Scientists Stored “The Wizard of Oz” on a Strand of DNA

https://futurism.com/the-byte/stored-wizard-oz-strand-dna

by Dan Robitzski

ATCG Drive

The intricate arrangement of base pairs in our DNA encodes just about everything about us. Now, DNA contains the entirety of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” as well.

A team of University of Texas Austin scientists just vastly improved the storage capacity of DNA and managed to encode the entire novel — translated into the geek-friendly language of Esperanto — in a double strand of DNA far more efficiently than has been done before. DNA storage isn’t new, but this work could help finally make it practical.

Difficult Tradeoff

Big tech companies like Microsoft are already exploring DNA-storage technology, as the biomolecule can encode several orders of magnitude more information per unit volume than a hard drive. But DNA is particularly error-prone. It can easily be damaged and erase whatever’s stored on it.

“The key breakthrough is an encoding algorithm that allows accurate retrieval of the information even when the DNA strands are partially damaged during storage,” molecular biologist Ilya Finkelstein said in a UT Austin press release.

Full Technicolor

In the past, scientists had to encode the same information over and over so that the built-in redundancies would serve as a backup. But in the new research, set to be published in the journal PNAS, backups are no longer needed. Now, each bit of information strengthens the others around it.

“We found a way to build the information more like a lattice,” UT Austin researcher Stephen Jones said in the release. “Each piece of information reinforces other pieces of information. That way, it only needs to be read once.”

READ MORE: Power of DNA to store information gets an upgrade [UT Austin]

More on DNA: Scientists Just Stored The Hottest Album From 1998 In Literal DNA

July 14, 2020 by kbennes Categories: Biology, Culture, FilmTags: Dan Robitzski, DNA Storage, Futurism, Wizard of Oz Leave a comment

Because being good matters

Students come here to shine

In them, our fires of knowledge burn bright

Dreams aglow and rising!

Years ago I made a transition into the work of academic advising. It was to be a short layover job of sorts before heading into teaching, but the teaching bug faded and never materialized for a variety of reasons. Advising as it turned out, suited me quite well. I found I loved the combination of helping students pursuing important educational and life goals as well as the constant research and learning advisors need to stay current in a realm of ever-changing academic and transfer information.

Advising when done right takes a breadth of skills and abilities many take lightly. You have to know or be able to quickly access volumes of information. Mistakes on your part cost students time and money. Regretfully, most advisement training is on-the-job learning from mistakes. I quickly learned that to be effective, you have to know a lot, ask frequently to verify when you don’t know something, and find help when needed to aid students in a more holistic manner when they need additional resources.

Most importantly, through advising, I was inspired every day by the stories students brought to my humble cubicle. The single mother with a terminal illness trying to make sure her daughter would be able to get an education and career prior to her death; DACA students looking for a good education in a STEM field with perfect GPA unable to get an Honor’s scholarship or any other for that matter; homeless students who made it through the semester without dropping out despite the barriers. I learned to listen to students and continue to do my best to help them while they are here at GCC. My reward is watching how often a little bit of extra effort on my part often makes the world of difference to a struggling student. And that, ladies and gents, is why I love advising and why I’m good at what I do. Because it matters.

February 3, 2017 by kbennes Categories: Arizona, Culture, GCC, PoetryTags: Write 6X6 Leave a comment

Get your kicks on “Write 6×6”

This is my third year signing up for Write 6×6.  This year I am setting a goal for submitting a full six pieces which I haven’t yet pulled off.  Wish me luck!

Week 1 (Feb. 1-5): Who or What inspires you to do what you do here at GCC?

http://write6x6.com/intro/

WRITE 6×6 INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the Write 6×6 Challenge. Beginning the Week of February 1st, we will begin our writing challenge.

What is the challenge? Well, the CTLE invites you to create 6 pieces of writing, one each week for 6 weeks beginning February 1st. Aside from the 1 post each week for 6 weeks, the only other rule is that the writing must be about teaching, learning and student success. That’s a lot of latitude to write about pedagogy, tools, successes, challenges, or hopes and dreams.

The short term goal of the challenge is to give faculty, staff and administrators a playful space to share and learn and to see what colleagues are doing in classes and around campus. These writings will also be in a place where new and seasoned faculty can easily access them for years to come. The long term goal of the Write 6×6 Challenge is to push faculty, staff and administrators to be reflective practitioners in the field of education and share their reflections with colleagues. While the six weeks of writing may be a start, we hope that some of the participants will continue to write and share their thoughts about the educational landscape.

We will use the internet as a place to write and share the work. The faculty, staff and administrator writing will be magically delivered to the CTLE Write 6×6 blog, and it will be there so that you can read the work your colleagues submit. The CTLE will help you build a place to write from and support you throughout the 6 weeks.

You can see scheduled Write 6×6 trainings here or call us anytime and we will happily make you a master of writing on the internet in less than 20 minutes. And when you run astray during the 6 weeks, we will be available to help you find the right path. Really!

What is in it for you besides sharing your thoughts and ideas with your colleagues? For completing each week, the participants will be rewarded with a variety of awesome gifts (to be determined) To sweeten the deal, we will reward you with a pint of Ben and Jerry’s delivered to your office for completing the first week of the challenge! Adjunct instructors will get to pick up your awesome rewards from the CTLE.

So, are you up for the challenge? We know you are busy. We know you already share your ideas at workshops and at the water cooler. But we challenge you to use sentences as a way to reflect and share your thoughts about teaching, learning and student success with a broader audience. Imagine if 20 teachers, staff and administrators survive all 6 weeks that would produce 120 pieces of writing from GCC Gauchos about teaching, learning and student success! We could use that!

To signup, please email ctle@gccaz.edu before February 3rd or fill out the form below. The first week’s writing is due on the 5th.

 

 

February 1, 2017February 1, 2017 by kbennes Categories: Arizona, CultureTags: Glendale Community College, Write 6X6 Leave a comment

Breaking the Glass Ceiling with Dame Stephanie Shirley aka “Steve”

Digital and Entrepreneurial Pioneer/Kindertransport Survivor

If you have ever wondered if you could make a difference in the lives of others, please take a few moments to listen to the story of Dame Stephanie Shirley.  The story of how she was able to build a software company almost entirely with women in the 1960’s is compelling.

http://player.pbs.org/viralplayer/2365863409/

 

Read and learn more about the Dame Stephanie Shirley at these sites.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/blogs/secretlife/blogposts/dame-stephanie-shirley/

http://www.steveshirley.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Shirley

 

 

 

November 28, 2016November 29, 2016 by kbennes Categories: Culture, Digital Culture, Entrepreneurial, Math, Programming, Software, STEAM, TechnologyTags: Dame Stephanie Shirley, kindertransport, PBS, Steve Leave a comment

Camille A. Brown: A visual history of social dance in 25 moves

Lovely (only 4 minutes) TED Studio Talk with

Camille A. Brown, Choreographer and educator

Camille A. Brown leads her dance company through excavations of ancestral stories, both timeless and traditional, that connect history with contemporary culture. Full bio

Why do we dance? African-American social dances started as a way for enslaved Africans to keep cultural traditions alive and retain a sense of inner freedom. They remain an affirmation of identity and independence. In this electric demonstration, packed with live performances, choreographer, educator and TED Fellow Camille A. Brown explores what happens when communities let loose and express themselves by dancing together.

October 27, 2016October 23, 2016 by kbennes Categories: Arts, Culture, Dance, Humanity, Interdisciplinary, STEAMTags: african american culture, Camille A. Brown, dance, History, slavery, TED Leave a comment

Taylor Mac’s Wild and Beautifully Absurd, 24 Hour, History of America. Audience Participation Required.

It took a while for the magnitude of Taylor Mac’s new show to sink into my understanding all the way out here in Arizona.  There was an article in the NY Times this past weekend, but I skimmed through it and thought it odd what New Yorkers find entertaining.  Then, as oftentimes happens, I was listening to NPR in the car and caught this segment on All Things Considered.  Thanks NPR, I would have missed the significance without you.

A 24-Decade History of Popular Music will happen coincidentally, on my birthday, October 8th, at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn.  Taylor Mac will be delivering the most raucous, unusual and compelling combination of so many things, I’m sure it will be a memory of a lifetime for anyone hardy enough to stay the course of the 24 hour performance.

Read and listen yourself!

• NPR’s All Things Considered.  A Musical History of the U.S., With An Extra Dose Of Glitter
• Taylor Mac.Org
• Performance of 6 of 24 Decades at Joe’s Pub with MASS MoCA

 

 

 

September 23, 2016September 23, 2016 by kbennes Categories: Culture, Music, STEAM, TheatreTags: 24-Decade History of Popular Music, All Things Considered, Glitter, History, Musical, New York, NPR, Something Different, St. Ann's Warehouse, Taylor Mac Leave a comment

Explore the World With GeoGuessr

 

GeoGuessr is an engaging way to explore the world and test your geographic wizardry in a game designed by Anton Wallén of Sweeden.  GeoGuessr, through the wonder of Google Street View maps, plops players down in unknown locations making you guess where you are in the world by visual clues.   You can choose between global, country or city maps which is quite nice.  It’s fun and free!

Give it a go.  Or better yet, challenge a partner to play with you.  geoguessr.com

 

 

 

September 6, 2016 by kbennes Categories: Culture, Digital Culture, Geography, STEAMTags: Anton Wallen, GeoGuessr, Google Street View Leave a comment

Local Motors New Olli

“This is the world’s first autonomous on-demand shuttle. So basically you call it on an app and it picks you up just like Uber and it will talk to you,” says Justin Fishkin, Local Motors’ Chief Strategic Officer.

Local Motors, the manufacturer of the world’s first 3D printed vehicle, is actually local to us with a micro factory and base right here in Chandler, Arizona.

The newest addition to their line up is the uberly-cool (pun intended) Olli “Your friendly neighborhood mobile solution”. The self-driving Olli was the genius of industrial design student, Edgar Sarmiento, who at the age of 22, entered his concept into a Local Motors competition.   With an app on your smart phone, the coolest micro bus ever, will pick you up and take you where you need to be … in style.

More on Edgar Sarmiento and Olli from NPR here.
More on Local Motors read more here!

August 23, 2016August 23, 2016 by kbennes Categories: Arizona, Culture, Engineering, Entrepreneurial, STEAMTags: 3D printed, Arizona, Automotive, Autonomous, Chandler, Edgar Sarmiento, Industrial Design, Local Motors, Manufacturing, NPR, Olli, Self Driving, Watson Leave a comment

James Turrell’s Sky Spaces

Installation artist James Turrell, at Roden Crater in northern Arizona in 2001.  Credit Florian Holzherr

I am always on the lookout for something or someone new and interdisciplinary to bring to the STEAM Hub. James Turrell,  an installation artist and son of an aeronautical engineer and Peace Corps doctor, seems to have that beautiful mix of aesthetic creativity partnered with science that is so interesting to me.   It came as no surprise that his undergraduate studies focused on psychology and mathematics; only later, in graduate school, did he pursue art, receiving an MFA from the Claremont Graduate School in Claremont, California.

Here are a few of his Arizona projects to wet your whistle.  When it cools off just a little, I think a James Turrell art road trip is in order.

Roden Crater
The natural cinder cone crater is now home to a land art project and naked eye observatory thirty plus years in the making that will blow your mind.

Air Apparent
A Sky Space Art Installation by James Turrell and Will Bruder at the ASU Tempe campus.

Knight Rise
Another Turrell public sky space located at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.

 

 

 

 

July 8, 2016July 6, 2016 by kbennes Categories: Arizona, Arts, Astronomy, Culture, Engineering, Geology, Interdisciplinary, Mathematics, Sculpture, STEAMTags: heliocentric, Installation art, james Turrell, Roden Crater, Sky Spaces Leave a comment

“THE RECYCLED ORCHESTRA” EXHIBIT AT MIM

On exhibit now at the Musical Instrument Museum

Exhibit displays instruments from remarkable group

Amid a massive landfill in Cateura, Paraguay, children find hope by making music on instruments built from recycled trash. In a slum town where families survive by collecting and reselling garbage (and where a violin can cost more than a house), a visionary music teacher gathered a small team to plunder the landfill for materials and construct an ensemble of “recycled” instruments. In just a few years, their innovation has led to a thriving music school in Cateura and a youth orchestra that performs internationally. For members of the Recycled Orchestra, material poverty is not an obstacle to a life rich with music. They have each learned to value greatly how music impacts their lives, helping them express creativity, build self-confidence, and strengthen community.

The Musical Instrument Museum features the inspiring story and the innovative instruments of the Recycled Orchestra through a Latin America gallery exhibit and docent mini-tours. The Recycled Orchestra exhibit features eight recycled instruments from Paraguay as well as video and images of the youth orchestra and the environment of Cateura.

June 20, 2016June 18, 2016 by kbennes Categories: Arizona, Culture, DIY, Guitar, Humanity, Interdisciplinary, Music, Recycling, STEAM, SustainabilityTags: Cateura Paraguay, Exhibit, MIM, Musical Instrument Museum, Recycled Orchestra Leave a comment