The Mission Position

November 8th 2012

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Nuclear Aggregation of Olfactory Receptor Genes Governs Their Monogenic Expression

Authors: E. Josephine Clowney, Mark A. LeGros, Colleen P. Mosley, Fiona G. Clowney, Eirene C. Markenskoff-Papadimitriou, Markko Myllys, Gilad Barnea, Carolyn A. Larabell, Stavros Lomvardas

Click the title above to link to the new paper out of my lab at UCSF that was published today in Cell. The audio clip is an interview with my boss, Stavros Lomvardas, giving a brief introduction to this beautiful paper which details graduate student Josie Clowney’s work on profiling the nuclear architecture of olfactory sensory neurons.

Highlights
In olfactory neurons, OR genes converge in specialized heterochromatic foci
The active OR allele in each neuron is transcribed outside of these foci
Lamin B receptor (LBR) downregulation allows OR aggregation in olfactory neurons
Ectopic LBR expression disrupts OR foci and causes OR coexpression

Posted at 11:54am and tagged with: san francisco, ucsf, science, olfaction, epigenetics, anatomy, work, sensation,.

November 7th 2012

ELECTION 2012 | Obama re-elected and so much more... #ivoted #2termz

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So, Barack Obama is president for another 4 years (#2termz)… I’m pretty excited about this to say the least. Without having to worry about the prospect of another election, it will be very interesting to see what he does with this next term.

CA propositions: Democrats land the supermajority so they have the two-thirds advantage in both legislative houses going forward, meaning big changes coming for taxation and budgetary measures. Hurrah!; Education: 30 won, 38 lost (which is good since only one educational prop could be voted through and 30 was by far the better choice; way to go CA!); Auto-insurance discounts failed (yay! I won’t be charged more because I have no insurance history); Death penalty was not repealed (waste of money IMHO); Penalties increased for human trafficking (some controversy on whether the prop was too broadly worded and thus will turn out to be a big mistake); Three strikes law was revised (good!); Genetically modified foods won’t be labelled.

Rest of the country: Recreational marijuana legalized in 2 states (CO, WA) and medical marijuana legalized in 1 (MA); Support Citizens United (MT, CO); Legalize gay marriage (WA, MD, ME)!!!!!!!!; DREAM Act passed (MD)

Posted at 10:54am and tagged with: united states, san francisco, california, election, obama, propositions, president, politiics,.

October 30th 2012

SF | SERVICES | EXEC: Get local help with errands, jobs and tasks, right now.

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Get a personal assistant within 10 minutes of requesting an Exec for $25/hour. #iwantit

Posted at 12:54pm and tagged with: sf, san francisco, startups, exec, services, maids, delivery, research,.

October 30th 2012

SF | EVENTS | 11am Halloween Giants Parade on Market Street

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So like, they won again or something. Please don’t set any fires on my block. Kthxbye.

And if you didn’t watch the game, here’s a nice animated re-cap by Taiwan’s Next Media Animation:

Posted at 10:48am and tagged with: sf, san francisco, giants, baseball, world series, mlbgone.com, parades, events, riots, soma,.

October 14th 2012

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Recap of my Litquake adventures last night (10-13-12)

Lit Crawl 2012 phase 1 - Casanova Lounge for “Saturday Night Special, an East Bay Open Mic, Invades the City”

@zaevans The final reader who spoke was…. LYRICS BORN. Yeah, the rapper. Apparently he has just written his first book, “Yes, Bay Area.”

My favorite quote of the night?: “Dude buying crack in a Prius? Yes, Bay Area.”

Lit Crawl 2012 phase 2 - Clarion Alley for “The Muni Diaries Presents…The Muni Haiku Battle”

Refereed by the (monthly Oakland spoken word show) Tourettes Without Regrets host Jamie Dewolf (slam poet extrordinaire and the reason I chose this event), three writers were pitted agaist Caitlin Gill, the nine-time Dirty Hairku champpion of TWR.

…I made another fantastic choice. #winning

Lit Crawl 2012 phase 3 - Viracoccha for “McSweeney’s Presents… Matthew Zapruder, Amelia Gray, and Daniel Handler”

The reason I chose this event was because Daniel Handler is actually Lemony Snicket, and of course I read every single “Series of Unfortunate Events” books growing up AND listened to them on audiobook, which is in fact narrated by the author himself, so it was so weird and awesome to hear his voice in real life after all these years. The two readers who spoke were wonderful—definitely check out Amelia Gray.

Posted at 5:02pm and tagged with: san francisco, sf, the mission, events, free, litquake, slam poetry, jamie dewolf, lemony snicket, lyrics born, photos,.

Recap of my Litquake adventures last night (10-13-12)
Lit Crawl 2012 phase 1 - Casanova Lounge for “Saturday Night Special, an East Bay Open Mic, Invades the City”
@zaevans The final reader who spoke was…. LYRICS BORN. Yeah, the rapper. Apparently he has just written his first book, “Yes, Bay Area.”
My favorite quote of the night?: “Dude buying crack in a Prius? Yes, Bay Area.”
Lit Crawl 2012 phase 2 - Clarion Alley for “The Muni Diaries Presents…The Muni Haiku Battle”
Refereed by the (monthly Oakland spoken word show) Tourettes Without Regrets host Jamie Dewolf (slam poet extrordinaire and the reason I chose this event), three writers were pitted agaist Caitlin Gill, the nine-time Dirty Hairku champpion of TWR.
…I made another fantastic choice. #winning
Lit Crawl 2012 phase 3 - Viracoccha for “McSweeney’s Presents… Matthew Zapruder, Amelia Gray, and Daniel Handler”
The reason I chose this event was because Daniel Handler is actually Lemony Snicket, and of course I read every single “Series of Unfortunate Events” books growing up AND listened to them on audiobook, which is in fact narrated by the author himself, so it was so weird and awesome to hear his voice in real life after all these years. The two readers who spoke were wonderful—definitely check out Amelia Gray.

October 12th 2012

SF | Literary EVENTS | Tomorrow, 10/13, 6-11pm: LitQuake's Lit Crawl events (the Mission)

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What: LitCrawl.

There’s no adjective big enough to describe it, no euphemism discreet enough to hide it. Celebrating Litquake’s closing night, Lit Crawl is the world’s largest free literary crawl — and the wildest, most wanton literary night of the year. The Lit Crawl is the finale of the 9-day Litquake Literary Festival. Click here for the full schedule—from Austen-a-Go-Go to Original Shorts to Authors in Conversation.

When: Saturday 10/13/12 from 6-11pmish

Phase 1 6-7 pm
Phase 2 7:15-8:15 pm
Phase 3 8:30-9:30 pm

Where: the Mission, 94110

Tip: There are 3 phases and way too many events to go to… pick your events ahead of time and arrive EARLY! They fill up quickly. (This year you can even download an app to help you plan! Check out Falcon for iPhone)

“ With more than 85 venues (bars, bookstores, art galleries, cafés, stores… even a beekeeping supply shop with live chickens!) and 450 authors reading their work in a single night, we aim to give poetry and prose a grandstand and book lovers a binge. And best of all, it’s all free.”

Posted at 5:25pm and tagged with: san francisco, literature, litquake, events, free, festivals, nightlife,.

October 11th 2012

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Snapshots from the past couple weeks… #Instagram

Events these represent:

Big Book Sale at Fort Mason
Folsom Street Fair
So You Think You Can Paint art party @ClubSix and Brenton Bostwick’s art at Little Raven Gallery during 2 Blocks of Art
SF Weekly’s annual DISH Food Festival
UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley “37th Annual Fall Plant Sale”
Blue Angels Air Show during Fleet Week
Decompression 2012

Posted at 2:15pm and tagged with: instagram, san francisco, photos, friends, events, me, art, festivals, dancing, music, blue angels,.

October 5th 2012

SF | iPhone apps | Find parking with your phone!: Voice Park

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This is one app where iPhone > Android:

VoicePark™ is the world’s most advanced hands-free parking navigation system. VoicePark™ guides you by voice, turn-by-turn, to the nearest available parking spot using real-time information refreshed every 8 seconds. Currently, VoicePark™ 1.0 is in use only in San Francisco.

Posted at 3:05pm and tagged with: san francisco, sf, parking, apps, iphone,.

October 4th 2012

SF | MUSIC FESTIVALS | This weekend Oct 5 - 7, 2012: Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival 12

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Basically, this weekend is going to be completely insane in SF. DO NOT TRY TO DRIVE. And plan your adventures in advance :)

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival

When: Fri Oct 5th, Sat Oct 6th (11am - 7pm), and Sun Oct 7th, 2012 (11am - 7pm).

Where: Hellman Hollow (formerly Speedway Meadows), Lindley & Marx meadows in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA. Read below for a map.

What is the schedule? The schedule can be seen here.

Is there a mobile app? Yes! Click to download the app for your device: IPHONE or ANDROID

Posted at 11:48am and tagged with: san francisco, golden gate park, bay area, hsb, hardly strictly, bluegrass, folk, music, free, events,.

October 2nd 2012

SF | ART | 10/3-13/12: Art Gallery Week | 36 galleries :: 10 days (repost)

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10 AM—5 PM

Pacific Heights, Jackson Square, and North Beach Galleries: Anthony Meier Fine Arts, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, and Montgomery Gallery.

5:30—8 PM

Tribute kick-off party and opening reception. Location to be announced.

6—8 PM

FIRST THURSDAY

4—6 PM

Oakland Galleries: Special preview of Oakland Art Murmur First Fridays for Art Gallery Week.

11 AM—6 PM

Berkeley and Oakland Galleries:Chandra Cerrito Contemporary, Creative Growth Art Center, Krowswork Gallery, Manna Gallery, Mercury Twenty, Paulson Bott Press, PHOTO, Pro Arts Gallery, RES IPSA, Slate Contemporary Gallery, Swarm Gallery, Traywick Contemporary, and Vessel Gallery.

5—8 PM

Pacific Heights, Jackson Square, and North Beach Galleries: Post and Sutter Street Galleries: Bond Latin Gallery, Marina Cain Gallery, Meyerovich Gallery, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Hespe Gallery, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, Sandra Lee Gallery and Scott Richards Contemporary Art.

5—8 PM

Geary Street and Tenderloin Galleries:Ever Gold Gallery, Fraenkel Gallery, Gallery Paule Anglim, George Krevsky Gallery, Gregory Lind Gallery, Highlight Gallery, John Pence Gallery, Modernism, and Rena Bransten Gallery.

1—7 PM

South of Market and Yerba Buena district Galleries: Catharine Clark Gallery, Crown Point Press, and
Hosfelt Gallery. Yerba Buena Alliance closing party.

Posted at 10:57am and tagged with: san francisco, bay area, art, galleries, free, events, repost,.