ELEVENTH HOUR FACTS

Dr. Tyson takes on bioterrorism

From | 1 Comment

Last night’s season premiere of Dr. Tyson’s Nova Science Now program blew us away.  And no… it was not his attempts at singing in the shower that did so, but rather the scope of topics covered, and just how cutting-edge some of this information was.  For example… did you know there are people out there growing diamonds in labs to replace silicon-based microchips?  Neither did we.

That fascinating fact aside, we were impressed with how the show dealt with the sensitive topic of the 2001 anthrax attacks on so many press outlets here in the U.S.  What Dr. Tyson pointed out was that these attacks prompted the explosion of a relatively new field within biotechnology - microbial forensics.  It may have taken almost 8 years, but the FBI was only able to piece together a case, thanks to this emerging field’s contributions.

One amazing point came when they showed how one diligent researcher (after finding nothing in an exhaustive extrapolation of various anthrax strains’ DNA) saw a subtle difference in color between samples of a single anthrax strain. These researchers called these differences “morphs”, grew new samples from these morphs, and realized that the individual strains of anthrax around the world have the capability of producing these “morphs” - and it’s encoded in their DNA. Once they realized this - based on a SINGLE base pair difference in each of these morphs’ DNA - they could track down which lab samples around the world held the capability to produce these specific morphs. And that’s how they tracked down the anthrax source. Truly a fascinating story!

In the end, this is a real-life case of science sleuthing that provided us with a series of bleeding-edge tools and tactics to help us track down biological terrorists in the future.  Please check your local listings for a repeat of last night’s show, in case you missed it. There’s also an extra clip included here, courtesy of PBS.  If you did manage to see last night’s program, what did you think?  Let us know in the comments below!

Note: Given that Eleventh Hour has not been renewed for next season, we are looking at other fun ways to confront misperceptions of science within pop culture… so stay tuned for a new and improved site in the near future!

Tags: anthrax, biotech, bioterrorism, dr tyson, nova science now

Eleventh Hour in the News

From | 1 Comment

The team here at EleventhHourFacts.com caught an interesting piece of news in American Spectator on both Eleventh Hour and our site. You can read the piece for yourself, but it raises some interesting points about the possible politics behind the show and what they consider a cautious warning about biotech.

While we don’t see it the same as American Spectator, we do enjoy the always constantly evolving plotlines of Eleventh Hour and of course, Dr. Hood’s great catchphrases.

When we watch Eleventh Hour, we see a show that dramatizes how researchers work and compresses research and testing from decades to hours, something that is great TV, but not even close to a reality. But we also see a show that makes science cool and relevant, and that is appreciated. Occasionally we look up from the live blog and catch Eleventh Hour discussing some of the important scientific issues of the day, and while we don’t always agree with their opinions, it is great to hear TV characters talking about them.

There are millions of people in biotech working on new ways to heal, fuel and feed the world. We know that for a fact. And while the “mad scientist” meme may be popular for fiction purposes, the hard truth is that the real-life researchers behind the Eleventh Hour characters are our neighbors and friends – and people who want to see their communities thrive. Plus, there are plenty of safeguards out there to keep us safe, not to mention Special Agent Rachel Young is a pretty good shot.

Episode 16 Live Blog

From Episode 16: Fashion-Induced Violence | 1 Comment

Please join us tonight, March 12, for another episode of Eleventh Hour with live blogger Michael Gilkey from the National Center for Regenerative Medicine.