“GCSE science guide ignores biology, chemistry and physics - Daily Telegraph” plus 3 more |
- GCSE science guide ignores biology, chemistry and physics - Daily Telegraph
- Evolutionary Study Center Grant Renewed - Chronicle
- Climate Change One Factor in Malaria Spread - Redorbit.com
- Can corn be taught to fix its own nitrogen? - PhysOrg
| GCSE science guide ignores biology, chemistry and physics - Daily Telegraph Posted: 04 Mar 2010 12:09 AM PST The traditional subjects are instead called "organisms and health", "chemical and material behaviour" and "environment, Earth and universe". The six-page GCSE curriculum document was uncovered by the Tories. Shadow schools minister accused the Government of trying to "dumb down" science teaching. He said: "It is crazy that the science curriculum for 16-year-olds does not even mention the words physics, chemistry or biology. "The Government has devalued the curriculum and exam system. Private schools are shifting to international exams. "We will make the curriculum and exam system globally respected - as it used to be." The guide was issued to teachers by the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Authority, according to The Sun. It says pupils should be taught the "knowledge, skills and understanding of how science works." A QCDA spokeswoman said physics, chemistry and biology are not being ignored. She said: "QCDA develops the science curriculum, working closely with schools, the science community and employers. "The curriculum covers the broad areas of modern science and the different paths young people can follow, while providing a thorough grounding in chemistry, physics and biology." Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Evolutionary Study Center Grant Renewed - Chronicle Posted: 04 Mar 2010 07:40 AM PST Evolutionary Study Center Grant Renewed National Science Foundation Awards 5-year, $25 million Thursday, March 4, 2010 print |
This is the second major NSF grant that NESCent has received, which brings the total funding for the Center to $40 million. The grant will enable the Center to continue its core programs in evolution research, informatics and education through 2014. NESCent is a scientific research center that supports cutting-edge, cross-disciplinary research in evolutionary biology. The Center offers a range of fellowships for visiting scientists and educators and sponsors numerous scientific meetings each year. Since its beginnings in 2004, NESCent hosted more than 3,000 visitors from nearly 35 countries. In the next five years, the Center plans to expand its most successful programs and add a number of new initiatives, including graduate fellowships, international research partnerships, and targeted calls for proposals on specific themes. The Center has new leadership as well. Allen Rodrigo, former director of the Bioinformatics Institute at Auckland University in New Zealand, has been named the new Director of NESCent. He succeeds Kathleen Smith, who is continuing on as professor of biology at Duke University, a position she has held concurrently with the NESCent directorship since 2005. Rodrigo will also have a joint appointment in the Duke Biology Department. To learn more about research and training opportunities at NESCent, visit www.nescent.org Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Climate Change One Factor in Malaria Spread - Redorbit.com Posted: 04 Mar 2010 06:14 AM PST Posted on: Thursday, 4 March 2010, 08:20 CST Climate change is one reason malaria is on the rise in some parts of the world, new research finds, but other factors such as migration and land-use changes are likely also at play. The research, published in The Quarterly Review of Biology, aims to sort out contradictions that have emerged as scientists try to understand why malaria has been spreading into highland areas of East Africa, Indonesia, Afghanistan and elsewhere. "We assessed … conclusions from both sides and found that evidence for a role of climate in the dynamics is robust," write study authors Luis Fernando Chaves from Emory University and Constantianus Koenraadt of Wageningen University in the Netherlands. "However, we also argue that over-emphasizing a role for climate is misleading for setting a research agenda, even one which attempts to understand climate change impacts on emerging malaria patterns." Malaria, a parasitic disease spread to humans by mosquitoes, is common in warm climates of Africa, South America and South Asia. The development and survival, both of the mosquito and the malaria parasite are highly sensitive to daily and seasonal temperature patterns and the disease has traditionally been rare in the cooler highland areas. Over the last 40 years, however, the disease has been spreading to the highlands, and many studies link the spread to global warming. But that conclusion is far from unanimous. Other studies have found no evidence of warming in highland regions, thus ruling out climate change as a driver for highland malaria. Chaves and Koenraadt re-examined more than 70 of these studies. They found that the studies ruling out a role for climate change in highland malaria often use inappropriate statistical tools, casting doubt on their conclusions. For example, an oft-cited 2002 study of the Kericho highlands of western Kenya found no warming trend in the area. But when Chaves and Koenraadt ran the same temperature data from that study through three additional statistical tests, each test indicated a significant warming trend. Similar statistical errors plague other comparable studies, the researchers say. In contrast, most studies concluding that climate change is indeed playing a role in highland malaria tend to be statistically strong, Chaves and Koenraadt found. But just because climate is one factor influencing malaria's spread does not mean it is the only one. What is needed, the researchers say, is a research approach that combines climate with other possible factors. "Even if trends in temperature are very small, organisms can amplify such small changes and that could cause an increase parasite transmission," Chaves said. "More biological data will improve our overall understanding of malaria and will allow scientists to propose more general and accurate models on the impacts of climate change on malaria transmission." The authors cite numerous factors that could interact with climate to influence malaria spread. They point to research showing that people migrating from lowlands may be introducing the malaria parasite into highland regions. Changes in farming practices may also play a role. Irrigation associated with more intensive farming may be creating more places for mosquitoes to breed. Another example comes from two studies that linked malaria increases in the Bure highlands of Ethiopia to increased maize farming. There, the immature and aquatic stages of mosquitoes thrive on a diet of maize pollen, and more mosquitoes can mean more malaria. "A major future challenge will be to link up what happens with mosquitoes and parasites at the household level with long-term climate change scenarios at the continental scale," Koenraadt said. The spread of malaria in highlands is of great concern to those who work to contain the disease. But understanding the many factors that influence the spread of highland malaria could help with efforts to control the disease worldwide, Chaves and Koenraadt conclude. "In the light of global efforts towards malaria elimination, highland areas will be interesting starting points from where control efforts could interrupt transmission and aid in shrinking the world's malaria map." Koenraadt said. More information about global efforts to control malaria can be found at malariaeliminationgroup.org. Discussions on malaria elimination can be found at malariaworld.org. Luis Fernando Chaves and Constantianus J M Koenraadt, "Climate change and highland malaria: Fresh air for a hot debate." The Quarterly Review of Biology 85:1 (March 2010). The premier review journal in biology since 1926, The Quarterly Review of Biology publishes articles in all areas of biology but with a traditional emphasis on evolution, ecology, and organismal biology. QRB is published by the University of Chicago Press. --- Image Caption: Anopheles albimanus mosquito feeding on a human arm. This mosquito is a vector of malaria and mosquito control is a very effective way of reducing the incidence of malaria. Credit: James Gathany/CDC --- On the Net: Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Can corn be taught to fix its own nitrogen? - PhysOrg Posted: 04 Mar 2010 08:37 AM PST "We now understand enough about how genes work and how proteins are produced that we can actually think about reprogramming how living cells work," said Bhalerao, an assistant professor in U of I's Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. "On one hand, it sounds intimidating. But on the other hand, there are tremendous benefits that may be possible by doing this." Synthetic biology is a new area of research that combines science and engineering in order to design and build or "synthesize" novel biological functions and systems. Through this new technology, many scientists believe it may be possible to control biological systems to increase food supplies, produce energy, enhance human health, protect the environment, and more. Bhalerao is leading a multidisciplinary research initiative with collaborators from the University of California, San Francisco; Stanford University; University of Cambridge; and New Castle University aimed at building systems that enable bacteria to spatially organize and communicate with and control plant cells. The research is funded through a grant of about $2 million from the U.S. National Science Foundation and United Kingdom's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. Bhalerao's research focuses on building systems in which bacteria behave like amplifiers. "We've developed the equivalence of an amplifier inside bacteria. The bacteria sense the presence of an amino acid in their environment and produce a protein in response. A positive feedback mechanism in the gene circuit amplifies the production of that protein," Bhalerao said. By using bacterial amplifiers, the systems become more sensitive. "Because of the amplifier, bacterial biosensors can detect concentrations much lower than would have been possible otherwise. In a system designed to produce a particular molecule or chemical, much larger output levels can be generated," he said. A specific application being investigated is the design of a system that enables nitrogen fixing bacteria to communicate with the root systems of corn plants. According to Bhalerao, soybean fixes its own nitrogen by sending a message to a bacterium that encourages it to colonize in the plant's roots. Once the right environment has developed, the bacteria start fixing nitrogen for that plant. This results in soybeans being naturally high in nitrogen and a protein-rich food source. "Why don't we teach corn how to do this?" Bhalerao said. "This would reduce the need for the application of petroleum-based fertilizers, which has huge implications for sustainable agriculture." Synthetic biology is a fast-growing research area with a wide range of potential applications. Scientists are using this new technology to make biosensors sensitive to light, sensitive to uranium, sensitive to rust, etc. Proven concepts in various stages of development include using bacterial sensors to build bacterial photographic plates, assist with the nuclear mining of uranium, or detect unexploded landmines in the soil. "These are just a few potential uses that capture the mind," Bhalerao said. "This type of technology allows us to think about interesting, novel solutions to major concerns, such as how we can feed more people, or how we can produce more drinking water. "Synthetic biology is an entirely new discipline. To compare it with electronics, where it's drawing a lot of its ideas and terminology from, we are at the stage of developing the transistor. We cannot foresee what the Internet of this technology is going to look like." Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Biology - Bing News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 comments:
Post a Comment