How It Works: Surface Plasmon ResonanceMany functional proteomic technologies require time-consuming labeling steps and still produce little more than yes or no answers as to whether proteins interact. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) allows for label-free detection in real time and provides rich information about the interaction kinetics. Under total internal reflection conditions, light shining at a specific angle at a thin film of gold between two media with different refractiv

We've linkurl:written in the past;http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/24535/ about Randy Jirtle's agouti mice, which are a neat animal model for epigenetic change. Feed adult mothers a methyl-rich or genistein-rich diet, and DNA methylation lowers expression of the agouti gene in their offspring, shifting their coat color away from the classic agouti yellow and also protecting from obesity, which is associated with normal expression of the gene. Jirtle and colleagues have a new study

With Darwin day celebrations going on around the world, people are looking back on a man that changed science as part of a larger cultural revolution away from using theology to explain natural phenomenon and toward a more secular thinking. One wonders, however, where the next such revolution might take place. From where will the next groundbreaking scientific discovery that truly challenges the tenets of our social understanding come from? I'd offer -- linkurl:and I know I'm not the first;htt

Virgin's millions are up for grabs. What's a biologist to do? Tycoon Richard Branson offered another $25 million to combat global warming (he pledged $3 billion in September). This time he's taking a page from X-prize folks, offering the money as a prize for the best design of a plan for removing ?significant volumes of anthropogenic, atmospheric greenhouse gases.? Although the official rules are a bit hazy on what a ?significant amount? means (they are far less hazy on publicity rights and s

The NIH National Library of Medicine posted an extensive collection of linkurl:Rosalind Franklin's correspondence and lab notebooks;http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/KR/ online. In addition to documenting her work on the structure of Tobacco Mosaic Virus with J.D. Bernal and some of her other important scientific contributions, several sources pertain to the linkurl:now infamous;http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/15789/ years from 1951 to 1953; spent at J.T. Randall's lab in King's College.

Peering into Carnegie A culture of tough but supportive scrutiny has propelled imaginative research at the nearly 95-year-old embryology department in Baltimore. Will a modern architectural makeover change the science?By Brendan Maher ARTICLE EXTRAS 1 Sánchez Alvarado says the two have since essentially tripled the flatworm research community with their trainees. Spradling

Research goes flat By Brendan Maher ARTICLE EXTRAS Feature: Peering into Carnegie Slideshow: A tour of Carnegie Institution of Washington embryology department Video: See the flatfish metamorphosis with commentary from Alex Schreiber Top Ten Lists: Research from the Embryology Department The Yale Embryo, circa 1934 A Poem on the Youngest Embryo by Elizabeth Ramsey

Places and FacesSenior Editor Brendan Maher travels to Baltimore to visit the nearly 95-year-old Carnegie Institution of Washington embryology department, now situated in brand new digs on Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus. var FO = { movie:"http://www.the-scientist.com/supplementary/flash/42935/carnegie_ss.swf", width:"550", height:"510", majorversion:"8", build:"0", xi:"false"}; UFO.create(FO, "ufoDemo"); Please download the Adobe Flash Player to view this c

Elizabeth Ramsey (1906-1993) discovered a 14 day-old embryo in 1934 that helped launch her career. Credit: © CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON" />Elizabeth Ramsey (1906-1993) discovered a 14 day-old embryo in 1934 that helped launch her career. Credit: © CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON In 1934 Elizabeth Ramsey a recent Yale graduate was performing an autopsy on a young woman at New Haven Hospital when she discovered a tiny blob that would help define her career. The blob, an appar

Carnegie Staff Associate Alex Schreiber talks about the amazing metamorphosis of flatfish.Related Articles Feature: Peering into Carnegie Research goes flat Slideshow: A tour of Carnegie Institution of Washington embryology department Top Ten Lists: Research from the Embryology Department The Yale Embryo, circa 1934 A Poem on the Youngest Embryo by Elizabeth RamseyVideo courtesy Alexander M. Schreiber. Visit his Web Site at Carnegie Institution of

Top Ten Lists: Research from the Embryology Department Peering into Carnegie Research goes flat Slideshow: A tour of Carnegie Institution of Washington embryology department Video: See the flatfish metamorphosis with commentary from Alex Schreiber The Yale Embryo, circa 1934 A Poem on the Youngest Embryo by Elizabeth RamseyCitation statistics are one, albeit imperfect, way to judge the research output of a given institution. A Web of Science search for papers containing the

Some data have shown, not quite conclusively, that the major histocompatibility complex profile of a man plays some role in the type of woman he attracts. Women prefer non-matching MHC profiles, sometimes, but not all the time. These preferences haven't been followed up much in those aspects that go beyond simple mate choice. A newly published study in linkurl:__Psychological Science__;http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0956-7976&site=1 looked at 48 couples in long-term relatio