Frequency of blood types in different countries

Wikipedia lists the frequencies of different blood types in a number of countries across the globe. It's kind of interesting to see some of the regional differences. For instance, in China/Hong Kong and South Korea, it is extremely rare to have Rh- blood type. What might that mean for a person with Rh- blood who was traveling in those countries and needed a blood transfusion? Ireland has by far the largest percentage of O+ blood compared with any other country - it is notably higher than listed for the UK - what might that have to do with Ireland being an island nation? I wish there was data for some African countries and/or Southeast Asia...

Another article just in time for Halloween

I ran across this article in the NY Times, Still Spooked by High-fructose Corn Syrup. As a person who loves chocolate chip cookies and Dr. Pepper and basically a weakness for sweet stuff, I wasn't spooked until reading this article. A little food for thought before consuming all that halloween candy!

A Modern Day "Monkey Trial"

In 2004 the Dover Board of Education voted to include "Intelligent Design" in the science curriculum. This led to a historic First Amendment trial. Laurie Lebo, a reporter who covered the trial has written a book, "The Devil in Dover" about these events and trial. This fits directly in with our discussions about evolution and intelligent design. Read the interview and post a comment!

NFL players plagued with antibiotic-resistant Staph infections.

Here's a real life example of something we talked about at the beginning of the year - the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In this case, many NFL players have been diagnosed with a particularly virulent strain of Staph known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Certain teams, such as the Cleveland Browns, seem to be particularly heavy hit by this dangerous infection. Read the article linked above to find out more.

Just in time for Halloween!

Well here's a fun little article to get your blood flowing, so to speak! Maybe Dracula had it right all along??? Read "A Taste for Blood!"

Fish Fossil Yields Anatomical Clues on How Animals of the Sea Made It to Land

This article, published this week in the NY Times, describes new fossil finds that expand our understanding of how early vertebrates made the transition from water to land. Check it out!

A beautiful example of how chemistry and biology are intertwined!

The Nobel prize in Chemistry was awarded today to three guys who developed fluorescent proteins. This article provides a cool slideshow demonstrating many uses for this protein, along with a discussion of it's development. These fluorescent proteins have been used as markers, allowing biologists to figure out many critical biochemical pathways within cells. The mechanism by which ATP synthase (which we are currently discussing in class) leads to the production of ATP, for example, was elucidated using these markers. Check it out!