2008
- Lasker 2008 Basic Medical Research Award [∞]
An interview with Victor Ambros, David Baulcombe, and Gary Ruvkun. I love the video montage of the three researchers walking in their labs.
- Mesko prevails from Romania into the Maize and Blue [∞]
Zoltan Mesko has overcome hardships and long odds to become the starting punter at Michigan. He’s a favorite of the student section, and even has his own t-shirt tribute.
- Diplo, Switch, and M.I.A. Takeover on Giles Peterson [∞]
The Mad Decent Worldwide Podcast has the BBC Radio 1 takeover recording from September 11th. It’s a great set featuring some unreleased M.I.A. tracks.
- Factory and Hacienda Special Essential Mix [∞]
Pete Tong and Mike Pickering serve up a two hour tribute to Manchester’s musical pioneer, Tony Wilson. Some of my favorite tunes are on the Factory label, making this one of my favorite Essential Mixes.
- Hello from A2 [∞]
Google’s AdWords division reporting from Ann Arbor:
We set up shop in Ann Arbor, Mich. nearly two years ago. And we’ve been so busy, we’ve barely had time to say hi. But before we tell you about the interesting things we’re doing in our new location, we figure you might want to know a little bit more about our state and our town.
If you take a look at the employee photo, everyone looks pretty young.
- The human lifespan: how far can you go? [∞]
Nature posted a nice aging review article by Jan Vijg and Judy Campisi on its web site today.
- ESPN on Phelps playing for Michigan [∞]
What would Michael Phelps look like wearing a winged helmet instead of a gold medal? Phelps is 6-foot-4 and nearly 200 pounds of hulk. His wingspan stretches from hash mark to hash mark, and his body fat is lower than Minnesota’s winning percentage. There’s a guy that any football coach would love to have.
Since Phelps trains in Ann Arbor, surely Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez has dropped a hint. He is starting five freshmen in the Wolverines’ debut of his no-huddle spread Saturday against Utah. One more novice — one who would challenge Tiger Woods on the competitive spectrum — couldn’t hurt.
“Oh, I would put him at wide receiver,” Rodriguez said. “With those long arms, he’d be perfect.”
- New theory on DEET: mosquito just dislikes it [∞]
Earlier this year, researchers announced they had solved a mystery: how DEET works. DEET, the most popular mosquito repellent, jams odorant receptors in insect nervous systems, masking other odors that attract the bugs.
Not so fast, say Walter S. Leal and Zainulabeuddin Syed of the University of California, Davis. In a paper in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they have a simpler explanation. Mosquitoes, they say, smell DEET directly and avoid it.
All I know is that DEET is tremendously useful here in Woods Hole.
- The hunt for cyclin [∞]
Tim Hunt discovered cyclins at the MBL during the summer of 1982. This work led to the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. I’ve been attending the MBL aging course, and found it to be a funny coincidence that the article came out in Cell this week.
- Randy Pausch died today of pancreatic cancer [∞]
An inspiration. I aspire to live life as optimistically as he did.
- Reporting from Camp Barwis [∞]
Hobson says of the new Wolverine staff, adding that Ann Arbor could have a Miami-like appeal amongst NFL players hoping to get in better shape during the off-season. “Word is going to get around, and that can only help the program when young recruits see a Braylon Edwards coming back here to train.
- The origin of Michigan’s winged helmet [∞]
The current Princeton helmet is patterned after the design which originated at Princeton but is most often associated with its 60-plus year run at Michigan. Princeton Coach “Fritz” Crisler is credited with designing the “winged” helmet in 1935 with the intention of helping his quarterbacks detect their receivers downfield; most teams’ helmets were bland and indistinguishable at that time, and Crisler’s design was one of the first to bear some distinction. The triangular shapes are said to represent the folded-back ears of a tiger, while the three stripes imitate those on the animal’s body. Although these features are purely ornamental on modern helmets, they coincided with physical features of the helmet during the 1930s. Crisler took the design with him to Michigan in 1938, and, as I understand it, Princeton ceased to use it at that same time.
- Unrepentant on Facebook? Expect jail time [∞]
The judicial system at its finest.
- Keys to the City Philly [∞]
Great mix from Diplo [Mad Decent] and ?uestlove of the Roots.
- WordPress for iPhone [∞]
The free, open source application will be available on iTunes shortly.
- Howland agrees to 7-year deal [∞]
The deal, which adds one year onto the agreement he signed last October, runs through the 2014-15 season and includes a guaranteed $1.97 million for next season, rising to $2.3 million in the final year of the contract. The incentive package from his previous agreement, a maximum of $235,000, is retained in the new contract.
[...]
“I have said this before, but there is no place I would rather be coaching than UCLA,” Howland said. “I grew up a Bruin basketball fan and this is my dream job.”
- EndNote X1 now supported in Word 2008 [∞]
I can finally remove Office 2004 from my PowerBook.
- The Verve unveil reunion album details [∞]
Fourth? They should have titled it Portishead Knock Off.
- The cost of the $199 iPhone: $10 more per month for data [∞]
[...] consumers will now pay $30 a month for unlimited data service from AT&T, compared to $20 under the plan introduced last year. So even though the phone will now cost $200, consumers will be out more cash at the end of a two-year contract compared to the previous deal.
Of course, that includes faster 3G data service, so the price increase may be worth it. But we should call it an iPhone price increase, not a cut.
I’ll hold on to my iPod touch and cheap cell phone, thanks.
- Nobska Lighthouse [∞]
Lovely photo of the famous Woods Hole lighthouse. I will be visiting the area in August.