This GIF Shows How The Toucan Releases Heat Using Its Beak To Cool Itself Off.

Crime scene investigators are about to get a helping hand from our ancient ancestors. The earliest known synthetic pigment, Egyptian blue, is found in some of the paint on ancient statues, coffins, tomb walls, and amulets. Most other pigments long ago faded. Modern scientists, intrigued by its longevity, worked out Egyptian blue’s chemical composition decades ago. Recently it was discovered that it emits near-infrared radiation when exposed to certain kinds of light. Basically: it has rare, invisible luminescence.

And why does that help crime-stoppers? Egyptian blue can be dusted onto complicated surfaces where fingerprints are normally hard to retrieve. The surface is then photographed with a modified camera and a filter sensitive to Egyptian blue’s near-infrared rays. If fingerprints are there, they glow clearly in the resulting image. Science is amazing.

Planets & Dwarf Planets

Terraforming Mars

do I dare to tag toes and feet on tumblr dot com y/n?

More on birds since y’all seem to be really into birds. Transcript under the cut.

Keep reading

Luminol is a chemical that can be used to show trace amounts of blood by creating a light producing chemical reaction when mixed with hemoglobin.

Luminol powder is mixed into a liquid containing hydrogen peroxide and other chemicals. This mixture will then be sprayed over the area that is being examined.

The reaction of the Luminol spray mixing with the iron in blood will then produce a blue glow that can be seen in a dark room.

Other substances that can accidentally have the same reaction with Luminol are: bleach, urine, faeces & horseradish.

Unfortunately Luminol can destroy other crime scene evidence so it is usually used after other options have been explored.

A Few Helpful Videos

Step 1 and Done.

I don’t understand how some people can straight read First Aid and retain. Here are a few videos I found to be very helpful for understanding and memorizing concepts. With the plethora of YouTube videos out there, I feel like there should be a database of worthwhile ones somewhere (please tell me if there is already). Feel free to add any you’ve found particularly helpful. 

Anatomy

Brachial Plexus Speed Drawing

Brachial Plexus Explained

General Anatomy Overview Channel

Anatomy Figure Drawings - Helps visualize muscle actions

Biostats

Watch these a couple of days before your exam for a refresher. Many of his review questions are based directly off of UWorld questions.

Practice Questions

Cardio

General Cardio Overview  

JVP explained with relevant path correlations 

S3/S4 - the simplest of explanations (the accent does’t hurt) 

Antiarrhythmics - follow up with SketchyPharm 

Antiarrhythmics - Refractory Period Explained 

Embryology

This cardio video is amazing. He explains the cardio congenital defects in context of what causes each defect during development. This makes recall much easier as you’re learning the process and can work out each one even if you forget the small details. (make sure to watch both parts)

Heart Embryo Derivatives - mnemonic 

Intestine Development - Overview

GI Development - Foregut, Midgut, Hindgut Orientation

Embryonic Folding 

Pharyngeal Arch Mnemonic (die)  

Microbiology 

Algorithm/mnemonic for viruses. Pure gold.

YouTube Channels of Interest

Armando Hasudungan 

Anatomy Zone

Dr. Najeeb (my hero)

Wow I’ve been living a lie

New fossils suggest that spinosaurus was fully aquatic, meaning we have to re-imagine this bigger-than-T. Rex dino’s looks and behavior. Video and article from National Geographic.

Did Megalodons Brush Their Teeth In The Morning? 

Almost everyone has heard about the Megaladon aka Carcharodon Megalodon - the terryfying, hair-raising sea creature that used to reign the waters about 10 million years ago. It’s a really huge scary shark basically.

And it is no secret that the species never suffered from tooth decay or plaques. Mostly this has been thought to be due to the regular changing of teeth. However, recently scientists have discovered that the sharks actually used toothpaste!

Well, not exactly. As it turns out, Megaladons had an interesting teeth mineral composition. Their teeth were packed were with fluoride, which is what we use in toothpaste nowadays. Fluoride made their teeth extremely strong and resistant to bacteria. And it wasn’t only Megaladons - most of the predator dinosaurs and several other species of sharks had a similar tooth meniralisation.

However, nowadays predators and other mammals do not boast a full set of shiny, fluoride-filled teeth. Humans themselves walk around with agonising pain in their teeth meanwhile the dentists are rolling in money. Why would evolution do such a thing? Having fluoride in your teeth seems like an awesome advantage, right?

Scientists aren’t really sure why the presence of fluoride was eliminated during the hostile course of evolution. The best guess is that the concentration of fluoride in water has decreased over the years and it wasn’t enough to support the teeth-changing cycles or organisms.

It may also be due to the fact that fluoride can be harmful. If fluoride encounters sour fruits or meat that isn’t fresh, hydrofluoric acid is formed. The acid is very corrosive, it can even dissolve glass. Who would want to have this in their mouths?

Source: http://www.paleonews.ru/index.php/new/588-fluoridtooth