Neutrophil attack

(Cross posted from Bench Press)

I was going to write a long essay about how web technologies have advanced to the point where science can be shared and discussed and shown in sophisticated ways through the web.

But, rather than bore you with those trivial details, why not just show you.

Before the Web: Read (Science 15 August 2008: Vol. 321. no. 5891, pp. 970 – 974) and its tiny paper figures and hope that you can visualize what’s going on.

After the Web: Read the paper online, Read a blog post on said paper (from science blog Mystery Rays from Outer Space). Watch this video of neutrophils (a type of white blood cell responsible for attacking infection, tagged Green) infiltrating a mouse ear that has just been injected with beads (tagged Blue) and Leishmania major (a bacteria, tagged Red).

4-dimensional image series from the ear pinna of a LYS-eGFP mouse in which blue fluorescent beads and L. major had been deposited adjacent to one another in the skin of the same ear. eGFP-expressing cells are shown in green, L. major-RFP is shown in red, and beads are shown in blue. Playback speed is 1200x. Scale bar, 200um

Comment on blog post and ask blog author question about how neutrophils are attracted to the beads. Get a response. Make my own blog post about the discovery. Reflect on the impact of the Web on science.

50 things about Barack Obama

Who knew the UK kept such good track? (HT: Guy Kawasaki)

Things I consider to be awesome (with my commentary in italics):

• He collects Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian comics (he likes comics? hell yeah)

• He was known as "O’Bomber" at high school for his skill at basketball (that is a kick-ass nickname)

• He owns a set of red boxing gloves autographed by Muhammad Ali (speaks for itself in terms of awesomeness)

• While on the campaign trail he refused to watch CNN and had sports channels on instead (I’m not a big sports fan, but any pol who doesn’t track CNN like that wins big points with me)

• He can bench press an impressive 200lbs (I can bench… 1% of that?)

• He and Michelle made $4.2 million (£2.7 million) last year, with much coming from sales of his books (inspires me to one day also make that much by vaguely talking about my life)

• He applied to appear in a black pin-up calendar while at Harvard but was rejected by the all-female committee (I can sympathize with Harvard women not understanding our awesomeness)

• He hates the youth trend for trousers which sag beneath the backside (YES ME TOO!)

• He says his worst habit is constantly checking his BlackBerry (He likes him some Crackberry!)

• He was given the code name "Renegade" by his Secret Service handlers (One day, I want a nickname like “Renegade” or “Maverick”)

• He plans to install a basketball court in the White House grounds (very awesome)

• He has said many of his friends in Indonesia were "street urchins" (he understands the little people)

Things that I find considerably less awesome:

• He is left-handed – the sixth post-war president to be left-handed (I’m right-handed, and I believe those who are left-handed must be the spawn of Satan)

• He has read every Harry Potter book (I have never nor will I ever touch any Harry Potter book, movie, or product)

• He worked in a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop as a teenager and now can’t stand ice cream (How can you trust a man who doesn’t eat Ice cream!?)

• His favourite snacks are chocolate-peanut protein bars (Protein bars are the most disgusting things on the planet)

• He promised Michelle he would quit smoking before running for president – he didn’t (didn’t listen to his wife – bad example for men/husbands everywhere)

• His favourite book is Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (okay, seriously? this book is horrifically boring)

• He visited Wokingham, Berks, in 1996 for the stag party of his half-sister’s fiancé, but left when a stripper arrived (the O-bomber doesn’t know how to have fun…)

• As a teenager he took drugs including marijuana and cocaine (oh noes! drugses!)

• His daughters’ ambitions are to go to Yale before becoming an actress (Malia, 10) and to sing and dance (Sasha, 7) (come on, Barack – you went to Harvard, you should know to teach your kids better than that!)

• He repaid his student loan only four years ago after signing his book deal (painful reminder that my girlfriend’s medical school debt, and potentially my own B-school debt, will never get paid off)

• He uses an Apple Mac laptop (yeah, don’t sympathize with that one)

• He drives a Ford Escape Hybrid, having ditched his gas-guzzling Chrysler 300 SUV (booo, don’t buy Ford, buy Japanese)

• He has his hair cut once a week by his Chicago barber, Zariff, who charges $21 (£13) (question: how does he have the time to go the same barber every week? answer: he’s probably ignoring national security crises)

More at the page!