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Biologist Bill Loomis on Life As It Is
UC San Diego cell biologist Bill Loomis explores the interplay of social issues, ethics and the biological sciences in his new book, Life As It Is: Biology for the Public Sphere (University of California Press, 2008).
At a time when the gap is widening between scientific discovery and what the public and policy makers understand about science, Loomis asserts that scientific evidence needs to be considered when making socially important decisions about such controversial issues as abortion, euthanasia, use of embryonic stem cells, cloning, and overpopulation.
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Biology and the FutureThe role of biological sciences in finding solutions to global health, environmental and economic issues. (12 min.)
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Olfactory Fine-Tuning Helps Fruit Flies Find Their Mates
Fruit flies fine-tune their olfactory systems by recalibrating the sensitivity of different odor channels in response to changing concentrations of environmental cues, a new study has shown. Disable this calibration system, and flies have trouble finding a mate, the researchers found.
Just like overly bright light can wash out a photographic image, strong smells can overwhelm the olfactory system and eliminate an animal’s ability to detect subtle differences, such as changes in concentration that would allow it to track a scent.
Now neurobiologists at UC San Diego, Stockholm University and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development have evidence that the fly nervous system can dampen its response to intense smells to prevent strong signals from overloading the circuits, they report in the July 31 issue of Neuron.
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While Socrates graduate students and teachers look on at Scripps Pier, Socrates Fellow Ignacio Vilchis explains how his doctorate research in ocean climate study is shedding light on bird and sea life in the southern Pacific.Bio Grad Students Megan Eckles and Sam Lasse Help Bring Research into Area Classrooms
Building upon the success of its BioBridge science education outreach program, the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) has this summer launched an enhanced initiative to further bring the excitement of scientific research directly into area high school classrooms. The new program has an interesting twist: participating UCSD doctoral students in research benefit as much as high school teachers and students.
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