September 16, 2004

More Links

Posted by Susan

Like Ed and Matt, I've been really busy over the past couple of weeks, mostly with my prelim exam (which went well, hurrah). A few links until I can think in paragraphs again:

  • This one I found during prelims; I think I stumbled across it while looking for papers on aneuploidy, though I can't quite figure out how I got here from there. It's a neuroendocrinology paper entitled "Periodic emergence of great poets in the history of Arabia & Persia, China and Japan." The abstract reads:

    A periodicity of about 500 years has been discovered in the history of poetry and documented by means of inferential statistics. Great poets of Arabia, Persia, China and Japan emerged periodically every 500 years. Moreover, the waves of poetic creativeness in the West and in the East have been synchronous for the last 3000 years. It is a surprising fact, that this periodicity has been known already before 800 B.C. to the priests of Babylon, who ascribed it to the influence of goddess Inanna. A set of psychological symptoms typical for pubescence recurs on a global (worldwide) scale during these historical epochs every 500 years. One possible explanation would be to search for a cosmophysical factor, which impacts the neuroendocrine system of men.


    I'd be interested in seeing follow-up papers...
  • In Nature this week:

    • A special feature on the election discusses the candidates' stands on scientific issues (not just stem cells). Also, an election blog debuts.
    • A neat paper by Schimmel and Beebe on pyrrolysine tRNA synthetase which discusses the role of mRNA secondary structure in amino acid incorporation. There are some other interesting RNA-related papers (microRNAs!) in the Insight section.
    • Eugene Russo on the changing length of Ph.D. programs in the U.S. and Europe.

  • Not a new link, really, but by Kleckner et al, which explores the role of mechanical stress in chromosome function, is a great example of cool interdisciplinary research.
  • Oakdale and Broadway: dairy mecca? Already home to a seriously fantastic ice cream parlor/Belgian wafflery (Bobtail, featuring such flavors as "Signature Sunset"--merlot ice cream with dark chocolate flakes), this intersection now also features Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread, and Wine.
  • My new favorite thing: Strindberg + helium!!!

Posted by Susan at September 16, 2004 07:13 PM

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