Mariacarla Boscono - Numero - November 2013

Photography: Stephane SednaouiHair: Nicolas JurnjackMakeup: Christine Cor...

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Time to Re-Write the Textbooks! Nature Publishes a New Version of the Citric Acid Cycle

I was looking through my copy of Nature the other day trying to take seriously all the special reviews on "Transcription and Epigenetics." One article caught my eye ...Gut, P. and Verdin, E. (2013) The nexus of chromatin regulation and intermediary metabolism. Nature 502:489-498. [doi: 10.1038/nature12752]Living organisms and individual cells continuously...

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Anna Ewers - Models.com

With back to back power bookings,Anna Ewers is a star on the r...

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I Just Signed Up for an Evolution MOOC!

I'm not a big fan of MOOCs but I just couldn't resist a course called "Evolution: A Course for Educators". The instructors are two Ph.D. employees from the American Museum of Natural History in New York (USA). As you probably know, the American Museum of Natural History is very proud of its tradition in education. Here's what they say on their website.The American Museum of Natural History is one of the world’s preeminent scientific, educational and cultural institutions. Since its founding in 1869, the Museum has advanced its global mission to...

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Behati Prinsloo - GQ Mexico - September 2013

Photography: Bleacher + EverardStylist: Brendan CannonHair: Sam LeonardiMakeup: Sae Ryun S...

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Anna Ewers - Prada Resort Campaign

Photography: Steven MeiselStylist: Olivier RizzoHair: Guido PalauMakeup: Pat McGr...

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The Khan Academy and AAMC Teach Evolution in Preparation for the MCAT

Ross Firestone is a 2nd year MD/PhD student at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He is one of the winners of the MCAT Video Competition. Apparently the Khan Academy and the Association of American Medical Colleges were impressed with his presentations on evolution. You can see all six videos at Evolution and population dynamics.I'm posting the first one on Evolution and Natural Selection. It's all about natural selection but it's a very strange kind of natural selection. The organisms are parthenogenic and each individual is genetically...

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The Khan Academy and AAMC Teach the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology in Preparation for the MCAT

Here's a presentation by Tracy Kovach, a 3rd year medical student at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. Sandwalk readers will be familiar with my view of Basic Concepts: The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology and the widespread misunderstanding of Crick's original idea. It won't be a surprise to learn that a 3rd year medical student is repeating the old DNA to RNA to protein mantra.I suppose that's excusable, especially since that's what is likely to be tested on the MCAT. I wonder if students who take my course, or similar courses...

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The Khan Academy and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Team Up to Teach Evolution and Biochemistry for the New MCAT

ThemeBetter BiochemistryStudents have to write an exam called the MCAT in order to get into American Medical Schools (Canadians students also write the MCAT). The exam is created and marked by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). The format of the exam is changing in 2015 to include more biochemistry and molecular biology. This means that "pre-med" students will likely be taking more biochemistry and molecular biology courses. Most American schools teach to the MCAT in their biochemistry and molecular biology courses because there...

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Behati Prinsloo - Vogue Mexico - November 2013

Photography: David RoemerStylist: Sarah Gore ReevesArt Director: John Paul TranHair: Rolando BeauchampMakeup: Niki Mn...

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Teachers Have to Know Their Subject

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The top three criteria for good teaching are: (1) accuracy, (2) accuracy, and (3) accuracy. Everything else is in fourth place or lower and that includes style. If what you're teaching is not accurate then nothing else matters. It is hard to teach an introductory science course. You have to go back to basics...

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Submitting to Carnival of Evolution

PZ Myers is hosting the next Carnival of Evolution [Guess who’s hosting the Carnival of Evolution?]. I tried submitting an article but I was unable to read the stupid fuzzy words that you need to type before submitting. Now I can't submit unless I log in. When I do that, my time seems to expire before I can enter the necessary information. Very frustrating.So,...

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Fei Fei Sun - Prada - Fall 2013

Photography: Steven MeiselStylist: Olivier RizzoHair: GuidoMakeup: Pat McGrathCasting Director: Ashley Bro...

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Crystal Renn - Harper's Bazaar Brasil - November 2013

Photography: Dusan ReljinStylist: Victoria BartlettMakeup: Anne Kohlha...

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Representing Zoe Kravtiz

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Michael Egnor Keeps Digging

When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.Will RogersI favor teaching biochemistry from an evolutionary perspective and I was pleased to see that ASBMB considers evolution to be one of the fundamental concepts in biochemistry and molecular biology [ASBMB Core Concepts in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Evolution]. (ASBMB screws up their description of evolution but at least their heart's in the right place.)Unless they understand evolution, students can't really understand why some parts of a protein are the same in all species and other...

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Monday's Molecule #221

Last week's molecule was 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-4-carboxy-5-ureidoimidazoline (OHCU). It is an intermediate in the degradation pathway from uric acid (or urate) to carbon dioxide and ammonia. Uric acid is the main breakdown product in purine catabolism. Humans have lost activity of all of the enzymes of this pathway so they excrete urate. Most other species...

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Trace Dominguez of Discovery News Says 98% of Your Genome Is Junk

Theme Genomes & Junk DNAI happened to stumble on this video where Trace Dominguez (@trace501) promotes the idea of junk DNA based on the C-value Paradox—a version of the Onion Test. It's good that he tells the general public about junk DNA but it's bad that he equates "noncoding DNA" with "junk DNA." It's really silly to tell people that the only important part of your genome is the 2% that codes for proteins. Just so you know, some of the important known functions of "noncoding DNA" are [What's in Your Genome?] ....Genes for functional RNAs...

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How to Turn a Simple Paper into a Scientific Breakthrough: Mention Junk DNA

Attanasio et al. (2013) published a paper in Science where they identified several thousand possible enhancers that were active in the facial area of developing mouse embryos. About 200 of them appear to be controlling genes that determine the size and shape of the face. (Recall that there are about 20,000 protein-encoding genes in mammals.)Lynn Yarris...

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Anna Ewers Digitals - October 2013

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Iselin Steiro - Vogue Paris - November 2013

Photography: David SimsStylist: Emmanuelle AltMakeup: Diane KendalHair: Paul Han...

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Oops!

This is the view from the window just outside my office on the fifth flo...

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Alana Zimmer - The Telegraph - A/W 2013

Photography: Benny HorneStylist: Zanna RobertsHair: Brian BuenaventuraMakeup: Chiho O...

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ASBMB Core Concepts in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Matter and Energy Transformation

ThemeBetter BiochemistryTansey et al. (2013) have described the five core concepts in biochemistry and molecular biology. These are the fundamental concepts that all biochemistry instructors must teach and all biochemistry students must understand.The five core concept categories are:Evolutionmatter and energy transformationhomeostasisbiological informationmacromolecular...

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Hana Jirickova Digitals - October 2013

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Hana Jirickova - Russh - October 2013

Photography: Santiago & Mauricio SierraStylist: Gillian WilkinsHair: Bok HeeMakeup: Serge Hodo...

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How Do the IDiots Explain the Origin of Life?

We don't know how life on Earth originated. We're not completely ignorant because we have a good idea of basic biochemistry and we know which enzymes and pathways had to be present in the earliest cells. We're pretty sure that the first life forms captured energy by oxidizing inorganic molecules. We're pretty sure that the first cells formed in the...

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Toni Garrn - Vogue Japan - December 2013

Photography: Ben HassettHair: Anthony CampbellMakeup: Viole...

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Daria Strokous - Vogue Japan - December 2013

Photography: Sølve Sundsbø Stylist: George CortinaHair: Shay AshualMakeup: Lisa ButlerManicure: Lyndsey Mcint...

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Ophelie Guillermand Digitals - October 2013

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Peter Hess of NCSE Tells Us About How to Make Evolution Compatible with Christianity

Minda Berbeco once taught evolution and she was surprised that her students wanted to talk about religion. She decided to consult with Peter Hess, the director of religious community outreach at the National Center for Science Education (NCSE). Her blog post is on the NCSE website at: When Students Ask about Religion.Peter Hess mentioned that many...

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The Trouble With Science

The purpose of a grant, after all, is to facilitate research. But the rationale has become curiously inverted: now the purpose of one’s research seems to be to get a grant ...Jerry CoyneThis is a post for scientists and those who would be scientists.Wake up!!! Science is in trouble! If you don't believe me, read How science goes wrong and Trouble at the lab. Both articles were published in the October 19th edition of The Economist.It likely that you've heard all this before but the magnitude of the problem just hasn't registered with you. Well,...

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Toni Garrn - W Magazine - November 2013

Photography: Francois NarsStylist: Patti WilsonHair: Roque                        Makeup: Lena K...

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Fei Fei Sun - W Magazine - November 2013

Photography: Patrick DemarchelierStylist: Marie-Amelie SauveHair: Jimmy PaulMakeup: Aaron De ...

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Toni Garrn - Allure Russia - November 2013

Photography: Paolo KudackiStylist: Anya ZiourovaHair: David von CannonMakeup: Lisa Hough...

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