Leon Lederman was one of a kind.
Dr. Phyllis Zee, Chief of the Sleep Medicine at Northwestern Hospital, warned the audience at Horner Park on Wednesday, August 15, that we cheat sleep at our peril. Dr. Zee’s excellent presentation was the first instance of C2ST’s collaboration with the Chicago Park District in the “Science in the Parks” series. Watch the video here.
Dr. Zee explained that three scientists recently shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine for their work in the early 1980’s identifying the genes and protein molecules that drive our twenty-four-hour biological clocks, often referred to as our “circadian rhythm.” Every cell in our bodies has the clock mechanism, and all these clocks are coordinated by the master clock in our brains. The mechanism interacts with light and dark. It keeps us awake and productive (usually) during the day and early evening, and puts us to sleep at night to rejuvenate our systems for another day.
This is the repository for all things C2ST. You can learn with videos of our past events, read articles concerning cutting-edge research and development in Chicago and elsewhere that will change our lives (generally one new article posted each week), check out C2ST in the news, and more! Use the Filter Media options below to browse C2ST’s content and discover something new!
By Dave Bukey, Mary Fitzpatrick, Robert J. Kriss
What could ants and bees possibly have to do with computers and space exploration? You have to think outside the box to make the connections. The scientists at Argonne National Laboratory are doing just that as they work to design computer chips and Artificial Intelligence programs based upon neural networks found in insects. These chips and programs are expected to increase the flexibility of Artificial Intelligence programs to learn new things in different environments using smaller amounts of energy – just what is needed to explore the ever-changing conditions of outer space over the decades required for space probes to travel their flight plans.
Continue reading “Connecting Ants and Bees to Space Exploration — Thinking outside the box”
Comment by Robert Kriss, C2ST
Engineering professor Jian Cao had a favorite toy growing up — a construction set — and she spent many hours joyfully building with it. Today, the eminent scientist is an associate vice president for research and director of the Northwestern Initiative for Manufacturing Science and Innovation (NIMSI). Cao and her Chicago-based team are developing transformative technologies to shape manufacturing’s future. By harnessing the principles of engineering, computer science, physics, chemistry, and environmental science, Cao and NIMSI are creating the potential for better paying, more intellectually rewarding, and safer jobs in manufacturing — while also producing less expensive and better quality products. NIMSI is making technology work for workers and consumers while helping protect the environment. Read more about how this Northwestern research could change the “Rustbelt” to the “High Tech Heartland” here.
By Matt Golosinski
Originally published at: https://www.research.northwestern.edu/manufacturing-a-future-beyond-the-assembly-line/
By Argonne National Laboratory
Chain Reaction Innovations (CRI), the entrepreneurship program that embeds innovators for two years at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Argonne National Laboratory, is expanding and will now be accepting applications in any technology area that can be accelerated to market by leveraging the vast resources available at Argonne National Laboratory. Previously applications were limited to technologies specifically related to advanced manufacturing.
By Jordan Greer
Are you a tea enthusiast or coffee connoisseur? A common debate in labs, offices, and possibly within your own home, people usually prefer one over the other to start their day. In fact, tea and coffee are the most commonly consumed non-alcoholic beverages in the world. But what leads us to choose one pick-me-up over the other, and how much of it we drink? While we may attribute our preferences to how we’re raised, recent research shows our choice of brew may also be linked to our DNA.
First, let’s consider what makes coffee and tea different. Both contain bitter compounds, although coffee contains a higher amount. However, their most noteworthy component is caffeine; coffee has roughly twice the amount found in black and green teas. Caffeine itself, though, is nearly tasteless – well, to most of us.
Continue reading “Coffee or tea? One cup or three? Your genes may decide.”
Originally published at: https://news.fnal.gov/2019/09/celebrate-the-extraordinary-life-of-nobel-laureate-and-former-fermilab-director-leon-lederman-in-chicago-on-sept-25/