tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495309260486537612024-03-18T17:54:11.856-04:00Collections in the NewsThe blog for SciColl InternationalSciColl Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563459584123976171noreply@blogger.comBlogger250125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549530926048653761.post-7419259439609460042017-10-31T10:00:00.000-04:002017-10-31T10:10:47.885-04:00Grandma, what a big brain you have!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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All the better to survive with, my dear</h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://nlrobinson.co.uk/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="905" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsL8ockdnKt70emgAxWtBzVBDGDlBN0Ko9hRSBccIMJYUQPltuNpDkpfFR6Jgdahyqwd13jmff1IZA17RD6Vx-JD9YnEEXNQj0Tx58VQrEVPho5Iag52EqTbN_hXlw2xy742_9nRmXhuA/s640/Nicola-L-Robinson-Wolf-vs-Grandmablog.jpg" width="451" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://nlrobinson.co.uk/" target="_blank">Used with permission from Nicola L. Robinson.</a></td></tr>
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<i><b>Editor’s Note: </b></i><i style="color: black;"><span style="color: #3c5e6b;">SciColl held our first community workshop on <b><a href="http://scicoll.org/ed.html" target="_blank">Emerging Infectious Diseases</a></b> in October 2014. This October we're posting several pieces that highlight the important work where collections continue to play an integral role.</span></i><br />
<i style="color: black;"><span style="color: #3c5e6b;"><br /></span></i><i><b>Editor’s Note: </b></i><i style="color: black;"><span style="color: #3c5e6b;">SciColl intern, Ebubechi Okpalugo from Pembroke College, contributed this article as part of her time in the SciColl office during Summer 2017.</span></i></div>
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Sit down with a prehistoric relative of ours from the genus <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Homo</i> - their extinction making it
a lot easier said than done - and you’ll notice something significantly
different: their heads, and therefore brains, are a <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">fraction of the size of a modern human’s</span>. Why exactly did brain size increase? Quite simply, large and complex brains can process and store more information, which was hugely beneficial to humans as they developed skills and social interaction.<br />
<br />
The Smithsonian NMNH <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://humanorigins.si.edu/exhibit">Human
Origins exhibit</a></b> houses a collection of fossil skull remnants dating
back as far as 3 million years ago, as well as silicon reconstructions of early
humans. One can see a gradual change in facial features, body hair and most
significantly, head shape and size. Over the course of human evolution, it’s
found that <a href="http://humanorigins.si.edu/human-characteristics/brains"><b>brain
size tripled</b></a>, with the modern human brain being the largest and most
complex of any living primate. <o:p></o:p>But, size alone doesn't tell us much about thinking ability.<br />
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Here’s a bit of what we know. </div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">From 800,000–200,000 years ago, there was a dramatic increase in brain
size </span>(Figure 1). Smithsonian anthropologist and director of the Human
Origins program, <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Richard Potts</span>, noticed
this sudden growth occurred during a period of <a href="http://humanorigins.si.edu/research/climate-and-human-evolution/climate-effects-human-evolution"><b>dramatic
climate change</b></a>. At this point, an arid grassland environment was thought to
be the main driving force behind human specializations such as bipedal
locomotion, known as the <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">savannah theory</span>.
Carrying out field research in southern Kenya, sediment layers revealed the
periodic occurrence and disappearance of a great lake, as well as periodic distributions
of volcanic ash dated to 1 million years ago. This evidence of <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">dramatic changes in the environment</span> led
Potts to question how these frequent changes could support the theory of adaptations
towards one specific environment. Rather, perhaps the climate fluctuations resulted
in organisms having to increase their <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-and/climate-and-human-evolution">adaptability</a></b>
to survive. This concept came to be known as the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">variability selection hypothesis. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7-kkd_TJTEVWVtjuJQ4KoCDjh1_tEOzztTXNQKWWXLNwS-neH81j_QdCI5sx4xtfP7jsWXE0E-hZnNhf6SWSAYWk06iedeYcvpkJvRTKO27VsrMewFK478789JDJU28WmY9_QGfvWPM0/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-10-02+at+5.06.43+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="564" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7-kkd_TJTEVWVtjuJQ4KoCDjh1_tEOzztTXNQKWWXLNwS-neH81j_QdCI5sx4xtfP7jsWXE0E-hZnNhf6SWSAYWk06iedeYcvpkJvRTKO27VsrMewFK478789JDJU28WmY9_QGfvWPM0/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-10-02+at+5.06.43+PM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Fig. 1.</b> Top graph depicts fluctuation of the Earth's climate over the past 2 million years, highlighting an increase in fluctuations between 800,000 and 200,000 years ago. This was found throughout the study of fossils with tiny organisms found in ocean sediment cores, measuring oxygen within their skeletons to record oxygen stable isotopes.<br />
Bottom graph shows brain size increasing over the past 3 million years - particularly between 800,000 and 200,000 year ago. This graph was constructed through measuring the brain cavities of more than 160 early human skulls.<br />
Karen Carr Studio, 2016.</td></tr>
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The brain is our <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">organ
of plasticity</span>, allowing us to be flexible, an incredibly important
characteristic in the existence of our species. Potts suggests that ‘evolution
favored larger brains that helped humans cope with challenges posed by these
dramatic swings of climate’. As the climate and environment became more unpredictable,
a better memory, communication skills, and creativity enabled big-brained
humans to identify and remember new food sources and strengthen other methods
of survival. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">‘Survival of the </b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">fittest’
becomes ‘survival of the most flexible’. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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When asked what parts of the brain
were most important in this rapid increase in brain size, Potts replied that
it’s less to do with specific parts of the brain, but more to do with the <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">versatility of the connections. </span>In
chimpanzees and humans, the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">neocortex <a href="http://www.indiana.edu/~p1013447/dictionary/greywhit.htm">grey</a> matter</b>
is pretty much the same. However, the difference is in the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">white matter </b>(Figure 2), creating in human beings the potential of
all types of connections which allow us to be defined by so many different
expressions. Using neuroanatomical samples from the <a href="http://neurosciencelibrary.org/nmhm/nmhm-collections.html"><b>Yakovlev-Haleem
slide collection</b></a> at the <a href="http://www.medicalmuseum.mil/"><b>National
Museum of Health and Medicine</b></a>, a <b><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3478650/">study</a> </b>compares
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">myelin</span> in the human brain to
chimpanzee brain samples. It was found, that in chimpanzees, the density of
myelinated axons increased steadily until sexual maturity. In contrast, humans
showed slower myelination during childhood, but development continues beyond late
adolescence. This may provide more opportunities for social learning to
influence connectivity, contributing to our species-specific cognitive
abilities. Neocortical myelin development disruption has also been found in
some disorders which affect cognitive ability.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirH-PkubHjVeWboh09vdLsNcO0C-Fuq5lKr7e-JevQxT8ejKsNIv6AMWLvg_c3vkUavtkHsXOQCBeZ8nwohqNE_26We3aACXCjN1v_O3be7L4E8W1XHGtNMDi2b4b4QG6qeExHLNZ6Xnc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-10-02+at+5.12.09+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="179" data-original-width="499" height="114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirH-PkubHjVeWboh09vdLsNcO0C-Fuq5lKr7e-JevQxT8ejKsNIv6AMWLvg_c3vkUavtkHsXOQCBeZ8nwohqNE_26We3aACXCjN1v_O3be7L4E8W1XHGtNMDi2b4b4QG6qeExHLNZ6Xnc/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-10-02+at+5.12.09+PM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Fig. 2.</b> Image showing the neocortex, seen as the thin dark purple/grey (stained grey matter) layer on the surface of the brain. The white areas below are connecting fiber pathways (white matter).</td></tr>
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L<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">inking brain size with
intelligence</span>, Potts discussed the controversial nature of <a href="https://atlasofscience.org/global-warming-implications-for-human-brain-evolution/"><b>a
study</b></a> of 109 fossilized hominid crania over the past 2 million years. Using
the locations where the specimens were found, the paper claims that ‘as
seasonal variation in temperature due to distance from the equator increased,
there was a corresponding increase in brain size’. However, there is no mention
of comparison with lean body mass, with equatorial individuals tending to be
leaner and people in higher latitude environments having squatter body types.
It then goes on to correlate displacement from the equator with performance in
IQ tests, despite it being known that IQ tests are based on Westerns ways of
thinking and standards of intelligence. In the search for a reliable anatomical
measure for intelligence, there is a danger in trying to pin point one part or
characteristic of the brain to such a multi-faceted and abstract concept. Once
asked ‘what is intelligence’, Potts responded by saying <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">‘</b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">intelligence is doubting everything you think may be intelligent’</span>.
Certain parts of the brain definitely have their specialties, but with so many
ways of being intelligent or creative, we can only expect neuroanatomy to
reflect its intricacy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">References</b><b>:</b></div>
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Gallup, G. and Ash, J. (2016). Global warming: implications for human brain evolution. Atlas of Science, [online] p.1. Available at: https://atlasofscience.org/global-warming-implications-for-human-brain-evolution/ [Accessed 31 Aug. 2017].<o:p></o:p></div>
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Humanorigins.si.edu. (2016). Brains | The Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program. [online] Available at: http://humanorigins.si.edu/human-characteristics/brains [Accessed 31 Aug. 2017].<o:p></o:p></div>
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Humanorigins.si.edu. (2016). Climate Effects on Human Evolution | The Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program. [online] Available at: http://humanorigins.si.edu/research/climate-and-human-evolution/climate-effects-human-evolution [Accessed 31 Aug. 2017].<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="color: #0563c1; mso-themecolor: hyperlink;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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Scott, M. (2016). Climate and human evolution. Climate.gov, [online] p.1. Available at: https://www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-and/climate-and-human-evolution [Accessed 31 Aug. 2017].<o:p></o:p></div>
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Miller, D., Duka, T., Stimpson, C., Schapiro, S., Baze, W., McArthur, M., Fobbs, A., Sousa, A., Sestan, N., Wildman, D., Lipovich, L., Kuzawa, C., Hof, P. and Sherwood, C. (2012). Prolonged myelination in human neocortical evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, [online] 109(41), pp.16480-16485. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3478650/ [Accessed 31 Aug. 2017].</div>
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<h3 style="margin-top: 0px;">
Glossary</h3>
<b>Grey matter</b><br />
The cell bodies of neurons, which are grey in appearance.<br />
<b>Neocortex</b><br />
Often known as the "thinking brain," involved in functions such as sensory perception, cognition, generation of motor commands, spatial reasoning, and language.<br />
<b>Variability selection</b><br />
The idea that structures and behaviors which enable species to cope with a larger variety of different environments are favored, and therefore selected for.<br />
<b>White matter</b><br />
Axions extending from neuronal cell bodies connect neuron together, and are wrapped in myelin, which is white in appearance, providing insulation for the electrochemical signal.</div>
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SciColl Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563459584123976171noreply@blogger.com302tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549530926048653761.post-23464382474773576202017-10-24T10:00:00.000-04:002017-10-24T13:18:24.494-04:00Networking a Cure for HIV<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-72155803-de0c-375d-8866-09f0f79bd20c"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img height="140" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/2MMLtMIVsiJ0LG51zLJwzOQZ854cqdnERDQxgfLlGDpfRgBPrkx53W6UsaEUdgRl7dfPvoViy2CI9_Xl2dNiI5lAbI1GMZAd1JJKnlK-dOhNTNVHOYSxPcwd77I72t2CgFLd27qU" style="border: medium none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="230" /> <img height="140" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/6jNShnkj8AfOEg_IvpkJiQGp1PPpDx1kydPMcHZpwjuBuBxlw66SVcm1Og0ho7ccyiBtnmIx424yNwiMSvO2MTFXZQhGkoz_gOnYfW4nF6MyMtnIKY0Jo4PIEoSCWOaZ82W1cfeL" style="border: medium none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="230" /></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;"><b>Fig.1.</b> HIV illustration (left, credit: </span><i><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; widows: 2;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">©iStock.com/Rost-9D</span></span></i>) and receiving treatment (right, credit: <i>WHO</i>).</span><br />
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<i><b style="color: #3c5e6b;">Editor’s Note: </b><span style="color: #3c5e6b;">SciColl held our first community workshop on <b><a href="http://scicoll.org/ed.html" target="_blank">Emerging Infectious Diseases</a></b> in October 2014. This October, we're posting several pieces that highlight the important work where collections continue to play an integral role.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Editor’s Note: </b>SciColl intern, Eden Absar from the University of Houston, contributed this article as part of her time in the SciColl office during Summer 2017. </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>human immunodeficiency virus</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (HIV) is an enigma of an infection that has puzzled scientists, doctors, and researchers since the first presented case in the 1980s. Although the modern medical community continues to study it and gather information, a cure for the disease remains elusive. According to the </span><a href="http://www.pedaids.org/pages/about-pediatric-aids" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation</b></span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, as of 2015, there are nearly 37 million people worldwide who have been infected by HIV. Of that number, 1.8 million are children under the age of 15. In 2015, approximately 150,000 children were newly infected with HIV - a rate of nearly 400 new pediatric HIV patients every day. These numbers present a huge problem that appears to grow threateningly larger in the face of the lack of a cure for the disease.</span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A scientific collection program in Spain, the </span><a href="https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2334-13-2" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Cohort of the Spanish Pediatric HIV Network</b></span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (CoRISpe), aims to combat these growing numbers through the development of a country-wide biobank network. Currently, the prevention method of choice against </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>vertically transmitted HIV</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and HIV-infected pregnant mothers</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>highly active antiretroviral therapy</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (HAART). Because the effect of HAART on long-term health and survival of HIV-infected children is unclear, one of the main goals of CoRISpe is to track patients’ care across medical providers. They accomplish this through outreach and communication between a network of pediatricians and adult clinicians that works to ensure patients continue to provide samples to the biobank system throughout their lives. The program also aims to use biobank information and collected samples to enable high-quality and low-cost material for research studies. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4R6J0Rzl288nw4EXM3-A1oIKF_AfkEgZAUVw_1_FGkml0WNlA3sbY2wv08ROIwLyjHC0gWVm_h1BpD2t-5WIdhKqtxXeCgB1MBSI0HkHGH9AzjjfKpyAhWCMO2Z9oy0D3bz8VGc-QKK4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-10-02+at+4.21.21+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="284" data-original-width="607" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4R6J0Rzl288nw4EXM3-A1oIKF_AfkEgZAUVw_1_FGkml0WNlA3sbY2wv08ROIwLyjHC0gWVm_h1BpD2t-5WIdhKqtxXeCgB1MBSI0HkHGH9AzjjfKpyAhWCMO2Z9oy0D3bz8VGc-QKK4/s400/Screen+Shot+2017-10-02+at+4.21.21+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;"><b>Fig.2.</b> </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-72155803-debb-0ed7-1ad9-e911bbc03398"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The number of HIV-infected children in each region is shown by the colors indicated. The highest number of HIV-infected children can be seen in Catalonia, Madrid Community, and Andalusia. (<i>de Jose et al 2013</i>)</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Looking forward, a major goal of the </span><a href="http://www.who.int/immunization/topics/hiv/en/index1.html" style="text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>World Health Organization (WHO) is to develop a vaccine that will prevent the vertical transmission of HIV</b></span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Vaccine discovery is enhanced by the availability of samples from biobanks, as seen in the vaccine development for </span><a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/dm52sa.html" style="text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>polio</b></span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> or </span><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/history.html" style="text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>measles</b></span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. However, </span><a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.femsre.2005.01.005" style="text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>costs and other logistical concerns</b></span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> are major obstacles toward the creation of more national or regional biobanking facilities, so collaborative biobanking efforts in Europe, the United States, and Africa, as well as the Global Vaccine Enterprise, </span><a href="http://scielo.isciii.es/pdf/im/v8n2/03%20Esparza.pdf" style="text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>are working together to find an HIV vaccine</b></span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Another significant problem facing researchers is limited sample types in biobanks. This is of particular concern in developing countries where infrastructure, funding, and faith in the medical system hinder the systematic collection of samples. This is </span><a href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/46473732/Biobanks-in-developing-countries-needs-and-feasibility-2007.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1496257232&Signature=lkYySVQpIUv1EjMd52%2Frudeq9mc%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DBiobanks_in_developing_countries_needs_a.pdf" style="text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>seen in national biobanks</b></span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> such as The Gambian National Biobank which has a meager 57,000 samples compared to the U.K. Biobank which has nearly 500,000 samples or the Indian National Biobank which has between 2-3 million samples. However, if a collaborative network effort were implemented, this would diffuse the cost among many hospitals and create a connection to more rural areas that would not otherwise have the appropriate resources.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The development of networks and the leveraging of common resources is of paramount importance in the study of global diseases. Harnessing these resources could enable the discovery of treatment methods for diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Lou Gehrig’s and others that remain enigmatic to scholars around the world. The networking methods of CoRISpe can even be extended beyond biological ailments: scientific collections of all types would be enhanced by this style of communication, education, and utilization. The possibilities are endless and because biobanks can maintain samples for an indefinite amount of time, rese<span style="font-family: inherit;">arch utilizing these valuable resources can continue potentially forever.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">References</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">de Jose, M.I. et al. 2013. A new tool for the </span>pediatric<span style="font-family: inherit;"> HIV research: general data </span>from the<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Cohort of the Spanish Paediatric HIV Network (CoRISpe). <i>BMC Infectious Diseases </i>13(2). DOI: 10/1186/1471-2334-13-2</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">De Paoli, P. 2005. Biobanking in microbiology: from sample collection to epidemiology, diagnosis and research. <i>Microbiology Reviews</i> 29(5):897-910. DOI: 10.10116/j.femsre.2005.01.005</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Esparza, J. 2005. The Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise. <i>International Microbiology</i> 8(2):93-101.</span><br />
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<h3 style="margin-top: 0px;">
Glossary</h3>
<b>human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)</b><br />
a virus that can eventually lead to severe immunodeficiency (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), chronic illness, and death; HIV can be transmitted during sexual intercourse, pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and other forms of exposure to bodily fluids that carry the virus<br />
<b>vertically transmitted HIV</b><br />
also called mother-to-child transmission, this is a form of HIV transmission where a mother is HIV positive and has not received treatment, then the infection is passed to her child through pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding<br />
<b>highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART)</b><br />
a combination of antiretroviral drugs to suppress the HIV virus and stop the progression of the HIV disease, the treatment also stops the onward transmission of HIV</div>
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SciColl Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563459584123976171noreply@blogger.com169tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549530926048653761.post-22661415147400378532017-10-17T10:00:00.000-04:002017-10-17T12:04:36.367-04:00Scientific Collections vs. Pandemics: an unfair match?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fews.net/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/IMG_1178.JPG?itok=PvWHyhRW" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.fews.net/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/IMG_1178.JPG?itok=PvWHyhRW" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Fig. 1.</b> Ebola Signs and Symptoms.</td></tr>
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<div style="background-color: #f5f5f3; border-top-color: rgb(223, 223, 223); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; color: #3c5e6b; margin: -10px; padding: 15px;">
<i><b>Editor’s Note: </b></i><i style="color: black;"><span style="color: #3c5e6b;">SciColl held our first community workshop on <b><a href="http://scicoll.org/ed.html" target="_blank">Emerging Infectious Diseases</a></b> in October 2014. This October we're posting several pieces that highlight the important work where collections continue to play an integral role.</span></i><br />
<i style="color: black;"><span style="color: #3c5e6b;"><br /></span></i>
<i><b>Editor’s Note: </b></i><i style="color: black;"><span style="color: #3c5e6b;">SciColl intern, Ebubechi Okpalugo from Pembroke College, contributed this article as part of her time in the SciColl office during Summer 2017.</span></i></div>
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<v:imagedata src="file:////Users/grahame/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image002.jpg"
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<w:wrap type="tight" anchorx="page"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->Sweeping across three countries and
claiming over 11,000 lives, the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak is almost
impossible to forget. <b><a href="http://blog.scicoll.org/2014/09/disease-collections-and-how-they-can.html">First
identified in 1976</a></b>, in a remote village named Zaire in what is now the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Democratic Republic of Congo, there have been
multiple outbreaks of the virus since. But the 2014 pandemic, caused by the
Zaire strain, has been the most deadly. Striking on the border of three of the
poorest African nations, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, the virus spread to an
unprecedented scale. Liberia, the worst hit, was not officially declared Ebola-free
until the 13<sup>th</sup> of January 2016. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Could it have been
stopped quicker? </b>That’s where scientific collections come in.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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At first, natural history museums may seem entirely
unrelated to the relentless speed and devastation of an infectious disease
outbreak. When in fact, that’s where they’re <b><a href="http://blog.scicoll.org/2015/11/c-miguel-pinto-disease-detective.html">often
at their most useful</a></b>. During a pandemic, the first things to determine are:
the pathogen causing the disease, how it emerged, how it is transmitted and how
it can be maintained. If undocumented, acquiring this information under the
time pressure of trying to save thousands of lives can be almost impossible.
But the answers needed may be available <b><a href="http://blog.scicoll.org/2014/09/tracing-history-of-disease.html">within
scientific collections</a></b> of museums and research institutes. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Diane Diellius, who played a large role in the establishment
of <a href="file:///C:/Users/OkpalugoAO/Downloads/scicoll.org">SciColl</a>, recalls when a vaccine for MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome-related
coronavirus) was being developed and camels were of interest as they
transmitted the virus to human<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">. ‘Do you
happen to know anyone with a camel collection?’</b> her colleague asked – where
exactly does one start to look for this information?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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If continuous effort had been made to collect and maintain
field samples of infected human serum samples after previous smaller outbreaks
of Ebola, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the story of the 2014 pandemic
may have been very different</b>. Collections like these would allow the local
distribution of Ebola viruses to be identified, and tabs to be kept on new
mutations through <b><a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/tracking-2014-ebola-outbreak-through-its-genes-180952487/">genome
sequencing</a>.</b> Therefore through vaccinations and <!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
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<![if !mso]>
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<p class=MsoCaption>
Figure 2 – Bat specimens in the Smithsonian
Institution's National Museum of Natural History<o:p></o:p></p>
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o:spid="_x0000_s1026" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="http://www.nature.com/polopoly_fs/7.23724.1424171193!/image/Museum2.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_630/Museum2.jpg"
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->diagnostic tests, a possible outbreak
could have been predicted and prevented, or stopped much earlier in its tracks.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nature.com/polopoly_fs/7.23724.1424171193!/image/Museum2.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_630/Museum2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.nature.com/polopoly_fs/7.23724.1424171193!/image/Museum2.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_630/Museum2.jpg" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="630" height="218" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Fig. 2. </b>Bat specimens in the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These benefits can only be realized through continued <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">collaboration <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/113/1/4.full.pdf">between the public health
sector and the research communities</a></b> that rely on scientific
collections. Three years after <b><a href="http://scicoll.org/scicollpubs/EID_2015March.pdf">SciColl’s EID workshop</a></b>,
Diane discussed the advancements that have been made, but also ways in which
the movement for transparency across international collections has been
hindered. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">People cannot share or
collaborate if they aren’t speaking the same language</b>, and there’s the
issue of what taxonomy is used to classify objects within a collection, so
information can be shared homogenously. SciColl maintains a registry of
collections aimed at reducing this barrier, <a href="file:///C:/Users/OkpalugoAO/Downloads/grscicoll.org">GRSciColl</a>
(Global Registry of Scientific Collections), a consolidated and comprehensive
mass of information about scientific collections based from around the world. Globally,
there have also been efforts to try and identify and create a database of 99%
of all high-consequence viruses in wildlife hosts which are the most likely to
carry the next pandemic – <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the <a href="http://www.globalviromeproject.org/">Global Virome Project</a>. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, conflicting measures have developed at the same
time, such as the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://www.cbd.int/abs/about/default.shtml/">Nagoya Protocol</a> and the
Convention on Biological Diversity</b>, consolidating the rights of countries
to have control of their own resources. Despite their importance, they
contradict with SciColl’s aim of global sharing and international accessibility
across collections. For example, in 2007, Indonesia decided to <b><a href="http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1619229,00.html">stop
the sharing</a> </b>of virus samples with the WHO, with officials in Indonesia
expressing their anger that viruses from their country might be used to make a
commercial bird flu vaccine that they themselves would never be able to afford.
But with most of the recent bird flu cases occurring in Indonesia, their viral
samples are incredibly important in monitoring the evolution of bird flus that
have the potential for global impact.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The future of scientific collections depends on international
forums where people are talking about these issues, so that their full
relevance can be recognized, and
revered.<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">References:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
DiEuliis, D., Johnson, K., Morse, S. and Schindel, D.
(2016). Opinion: Specimen collections should have a much bigger role in
infectious disease research and response. Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences, 113(1), pp.4-7.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Walsh, B. (2007). Indonesia's Bird Flu Showdown. TIME,
[online] p.1. Available at:
http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1619229,00.html [Accessed 31
Aug. 2017].<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Thompson, H. (2014). Tracking the 2014 Ebola Outbreak Through Its
Genes. Smithsonian.com, [online] p.1. Available at:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/tracking-2014-ebola-outbreak-through-its-genes-180952487/
[Accessed 31 Aug. 2017]. <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
Spillover — Zika, Ebola & Beyond. (2016). [video]
Directed by J. Barrat. Chevy Chase, MD: Tangled Bank Studios. </div>
<o:p></o:p></div>
SciColl Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563459584123976171noreply@blogger.com116tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549530926048653761.post-33982412790959168802017-01-06T07:30:00.000-05:002017-01-06T07:30:18.930-05:00Best of 2016: Our Annual Report<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSss1_G4JErvfnhw_geXwhAeDkbXAUGy65ykpzMSQj9e6u8i_R8lEI3WJcvHtWztnljbv1Cck7zp1pmBOkb9kj5knkuGTBWn4CZhj_9dPKbLjmzcQ3KVphjtq0o_f_aXQptmYT4LKHuXuJ/s1600/annual+report.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSss1_G4JErvfnhw_geXwhAeDkbXAUGy65ykpzMSQj9e6u8i_R8lEI3WJcvHtWztnljbv1Cck7zp1pmBOkb9kj5knkuGTBWn4CZhj_9dPKbLjmzcQ3KVphjtq0o_f_aXQptmYT4LKHuXuJ/s400/annual+report.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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2016 was a great year for communication: we held a workshop on GRSciColl, we hosted three months of webinars on a wide range of topics, and we held a symposium on Food Security. The communities we developed around these main activities and our online outreach platforms engaged with us at every turn and we couldn’t have had such a successful year without you! <div>
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We’re please to share our <b><a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0Bxl6WUO_NrUxVGZmdnN4T2pYX1E">2016 Annual Report</a></b> and look forward to continuing our conversations in the year to come. </div>
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We’re always open, stop by the <a href="http://blog.scicoll.org/">blog for updates</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/sci_coll?lang=en">follow us on Twitter</a>, or <a href="mailto:scicoll@si.edu">contact us directly</a>.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06667861879611813130noreply@blogger.com699tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549530926048653761.post-77122803161039686282016-12-30T10:10:00.000-05:002016-12-30T10:10:16.415-05:00Best Of 2016: A year of visual communication<iframe align-="" align="center" allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//giphy.com/embed/Fp4pqaM0ejceA" width="480"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://giphy.com/gifs/Fp4pqaM0ejceA">via GIPHY</a><br />
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2016 rang in with a new medium for us at SciColl: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrTHy7C_4SgfRtbV9bQIRvVH5_cxduRK2">a video series</a>! This year we jumped feet-first into video profiles of folks working with collections every day. We inquired about how they use collections, who they collaborate with, and how collections-based research is unlike any other. The stories are as diverse as the collections, and we’re looking forward to bringing you more in 2017!<br />
<ul>
<li>Interested in plants and how to study the tallest trees in the forest if you can’t get to canopy? Check out <a href="http://blog.scicoll.org/2016/01/the-ultimate-identifier.html">The Ultimate Identifier</a>.</li>
<li>Flies are everywhere, but these kinds of flies are often easier to find in collections than the field. Learn more in <a href="http://blog.scicoll.org/2016/03/the-assassin-flies-of-entomology.html">The Assassin (Flies) of Entomology</a>.</li>
<li>What do archaeology, wildlife management and conservation genomics have in common? Check out <a href="http://blog.scicoll.org/2016/07/the-archaeogenomics-equation.html">The Archaeogenomics Equation</a> and learn how this interdisciplinary field got started.</li>
<li>We also collaborated with our friends at Biodiversity Heritage Library to revamp one of their 2014 blog posts into a video: <a href="http://blog.scicoll.org/2016/10/monsters-are-real.html">Monsters Are Real</a>. Is it just us, or do these monsters seemingly come to life when animated with an appropriate soundtrack?</li>
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Looking for more? We always are, and compile the best from around the web on our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmaxEXXSLGNUngWl8KabORw">YouTube Channel</a>. Come see what we have in our playlists:<br />
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<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrTHy7C_4SgeTsOs8L7eJpN3hQKTsTF9b">#ScientificCollections</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrTHy7C_4SgfMtCVPfw9_xFxcZLcgwPL8">#FoodSecurity</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrTHy7C_4Sgchp019Ur6Nzw96imH8ksIo">#EnvironmentalChange</a></li>
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We look forward to a blog-filled 2017 and hope you’ll continue to join us!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06667861879611813130noreply@blogger.com97tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549530926048653761.post-58276704233221726542016-12-23T09:58:00.000-05:002016-12-23T09:58:01.715-05:00Best Of 2016: Peeking behind the curtain<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqYWtqLm3DMvZ4hegt0_9DHZYwqgxogpQ6wcTa9xifFhAkDLoR7ZeEAlpM-l-YrLzZGQrKLHrPLUhkZC10ooC_dEFkf2NNlK3V616XYbNDY0bnWh9Bz3wXhiQjuPR5LDqva6Fsm6qqOlRV/s1600/bestof16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqYWtqLm3DMvZ4hegt0_9DHZYwqgxogpQ6wcTa9xifFhAkDLoR7ZeEAlpM-l-YrLzZGQrKLHrPLUhkZC10ooC_dEFkf2NNlK3V616XYbNDY0bnWh9Bz3wXhiQjuPR5LDqva6Fsm6qqOlRV/s400/bestof16.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In 2016, our most popular articles included a profile of David Inouye (left) leading up to our food security workshop; the engineering behind biorepositories; and a piece about the challenge in describing new or undescribed species.</td></tr>
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Without further ado, the end of the year “most read” list is here! Looking at the posts that captivated the largest audiences, it seems this year people were particularly intrigued by stories that pulled the curtain back on collections, their operations, and how to apply the information inside.<div>
<br />In <a href="http://blog.scicoll.org/2016/07/describing-undescribed.html">Describing the Undescribed</a>, we learned how to describe a new species with the particular challenge of ensuring you’re not re-describing an already named species. When working in small geographic areas or on a group of closely related species, collections can help researchers verify their new species and highlight what makes them unique.</div>
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<br />In <a href="http://blog.scicoll.org/2016/08/the-engineering-behind-repositories.html">The Engineering Behind Repositories</a>, we discussed the challenges of operating a repository. In addition to housing specimens in the appropriate containers to planning out the current collection size and its growth potential, repository managers have to worry about maintaining the right environmental conditions. Errors in technology can have a profound impact on sensitive collections and it pays to have a backup system - even if it never gets used.</div>
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<br />Lastly, in <a href="http://blog.scicoll.org/2016/09/climate-change-and-phenology.html">Climate Change and Phenology</a>, one of the keynote speakers from our Food Security Symposium explained how his work on pollinators and their ecology can be useful when working to reduce their decline and subsequent loss of ecosystem services. The importance of this work - and the work of pollinators - cannot be overstated.</div>
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<br />Many folks also stopped by the blog to check out our new <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrTHy7C_4SgfRtbV9bQIRvVH5_cxduRK2">video series</a>! We’ll recap that series and some other videos we’re paying attention to next week!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06667861879611813130noreply@blogger.com75tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549530926048653761.post-68046932512753689282016-12-19T08:35:00.000-05:002016-12-19T08:35:07.940-05:00Monday Morning Coffee Break: December 19<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(<i style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Credit: Natural History Museum</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">)</span> </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/colour-in-collection-reindeer-eye.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">#reindeer #anatomicalspecimen #eyecolor #summervision #wintervision #light</span></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06667861879611813130noreply@blogger.com76tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549530926048653761.post-48797397647174709752016-12-12T07:16:00.000-05:002016-12-12T07:16:30.343-05:00Monday Morning Coffee Break: December 12<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(<i style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Credit: Amanda Montanez</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">)</span> </span></div>
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<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mosquitoes-will-save-us-all-from-mosquitoes/"><span style="font-size: x-small;">#mosquitos #emergingdiseases #vectors #geneticallymodified</span></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06667861879611813130noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549530926048653761.post-4082387011020304032016-11-14T08:26:00.000-05:002016-11-14T08:26:43.134-05:00Monday Morning Coffee Break: November 14<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/10/24/498863394/2-500-years-ago-this-brew-was-buried-with-the-dead-a-brewery-has-revived-it" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(<i style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Credit: Bettina Arnold</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">)</span> </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/10/24/498863394/2-500-years-ago-this-brew-was-buried-with-the-dead-a-brewery-has-revived-it"><span style="font-size: x-small;">#ancientbeer #archaeology #anthropology #beer #recipe</span></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06667861879611813130noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549530926048653761.post-13268573613397133552016-10-28T07:00:00.000-04:002016-12-02T10:35:11.145-05:00Monsters are real<div style="text-align: center;">
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Have you ever considered where the myth of monsters originated? As it turns out, the link between science and the supernatural is smaller than you may think.</div>
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<li>Our friends at the <a href="http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/">Biodiversity Heritage Library</a> rolled out <a href="http://blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/search/label/%23bhlMonstersRreal">a blog series</a> on the matter in 2014. </li>
<li><i>Smithsonian Magazine</i> also featured much of BHL's research in a compelling <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/five-real-sea-monsters-brought-life-early-naturalists-180953155/?no-ist">piece about five "real" sea monsters</a>. </li>
<li>And most recently the magazine published <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/reports-sea-monster-looked-like-monk-wearing-fish-scales-horrified-renaissance-europe-180960885/?no-ist">a piece about a Renaissance-era sea monster</a> that looked similar to a monk with scales. </li>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06667861879611813130noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549530926048653761.post-11877509573511019032016-10-21T09:27:00.000-04:002016-10-21T09:27:28.217-04:00In the News: Monkeys and rodents and medicine - Oh my!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyJLdroXJwr3l2Yvjc696rUOSrR70sAKD3Z4IN5Wvb1GgZbMGQkLyCXf9h_NOdy2jwtJWWl_iw6PDe1UK2VlOJtCYYly9NmTJZj8DFAOn27SzCOKFV_OIDn5osPKKNS9CQhh3a6-tA78Y5/s1600/monkeys-1_wide-84d6807faecb1f6ab8058ca7edb7985ab0b41f61-s1600-c85.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyJLdroXJwr3l2Yvjc696rUOSrR70sAKD3Z4IN5Wvb1GgZbMGQkLyCXf9h_NOdy2jwtJWWl_iw6PDe1UK2VlOJtCYYly9NmTJZj8DFAOn27SzCOKFV_OIDn5osPKKNS9CQhh3a6-tA78Y5/s400/monkeys-1_wide-84d6807faecb1f6ab8058ca7edb7985ab0b41f61-s1600-c85.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Fig.1. </b><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Capuchin monkeys may have had a role in the creation of early tools. <i>(Credit: Nature)</i></span></span></td></tr>
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This week we take a look at archaeological and other earth-based research. While archaeology has traditionally been about the study of human activity, what does it mean if our primate cousins can make tools similar to those of ancient humans? That and more in this week’s round up!<a name='more'></a><ul>
<li>Stone tools have been found across many archaeological sites and are some of the earliest known indicators of human activity. However, a recent discovery of Capuchin monkey behavior put the origin of these tools into question - anthropologists filmed these monkeys in the process of creating similar tools. While it is unlikely that these monkeys or their predecessors would have used tools similarly to humans, this evidence shows that the creation of them could be a bit harder to discern. <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/10/19/498421284/those-ancient-stone-tools-did-humans-make-them-or-was-it-really-monkeys">Those Ancient Stone Tools — Did Humans Make Them, Or Was It Really Monkeys?</a> NPR News (19 October 2016)</li>
<li>Wild Archaeology is a documentary series exploring the archaeological record of indigenous peoples of Canada. Catch an <a href="http://www.anthropology-news.org/index.php/2016/10/14/indigenous-extreme-and-wild-archaeology/">interview with one of the researchers</a> or view full episodes and much more <a href="http://wildarchaeology.com/">on their website</a>. <a href="http://www.anthropology-news.org/index.php/2016/10/14/indigenous-extreme-and-wild-archaeology/">Indigenous, Extreme and Wild Archaeology</a>, Anthropology News (14 October 2016)</li>
<li>Archaeologists in the UK have identified that voles were once a common element in the diet of early populations on the Orkney archipelago, and postulate they were brought to the islands with cattle and deer to help sustain the communities. <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37690206">Stone Age people 'roasted rodents for food' - archaeologists</a>, BBC News (19 October 2016)</li>
<li>The National Folklore Collection at University College Dublin contains a variety of accessions collected throughout Ireland. The information within offers suggestions on how to cure a number of ailments and thus a window into the common regional ailments - like warts, toothaches, and thrush. <a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/herbal-medicine-a-relic-of-the-past-or-a-signpost-of-the-future-1.2819120">Herbal medicine: A relic of the past or a signpost of the future?</a> The Irish Times (11 October 2016)</li>
<li>Have you ever heard of a subterranean research lab? There’s one in South Dakota in an old gold mine and they’re currently researching how rocks fracture, an important piece of information for the development of geothermal energy sources. <a href="http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2016/10/19/berkeley-lab-digs-deep-clean-energy-solutions/">Underground Science: Berkeley Lab Digs Deep For Clean Energy Solutions</a>, News Center (19 October 2016)</li>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06667861879611813130noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549530926048653761.post-37285585811179379892016-10-17T08:50:00.002-04:002016-10-17T08:50:50.742-04:00Monday Morning Coffee Break: October 17<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://oceanleadership.org/sediments-control-methane-release-ocean/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<img src="http://oceanleadership.org/wp-content/uploads/Foraminif%C3%A8res_de_Ngapali.jpg" width="395" /></a>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(<i style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Credit: Psammophile</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">)</span> </span></div>
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<a href="http://oceanleadership.org/sediments-control-methane-release-ocean/"><span style="font-size: x-small;">#sedimentcore #climatechange #environmentalchange #oceans</span></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06667861879611813130noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549530926048653761.post-38531749290881332232016-10-12T10:38:00.000-04:002016-10-12T10:38:37.676-04:00A reason to celebrate: National Fossil Day<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWtbz4IuABrLuM5Jyw40fek0eHAysNhVMHBIYeCpMOgyionl0o6YTY4LpprbxlYDXIjWOuCyX2hbPYF5aUBj0GwEfuomONZKSORiA392yzb_3KQbACEH5umXaOKwHrpUY_dqE5R_YzfeQ0/s1600/2nd_pone-11-9-parker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWtbz4IuABrLuM5Jyw40fek0eHAysNhVMHBIYeCpMOgyionl0o6YTY4LpprbxlYDXIjWOuCyX2hbPYF5aUBj0GwEfuomONZKSORiA392yzb_3KQbACEH5umXaOKwHrpUY_dqE5R_YzfeQ0/s400/2nd_pone-11-9-parker.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Fig. 1. </b>Fossilized bee's nests. (<i>Credit: Parker, et. al, 2016)</i></td></tr>
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Today, Oct. 12, marks <a href="http://nature.nps.gov/geology/nationalfossilday/">National Fossil Day</a>, an annual event put on by the National Parks Service to raise awareness of how fossils contribute to science. So you think you want to be a paleontologist, or perhaps you just want to learn of fossils' capabilities? Here’s a bit of a primer to help you decide:<a name='more'></a><ul>
<li>Digging up fossils isn’t as easy as just happening upon them. Researchers from the Petrified Forest National Park delve into the specifics of finding and curating a fossil collection in this video (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l9itCyhP74">Petrified Forest Fossil & Paleontology Lab Tour</a>, Finley Holiday Films, 14 February 2013)</li>
<li>Still itching to hunt for fossils? Check out the <a href="http://paleoportal.org/nps/">Paleontology Portal</a> for where to look for fossils in the USOnce you’ve found your fossil and spent months cleaning and preparing it – how do you investigate the mechanics of it without destroying it? <a href="https://youtu.be/NU978-sDi9A">Print a 3D model</a>, of course! (<a href="http://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/3d-printed-fish-fossil-may-reveal-origin-of-human-teeth">3D printed fish fossil may reveal origin of human teeth</a>, Australia National University, 30 September 2016)</li>
<li>Have you heard – Megalodon has a newly discovered cousin! Fossilized teeth were used to describe the new predator, Megalolamna paradoxodon (<a href="http://phys.org/news/2016-10-large-prehistoric-shark.html">New large prehistoric shark described</a>, Phys.org, 3 October 2016)</li>
<li>A fossilized bee’s nest sheds light on the habitat of early human ancestors, and the ancestors of a bee species currently inhabiting the area (<a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2107441-ancient-bee-fossil-reveals-secrets-of-human-ancestors-habitat/">Ancient bee fossil reveals secrets of human ancestor’s habitat</a>, New Scientist, 28 September 2016)</li>
<li>Fossilized remnants of microbial activity older than any other were reported this summer – but the conversation continues as to their authenticity (<a href="http://daily.jstor.org/do-fossils-always-tell-the-truth/">Do fossils always tell the truth?</a> JSTOR Daily, 26 September 2016)</li>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06667861879611813130noreply@blogger.com67tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549530926048653761.post-57292084918334966622016-10-07T07:00:00.000-04:002016-10-07T07:00:01.503-04:00In the News: Beer for climate change and out of Africa<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="123" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/XQLtfdiEz9BSNNIYK-vS32e8qHh9eMkVpq93Ifkn1vRi_iXtM2n1r1o6GRldTNCZ82gVivoMnIxy8BiQ0aNeRLSAfGVYINNwc71JGDX7nGlZ4_0JwOx9Qaxb5ZnYrNwZ-1XoEA9o" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"><b>Fig.1.</b> Papyrus before (left) and after (right) the Brooklyn Museum works its conservation magic. (<i>Credit: The Brooklyn Museum)</i></span></td></tr>
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From rock drawings preserved in place to the painstaking processes of lab-based specimen care, there’s lots to explore in this week’s round up of collections news:<br />
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<li>Drawing conclusions: Researchers survey more than 250 rock sites in Australia to determine human origins. Through studying more than 30,000 rock drawings, University of Western Australia professor Peter Veth and company learn more about the Balanggarra people. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/oct/03/kimberleys-hidden-world-of-indigenous-rock-art-revealed-by-researchers">Kimberley’s hidden world of Indigenous rock art revealed by researchers</a>, The Guardian (October 2, 2016)</li>
<li>We love all types of collections, and we know there’s a lot that goes into maintenance of scientific collections. So how do you care for an art collection? <a href="http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/how-brooklyn-museum-collection-preserves-conservation-lab">How the Brooklyn Museum Cares for Its Collection</a>, The Creators Project (October 4, 2016)</li>
<li>Calling all citizen scientists! The Australian Museum explores how citizens can enhance its research and findings. <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/news/thefeed/article/2016/10/05/comment-museums-natural-leader-citizen-science-movement">Museums a natural leader in the citizen science movement</a>, SBS (October 5, 2012)</li>
<li>There’s always time for a good beer story. This time, a big-name outdoor company’s executive is exploring environmentally stable ingredients to brew in beer. <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2016-10-03/solving-climate-change-with-beer-from-patagonia-s-food-startup">Solving Climate Change With Beer From Patagonia’s Food Startup</a>, Bloomberg (October 3, 2016)</li>
<li>One big happy family: Through the study of genomic data, scientists have determined a single exodus from Africa contributes to modern-day human populations. <a href="http://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifestyle/viral-and-trending/051016/were-from-one-african-migration.html">We’re from one African region: research</a>, Deccan Chronicle (October 5, 2016)</li>
</ul>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06667861879611813130noreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549530926048653761.post-18553547467241718762016-09-30T07:30:00.000-04:002016-10-04T21:04:51.868-04:00Food security scientists talk collections, interdisciplinary research<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI8XTNOlThLewZr6G-DVkeObD7D_f8Gr_95CUNXyIS6WO5ulPc3f2XpB_9s4uUJyBCJxB_yygDN0JPWVXrhBxqJdIAeFFaYWMdAkRrT2tYH0JwMJrktRxLZtlndmcRcsCzZHspy8eoYNl_/s1600/_MG_4581.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI8XTNOlThLewZr6G-DVkeObD7D_f8Gr_95CUNXyIS6WO5ulPc3f2XpB_9s4uUJyBCJxB_yygDN0JPWVXrhBxqJdIAeFFaYWMdAkRrT2tYH0JwMJrktRxLZtlndmcRcsCzZHspy8eoYNl_/s400/_MG_4581.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><b>Fig.1. </b>Faith Bartz moderates the environmental stressors and benefits panel on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016. Participants included Muni Muniappan, Virginia Tech; Stephanie Yarwood, University of Maryland; Edna Makule, Nelson Mandela Africa Institute for Science and Technology; Maxine Levin, USDA-NCRS; and John Dickie, Kew Gardens. (<i>Credit: Tricia Fulks Kelley)</i></td></tr>
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BELTSVILLE, Md. -- Some of the world’s top researchers in food security met at the USDA National Agricultural Library from Sept. 19 to 21 to discuss scientific collections’ role in the research area.<br />
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Scientific Collections International, or SciColl, a global consortium devoted to promoting the use and impact of object-based scientific collections across disciplines, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture hosted the three-day event. The symposium allowed researchers from across disciplines to talk about the ever-increasing demand on food and how collections-based research can help in the challenges of feeding billions. <br />
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“Earth's population is expected to reach 10 billion this century, far outstripping our food supply. At the same time, climate change, lack of fresh water, changing land use, and refugee crises will continue to limit food production,” said David Schindel, chair of the SciColl Executive Board. “We need to find ways to increase the productivity of our current food sources and find new sources of nutritious food that will counter these challenges...There's an extraordinary diversity of collections from different disciplines but their value is being overlooked.”<br />
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The workshop engaged more than 40 participants spanning research focuses and governmental agencies, including the FDA and USDA; botanical gardens and research institutions around the globe; and universities worldwide, including University of Maryland, Ohio State University and the University of Glasgow.<br />
<br />Symposium speakers highlighted many ways in which scientific collections are underused sources of unique and valuable resources for research:<br /><ul>
<li>Modern agriculture relies on a small number of plant species that are increasingly vulnerable to pests, diseases and climate change. Herbaria and botanical gardens have closely related varieties and species that could be the source of new crops resistant to these stressors;</li>
<li>Archaeological collections often contain preserved seeds, plant remains and other evidence of ancient crops. These abandoned food sources are lurking in wild populations and could represent significant and reliable nutrition resources.</li>
<li>Agricultural pests can destroy up to one-third of crop productivity before they are harvested and another one-third during storage and transportation to market. “Biological control” uses the natural enemies of these pests to eradicate them without endangering other crop species and the wild environment. Natural history museums and other collections have the best representation of potential control agents that could be used to control crop pests.</li>
</ul>
Marcia Maues, entomologist and pollination ecologist from Embrapa in Brazil, was one of the international participants. Her work allows her to work closely with pollinators and think of various aspects of food security.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2YyhMb6JUmoKWRcZUHcqSnIeMMVXwabCFz43sxNByzYe0v5OLOltCScZmS1hyYQIESikOawsTiPa3SoBDHRFx-92B28AJHPZvCL9mqHF-d667Fd9TWhXrp0b_yYmAk6Xfqm_1K9ByN4Kj/s1600/_MG_4552.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2YyhMb6JUmoKWRcZUHcqSnIeMMVXwabCFz43sxNByzYe0v5OLOltCScZmS1hyYQIESikOawsTiPa3SoBDHRFx-92B28AJHPZvCL9mqHF-d667Fd9TWhXrp0b_yYmAk6Xfqm_1K9ByN4Kj/s320/_MG_4552.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Fig.2. </b>Marcia Maues talks biological stressors in food security <br />
research. (<i>Credit: Tricia Fulks Kelley)</i></td></tr>
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“When we talk about food security, we have to think about three important topics: food availability, food access and food utilization to support a well-nourished world population, with a long, healthy and active life,” Maues said. “Today, global agriculture is responsible to provide food for a hungry world… but a big challenge is to rely on sustainable agriculture, avoiding habitat loss by the clearance of new areas for crop production, reinforcing responsible use of agrochemicals, maintaining global supply chain, decreasing food losses and waste and mitigating hunger and malnutrition.”<br />
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“...An interdisciplinary approach is essential,” said Patricia Mergen, who traveled from the Botanic Garden Meise in Belgium to participate. “Different actors need to collaborate from the agricultural, economic, ecology, environmental sciences and institutions keeping scientific collections, such as natural history museums and botanical gardens...Bringing these different actors together for a short but intense face to face meeting is very efficient. Experts from different fields could present their activities and participate to stimulating panel discussions. This was very important to come up with novel approaches, ideas for further synergies and joint activities.”<br />
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During the event, attendees focused on food varieties and environmental and biological stressors and benefactors. During the last day of the meeting, breakout sessions focused on what role collections will play in this research arena. <br />
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“Participants in the symposium identified specific action items for food security researchers and research initiatives, scientific collections of plants, animals and microbes, and organizations in the public and private sectors that support food security initiatives,” Schindel said. “These action items would make collections more useful and accessible to researchers and would enable rapid progress on some of the greatest challenges to food security.”</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjxZiLzsoSrwKFnhQdmMjsYHGUyaZlzw-0oG5t6nBvX_E8AoM0tKM0WpIugsvK-OPvZEfRFMmAwsHmUF1mLBD78F10WuQ4B8P3zGezzyy13JglMzl25aJkitqEV-5hy07zFCWJnoUDRVtk/s1600/_MG_4649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjxZiLzsoSrwKFnhQdmMjsYHGUyaZlzw-0oG5t6nBvX_E8AoM0tKM0WpIugsvK-OPvZEfRFMmAwsHmUF1mLBD78F10WuQ4B8P3zGezzyy13JglMzl25aJkitqEV-5hy07zFCWJnoUDRVtk/s320/_MG_4649.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Fig.3. </b>Ann Marie Thro, of USDA, records recommendations for the use<br />
of collections for food security research. (<i>Credit: Tricia Fulks Kelley)</i></td></tr>
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Schindel said findings from the symposium will immediately be presented and discussed at other upcoming professional conferences, and a white paper detailing action items will release in early 2017.<br />
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“I hope we will have the chance to continue the discussions and produce the document with the recommendations soon,” Maues said.<br />
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For more information about SciColl, visit <a href="http://www.scicoll.org/">www.scicoll.org</a>.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06667861879611813130noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549530926048653761.post-15170584187484803052016-09-26T07:04:00.000-04:002016-09-26T07:04:03.749-04:00Monday Morning Coffee Break: September 26<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/109817090589828080553/album/6332784431055372833" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/cjtYYmZpSvDty_qhX20fQz7CmMYERUjjAueWy2_rRSFnFkx6tSZuFv9iqB2y20D3JgZj6RndVQ=w5760-h3600-rw-no" width="395" /></a>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(<i style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Credit: Tricia Fulks Kelley</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">)</span> </span></div>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/109817090589828080553/album/6332784431055372833"><span style="font-size: x-small;">#foodsecurity #scicollfood #research #multidisciplinary #collections #USDA #SciColl #photos</span></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06667861879611813130noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549530926048653761.post-25508176197145134272016-09-23T06:30:00.000-04:002016-09-23T06:30:29.128-04:00<div class="storify"><iframe src="//storify.com/tmfulks/stressor-and-drivers-of-food-security-evidence-fro/embed?border=false&template=slideshow" width="100%" height="750" frameborder="no" allowtransparency="true"></iframe><script src="//storify.com/tmfulks/stressor-and-drivers-of-food-security-evidence-fro.js?border=false&template=slideshow"></script><noscript>[<a href="//storify.com/tmfulks/stressor-and-drivers-of-food-security-evidence-fro" target="_blank">View the story "Stressor and Drivers of Food Security: Evidence from Scientific Collections" on Storify</a>]</noscript></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06667861879611813130noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549530926048653761.post-49511434225323606622016-09-14T07:00:00.000-04:002016-09-14T07:00:01.180-04:00The answers are hidden in history<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2IxEHyDsD81YzFIeMv6NYIL9KgJqNSBIkWGQsdcTXEOHTlZYXOFL6hEf88Ms6Of_FidypDrXDRH-uLjmWOBAvcJ5zfihhjbbP19Ky8RHx-NvHEsiEyfMxcQUUxWfi66VgiPDJWNETlDc9/s1600/220.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2IxEHyDsD81YzFIeMv6NYIL9KgJqNSBIkWGQsdcTXEOHTlZYXOFL6hEf88Ms6Of_FidypDrXDRH-uLjmWOBAvcJ5zfihhjbbP19Ky8RHx-NvHEsiEyfMxcQUUxWfi66VgiPDJWNETlDc9/s200/220.jpg" width="166" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kristen Gremillion</td></tr>
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“Somewhere in human history we seemed to have switched to a need to increase yields of crops,” said <a href="https://anthropology.osu.edu/people/gremillion.1">Kristen Gremillion</a>, paleoethnobotanist and professor of anthropology at The Ohio State University.<div>
<br />Through fieldwork and the study of museum collections, Gremillion documents just that: the domestication of plants. The work - advanced by <a href="http://anthropology.si.edu/archaeobio/smith.html">Bruce Smith</a>, an anthropologist with the Smithsonian Institution - allows researchers to look at patterns of variation and plant origins and determine how human behavior affected what was grown. Results come from the study of archaeological materials and ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis.<a name='more'></a></div>
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“I study remnant plant parts from archaeological sites - seeds and fruits mostly,” Gremillion said in a follow-up email. “Some of these I have excavated myself; others are part of collections that have been curated since the early 20th century.” </div>
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<br />Gremillion said findings from these excavation sites often had plant remains preserved by climatic conditions.</div>
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<br />“There’s so much material,” she said.</div>
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<br />Sunflower remains that are involved in the aDNA aspect of Gremillion’s work are housed at the <a href="https://lsa.umich.edu/ummaa">University of Michigan</a>’s ethnobotany laboratory and from the <a href="https://www.as.uky.edu/museum-anthropology">Webb Museum of Anthropology at University of Kentucky</a>. Materials date back 2,000-plus years ago and come from Eastern Kentucky rock shelters’ dry deposits. </div>
<div>
<br />Due to a focus on growing hybrid crops and increasing yields Gremillion said some domesticated plants have gone by the wayside.</div>
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<br />“I think one of the most important things is … there are crops that have largely been lost,” she said. “These forgotten, lost crops -- they have better nutritional profiles.”</div>
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<br />Through studying archaeological specimens and historic records, Gremillion is also able to determine how crops are shared or transmitted between human populations. Gremillion said her work with historic records is “more interesting and informative” than studies without them, and she’s able to look at what crops were accepted or rejected by populations. Because she studies shifts of crops and agricultural technologies between Native Americans and Europeans, dating back to 1492, most of the records Gremillion studies are travelers’ accounts of native life, published papers and correspondence of botanists and expedition records.</div>
<div>
<br />By comparing archaeological collections and records from various areas and time periods, Gremillion said patterns of domestication come about. And while she isn’t directly involved in the aDNA work done in the lab, Gremillion is excited what that type of analysis can contribute to agriculture research.<br />“The new part of it … that’s the missing piece of the puzzle,” she said. “It’s really exciting. That’s the cutting edge right now.”</div>
<div>
<br />Gremillion will speak at our September workshop, <a href="http://blog.scicoll.org/2016/08/food-security-workshop-registration-now.html">Stressors and Drivers of Food Security: Evidence from Scientific Collections</a>. She plans to talk about crop histories and how genomic efforts can better support crops in future environments.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06667861879611813130noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549530926048653761.post-26839423039200295752016-09-12T08:38:00.001-04:002016-09-12T08:38:10.872-04:00Monday Morning Coffee Break: September 12<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://time.com/4395063/one-photographer-portrays-climate-change-differently/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<img src="https://timedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/andrew-williams-drought-southwest-california-texas-fire-global-warming-photography-contemporary-landscape-documentary_02.jpg?quality=85&w=447" width="395" /></a>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(<i style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Credit: Andrew Williams</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">)</span> </span></div>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://time.com/4395063/one-photographer-portrays-climate-change-differently/"><span style="font-size: x-small;">#climatechange #photography #environmentalchange #NOAA</span></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06667861879611813130noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549530926048653761.post-84905557157291912222016-09-07T10:27:00.000-04:002016-09-07T10:27:06.116-04:00Climate change and phenology<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="376" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-AUwEydQ1baozimcwFL4GYsHrE7DXY_mkmxzKlH4K-rG3L91gOgSK67CDgaQslnoIv2qJbN5RA8uI6tqq27bepJwQtH25UH2IcvrERq1FFN0WXvbRsRwnRmAWpLg2qQXaQO3PC8n" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: small;">Fig.1. </b><span style="font-size: x-small;">David Inouye studies phenology and climate change’s effect on pollinators, such as bees, hummingbirds and flies. (Credit: David Inouye)</span></td></tr>
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When <a href="http://biology.umd.edu/david-inouye.html">David Inouye</a> looks out the window of his Colorado home, he’s looking at the mountains. He’s traded in the D.C. suburbs for this view, which also happens to be his office.<br />
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The professor emeritus of the University of Maryland has worked at the <a href="http://www.rmbl.org/">Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory</a> throughout his career, focusing on <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.13209/full">phenology and climate change’s effect on pollinators</a>. Inouye specifically studies hummingbirds, bumblebees and flies. He has collaborated on other projects studying butterflies and solitary bees. As a graduate student in the 1970s, Inouye began to study how the timing and abundance of flowering of plants changes from day to day, year to year. With 30 plots to study during growing season and gathering data from 120 different species, the study has been ongoing.<br />
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“I’m a big supporter of field stations,” Inouye said, noting his work is in a beautiful environment while challenging him intellectually. “I think this particular research station is probably the most productive one in the country -- if not the world.”<br />
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Over the years, Inouye said he and his team have discovered that the growing season starts earlier, which can result in frost damage to wildflowers. This can also affect food security, as the production of fruit crops are also affected by the increased frequency of early spring warm spells that are followed by a cold snap.<br />
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According to a two-year study conducted by Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), pollinators are being driven to extinction, threatening not only billions of dollars of food supplies but human livelihood, as well. The document, <a href="http://www.de-ipbes.de/media/content/SETTELE_IPBES_Pollination%2028%20Jan%202016%20General%20Experience_for_release_red.pdf">“Thematic Assessment of Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production,”</a> also offers ways to protect the pollinator population.<br />
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Inouye can usually be found out in the field, collecting data and specimens for study. Much of his work revolves around collecting and evaluating flower- and pollinator-count data. Regular sampling of the pollinator community clues Inouye in on how it develops, providing further insight as to what environmental variables influence population size.<br />
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But Inouye’s research hasn’t come without challenges. <br />
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“I’m fortunate to have some funding (for the long-term project),” he said. <br />
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But convincing the National Science Foundation that investing in a lengthy project has proven to be difficult, especially when getting funds can be so competitive.<br />
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Inouye will be a keynote speaker at our September workshop, <a href="http://blog.scicoll.org/2016/08/food-security-workshop-registration-now.html">Stressors and Drivers of Food Security: Evidence from Scientific Collections</a>. He plans to highlight his work as well as what the application of his results could mean for the global impact of pollinators and food security. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06667861879611813130noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549530926048653761.post-68909006778843517542016-09-02T07:30:00.000-04:002016-09-02T07:30:23.832-04:00In the News: Citizen science at the forefront<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgj4PijpNJhawJdeLuY9gFahhmAy26LatF2C7uvvpRVDHlb-Sesnn6nqJsKNjiZbFtGMshyQ3kxEA5iKdYl5yjIYfdPV15_UrjfkGam8m2agLLuBgPf3OBSs_HG6CcPSYtJhWuO39lB1-g/s1600/6629017669_5d9d7f75f5_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgj4PijpNJhawJdeLuY9gFahhmAy26LatF2C7uvvpRVDHlb-Sesnn6nqJsKNjiZbFtGMshyQ3kxEA5iKdYl5yjIYfdPV15_UrjfkGam8m2agLLuBgPf3OBSs_HG6CcPSYtJhWuO39lB1-g/s400/6629017669_5d9d7f75f5_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Fig.1. </span></b><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Citizen volunteers learn about Mississippi River fish species. (<i>Credit: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources)</i></span></span></td></tr>
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Investigating and understanding the world around us has always sparked the curiosity of scientists and non-scientists alike. Luckily, these days you don’t need to have a degree in science to contribute to research in nearly every discipline. Many programs have been developed to capture the wonder and data at the fingertips of citizens - and there’s no sign of this trend slowing down.<a name='more'></a><ul>
<li>#<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bugsr4girls">BugsR4Girls</a>, too. Last week, members of the scientific community joined that conversation after hearing from a young girl’s mom about her daughter’s experience being bullied for loving all things insects. <a href="http://www.lfpress.com/2016/08/27/bugsr4girls-goes-viral-after-ontario-girl-teased-for-fascination-with-bugs">#BugsR4Girls goes viral after Ontario girl teased for fascination with bugs</a>, The London Free Press (August 28, 2016)</li>
<li>Some of the most extraordinary ideas come from ordinary people. Earlier this month, the San Diego Natural History Museum unveiled a new collection and exhibition, “Extraordinary Ideas From Ordinary People: A History of Citizen Science,” featuring books, maps and more from the world of citizen science. <a href="http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/aug/25/the-nat-extraordinary-ideas-exhibit/">Due respect for ‘Citizen Science,’ </a>The San Diego Union-Tribune, (August 25, 2016)</li>
<li>Personalized pollen data is the next best thing in research for allergy sufferers. An Austrian company allows users to track data on a website and app in order to best detect allergies before they come around. <a href="http://phys.org/news/2016-08-citizen-science-pollen.html">‘Citizen science’ pollen monitoring service</a>, Phys.org (August 24, 2016)</li>
<li>Chances of discovery are all around you. The United States Department of Agriculture makes the case why you -- yes, you! -- can get involved in citizen science endeavors. <a href="http://blogs.usda.gov/2016/08/19/citizen-science-is-sound-science-provided-by-you/">Citizen Science is Sound Science Provided by You</a>, USDA.org (August 19, 2016)</li>
<li>Urban planners are also jumping on the citizen science bandwagon. Some cities find the importance of user-generated information. <a href="http://phys.org/news/2016-08-user-collected-city.html">Integrating user-collected data in city planning</a>, Phys.org (August 29, 2016)</li>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06667861879611813130noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549530926048653761.post-51624025152999855492016-08-29T08:04:00.000-04:002016-08-29T08:04:10.564-04:00Monday Morning Coffee Break: August 29<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/11/science/how-did-people-migrate-to-the-americas-bison-dna-helps-chart-the-way.html?_r=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<img src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/08/11/science/11MIGRATION1/11MIGRATION1-blog427.jpg" width="395" /></a>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(<i style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Credit: Mikkel Winther Pedersen</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">)</span> </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/11/science/how-did-people-migrate-to-the-americas-bison-dna-helps-chart-the-way.html?_r=1"><span style="font-size: x-small;">#DNA #bisonDNA #sediment #humanmigration #Americas</span></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06667861879611813130noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549530926048653761.post-70084843479378610462016-08-25T07:00:00.000-04:002016-08-25T07:00:00.157-04:00NPS celebrates a century<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoertW0v-F3iRso5Kg92daQ2NPXxBVeNYClFVQlUGAHfzk_R8ln0yEBS_KX0OEoKbHHecjHWTd_Ch8KpGLe4gyJf_-8tt5pHduW7YjVWY2koFRVSTIahZ6vk-G2gB6RQKBK9OFmcLx12IO/s1600/nps+post.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoertW0v-F3iRso5Kg92daQ2NPXxBVeNYClFVQlUGAHfzk_R8ln0yEBS_KX0OEoKbHHecjHWTd_Ch8KpGLe4gyJf_-8tt5pHduW7YjVWY2koFRVSTIahZ6vk-G2gB6RQKBK9OFmcLx12IO/s400/nps+post.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Fig.1. </b>Historic photos from through the years. <i>(Credit: National Parks Service)</i></td></tr>
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Today, the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/index.htm">National Parks Service</a> celebrates 100 years. Beyond <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/centennial/birthday-invitation.htm">free admission</a> to all 400-plus parks across the country from today until Aug. 28, there are a bevy of other facts you might not have known about the scientific endeavors of NPS, its parks and their admirers.<a name='more'></a><br /><ul>
<li>As part of the <a href="https://www.doi.gov/museum/bureaus-offices-museum-collections">Department of Interior’s Museum Program</a>, NPS’ collections tally more than 162.4 million items housed at 324 park locations and 587 other institutions.</li>
<li>The service’s collections <a href="https://www.historyassociates.com/resources/blog/national-park-service-centennial/">document natural and cultural history.</a></li>
<li>You can explore NPS’ collections in an <a href="http://museum.nps.gov/ParkIndex.aspx#.V7tqZJMrKgQ">online</a> searchable database.</li>
<li>See an example of a collection with scientific and archaeological specimens, like Kentucky’s <a href="http://museum.nps.gov/ParkPagedet.aspx?rID=MACA%20%20%20%20%20%20%201%26db%3Dobjects%26dir%3DPARKS">Mammoth Cave National Park.</a></li>
<li>NPS also has all of its parks, monuments and historic sites cataloged in the <a href="http://usfsc.grscicoll.org/find-institutions?combine_2=&field_institution_acronym_value=&title=DOI%2FNPS&field_notes_value=&title_1=&field_status_value=All&field_governance_tid=All&field_institutional_discipline_tid=All&field_type_tid=All&combine=&combine_1=&field_city_value=&field_state_value=&field_zip_code_value=&field_country_term_tid_1=All">Registry of U.S. Federal Scientific Collections.</a></li>
<li>Ever wonder the origins of scientists’ research and fieldwork within the parks?<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ways-national-parks-have-impacted-the-history-of-science-2016-8/#yosemite-national-park-and-other-california-parks-5"> Business Insider explains more.</a></li>
<li>Some of the more rarely seen specimens collected at NPS sites were photographed as part of a <a href="http://hyperallergic.com/304776/photographs-of-the-birds-and-bones-in-us-national-park-collections/">book of photos of natural history specimens</a>.</li>
<li>It wouldn’t be a party without Google’s invite. <a href="https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/project/national-park-service">The tech company released a guide</a> of various parks, exhibits, collection highlights and more to celebrate.</li>
<li>Want to be a science geek on your next trip to a park? Many parks offer an array of <a href="http://blogs.plos.org/citizensci/2016/08/11/celebrate-national-parks-with-citizen-science/">citizen science opportunities</a>. </li>
<li>While visitors may descend upon the parks for their beauty and vast sights, some <a href="http://rapidcityjournal.com/the-desirable-dark-side-of-national-parks/article_16c6a05a-82d7-5c98-baa3-d6bab667bcc7.html">scientists prefer to be there in the dark</a> to study light pollution, among other things.</li>
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Join the party and conversation with the hashtags <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23nps100&src=typd">#NPS100</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FindYourPark?src=hash">#FindYourPark</a>.<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06667861879611813130noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549530926048653761.post-69785715251298616892016-08-22T07:25:00.000-04:002016-08-22T07:25:50.329-04:00Monday Morning Coffee Break: August 22<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://missoulian.com/news/local/something-in-the-air-study-finds-wildfire-smoke-problem-intensifies/article_9a1f4a26-c90c-52ad-aae6-a28926d5a2d6.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<img src="http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/missoulian.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/35/435c3a4e-2ab6-5619-afb1-8e50ff210d02/579f7c5db289b.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C774" width="395" /></a>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(<i style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Credit: Jim Kinsey</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">)</span> </span></div>
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<a href="http://missoulian.com/news/local/something-in-the-air-study-finds-wildfire-smoke-problem-intensifies/article_9a1f4a26-c90c-52ad-aae6-a28926d5a2d6.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">#climatedata #datasets #environmentalmodel #wildfire #environmentalchange #climatechange</span></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06667861879611813130noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549530926048653761.post-84515512573934319212016-08-17T09:35:00.002-04:002016-08-17T09:35:52.909-04:00The engineering behind repositories<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwZrfyR5juyqNyIk6QK2RvfdjjfAoXKeKyhw0bU4UvPS_bhaO1pENh19ccGhTYjcuih4cVJ1XZD4gy_bNXKAzgn9Z-z0wMMqOJtUGnRN37n64hxBhb4DjdA1Uvac9jmguC-2Ap0vZJYNwW/s1600/STspecimenInset300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwZrfyR5juyqNyIk6QK2RvfdjjfAoXKeKyhw0bU4UvPS_bhaO1pENh19ccGhTYjcuih4cVJ1XZD4gy_bNXKAzgn9Z-z0wMMqOJtUGnRN37n64hxBhb4DjdA1Uvac9jmguC-2Ap0vZJYNwW/s400/STspecimenInset300.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Fig.1. </b>Specimens in a freezer. (<i>Credit: Sarah Pack)</i></td></tr>
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“Those (refrigerators) heat up, (samples) die. You can lose your sample if things don’t work properly,” said Phil Baird, former vice president of operations at the American Type Culture Collection (<a href="http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=2219">ATCC</a>). <br /><br />At Harvard’s McLean Hospital in 2012, that’s exactly what happened. When freezers shut down at the hospital without triggering alarms, <a href="http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2012/06/11/freezer_failure_at_brain_bank_hampers_autism_research/">150 brain samples, banked to study autism, decayed</a>. <br /><br />“... Up in Boston a few years ago, they had thousands of autism brain samples, and they weren’t properly set up and monitored. And the power went out and they lost them,” Baird said. “Having a repositories isn’t just plugging in a bunch of freezers.”<div>
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With a background in mechanical engineering and metallurgy and material science, Baird never imagined he would land a job at ATCC. But when he was looking for a job in Washington, D.C., years ago, he came across a job ad for ATCC looking for a candidate with no biology background. <br /><br />That’s how Baird became program director, reporting to ATCC’s chief executive officer, eventually working his way up to VP of operations. <br /><br />“I was (at ATCC) for four years. I spent seven years at Fisher Bioservices (formerly McKesson Bioservices) as VP of the Government Services Division. Here I was responsible for the operation of a number of government funded drug and biological repositories,” Baird said.<br /><br />The positions allowed him the opportunity to work on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Center for Addiction Services and Psychotherapy Interventions Research (CASPIR) as well as run ATCC’s repository, preservation and media labs and other facilities.<br /><br />“I had never seen an ultra-low or liquid nitrogen freezers before I walked into ATCC,” he said. “What I did understand was how materials flow … and how to move products through a system.”<br /><br />What Baird’s background in electronics engineering afforded the ATCC was someone who was able focused on infrastructure, design, planning and more. And today, as a consultant, Baird continues to think about these things. Along with <a href="http://blog.scicoll.org/2015/10/the-woman-with-specimen-solution.html">Elaine Gunter,</a> owner of Specimen Solutions, LLC, he drafted a two-part publication for Journal of Biopreservation and Biobanking, titled “Repository Planning, Design and Engineering.” <a href="http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/bio.2015.0084">Part I looks at infrastructure</a>, while <a href="http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/bio.2015.0085">Part II investigates equipment and costing</a>.<br /><br />“It’s pretty much a constant process,” he said. “Most of your storage is below room temperature, so it’s a matter of getting the facility together and getting it set up to sustain the freezers … The infrastructure is the building, the lighting, the air conditioning, the heating, the power -- all that type of stuff. The equipment depends upon the temperature you need to store (specimens).”<br /><br />“A repository may be ‘just a warehouse,’ but the necessary support and control systems make it a very upscale and expensive warehouse. Costs will vary widely depending on the location and purpose of the repository,” Baird and Gunter, both founding members of the International Society of Biological and Environmental Repositories (<a href="http://www.isber.org/">ISBER</a>), write in Part II on equipment and costing. <br /><br />“The economic viability … is one of the big and constant topics,” Baird said. “How does the organization get a sustainable fund to support their operation?”<br /><br />Now retired, Baird has taken to consulting. While the collection of specimens for research is important, he said it’s important to think about sustainability of the collection or bank while staying within budget. Baird said one of the biggest challenges in his work is to get scientists to begin thinking about the necessary infrastructure for specimen and sample management. He stresses the importance of repositories not only functioning properly but for data management to be accurate and up to date.<br /><br />“You’ve got millions of (samples) scattered in freezers, and you say, ‘I want this particular vial.’,” he said. “And it better be the right one.”</div>
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