Bench Press

In the spirit of Thanksgiving I’d like to give thanks to the many things science, tech, or otherwise that have provided me with a sense of wonderment, a moment of joy, a chuckle, or a LOL over the past year.

• I’m thankful for the rapid development of internet technologies which allow me easy access to a wealth of media (a.k.a distractions) from awesome experimental data to cultural gems like this.
• I’m thankful for the reference books, papers, and tools available on Pubmed, without which hours of toil may have turned into weeks or months.
• I’d like to give thanks to the many science blogs that populate my Google Reader. The science blogosphere is something I’ve found and come to love over the past year. From Aetiology to Mystery Rays from Outer Space (and everyone else in the blog roll!) the content, breadth and discussion continue to impress me day in and day out.
• I’m thankful that many scientists defy the stereotype of being resistant to change by actively taking a role in the adoption of internet technologies not only to alter the way they work or store data, but to advocate a revolution in the way science is communicated. Discussions about Open Notebook Science can only help the scientific process.
• I’m very thankful to those making use of their knowledge and experience to encourage future scientists and dispel myths in order to help educate the public.

Last but not least I’m thankful for my family and friends, especially my blog mates here at Bench Press and I’d like to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving!

Been on a blogging hiatus thanks to various lab issues that have cropped up over the past month. It’s amazing how much stuff one has to do to move a lab that hasn’t moved in 12 years… Anyway, here’s a few science tidbits that caught my eye over the past few weeks.

• Developing more efficient green technologies ftw.
• DARPA awards $1.95 million contract for developing “a ‘fieldable’ in-theather, culture-manufacturing system” for “blood pharming”.
• Having worked on drug discovery for HIV and now working on gene therapy vectors, this story in the WSJ about a bone marrow transplant curing a 42-year old of AIDS is remarkable and heartening.
• A troubling legal ruling about liability for generic drugs.