CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-19 22:23:49 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

In my view, Angelina Jolie acted bravely in making public her rare but important genetic story.  Public education greatly aided by her; see also my comments on New Delhi TV http://tinyurl.com/a8fys2v

2013-05-10 21:43:36 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

CSHL Biology of Genome meeting:  Eric Lander  Schizophrenia in 2009, 0 GWAS oci, now up to 93 genomie-wide loci, hit with RNAs bound by FMRP described in http://tinyurl.com/ctoef5s

2013-05-10 21:34:20 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

CSHL Biology of Genome meeting:  Eric Lander suggests with HiSeq era, GWAS & exome seq are parts of a spectrum:  Common and Rare variant association studies, CVAS and RVAS, respectively http://meetings.cshl.edu/meetings/2013/genome13.shtml

2013-05-01 09:40:28 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

As part of site visit to University of Copenhagen...photo of Jeremy Sanford and Sophie Salama, from UCSC, prior to dinner at Copenhagen's Nyhavn canal wharf, nicknamed "Europe's longest bar."

2013-05-01 09:37:39 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Very interesting site visit as member of Scientific Advisory Board to University of Copenhagen's Computational and RNA Biology "COAT" project, working on RNA therapeutic strategies, largely a bioinformatic initiative working on RNA structure predictions as a means of aiding predictions of effective small RNAs (e.g. gap-mer locked nucleic acids), led by Anders Krogh.  http://www1.bio.ku.dk/binf/

2013-04-11 19:39:21 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

NYGC IT partners presenting at BioIT World Forum: Sabey Data Center, CDI Computer Design & Integration, EMC / Isilon computers.

2013-04-11 18:55:02 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Toby Bloom Director of Bioinformatics @ Broad Institute moving to NY Genome Center to lead NY Bioinformatics - welcome!

2013-03-15 11:28:31 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Just had a great interview on WNET NY Public Media with Rafael Pi Roman, an engaged, intelligent and elegant man.  The NY Genome Center is grateful!  pic.twitter.com/fW8Y0TuH2A

2013-02-07 22:51:48 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 3 +1s)

Our lab has published today a new way of delivering drugs---specifically targeted by a patient's own living cells.  http://elife.elifesciences.org/content/2/e00105

2013-02-07 10:30:17 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Genetic analysis of traumatic brain injury ... NY Times reports: Study Seeks Biomarkers for Invisible War Scars

2013-01-23 17:35:38 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 0 +1s)

This work illustrates the use of HITS-CLIP to identify sparse information in ncRNA http://shar.es/C26cX ... the result:  identification of otherwise invisible exons that cause transcripts to degrade, regulating protein levels.  This regulation happens in the brain after seizure, and many of the transcripts affected may mediate compensatory responses to epilepsy.

2012-12-27 13:11:11 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

I rejected the idea idea of having +New York Genome Center "Seek Answers in Genome of Gunman" http://nyti.ms/12AP11b ... I believe this is a mistake for +UConn to be involved in ...short term publicity will have a good chance of yielding here to stigmatizion without answers...finding genetic causes of disease in well defined families and phenotypes remains extremely difficult, and the effort here seems as misleading as it is questionable.

2012-12-22 19:56:12 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

A succinct and troubling indictment of current Republican policy/leadership by Thomas Friedman http://nyti.ms/YyB0AV ... I was particularly struck by the comment "...a base that is at war with math, physics, human biology, economics and common-sense gun laws all at the same time."

2012-11-29 13:02:06 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

the perks of becoming NY Genome Center director are pouring in...thanks Dicky Singer!

2012-11-29 02:33:51 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Thanks Julia Karow for a nice article on my joining NY Genome Center

2012-11-29 01:49:25 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

I really like this movie :)  A taste of what the NY Genome Center is about, and where we hope to go

2012-11-28 23:40:29 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

The full article by Kevin Davies about my coming on board as President of the NY Genome Center

2012-11-28 23:21:11 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Fun Q&A about NY Genome center with Kevin Davies, previously of Nature Genetics

2012-11-28 13:35:28 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 11 +1s)

Today I join the NY Genome Center as President & Scientific Director.  Very exciting as we stand at the threshold of new era of personalized genomic medicine for the good of humankind. http://nygenome.org

2012-10-19 11:56:06 (4 comments, 2 reshares, 6 +1s)

This is a must watch.  Please reshare!
Mika Brzezinski, co-host of “Morning Joe” discusses the ramifications of the disturbing news that Romney lied during the debate about the “binders of women”.

Mika also pointed out that Romney’s portrayal of women’s work needs seemed reflective of an archaic and demeaning perception of women and went on to note that women should be concerned about Romney, particularly if they combine all that with the assumption that Romney does not support the Lilly Ledbetter Act which guarantees equal pay for women.

The panel includes economic analyst Steve Rattner and Time’s Mark Halperin, who analyze comments Mitt Romney made during Tuesday’s presidential debate at Hofstra University, and in particular that his “binders full of women” for staff positions when he was governor of Massachusetts.

2012-10-06 10:22:29 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Beautiful NASA movie illustrating a new black hole only (!) ~20,000 light years away, accruing mass from a nearby star and giving off a rare X-ray Nova burst over the course of several days in September 2012.  
http://phys.org/news/2012-10-astronomers-black-hole-galaxy.html

2012-10-01 09:52:13 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 3 +1s)

Follow scientists tracking great white sharks (where not to swim today-2 miles east Nantucket!)--great videos as well http://sharks-ocearch.verite.com

2012-09-08 23:50:39 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

My decoding of the ENCODE project.  (a mixture of lay and technical comments).

This was a massive compilation of information.  It used many different techniques, each of which has various strengths/flaws.  A great tool for going through the data is present here: http://www.nature.com/encode/

The main goal was to look at the regulation of how DNA is transcribed into RNA.  As some have put it, it is a Google road map of DNA regulation.  It is a massive amount of information.  But a Google map is only useful if you have someplace to go or to think about that is interesting.  This is not as accessible or immediately revolutionary a dataset as the first sequence of the human or even mouse genome.  In some ways, it is most informative for its highlighting what we don't know--much of the mapping elements are missing--as below, think of a map where streetlamps and houses arenoted, s... more »

2012-09-08 23:48:16 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Science is the triumph of logic over opinion.  Paul Krugman once again shines through as a true political scientist, underscoring the fantastic boasts of some politicians do not stand up to examination of the facts...truly shameful.  See his description of Republican dissembling http://nyti.ms/NKNdc3

2012-09-08 23:47:53 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Start getting in shape!  Intersection between fitness and improved quality of life (re: diabetes, Alzheimer's, heart disease, cancer) makes sense, with data to back it up (Archives of Internal Medicine)...you don't have to become an athlete (but it probably doesn't hurt!)

2012-08-01 20:20:42 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

A key NY Times Op-Ed article unmasking problems with Romney's failing to reveal tax records...by a tax expert.  Re: disclosure requested: the Senate typically requires more for confirmation to a subcabinet post.    Romney also has an  I.R.A. account of $20 million to $101 million..."quite a trick to turn contributions that are limited to $30,000 to $50,000" to many millions...raising suspicion in my mind (it would take ~1,000 years, and/or a return which would seem implausible).  Romney transferred $100 million to his sons, & would owe $29-$44M in taxes, but there is no comment on this.  "If he did not file any gift tax return, he would still be liable for the tax, plus interest and penalties...every good tax professional knows that gift tax returns are rarely audited"

2012-07-01 20:10:41 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Ran a PR in the Queens 10K race today--a hot one! Good warmup for the NYC triathlon July 8 that I'm running to benefit cancer research (via Fred's Team); see link below if you want to sponsor me and help cancer research :)
http://mskcc.convio.net/site/TR/FredsTeamEvents/Freds_Team?px=2035541&pg=personal&fr_id=1711

2012-06-23 11:35:01 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

News from NINDS workshop "Optimizing the predictive value of preclinical research" to discuss ways to improve the rigor of research...basically discussion was of whether/how to set a minimum set of standards by which this research should be conducted/held to.  Broad consensus that such minima would be worthwhile to at least have investigators report on (biologic replicates/reproducibility, for animal studies randomization, blinding, power calculations) and presumably adhere to unless there were specific reasons not to.  The big issue is that preclinical studies are used as the rationale for large clinical studies, and that currently the quality of preclinical studies seems inadequate.  Interesting and important discussions/topic.
http://www.cvent.com/events/ninds-optimizing-the-predictive-value-of-preclinical-research-workshop/agenda-bc61fa5f78af409fb82853671e8530fe.aspx

2012-06-21 12:32:48 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

An odd story, but a great chance to touch someone with the good of humanity; $18,000 salary, this will be a life changer mediated solely through the www.  

2012-06-17 19:16:48 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Swam 0.5 miles in the Hudson River today in the "Urban Swim" ... great practice for the NYC Triathlon!
http://urbanswim.org/nyc-hudson-river-swim/

2012-06-09 21:50:51 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

The tomato genome (Heinz ketchup!  strain Heinz 1706) has been sequenced, and it is more complex than ours!  At least in terms of traditional protein coding genes, >31,760 vs our (human) measly 23,000.  I don't know what that tells one (OK, they had a diversification strategy that we didn't use), other than--protein coding genes is not where it is at...a conclusion obvious from looking at C Elegans, the worm with 300+ neurons and ~the same number of protein coding genes as humans.  Where is the complexity--back to the beginning...RNA!

2012-06-01 12:06:46 (11 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Read Krugman and get out the vote this November! ...  "using deficit panic as an excuse to dismantle social programs"... this rings true to me as the bottom line underlying the right wing "Austerity Agenda" http://nyti.ms/M3uB8M

2012-05-30 15:55:49 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 2 +1s)

Require free access over the Internet to scientific journal articles arising from taxpayer-funded research. http://wh.gov/6TH

2012-05-28 13:35:47 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Wonderful video:@elizabethforma on Memorial Day; personal, poignant, progressive :) go girl go ... she really is special I think ...
http://elizabethwarren.com/memorial-day?sc=tws

2012-04-13 12:33:30 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Good article discussing #ALEC, #Koch and ill influence on politics in setting of "Stand your Ground" laws across the nation
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trayvon-martin-shooting-spurs-protests-against-companies-with-ties-to-legislative-group/2012/04/12/gIQAs8HuDT_story.html?hpid=z1

2012-04-13 12:26:27 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

#Koch brothers, #ALEC, influence ranging from Supreme court decisions (citizen's united) to tea party peddlers...get informed, get involved http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=6460127

2012-03-30 12:31:50 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Science under attack, from ... non-scientists with an agenda ... politics of climate change. Yuck. Michael Mann has my support for bravery under fire.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/28/opinion/mann-climate-change-email-attacks/index.html?hpt=wo_mid

2012-03-06 13:03:41 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Wonderful clear article, graphs documenting global warming data, written as a rebuttal to Wall Street Journal article written by 16 skeptics--I'm embarrassed to say including one from Rockefeller University--thoroughly discredited for being sloppy in thinking and abusive in tone in the attached rebuttal. It's hard to understand the denial of data except in terms of naiveté at best, or economic corruption at worst. http://tinyurl.com/7aq9ct5.

Congratulations to Bill Nordhaus from Yale, who wrote the rebuttal. I'd love to see others chime in in support of rational science here.

2012-03-04 16:42:47 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 5 +1s)

For the first time, a large Pacific barreleye fish - complete with transparent head - has been caught on film by scientists using remotely operated vehicles at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. The deep-sea fish's tubular eyes pivot under a clear dome.

2012-02-23 12:48:21 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 0 +1s)

Who said politics and neuroscience don't mix? Watch Elizabeth Warren...she knows how to communicate common sense antidotes to right wing obfuscation. Watch the video & consider supporting her in a tough race vs the Machine.

2012-02-23 12:45:42 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Wow...for Cello and Sea Lovers...an unusual and wonder combination here: Prelude to Bach's 5th Suite for Cello, beautifully done in every sense. And one of my favorite pieces--I played it for my wife at my wedding :)

2012-02-20 20:40:37 (1 comments, 3 reshares, 4 +1s)

Interested in funding for science? Sign petition http://wh.gov/81O (thanks to Titia de Lange for bringing to attention); urge the president to increase NIH budget for FY 2013; needed: 25,000 signatures by March 18.

2012-02-20 20:39:48 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

NINDS council news: 2013 budget proposal flat for NIH, -0.1% for NINDS, total $1,624,707. RPG (~R01 etc) apps decreased in 2012 from 3,549 (2011) to 3,194; set 3130 in 2013. Payline in 2012 14%, hoping to hold the line in 2013. Dates to watch: Francis Collins to testify on FY13 budget March 28.

2012-02-20 11:34:18 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

Koch Brother's oil money found to support Heartland Institute in an effort to discredit global warming. What incredible conflict of interest. If you weren't convinced of their duplicity and disingenuity before, maybe this will help.

2012-02-02 21:50:01 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

I'm surprised (maybe I'm too naive) to hear that the Koch Brothers stand to make big money from the Keystone oil pipeline. Follow the link below to try and force them to testify before Congress, and expose Republican bias to their financial support from Koch... yet another yuck from Koch's if true; if not, they should jump at a chance to exonerate themselves in front of Congress.

2012-01-25 11:28:45 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

After watching http://kochbrothersexposed.com/kochcollege/ about Koch Brothers' infiltration of academia, which I see too, I joined the American Association of University Professors http://www.aaup.org/aaup

2012-01-07 11:56:14 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Today is the ~ 1 year anniversary of my "Bob's Biology Blog" ... beginning/ending with an article on Charles Zuker's work and mechanisms underlying taste, edamame, MSG, etc. Since I never got any feedback the project went cold. Any thoughts from the crowd?
http://web.me.com/darnelr/Site/Blog/Blog.html

2011-12-31 13:30:55 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

My campaign slogan for 2012: go Obama, throw out the Republicans!

2011-12-07 17:47:02 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Re: #PearlHarbor Presaging 9/11... Gordon Prange, a University of Maryland professor who was perhaps America’s foremost authority on the attack" "The US did not ... believe that its own warnings about imminent Japan aggression were true" see http://tinyurl.com/dxgmyl7

2011-11-20 15:07:31 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Silence is golden
UC Davis Chancellor Katehi walks to her car (higher quality)