Join me on June 24 in Washington, D.C. for a Capitol Hill briefing focusing on the science and engineering required to achieve the nation’s energy goals.
The topic: Biofuels from Algae: “It took nature millions of years to create petroleum. Scientists are working on a way to do the same thing in just hours–and to break America’s dependency on imported oil.” Learn more, ask more, on June 24: Noon -1 pm. Rayburn House Office Building, Room 369. RSVP: events@DiscoverMagazine.com

This is part of a series titled, “Road to the New Energy Economy” presented by the National Science Foundation, Discover, ASME and IEEE

Some of you may recall this fun video we did with school kids, Science Cheerleaders, bar patrons, Chemical Heritage Foundation President Tom Tritton and Nobel Laureate Dr. Baruch Blumberg.

Well, as reported, “Dr. Blumberg, a Nobel Prize-winning biochemist and medical anthropologist who discovered the hepatitis B virus, showed that it could cause liver cancer and then helped develop a powerful vaccine to fight it, saving millions of lives, died Tuesday. He was 85 and lived in Philadelphia.”

I has the very good fortune of occasionally meeting up with Dr. Blumberg at our local coffee shop where this highly unlikely duo would shoot the breeze about citizen science, science policy, outreach methods (boy was he amused by the science cheerleaders!), and lots of things that almost always circled back to various iterations of “public engagement in science” or…kids. He and his wife, Jean, have four kids and nine grandkids.

THIS was a man who believed in the power of people. Not just formally trained scientists, but citizen scientists as well. He was very involved with SETI and Galaxy Zoo, to name but two citizen science projects. Read more about his work at NASA’s astrobiology lab here.

Dr. Blumberg was such a devotee that he decided to use his social capital, in part, to reach out to the heads of the major science institutions in Philly to put together a team to launch Philadelphia’s first, large-scale citizen science effort. Pictured here is the team his assembled: (left to right: Babak Ashrafi (PACHS), Andrew Baker (Sr. VP, Phila Zoo), Dr. George Wohlreich (President, College of Physicians/Phila); Dr. Ted Daeschler (Fmr Pres, Acad of Natural Science/Phila); Dr. Mary Patterson McPherson (President, American Philosophical Society); Dr. Baruch Blumberg, (Nobel Laureate); Tom Tritton (President, Chemical Heritage Foundation); me; and hiding behind me is Allison McCook (former executive editor, The Scientist). I’ll keep you posted on this activity.

At one of his last public appearances, he spoke at a local (Philly) public school. So glad Larry Bock of the USA Science and Engineering Festival invited Dr. Blumberg (and dozens of other Nobel Laureates across the nation) to go into local schools to meet the kids. In this case, when I asked Dr. Blumberg where he’d like to speak, he said, “where my kids went to school, McCall.”

He recited many fond memories his family had at the neighborhood school. He also provided one of the most authentic talks I’ve seen. He told kids that science isn’t always fun; it’s hard work and “you need to know that or you’ll be disappointed sooner or later and you might quit.” He also told the kids that while it wouldn’t be likely one of them would win a Nobel Prize, “it’s not impossible….why not?” He explained how he and his team knew they were onto something (discovering Hep B) and felt an obligation to do something about it (the vaccine).
After all, as this NYTimes obituary reports:

Saving lives, he said, was the whole point of his career. “Well, it is something I always wanted to do,” he said. “This is what drew me to medicine. There is, in Jewish thought, this idea that if you save a single life, you save the whole world, and that affected me.”

2001 Discover Mag Awards, Penn and Teller, Antonio Mora, David Hartman, Robin Roberts, Marvin Minsky

One technology was a portable ultrasound to which, as a pregnant gal, I became addicted. While at one of the events, I asked a scientist if I was causing my unborn baby harm by obsessively performing ultrasounds on my belly to watch my baby move around, and he replied, “probably not but I’m sure you’re annoying the hell out of that baby. Don’t be surprised if it’s born with its hands clutched over its ears.” Thanks, Marvin Minsky.

We used to partner with the National Science Foundation and the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation to bestow similar awards to middle school students developing technologies to benefit their communities. The Columbus Foundation also gave an annual award of $100,000 to one of the adult Discover Award winners.

One of these $100,000 award winners, Dr. Jonathan Woodward from Oak Ridge National Lab, happened to have coauthored a paper with a high school student from NY and entered it in the Intel Science Talent Search. So, we invited this high school student to co-present an award at the Discover Mag Awards at Epcot.

Drumroll: as the title of this blog post suggests, that student was Natalie Portman (then known as Natalie Hershlag).

Ironically, the next year, we invited Christian Bale to present an award. He accepted and was terrific; although, as I recall, it was his father who had the greater interest in science.

For your reading pleasure, I present the title, abstract, and link to the now famous paper. Go Natalie!

As reported in Chemical & Engineering News:

The article, “A Simple Method To Demonstrate the Enzymatic Production of Hydrogen from Sugar,” was the result of an independent-study project carried out by Portman during her sophomore year at Syosset High. Intended to illustrate “environmentally friendly biotechnology for the utilization of renewable energy sources,” the work earned Portman a semifinalist position that year in the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search, an annual competition organized by the Society for Science & the Public.

The laboratory instructions Portman helped develop aim to teach high schoolers and undergraduates the principles of enzyme-catalyzed reactions by instructing them how to break down cellulose with a combination of cellulase, glucose dehydrogenase, and hydrogenase. The amount of hydrogen evolved in the process is indicated by a simple redox dye, benzyl viologen.

Read the article:
A Simple Method To Demonstrate the Enzymatic Production of Hydrogen from Sugar
J. Chem. Educ., 1998, 75 (10), p 1270
DOI: 10.1021/ed075p1270
Publication Date (Web): October 1, 1998

Abstract:
There is current interest in and concern for the development of environmentally friendly bioprocesses whereby biomass and the biodegradable content of municipal wastes can be converted to useful forms of energy. For example, cellulose, a glucose polymer that is the principal component of biomass and paper waste, can be enzymatically degraded to glucose, which can subsequently be converted by fermentation or further enzymatic reaction to fuels such as ethanol or hydrogen. These products represent alternative energy sources to fossil fuels such as oil. Demonstration of the relevant reactions in high-school and undergraduate college laboratories would have value not only in illustrating environmentally friendly biotechnology for the utilization of renewable energy sources, such as cellulosic wastes, but could also be used to teach the principles of enzyme-catalyzed reactions. In the experimental protocol described here, it has been demonstrated that the common sugar glucose can be used to produce hydrogen using two enzymes, glucose dehydrogenase and hydrogenase. No sophisticated or expensive hydrogen detection equipment is required-only a redox dye, benzyl viologen, which turns purple when it is reduced. The color can be detected by a simple colorimeter. Furthermore, it is shown that the renewable resource cellulose, in its soluble derivative from carboxymethylcellulose, as well as aspen-wood waste, is also a source of hydrogen if the enzyme cellulase is included in the reaction mixture.

Check out the federal government’s new crop of smart phone applications!

Find alternative fuel locations, on the go with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fueling Station Locator. The locator works on any mobile Internet-ready device and allows drivers to find the five closest biodiesel, electricity, E85 (etha­nol), hydrogen, natural gas, and propane fueling sites. It uses familiar, easy-to-navigate Google technology to map fueling stations, list contact information and business hours, and provide detailed driving directions and an instant phone connection..

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Now you can SHOW and tell little Johnny why sunblock is needed on any given day with this app for real-time UV index rating. Use your mobile device to check the UV Index and air quality ratings wherever you are. .

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Before you reach for that cake, check your Body Mass Index with this app. One of the most popular tools on the NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Web site is the BMI (Body Mass Index) calculator. BMI is a reliable indicator of total body fat, which is related to the risk of disease and death. The NHLBI BMI calculator receives 1.6 million visitors a month and ranks #1 on Google. This mobile application provides results right on your phone along with links to healthy weight resources on the NHLBI Web site. .

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Be a virtual bounty hunter with you spare time this summer using the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted App. With information provided directly from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, this application includes: the Top Ten Most Wanted, Most Wanted Terrorists, and Missing Children. A picture and background information is provided for each individual. The application also provides a link to submit tip information directly to the FBI. This application allows you to quickly identify Most Wanted criminals or missing children. Additionally, it provides the means to submit a tip, conveniently from your iPhone or iTouch device while you are on the go.

More government apps can be found here. (Hat tip to Jeffrey Levy, EPA, @levyj413)

As I prepare an update to this Discover piece re: the development of a process to harness American ingenuity and apply it to help fix an immediate, national crisis (e.g. the Deepwater Horizon disaster), I came across this statement from the Society of Wetland Scientists. I found it enlightening; you might, too.

Highlights, scientific literature on the effects of oil on wetlands:

The Deepwater Horizon disaster and wetlands
Statement from the Environmental Concerns Committee
Society of Wetland Scientists

Coastal wetlands are essential components of healthy and productive coastal fisheries, and nowhere within the lower 48 states has the critical linkage between wetlands and fisheries resources been more clearly demonstrated than in the Gulf Mexico (e.g., Chesney et al. 2000, Crain et al. 1979). Louisiana alone, for example, generates 30% of the nation’s seafood production (Day et. al., 2005) and accounts for 40% of the total wetlands in the conterminous United States (Richardson and Pahl 2006). The ongoing loss of wetland resources in the Gulf of Mexico and the potential economic and environmental costs, especially in Louisiana and Florida, is an issue of international concern. The impacts of the current oil spill are unknown but the potential for direct and indirect environmental damage to coastal ecosystem services are extraordinary. Both the oil and the activities used in the cleanup have the potential to adversely affect wetland flora and fauna.
Thus far, most of the oil has remained offshore but reports of oil reaching the coast have been geographically extensive ranging from Florida to Louisiana. The potential geographic extent of the spill could result in the exposure of many types of coastal wetlands to oil, ranging from mangroves in Florida, Texas, Mexico and islands in the Caribbean basin to tidal freshwater wetlands along the Gulf Coast. Most wetlands that will potentially be exposed to oil are saline and brackish tidal wetlands, which are nursery grounds for economically important coastal fish and shellfish. Seagrass beds are also at risk. Read more.

Our own Dr. John Ohab was invited to speak at Tim O’Reilly’s Gov 2.0 conference in D.C. this week. He demonstrated how federal government agencies (the Department of Defense, in particular)  are applying social media strategies to inform and engage the public. Great job, John!

A friend’s daughter, pictured here, created this lovely prom gown using Duct Tape. That’s right, Duct Tape. Now through June 7th, prom-goers are invited to send in pictures of their creative duct tape gowns or suits to win scholarship money as part of the Stuck at Prom contest, sponsored by DuckBrand in celebration of its 10th anniversary.

Yes, she did indeed wear this to the prom!

Here’s a short piece I wrote for DiscoverMagazine.com, yesterday, about a promising new use for Pokeberry weeds. Their berries’  highly absorbent dye is being used to coat fiber solar cells. Turns out their dye can trap lots of the sun’s energy in these lightweight, plastic storage devices. This solar energy is then converted to power/electricity.  Check it out!

In January 2009, two Red-tailed Hawks built a nest on a window ledge at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. The nest sits just outside a window where a camera has been positioned to create this video stream. The camera looks through the glass window pane. No artificial lighting has been added, so the nest is only visible during daylight hours.

The nest was productive in 2009 and it is again now! Two hatchlings hatched already and one is about to! You can watch it live, here:

Free Webcam Chat at Ustream