Flaming Star Nebula

Flaming Star Nebula
 A runaway star lights the Flaming Star Nebula in this cosmic scene. Otherwise known as IC 405, the Flaming Star Nebula's billowing interstellar clouds of gas and dust lie about 1,500 light-years away toward the constellation of Auriga. AE Aurigae, the bright star at upper left in the frame, is a massive and intensely hot O-type star moving rapidly through space, likely ejected from a collision of multiple star-systems in the vicinity of the Orion Nebula millions of years ago.

Now close to IC 405, the high-speed star's ionizing ultraviolet radiation powers the visible reddish glow as the nebula's hydrogen atoms are stripped of their electrons and recombine. Its intense blue starlight is reflected by the nebula's dusty filaments. Like all massive stars AE Aurigae will be short-lived though, furiously burning through its supply of fuel for nuclear fusion and exploding as a supernova. The colorful telescopic snapshot spans about 5 light-years at the estimated distance of the Flaming Star Nebula.  

Image and info via APOD
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Image Credit & Copyright: Adam Block, Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter, Univ. Arizona

#space   #nasa   #nebula   #science   #galaxy

Christmas Project - in progress

Christmas Project - in progress

#animation   #math   #processing

On the highest throne in the world, we still sit only on our own bottom.

On the highest throne in the world, we still sit only on our own bottom. But no worries at the cellular level I was quite busy.

#personalnonsense   #thoughtsfabric   #Praguechair

What are intrusive thoughts?

What are intrusive thoughts?
Suddenly thinking things like: "I could drive off this cliff and kill us all", or "If I hit you with this hammer, it would crack open your skull," is a common experience for most people. They’re called intrusive thoughts, and are perfectly normal when they occur without causing anxiety or compulsion.

Here’s the thing. Our imaginations know no boundaries, so nearly everyone experiences intrusive thoughts that are rooted in violence, sex, blasphemy and beyond. For most people, these thoughts come and go. But for sufferers of OCD, these thoughts trigger debilitating anxiety. It’s not easy getting rid of the thoughts. OCD sufferers compulsively try to neutralize or disprove them. But the more they obsess, the stronger the thoughts get. The faster they come. And the more they play into their biggest fears. This leaves sufferers questioning their character and constantly seeking reassurance that they’re simply not capable of acting on their thoughts.

And so begins the never-ending cycle of obsessions and compulsions. Unlike some forms of OCD where a sufferer engages in a visual ritual (like hand washing), some OCD sufferers get stuck in their minds performing non-observable rituals over and over again. To their dismay and frustration, sufferers obsess over the meaning of their thoughts. Even worse, ill-informed therapists might request that their patients dive deeper for an understanding. The truth is, those intrusive thoughts are completely meaningless. Because the brain experiences a misfire between areas of communication, they don’t actually speak to someone’s character. Intrusive thoughts can be a totally manageable condition. With proper therapy, people with OCD can live normal, happy lives.

Read & learn:
https://www.intrusivethoughts.org/ocd-treatment/

Reference:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/am-i-normal/201110/intrusive-thoughts-normal-or-not

#psychology   #intrusivethoughts   #OCD   #neuroscience

This is your brain on God

This is your brain on God
Scientists found that having a religious or spiritual experience activates the brain's "reward circuits" in the same way that love, sex, gambling, drugs and music do.

More than 5.8 billion people say that religion and spirituality have some influence on their lives. Yet scientists know very little about what happens in the brain when someone is having a religious experience. Why does one person feel peace, joy and positivity, while another feels motivated to carry out an act of violence? Are the same neural networks in the brain responsible for both? Or do they differ from one person to the next?

These and many other questions are the focus of new research from neuroradiologist Jeff Anderson, M.D., Ph.D., and his colleagues at the University of Utah School of Medicine.

The findings, part of the university's Religious Brain Project, have the potential for identifying how people are different and how they are the same when it comes to religion and spirituality.

Interesting reading via DiscoveryNews
http://www.seeker.com/this-is-your-brain-on-god-2117877144.html

Journal article:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17470919.2016.1257437?scroll=top&needAccess=true

#neuroscience   #research   #humanbrain   #religion   #medicine   #health

Milky Way over Shipwreck

Milky Way over Shipwreck
What happened to this ship? It was carried aground by a giant storm that struck the coast of Argentina in 2002. The pictured abandoned boat, dubbed Naufragio del Chubasco, wrecked near the nearly abandoned town of Cabo Raso (population: 1). The rusting ship provides a picturesque but perhaps creepy foreground for the beautiful sky above.

This sky is crowned by the grand arch of our Milky Way and features galaxies including the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, stars including Canopus and Altair, planets including Mars and Neptune, and nebulas including the Lagoon, Carina, and the Coal Sack. The mosaic was composed from over 80 images taken in early September. 

A 360-degree interactive panoramic version of this image is also available. The adventurous astrophotographer reports that the creepiest part of taking this picture was not the abandoned ship, but the unusual prevalence of black and hairy caterpillars.

Image & info via APOD
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Image Credit & Copyright: Sergio Montúfar (Planetario Ciudad de La Plata)

#space   #universe   #milkyway   #nasa

Who's Axsis?

Who's Axsis?
Axsis, a system developed by Cambridge Consultants, is a small, teleoperated robot with two arms tipped with tiny pincers. It’s designed to operate on the eye with greater accuracy than a human.

The device’s articulating pincers are mounted on arms about the size of drinks cans, with extremely light, strong “tendons” made of the same material NASA uses for its solar sails. These pincers can sweep across a 10-millimeter space – the size of the lens of the eye. This is just a demonstrations model; in the final product, the pincers will be replaced with scalpels.

To control the robot, the surgeon sits at a station nearby and uses two 3D haptic joysticks to move the pincers while watching their work on a screen. The image on the screen is enlarged, so the surgeon can make more precise movements, with the pincers operating at a tiny scale not possible with the human hand.

One benefit of the system is that the software disables certain boundaries from being breached. “It won’t let you make the mistake of punching through the back of the lens,” says Chris Wagner, the lead roboticist on the project.

Source & further reading:
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2111445-robot-surgeon-can-slice-eyes-finely-enough-to-remove-cataracts/

Video source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc-73vQ6TWQ

#robos   #axsis   #surgicalrobots   #cataracts    #eyehealth   #science   #innovation   #medicine

Nature’s Nets

Nature’s Nets
This image shows two immune cells known as neutrophils, magnified hundreds of times with a scanning electron microscope. First discovered more than a hundred years ago, they act as the first line of defense in the body, pumping out anti-microbial chemicals and swallowing up bacteria and viruses.

But in 2004, high-powered microscopes revealed a third mode of attack: casting out a deadly net of DNA and protein fibres – shown spewing from the right-hand cell in this image – that catches and disarms invading bugs. Formally known as neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), they form localized ‘cages’ that focus germ-fighting power in a small area and avoid causing damage to neighbouring healthy cells.

Although this is a powerful infection-beating mechanism, it’s not so good for the neutrophil. Because forming a NET requires the cell to throw out all its DNA – containing all the genetic instructions for life – it dies in the process.

Image:
This image is a finalist in the International Images for Science 2016 exhibition, organised by the Royal Photographic Society and supported by Siemens as part of the Curiosity Project
https://rps-science.org/events/International-Images-for-Science/finalists/4965/

Image by Stavros Giaglis
Story via BPoD

#medicine   #cells   #SEM   #neutrophils

It takes more than a pulse and a pair of working lungs to call a life living.

It takes more than a pulse and a pair of working lungs to call a life living. The night is the hardest time to be alive and 4 am knows all my secrets.

#personalnonsense   #snoretime   #bw

November 29 is reserved to Christian Doppler

November 29 is reserved to Christian Doppler
Today is the birthday of physicist Christian Doppler, who was born in Salzburg, Austria, in 1803. He studied mathematics at the Vienna Polytechnic Institute and math, mechanics, and astronomy at the University of Vienna. Doppler had shaky health throughout his life, and he had trouble securing a stable professorship. Nonetheless he produced several important papers, none more influential than "On the colored light of the double stars and certain other stars of the heavens" in 1842.

He theorized that the colors of two stars orbiting each other would appear to change slightly, due to one star moving away from the observer and the other moving closer. More generally, Doppler proposed that the apparent frequency of light or sound waves emanating from an object changes depending on the object's motion toward or away from the observer. An example of this "Doppler effect" is the change in pitch of the siren as an ambulance whizzes toward and then away from a pedestrian.

Scientists in many fields, particularly astronomy, depend on the Doppler effect. Stars and galaxies moving away from Earth shift toward the red part of the color spectrum (red-shifted), while astronomical objects moving toward Earth are blue-shifted. Scientists analyzing the distance to and motion of stars and galaxies have determined that the universe is expanding at an ever-faster rate.

Reference:
http://www.biography.com/people/christian-doppler-9277346
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/Biographies/Doppler.html

The Doppler Effect - read and learn:
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/waves/Lesson-3/The-Doppler-Effect

#history   #physics   #dopplereffect   #science  

Dancing dots

Dancing dots

Work by Charlie Deck.

#geometry   #animation   #processing   #math

Nadezhda Durova, The Cavalry Maiden

Nadezhda Durova, The Cavalry Maiden
Nadezhda Durova was born in an army camp to a Russian major in 1783.  From her very beginnings as an infant Nadezhda had a life of hard knocks when she was almost killed by her abusive mother, who threw her out of a moving carriage.  During her childhood Nadezhda moved with her father from military base to military base.  It was then that she learned military discipline, how march, how to ride, and how to fight.  It was said that her favorite two toys were a pistol and a saber.
  
At the age of 18, Nedezhda was forced into an arranged marriage with an influential judge.  Two years later she gave birth to a son. Nadezdha hated her husband and couldn’t stand the life of a housewife.  In 1807 at the age of 24, she ran away, disguised herself as a boy, and enlisted in the cavalry under the alias Alexander Sokolov.

Nadezhda had joined the Russian Army just in time, as Europe was embroiled in war as Russia, Prussia, Saxony, Sweden, and Great Britain formed a coalition to stop that infamous French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.  Nadezhda served with incredible distinction and was heavily decorated throughout the campaign.  In one incident she rescued a cavalryman who had suffered a concussion.  

While under heavy fire she lifted the man and carried him off the battlefield.  In another she rescued a high ranking officer from certain death by eliminating three French dragoons (cavalrymen) who were in pursuit of him.

In the meantime Nadezhda’s family used their influence to find her. When she was discovered and her gender revealed, rather than being drummed out of the army, she was summoned to the court of Czar Alexander I, who was greatly impressed by her story.  He awarded her the Cross of St. George, then the highest award offered by the Russian Empire.  

She was also promoted from the ranks to Lieutenant.  Keep in mind, this was at a time when few enlisted soldiers were “risen from the ranks” to officership.  It was rarer still to have a female soldier openly serving in the Czar’s army, or any army for that matter.

In 1812, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Russia, what would become the biggest mistake of his career.  Nadezhda fought in the Battles of Smolensk and Borodino.  At Borodino, she was seriously wounded by a cannonball, which shattered her leg.  She continued her duty regardless until ordered to recuperate by her command.  The war ended in 1815, and in 1816 she retired from military service with the rank of captain.  

She became the most heavily decorated Russian cavalryman (or I should say cavalrywoman) of the Napoleonic Wars.
During her civilian life she became a writer,publishing four novels.  Under the encouragement of the famed playwright, poet, and novelist Alexander Pushkin, she wrote and published her memoirs entitled The Cavalry Maiden in 1836.  

Throughout her life she advocated for women’s rights, becoming an early inspiration for the Women’s Suffrage Movement. In 1866, Nadezhda Durova passed away at the age of 82.  She was buried with full military honors.

References:
http://www.historynet.com/nadezhda-durova-russian-cavalry-maiden-in-the-napoleonic-wars.htm
http://famous.russianwomen.club/famous/Nadezhda_Durova.shtml

#history   #womeninarmy   #NadezhdaDurova

Color-changing burns bandages begin clinical trials

Color-changing burns bandages begin clinical trials
Bandages that change color and glow when a wound gets infected could be manufactured as early as 2017 if clinical trials go well. 
The bandages, developed at the University of Bath, are being tested with patient samples from four UK hospitals to statistically determine how effective they are. 

Sadly burns often have symptoms of infection but actual infection is much rarer. At the moment infection diagnosis takes up to two days and requires removing dressings, a painful and upsetting process for burns patients which can slow healing and cause scarring. Antibiotics are also prescribed as a precaution while the tests are conducted.
Color-changing bandages would give an early-warning that real infection is taking hold, meaning medics could provide better and quicker treatment. 

The bandage contains gel in tiny capsules. When infection-causing bacteria are present the capsules dissolve and release the gel which then fluoresces bright yellowy-green, alerting patients and medics to the problem. 

If they do make it onto wards the bandages would not only improve treatment but save money through cutting down on the cost of tests and drug prescriptions. They would also help tackle the threat of drug-resistant bacteria because there wouldn’t be a need to prescribe as many antibiotics as a precaution. 

PR:
http://www.bath.ac.uk/news/2016/11/28/clinical-trial-of-infection-detecting-bandages-begins/

#medicine   #research   #antibiotics   #infection

W5: The Soul of Star Formation

W5: The Soul of Star Formation
Where do stars form? Many times, stars form in energetic regions where gas and dark dust are pushed around in chaotic mayhem. Pictured, bright massive stars near the center of W5, the Soul Nebula, are exploding and emitting ionizing light and energetic winds. The outward-moving light and gas push away and evaporate much surrounding gas and dust, but leave pillars of gas behind dense protective knots.

Inside these knots, though, stars also form. The featured image highlights the inner sanctum of W5, an arena spanning about 1,000 light years that is rich in star forming pillars. The Soul Nebula, also cataloged as IC 1848, lies about 6,500 light years away toward the constellation of the Queen of Aethopia (Cassiopeia). Likely, in few hundred million years, only a cluster of the resulting stars will remain. Then, these stars will drift apart.

Image & info via APOD
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Image Credit: José Jiménez Priego (Astromet)

#nasa   #space   #science   #soulnebula   #stars   #universe

A fine building should be seen by morning light, at noon and by moonlight.

A fine building should be seen by morning light, at noon and by moonlight.

#prague #personalnonsense #architecture

For the dead and the living, we must bear witness.

For the dead and the living, we must bear witness.

E. Wiesel

#history #personalnonsense #prague #josefov

You have to know the past to understand the present.

You have to know the past to understand the present.

#personalnonsense #castleday #prague

In Prague the buildings suggest that pleasure can be an education.

In Prague the buildings suggest that pleasure can be an education.

#prague #thepowdertower #personalnonsense

Schrödinger Plates

Schrödinger Plates
Indeed... physics is phun ;)

#physics   #brokenplatesnonsense   #phun

Addiction cravings may get their start deep in the right side of the brain

Addiction cravings may get their start deep in the right side of the brain
If you really want a drink right now, the source of your craving may be a pea-sized structure deep inside the right side of your brain, according to scientists at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

Using two different kinds of advanced brain imaging techniques (PET and fMRI), the researchers compared the results of giving beer drinkers a taste of their favorite beer versus a sports drink. After tasting the beer the participants reported increased desire to drink beer, whereas the sports drink did not provoke as much desire for beer. The brain scans also showed that the beer flavor induced more activity in both frontal lobes and in the right ventral striatum of the subjects’ brains than did the sports drink.

More specifically, both methods of brain imaging showed increased activity in the right ventral striatum, a deep structure inside the brain that is linked to motivated behavior and reward. The researchers previously showed that beer flavor triggered dopamine release; the addition of fMRI showed that craving for alcohol correlated with frontal as well as right ventral striatum activation. The study was published recently in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

PR:
http://news.medicine.iu.edu/releases/2016/08/brain-craving-beer-taste.shtml

Journal article:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/acer.13158/full

#neuroscience   #addiction   #neuroimaging   #research   #health   #dopamine   #ventralstriatum

NGC 7635: Bubble in a Cosmic Sea

NGC 7635: Bubble in a Cosmic Sea
Do you see the bubble in the center? Seemingly adrift in a cosmic sea of stars and glowing gas, the delicate, floating apparition in this widefield view is cataloged as NGC 7635 - The Bubble Nebula. A mere 10 light-years wide, the tiny Bubble Nebula and the larger complex of interstellar gas and dust clouds are found about 11,000 light-years distant, straddling the boundary between the parental constellations Cepheus and Cassiopeia.

Also included in the breathtaking vista is open star cluster M52 (upper left), some 5,000 light-years away. The featured image spans about two degrees on the sky corresponding to a width of about 375 light-years at the estimated distance of the Bubble Nebula.

Image & info via APOD
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Image Credit & Copyright: Sébastien Gozé

#nasa   #space   #bubblenebula   #science   #universe

Fogbow captured over the snow-covered Scottish moors.

Fogbow captured over the snow-covered Scottish moors.
A fogbow is a colourless rainbow made up of tiny water droplets that cause fog. Due to the small size of the water droplets it has very weak colours, with a red outer edge and bluish inner edge.

Reference:
http://earthsky.org/earth/what-is-a-fogbow

Photo credit: Melvin Nicholson

#naturalphenomena   #fogbow   #weather

A deep-sea Chimaera

A deep-sea Chimaera
Chimaera’s are most closely related to sharks, although their evolutionary lineage branched off from sharks nearly 400 million years ago, and they have remained an isolated group ever since. Like sharks, chimaera’s are cartilaginous and have no real bones.

The lateral lines running across this chimaera are mechano-receptors that detect pressure waves (just like ears). The dotted-looking lines on the frontal portion of the face (near the mouth) are ampullae de lorenzini and they detect perturbations in electrical fields generated by living organisms.

Images used courtesy of NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program, INDEX-SATAL 2010.
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/10index/logs/hires/chimaera_hires.jpg

Watch video:
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1605/dailyupdates/media/video/0504-chimaera/0504-chimaera.html

Reference:
https://owlcation.com/stem/The-Chimaera-Ratfish-or-Ghost-Shark-Strange-and-Cartilaginous

#chimaera   #shark   #coolcritters   #biodiversity   #marinelife  

Pluto's Sputnik Planum

Pluto's Sputnik Planum
Is there an ocean below Sputnik Planum on Pluto? The unusually smooth 1000-km wide golden expanse, visible in the featured image from New Horizons, appears segmented into convection cells. But how was this region created? One hypothesis now holds the answer to be a great impact that stirred up an underground ocean of salt water roughly 100-kilometers thick.

The featured image of Sputnik Planum, part of the larger heart-shaped Tombaugh Regio, was taken last July and shows true details in exaggerated colors. Although the robotic New Horizons spacecraft is off on a new adventure, continued computer-modeling of this surprising surface feature on Pluto is likely to lead to more refined speculations about what lies beneath.  

Image & info via APOD
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Image Credit: NASA, Johns Hopkins U./APL, Southwest Research Inst.

#nasa   #space   #science   #pluto   #newhorizons

How the heart turns into bone

How the heart turns into bone
Connective tissue cells in the heart turn into bone-producing cells in response to injury, University of California, Los Angeles scientists report November 17 in Cell Stem Cell. The discovery helps explain why some people who survive heart damage develop abnormal calcium deposits – the main component of bone – in the valves or walls of the heart. The researchers also show that heart calcification can be prevented in mice by blocking an enzyme that regulates bone mineralization with small molecules.

Paper:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1934590916303459

Source & further reading:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161117151804.htm

Image:The figure shows calcium deposits in the hearts of mice (A,D) and the effect of two drugs, ARL67156 (B,E) and etidronate (C,F), in decreasing the extent of calcium deposits after heart injury. 
Credit: Pillai and Li et al./Cell Stem Cell 2016 .

#research   #medicine   #health   #heartmuscle   #calcification   #bone

“I used to dream about escaping my ordinary life, but my life was never ordinary.

“I used to dream about escaping my ordinary life, but my life was never ordinary. I had simply failed to notice how extraordinary it was.”

~Ransom Riggs, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

#wordsofwisdom   #missPeregrine   #lifewonders

Nova over Thailand

Nova over Thailand 
A nova in Sagittarius is bright enough to see with binoculars. Detected last month, the stellar explosion even approached the limit of naked-eye visibility last week. A classical nova results from a thermonuclear explosion on the surface of a white dwarf star -- a dense star having the size of our Earth but the mass of our Sun.

In the featured image, the nova was captured last week above ancient Wat Mahathat in Sukhothai, Thailand. To see Nova Sagittarius 2016 yourself, just go out just after sunset and locate near the western horizon the constellation of the Archer (Sagittarius), popularly identified with an iconic teapot. Also visible near the nova is the very bright planet Venus. Don’t delay, though, because not only is the nova fading, but that part of the sky is setting continually closer to sunset.

Image & info via APOD
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Image Credit & Copyright: Jeff Dai (TWAN)

#space   #nasa   #nova   #science   #universe

NASA Finds Unusual Origins of High-Energy Electrons

NASA Finds Unusual Origins of High-Energy Electrons
High above the surface, Earth’s magnetic field constantly deflects incoming supersonic particles from the sun. These particles are disturbed in regions just outside of Earth’s magnetic field – and some are reflected into a turbulent region called the foreshock. New observations from NASA’s THEMIS – short for Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms – mission show that this turbulent region can accelerate electrons up to speeds approaching the speed of light.

Such extremely fast particles have been observed in near-Earth space and many other places in the universe, but the mechanisms that accelerate them have not yet been concretely understood.

The new results provide the first steps towards an answer, while opening up more questions. The research finds electrons can be accelerated to extremely high speeds in a near-Earth region farther from Earth than previously thought possible – leading to new inquiries about what causes the acceleration.

These findings may change the accepted theories on how electrons can be accelerated not only in shocks near Earth, but also throughout the universe. Having a better understanding of how particles are energized will help scientists and engineers better equip spacecraft and astronauts to deal with these particles, which can cause equipment to malfunction and affect space travelers.

Source & further reading:
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/nasa-finds-unusual-origins-of-high-energy-electrons

Image:
This visualization represents one of the traditional proposed mechanisms for accelerating particles across a shock, called a shock drift acceleration. The electrons (yellow) and protons (blue) can be seen moving in the collision area where two hot plasma bubbles collide (red vertical line). The cyan arrows represent the magnetic field and the light green arrows, the electric field.

Credits: NASA Goddard's Scientific Visualization Studio/Tom Bridgman, data visualizer

#nasa   #space   #physics   #research   #science

SEM picture of an ant carrying a LIGA micro gear

SEM picture of an ant carrying a LIGA micro gear
This picture made the cover of Scientific American Magazine in November 1992 (G. Stix, Scientific American 267, 5 (1992)).

https://www.scientificamerican.com/magazine/sa/1992/11-01/

#biodiversity   #ants   #SEM   #coolcritters

Veins of Heaven

Veins of Heaven
Transfusing sunlight through a still dark sky, this exceptional display of noctilucent clouds was captured above the island of Gotland, Sweden. From the edge of space, about 80 kilometers above Earth's surface, the icy clouds reflect sunlight even though the Sun itself is below the horizon as seen from the ground.

Usually spotted at high latitudes in summer months the night shining clouds made a strong showing in July 2014. Also known as polar mesopheric clouds they are understood to form as water vapor driven into the cold upper atmosphere condenses on the fine dust particles supplied by disintegrating meteors or volcanic ash. NASA's AIM mission provides daily projections of noctilucent clouds as seen from space.

Image & info via APOD
Image Credit & Copyright: P-M Hedén (Clear Skies, TWAN)

NASA's AIM - know more:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/aim/index.html

#naturalphenomena   #noctilucentclouds   #space   #science

November 17 is reserved to Ferdinand Möbius

November 17 is reserved to Ferdinand Möbius
Today is the birthday of mathematician and astronomer August Ferdinand Möbius, who was born in Schulpforta, Saxony (Germany), in 1790. He studied theoretical astronomy under Carl Gauss at the University of Göttingen before obtaining a professorship at the University of Leipzig in 1816.

Möbius's primary contributions were in geometry, including the development of homogeneous coordinates for projective geometry. But he's best known for his work in topology. In 1858 he discovered the Möbius strip, a narrow sheet given a half twist before its ends are attached together. Topology plays a major role in modern physics, including the research that earned this year's Nobel Prize.

Bio:
http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Mobius.html

Mobius Strip - know more:
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/MoebiusStrip.html

Animation by Clayton Shonkwiler

#history   #mobius   #FerdinandMobius   #math   #science

Droplet Impact

Droplet Impact
A drop of water that impacts a flat post will form a liquid sheet that eventually breaks apart into droplets when surface tension can no longer hold the water together against the power of momentum flinging the water outward.

But what happens if that initial drop of water is filled with particles? Initially, the particle-laden drop’s impact is similar to the water’s – it strikes the post and expands radially in a sheet that is uniformly filled with particles. But then the particles begin to cluster due to capillary attraction, which causes particles at a fluid interface to clump up.
The clumping creates holes in the sheet which rapidly expand until the liquid breaks apart into many particle-filled droplets.

Video source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0s0WUJ74Rw

Reference:
http://svi.cnrs.fr/spip/asauret/
Story via FYFD

#physics   #science   #fluiddynamics   #2016gofm

Pain is temporary

Pain is temporary
Corinthian helmet from the Battle of Marathon (490 BC) found with the warrior’s skull inside. 

The battle of Marathon is one of history's most famous military engagements. It is also one of the earliest recorded battles. Their victory over the Persian invaders gave the fledgling Greek city states confidence in their ability to defend themselves and belief in their continued existence. The battle is therefore considered a defining moment in the development of European culture.

In September of 490 BC a Persian armada of 600 ships disgorged an invasion force of approximately 20,000 infantry and cavalry on Greek soil just north of Athens. Their mission was to crush the Greek states in retaliation for their support of their Ionian cousins who had revolted against Persian rule.

Undaunted by the numerical superiority of the invaders, Athens mobilized 10,000 hoplite warriors to defend their territory. The two armies met on the Plain of Marathon twenty-six miles north of Athens. The flat battlefield surrounded by hills and sea was ideal for the Persian cavalry. Surveying the advantage that the terrain and size of their force gave to the Persians, the Greek generals hesitated.

One of the Greek generals - Miltiades - made a passionate plea for boldness and convinced his fellow generals to attack the Persians. Miltiades ordered the Greek hoplites to form a line equal in length to that of the Persians. Then - in an act that his enemy believed to be complete madness - he ordered his Greek warriors to attack the Persian line at a dead run. In the ensuing melee, the middle of the Greek line weakened and gave way, but the flanks were able to engulf and slaughter the trapped Persians. An estimated 6,400 Persians were slaughtered while only 192 Greeks were killed.

References:
http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/battle-of-marathon
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/marathon.htm

#history   #battleofMarathon   #greeks   #persia

Soyuz vs Supermoon

Soyuz vs Supermoon
Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, this Soyuz rocket stands on the launch pad at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on November 14. Beyond it rises a supermoon, but fame for exceptional feats of speed, strength, and agility is not the reason November's Full Moon was given this popular name.

Instead, whenever a Full Moon shines near perigee, the closest point in its elliptical orbit around Earth, it appears larger and brighter than other more distant Full Moons, and so a supermoon is born. In fact, November's supermoon was the second of three consecutive supermoons in 2016. It was also the closest and most superest Full Moon since 1948. Meanwhile, the mild mannered Soyuz rocket is scheduled to launch its Expedition 50/51 crew to the International Space Station today, November 17.

Image & info via APOD
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Image Credit: NASA, Bill Ingalls

#nasa   #space   #science   #supermoon   #soyuz

Memory activation before exposure reduces life-long fear of spiders

Memory activation before exposure reduces life-long fear of spiders
Many people suffer from anxiety and fears, and a common treatment for these problems is exposure therapy. In a new study published in Current Biology, researchers at Uppsala University have shown how the effect of exposure therapy can be improved by disrupting the re-creation of memories of fear in people with arachnophobia.

Studies show that up to 30 per cent of all people suffer an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. Anxiety leads to great suffering for those affected, but can be treated with exposure therapy, in which the patient is gradually exposed to the object or context that provokes the reactions. If exposure therapy is successful, a new ‘safe’ memory is formed, which overshadows the old fear memory. But not everyone is helped by this treatment, in part because the learning that takes place during the treatment is not permanent; the memory may return at some point later on after an initially successful exposure. Memory researchers have now demonstrated that the improvement can be made more lasting.

When a person is reminded of something, the memory becomes unstable and is re-saved. If you disrupt the re-saving of the memory, so-called reconsolidation, the creation of the memory can be disrupted and the memory that is saved can be changed. A fear memory could thus be weakened or erased, and this offers hope for improved treatment of anxiety disorders. But until now there has been doubt if this would be possible because older and stronger memories have proven to be difficult to disrupt.

In a study published in the prestigious journal Current Biology, researchers from Uppsala University and Karolinska Institutet have now for the first time shown that it is possible to use this method to reduce fear in life-long phobias. The researchers exposed individuals with arachnophobia to spider pictures while measuring their brain activity in the amygdala, a part of the brain that is strongly linked to fear.

They found that an activation of the fear memory, consisting of a mini exposure 10 minutes before a more extensive exposure, led to significantly reduced amygdala activity when the subjects looked at the spider pictures again the following day. Because the memory is made unstable before exposure and re-saved in its weakened form, the fear does not return as easily. The day after exposure, the group that received an initial activation of their spider fear showed reduced amygdala activity in comparison with a control group. Avoidance of spiders also decreased, which could be predicted from the degree of amygdala activation.

Source & further reading:
http://www.uu.se/en/media/news/article/?id=7038&area=2,4,10,16,24&typ=artikel&lang=en

Paper:
http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(16)30934-4?_returnURL=http%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982216309344%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

#neuroscience   #amygdala   #research   #arachnophobia   #anxiety

The Heart and Soul Nebulas

The Heart and Soul Nebulas
Is the heart and soul of our Galaxy located in Cassiopeia? Possibly not, but that is where two bright emission nebulas nicknamed Heart and Soul can be found. The Heart Nebula, officially dubbed IC 1805 and visible in the featured image on the right, has a shape reminiscent of a classical heart symbol. Both nebulas shine brightly in the red light of energized hydrogen.  

Several young open clusters of stars populate the image and are visible here in blue, including the nebula centers. Light takes about 6,000 years to reach us from these nebulas, which together span roughly 300 light years. Studies of stars and clusters like those found in the Heart and Soul Nebulas have focused on how massive stars form and how they affect their environment.

Image & info via APOD
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Image Credit & Copyright: David Lindemann

#space   #nasa   #nebula   #universe   #exploration   #science  

Melibe Nudibranch

Melibe Nudibranch
Melibe have developed an oral veil or 'fish net' which they use to scan the ground with. Constantly on the move, looking for victims, when found the veil contracts, trapping their prey.
They feed on hydroids, coral, sponges, anemones and crustaceans.
Widespread Western Indo-Pacific.

Watch video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYKim1OHSYA

#biodiveristy   #coolcritters   #melibenudibranch   #seaslug

Twisted light beams a greeting over a record distance of 143 km

Twisted light beams a greeting over a record distance of 143 km
The future of data transmission may involve the use of twisted light. Researchers just encoded data in the orbital angular momentum of light and successfully sent the information over 143 km of open space.

Source & further reading:
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2112928-twisted-light-beams-a-greeting-over-a-record-distance-of-143-km/

#physics   #science   #datatransmission

Study Pinpoints Brain Region Responsible for Placebo Response to Pain

Study Pinpoints Brain Region Responsible for Placebo Response to Pain
Scientists at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) have identified for the first time the region in the brain responsible for the “placebo effect” in pain relief, when a fake treatment actually results in substantial reduction of pain.

Pinpointing the sweet spot of the pain-killing placebo effect could result in the design of more personalized medicine for the 100 million Americans with chronic pain. The finding also will lead to more precise and accurate clinical trials for pain medications by eliminating individuals with high placebo response before trials.

The study was  published in the journal PLOS Biology.
http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1002570

Source & further reading:
http://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/2016/10/sweet-spot-for-pain-relief-identified/

Image:
The yellow and red sections of this brain image show the unique brain region — the mid-frontal gyrus — which Northwestern scientists discovered is responsible for placebo response in pain relief.

#neuroscience   #placebo   #midfrontalgyrus   #painrelief   #research   #medicine   #health

Cold Weather Delayed over North America

Cold Weather Delayed over North America 
Why is it so warm in northern North America? Usually during this time of year -- mid-November -- temperatures average as much as 30 degrees colder. Europe is not seeing a similar warming. One factor appears to be an unusually large and stable high pressure region that has formed over Canada, keeping normally colder arctic air away.

Although the fundamental cause of any weather pattern is typically complex, speculation holds that this persistent Canadian anticyclonic region is related to warmer than average sea surface temperatures in the mid-Pacific -- an El Niño -- operating last winter. North Americans should enjoy it while it lasts, though. In the next week or two, cooler-than-average temperatures now being recorded in the mid-Pacific -- a La Niña -- might well begin to affect North American wind and temperature patterns.

Image & info via APOD
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Image Credit: Climate Reanalyzer, CCI, U. Maine

#nasa   #space   #weather   #science

Never be sorry for who you are. Your personality should never be shrouded in what society expects of you.

Never be sorry for who you are. Your personality should never be shrouded in what society expects of you.
Be shamelessly, unapologetically you. You will find the world rallies behind those who carve roads of their own.
~The Road

#wordsofwisdom   #spineself   #insideyourskin

Tri-cycle

Tri-cycle
Work by Charlie Deck

#processing   #math   #animation

Gut Feeling

Gut Feeling
Some scientists call it our ‘second brain’. It comprises around 100 million nerve cells, ensures we get all the nourishment we need, and even affects our mood. This ‘brain’ is actually a network of nerves called the enteric nervous system, which controls our gut. Loss of these nerves results in a group of diseases called enteric neuropathies. The consequences on the body are severe: poor nutrition, pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and constipation.

Researchers now use mice to investigate the potential of stem cells in replacing these lost nerves. Stem cells, called enteric neural crest cells (ENCCs), were implanted into the guts of normal mice (pictured) and mice lacking gut nerves. ENCCs (green/yellow) integrated into the guts of both types of mice, did not cause tumours, and developed into nerves that appeared functional when stimulated electrically. This is the first step towards future therapies in humans.

Paper:
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0147989

Image from work by Julie E Cooper and colleagues
Story via BPoD

#science   #gut   #medicine   #research   #nervecells

Supermoon and Space Station

Supermoon and Space Station
What are those specks in front of the Moon? They are silhouettes of the International Space Station (ISS). Using careful planning and split-second timing, a meticulous lunar photographer captured ten images of the ISS passing in front of last month's full moon. But this wasn't just any full moon -- this was the first of the three consecutive 2016 supermoons.

 A supermoon is a full moon that appears a few percent larger and brighter than most other full moons. The featured image sequence was captured near Dallas, Texas. Occurring today is the second supermoon of this series, a full moon that is the biggest and brightest not only of the year, but of any year since 1948. To see today's super-supermoon yourself, just go outside at night and look up. The third supermoon of this year's series will occur in mid-December.  

Image & info via APOD
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Image Credit & Copyright: Kris Smith

#nasa   #supermoon   #space   #science   #astrophotography   #ISS

Monkeys Regain Control Of Paralyzed Legs With Help Of An Implant

Monkeys Regain Control Of Paralyzed Legs With Help Of An Implant
Scientists have used a wireless brain implant to bypass the spinal cord injuries of two paralysed rhesus macaques, giving them the ability to walk again.

The system – which wirelessly transmits decoded brain signals to stimulate the muscles responsible for leg movement – represents the first time a neural prosthetic has restored locomotion in a primate.
But any help for people will be years away, researchers say.

Paper:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v539/n7628/full/nature20118.html

Source & further reading:
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/11/09/501029887/monkeys-regain-control-of-paralyzed-legs-with-help-of-an-implant

#neuroscience   #biomedicalresearch   #spinalinjuries   #implant   #primates   #paralysis

R.I.P. Leonard Cohen (21 September 1934 - 10 November 2016)

R.I.P. Leonard Cohen (21 September 1934 - 10 November 2016)
"There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in."

Leonard Norman Cohen, was a Canadian singer, songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, sexuality, and personal relationships.

Article:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/leonard-cohen-dead-at-82-w449792

#leonardcohen   #history   #music

Zoom into the Human Bloodstream

Zoom into the Human Bloodstream
This amazing visualization of human circulation takes you from the heart, to the smallest arteries, to single oxygen atoms. 
How many of you can name all of the scientific components that you see here?

And before you ask...the big yellow ball with purple on it in the back is a cholesterol particle.

Read & Learn:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bmb.2004.494032020337/abstract

Illustration by Linda S. Nye
More of her work: http://www.visualizingnature.com/awards.html

#medicine   #illustration   #bloodstream   #humanbody   #biomedical