In my last post, I wrote about a remarkable recent paper reporting that C. elegans, the well-studied nematode worm, can sense magnetic fields. In a series of elegant experiments, researchers at UT Austin showed that C. elegans moves at a particular preferred angle to an applied field. Moreover, that angle matches the angle between the … Continue reading On second thought, don’t ask worms for directions
It’s great to find a scientific paper that reports something really new — something interesting whose very existence as a substance or behavior or phenomenon was unexpected. It’s doubly great if the paper itself is clear, thorough, and convincing. And it’s almost too much to ask, in addition, for for the topic to be biophysical … Continue reading Worm Positioning Systems
(A more technical post than most, in which we look at bacterial population densities, and watch a movie.) This term I taught a graduate biophysics course, about which I’ll write a recap later. Bacteria came up a lot in the course, both because they’re important but also because they offer many nice illustrations of how … Continue reading Bacteria and Boltzmann
The University of Oregon’s Research Development Services (RDS) sends a weekly email listing funding opportunities — grants, fellowships, and awards that we might be interested in. It’s a good thing to do, and each week there’s a nice variety of programs from many federal and private funding agencies. RDS might be a bit too permissive … Continue reading And the funders said, “Let there be funds,” and there were funds
A friend pointed me to a recent study looking at the earnings (salaries) of people with degrees in different majors — for example, what’s the average salary of a physics major? Or a history major? The authors of the study are economists, and in my opinion put forth in their exposition of the study an … Continue reading How much is that physics major in the window?
I was a participant (contestant?) in our local “Physics Slam” two weeks ago, in which half a dozen physics faculty gave 10 minute talks to the general public, with a “winner” chosen by about five judges selected from the audience. About 500 people came, filling an auditorium: My talk, Why do bacteria care about physics?, … Continue reading Slammed! (Why do bacteria care about physics?)
Today’s illustration doesn’t have anything to do with the topic below. I made it for a ten minute talk I’ll give tomorrow, at the local “Physics Slam.” You can see the program here. Short version: Six physics faculty will have ten minutes each to explain something. The audience votes on their favorite presentation. Apparently, when … Continue reading You should appreciate the infrequency of my blog posts
Next term, I’ll be teaching a brand-new graduate biophysics course. (It’s the first time teaching a graduate course in my eight years as a professor!) I’ve spent quite a while thinking of what should be in it and how the course should be structured. Here, I’ll just note my list of topics (below, with a … Continue reading T-minus 9 days for my graduate biophysics course
I’m at a conference at Biosphere 2, the large ecological research facility in the Arizona desert that was originally launched as an attempt at creating a sealed, self-contained ecosystem. It’s a surreal place — a collection of glass pyramids and domes housing miniature rain forests, deserts, an “ocean,” and a few other biomes — that’s … Continue reading Mini-Geo-Engineering
What makes a good exam question? Not surprisingly, I try to write exams that most students who are keeping up with the course should do well on — almost by definition, the exam should be evaluating what I’m teaching. But I also want the exam to reveal and assess different levels of understanding; it would … Continue reading What have I got in my pocket?
The Eighteenth Elephant 