Category Archives: Chemistry

Raising the Profile of Women in Science

Posted on by

By Adrienne Roehrich, Chemistry Editor

One of the goals of Double X Science is to raise the profile of women in science. When others are doing this exact same things, we like to let our readers know. Here’s a few recent efforts to expand the public’s knowledge of women scientists:

As always, we have our Notable Women in Science series. We cover women in science who have been notable historically and currently. We also have our Double Xpression series which profiles women who are into science.


The Royal Society recently had a wikipedia push for writers to start new and expand the pages of women in science. Having visited wikipedia for writing the Notable Women in Science series, I can say that the number of pages created has definitely expanded and certainly there is much more information provided on a number of women. But there are still gaps. Look for more from Double X Science on this topic in the future.

A group in the UK is making a calendar “to showcase real women doing great science.” Learn more about ScienceGRRL by visiting their website and following thier social media. The images being used in the calendar look to be scenic or portrait-style.

SpotOn provides some tools for the female scientist to promote herself and also provides links that those interested in science might be interested in following, such as twitter lists of women in science.

When researching this post, I found several sites trying to promote women in science. This site provides resources as well as 4000 years of women in science. In addition, they link to many associations dedicated to helping women in science. Geek Feminism has Wednesday Geek Woman posts every Wednesday highlighting women in STEM. The RAISE project has an on-going blog about the issues facing women in science.

Please comment: What is your favorite site working to raise the profile of women in science and why?

These views are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect or disagree with those of the DXS editorial team.

Crowdfunding on the Brain: Finding Biomarkers for Early Autism Diagnosis

Posted on by
By Biology Editor, Jeanne Garbarino


If a child is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), it is because they have gone through a number of rigorous behavioral tests, often over a period of time, and never straightforward. Of course, this time can be a stressful for parents or caregivers, and sometimes the answers can lead to even more questions. One solution to the waiting and uncertainty would be to have a medical test that could more easily diagnose ASD. However, no one has been able to identify biomarkers – molecules in the body that can help define a specific medical condition – for the condition. Without this type of information, it is not possible to create a diagnostic test for autism.


Having been through this process with their son, who is on the autism spectrum, Clarkson University scientists Costel Darie and Alisa Woods have decided to work together to help address this issue. An interdisciplinary laboratory that combines hardcore proteomics (the study of the proteins we make) with cognitive neuroscience is probably not what you think of when it comes to running a family business. But for Darie and Woods, “marriage” has many meanings. This husband and wife team has combined their brainpower to embark on a scientific journey toward understanding some of the biochemistry behind autism, and they are walking on an increasingly popular path to help finance their work: crowdfunding.


A major goal of the Darie Lab is to identify biomarkers that are associated with autism and then to create a medical test to help alleviate some of the frustrations that come with the ASD diagnostic process. Using a technology called high-definition mass spectrometry, the Darie Lab has outlined a project to figure out the types of proteins that are in the saliva or blood of children with ASD and compare these protein profiles to the saliva or blood from children who are not on the autism spectrum. If the Darie Lab is successful, they might be able to help create a diagnostic test for early autism detection, which would undoubtedly fill a giant void in the field of autism research and treatment.


Here is how the experiment will work: The members of the Darie Lab will collect saliva (and/or blood) samples from children, half of whom are on the autism spectrum and half of whom are not. The researchers will prepare the saliva or blood and collect the proteins. Each protein will be analyzed by a high definition mass spectrometer, which is basically a small scale for measuring the weight and charge of a protein. The high definition mass spectrometer will transfer information about the proteins to a computer, with special software allowing the Darie Lab investigators to figure out the exact makeup of proteins in each sample.


The bottleneck when it comes to these experiments is not getting samples (saliva and blood are easy to collect), and it isn’t the high-tech high-definition mass spectrometer because they have access to one. Rather, the bottleneck comes from the very high cost of the analytical software they need. Because this software was not included in their annual laboratory budget but is critical to conducting this experiment, the Darie Lab is raising money through crowdfunding.


Why I think a contribution is worth the investment: Technology is always advancing, especially when it comes to protein biochemistry. The high-definition mass spectrometer is a recent technology, and according to the Darie Lab, they have been able to identify over 700 proteins in the saliva alone. This is quite an incredible step up from traditional mass spectrometers, which could detect only around 100 proteins in saliva. Just because we haven’t been able to identify biomarkers for autism in the past doesn’t mean we can’t do it now.

In addition to the use of this new technology, the Darie Lab presents some compelling preliminary evidence for a difference in protein profiles between those with ASD and those who do not have ASD. While they’ve examined only three autistic people and compared them to three non-ASD individuals, the two groups were clearly distinct in their saliva protein profiles. If this pattern holds up with an increased number of study participants, the implications could be quite significant for autism research.
 
Preliminary data from the Darie Lab shows that there are saliva proteins showing a 20X or greater
difference between ASD (ovals) versus sibling non-ASD controls (rectangles).

If you decide to kick in some funds, your good deed will not go unrewarded. As a thank-you for contributing, the Darie Lab has offered up a few cool perks, including high-quality prints of microscopic images in the brain.



If you are looking for a good cause, look no further. I am excited to see how the Darie Lab crowdfund experience goes, and I wish them all the best in their quest, both as professionals and as parents. To find out more, or to make a donation, visit the Darie Lab RocketHub page.

Fluorescent images of the brain, available to those donating $100 or more.
The opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily agree or conflict with those of the DXS editorial team and contributors.

A Few Modern Physicists

Posted on by

by Adrienne M. Roehrich, Chemistry Editor

In this edition of Notable Women in Science, I focus on women working in physics, typically traditional physics rather than astrophysics. There is no particular reason to make this distinction other than it allows me to choose a small group of women to highlight within a parameter set. These women are listed in no particular order.


Vera E. Kistiakowsky spent much of her career as a professor at MIT. Born in 1928, she received her A.B. from Mt. Holyoke College in 1948 and her Ph.D. from the University of California – Berkeley in 1952, both degrees in chemistry. Her chosen career stemmed from advice from her father to support herself and not depend on another person to support her. Her father was a respected physical chemistry professor at Harvard and his support in her chosen activities was instrumental to her success. She entered college at the age of 15, choosing a pre-med major. She changed to chemistry due to Mt. Holyoke’s extraordinary female faculty at the time. While her degrees are in chemistry, her studies and research were physics intensive.  Graduating with her Ph.D. before her newly married husband hindered her initial job opportunities. She had several positions before eventually settling into a professorship at MIT. During her tenure at MIT, she was scientifically prolific with 86 technical publications as well as highly active in feminist activities, including organizing for the National Organization of Women (NOW), Women In Science and Engineering (WISE), the Association for Women in Science (AWIS), and an ad hoc committee in the American Physical Society (APS) on women physicists to name a few.

Helen Thom Edwards is recognized for her work with the Tevatron. She was born in 1936 and received both her B.A. and Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1957 and 1966, respectively. Her interest in science was outside that of her family’s interests, so she was used to paving her own way. Her technical and mechanical acumen served her well as a group leader at the Fermilab. Dr. Edwards is a team player and insists upon acknowledging the contributions of her colleagues in her and Fermilab’s success.

Vandana Shiva in 2008.
[Edited, 11/26/12, 14:43 ET]: Vandana Shiva was trained in physics and the philosophy of science and now works as an environmentalist, achieving considerable global prominence. She was born in 1952 and, according to most sources, earned a B.A. in physics, a master’s in philosophy of science, and a Ph.D. in physics. When she began her training as a nuclear scientist, she encountered a hostile environment, which caused her to emigrate west. Her experiences led her to become a prominent (and extremely controversial) environmentalist and into the position of Director at the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Natural Resources Policy in Dehradun, India. She writes books and publishes articles in the area of environmentalism. [ETA: As a commenter notes below, Shiva also has been embroiled in controversy and accused of taking an anti-scientific stance over her assertions about “terminator seeds.”]
Ingrid Daubechies, 2005.

Ingrid Daubechies is a physicist and a mathematician known for her work in wavelets. 

Born in 1954, she received her B.S. and Ph.D. at Vrije University in Brussels in 1975 and 1980, respectively. Her interest in science and math was nurtured by her parents who also encouraged her independence. In 1984, she received the Louis Empain prize for physics for the work she accomplished before the age of 29. The prize was followed by tenure in her position at the Free University Brussels. She moved into a position at Rutgers and also worked at the AT&T Bell Laboratories. In 1992, she was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship followed by the Steele Prize from the American Mathematical Society in 1994. She has continued to receive honors and ovations to this day.

Janet M. Conrad researches neutrinos. She was born in 1963 and received her B.A. from Swarthmore College in 1985, her M.Sc. from Oxford University in 1987, and her Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1993. After a postdoctoral stint at Columbia University, she moved into a professor position there. In 2008, she moved to MIT. She has received many awards, including an NSF CAREER Award, an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow, and the Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award from the APS. She can be found involved in research and teaching at MIT, as well as communicating science to scientists and general audiences around the country.

Reka Albert blends cross and inter-disciplinary expertise. She received her B.S. and M.S. from the Babes-Bolyai University in Romania and her Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame in 2001. After a postdoctoral position at the University of Minnesota, she joined the faculty at Pennsylvania State University, where she is currently a professor in the physics department. She has received several awards for her work, including a Sloan Research Foundation Fellowship, an NSF Career Award, and the Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award.

Louis Empain Prize is awarded every five years to a young Belgian scientists on the basis of work done before the age of 29.

MacArthur Foundation Fellowship is awarded to individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction.

The Steele Prize is awarded for cumulative work of mathematical contribution to the field.

The NSF Career Award is a highly competitive grant awarded to early career scientists.

Alfred P. Sloan Fellowships are awarded to distinguished scholars with high potential for impact in their respective fields.

The Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award recognizes outstanding achievement by a woman physicist in the early years of her career.

The opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily agree or conflict with those of the DXS editorial team and contributors.

We can’t stop preterm births. Can we do more for preterm babies?

Posted on by
Baby girl born at 26 weeks, 6 days of gestation,
weighing less than 2 pounds. Via Wikimedia Commons.
Credit: Chris Sternal-Johnson.
by Emily Willingham, DXS managing editor

Today, Carolyn S. Miles, president and CEO at Save the Children writes at the Huffington Post (ducks) about the latest findings regarding our ability to stop a preterm birth from happening. As anyone who’s given birth knows, it’s not easy to stop that process once it starts, and that persistent inability means devastating outcomes for some families. As Miles writes:

A new study out in The Lancet Continue reading →