Adventures in the Lab

The science that I love, work with, and teach.

[nationalsciencefoundation]

Plant -- and climate -- versus animal

Photo credit: Daniel Ackerman/University of Minnesota

Annual tree rings in Alaska have revealed clues into the impacts of climate on shrub growth, and thereby on Arctic tundra ecosystems in general. After painstakingly measuring 20,000 individual shrub rings through a microscope, a team of scientists created records of historic shrub growth from across northern Alaska. Next, the team compared these growth records to climate observations, examining factors like precipitation, temperature and solar radiation. According to one researcher, larger shrubs appear to benefit some animals, like moose and ptarmigan, but harm other animals, such as caribou. Shown here: Evidence of how warmer June temperatures drive shifts in the tundra vegetation in northern Alaska, negatively impacting wildlife such as caribou. 

Learn more at the University of Minnesota’s news site.  

[compoundchem]

For #WorldWaterDay, here’s a look at the chemistry involved in bringing water to your home: http://www.compoundchem.com/2016/04/21/water-treatment/

[nasa]

We Need Your Help to Find STEVE

Glowing in mostly purple and green colors, a newly discovered celestial phenomenon is sparking the interest of scientists, photographers and astronauts. The display was initially discovered by a group of citizen scientists who took pictures of the unusual lights and playfully named them “Steve.”

When scientists got involved and learned more about these purples and greens, they wanted to keep the name as an homage to its initial name and citizen science discoverers. Now it is STEVE, short for Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement.

Credit: ©Megan Hoffman

STEVE occurs closer to the equator than where most aurora appear – for example, Southern Canada – in areas known as the sub-auroral zone. Because auroral activity in this zone is not well researched, studying STEVE will help scientists learn about the chemical and physical processes going on there. This helps us paint a better picture of how Earth’s magnetic fields function and interact with charged particles in space. Ultimately, scientists can use this information to better understand the space weather near Earth, which can interfere with satellites and communications signals.

Want to become a citizen scientist and help us learn more about STEVE? You can submit your photos to a citizen science project called Aurorasaurus, funded by NASA and the National Science Foundation. Aurorasaurus tracks appearances of auroras – and now STEVE – around the world through reports and photographs submitted via a mobile app and on aurorasaurus.org.

Here are six tips from what we have learned so far to help you spot STEVE:

1. STEVE is a very narrow arc, aligned East-West, and extends for hundreds or thousands of miles.

Credit: ©Megan Hoffman 

2. STEVE mostly emits light in purple hues. Sometimes the phenomenon is accompanied by a short-lived, rapidly evolving green picket fence structure (example below).

Credit: ©Megan Hoffman 

3. STEVE can last 20 minutes to an hour.

4. STEVE appears closer to the equator than where normal – often green – auroras appear. It appears approximately 5-10° further south in the Northern hemisphere. This means it could appear overhead at latitudes similar to Calgary, Canada. The phenomenon has been reported from the United Kingdom, Canada, Alaska, northern US states, and New Zealand.

5. STEVE has only been spotted so far in the presence of an aurora (but auroras often occur without STEVE). Scientists are investigating to learn more about how the two phenomena are connected. 

6. STEVE may only appear in certain seasons. It was not observed from October 2016 to February 2017. It also was not seen from October 2017 to February 2018.

Credit: ©Megan Hoffman 

STEVE (and aurora) sightings can be reported at www.aurorasaurus.org or with the Aurorasaurus free mobile apps on Android and iOS. Anyone can sign up, receive alerts, and submit reports for free.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

[scishow]

“Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.” —Stephen Hawking (1942-2018)

[nsfdirectorfieldnotes]

Remembering Stephen Hawking

I first met Stephen Hawking when I was a graduate student at Caltech. In those days there were frequent gatherings at the homes of professors and I even came to visit Stephen’s home in Cambridge for a party of physicists. His children made the biggest impression on me, so lively in a crowd of physics whisperers. I continued to see him when I joined the physics faculty at the University of California, Santa Barbara, as he visited the Institute for Theoretical Physics often. His insights into the nature of the universe assured all of us young scientists that the cosmos was far stranger, far more interesting than we could have imagined. If black holes of all sizes populated the universe, what else could be out there waiting to be discovered? I knew Stephen had made it into the public consciousness when, years ago, my taxi driver asked me if I had read “A Brief History of Time.” He had read it, and said he enjoyed it. Stephen Hawking was a most remarkable person. He gives hope that in every person, no matter what his physical liabilities, there is a deep soul, with abundant insight.

Photo credit:  Lwp Kommunikáció via Flickr CC By 2.0

[compoundchem]

For International Women’s Day, here are 12 women from chemistry history: wp.me/p4aPLT-2ra and 12 from chemistry present: wp.me/p4aPLT-5w7

[compoundchem]

On this day in 2005, the Kyoto Protocol came into force. Here’s a little more about it! http://www.compoundchem.com/2018/02/16/kyoto-protocol/

[compoundchem]

‪#TidePodChallenge is a pretty terrible idea – here’s the chemistry behind why: http://www.compoundchem.com/2018/01/25/laundry-pods/‬

[compoundchem]

Here’s the first #ChemMonthly round-up (replacing #TWIChem). This month features self-repairing glass that could mean an end to cracked phone screens, a drug to treat Huntington’s disease, and more! Links to articles and studies, as well as larger image, here: http://bit.ly/ChemMonthlyDec17

[compoundchem]

Chemistry Advent 2017 so far! If you haven’t already been following along, you can keep up at bit.ly/ChemAdvent2017

[nationalsciencefoundation]

Veterans helping veterans through research

Honoring veterans’ military service and attending to their re-entry into civilian life are important parts of how our nation celebrates veterans this month. For some veterans, re-entry may involve enrolling in college. Moving from life in the military to life on a college campus, however, can be challenging.

A program at Syracuse University addresses this challenge by training undergraduate students, including veterans, to conduct research on the effects of trauma in veteran populations. Part of a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Training Diverse Undergraduate Teams of Veterans and Non-Veterans to Conduct Trauma Research with Veterans program helps students look at the chemical, clinical, cognitive and family factors associated with the various outcomes of trauma.

Now in its 7th year, the Syracuse program begins with a four-week summer workshop that includes interdisciplinary coursework, faculty mentorship and the development of research projects. During the fall semester, students continue their research under the supervision of a faculty member from Syracuse University, State University of New York (SUNY) at Oswego, and SUNY Upstate Medical Center.

The program’s mix of veterans and non-veterans benefits both groups. Working closely with non-veterans can help veterans re-integrate into society. And it benefits the non-veteran undergraduates to work with researchers who are veterans.

“The non-veteran undergraduates gain a better understanding of the veteran population and the context for trauma research,” said Brooks Gump, Falk Family Endowed Professor of Public Health and co-director of the program.

One topic that researchers have explored in this program is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which affects millions of Americans and is particularly prevalent among veterans. Students partner with leading researchers who study the identification and development of PTSD. The ability to better predict the development of PTSD could improve efforts to identify and treat the disorder. The students also studied treatment outcomes and social relationships in individuals with PTSD.

In addition to conducting research, REU Site students and their mentors are encouraged to present their research findings at a national or international conference. The hands-on research and presentation experience helps prepare the students for graduate degrees in research fields.

Ivan Castro, currently a project manager with Syracuse University’s REU site, is himself a veteran of the Navy and of the program. He credits his time in the program with opening his eyes.

“The experience really opened a window into what research actually entails and allowed me to consider graduate school, something I had not given a thought to before that,” Castro said. “While working on my degree, I was also working full-time, and I couldn’t afford to volunteer in a lab. This REU gave me invaluable experience and insight and financial support during the summer. The program really pushed me towards pursuing a research profession.”             

SUNY College at Oswego professor Karen Wolford and former student Arthur Delsing are developing a mobile phone application to help people with anxiety disorders, particularly veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. Credit: SUNY College at Oswego

[nationalsciencefoundation]

Spider discoveries

Spider technology used to be a comic book fantasy and now it’s reality. Researchers are from universities across the nation are conducting research on spiders to aid in the development of next-generation textiles and materials.

Image credit: Jurgen Otto

Spiders are known for the intricate webs they spin, but did you know that spider silk is tougher than almost any man-made fiber? Researchers believe potential applications for spider silk are bulletproof vests, car airbags, artificial ligaments and eye sutures. Because spiders are territorial and can’t be farmed scientists are finding other ways to mass produce silk. A team of NSF-funded biologists cloned the genes for the proteins that produce the different types of spider silks. They then put the genes into goats, who make the silk proteins in their milk. High quantities of the proteins are then harvested by the researches from the milk.

Keep reading

[compoundchem]

This Week in Chemistry: Baking soda removes pesticide residue from apples, a saliva protein salt preference link, and more! Links to articles and studies: https://goo.gl/Py5zgZ

[dailybunny]

It’s the Daily Bunny’s Halloween 2017 Mega-Post!

More at today’s Daily Bunny post! Thanks, Holly, Chris, and bunny Gimly! Holly writes, “Gimly celebrates Bunnyween!  He begs for a Reese’s cup this time of year, but luckily he is content with bunny-approved treats instead!”

[labphoto]

Happy Halloween everyone!

The above video is about a quite “special” pumpkin for this evening. It is all made up glass and some really cool chemiluminescence is giving off the light with various dyes and different colors.

So what do we have here? Some Perylene witch is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and emits an intense blue light. It is also a dopant material in OLEDs and the simplest rylene dye (poly(peri-naphthalene)s). 

Look at those colors and that massive amount of emitted light:

My personal favorite: Rubrene (5,6,11,12-tetraphenyltetracene). It is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, a orange crystalline solid when pure. It is used as a yellow light source in lightsticks.

A highly substituted Anthracene derivative that emits somewhere between green and blue. It was a research chemical used to prepare better, brighter and longer lasting glowsticks. 

But since it’s only 2 and a half minute long, please take your seats and watch the video from this chemiluminescent “pumpkin”:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaK9Q-x_fOg

[scishow]

Vampire stories have been around for centuries, and some of them might have basis in scientific fact.

[compoundchem]

Using fake blood in your Halloween costume this year? Here’s the chemistry of the real stuff! http://www.compoundchem.com/2015/10/29/blood/