Snippets of science. Printed for record. Seeking clarification re seeming diparity of info. given out publicly
about the meeting listed below (13th and/or 15th). Check next issue - 23rd to 29th August - for clarification.

Snippets of science. Issue 2: 19-25.7.10.

Item 1: Diel-Alder and biology. Item 2: The brain and cortical folding. Item 3: Synthetic biology dialogue. GO TO EDITORIAL PRODUCTS FOR SALE All of this week's items by Helen Gavaghan.

Adscript by Google below, carried by GavaghanCommunications.

Item 1: Keywords. Diels-Alder, binding pocket, reaction rates.

Synthetic gene code provides binding pocket for diel-alder enzymatic reaction rate optimisation.

Proof of principle in silico that a protein binding pocket can be designed with amino acid residues that provide a hydrogen acceptor and hydrogen donor that changes the overall electronic balance of diene and dieonophile such that the diels-alder reaction can take place. Quantum mechanical calculations determined the transition state energy levels that the in silico designers were aiming for. Of the 50 binding pockets then created by expressing gene sequences in E. coli only two had measurable activity. Deliberately caused mutations in amino acid sequence varied active site binding geometry such that in a number of cases enzymatic (catalytic) activity was squashed or reduced. Based on a paper published in Science: Computational Designs of an Enzyme Catalyst for a Stereoselective Biomolecular Diels-Alder Reaction. The paper was embargoed to 15.7.10. AUTHORS: Justin B. Siegel et al. DOI:10.1126/science.1190239.

Item 2: Keywords. Cortex, Human.

Differential regional pattern (some unexpected) of cortex surface suculi development observed as humans become adults.

Based on comparative observations of 12 healthy full term babies and 12 healthy young adults the hypothesis being considered is that the post neurogenic neonatal neural state and their conditions may impact expansion of the cortex surface during growth from baby to adult. The discussion reprises the existing literature on PET scans, transcranial stimulation in babies younger than 2, white matter etc... The authors observe that for humans compared with macaques ontogeny repeats phylogeny. Minor typos corrected within half an hour. No further extracts of the published scientific literature will be added this issue. Item based on a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS): Similar Patterns of Cortical Expansion during Human Development and Evolution. Tip sheet for 12.16/7/2010. Authors: Jason Hill et al. DOI:10.1073/pnas.1001229107.

Qualified approval for synthetic biology

15th September 2010: Leeds City Library to host 9 'til 12 an open, free event which Patent Office staff and patent attornies will attend. More details next issue of Snippets of science.

Based on recruitment of 160 members of the public, selected to reflect socio economic groups AB, C1, C2 and DE and aged 18 to 55 plus, a research project funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills concluded there was support for synthetic biology research if there was effective regulation and involvement by the public in questions about suitable research. Among the quantitative results were findings about moral acceptablility of: Medical applications (80 per cent said yes) Energy applications (78 per cent said yes) Bioremediation (58 per cent said yes) Food crop applications (55 per cent said yes). Recruitment methodology http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/web/FILES/Reviews/1006-synthetic-biology-dialogue-methodology.pdf

ISSUE CLOSED 16.05, 22.7.10. Adscript by Google below, carried by GavaghanCommunications.

Snippets of science by Helen Gavaghan Copyright: Science-news syndication from GavaghanCommunications.

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Helen Gavaghan has a BSc (hons) in biophysics from the University of Leeds (1980). This was a four year academic degree with final year research/practicing techniques project (supervisor Dr Brenda Nelmes). It was a pioneering course with Professor ACT North as head of department. The degree encompassed maths, physics, chemistry and biophysics with the aim of understanding structure-function relationships in biomolecular macromolecules. She has kept up to date with current leading edge science through her professional editorial work. Explore this website. Since September 2005 she has edited Science, People & Politics and since March this year (2010) N8 Science Events and is now developing Snippets of science. She began collating science and technology related events from the N8 universities in January this year. The N8 universities are a UK government construct centring on the 8 research intensive Universities in the north of England. Helen Gavaghan is a former staff technology news editor of New Scientist and former staff Washington correspondent for the magazine. She was the biomedical research policy correspondent for Nature in Washington DC (on retainer), the US correspondent for Le Journale Internationale de Medecine and the UK correspondent for Biofutur, both Paris based. She is a former editor (1996-97) of Clinica, an international weekly medical devices and diagnostics business-to-business publication which had a daily output when she was editor. From 2002 to 2004 she was a part time post graduate research student preparing to transfer from M. Phil to Ph.D at the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine at the University of Manchester and she has recently made slight favourable progress in a small legal dispute with CHSTM which began in March 2004. She is a published author in New York (Copernicus, a trade imprint of Springer Verlag), having won a significant grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, with which she researched and wrote Something New Under the Sun, Satellites and the Beginning of the Space Age. She wrote the first history of the intergovernmental organisation (EUMETSAT), an intergovernmental organisation which looks after Europe's weather satellites.

BUYING FROM Snippets of science: Current on 28.7.10. Unless otherwise stated/attributed all items, which will have been based on published literature, within Snippets of science, as with the first issue, will have been written by the person whose byline is on the item and will have been written without interviewing authors or third parties for explanation of the content. Every effort will be made by authors of items in Snippets of science not to insert intellectual content that is not already in the original peer-reviewed paper, even if the synopsis or abstract suggests something not made explicit in the paper. The products offered below are newly offered as of 14.7.10. Snippets of science will appear Monday to Thursday of the issue week and be based on material recently out of embargo. Nearly all of what is published will have been received under embargo (rather than being based on material for immediate release) by Helen Gavaghan, giving time for the publication to be prepared. As a journalist and editor (as well as a science writer) I can think of hardly any occasions when breaking an embargo could be justified on public interest grounds, especially when many of the papers I receive are by authors who have patents pending. The publication is aimed at those with a business or professional reason for keeping up to date in a general way with where science is now. And as a means of self promotion for my services offered below. Each item in Snippets of science will carry the date of publication by GavaghanCommunications. Implementation of this to start with isue 3. The weekly issues will be moved to archive each Monday and be replaced by a fresh set of Snippets of science or issue in development selected at the editor's discretion. Access to the archive once it has built up a critical mass will be charged for, but modestly priced. The current editor is Helen Gavaghan. I am interested in working with others (post docs or pofessional science writers/journalists) who would like to be part of a pool I would manage - the pool not the people, taking a cut of 25 per cent of their fee for editing and preparing an item they wrote to my commission for Snippets of science. They would be free to develop and sell that item carrying their byline to whomever or however they then wanted without reference to me but leaving copyright of the original item published in Snippets of science with Science-news for syndication from GC. If after editing the item they wrote was not accepted for publication in Snippets of science the author would receive a 50 per cent kill fee. The item would not be published without the author accepting the version to be published might be published under their name. The fee would be a flat fee irrespective of whether the job took one hour or 24 hours. That is, responsibility for accepting the works would lie with the author. 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If it is not in a library I have access to it might be possible for me to buy limited on line access. My email address is helen.gavaghan@btinternet.com. If I have time I would be pleased to do the work for you as quickly as possible and to negotiate a rate with you related to how much work you wanted from me. My telephone number locally is 01422 886015. From outside the UK you do not need to dial the 0. You do need to dial the country code. The UK's country code is 44. So to call me from another country dial the number you need to make an international call from your country. For example from the US that is 011. Then dial the country code and the local number minus the 0. For example from the US my number would be 011 44 1422 886015. 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It was developed by Helen Gavaghan without legal advise, either formal or informal, but might be used by me to instruct someone able to write legal agreements. There will be no issue of Snippets of science for the weeks 26th July, 2nd August and 9th August because I will be on holiday for much of that time. The next issue will be 23rd to 29th August. It is my understanding that within a fortnight of having printed issue one of Snippets of science I am obliged to submit a copy for legal deposit with the British Library. Issue 1 was printed (copy for record and copy for BL) first on 16.7.10, but I need to clarify the policy for legal deposit of this kind of series. Helen Gavaghan is full member in good standing of the National Union of Journalists. Go to the top of the page