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Robby Bowles

Robby Bowles

A Scientist at Duke University with a passion for photography and imaging.

Medical researcher at Duke University with a passion for photography.  My research focuses on back pain and tissue engineering, while much of my spare time ( the little there is) is spent doing photography.  My deep desire is to end pain and suffering and I use both my research and photography to work towards this goal.
My Research: http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/08/lab-grown-disks-may-cure-that-ac.html
My Photography:www.robbybowles.com
Co-founder of #ScienceSunday here on plus.


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Scientist and Photographer English Durham North Carolina United States Duke University Cornell University Person

Ranked: 2nd in North Carolina Most Engaging This Month (by Engagement)

Ranked: 4th in North Carolina Most Engaging This Month (by Average Reach)

Ranked: 5th in North Carolina Users (by Followers)

Ranked: 101st in North Carolina Most Engaging This Month (by Comments)

Ranked: 117th in North Carolina Most Engaging This Month (by Total Reach)

Ranked: 118th in North Carolina Most Engaging This Month (by +1's)

Ranked: 145th in North Carolina Most Engaging This Month (by Shares)

Ranked: 238th in United States Most Engaging This Month (by Engagement)

Ranked: 278th in United States Most Engaging This Month (by Average Reach)

Ranked: 379th in North Carolina Users (by Following)

Ranked: 398th in United States Users (by Followers)

Ranked: 589th in North Carolina Most Engaging This Month (by Number of Posts)

Ranked: 650th in Male Users (by Followers)

Ranked: 686th in English Users (by Followers)

Ranked: 1050th in English Most Engaging This Month (by Engagement)

Ranked: 1136th in English Most Engaging This Month (by Average Reach)

Ranked: 1140th in Users (by Followers)

Date Following Followers Gained
Recent Popular Posts
+59
20 Shares
About 10 weeks ago Man has 75% of Skull Replaced!

Now this is just cool and amazing.  3D printing was used to replace 75% of a man’s skull!!

3D Printing - The technique used here was similar to a tissue engineering article I recently posted about (https://plus.google.com/u/0/114146479114949843175/posts/RvjmfiwN2or).  The patient had their head scanned and then that data used to produce a CAD (computer aided design) file.  This file was imported into a 3D printer, which then produced an implant layer-by-layer with the correct topology to match the patient’s skull!  This patient specific technology can dramatically improve implant fit and outcome.

PEKK  -  The material used for the printing was a thermoplastic, polyetherketoneketone (PEKK).  Thermoplastics are polymers that soften above a certain temperature but harden once cooled again.  This property allows this material to be 3D printed for this purpose.  Other extremely important properties of PEKK for this application are its biocompatibility
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+49
3 Shares
About 2 weeks ago Where I've Been.

I have been missing from plus for a bit now and a couple of you have kindly inquired as to my whereabouts.  I wanted to share a quick post and photo providing that answer.  My wife and I had our first child recently and I have cut back on a few endeavors, including plus, to adjust for his arrival.  I do plan on returning as time permits, but for the time being my posting will be limited.  Thanks for understanding.
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+43
27 Shares
About 9 weeks ago DNA Goes Down Easy.
#ScienceEveryday  (for when it's not #ScienceSunday )

I'm loving this beautiful, short, and clear explanation of many key concepts of DNA.  Spend 3 minutes of your Saturday and learn something about DNA!

http://vimeo.com/60747882
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+32
7 Shares
About 10 weeks ago Mysterious Notochord
#Sciencesunday  (curated by +Allison Sekuler, +Rajini Rao, +Buddhini Samarasinghe, +Chad Haney, and myself (+Robby Bowles))

I’m sharing this beautiful image from a paper recently published in the Journal of Cell Biology (http://jcb.rupress.org/content/200/5/667) on the notochord and it’s role in spine morphogenesis.  Now you may be asking why this would be of interest to you.  The reason is simple, back pain is a huge problem, it dramatically reduces our quality of life and has huge societal costs.  The cells studied in this paper (notochordal cells) may be playing a significant role in the development of back pain.  Here is why.    

The Intervertebal Disc - The intervertebral disc is a cartilaginous tissue found in your spine, which is believed to play a role in the development of back pain when injured or diseased.   This disc is responsible for providing motion to your spine, as well as acting as a shock absorber in your spine.  It’s incredibly integral to o
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+26
9 Shares
About 9 weeks ago Celebrating +Chad Haney's Birthday with fireworks fruits and vegetables in an MRI.  #HappyBirthdayMrMRI  

Source: +Andy Ellison's MRI scans from http://goo.gl/bikwW

#HappyBirthdayChad   #ScienceEveryday #ScienceSunday
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+24
1 Shares
About 10 weeks ago ScienceSunday is Here Again.

Make sure to share all of the science goodness you can come up with today for +ScienceSunday!  Just tag it with #ScienceSunday  and our team of curators (+Allison Sekuler, +Buddhini Samarasinghe, +Rajini Rao, +Chad Haney, and +Robby Bowles ), and we will make sure to help spread the science with you here on plus.  We look forward to see what you come up with!
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+24
7 Shares
About 9 weeks ago SciTech #ScienceSunday Digest 11 - 17th Mar 2013
Standard genetic parts, graphene speaker, hair-thin endoscope, self assembling tissues, true nanocomposites, robotic cloud, and more.

1. A Precision Genetic Grammar for Engineering Cells.
A research group / company called BIOFAB has launched an online shop for a library of standard biological parts that it has created http://www.nature.com/news/dna-tool-kit-goes-live-online-1.12585. These standard biological parts - DNA sequences - allow precise control of gene activity in the bacterium Escherichia coli  and should allow biologists to design bigger and more complicated circuits and engineer cells that can make medicines and perform other useful tasks simply by plugging in various sets of genes. The sequences overcome a significant barrier in synthetic biology in which genes inserted into an organism often do not behave predictably. Where previously biologists had a 50% chance of making a cell express a protein at a certain level, these new
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+23
4 Shares
About 11 weeks ago Seeing Invisible Motion

This technology could be used for all sorts of things. The example they are using is to monitor a newborns pulse and respiration without actually needing to touch them or attach devices. 

It's amazing what you can find by looking in plain sight! #sciencesunday  

"A 30-second video of a newborn baby shows the infant silently snoozing in its crib, his breathing barely perceptible. But when the video is run through an algorithm that can amplify both movement and color, the baby’s face blinks crimson with each tiny heartbeat."

Source article: http://nyti.ms/XM7beH
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+19
0 Shares
About 11 weeks ago Calming Effect.

Sometimes my science has to trump going out and taking photos, which has been the case for the last few months.  But I wanted to share a photo I took over Christmas in rural New York.  I loved going around and photographing the farm houses and snow covered landscapes while there.  It it those times, and the complete relaxation I feel when out there that gets me through the more hectic times.  What is your favorite way to relax?
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+19
5 Shares
About 10 weeks ago Lego Organs.
#ScienceEveryday (for when it’s not #ScienceSunday)

Organs and tissue are incredibly complex in terms of their cellular and material components.  An orchestra of cell signaling and material architecture is necessary to produce and maintain function of these complex tissues.  Therein lies one of the great challenges in tissue engineering and growing new organs.  How can we create these complex tissues in the lab?  A paper recently published in PNAS (http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/02/27/1300569110) may provide one key tool to help create these complex structures.

Legos – The concept has been around for a long time in the form of a favorite childhood toy of many.  The researchers at Columbia University have created very small building blocks of multiple shapes that allow complex components to be built up to help create complex organs.  The key here is the ability to incorporate different cells and/or different molecules within these blocks.  Complex organization an
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