by Eric R. Olson
August 28th, 2009
One of the most frustrating things about working in biomedical research is the inability to translate infinitely small processes into something both visually meaningful and easy to digest.
Within every cell of our bodies is a chaotic symphony of molecular and chemical interactions that are difficult or impossible to see with the naked eye. Scientists rely on experimental ’snapshots’ to give them an idea of what’s happening at the microscopic level. Then they work backwards, reconstructing a sequence of events from these rather abstract clues.
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Posted in Biology, Multimedia, Natural World
by Eric R. Olson
August 8th, 2009
Used with permission of the National Media Museum
A study published this week in the journal Nature brings into question the prevailing wisdom about how a country’s development impacts its population growth. Previously, social scientists thought that indicators such as health, standard of living and human capital, collectively called the Human Development Index, could reliably predict negative population growth.
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Posted in Biology, Environment
by Eric R. Olson
June 11th, 2009
Students from New York and New Jersey recently put their robotic LEGO designs to the test, in the BUILD IT final design challenge held at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken. “The underwater environment really throws them a curveball,” says Beth McGrath, director of Stevens’ Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education. “It’s a lot like a space environment.”‘
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Posted in Multimedia, Technology
by Eric R. Olson
June 2nd, 2009
In April, a new strain of H1N1 flu virus hopped from a pigs into people. This event sparked a pandemic that is now estimated to have killed 115 people and infected more than 17,000, according the World Health Organization. In the first video ever posted on Science of the Times, we explore how flu viruses can jump species.
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Posted in Biology, Multimedia
