Cafe Body

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Proteins are the stuff of life. They are the eyes, arms and legs of living cells. Even DNA, the most iconic of all molecules in biology, is important first and foremost because it contains the genes that specify the makeup of proteins. And the cells in our body differ from one another–serving as neurons, white blood cells, smell sensors, and so on–largely because they activate different sets of genes and thus produce different mixtures of proteins.

Proteins are the stuff of life. They are the eyes, arms and legs of living cells. Even DNA, the most iconic of all molecules in biology, is important first and foremost because it contains the genes that specify the makeup of proteins. And the cells in our body differ from one another–serving as neurons, white blood cells, smell sensors, and so on–largely because they activate different sets of genes and thus produce different mixtures of proteins.

The fact that he’d stopped crying scared me. Damn rear-facing car seat. I couldn’t see him as I was driving to the hospital at 3 a.m. Now the hospital construction was making it impossible to find the entrance to the emergency room, let alone a place to leave the car. Getting out of the car and opening the back door, I saw that bubbles had gathered around my infant son’s mouth. His blue lips pushed forward in an odd pucker. His head bobbed violently with the effort of taking air.

The fact that he’d stopped crying scared me. Damn rear-facing car seat. I couldn’t see him as I was driving to the hospital at 3 a.m. Now the hospital construction was making it impossible to find the entrance to the emergency room, let alone a place to leave the car. Getting out of the car and opening the back door, I saw that bubbles had gathered around my infant son’s mouth. His blue lips pushed forward in an odd pucker. His head bobbed violently with the effort of taking air.

He is one of the world’s best known and most successful entrepreneurs, with hundreds of patents to his name–including the Segway scooter. But you will never see Dean Kamen in a suit and tie: the eccentric inventor dresses almost exclusively in denim. He spent five years in college before dropping out, does not take vacations and has never married. Kamen presides (along with his Ministers of Ice Cream, Brunch and Nepotism) over the Connecticut island kingdom of North Dumpling, which has “seceded” from the U.S. and dispenses its own currency in units of pi. Visitors are issued a visa form that includes spaces on which to note identifying marks on both their face and buttocks.

He is one of the world’s best known and most successful entrepreneurs, with hundreds of patents to his name–including the Segway scooter. But you will never see Dean Kamen in a suit and tie: the eccentric inventor dresses almost exclusively in denim. He spent five years in college before dropping out, does not take vacations and has never married. Kamen presides (along with his Ministers of Ice Cream, Brunch and Nepotism) over the Connecticut island kingdom of North Dumpling, which has “seceded” from the U.S. and dispenses its own currency in units of pi. Visitors are issued a visa form that includes spaces on which to note identifying marks on both their face and buttocks.

Doctors routinely urge their patients to quit smoking and exercise regularly. But what if there were a blood test that could show smokers and couch potatoes the damage their lifestyle was actually wreak­ing on their chromosomes?

Doctors routinely urge their patients to quit smoking and exercise regularly. But what if there were a blood test that could show smokers and couch potatoes the damage their lifestyle was actually wreak­ing on their chromosomes?

Something is disturbing the famed, majestic rings of Saturn as well as the lesser-known rings around Jupiter. The ring systems, which appear at first glance to be planar, wafer-thin bands of ice and dust, have on closer examination been found to be rippled, like a corrugated tin roof. [More]

Something is disturbing the famed, majestic rings of Saturn as well as the lesser-known rings around Jupiter. The ring systems, which appear at first glance to be planar, wafer-thin bands of ice and dust, have on closer examination been found to be rippled, like a corrugated tin roof. [More]

Your favorite coffee shop is crowded with harried people, and you are standing shoulder to shoulder in a slow-moving line. Each jostling shift of the crowd aggravates your severe social anxiety. You start gasping for air; your heart quickens and you want to run.

But you force yourself to stay. You manage that feat only because you are not actually there. You are living this experience through your avatar, an animation that represents you in a virtual environment. In reality, you have never made it to the counter during the morning rush; instead you bolt out the door in a sweat. But you can get there on a computer. The experience of watching your digital look-alike uneventfully reach the front of the simulated line and order a pretend drink is real enough, research suggests, to help you learn to cope with similar situations in the actual world.

Your favorite coffee shop is crowded with harried people, and you are standing shoulder to shoulder in a slow-moving line. Each jostling shift of the crowd aggravates your severe social anxiety. You start gasping for air; your heart quickens and you want to run.

But you force yourself to stay. You manage that feat only because you are not actually there. You are living this experience through your avatar, an animation that represents you in a virtual environment. In reality, you have never made it to the counter during the morning rush; instead you bolt out the door in a sweat. But you can get there on a computer. The experience of watching your digital look-alike uneventfully reach the front of the simulated line and order a pretend drink is real enough, research suggests, to help you learn to cope with similar situations in the actual world.

“That was a really impressive exam. Why don’t you write your dissertation on that subject? Let’s set up an appointment for you to come by, and we’ll talk about it,” said the professor to Nina after she completed a test.

Unfortunately, the up-and-coming mathematician was unable to take in and enjoy the compliment. Rather her head was full of thoughts such as “What a nice man, and he asked me such easy test questions. That was a close call! Now I’ve got to make sure not to talk shop with him because then he’ll realize that I faked it. He’ll see right through me.” By the time Nina had finished going through her well-worn mental routine, she realized that there was no way she was going to accept her professor’s offer.

“That was a really impressive exam. Why don’t you write your dissertation on that subject? Let’s set up an appointment for you to come by, and we’ll talk about it,” said the professor to Nina after she completed a test.

Unfortunately, the up-and-coming mathematician was unable to take in and enjoy the compliment. Rather her head was full of thoughts such as “What a nice man, and he asked me such easy test questions. That was a close call! Now I’ve got to make sure not to talk shop with him because then he’ll realize that I faked it. He’ll see right through me.” By the time Nina had finished going through her well-worn mental routine, she realized that there was no way she was going to accept her professor’s offer.

As workers race to stave off further melting at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors in Japan , several robots there are waiting on the sidelines for an opportunity to help. Questions remain, however, regarding how these units might assist in an ongoing emergency at a site contaminated with radiation and deluged with tons of corrosive seawater . [More]

As workers race to stave off further melting at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors in Japan , several robots there are waiting on the sidelines for an opportunity to help. Questions remain, however, regarding how these units might assist in an ongoing emergency at a site contaminated with radiation and deluged with tons of corrosive seawater . [More]

Two columns ago , I discussed evolutionary psychologist Gordon Gallup’ s theory about the possible adaptive function of homophobia, or, more broadly defined, negative attitudes toward gay people. Central to his position–which, he assures me, has not since wavered–is that homophobic responses "are proportional to the extent to which the homosexual [is] in a position that might provide extended contact with children and/or would allow the person to influence a child’s emerging sexuality." I also described a set of studies meant to test some hypotheses related to this theory, and which, according to Gallup, offered provisional evidentiary support.

Two columns ago , I discussed evolutionary psychologist Gordon Gallup’ s theory about the possible adaptive function of homophobia, or, more broadly defined, negative attitudes toward gay people. Central to his position–which, he assures me, has not since wavered–is that homophobic responses "are proportional to the extent to which the homosexual [is] in a position that might provide extended contact with children and/or would allow the person to influence a child’s emerging sexuality." I also described a set of studies meant to test some hypotheses related to this theory, and which, according to Gallup, offered provisional evidentiary support.

Think about the last time you got bored with the TV channel you were watching and decided to change it with the remote control. Or a time you grabbed a magazine off a newsstand, or raised a hand to hail a taxi. As we go about our daily lives, we constantly make choices to act in certain ways. We all believe we exercise free will in such actions – we decide what to do and when to do it. Free will, however, becomes more complicated when you try to think how it can arise from brain activity.

Think about the last time you got bored with the TV channel you were watching and decided to change it with the remote control. Or a time you grabbed a magazine off a newsstand, or raised a hand to hail a taxi. As we go about our daily lives, we constantly make choices to act in certain ways. We all believe we exercise free will in such actions – we decide what to do and when to do it. Free will, however, becomes more complicated when you try to think how it can arise from brain activity.