UBC Science One

The teaching team getting ready for an exciting new semester!

USEQIP students take on the IBM Quantum Experience The first time that the IBM Quantum Experience was used as a classroom educational tool was June 7 at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC).

https://twitter.com/georgiastraight/status/743254342736699394/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The Georgia Straight on Twitter “Mister offers flavourful liquid nitrogen in Yaletown https://t.co/aMkT8Wgxie ”

As some of you have already seen, Science One has a new website. One of the things we want to do is keep in touch with our alumni better. We want to know what amazing things you're doing!

On the website is a new alumni form: https://scienceone.ubc.ca/alumni.

Right now, we're trying to get as many people and pictures and stories as we can. After this initial round, the alumni form will be moved to the side bar and these profiles will then be listed under the alumni page so everyone can see what you're up to. We can't wait to hear from you.

cheers!

Keep in Touch | scienceone.ubc.ca Science One wants to keep in touch with our alumni, and let our current prospective know how the program has helped alumni active their professional, and even personal, goals. Keep in touch by sending us an email below.

Thank you for coming to hot chocolate night with me!!

Congratulations to Science One Alumni Jonathan Zhang on his stint as TRIUMF's first Erich Vogt Fellow!

http://www.triumf.ca/student-stories/triumf’s-first-ever-erich-vogt-fellow

TRIUMF’s First Ever Erich Vogt Fellow | TRIUMF : Canada's National Laboratory for Particle and... Jonathan Zhang, an 18-year old aspiring theoretical physicist, just finished his first year of undergraduate studies at UBC Sciences, when he got the chance to do something that most students don't have the chance to do until later in their career: collaborate with theoretical research scientists at…

How critical is mathematics to science? Discuss.

The Curious Wavefunction: Is mathematics necessary for doing great science? I think that perhaps one might hesitate to discuss physics and math that way. Math in physics is akin to breathing in humans - it doesn't make it what it is, but if it's not there, things are pretty much dead. Meaning, if you can't do some serious math without having to think about it, you won't be…

Math is everywhere.

2014/15 Photo Contest: Post your favourite SCIE001 photo from this past year (only one!). The winner will be based on which photo best exemplifies this year in SCIE001! (faculty are also encouraged to participate, but you can't win)

Interdisciplinary Exam is currently on... a brief moment of how it came to be (according to Mark).

Types of scientific evidence

Scientific evidence comes in a variety of forms. Here's a rough, ranked guide to them! Larger image: http://wp.me/p4aPLT-15k

'Allergic To All Known Chemicals?' Chemophobia, the irrational fear of chemicals, is increasingly in vogue, especially with respect to food, even though many chemicals used in agriculture and food production are labor-saving, improve food security and enhance the quality and safety of food. Nevertheless, activists continue to attack…

Baby Tortoises Born on Galapagos Island for First Time in 100 Years - The Good News Network During a December survey of giant tortoises on one Galapagos island, conservationists found evidence there of the first hatchlings born in the wild in over a century. The exciting find was the direct result of a rat eradication campaign completed two years ago on Pinzón, when helicopters criss-cross…

(Light looks a little bit like Sparklemuffin. Just saying.) http://phys.org/news/2015-03-particle.html

The first ever photograph of light as both a particle and wave (Phys.org)—Light behaves both as a particle and as a wave. Since the days of Einstein, scientists have been trying to directly observe both of these aspects of light at the same time. Now, scientists at EPFL have succeeded in capturing the first-ever snapshot of this dual behavior.

Behold. Sparklemuffin Peacock Spider. (I swear, we had nothing to do with naming this guy.)

Newly-Discovered "Sparklemuffin" Peacock Spider Is Here To Party Well, helllooo! Meet one of the only arachnids that we'd actually call "cute," a newly-identified species of peacock spider dubbed "Sparklemuffin." Another new discovery, "Skeletorus" (which is also pretty cute, with added mod-meets-goth flair), is pictured below.

http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-blue-and-how-do-we-see-color-2015-2

Mirror spider. It's a spider disco ball!

MIRROR SPIDER

Macrophoto by Nicky Bay, in Singapore. The disco mirrors are probably guanine deposits, thought to either dazzle predators or aid camouflage.
http://sgmacro.blogspot.com/2013/07/transformation-of-mirror-spider.html

Tequila is perfect for growing diamonds.

This week's : Diamonds from tequila!

(Note: you can now see all the past Weird Chemistry posts on a dedicated page here: http://wp.me/P4aPLT-Xz)

Artificial protein may stop HIV in its tracks A novel monkey study shows promise with a gene therapy that produces a protein fusing bits of antibodies and cell surface receptors

Worth the read...

Why science is so hard to believe Our emotions and instincts sometimes overpower the facts.

Got some cool research you want to present? Yes, you do! Because you're doing T2!

Apply to present at MURC, biggest BC undergraduate research conference, as an oral presenter or poster (poster will be printed for free).

Abstract deadline is THIS MONDAY at 11:59pm.
Application: https://forms.students.ubc.ca/career/apply-be-presenter
Details: http://students.ubc.ca/career/murc

Apply to be a presenter | Student Services

Remember Josh, who talked to us about the Science of Wine? This is his blog.

Josh tastes 173 BC wines I tasted 173 BC wines in a row which was both fun and exciting but kind of slightly dreary, like if you took Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" and replaced that phrase with "Meritage" for the entire du...

Chemistry in space! This graphic by the New Scientist team shows that the majority of molecules found so far in space are tiny.

Awesome!