Ireland’s First Bristlebot, New Arms Race?

An Irish researcher has developed the country’s first bristlebot –a technology previously only available to the US military.

The identity of the researcher however, is shrouded in mystery. The only evidence of the bot’s existence being a grainy video and a short email to this blog:

Bee Watch V: Colony Collapse Disorder, Is The Government Hiding Something?

 

Photo: April Sorrow / University of Georgia

The US government may be hiding information that implicates a common pesticide in colony collapse disorder, according to a lawsuit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

Bee Watch IV: Bees’ Brains Bolster Brain Science

 

High-res NMR scan of a bee’s brain. Photo: Journal of Insect Science.

A bee’s brain may be about the size of a sesame seed, but neuroscientists are increasingly turning to these microcosmic consciousnesses in their attempt to understand how the human brain operates.

Now, a brand new bee research facility for neuroscientists in Queensland, Australia has been opened with the intention of increasing our understanding of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s according to a report in The Age.

The $2.5 million All Weather Bee Flight Facility (AWBFF) is specially designed to help scientists to study how bee’s brains function and develop. Housed at a dedicated neuroscience research center (the Queensland Brain Institute), it is claimed that the AWBFF is the world’s largest indoor, climate-controlled insect flight-testing facility.

But why are neuroscientists so interested in bee’s brains? More on that (and other bee-brained projects) after the bump.

The Latest Voter Registration Tool? Your Xbox 360.

Thought you could escape Election ’08 by hiding away in a log cabin with your Xbox 360? Sorry, but you’ll have to do better than that according to this report from Gizmodo.

REDMOND, Wash. — Aug. 21, 2008 — A leading gaming and entertainment platform just became a leading platform for change. Microsoft Corp. and Rock the Vote today announced a groundbreaking partnership that will allow Xbox 360 owners to register to vote, participate in presidential polls and voice their opinions to the presidential candidates. It will all happen through Xbox LIVE starting Monday, Aug. 25, the first day of the Democratic National Convention.

“Xbox is a natural partner to help us reach out to youth voters,” said Heather Smith, executive director, Rock the Vote. “To realize our goal of registering 2 million young Americans by this fall, we need to go where young Americans are, and there’s no doubt in our minds that many are on Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE.”

3D Protein Encyclopedia Aids Wikification of Science, Sort of

 

 

 

Biomacromolecule image from The Royal Society of Chemistry. (Proteopedia uses special Java-enabled software to create its 3D, interactive models, so to view one, you will need to visit the Proteopedia.org site.)

Say hello to Proteopedia –a new online encyclopedia aimed at the scientific community that offers interactive, 3D models of different aspects of biomacromolecules. Biomacromolecules refer to proteins, lipids, nucleotides, and carbohydrates. We can think of them as large complex molecules and –because of their size and complexity– the arrival of an interactive 3D resource is sure to be of interest to scientists and students worldwide. Check out an introductory video here.