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Why the same can be different: The case of the two enantiomers
The R enantiomer (green) allows Tyr337 to adopttwo different orientations. The S (yellow) does not.Since we were discussing thermodynamics in biological systems the other day, here's a neat example...
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Turkey tales
Common names are the bane of biologists because they can be applied, misapplied, multiplied, and codified, all without any rhyme or reason. Such it is with the Turkey. What you may ask does the...
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LIBERAL!
Oops, sorry to bring this up, but TPP missed publishing this in time for the election, but the sentiment, the message still are appropriate as nothing much has changed, and why waste a perfectly good...
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Math Shows Penguins Only Care about Themselves
Don't let the adorable mini-orchestra-conductor look fool you: penguins aren't that nice. When emperor penguins huddle together during Antarctic storms, they act like they're all in it together. But a...
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Mathematics Research Communities
The #AMS invites mathematicians to become part of #Mathematics Research CommunitiesMathematics Research Communities | click to enlargevia Notices of the American Mathematical Society
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Alcohol and empty calories
TPP's employer is so concerned about us that healthy missives are circulated among us quite regularly warning about unprotected sex, risky life styles, and the perils of climbing Mt. Everest in just a...
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I'm gonna wash that god right into my hair!
There's an interesting link between physical disgust and moral disgust. Not only do we pull the same faces in response to both, but there is evidence that washing your hands can make you make you feel...
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Postcranial Anatomy of a Late Triassic Sauropodomorph from Argentina
Apaldetti, C., Diego Pol, D., and A. Yates. 2012. The postcranial anatomy of Coloradisaurus brevis (Dinosauria: Sauropodomorpha) from the Late Triassic of Argentina and its phylogenetic implications....
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Please don't eat the petunias
Since the Phactors were not cooking a whole dinner for Thanksgiving, some late season yard work was possible, and to make way for holiday greenery Mrs. Phactor summarily ended the petunia's...
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Fox squirrel
Here's one of our big garden problems. One of the dozen and a half or so fox squirrels that live on our estate. Of the three species of squirrel that live in eastern N. America, this is the largest...
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The network of scientific journals
At the beginning of 2012, Science published a briefly paper about the coercitive action of the editors in most of the scientific journals in world:We find that coercion is uncomfortably common and...
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Black Friday - Green Saturday
After shopping until you dropped yesterday on Black Friday, a event religiously avoided by TPP, the Christmas season officially begins. This means that people will be shopping for a conifer tree. It...
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Maryland puts football ahead of academics - again
It's holiday season, and here in the U.S. that means one thing: football! Right? I mean, what could be more important than football? At least that's what the president and regents of the University...
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Hack Your Wallet: Crisp Bills Are Harder to Spend
Do the strains of Bing Crosby's Christmas standards make you throw cash at salespeople until they give you something you can leave the mall with? Are pricey, between-department-store lattes your early...
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Doom Looms - end of the semester version
While looking forward to the end of the semester, the last couple of weeks are not the Phactor's favorite time of the semester because now it all comes home to roost and you end up explaining the sad...
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Thinking about the vagina
I spent the better part of several days last week discussing a fungus that lives in the vagina. I invited a seminar speaker, who studies Candida albicans colonization of mucosal surfaces, which...
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Gender and Academic Publishing
Are female researchers well represented as authors of publications in your academic discipline? Ever wonder about the gender differences across different academic fields? A group of scientists asked...
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USA Exceptionalism
The Phactor likes the USA as much as anyone, it has come good qualities and some good opportunities, some in education, but you try not to let that feeling blind you to its obvious faults and even the...
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Nutmeg - a sordid history
Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) is without doubt the Phactor's favorite plant and the nutmegs his favorite plant family. Yes, magnolias are a big deal too, but primarily because you can't grow nutmeg in...
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Why not to do a PhD if you want to become a writer
I got an email from a friend who is a chemical engineer that said: “I am considering doing a PhD in marketing”. The last I spoke to him he wanted to pursue a career in science writing. So I inquired...
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