Behind this mortal bone

nature-madness: Animal Portraits | Morten Koldby

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 03:41:28 -0500

nature-madness:

Animal Portraits | Morten Koldby

Photo

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 03:39:35 -0500

nature-madness: The Honduran White Bat (Ectophylla...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 03:39:19 -0500

nature-madness:

The Honduran White Bat (Ectophylla alba)

The Honduran white bat has snow white fur and a yellow nose and ears. It is tiny, only 3.7-4.7cm long. The only member of the genus Ectophylla, it is found in Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and western Panama at elevations from sea level to 700 m. It feeds at least in part on fruit. The Honduran White Bat is known for its white fur, unique among bats as it is only one of two species to have this coloration.

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Photo

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 03:37:48 -0500

fairy-wren: Great Grey Owl (Photo by Daniel Parent)

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 03:37:01 -0500

fairy-wren:

Great Grey Owl

(Photo by Daniel Parent)

llbwwb: Arctic Fox by Crush.

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 03:34:22 -0500

llbwwb:

Arctic Fox by Crush.

earthlynation: Fly Dance by Simon Roy Fallow stag and flies...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 03:34:08 -0500

earthlynation:

Fly Dance by Simon Roy

Fallow stag and flies at dawn.

giraffe-in-a-tree: Awaken by Thomas Hawk on Flickr.

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 03:33:43 -0500

giraffe-in-a-tree:

Awaken by Thomas Hawk on Flickr.

giraffe-in-a-tree: Evenly matched by Pat Ulrich on Flickr.

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 03:31:03 -0500

giraffe-in-a-tree:

Evenly matched by Pat Ulrich on Flickr.

p-e-r-e-g-r-i-n-e: Natalie Lyon

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 03:30:01 -0500

p-e-r-e-g-r-i-n-e:

Natalie Lyon

magicalnaturetour: “Balearica regulorum” by Dwi Rahmaputra...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 03:27:39 -0500

magicalnaturetour:

“Balearica regulorum” by Dwi Rahmaputra Yudha

llbwwb: One more,Now you know why the Fox is called Sly:) by...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 03:27:19 -0500

llbwwb:

One more,Now you know why the Fox is called Sly:) by Eibar.

underthevastblueseas: The Piglet squid, Helicocranchia...

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 02:23:52 -0500

underthevastblueseas:

The Piglet squid, Helicocranchia pfefferi, is roughly the size of a small avocado, and is common in the deep water of virtually all oceans, living at depths of around 100m/320ft.

Its body is almost totally clear so that it reveals the dark-coloured internal organs. The piglet squid is a sluggish swimmer with ammonium ions in its body fluid that helps keep it bouyant. A large light-producing organ (photophore) is located beneath each of its large eyes.

source

piggy!!

quantumaniac: 3-D Printers Could Make Food for...

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 02:16:33 -0500

quantumaniac:

3-D Printers Could Make Food for Astronauts

Several decades from now, an astronaut in a Mars colony might feel a bit hungry. Rather than reach for a vacuum-sealed food packet or cook up some simple greenhouse vegetables in a tiny kitchen, the astronaut would visit a microwave-sized box, punch a few settings, and receive a delicious and nutritious meal tailored to his or her exact tastes.

This is the promise of the rapidly maturing field of 3-D food printing, an offshoot of the revolution that uses machines to build bespoke items out of metal, plastic, and even living cells. Sooner than you think, 3-D printed designer meals may be coming to a rocketship, or a restaurant, near you.

“Right now, astronauts on the space station are eating the same seven days of food on rotations of two or three weeks,” said astronautical engineer Michelle Terfansky, who studied the potential and challenges of making 3-D printed food in space for a master’s thesis at the University of Southern California.

With 3-D printers coming of age, engineers are starting to expand the possible list of materials they might work with. The Fab@Home team at Cornell University has developed gel-like substances called hydrocolloids that can be extruded and built up into different shapes. By mixing in flavoring agents, they can produce a range of tastes and textures.

A 3-D printer could mix vitamins and amino acids into a meal to provide nutrients and boost productivity. There are limitations to the types of fresh foods that can be grown in space – NASA says some of the best crops for a Mars mission are lettuce, carrots, and tomatoes. With that you could make a salad, but a 3-D printer could manufacture croutons or protein-dense supplements. The device could take up less space than a supply of packets of food and, because each item is custom built, would help cut down on waste.

But 3-D food printing systems still have a long way to go, with most of the current limitations involving the printer’s extruding system. Some items, like frosting or processed cheese, are easy to make printable. A chocolate treat, for instance, is created using a syringe filled with melted chocolate to build up a shape specified by a computer layer by layer. But other materials – fruits, vegetables, and meats – are much more of a challenge.

In the earliest tests of the hydrocolloid 3-D food printer, the Cornell team produced different fake items — bananas, mushrooms, mozzarella – all with the appropriate texture and flavor. Because no one wants to eat something that looks and tastes bad, Terfansky said the best thing would be to focus on making sure things are delicious and then improving the visual aesthetics.

Within five to 10 years, she said the technology might get to the point where a single printer could produce lots of different food items that are both flavorful and look like what they’re supposed to be. Terfansky sees a day further in the future when most home kitchens include a 3-D printer simple enough for a child to go up and press the “hamburger” button in order to receive a meal. Such plans may seem like the food machine from The Jetsons but other researchers say they’re not out of the realm of possibility.

Source: Wired Science

REAL REPLICATOR

tuckfheman: Meet Rex: the $1m bionic man with working heart,...

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 02:15:34 -0500

tuckfheman:

Meet Rex: the $1m bionic man with working heart, set of lungs and human face

Most human body parts can be replaced, say scientists, and here’s the evidence.

When Luke Skywalker received a perfect bionic replacement for the hand that was cut off in Star Wars Episode V, the idea of replicating human organs and body parts seemed far-fetched.

Thirty years later, the idea is no longer just science fiction. Scientists, among them the creators of “Rex” – the world’s most complete bionic man, unveiled in London this week – believe they can now replicate about two-thirds of the human body.

“We were surprised how many of the parts of the body can be replaced,” said Rich Walker, managing director of the robotics team Shadow, who built Rex. “There are some vital organs missing, like the stomach, but 60 to 70 per cent of a human has effectively been rebuilt.” This is heralded, then, as the dawn of the age of bionic man – although specialists caution that we are still feeling our way.

REAL DATA!?

laboratoryequipment: Sea Urchins Key to Carbon CaptureThe...

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 02:15:04 -0500

laboratoryequipment:

Sea Urchins Key to Carbon Capture

The discovery that sea urchins use nickel particles to harness carbon dioxide from the sea could be the key to capturing tons of CO2 from the atmosphere. Experts at Newcastle Univ. have discovered that in the presence of a nickel catalyst, CO2 can be converted rapidly and cheaply into the harmless, solid mineral, calcium carbonate.

This discovery, which is published today in the academic journal Catalysis Science & Technology, has the potential to revolutionize the way we capture and store carbon enabling us to significantly reduce CO2 emissions – the key greenhouse gas responsible for climate change.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/02/sea-urchins-key-carbon-capture

sciencesoup: Badass Scientist of the Week: Sir Patrick...

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 02:14:08 -0500

sciencesoup:

Badass Scientist of the Week: Sir Patrick Moore

Sir Patrick Moore (1923–2012) was a self-taught but distinguished British astronomer, famous for his television show The Sky at Night, his eccentric personality, and his occasional xylophone playing. Moore read his first astronomy book at age 6; at 11, he bought his first telescope and became the youngest member of the British Astronomical Association; and at 13, he published and presented his first scientific paper about the Mare Crisium, a crater on the moon. He started wearing a monocle and smoking a pipe at 16, and in this year he also joined the RAF and served from 1940 to 1945, through WWII. During this time he met Orville Wright and Albert Einstein (with whom he played piano), and he also lost fiancé when she was killed in a London air raid. He remained a bachelor for the rest of his life. After the war, he wrote and published his first book, Guide to the Moon, and began to teach and work as an amateur astronomer. He developed a particular interest in the far side of the Moon, and his work mapping its surface was used by the US and Russian space programs. Moore first appeared on television in the 1950s in a debate about the existence of flying saucers, and was soon invited to present his own live astronomy program. The Sky At Night was hugely popular because it appealed to the layman as well as the experts—Moore was known for his imaginative, understandable analogies, such as comparing the Milky Way to a fried egg, and so he undoubtedly inspired a generation of stargazers. He presented the program for over 50 years, right up until his death in 2012, and made the Guinness Book of Records as the longest running TV series with the same presenter, receiving his knighthood in 2001. Amazingly, he believed he was the only person to have met Orville Wright, the first man to fly, Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, and Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon. Moore passed away peacefully at age 89 after being struck down by infection. It was known that he always carried his organ donor card with him, which simply said: ‘You can have the lot.’

stop-drilling-the-north-pole: The sea otter is the largest...

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 01:11:40 -0500

stop-drilling-the-north-pole:

The sea otter is the largest member of the weasel family and the smallest marine mammal. Ninety percent of the world’s sea otters live in coastal Alaska.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act protects sea otters. It prohibits commercial harvest of sea otters, and allows Alaska natives to hunt sea otters for subsistence and creation of handicrafts.

Sea otters were hunted nearly to extinction in the late 1700s and 1800s through commercial harvest for their luxurious furs. Once commercial harvest ceased, sea otter numbers rebounded and they re-colonized much of their former range.

Sea otter numbers have declined in southwestern Alaska over the past 20 years. Once containing more than half of the world’s sea otters, this population segment, which ranges from Kodiak Island through the western Aleutian Islands, has undergone an overall population decline of at least 55–67 percent since the mid-1980s. In 2005, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed this distinct population segment as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act. See the Southwest Alaska sea otter recovery page for more details.

wolves-throne: “Should I Stay Or Should I Go?”

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 01:11:24 -0500

wolves-throne:

“Should I Stay Or Should I Go?”

giraffe-in-a-tree: Pika by David Kingham on Flickr.

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 01:10:58 -0500

giraffe-in-a-tree:

Pika by David Kingham on Flickr.