Abby Tabor
In both Paris and California, MyScienceWork rubbed elbows this week with some up-and-coming and more established science stars. Our mouths watered over the research into lab-grown beef and the excellent performances of science communication at FameLab. Read all about the week here!
@virsimon with @aubreydegrey in Mountain View (#svmsw). Photo by @frantzmiccoli.
On the MyScienceWork Menu:
A mouth-watering week at MyScienceWork, starting with the chef’s special in vitro burger. Whether you relish the thought of sinking your teeth into it or not, the work being carried out right now to create meat in the lab is a fascinating project. We got to hear about it straight from the man leading the effort, Dr. Mark Post of the University of Maastricht. Learn more about how he is building a better beef patty.
Engineering a Burger
Wednesday evening we indulged in some scientific nibbles at the FameLab National Final! Ten competitors from around France put on a great show at the University of Paris Diderot, in just three minutes apiece. Meet the ten finalists of the science communication competition, and their science, in this post. Who took home the top prize?? If you don’t already know, you’ll find out Monday!
Science hors d’oeuvres: FameLab France crowns its winner tomorrow night
While MyScienceWork-Paris was basking in the glow of our local, young science stars, MyScienceWork-Silicon Valley was meeting none other than Aubrey de Grey. The researcher believes that aging amounts to no more than a curable disease. If so, this could seriously alter humanity’s future – a point made by Rodhlann Jornod in:
At the dawn of political upheaval called the singularity
Some favorites from around the web:
If indeed we are going to become a species of Methuselahs, we’re seriously going to need to solve this energy problem. Bravo to El Herrio, the smallest of the Canary Islands, which will soon be able to call itself the first island in the world to become fully self-sufficient, thanks to wind and hydropower.
This Island Is The First In The World To Be Powered Fully By Wind And Water
Also urgently in need of tackling is the issue of antibiotic reslistance. The WHO just released its first global report on the matter and it seems that "genetics is working against us, almost like a science-fiction story."
Fatal Superbugs: Antibiotics Losing Effectiveness, WHO Says
At MyScienceWork, we’re used to thinking about gender and science. The Gendered Innovations project, for instance, provides plenty of good reasons to consider their interaction. Another one turned up in the news this week:
Are Lab Mice Afraid of Men?
In the US, gun control is a very divisive issue. Someone – a victim of firearm violence himself – is now working on a gun lock based on fingerprints:
