Experts say they have found a "tipsy" gene that explains why some people feel alcohol's effects quicker than others.

The US researchers believe 10% to 20% of people have a version of the gene that may offer some protection against alcoholism.

That is because people who react strongly to alcohol are less likely to become addicted, studies show...

For more of the article click here

You do not necessarily need to do those tedious pre-med requirements to get into med schools these days. Many schools such as Mt. Sinai school of medicine admits a small number of students every year who have skipped all these requirements, including the MCAT exam. The program promises spots for about 35 undergraduates a year studying humanities or social sciences instead of the traditional pre-medical school curriculum. These undergraduates must have also maintained a 3.5 grade-point average.

Old Exams, Workshops, Reviews, Lectures, Quiz's

First Quarter Definitions

http://www.washington.edu/uaa/gateway/advising/downloads/gpamcat.pdf

If your getting tired of having those same old flowers on your table, or your getting worried your significant other doesn't like those red roses as much as you think they do why not try these.

-K.B.-

For those of you out there like myself studying for those upcoming final exams here is a little bit of help. I am sure many of you like myself have teachers that wrote the book and basically stand in the front of the room and read you their textbook. It may be nice to have the teacher do this for you, but in reality they aren't giving you any concrete notes making it harder to learn. Here is a list of some useful links to other schools organic chemistry notes which have been helping me a lot.

So I recently just put my bare hands into a tub of this on accident! Anyone that will take a Biology or Genetics Lab will probably come across this chemical.

Use: To detect nucleic acids in agarose gel's during electrophoresis.

Hazard: MUTAGEN!! when ethidium bromide makes its way into your cell it can slip in between your base pairs of DNA and affect replication and transcription .

For more information http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Ethidium_bromide

-K.B.-

The art of fingerprinting has been around since the early 1900's. To this day we still use Francis Glaton's (one of the first to discover) methods of dusting, reading, and comparing. However a new type of fingerprint is being researched for forensic use. As you know we all have millions of bacteria covering our body at any one time. It turn out this bacteria is unique to our own bodies and can be used to match people and create class evidence. Full story
-K.B.-

Maybe superman wore one of these under his costume. This new breakthrough is a boron layered shirt that can stop a speeding bullet. This is done by dipping a t-shirt into a boron solution, then heating it in an oven at more than 1000C. What happens is the cotton fibers change into carbon fibers.The carbon fibers react with the boron solution and produce boron carbide - the same material used to make bulletproof plates in armored vests. The material is incredibly strong and flexible enough that it can be worn. It can also block ultraviolet rays, and possibly life-threatening neutron. Don't worry this won't be the last time you hear about this new boron coating technique. If they could do this to a t-shirt just imagine the possibilities.



For more information on this:
http://www.news.com.au/technology/boron-treated-wal-mart-t-shirt-can-stop-speeding-bullet-says-scientist/story-e6frfro0-1225852806454

-MF

Finally a major step in recovery after a major injury has been removed. A new method of biodegradable screws has been created in order to help with injury recovery. This new screw encourages bone growth, so that a hole is not left in the spot where the bone was and eliminates the need to have multiple surgeries in order to remove the screws once the ailment has healed.

The screws take two years to completely biodegrade and does not leave a hole in the bone, like previous biodegradable screws formed of polylactic acid. This is a great step in the right direction, now only if they could finally finish developing wooden bones.

For more information on this:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27083_3-10461572-247.html%253Ftag%253DnewsEditorsPicksArea.0

-MF

Yes is true we all have a little Sonic in us! After a lengthy discussion with my Genetics Professor there is in fact a gene we all used at one point called Sonic Hedgehog. Mostly dealing with the development of limbs, Brain, and spinal cord. However it has also been shown to linked to so forms of cancer. This posses the question is it rite to name a gene after a fictional character or just for fun. How will people feel when they are told their sick due to Sonic Hedgehog?
FULL LINK

I always saw this in cartoons as a kid, but always wanted to know if it was true. Here is the break down of what actually occurs, along with the thermal conductivities of everything going on. Just in case you do not want to actually look through the diagram, yes this can happen to you. So next time anyone tries to fool you with this cartoon trick, don't fall for it. You may be stuck there for a while.

-MF

Pretty interesting article about how we will doom ourselves.

Check it out: http://brainz.org/15-ways-science-will-kill-us-all/

Hes a cool website I stumbled upon a few days ago. You can see the shells, spins, orbitals, etc. of different elements.

http://keithcom.com/atoms/

CLICK HERE

YOU HAVE ONE YOU JUST DONT KNOW HOW TO USE IT

Everybody has an old stethoscope lying around their house somewhere. Check out The Auscultation Assistant and begin preforming your own diagnossis on friends and families. Site includes heart and lung sounds and how to identify them. Percise areas where to listen for them and all the physiology to go along with it.

-KB-

No this is not a recent scientific breakthrough, this is just one of those reactions that all people should know. It is a simple single step, yes you read correctly, single step reaction that leads to the formation of a six membered ring. You may be wondering why is this an important reaction. Six membered rings are incredibly stable due to their low angle strain and great molecular orbital overlap and are all around us. All the reaction needs is a diene and a dienophile for this to occur and very little energy. These reactions form compounds that people take for granted. If you would like to test this experiment out for yourself it can be done very simply. All you need is some 3-sulfolene, maleic anhydride and dry xylene for the reaction. A reflux is done under gentle heat and thats it, to make the reaction go to completion. You may want to make sure that the solid maleic anhydride melts before the reaction goes to far or it may not all react with the butadiene formed from the 3-sulfone under heat. Causing some problems with correct yield. Other than that it's a simple reaction you should all try. Also dont forget to filtrate the reaction at the end to collect your product.

-MF

For more information on this reaction go to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diels%E2%80%93Alder_reaction

Some interesting pictures around the globe of this past snowstorm engulfing the Mid-Atlantic.

http://news.discovery.com/earth/snowstorm-winter-weather-snowpocalypse.html

For all of you students out there who need help with math of any sort, this is a great site to help aid in the process of learning.

Yes it does exist. For those of you that have no idea what this is (image on left) its the doomsday clock. The clock itself does not tell time, but since 1947 the clock has been kept and maintained. The famed workers of the Manhattan project thought of creating this symbol to set a standard of alert and time until the end of the world or a large disaster. The end being the symbolic strike to midnight. Since the establishment of the clock at seven minutes to midnight its time has fluctuated quite a bit going from the safest the world has ever been in 1991, seventeen minutes to midnight, to an all time low of two minutes in 1953. The clock has been adjusted according to nuclear threats over time, but since 2007 has included climate changes and nanotechnological threats. Its most current reading is six minutes to midnight as of January 14th 2010. The clock turning back may be a sign that the world won't be ending in 2012. Having the world end as I finish college would be horrendous. My whole life would have been spent in school, learning for nothing. But there may be hope that I may live in a time where I don't have class everyday. Yet again in the next two years the clock may fluctuate like a sine curve until our eventual downfall. Only time can tell what's in store for the future.

Doomsday Clock Timeline
http://www.thebulletin.org/content/doomsday-clock/timeline

-MF

Sheep gives birth to what looks like lamb body with human face

(full article) http://english.pravda.ru/science/mysteries/12-01-2010/111621-sheep_human_face-0

Women may think of men as primitive, but new research indicates that the Y chromosome -- the thing that makes a man male -- is evolving far faster than the rest of the human genetic code.

A new study comparing the Y chromosomes from humans and chimpanzees, our nearest living relatives, show that they are about 30 percent different.

The idea of a wooden bone may sound pointless, especially with all of the different metals and ceramic materials available for surgeries but its the future of medicine. Italian scientist have been devising this new method for some time now, where rather than using a metal bar to aid in the curing of a broken bone a artificial wooden bone is used instead. This would beneficial to all, just imagine a compound break for something like a collar bone and being able to have it as good as new within a week or two. The burden of having to remove excess metal plates would be removed completely and the cure time would be cut greatly, but for now this is only the future. Its only been tested on sheep as of now and it will be some time before you get this option from your local doctor.

For the full article :

http://news.discovery.com/tech/artificial-bone-made-wood.html

-MF

Scientist discover new ways of delivering injections to blood stream without needles.
Full story (popular science) http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-01/synthetic-skin-grafts-deliver-genes-therapies-straight-body-no-needles-necessary

For some reason this reminds me of " The Matrix".

Free Fun Game. Just Click Here To Play

The Lab Coat Confessions is a blog dedicated to discussing current medical topics, news, and events. We strongly encourage outside input and ideas in association with this blog.