via Accelerating Science » Amanda Maxwell http://ift.tt/1MXfv4o
Once the Ebola virus (EBOV) gains entry and infects a host cell, a cascade of virally induced events switches the host to production of virus particles, thus propagating the infective process. Although much is known about the pathways involved, some missing steps still need to be uncovered. For this reason, Leung et al. (2015) used EBOV viral Read the rest of this article
A day lazily started.
We lounged on our last day, abandoning one plan and taking up a new one.
Another cable car start to the day, heading down Powell Street to Market, then over to the southside for Yerba Buena Gardens. We spent most of the midday at the Childrens Creativity Museum where the Wee Guy took advantage of the projects to create his own stop motion animation and a music video.
As with most activities designed for kids, there isn't a huge emphasis on extending attention spans, completion of projects, repetition and improvement, diligence, assimilation, perseverance ... I worry that society is conspiring to make my child feel that everything will be handed to him on an easy-feed plate, pre-masticated and perhaps even digested.
mr ebb and I had the most fun making the clay figures for the stop motion, coaxing lumps of clay around wire armatures. Meditative.
not quite Aardman
The end results - the movie clip - was satisfying too.
The fast immediacy and pace left us exhausted before we sped on to the next and the next ...
We called a halt for lunch and a ride on the Zeum Carousel before resuming in the museum.
Eventually we escaped, ending the day as always with a trip to Humphrey Slocombe for ice cream :)
This time, we spent a little time wandering in the Ferry Building, picking up ingredients for dinner before heading back home via the California Streetcar.
coding with friends
4D Studios crew hard at work
Dinner with friends followed by more trips down memory lane, then Zzzzs.
All packed and ready for an early off. :(
Itinerary day three:
Cable car Powell-Mason to Fisherman's Wharf area to pick up bike hire (one single, one tandem again), and meet up with Richard and Sarah for our epic ride over the bridge into Sausalito. Holly and Paula to walk/bus/taxi.
Amazingly, we all managed to meet up at our various gathering points before and during the ride. Great views, easy cycling with only a few uphill patches - easily managed with a very efficient set of gears on my bike. mr ebb and the Wee Guy look like tandem pros now.
Brdge traffic - only east side open, therefore stop/start pedaling among walkers. And look out for the Serious Road Cyclists who will keep to their training speeds regardless of how much path is open to them (lycra twats!).
The descent on the north side of the bridge into Sausalito is steep but not too scary, with only a couple of narrow areas to watch out for autos. Made it to the centre and found the ferry building. Holly and Paula caught a taxi from the bridge end.
So - Sausalito Ferry System = big disappointment.
Timed ticket system = nowhere in sight.
Ferry company's answer to absent timed ticket system = stand in the full sun for over an hour to ensure you and your bike get on the ferry back to SFO.
A big fat bollocks to that one.
We chained our bikes en masse in the queue then left for shade/liquids/solids at a nearby cafe, returning just in time to untangle the bikes and embark.
Awesome bridge and Alcatraz views from the ferry, then thrilling return ride from the Ferry Building to Pier 39 area to return the bikes. Return to Ferry Building (for mmore ice cream) on the totally cute F line trams.
Cable car journey number 5 or 6 (losing count now, but the CityPass has been totally worth it for cable car alone) to Trader Joes to gather supplies; meal out at the Nob Hill Cafe (awesome pizza and carpaccio) then a trip down Memory Lane before zzzs.
Till day 4.
another awesome SFO sight: naked men on bicycles (look very closely!)
via Accelerating Science » Amanda Maxwell http://ift.tt/1JpYyNI
Although many lay readers consider stem cells as active only in the developing embryo, where they create new organs and body parts out of the conceptus primordial cellular soup, researchers now understand that stem cells play an equally important role in older bodies. Zhang et al. (2015)1 further add to this knowledge in their paper Read the rest of this article
Day two started as per day one - earlier than we expected for a holiday. Since mr ebb and I like to lay like slugs on days we do not have to work, rising around noon is common. Not this morning. We were out on the streets by 10:30am, heading northwards by cable car (side note: it's well worth grabbing a city pass or transit passport if you plan to take lots of cable car trips and visit a few attractions).
First stop - Lombard Street.
No skateboarding - for reals. It would be a truly crazy longboard route.
Then onwards, heading east all the way down then up Telegraph Hill to the Coitt Tower. Many thanks to the lovely man out sweeping his front step who told us about the steps on the other side of the hill that would take us down to Embarcadero.
The view from the top of the tower was worth the wait - 360 degrees of city and blue skies and bridges.
Lunch at Fog City - just the right amount of cesar salad, fries, cheeseburger, tuna melt and greens. Mmm!
Followed by more than two hours at the Exploratorium - Science World: why can't you be as educational as this place? Why do you have to pull for gimmicks, clickbait and sensationalism, dumbing the science down until it is all just whiz - bang - 'geethat'sawesome' inspirationaless flavourless pap that numbs the masses? /rant
Followed by ice creams at the intriguing Humphry Slocombe in the Ferry Building - oolong tea and nectarine plum for me; hot banana and vietnamese coffee for mr ebb; toast and jam with fudge sorbet for the Wee Guy.
Then just in time to meet up with friends from the UK finishing off the last US leg of their trip - meal out in Chinatown with ice cream and beer and wine back at the apartment.
Zzzzs.
accepting dog into my life has been a great move :)
One last post (maybe) on life as a newly minted 50-year-old.
'Tis true - the 'notgiveafucks' are strong with this decade, as is the 'love the bod you're in' and 'celebrate the jiggles'.
While I'm still searching for the elusive work:life balance and feel the need to stay healthy|active|alive more keenly, I feel less likely to compromise or to give shits about anything other than my immediate nearest and dearest when they are in the line of fire. The preservation of self is closely tied with the immediate nearests and dearests, so prioritising self makes self sense in a selfish selfless way.
Yes?
Well, don't sweat it if you don't understand.
PS: birthday treats tally so far - two meals out :), chocolates, a new android tablet, a decrease in meals cooked by me, lots of putting my feet up while others slave around me, flowers (lots, and still more to come), cocktails (two big ones) ...
via Accelerating Science » Amanda Maxwell http://ift.tt/1JzBtJZ
It’s summer and strawberries are on the menu – Wimbledon, Pimms, strawberry lemonade and all that jazz – but how do producers keep these succulent fruits in tiptop condition? Understanding more about how strawberries and other soft fruits mature during storage might lead to better environmental conditions that could preserve crop quality for consumer acceptance. Read the rest of this article
So far - 3 cable car trips; one Muni tram ride; one bus ride; ice creams; beach; museums = 1; Trader Joes = two visits
Not too late a start this morning - total surprise!
We caught a bus out to Haight Ashbury to pick up our bike rentals from San Francisco Bike Rentals (one comfort bike; one tandem!). I think this is the first holiday I've ever used the GPS on my phone to navigate on public transit. Before we flew out, I moved providers to Wind then picked up their Unlimited US Roaming package - so far (and I haven't seen any extra billing), it's working well. Seeing where we were going in real time, following the blue dot on Google Maps, is an interesting and less stressful way to travel.
By bike through Golden Gate Park for lunch by the beach - it's a fun and not too taxing ride along flattish trails and bike routes. Apart from a hissy spat from the Wee Guy about riding tandem, we sailed plainly. Comfort bike? - er no; my sit bones...
racing towards his prize: you cannot believe how excited this chap was to get into the museum
waxy monkey tree frogs relaxing
After lunch, we pedaled back through the park to check out the newly-remodeled-to-me California Academy of Science. Apart from missing the Larson exhibition, all was good. We did our Pacific NorthWest due diligence by experiencing an earthquake; we waved at the fish in the aquarium and ascended among the butterflies in the rainforest canopy; we topped out on the Living Roof, making notes on the drought resistant plants thriving in situ.
soda and ice cream bar (returning for the grown ups sodas on sale soon, i hope)
After returning the bikes, we managed a traditional upside down dinner by having ice cream sandwiches at The Ice Cream Bar on Cole Street, before catching a street tram back to the Powell Street cable car turntable to catch a ride up the hill to go home.
And this turned out to be an unexpected highlight of the day. Not only did we managed to grab the outward facing seats on cable car one, but we stood on the running boards on car number two. The Wee Guy's face was a picture as we clanged down the gradients, with him safely confined in mr ebb's arms.
Stopped by Trader Joes for a pizza for dinner and then back to the chardonnay for the evening.
Day one - done.
via Accelerating Science » Amanda Maxwell http://ift.tt/1NncETV
Since 2006, the United Kingdom’s UK Biobank project, a population-based repository, has collected samples from more than 500,000 donors. With a focus on untangling the complex aetiological web surrounding middle- and old-age diseases, the biobank serves the research community with full open access to samples, data and publications. A report written by past and present members of Read the rest of this article
via Accelerating Science » Amanda Maxwell http://ift.tt/1JjQVVU
As part of the fining process, wine manufacturers use caseins and caseinates to precipitate phenolics and other flavor-busters from wine. Although these agents, derived from bovine milk, are food grade and approved, the subsequent filtration and decanting steps may still leave sufficient traces to cause reactions in sensitized individuals. Since June 2012, European Union regulations Read the rest of this article
via Accelerating Science » Amanda Maxwell http://ift.tt/1JcGzLN
Wang et al. (2015) used two similar breast cancer cell lines to investigate the proteomic changes associated with, and potentially responsible for, resistance to chemotherapy. By investigating the differences at the translational level, the research team sought to characterize pathways that might present new insights of potential therapeutic importance in this disease. Adriamycin is an anthracycline Read the rest of this article
I guess this should in theory be my last friday forte, if I want to stay mildly accurate to the title (more on this later - stay tuned - don't you just love ambiguous posts?)?
"in which i blog about
my mid life crisis
my attempts to find peace and harmony as a SAHM
my attempts to re-launch myself into the workplace with minimal disruption to family life
my fledgling craft and design business
... in other words, and in summary, my attempts to craft in, around, and in spite of my family in an effort to stay sane."
I suppose however, that I'm still blogging about the same journey - it's just the title that might have to change to reflect a new decade. If I look back over all the friday forte posts I've written, there is a sense of progression, a little like the series of self portraits in the pic above that I created over a week's blissful two-hours-a-day art workshop.
It's still a journey, a voyage of discovery - when do I get into port?
shut-eye art in progress: how do you draw eyes closed?
Catching up here, summer is moving too fast too slow to paraphrase my favourite song, so I'm getting the thoughts/ shares down this Saturday morning.
Above? Just wondering - relishing my two hours of art per day summer break. I closed my eyes, clicked the shutter and then tried to re-create the eyelids on canvas.
It's what you see - how you notice, and frankly for the last year or even more I haven't slowed down to notice. Taking its toll.
But
There has been payoff.
I'm writing more than ever - my main intention - and being paid for it.
I'm enjoying the text-to-screen-then-submit.
I'm back in the world of science once more, and loving picking up where I left off.
Freelance writing is working out well so far - long may it continue.
It's busy though - the days are just packed, and I'm wishing I could get back to the Calvin and Hobbes version of this.
So, in summer mode I can see where the gaps in my day-to-day are, and I'm not talking about gaps to fill with work here. I'm talking about the gaps in the work-life balance that have built up over the last few years. OK - I'm getting a little nervous about plugging these gaps once school restarts in September (for the Wee Guy, not for me ... yet), as the workload | responsibilities | tasks thing never seems to decrease.
I know I can fit the work in, complete my hours for freelance this and contract that ... but how do I make sure that the headspace and creative and exercise time fits in too?
via Accelerating Science » Amanda Maxwell http://ift.tt/1N2Jdq5
Liquid biopsy is becoming a popular item on clinicians’ current wish lists, with the technique showing great potential for diagnostic and prognostic evaluations. Unfortunately, rare cells such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs) or stem cells that are the target of such biopsies circulate in such low abundance that detecting them is extremely difficult without extensive Read the rest of this article
via Accelerating Science » Amanda Maxwell http://ift.tt/1Mfvr1y
Histone proteins, key components of chromatin, exhibit some interesting regulatory features involving the N-terminal tail. Sidoli et al. (2015) looked at how researchers examine these features proteomically, comparing middle-down proteomics with bottom-up preparation.1 Post-translational modifications (PTMs) of histone protein N-terminal regions constitute a regulatory feature that controls cell nuclear events such as gene expression and DNA repair. Read the rest of this article
