“Irish diplomacy is the ability to tell a man to go to hell so that he looks forward to making the trip.” (Irish saying)
Bob Lipinski
Before you begin cooking the corned beef, you will need some good old-fashioned pants-slapping music. Naturally, the Irish Rovers or Clancy Brothers would be a great choice. Now, the best songs to listen to include “The Unicorn,” “The Orange and the Green,” “Goodbye Mrs. Durkin,” “Black Velvet Band,” “Donald Where’s Your Trousers,” “Bridget Flynn,” “Lilly The Pink,” and “Harrigan.”
To help celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, here’s the scoop on corned beef.
The term corned beef has nothing to do with American corn, but rather an English term from the seventeenth century, for curing and preserving a brisket of beef in salt, which at one time was in the form of pellets (or grains of salt), called corns. Today “corning” is the term used to describe the process of curing a brisket of beef by steeping it in a pickling solution.
Here’s what I use to cook corned beef. Photo by Bob Lipinski
Corned beef, a staple of all Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations, is generally cooked by steam, although some cooks prefer to boil, bake or even microwave it (ouch, when you see the electric bill.) I have found that steaming the corned beef in a tall pot used for steaming clams minimizes shrinkage, maintains moisture and cooks in less time than other methods. Be certain the bottom of the steamer pot is filled with water, plus the pickling spices, which are often packed with the corned beef. (You can use a tablespoon of pickling spices, available in the supermarket if needed.) Do not trim off any fat pre-cooking; it adds to the moisture. Cook according to the package or your butcher’s advice. To keep the corned beef tender after cooking, let it rest for five minutes before serving. Now, remove any excess fat. To avoid stringy, cooked meat, be certain to slice against the grain.
Between the Irish music, the parade up Fifth Avenue and eating chunks of Irish soda bread, I enjoy beer on Saint Patrick’s Day. Everyone has their favorite and the most popular Irish beers are Beamish, Galway Hooker, Guinness, Harp, Murphy’s, O’Hara’s and Smithwick’s. However, my favorite is Guinness Foreign Export Stout, available only in four-packs. Guinness Stout is relatively low in carbonation and should ideally be served at 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
If you prefer wine, my suggestions for white wines are chenin blanc, gewürztraminer, pinot blanc, riesling and sylvaner. Red wines are barbera, Bardolino, Beaujolais, Chianti and pinot noir. Equally fine is rosé, white zinfandel and a blanc de noirs sparkling wine.
Bob Lipinski, a local author, has written 10 books, including “101: Everything You Need to Know About Whiskey” and “Italian Wine & Cheese Made Simple” (available on Amazon.com.) He conducts training seminars on wine, spirits and food and is available for speaking engagements. He can be reached at www.boblipinski.com or [email protected].
First responders, soldiers or those exposed to any kind of chemical weapons attack need a way to remove the gas from the air. While masks with activated carbon have been effective, the latest technological breakthrough involving a metal organic framework may not only remove the gas, but it could also disarm and decompose it.
That’s the recent finding from research led by Anatoly Frenkel in a study on a substance that simulates the action of sarin nerve gas.
Frenkel, who is a senior chemist at Brookhaven National Laboratory and a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering at Stony Brook University, worked with metal organic frameworks, which contain zirconium cluster nodes that are connected through a lattice of organic linkages.
Anatoly Frenkel with his son, Yoni, at Lake Hopatcong in New Jersey. Photo by Mikhail Loutsenko.
These structures would “do the job even without any catalytic activity,” Frenkel said, because they are porous and capture gases as they pass through them. “It’s like a sponge that can take in moisture. Its high porosity was already an asset.”
Frenkel and his colleagues, which include John Morris and Diego Troya from Virginia Tech, Wesley Gordon from Edgewood Chemical Biological Center and Craig Hill from Emory University, among other contributors, suspected that these frameworks might also decompose the gas.
Theoretically, researchers had predicted this might be the case, although they had no proof. Frenkel and his team used a differential method to see what was left in the structure after the gas passed through. Their studies demonstrated a high density of electrons near the zirconium atoms. “These were like bread crumbs congregated around a place where the zirconium nodes with the connecting linkers were,” Frenkel said.
While this work, which the scientists published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, has implications for protecting soldiers or civilians in the event of a chemical weapons attack, Frenkel and his colleagues, who received funding from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, can share their results with the public and scientific community because they are not working on classified materials and they used a substance that’s similar to a nerve gas and not sarin or any other potentially lethal gas.
“This knowledge can be transferred to classified research,” Frenkel said. “This is a stepping stone.” Indeed, Frenkel can envision the creation of a mask that includes a metal organic framework that removes deadly nerve gases from the air and, at the same time, disarms the gas, providing a defense for first responders or the military after a chemical weapons attack. Even though he doesn’t work in this arena, Frenkel also described how manufacturers might use these frameworks in treating the fabric that is used to make clothing that can prevent gases that can be harmful to the skin from making contact.
A physicist by training, Frenkel’s work, which includes collaborations on five other grants, has a common theme: He explores the relationship between structure and function, particularly in the world of nanomaterials, where smaller materials with large surface areas have applications in a range of industries, from storing and transmitting energy to delivering drugs or pharmaceuticals to a targeted site.
Eric Stach, a group leader in electron microscopy at BNL, has collaborated with Frenkel and suggested that his colleague has helped “develop all these approaches for characterizing these materials.” Stach said that Frenkel has “an outstanding reputation internationally” as an expert in X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and, in particular, a subarea that allows scientists to learn about extremely subtle changes in the distance between atoms when they are subjected to reactive environments.
Frenkel said some of the next steps in the work with metal organic frameworks include understanding how these materials might become saturated with decomposed gas after they perform their catalytic function. “It’s not clear what can affect saturation,” he said, and that is something that “needs to be systematically investigated.” After the catalyst reaches saturation, it would also be helpful to know whether it’s possible to remove the remaining compound and reuse the catalyst.
“The next question is whether to discard” the framework after it’s trapped and deactivated the chemicals or regenerate it, Frenkel said. He is also exploring how temperature ranges might affect the performance of the framework. Ideally, it would function as well in an arctic environment as it would in a desert under extreme heat. A commercial application might require the synthesis of a material with different physical characteristics for a range of temperature conditions.
Frenkel has been working on this project for about one and a half years. A colleague approached him to become a part of this new collaboration. “My role was to bring this work to a national lab setting,” where the scientists could use the advanced tools at BNL to study the material as it was working, he said.
A resident of Great Neck, Frenkel, who grew up in St. Petersburg, Russia, lives with his wife Hope Chafiian, a teacher at the Spence School in Manhattan for almost 30 years. He has three children: Yoni lives in Manhattan and works at JP Morgan Chase, Ariela is a student at Binghampton and Sophie is in middle school in Great Neck.
Frenkel appreciates the opportunity to explore the broader world of nanomaterials, which, he said, are not constrained by crystal structures and can be synthesized by design. “They show a lot of mysteries that are not understood fully,” he said. Indeed, Frenkel explained that there are numerous commercial processes that might benefit from design studies conducted by scientists. As for his work with metal organic frameworks, he said “there’s no way to overestimate how important [it is] to do work that has a practical application that improves technology, saves costs, protects the environment” and/or has the potential to save lives.
Pat Westlake, executive director at the pantry, smiles surrounded by donations. Photo from Ted Ryan
By Ted Ryan
On March 4, 1984, the Smithtown Emergency Food Pantry opened its doors for the first time, and it has served the community in full force ever since. For their support of residents in need, the Smithtown Emergency Food Pantry is recognized as the Times Beacon News Media People of the Year.
The food pantry was established to assist the residents of Smithtown who need help feeding their families and is made up of seven churches within Smithtown: the Byzantine Church of the Resurrection, the First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown, the Smithtown United Methodist Church, St. Andrews Lutheran Church, St. James Episcopal Church, St. Thomas of Canterbury Episcopal Church and St. James Lutheran Church.
According to Smithtown Emergency Food Pantry Executive Coordinator Pat Westlake, it has only gotten more and more successful since its creation.
“They helped about 40 people that first year,” said Westlake. The number has grown each year as more and more people needed help.
The food pantry’s accomplishments are entirely based on the community’s largesse and support.
“People in town are very generous … everything is donated or we purchase it with donations that people give,” Westlake said. “Everyone here is a volunteer, no one gets paid … we depend on this community.”
Each of the seven churches has its own coordinator, and the churches rotate who is running the emergency food pantry every month. The coordinator from each church runs the daily operations and has at least three volunteers working every day.
The people who come to the food pantry go beyond just the poor. In Smithtown, the list of profiles of those who ask for food is longer and more diverse than one might expect.
“Most of the clients come when there’s a problem,” Westlake said. “They lose a job, they get downsized, there’s illness in the family, senior citizens taking in grandchildren, divorces. Most of our clients need a helping hand through that rough time, and that’s what we’re here for.”
“There are many more people in the community of Smithtown that need assistance than you would ever imagine.”
— Jean Kelly
With so much need from the community, there are many who rise to the challenge to give to the unfortunate.
During the Thanksgiving season of 2015, a man gave food to the Smithtown Emergency Food Pantry. He opened his trunk to reveal more than $100 worth of food to be dropped off.
After thanking the man for the generous donation, Westlake said she ask for his name. “He replied, ‘Joe, just Joe.’ He wouldn’t give his last name.”
After asking what the food pantry was short on, Joe came back the next day with another trunk full of food as well as a dozen turkeys for the Thanksgiving season.
After Westlake thanked Joe for his generosity, he responded, “You helped me a couple of years ago and I always promised I’d pay back.”
It’s because of residents like Joe that the Smithtown Emergency Food Pantry has been able to give to those in need for 32 years.
The food pantry has been a big help to the community, and local legislatures such as Smithtown Town Supervisor Pat Vecchio (R) recognize its role.
“The Food Pantry is a most wonderful organization that does great work for those in need,” Vecchio said. “The pantry lives up to the perception that we should feed the hungry. I am proud of the fact that the pantry is part of our town.”
Jean Kelly, the coordinator at St. Thomas of Canterbury, supervises the food pantry every seventh month and said that people may be surprised how many Smithtown citizens are in need.
“There are many more people in the community of Smithtown that need assistance than you would ever imagine,” she said in a phone interview. ““If they do come in, many people cry; they’re embarrassed. But we try to make them feel comfortable, [we] don’t want them in any way to feel that they are in any way a burden to anyone.”
The Smithtown Emergency Food Pantry is located at 90 Edgewater Avenue in Smithtown. You can call 631-265-7676 to see what donations are most needed or if you need help feeding yourself or your family.
Alan Alda received the Double Helix Award from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory this month. Photo by Constance Brukin, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
By Daniel Dunaief
In a world of tirades and terrifying tweets, the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University is encouraging its professors and students to do something the center’s namesake urges: Listen.
Tough as it is to hear what people mean behind an explosive expression that fuses reason and emotion, the scientists in training, established researchers and others who attend some of the lectures or workshops at the center go through an exercise called “rant” in which each person listens for two minutes to something that drives their partner crazy. Afterward, the scientist has to introduce their partner to the group in a positive way.
Alan Alda. Photo by Constance Brukin, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
The staff at the Alan Alda Center finds inspiration, a role model and a humble but willing listener in Alda, the highly decorated actor of “MASH” who has spent the last several decades drawing scientists out of dense shells constructed of impenetrable jargon and technical phrases.
For his dedication to forging connections for scientists, Times Beacon Record News Media is pleased to name Alan Alda a 2016 Person of the Year.
“He’s doing a wonderful job,” said Jim Simons, the former chairman of the Stony Brook Mathematics Department and hedge fund founder who shared the stage with Alda this summer as a part of a Mind Brain Lecture at Stony Brook. “I can’t think of anyone better to be an honoree.”
Simons described a moment with Alda, who is not a scientist nor does he play one on TV, when he was sharing some abstruse mathematics. Alda’s eyes “glazed over when I was first talking to him. He’s teaching scientists not to get a glaze over their audience’s eyes.”
Alda works tirelessly to share a method that blends scientific communication with the kind of improvisational acting he studied early in his career.
“Improv is not about being funny,” said Laura Lindenfeld, the director at the center. “It’s about being connected.”
Last June, Alda was a part of a team that traveled to California to share an approach that is in demand at universities and research institutions around the world. The day of the workshop, three people who were supposed to help lead the session were delayed.
Alda suggested that he run the event, which would normally involve several instructors and break-out groups. Learning about the art of connecting with an audience from someone who reached people over decades through TV, movies and Broadway performances, the attendees were enchanted by their discussion.
“He’s the master,” said Lindenfeld, who was at the campus when the team received news about the delay for the other instructors.
As soon as the session ended, Alda headed for Los Angeles to conduct a radio interview.
“I handed him a granola bar,” recalled Lindenfeld, who joined the center last year. “I was afraid he hadn’t eaten.”
Alda celebrated his 80th birthday earlier this year and shows no signs of slowing down, encouraging the spread of training techniques that will help scientists share their information and discoveries.
“He’s teaching scientists not to get a glaze over their audience’s eyes.”
— Jim Simons
The Alda Center is planning a trip to Scotland next year and has been invited to go to Norway, Germany and countries in South America, Lindenfeld said.
When the University of Dundee received a grant from the Leverhulme Trust to create the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science, officials in Scotland, one of whom knew Lindenfeld personally, researched the Alan Alda Center’s mission and decided to forge a connection. Lindenfeld helped coordinate a congratulatory video Alda sent that the Scottish centre played at its opening ceremony.
“Everyone present from the highest Law Lord in Scotland, through to the principal of the university and the Leverhulme trustees did not know it was going to happen, and so it was a huge surprise that stunned the room into complete silence,” recalled Sue Black, the director of the centre in an email. “Brilliant theatre of which Mr. Alda would have been proud.”
Established and internationally known scientists have expressed their appreciation and admiration for Alda’s dedication to their field.
The training sessions “drag out of people their inhibitions and get them to think about interacting with the public in ways that they might not have felt comfortable doing before,” said Bruce Stillman, the president and CEO of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. This month, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory gave Alda the Double Helix Medal at a ceremony at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
Stillman described the public understanding and perception of science as “poor.” To bridge that gap, Alda’s programs “induce scientists to feel comfortable about talking to the public about their ideas and progress.”
Nobel Prize winner Eric Kandel suggested that Alda’s accomplishments exceed his own.
“There ain’t many Alan Aldas, but there are a lot of Nobel Prizes out there,” Kandel said. While Kandel is “extremely indebted to having won the Nobel Prize,” he said the totality of Alda’s accomplishments are “enormous.”
The Alda Center is working with Columbia University, where Kandel is the director of the Kavli Institute for Brain Science and a professor, to develop an ongoing program to foster scientific communication.
Alan Alda, left, at a ceremony at the American Museum of Natural History. Photo by Constance Brukin, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Kandel, who considers Alda a friend, appreciates his support. Kandel said Jeff Lieberman, the chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia, asked Alda and Kandel to give a talk on issues related to neuroscience. Lieberman “was my boss,” Kandel said, “I had to be there, but [Alda] didn’t have to be there. He goes out of his way for people.”
In 2017, the center will not only share its communication techniques around the world, but it will also create conferences for timely scientific topics, including climate change and women in science.
The glass ceiling is a “real issue for women in science,” said Valerie Lantz Gefroh, the improvisation program leader at the center. “We’re hoping to give [women] better communication tools so they can move forward in their careers.”
The center is also adding new courses. Next fall, Christine O’Connell, who is a part of a new effort at Stony Brook called the Science Training & Research to Inform Decision and is the associate director at the center, will teach a course on communicating with policy and decision makers.
That will include encouraging scientists to invite state senators to see their field work, going to Congress, meeting with a senator or writing position papers. In political discussions, scientists often feel like “fish out of water,” O’Connell said. The course will give scientists the “tools to effectively engage” in political discussions.
Scientists don’t have to be “advocates for or against an issue,” O’Connell said, but they do have to “be advocates for science and what the science is telling us.”
Given an opportunity to express her appreciation directly to Alda, Black at the University of Dundee wrote, “Thanks for having the faith to collaborate with our centre so far away in Scotland, where we are trying to influence the global understanding of forensic science in our courtrooms — where science communication can make the difference between a guilty or an innocent verdict and in some places, the difference between life and a death sentence.”
To borrow from words Alda has shared, and that the staff at the center believe, “Real listening is a willingness to let the other person change you.” Even if, as those who have gone through some of the sessions, the speaker is ranting.
The Kings Park cheerleading team leaps into the air during the Small School Division I competition. Photo by Bill Landon
By Bill Landon
Kings Park’s cheerleading squad has been battling since opening day, when seven of the team members dropped out. And now the girls are struggling to stay healthy.
The team took to the mat, competing for the top spot in Small School Division I against 10 other teams Dec. 18 at Comsewogue High School, and even with two members sidelined, the girls were able to stay solid through the two-and-a-half-minute performance in front of a near-capacity crowd.
The Kings Park cheerleading team performs different stunts while getting the crowd involved in the cheering during the Small School Division I competition. Photo by Bill Landon
What has made matters more difficult is getting used to the differences between the Long Island Cheerleading Association and Section XI rule book and scoring sheet, since cheerleading has been recognized as a sport.
“We had to change our routines and it’s a drastic change,” said Kings Park head coach Jennifer Ford. “Section XI caused us to fundamentally change how we do it.”
Kings Park senior Alyssa Ambrosia, a two-year varsity starter, said she’s only known the new scoring system, so for her, that’s an advantage.
“We’ve had to overcome a lot this season,” she said. “We were strong in stunting, but I think we can all improve on our tumbling.”
The Kingsmen finished outside the Top 5, but four-year veteran Jamie Barbarino sees nothing but prospect.
“I know that every single person on our team has potential,” she said. “We can be really, really good out there on the mat, but we need to get better with our [end of the routine] pyramid.”
Senior Olivia Nicoletti has been cheering since ninth grade, and has seen the difference between the two scoring methods.
“You have to do certain types of jumps, certain tumbling, and you do stunts differently,” Nicoletti said. “All the points are awarded differently in individual sections, so it’s much harder. We had some challenges today, [another] one of our girls got hurt, so we had to [animate] one stunt.”
Kings Park looks to put on a better performance once they’re at full strength on Jan. 15 at Mount Sinai High School at 9:15 a.m.
Remember the names of Columbus’ ships, anybody? Yes. Of course you do. Everyone in this overflowing audience knows the three names. Furthermore, you all know them in the same order. Good for you! Doesn’t matter where you went to school — from the Redwood forest, to the Gulf Stream waters, to the New York island, those names were taught to you and me — and in order!
Quite an achievement. Or, is it? Of what educational value are those three names? Virtually none, except maybe to a contestant on Jeopardy. But students are in real jeopardy if we continue to consume their limited school time with pointless facts, trivia, backward thinking, and low-level knowledge.
I dub it the “Nina Pinta and Santa Marianization” of our schools. Let’s sail back in time to Columbus. The big date — you know, it rhymes with “ocean blue. What was going on in the world during that era? Was there a printing press? Was there a global power? Were there wars going on? (Good guess. Seems there’s always a war going on somewhere.) Was his trip around the time of the Great Potato Famine or the Black Death? How long would the journey take and how was it estimated? What provisions did Columbus need to stock in order to survive the journey? How did the food not spoil? How much water could be used each day by each person and animal? How many men and animals should be boarded, realizing that each man and animal consumed food and water and made the living quarters tighter? What if winds were becalmed in the Horse Latitudes and the ships barely moved? Did they need weapons, and if so, why?
How many of us considered those questions in school? The teachers didn’t ask them, nor did they know the answers. Remember, teachers are a product of the schools themselves. They are primarily people who succeeded in school, liked it, and went on to do it — not change it. They are educational conservatives.
During the eight years I directed a class for teachers, I’d give them a test developed from fourth- and fifth-grade books. Not one teacher ever came close to passing. I’d tell them that they were either not very bright or that the material we’re teaching our kids is irrelevant to a functioning adult.
So, what if our educational system comes to its senses and realizes that constructive destruction of curriculum and teaching methods is necessary, and Common Core was not a common cure? What should we teach? Here’s a start:
Personal finances. Every school should create a bank where students have the option to invest by purchasing shares. The bank would issue loans to students and would require a student co-signer. Interest would be added to the loan reflecting the amount and length of loan. Credit rating would be developed. [Yes. I’ve done it and it works.]
What is fire, auto, and life insurance — and how do they work?
The art of being skeptical without being a skeptic. Time. What it is and how to manage it.
Relationships: What are they? How do they develop? And what is their value? Introductions: How to offer and receive.
Black boxes in airplanes and cars. What do they reveal? What are mortgages? Why do they exist?
Waste management. Where does garbage go? What are sewers and cesspools? [Water, water … not everywhere.]
Logic and reasoning with and without Venn diagrams. The art of questioning and the value of wrong answers.
The media. What it is, how it works, and the choices it makes. The illusions in movies and TV through editing, music, and more. PG-13: How and why things are rated. The goals and methods of advertising.
A school farm with irrigation. Students would have scheduled time working on the farm. A student and adult committee would handle the summer months. Kitchen duty with student assignments. Custodial duty with student chores.
The science of raising, preparing, and cooking food. The food we eat: Where does it come from? What is a hamburger bun?
Negotiating and compromising. Shipping and transportation. The evolution of things: the medicine bottle, the telephone, the sneaker, etc.
Dilemmas: how can Italy, the world’s biggest exporter of olive oil, also be the world’s biggest importer? Is there such a thing as too much?
Plumb lines, centers of gravity and sea level. Architecture, engineering, stacking blocks. Physics is everything. How technology affects our lives.
Language travels with us but never reaches a final destination.
Objects: magnifying glasses, prisms, levels, stethoscopes, magnets, ball bearings. The magic of perimeters. Zero-sum games.
The gift of failure, and the hardship of failure-deprived people. Thinking about what others are thinking by using game theory.
Your body: A user’s manual.
Bruce Stasiuk of Setauket continues to teach. He currently offers workshops as an instructor in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, located at Stony Brook University.
Tony Zador. Photo courtesy of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
By Daniel Dunaief
For some people, the frontier lies deep in space, further than the eye can see. For others, the frontier resides at tremendous pressure beneath the surface of the ocean. For Tony Zador, the chair of neuroscience and professor of biology at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, the frontier is much closer to home, in the collection of signals in our brains that enable thought and direct our actions.
Recently, Zador and his research team helped explore that frontier, developing a technological innovation that allowed them to see where nervous system cells from one important region projected into other areas.
About six years ago, Zador came up with the idea to barcode the brain. Zador and his former graduate student Justus Kebschull explored the connections between the locus coeruleus (LC) and other parts of a rodent brain. The LC is responsible for reacting to stressful situations, allowing an animal to stimulate areas that might help save its life, including those responsible for visual or auditory processing.
Researchers believed that the intercom system that connected the LC to the rest of the brain could stimulate all areas at once, like a building-wide announcement coming over the public address system. What scientists didn’t know, however, was whether that communication system could send messages to individual areas.
“People knew before our work that neurons in the locus coeruleus broadcast their signals throughout the cortex,” Zador said. “What was not known was whether there was any specificity. It was always assumed.”
Zador found that individual neurons had precise connections to different parts of the brain. While this doesn’t prove that the LC can selectively activate one area, the way a superintendent might send a signal to one wing of a building, it demonstrates the specificity of the connections, which “raises the possibility” of selective signals.
Indeed, if each neuron diffusely spread out across the entire cortex, there would be no way to achieve localized control over cortical functions through the LC system. The visual cortex, for example, would be alerted at the same time as the auditory and frontal cortex.
Ultimately, Zador is interested in the brain’s neuronal network. The way nervous system cells communicate in our brains can help us understand how we process and interact with the world around us. Down the road, he is hoping to help create something called a connectome, which will provide a map of that network.
This information, at a basic level, could provide a better understanding of neurological conditions such as autism, schizophrenia, depression and addiction.
At this stage, however, Zador is building a network called the projectome, which provides a map of the specific regions neurons go in the brain. He collects this information by inserting a deactivated virus with a unique genetic code into the brain. These viruses act as a label, allowing Zador and his colleagues to trace the areas where individual neurons go. This technique, he said, doesn’t indicate whether neuron one is connected to neuron two, three or four, but, rather, it indicates whether neuron one is connected to a bunch of neurons in regions one and two but not in three and four.
Zador “had to develop a method of bar coding each neuron so that it is unique and a technique of detecting each bar code individually,” said Bruce Stillman, the president and chief executive officer of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. By collecting numerous samples of where these neurons go, Zador, his collaborators and other scientists can determine the natural range of variability for animal models of individuals with typical behaviors and reactions. Once they establish that range of typical wiring, they can compare that to animal models of neurological challenges, like autism. Zador wants to “create a baseline against which we can compare neuropsychiatric models of disease.”
Stillman explained that Zador’s focus at CSHL has been on cognition — how the brain makes decisions, retains memory and pays attention to tasks at hand. Zador, Stillman suggested, is “one of the pioneers in establishing the rodent cognition area.”
To understand cognition, however, Zador needed to see what regions of the brain are connected to other areas, providing a road map of the brain. Even though he didn’t have a background in molecular biology, Zador benefited from working with specialists at CSHL to create this bar coding, Stillman explained. Stillman described Zador as “bright” and “broad thinking.”
Zador said the next step in his work will be to relate the projections to the individual cells’ function in the brain. He would also like to see their neuron-to-neuron connectivity. He said he is pursuing both goals and hopes to submit a paper in the next month or two describing such a method for the first time.
“Although we can sequence the codes” from neighboring neurons, “we still have work to do to figure out connectivity,” Zador said. “That involves significant molecular tricks that we’re refining.”
Georgio Ascoli, a collaborator with Zador and the director of the Center for Neural Informatics at the Krasnow Institute of Advanced Study at George Mason University, described Zador as an “internationally renowned, highly respected scientist,” whose best known contributions relate to the challenge of understanding how the brain can seamlessly decide which stimuli in a varied environment like a cocktail party to listen to among numerous choices.
A resident of Laurel Hollow, Zador lives with his wife Kathy Shamoun, who practices Chinese medicine at CSHL and is a childbirth educator and doula. The couple has two sons, Ronin, 10, and Bowie, 6.
As for the benefits of this bar-coding approach, Ascoli explained that the technique is “potentially revolutionary because of its inherent scalability to full mammalian brain mapping, which is currently out of reach for alternative approaches.”
The term monoculture is generally used in agriculture to refer to a farmer raising only one variety of a particular crop. There are benefits and disadvantages to monoculture. The benefit is that a farmer can select the best, most well-adapted plant, a plant that will produce the biggest harvest, etc.
The disadvantage of monoculture is that if that particular plant is attacked by an insect pest, fungus, bacteria or virus to which it has no resistance, the entire crop can be wiped out. This happened in the 1800s when only a few strains of potatoes were raised in Ireland. When they were attacked by a blight to which they had no resistance, the Irish potato famine was the result. Had they grown a broader variety of potatoes (and other food crops), this wouldn’t have been as big a disaster.
The same concept can be applied to gardeners when they plant virtually all of the same type of plant. When an insect pest or some sort of disease strikes a particular variety of plant, then their garden is wiped out.
Current situations to keep in mind
Oak wilt has been found in Central Islip recently. It’s a fungal disease that blocks the water-conducting vessels of a tree. Without water, the tree dies. At present there is no cure for oak wilt. The trees must be removed and destroyed so the disease doesn’t spread. This potentially could be a problem on Long Island since we have so many oak trees growing here naturally.
Southern pine beetles have been found on Long Island. The southern pine beetle bores into healthy trees, eventually killing the trees. The Department of Environmental Conservation has been fighting this forest pest, and recently New York State provided grants to local communities to help control it by cutting down the infested trees and destroying them, again, the best method of control.
The Asian longhorn beetle is a pest that particularly attacks hardwood trees. According to New York State Department of Agriculture, it was first discovered in North America in 1996 in Brooklyn. The beetles were detected in Islip in 1999 and eradicated in 2011. They were also detected on Staten Island in 2007 and eradicated in 2013. Recently, an infestation of the beetle has been found in West Babylon. Check your pool filters for these pests and check your hardwood trees for signs of infestation such as bore holes.
Some helpful strategies
◆ Check your trees more frequently. Look for anything out of the ordinary: fungus, unusual deposits of sap, holes in the bark, etc. Call in an arborist if you see anything you don’t like. The sooner a problem is detected, the easier to control it and prevent its spread.
◆ A broader solution is to avoid monoculture. Plant a variety of trees and shrubs that do what you want a particular plant to do: provide shade, provide a living fence, provide a specimen plant, etc. That way, if a pest or disease attacks one species, you have a chance of keeping at least some of your carefully tended plants.
◆ Look for disease- or pest-resistant plants. For example, the Irish potato famine was caused by a fungus that also attacks certain tomato cultivars. This was a problem on Long Island just a few years ago. Check plant tags and catalog descriptions. This is particularly true for new trees being added to your property. It’s easy enough to try a new variety of tomato plant each year, but trees take many years, decades in some cases, to reach maturity.
◆ Lastly, support organizations that are working to develop disease-resistant plants. For example, The American Chestnut Foundation is working toward developing disease-resistant plants. The American chestnut tree was nearly wiped out by a fungal disease known as the chestnut blight in the early 20th century. The tree was native to much of the eastern part of North America. Visit www.acf.org for further information on its work.
For further information on the above and other garden pests and diseases, go to www.dec.ny.gov, www.na.fs.us and www.agriculture.ny.gov.
Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.
Former Centereach team members raise their helmets in a display of unity. File photo by Greg Catalano
By Joseph Wolkin
According to Centereach football coach Adam Barrett, having a 4-4 record isn’t good enough.
The Cougars’ 2015 record placed them in a tie with Half Hollow Hills East for ninth in Division II out of 14 teams. With several key areas to work on, including developing sophomores and juniors from last year’s team, Barrett is hopeful for the team’s 2016 season.
“We have to top our win total from last year,” he said. “Obviously, we want to be better. I think we have the talent and the group that can get us to the playoffs for the first time in a while. We have to get better.”
Centereach missed the playoffs once again in 2015, putting pressure on several returning starters, including incoming senior Shawn McFarland. The wide receiver, who also played on the defensive side of the ball last year, is expected to be a team leader this season.
However, McFarland isn’t the only returning starter Barrett is counting on to carry the team.
Junior running back Alec Kiernan is on the coach’s radar as someone who will stand out in 2016. Standing at 5-feet, 10-inches tall, he continuously defeated opposing rush defenses throughout his sophomore season. Highlight reels show him methodically moving his way through defenders, including an approximately 50-yard rush and another 40-yard one for a touchdown.
“We have a lot of seniors this year,” Barrett said with optimism. “We were a little bit younger last year. I think across the board, a lot of guys have more varsity experience already, so that will help us this year.”
The Cougars will have a first-year starter at quarterback in 2016, with Jay Morwood making the move from junior varsity. According to Barrett, there is a lot of pressure for Morwood to perform early and often.
With 14 seniors on the squad, Barrett expects the team to be stronger this season, but he understands the challenges ahead. The Cougars must defend the ball better after being outscored 184-130 last year, including shutouts at home against Huntington and Half Hollow Hills East, along with an away game at West Islip.
There might be light at the end of the tunnel though, now that there are more student-athletes focusing on the football program at Centereach.
“We’re getting a full-year commitment from these kids now over the last couple of years,” Barrett said. “In the past, it hasn’t been that way. These kids are really putting in the time over the offseason in the weight room and coming to spring ball after playing two to three sports. They have to go in the weight room and stay in shape all year, so that way they’re ready to go as soon as their spring sports are over. We have a year-round commitment to football, and it’s making a difference.”
Green beans mature in about two months. Photo by Ellen Barcel
Now that it’s August, you’ve been enjoying your garden’s produce. Some varieties of tomatoes have already ripened. The fresh corn has been delicious. You’ve had beans and salads fresh from the garden. But, it’s time to start thinking about your second harvest of quick growing and cool weather veggies.
The average first frost on Long Island is the end of October (central North Shore and North Fork) to early November (North Shore of western Suffolk and Nassau counties). These, of course, are averages. I remember a December when I still had geraniums blooming while I was putting out my Christmas wreath. And, there have been early Octobers with frost, times when I’ve rushed to get my houseplants, which were summering outside, back into the house.
Radishes mature in under a month. Photo by Ellen Barcel
First, look at the packages of seeds and see how long it is from planting to maturity. For something like green beans, depending on variety it can be anywhere from 50 to 60 days. So, knowing that the end of October is just about the last of the growing season, count backward. You need to plant the last of your green beans, again depending on variety, by the beginning of September. That will give you the two full months you need for plant maturity. Start now, and plant another row each week, finishing up the beginning of September. Lettuce is another quick growing crop. Leaf lettuce is a cool weather crop and matures in 40 to 50 days. So, the last sowing of lettuce needs to be mid-September. Head lettuce takes longer — 70 to 90 days, so chances are it won’t have time to mature.
Some varieties of cucumbers will mature in 60 days, while others take longer.
Summer squash will mature in about 60 days and radishes under a month. You can plant your radishes up to the end of September and still have a harvest before frost.
Green onions (scallions) will be ready to be picked in 50 to 60 days. Again, plant up until the beginning of September. Okra will mature in 50 to 60 days. Corn will mature, depending on variety, in 65 days and beets in 55 to 70 days. Kohlrabi will mature in 50 to 60 days.
Green tomatoes, if large enough in autumn come frost, may ripen in the house. Photo by Ellen Barcel
Tomatoes are interesting in that the plants you put down in spring will continue to set fruit into fall, as long as the weather doesn’t get too cold. This means that you may have a lot of green tomatoes at the first frost. If they are large and with a tinge of orange, try to ripen them indoors. Some people swear by the brown paper bag method. Or, consider either making fried green tomatoes or pickled tomatoes. This latter treatment is more reliable. I’ve had some tomatoes I’ve tried to ripen just go to mush, especially if they were very small.
Remember that the above, and any dates listed on seed packages, are for optimal conditions. A sudden cold spell can delay plant maturity. Second crops can be less reliable than planting in spring, but, all you’ve invested is the cost of a few packages of seed. If it’s very dry, remember to water well. Use fertilizer, especially for very heavy feeders like tomatoes. Good luck and enjoy your second harvest!
Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. Send your gardening questions to [email protected]. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.
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