Alchymista

"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less." – Marie Curie

[alchymista-blog]

Hello my lovely followers! Expect a return from me in the near future! I'll be posting both here and on scinerds, so get excited...

[theatlantic]

Amazingly, Actual Molecules Look Just Like High School Textbook Drawings

Those little hexagon diagrams you studied in chemistry class turn out to be very close representations of the real thing.

Read more. [Images: Sciencexpress]

[canadad-deactivated20171111]

im trying to be more positive *sheds electrons and becomes highly unstable*

[alchymista-blog]

hello, I happened to stumble upon your blog and was wondering if I could ask you a question. Would you happen to have any ideas on topics a student could do a powerpoint on regarding environmental science? My professor said it could be anything, but preferably something that is a problem with possible solutions. Thanks for your time

About a year ago, for my summer biology class, I had the same guidelines for a powerpoint as well. I ended up doing my powerpoint on waste management, whether industrial, residential, etc. I went over the techniques of waste management we currently use, such as landfills, incineration, recycling and compost, stating the benefits and drawbacks of each.That topic was particularly interesting for me for some reason, but another great topic that was addressed in my class was overfishing. Since we lived in an area where overfishing is seen all too often, she focused on our area and it had a huge impact on the entire class due to that context. I wish I had thought of something like that, though I was very pleased with mine. So covering an issue relevant to your particular area could be a great option as well!

[medicineisnotmerchandise]

Holoprosencephaly

[alchymista-blog]

The beating heart of a two day-old zebrafish (or Danio rerio) at 20x magnification. This gif was made from a video by Michael Weber, which received an honorable mention in the 2012 Nikon Small World in Motion competition.

[breakingnews]

World’s smallest movie created by moving individual atoms

AP: IBM says it has made the tiniest stop-motion movie ever - a one-minute video of individual carbon monoxide molecules repeatedly rearranged to show a boy dancing, throwing a ball and bouncing on a trampoline.

Each frame measures 45 by 25 nanometres there are 25 million nanometres in an inch but hugely magnified, the movie is reminiscent of early video games, particularly when the boy bounces the ball off the side of the frame accompanied by simple music and sound effects.

Video: A Boy And His Atom (IBM via YouTube)

[alchymista-blog]

I love this! So cute and clever!

[alchymista-blog]

An image of radiolaria composed by stacking 160 focus points. (by Maximal2Personen)

[superbloodbanker]

Adenoviruses (AdVs) are DNA viruses that infect many vertebrate hosts, including humans and nonhuman primates. Here we identify a novel AdV species, provisionally named “simian adenovirus C (SAdV-C),” associated with a 1997 outbreak of acute respiratory illness in captive baboons (4 of 9) at a primate research facility in Texas. None of the six AdVs recovered from baboons (BaAdVs) during the outbreak, including the two baboons who died from pneumonia, were typeable. Since clinical samples from the two fatal cases were not available, whole-genome sequencing of nasal isolates from one sick baboon and three asymptomatic baboons during the outbreak was performed. Three AdVs were members of species SAdV-C (BaAdV-2 and BaAdV-4 were genetically identical, and BaAdV-3), while one (BaAdV-1) was a member of the recently described SAdV-B species. BaAdV-3 was the only AdV among the 4 isolated from a sick baboon, and thus was deemed to be the cause of the outbreak. Significant divergence (<58% amino acid identity) was found in one of the fiber proteins of BaAdV-3 relative to BaAdV-2 and -4, suggesting that BaAdV-3 may be a rare SAdV-C recombinant. Neutralizing antibodies to the other 3 AdVs, but not BaAdV-3, were detected in healthy baboons from 1996 to 2003 and staff personnel from 1997. These results implicate a novel adenovirus species (SAdV-C) in an acute respiratory outbreak in a baboon colony and underscore the potential for cross-species transmission of AdVs between humans and nonhuman primates.

Source: mBio

[christiannightmares]

Fourth grade creationist science quiz allegedly from a private school in South Carolina (To read the story, visit Friendly Atheist; For a related post, click here http://christiannightmares.tumblr.com/post/6778863862/christian-quiz-for-kids-draw-a-circle-around-the)

[alchymista-blog]

Ugh.

[rhamphotheca]

A Ray of Light Thrown on 60 Year Mystery

The unexpected capture of a rare ray found only in a small region off South Australia could help marine scientists validate the existence of the elusive Magpie fiddler ray (Trygonorrhina melaleuca).

The species is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)  as Endangered, but until now its very existence has rested on a single specimen found nearly 60 years ago off Kangaroo Island. That specimen is stored at the South Australian Museum and was used to describe the magpie fiddler ray species in 1954.

“This ray, caught by fisher John Marsh from the Adelaide Game Fishing’ Club, is pretty much considered the ‘Holy Grail’ specimen,” says Paul Rogers, a researcher with SARDI Aquatic Sciences Threatened, Endangered and Protected Species program. “This is because the species has been described based on one specimen only and up until now, scientists have not been able to study another specimen of the magpie fiddler ray.”…

(read more: Sardi)

(photos: Brett Williamson, ABC Adelaide; Brad Smith)

[scinerds]

Blood Clot

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

[alchymista-blog]

An aluminothermic reaction with iron (III) oxide. In this particular thermite reaction, a magnesium ribbon was used to ignite the mixture within a glass jar. What appear to be sparks flying outwards are actually globules of molten iron.

[alchymista-blog]

Nothing makes me angrier than people telling me how to run one of my blogs.

[breakingbadworld]

As many of you know, I have a background as a chemistry teacher. I’ve come to realize that much of what I teach my students applies not only to what goes on in the classroom, but in life also. It’s not as crazy as it sounds. You see, technically, chemistry is the study of matter, but I prefer to see it as the study of change: Electrons change their energy levels. Molecules change their bonds. Elements combine and change into compounds. But that’s all of life, right? It’s the constant, it’s the cycle. It’s solution, dissolution. Just over and over and over. It is growth, then decay, then transformation. It’s fascinating really. It’s a shame so many of us never take time to consider its implications.

Walt’s Wisdom—Blog of Walter White

[alchymista-blog]

I mean, I know this is from a television show about cooking meth (a fantastic show, if you haven't watched yet), but still. This statement should ring true for all students who have studied any science.

[alchymista-blog]

Just donated blood to the Red Cross! My first successful donation, and I managed not to faint (until afterwards)! You can (and should) donate too. Get more information and find local blood drives at redcross.org.

[afracturedreality]

Human Papillomavirus

Shown in this electron micrograph from 1986 is a single, negatively stained human papilloma virus (HPV), the primary culprit of skin warts and cervical cancer.

Note how the papillomavirus is non-enveloped, meaning that its outer protein coat, or capsid, is not covered by a lipid bilayer membrane. The HPV capsid looks roughly spherical, but, in fact, it has an icosahedral symmetry with a triangulation number equal to 7. Rather than a structure based on pentamers mixed with hexamers (like that of the soccer ball), the HPV capsid is composed of 72 L1 pentamers of two different types: 60 hexavalent pentamers and 12 pentavalent pentamers.

References: Visual Science / Wikipedia. Photo Credit: Laboratory of Tumor Virus Biology / National Cancer Institute.