Welcome to Our Blog
Thank you for visiting our website. We are a relatively small lab with big ideas. We are part of a much larger group of investigators known collectively as the LLUMC Molecular Radiation Biology Laboratories. It is our hope that this website will educate, communicate, and incite scientific debate. As the PI of our little group, I hope to post our data and discuss potential mechanisms, consequences, and countermeasures. With a bit of luck we'll all learn something. The links to the left include our merry band as well as collaborating investigators and laboratories. The links to the right include our archive and blogroll. The banner above will always bring you back to the main page page. Take a look around and please feel free to leave a comment on our blog (try to keep it civil and constructive) or shoot us an e-mail. - Michael " Ubertramp " Pecaut
Where have all the radiobiology bloggers gone?
Posted by: Ubertramp on 2008.06.19
Categories & Tags: Bacteria,Department of Energy,Grant,Immunity,Low Dose Radiation,Radiation
Comments: None
Lately, I’ve been a bit busy with a few things. Mostly writing grants for DOE (due June 25) and NIH (due July 15), and working with Farnaz to get the first space shuttle paper out (we sent it out to our co-authors for their input earlier today). Not to mention a couple of graduation ceremonies and a dissertation defense. Needless to say, this means I haven’t been as productive here as I’d like. So, since I had to write a summary statement for my DOE grant, I thought I’d post it here as well.
Theoretically, it’s supposed to be written for the layperson. But, as you’ll see, some of it ain’t. Unfortunately, I was limited to one page of text, and there were requirements on what I had to include (like hypothesis and specific aims), so I couldn’t go into a lot of detail. The actual grant proposal is 15 pages long. And trust me, you have no idea how hard it is to keep a proposal that short until you’re forced to do it. 
When a busted toilet could be a major catastrophe…
Posted by: Ubertramp on 2008.05.29
Categories & Tags: Astronaut Health,Bacteria,Current Events,Immunity,International Space Station,Microgravity,Radiation
Comments: 3
Most of you have probably heard by now that the toilet in the Russian-built Zvezda module of the International Space Station is on the fritz. Solid waste is ok. Liquid waste ain’t. Basically, the vacuum pump doesn’t suck when it’s supposed to due to a “‘fabrication flaw’ in the toilet’s compressor units.”
NASA says they have worked out a way to keep things running up there until the Space Shuttle Discovery arrives with replacement parts…which may or may not fix the problem permanently. And by running, I mean, it requires half an hour and two astronauts to make sure everything is rinsed, decontaminated, and flushed properly.
On Earth, that’s a relatively minor problem. In orbit, it can be a serious problem, but fixable. In open space, it could be a major disaster. And here’s why.
