Single Gene Mutation Shapes Cerebro!

Jimmy Olsen © DC Comics

The size and shape of the human cerebral cortex, an evolutionary marvel responsible for everything from Shakespeare's poetry to the atomic bomb, are largely influenced by mutations in a single gene.

The findings are based on a genetic analysis of in one Turkish family and two Pakistani families with offspring born with the most severe form of microcephaly. The children have brains just 10 percent of normal size. They also lacked the normal cortical architecture that is a hallmark of the human brain. This combination of factors has not been seen in other genes associated with the development of the human brain, the authors note.

The researchers found that mutations in the same gene, centrosomal NDE1, which is involved in cell division, were responsible for the deformity.

"These findings demonstrate how single molecules have influenced the expansion of the human cerebral cortex in the last five million years," Gunel said. Link

Ref: The Essential Role of Centrosomal NDE1 in Human Cerebral Cortex Neurogenesis. 2011. M. Bakircioglu, et al. American Journal of Human Genetics.

Kids Reading Comics (1951)

Well, at least one kid.

The photo is scanned from a magazine called Friends, (Ceco Publishing for Chevrolet Dealers, August 1959). There is no photo credit given.

Based on the presence of White Chief of the Pawnee Indians # 1 in the photo, I'm guessing that it was taken in 1951.

Thanks to Clive Coy for the scan!

Born This Day: Francesco Maria Grimaldi

Gramaldi (April 2, 1618 - Dec. 28, 1663) was an Italian mathematician and physicist who studied the diffraction of light. He observed the image on a screen in a darkened room of a tiny beam of sunlight after it passed pass through a fine screen (or a slit, edge of a screen, wire, hair, fabric or bird feather). The image had iridescent fringes, and deviated from a normal geometrical shadow.

He coined the name diffraction for this change of trajectory of the light passing near opaque objects (though, more specifically, it may have been interferences with two close sources that he observed). This provided evidence for later physicists to support the wave theory of light.

With Riccioli, he investigated the object in free fall (1640-50), and found that distance of fall was proportional to the square of the time taken. link

The Origin of The Fox (1940) by Irwin Hasen

The Fox © current copyright holders

The Fox was created by writer Joe Blair and artist Irwin Hasen, and this story is his first appearance and origin from Blue Ribbon Comics #4 (June 1940). Hasen also worked on Johnny Thunder, the JLA, The Flash and The Green Lantern.

Irwin was frequently complimented in print by a Alex Toth who also illustrated some Fox stories for Red Circle Comics back in the '80's (you can see one here).

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Fortunately the goofy costume with the shirt shelves sticking out morphed into a more traditional crime-fighting costume over the course of the strip. As it stands, this story has a nice Bob Burden feel about it - one would almost expect The Flaming Carrot to show up!

Happy Birthday To the Periodic Table

On this day in 1869, Dmitry Mendeleev was a Russian chemist who developed & published his first version of the periodic table of the elements. In his final version (1871) he left gaps, foretelling that they would be filled by elements not then known, and even predicting the properties of three of those elements. link

Here are some of the more interesting periodic tables out there:



Comic Books

And here's the entry for our favourite element:




SciFi & TV


Superpowers


Smells


Imaginary Elements


Watch short videos of the elements by real scientists

Prisoners of Gravity (1993): The Sandman Interviews

Watch The Sandman Interview Episode

For those outside of Ontario, the public broadcasting station TVO (TV Ontario) is a well keep secret. They've recently posted a vast archives of old series they produced (ala, no 'Nightmusic'!), many of which will be of interest to readers of this blog.

One of the best series was Prisoners of Gravity that ran from 1989 to 1994. It was hosted by Rick Green (of The Frantics comedy troupe fame - sort of a Canadian version of Monty Python).

About Prisoners of Gravity:

Prisoners of Gravity, the acclaimed comic book and science fiction news magazine series, is not television. It's the world's orbital oracle. It's the future now. Trapped in geosynchronous orbit, unable to escape the planet he's convinced is hurtling toward self-destruction, Commander Rick (Rick Green) commandeers the airwaves to transmit his weekly pirate broadcasts. He explores crucial issues of the late twentieth century in the language of the faithful: science fiction, comics, computers, fantasy, and horror, all respectfully recognized in the series as adult art forms. He interviews these genres' writers, artists, and filmmakers, focusing on a different theme in each program: politics, war, fears, dreams, addictions, children, new worlds, and even the current popularity of dinosaurs.

Watch The Sandman Interview Episode

About the episode: This week Commander Rick profiles the comic book series that everyone from Norman Mailer to the girl next door is reading - "The Sandman." Featuring the key creators who've worked on "The Sandman": writer Neil Gaiman, editor Karen Berger, cover artist Dave McKean, and story artists Charles Vess, P. Craig Russell, Jill Thompson, Mike Dringenberg and Kelley Jones. Plus, a glowing tribute from science fiction writer Harlan Ellison who wrote the introduction to "The Sandman" graphic novel, "Season Of Mists." 28:50 min

The rest of the TVO archives are HERE

The Frantic's Mr. Canoehead:

Spores From Space by Frank Frazetta (1951)

Mystery In Space #1 (April-May, 1951) © DC Comics
Story by Gardner Fox; Art by Frank Frazetta

The Atomic Surgeons put a lot of work into cleaning up the original scan. Enjoy!


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