRVALEKSFLENQKPTSEEITMIADQLNMEKEVIRVWFCNRRQKEKRINPPSSGGTSSSPIKAIFPSPTSLVATTPSLVTSSAATTLTVSPVLPLTSAAVTNLSVTGTSDTTSNNTATVISTAPPASSAVTSPSLSPSPSASASTSEASSASETSTTQTTSTPLSSPLGTSQVMVTASGLQTAAAAALQGAAQLPANASLAAMAAAAGLNPSLMAPSQFAAGGALLSLNPGTLSGALSPALMSNSTLATIQALASGGSLPITSLDATGNLVFANAGGAPNIVTAPLFLNPQNLSLLTSNPVSLVSAAAASAGNSAPVASLHATSTSAESIQNSLFTVASASGAASTTTTASKAQ

Scanning quickly through the sequence (not exhaustive), I can already find a series of English words contained within. Of course, the genome designer may not use English, but it's possible to write a computer program that can screen coding sequences for a number of human languages.

A word can be coincidental, but what about meaningful sentences?

If a comprehensible sentence in any human language can be found, in the sequence that these genes appear in the chromosome, then that would be very, very, very difficult to explain using conventional evolutionary biology.

2. Non-coding, non-regulatory sequence

There are huge sections in any genome (especially the onion) that do not code for proteins, and do not serve any regulatory function. Why are they there?

Pan-selectionists loathe the existence of these, preferring to believe that they serve some hitherto unknown function. Neutralists disregard these as useless products of mutation that doesn't impact reproductive fitness.

For IDM proponents though, it's a unique opportunity to find design motifs, such as mathematical progressions, large systematic repeats, and sentences of words in any language that may uncover the true function behind these massive sections of DNA.

To give a detailed example, the mathematical content of DNA can be decoded using the Base-4 (or quaternary) method of counting.

If someone was to discover a series of numbers rising systematically like lines in a computer program, that would be very, very, very difficult to explain using conventional evolutionary biology.

----------

The genetic code of a number of organisms are already publicly available. Although it is tedious work, anyone with good computer programming skills can analyze these genomes using the IDM approach explained above.

Start with a few genes... a short section of non-coding DNA... who knows what you might uncover.

So if you're a proponent of intelligent design - what are you waiting for?

A Nobel Prize awaits you!

Or me!?!!*


*If I can find this, I'll win the Nobel Prize. Not only that, I'll uncover the mystery of non-coding sequences, directly revealing the original purpose of those sections of DNA and potentially saving millions of people who suffer from genetic diseases of any kind. Ha ha ha!

Please leave a comment, or send me an email if you think that IDM is a good/stupid idea.

Fresh Science 11 December 2007

The juiciest posts from the science 'o sphere!

Smoking with friends (Bayblab - Canada)
Loneliness is as bad as cigarettes!?!! Get yerself some friends...

Mathematical software and movie enjoyment (Entertaining Research - India)
...friends will enhance your movie experience.

DNA-based security systems to prevent fraud and theft (Microarray Blog - India)
Encryption using plant DNA sequences!

What grad school is like (Rat in the Lab - Singapore)
*eye twitch*

Just Keep Walking On

I wrote a song!



When the path feels too rough
When the road seems too long

When voices that surround you scream on night and day

When your load is much too heavy
When your burden's hard to bear

When your legs beneath you are almost giving way

When the pain is far too deep
When the tears have run dry

When the fire inside you has turned into dismay

Why don't you...

Put your left foot over your right foot and keep walking on
Don't lose hope, all hope is gone
There's a pretty sunset waiting just ahead
Why care about the circling vultures up above your head?

请把脚尖贴着脚跟继续向前行
莫心慌, 莫彷徨
希望早已过去梦想已成空
何必在意遍地毒蛇缓缓的行踪?

Just put your right foot over your left and keep staggering on
Toe to heel, heel to toe
The sun will soon be setting and the night shall fall
Why care about the hungry wolves that wait for us all?

For it soon will pass, and this song will end
Its echoes in the mountains will be all that remain
The game has long been fixed, we will never win
Can you hear the thunderous silence of a cry in vain?

Don't stop, just...

Put your left foot over your right and keep struggling on
One more step, just one more step
The darkness will soon descend the madness it will start
Why care about the coldness reaching into your heart?

One more step, just one more step

Just one more step.


Heh, it's a Monday.