Two Jets Colliding Can Form A Chain-like Fluid Structure. With Increasing Flow Rate, The Rim Of The Chains

Water Drop on Hydrophobic Sand

Graphene Safely Interacts With Neurons in the Brain

Researchers have shown that graphene can be used to make electrodes that can be implanted in the brain, which could potentially be used to restore sensory functions for amputee or paralysed patients, or for individuals with motor disorders such as Parkinson’s disease.

The research is in ACS Nano. (full access paywall)

Matching your balloon to your reaction is important. #aesthetic

Video Clip SS241672 (Dendritic Ice Crystal Growth)

Macro timelapse footage of Dendritic Ice Crystals Growing.

At sub zero temperatures, moisture from the surrounding atmosphere condenses almost immediately. The dendritic (tree-like) form of the crystallization is a natural fractal pattern.

As a rule, except in conditions where supercooled droplets are present in the air, frost will form only if the deposition surface is colder than the surrounding air. For instance frost may be observed around cracks in cold wooden sidewalks when humid air escapes from the warmer ground beneath. Other objects on which frost commonly forms are those with low specific heat or high thermal emissivity, such as blackened metals; hence the accumulation of frost on the heads of rusty nails.

© Francis Chee / Science Source

Lovely crystallization effect from an extraction the other day

Despite its appearance, there is order in the chaos of turbulence. These snapshots from a turbulent channel flow simulation outline these coherent structures in black. The top photo shows a top view looking down on the channel and the bottom image shows a side view of the channel. It is thought that studying these coherent structures may help shed light on turbulence and its formation, which remains one of the great open questions of classical physics. (Photo credit: M. Green)

Day in the life of a scientist

Me, at an art store: I need a paint marker with low toxicity and a delicate tip.

Employee: What kind of project are you working on?

Me: It's for a research project. I just need bright colors.

Employee: What medium are you using? Canvas or paper?

Me: uh....spiders.

Employee: Plastic or felt?

Me: ....live spiders. Like, from the forest.

Employee: ....

Employee: I have to get back to the counter.

At Biotech Party, Gender Diversity Means Cocktail Waitresses

Outside the Exploratorium, an airy event space on San Francisco’s waterfront, a long line of mostly male biotechnology investors and executives waited to get into a party.

The ballrooms of the Westin St. Francis hotel were packed with rows of men in blue and gray suits. Outside the hotel, where attendees gather for coffee, was about the same -- of 47 people sitting on one side of the square outside the conference hotel, two were women. Of those, one was in media relations. There was no line for the women’s bathroom.

LifeSci’s McDonald says it’s just reality that the industry and its investors skew male. That’s why he hired the models.

“When you think about going to a party, when you don’t have any models, it’s going to be 90/10, or even greater, male-to-female,” he said. “Adding in some females changes the dynamic quite a bit.”

Brine is your friend 

*gags then googles how to get rid of an emulsion*

Maggie Aderin-Pocock

Maggie Aderin-Pocock was born in London, England on March 9, 1968. She earned a degree in physics and a PhD in mechanical engineering, in spite of her dyslexia, and went on to become a research fellow at the University College London Department of Science and Technology Studies and work on projects such as the James Webb Telescope and the Gemini Observatory. She is currently a presenter on BBC Four’s program The Sky At Night.

Happy birthday, Maggie Aderin-Pocock!

(image source) (license)