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April 27, 2009
eScienceCommons: A blog experiment

By Carol Clark

The new psychology building lies at the heart of a physical “science commons” taking shape on campus. And a new blog is building an electronic science commons.

Log on to www.emory.edu/esciencecommons to learn how your neurons are connected to your wallet, why you should care about the lowly ant, and the chemical basis for love.

eScienceCommons is interactive, so you can join the conversation and add your views to the mix. The blog aims to serve as a platform for ideas, while showcasing Emory’s high-level research spanning the natural and social sciences.

Here are just a few of the ongoing stories:

• A big hope for solving the energy crisis is to turn every home into an artificial leaf by mimicking natural photosynthesis. Emory chemists, physicists, computational scientists and biologists are joining forces to try to make that vision a reality.

• New ways of understanding today’s obesity trend may be hidden in ancient human skeletons and our ancestors’ diets and lifestyles. Emory is a national leader in taking this bio-cultural approach to anthropology.

• Many epidemics in recent years began when a germ jumped from wildlife to humans. Emory is developing an international reputation in disease ecology, to help control — or prevent — a major pandemic.

The natural and social sciences at Emory are powered by an interdisciplinary culture and proximity to leading medical, law and humanities schools, the Rollins School of Public Health, the Yerkes National Primate Research Center and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Emory’s tradition of service and outreach — to both the local community and the world — adds to its impact.

Want to glimpse the future? Follow along with eScienceCommons — where one discovery leads to another.