June 3, 2013 David Latchman

Otto Loewi, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1936 June 3, 1873 marks Otto Loewi’s birthday. This German born pharmacologist is known for his discovery of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter found in both the peripheral and central nervous systems of many organisms including humans. For his discovery, he was awarded the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Sir Henry Dale. Loewi is also known as the “Father of Neuroscience.” The problem of Neuron Transmission Between 1836 and 1838, scientists were first able to describe the first cells in nervous tissue. Gabriel Gustav Valentin (1810-1863) was…

May 28, 2013 David Latchman

Some of the smallest satellites ever launched will soon start unlocking the secrets of the largest starts in our Universe. These satellites, no bigger than a car battery, are designed to observe some of the most luminous stars in the night sky including the massive blue stars that are the precursors to supernova explosions. To do this, astronomers will use these satellites to observe a star’s surface vibrations caused by processes occurring deep inside a star in a similar way a geophysicist uses seismic waves to probe our Earth’s interior. These stars are important as some of them generate the…