Focus! (It Might Make You Happier)

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Sharon Neufeldt

ice cream mind wandering daydreamingOne great talent that humans have, as compared to other species, is the ability to think about the past, the future, and the imaginary.  We’re not restricted to simply thinking about whatever we see in front of our faces. Continue reading →

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The Future of Science?

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Sharon Neufeldt

Yesterday afternoon, the front headline of the New York Times online featured an article about science!  Ten well-established scientists from a variety of fields were asked what they think 2011 will bring in terms of scientific advances.   Continue reading →

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The Science Behind Barefoot Running

Posted on November 8, 2010 by Sharon Neufeldt

vibram five finger shoes

"Barefoot" (minimalist) shoes

The much anticipated New York Marathon took place yesterday.  News articles leading up to the event tended to focus on who would be runninge.g., Jared from Subway and Edison Pena from the Chilean mine, but at least one article hit on a somewhat controversial (and scientific!) topic in the running community – the barefoot running/minimalist shoe trend. Continue reading →

Posted in Current Events, Physiology | 5 Comments

Disabled Researchers and the Professor Paradox

Posted on November 5, 2010 by Sharon Neufeldt

Disabled Laboratory Researchers Purdue NIH Disability GrantThis week’s issue of Nature calls attention to a recently awarded NIH grant to promote diversity in the scientific workforce.  In particular, this grant will fund Purdue University’s new Institute for Accessible Science, which aims to understand the obstacles that researchers with mobility or visual disabilities face, and to develop solutions that enable these researchers to perform laboratory work with as little assistance as possible. Continue reading →

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Chemicals Among Us: Acetic Acid Top Ten Facts

Posted on November 4, 2010 by Sharon Neufeldt

Acetic acid in vinegarLike acetone in a previous post, acetic acid is another common laboratory chemical that makes frequent cameo appearances in your home.  Here are 10 – dare I say – “fun” facts about acetic acid that you may or may not know. Continue reading →

Posted in Chemicals Among Us, Chemistry, Fun Stuff | 3 Comments

Deforestation for Food: Impact on the Carbon Cycle

Posted on November 2, 2010 by Sharon Neufeldt

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that replacing rainforests with parking lots would be bad for the environment.  But what about clearing the natural flora in order to replant with a different type of vegetation? Continue reading →

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Just Enough to be Dangerous

Posted on October 30, 2010 by Sharon Neufeldt

As part of my endeavor to figure out how to explain what I do to non-chemists without resorting to lies and vague generalities, I sat down and thought about atoms and molecules. Though it was a big conceptual jump when I first began studying chemistry in high school, once I “got” the idea of atoms and molecules, everything else seemed like it was going to be more manageable. Continue reading →

Posted in Chemistry, Chemistry Basics | 2 Comments

Dissolving Bears and Limericks

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Sharon Neufeldt

Q: A bear from Yosemite and a bear from Alaska fall into a pool of water.  Which one dissolves first? Continue reading →

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Dad’s Bad Eating Habits Can Cause Metabolism Problems in Children

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Sharon Neufeldt

A recent study published in Nature reveals that a person’s risk of developing diabetes could be strongly influenced by their father’s bad eating habits back before he became a dad. Continue reading →

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Top 10 Things You Did or Didn’t Know About Acetone

Posted on October 21, 2010 by Sharon Neufeldt

The majority of people know acetone only as it relates to removing nailpolish.  Organic chemists like myself, on the other hand, would have a lot of trouble imagining life without acetone.   Continue reading →

Posted in Chemicals Among Us, Chemistry, Fun Stuff | 3 Comments

You Don’t Need Your Hippocampus to See the Future

Posted on October 20, 2010 by Sharon Neufeldt

Well, not see the future, but imagine it.  Brain physiologists in the past have proposed that the hippocampus is part of the network of brain regions responsible for the ability to remember the past and imagine the future.   Continue reading →

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Why Exams are Good For You

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Sharon Neufeldt

Although students tend to think that exams are merely an evaluation tool, a lot of research demonstrates that testing actually helps with the learning process.  Researchers Pyc and Rawson published a short article in Science exploring why testing is beneficial to memory. They found that testing helps students develop more effective mental “mediators” – or ways of remembering the material that they study. Continue reading →

Posted in Education | 2 Comments

Organic Chemistry, Jersey Shore Style

Posted on October 15, 2010 by Sharon Neufeldt

The cast of the strangely popular TV show Jersey Shore are known for their extreme obsession with tanning.  Earlier this year, Snooki switched from tanning beds to using spray-on tans, citing Obama’s tanning tax and “friggin’ cancer”.  Unlike UV light, sunless tans don’t stimulate the production of the brown pigment melanin.  Nor are they merely spraying on paint – the active ingredient is actually colorless. So what kind of chemistry is going on on Snooki’s skin? Continue reading →

Posted in Chemistry, Fun Stuff | 1 Comment

The Happiness Thermostat: Is it Adjustable?

Posted on October 13, 2010 by Sharon Neufeldt

Many things bring momentary pleasure, but it’s hard to assess what factors yield long-term happiness without doing a long term study. Well, the results of a very long-term study are finally in (published in PNASProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), and these results have the potential to overturn a long-standing happiness theory in psychology. Continue reading →

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Current Events: Red Sludge

Posted on October 11, 2010 by Sharon Neufeldt

Last week a massive spill of red sludge from an aluminum production company in Hungary killed several people and destroyed a tremendous amount of property.  Here’s a look at what this red sludge is and why it’s so bad. Continue reading →

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Pass Me the Insulin, I’m Glowing Again

Posted on October 7, 2010 by Sharon Neufeldt

New technology could allow for continuous blood glucose monitoring by checking if a patch of your skin is glowing or not.  A paper published in PNASProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week describes a development that sounds like a crazy idea… so crazy that it just might work? Continue reading →

Posted in Materials, Medicine | 1 Comment

Nobel Prize for Palladium!

Posted on October 6, 2010 by Sharon Neufeldt

The chemistry Nobel Prize was announced this morning, and my colleagues and I are thrilled that it went to some real organometallic chemists!  Even better, they were honored for their use of my favorite metal, palladium.

Continue reading →

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Fun Molecule: Ethanol Puppy

Posted on October 4, 2010 by Sharon Neufeldt

I first discovered the ethanol puppy when I was a sophomore in college.  While exploring the cupboards of a dingy office that I shared with the other lab TAs, I found this dusty old box with yellowed papers dating from the 1970s.  At the bottom of the box were a few pieces of an old wooden space-filling molecule kit. Continue reading →

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Science Fiction Coming True

Posted on October 3, 2010 by Sharon Neufeldt

Science fiction fans have long been enamored with the idea of microscopic submarines that could navigate the human body.  A recent publication in JACSJournal of the American Chemical Society demonstrates that this futuristic idea is not really so far off. Continue reading →

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Mini-Drama of a Fungus: Cooperation and Sacrifice

Posted on September 28, 2010 by Sharon Neufeldt

Certain types of mushroom-looking fungi reproduce by shooting thousands of spores out into the air all at once.  If they are lucky, the spores find an air current to ride far away to a new habitat, to start lives of their own.  It seems like a pretty straightforward game of chance for the spores, but as is usually the case in nature, there is more to the story than meets the eye. Continue reading →

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