Science Fun
cwilcox | December 8, 2009img c/o Dr. David Cox via Telegraph.co.ukYou're looking at the world's smallest snowman, standing a whopping 0.02 mm tall or so, the typical length of Paramecium caudatum (a ciliate protist) or about twice the width of a human hair.
OK, to be technical, it's not a "snow" man because it's not made of snow. The snowman figure was created by Dr David Cox, a member of the Quantum Detection group at the National Physical Laboratory in West London, using technology designed for calibrating electron microscope lenses. The body is made of two tin beads wielded together with platinum, while the jolly…
cwilcox | March 10, 2009This is too frickin' cool: Now you see him, now you don't!
It's something to do with mirrors. Mirrors rock.
cwilcox | February 8, 2009Iâve been tagged by Allie over at Oh For The Love of Science! with a science book meme!
Imagine: YOU are asked to assign a half-dozen-or-so books as required reading for ALL science majors at a college as part of their 4-year degree; NOT technical or text books, but other works, old or new, touching upon the nature of science, philosophy, thought, or methodology in a way that a practicing scientist might gain from.Post your list, and forward the meme to a half-dozen-or-so other science-oriented bloggers of your choosing.
So, hereâs my book list:1. Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams - I agree…
cwilcox | January 20, 2009If you're a fan of once-a-week info bites like my Sci-Fi Parasites or Doses of Cute, you should check out Biochemical Soul's new Adaptation of the week. It's sure to be a great new weekly digest of adaptations at their finest!
cwilcox | January 20, 2009Here's a nice San Diego beach scene, made by swabbing fluorescent bacteria on a culture plate:
Now that is just cool. Here's some nerdy-background info on the artwork: the scene, by Nathan Shaner (photo: Paul Steinbach) is made from eight different colors of bacterial colonies expressing variations of the GFP and red-fluorescent coral protein dsRed. It was made in the lab of Roger Tsien, who as you might know received the Nobel Prize for his work with GFP.
sporte | November 28, 2008Would you recognize your leftovers when they're magnified? Would you know turkey if you saw it at 40X?
Make a guess and click an image to see the answer.
Reposted from DigitalBio's greatest hit collection
technorati tags: Thanksgiving, food science, microscopy
Copyright Sandra Porter
cwilcox | November 15, 2008If you thought the knitted Lab Rat and Frog were cool, check out these guys:
They're Food Chain Friends!
Thanks to someone's great insight at FAO Schwarz, you can buy your kids these loveable critters which demonstrate the food chain in all its plushy goodness. Food Chain Friends are from Daro, a small green planet modeled after the planet Earth 200 mya. "Daro teems with wildlife, and its exceptionally social and gracious species flourish in a complex - but oddly, very friendly - ecosystem." The best part, however, might be the slogan: "They're friends. They eat each other. It's a complicated…
cwilcox | October 30, 2008Everyone knows being a scientist has its downsides (like the Pay Rate), but it definitely has its upsides, too. If you're in a really fun lab, you'll have a glowing cat or something else strange to show off. For the rest of us, simply having access to a well-stocked lab and a basic understanding of chemistry provides definite advantages on a holiday based on magic and mystery. Here's a few reasons it's great to be a scientist on Halloween:
1. You can wear your work attire as a costume - and a pretty good one, at that. Throw on a lab coat, some safety goggles, and mess your hair up and…
cwilcox | October 27, 2008It seems that you can't have a conversation about evolution that doesn't end with everyone involved feeling frustrated. You can't even mention the word 'evolution' without bringing up a political philippic, religious rant or scientific squabble. Unfortunately, this keeps everyone from the conversations that really matter - of course, I'm talking about the fun ones.
No, I don't mean the ones that are fun to paleontologists looking for the origins of limbs or biologists searching for the mechanics of fat accumulation. I mean the ones that are really fun, to just about everyone, save, perhaps, a…
cwilcox | October 23, 2008OK, I know GFP is hardly news since the Nobel Prize was awarded to the scientists who discovered it and made it available to researchers. But, come on - tell me this cat ain't cool:
Meet Mr. Green Genes.
He's a nearly 6-month-old orange tabby whose eyes, gums and tongue glow a vivid lime green, the result of a genetic experiment at the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species. He's the first fluorescent cat in the United States, according to Betsy Dresser, the center's director.
The researchers made him so they could learn whether a gene could be introduced harmlessly into the feline…
cwilcox | October 8, 2008I love when scientists study the good stuff. Infectious Disease? Trite! Global warming? Cliche! Cure for cancer? Boring! So what is a dedicated, hard working scientist supposed to study to really make a difference in the world?
Oh, I have an idea! Premature Ejaculation!
O.K., I know it's a big (if brief) problem for approximately 1/3 of all you men out there (and I think I've met most of you), but seriously? I wish I could get a grant to do something like this.
Dr. Marcel Waldinger and his colleagues at Utrecht University may have found a gene type that leads to 'quick release,' so to speak…
cwilcox | October 7, 2008I just want to say that this might be the coolest thing I've ever stumbled upon while surfing the net. Hands down, by far, the best. Subsequently, it would be downright immoral for me not to share it with you:
Someone (found by this person) actually figured out how to knit a dissecting rat and frog. I'm sorry - I just couldn't help myself. I officially need to learn to knit, so I can make a pair of my own. Get the pattern for the rat or frog and make your own! Or if you're lazy, buy them. I think they'd make a great gift - especially if I'm on your Christmas list.
cwilcox | October 2, 2008For those of you who don't know, there are awards handed out every year to people who "do a service to humanity by removing themselves from the gene pool," lovingly named the Darwin Awards. Great stuff, if you want to get a good laugh at someone else's stupidity, but this is better.
Every October real nobel laureates give out "Ig Nobel" awards to the best scientific research that makes you "laugh, then think." Organized by the Annals of Improbable Research, the Ig Nobel prizes are given in the same fields as the Nobel prizes, plus a few extra which vary year to year. The winners' research is…
cwilcox | September 25, 2008Scientists tend to get a bad rap. We're stereotyped to be workaholic, out-of-touch geeks who think a labcoat is fashionable and would rather spend a day in the lab than at the mall. O.K., some of it is true (dude, labcoats are TOTALLY sexy), but not all of us have no sense of fun or adventure. Just ask the chemists from the University of Hawaii who have decided that there is nothing wrong with mixing business and pleasure.
Robert Liu and his colleagues study the chemistry of Vitamin A, carotenoids, and other polyenes. These chemicals, for those without a degree in chemistry, are pigment…