The Eagle Pub and the BRCA2 cycle path

Despite its tiny size, Cambridge (UK) is full of science travel destinations. One of my personal favourites is The Eagle. This pub is the location where, in 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick first announced the helical structure of DNA. Their lab was right across the street, and when they solved the puzzle (after perusing Rosalind Franklin’s famous image) they went to the pub to tell everyone. Francis Crick announced that they’d “discovered the secret of life”.

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Two months later, they published the work in Nature, but the news was first announced right in this pub. Now, 50 years later, the helical structure of DNA has become iconic. You see it anywhere from scifi movies to biotech company logos.

IMG_0355Cambridge is particularly proud of its helix, and has even placed a statue of a DNA helix along a cycle path just outside of Addenbrookes hospital. If you’re on the right side of the train traveling from London to Cambridge, you can see it if you know where to look.

That helix structure marks the start of the BRCA2 cycle path: the cycle path along the train track is painted in stripes of four colours, according to the genetic sequence of BRCA2 – the gene which, when mutated, causes significantly increased risk of breast cancer. I wrote more about the cycle path here.

In a town that can’t get enough of DNA, it’s tempting to go along with the  biochemical geekery, and so after the 2011 SciBarCamb unconference a few of us posed in front of The Eagle pub with a model of two basepairs of DNA made out of balloons. Just another day celebrating DNA in Cambridge.

eagleDNA(Balloon DNA photo by Jim Caryl. Other photos by me.)

And don’t forget to check out our Have Science Will Travel map:

Fruit flies fight over chicks

Beer - Courtesy of Wikipedia. Fueling male-male aggression for hundreds of years.
Beer – Courtesy of Wikipedia. Fueling male-male aggression for thousands of years.

Remember your college days? On a typical college Saturday night, I would head to a local Champaign, IL watering hole and get to “observe” the mating rituals of college men. Chest puffing, feats of strength, and sometimes even fisticuffs were employed to gain the favor of a particular lady. Turns out this male-male aggression is a trait we share with the little fruit fly. Those little fruit flies have, in turn, shown us that male-male aggression can be a bit more complex than we might first expect. Continue reading “Fruit flies fight over chicks”

Meet the Venezuelan Pebble Toad

Venezuela-pebble-toadJust like a telenovela this little toad brings the drama for days. The Venezuelan pebble toad (Oreophyrnella nigra) hangs out in the tepuis of the Guiana highlands. These toads use their cryptic skin appearance among the rocks to avoid predators and if that doesn’t work they call roll up and make like a bouncy ball down the rocks. See you later predators.

ARKive video - Venezuela pebble toad defence mechanism - rolls in ball and bounces down rock face

Check out this video with herpetologist, Bruce Means talking about pebble toad DNA, sharing his discovery excitement (plus you can see some tepuis).

“Meet the…” is a collaboration between The Finch & Pea and Nature Afield to bring Nature’s amazing creatures into your home.

Word of the Year

In contrast to the much derided, but pop culture appropriate, decision that selfie was the word of the year, the editors of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary have chosen science as their Word of the Year.

HUZZAH! Maybe. Continue reading “Word of the Year”

The Gift of Science: Handmade & Hand-Picked

il_570xN.506447360_hf9vThis one-of-a-kind ring in citrine and bronze depicts a honey fungus, or Armillaria. A perfect gift for a mycologist or anyone who appreciates the more obscure beauties of nature. $120

These “nondenominational festive ornaments” celebrate the contributions of six key women in science: Rosalind Franklin, Marie Curie, Jane Goodall, Rachel Carson, Elizabeth Blackwell and Ada Lovelace.

Hang them on your Christmas tree, menorah, Festivus pole or wall. Made of wood with ribbon hangers. $36 – also available as a set of coasters.

Delftia is a new Israel-based etsy shop featuring jewelry made by a self-described “nerdy armchair scientist and metalworker.” Her science and nature inspired pieces include brains, atoms and caffeine molecules, but our favorite is this silver and brass pendant of Darwin’s original sketch for the tree of life. $45

Beautiful, practical and sustainable, this cutting board adorned with a Fibonacci spiral can be customized with an Einstein quote or with your own personal message. (Please note 3 week lead time if you need it by Christmas.) The shop also features other boards with science motifs, including a periodic table, DNA spiral or solar system. $45

Remember your furry friends (and your microbiologist or infectious-disease specialist friends) with an adorable needle felted pathogenic cat toy by Mycrobe Catnip. Pretend your cat is a healthy immune system or strong antibiotic tearing into this catnip-infused bacterium. Lots of other nasties available in Mycrobe’s shop, including myxococcus, trypanosoma and giardia. $10

Sevenstone makes simple and beautiful bowls, vases and tealights from lovely rocks – like this small vase “crafted from a polished glacier stone with a striking band of quartz” A perfect gift for a geology fan, or for anyone who appreciates decor that is both rugged and refined. $65

Genegeek’s line of cross-stitched Christmas ornaments merge old-fashioned craft with modern science. Our favorite is the DNA double helix.

Note that the DNA double helix is in the correct, right-handed direction.

You can also choose from microscope, pipette or cell motifs. $7.70 each or $24.05 for a set of all four.

A slingshot is an ideal vehicle for exploring numerous concepts of basic physics: tension, elasticity, potential and kinetic energy, just to name a few. So you can tell yourself that is why you want this sweet, handcrafted slingshot. Says the maker: “Each one-of-a-kind slingshot is handmade in San Francisco from forked tree branches. They’re carefully varnished, twined in shellacked hemp, and outfitted with a leather projectile pouch using natural latex tubing and imitation sinew. So grab one, head outside and cause some mischief.” OK! $36

Get extra-scientifically clean with handmade glycerin soaps from Sky Rain Soap, an etsy shop packed with choices like astronauts and meteors (pictured), crinoids and trilobites, dinosaurs, elements, and plenty of robots and aliens.Perfect stocking stuffers from $3 and up.

Why wear reindeer when you could have dinosaurs? Be the toast of holiday nerd gatherings with this screen-printed sweatshirt featuring Santa with a triceratops and an apatosaurus. $29