The Micro and Macro of the Universe.

"[Our philosopher] asserted that he knew the whole secret...[H]e surveyed the two celestial strangers from top to toe, and mantained to their faces that their persons, their worlds, their suns and their stars, were created solely for the use of man. At this assertion our two travelers let themselves fall against each other, seized with a fit of...inextinguishable laughter" -- Voltaire (1752) ____________________________________________________________________ Greetings! My name is Lu. This is my science blog. With a focus on the really really big, and the really really small [and now, a little bit of the in between!]. Microbiologist by training. Astronomy enthusiast. Studying to become an earth scientist and organic geochemist. Aspiring to be an astrobiologist. Dedicating my life to the search for our cosmic siblings. Send in your science questions here! Header photo credit: Planetary Collective Hey there, Universe: an Archive #socialmedia: Coming soon.

[sciencemarchchicago]

WE ARE OFFICIAL!

Rally: 10 AM March: 11 AM Expo: 12 PM

This has just been an unreal journey, and we can’t wait to take the next step with you amazing folks. Our route has been approved by the city.

We enter at Congress Parkway, Rally near Jackson, and MARCH *TO* SCIENCE AT THE MUSEUM CAMPUS (Woo! The Field Museum)!

If you can’t tell: we’re excited. Beyond excited. So much more information is to come, but check out:

Website: https://sciencemarchchicago.org/marchday.html Press Release: https://medium.com/…/march-for-science-chicago-releases-ral…

Thank you all for your patience and your support. Coordinating one of the largest Marches for Science in the world has been just an unbelievable honor; we can’t wait to see you on April 22.

Fundraising update: We’re 1/3 of the way to our $85k goal. Donate athttps://sciencemarchchicago.org/donate.html

[sciencemarchchicago]

Microbes, a Love Story

Are you attracted to her, or to the teeming community of microorganisms living in her gut?

Happy Valentine’s Day! Stories like this one are only possible with the feat of human curiosity and multitude of scientific experiments. We must continue to pave way to better our understanding of how everything and everyone we love are all connected. From microbes, to the dearest love of your life. 

Will you be marching on April 22nd with your loved ones? 

[sciencemarchchicago]

OUR MISSION

To show support for the scientific community. To safeguard the scientific process, and research funding, when seeking answers to the things that matter. To publicly celebrate science, which helps us make sense of ourselves and our world. To encourage curiosity and exploration, the heart of the scientific approach.

WHY NOW

A recent focus on science and how scientific findings impact public policy has put a spotlight on the scientific community and their research. We accept that science, as a field of knowledge and way of thinking, is not swayed by politics or opinions; it is nonpartisan and all-inclusive. This is the time for us to come together as one community, take a stand, and lead a new conversation.

WHO WE ARE

We are scientists. We are enthusiasts. We are seekers of knowledge. We are Chicagoans. We are humans. We are a diverse group of individuals from all walks of life. We are curious, intrigued by science, and enjoy learning about scientific findings. Whether we practice, use, love, or study science, technology, engineering, or math, we appreciate what they have done for us and our society.

[heythereuniverse]

Footnote: I currently run the March for Science in Chicago tumblr page. Reblog to spread the words! More information to come!

[heythereuniverse]

Hey there Universe!

A show of hands, for those who are still here and want this blog back up and running? 

[heythereuniverse]

Magnesium Oxide Cactus by ZEISS Microscopy

Magnesium oxide single crystals growing on Mg. Courtesy of Anasori Babak, Materials Science and Engineering Dpt, Drexel University, Philadel

[heythereuniverse]

Cnidaria, MultiView Light Sheet Microscopy | ZEISS Microscopy

Immunostaining of planktonic Cnidaria. Acetylated tubulin (green), myosin (red), nuclei (blue). Image taken with ZEISS Lightsheet Z.1 during the EMBO course on Marine Animal Models in Evolution & Development, Sweden 2013. www.zeiss.com/lightsheet Sample courtesy of Helena Parra, Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Barcelona.

[heythereuniverse]

Zebrafish embryo | ZEISS Microscopy

Just 22 hours after fertilization, this zebrafish embryo is already taking shape. By 36 hours, all of the major organs will have started to form. The zebrafish's rapid growth and see-through embryo make it ideal for scientists studying how organs develop. Image courtesy of Philipp Keller, Bill Lemon, Yinan Wan and Kristin Branson, Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, Va. Part of the exhibit Life:Magnified by ASCB and NIGMS.

[heythereuniverse]

A mammalian eye has approximately 70 different cell types | ZEISS Microscopy on Flickr.

The incredible complexity of a mammalian eye (in this case from a mouse) is captured here. Each color represents a different type of cell. In total, there are nearly 70 different cell types, including the retina's many rings and the peach-colored muscle cells clustered on the left. Image

[heythereuniverse]

Skin cell (keratinocyte) | ZEISS Microscopy

This normal human skin cell was treated with a growth factor that triggered the formation of specialized protein structures that enable the cell to move. We depend on cell movement for such basic functions as wound healing and launching an immune response. Image courtesy of Torsten Wittmann, University of California, San Francisco. Part of the exhibit Life:Magnified by ASCB and NIGMS.

[heythereuniverse]

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY FROM THE UNIVERSE!

[heythereuniverse]

Larvae from the parasitic worm that causes schistosomiasis | ZEISS Microscopy

The parasitic worm that causes schistosomiasis hatches in water and grows up in a freshwater snail, as shown here. Once mature, the worm swims back into the water, where it can infect people through skin contact. Initially, an infected person might have a rash, itchy skin or flu-like symptoms, but the real damage is done over time to internal organs. Image courtesy of o Wang and Phillip A. Newmark, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

[heythereuniverse]

An Aurora Cupcake with a Milky Way Topping | APOD

This sky looked delicious. Double auroral ovals were captured above the town lights of Östersund, Sweden, last week. Pictured above, the green ovals occurred lower to the ground than violet aurora rays above, making the whole display look a bit like a cupcake. To top it off, far in the distance, the central band or our Milky Way Galaxy slants down from the upper left. The auroras were caused by our Sun ejecting plasma clouds into the Solar System just a few days before, ionized particles that subsequently impacted the magnetosphere of the Earth. Aurora displays may continue this week as an active sunspot group rotated into view just a few days ago.

[heythereuniverse]

Dividing cells showing chromosomes (purple) and cell skeleton (green) | ZEISS Microscopy

This pig cell is in the process of dividing. The chromosomes (purple) have already replicated and the duplicates are being pulled apart by fibers of the cell skeleton known as microtubules (green). Studies of cell division yield knowledge that is critical to advancing understanding of many human diseases, including cancer and birth defects. Image courtesy of Nasser Rusan, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health.

[heythereuniverse]

Laniakea: Our Home Supercluster of Galaxies | APOD

It is not only one of the largest structures known -- it is our home. The just-identified Laniakea Supercluster of galaxies contains thousands of galaxies that includes our Milky Way Galaxy, the Local Group of galaxies, and the entire nearby Virgo Cluster of Galaxies. The colossal supercluster is shown in the above computer-generated visualization, where green areas are rich with white-dot galaxies and white lines indicate motion towards the supercluster center. An outline of Laniakea is given in orange, while the blue dot shows our location. Outside the orange line, galaxies flow into other galactic concentrations. The Laniakea Supercluster spans about 500 million light years and contains about 100,000 times the mass of our Milky Way Galaxy. The discoverers of Laniakea gave it a name that means "immense heaven" in Hawaiian. 

[heythereuniverse]

Relapsing fever bacterium (gray) on red blood cells | ZEISS Microscopy

The long, spiral-shaped bacterium (gray) in this image causes relapsing fever, a disease characterized by recurring high fevers, muscle aches and nausea. The relapses result from the bacterium's unusual ability to change the molecules on its outer surface, allowing it to dodge the human immune system. The disease is transmitted through the bite of a tick (not the same species that transmits Lyme disease) and is found in parts of the Americas, the Mediterranean, central Asia and Africa. Image courtesy of Tom Schwan, Robert Fischer and Anita Mora, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health.

[heythereuniverse]

A Night at Poker Flat | APOD

Four NASA suborbital sounding rockets leapt into the night on January 26, from the University of Alaska's Poker Flat Research Range. This time lapse composite image follows all four launches of the small, multi-stage rockets to explore winter's mesmerizing, aurora-filled skies. During the exposures, stars trailed around the North Celestial Pole, high above the horizon at the site 30 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska. Lidar, beams of pulsed green lasers, also left traces through the scene. Operating successfully, the payloads lofted were two Mesosphere-Lower Thermosphere Turbulence Experiments (M-TeX) and two Mesospheric Inversion-layer Stratified Turbulence (MIST) experiments, creating vapor trails at high altitudes to be tracked by ground-based observations.

[heythereuniverse]

Fat cells (red) and blood vessels (green) | ZEISS Microscopy

A mouse's fat cells (red) are shown surrounded by a network of blood vessels (green). Fat cells store and release energy, protect organs and nerve tissues, insulate us from the cold and help us absorb important vitamins. Image courtesy of Daniela Malide, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health.